Questions about DS. Any regrets?

I am in the process of doing my meetings with the dietician and have one more month left before I can submit to insurance. All along I had planned to do RNY but now I am reconsidering and thinking about DS. 

When I went to the seminar the surgeon stated he did DS and its listed on his website. He said that because the success is pretty close to RNY and RNY is less risky he usually recommends RNY over DS but will do DS if thats what the patient wants. (Its Peter Lalor at Wood County Hospital in Ohio) by the way. He worked with Dr Hess I thin****il he retired. 

I dismissed DS in the beginning because of worries about loose stool. I'm a nurse. That would be a pain. 

I'm curious for those of you who had the surgery, did you have lots of problems with this? Would you have the same surgery again? Or if you could choose again, would you have chosen a different surgery?

Have most of you been able to keep the weight off you lost? It seems like DS has better long term weight loss, which is why I am interested. 

Thanks for your help. 

I've had zero complications and zero regrets. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I'm almost 6 years out and only 4 pounds above my very lowest goal weight or currently 22.5 BMI.

Most folks find that they can control their bowel issues by staying low carb, and initially, lactose free and gluten free. What I've read here and other boards is that most dietitians don't get the low carb thing and stress low fat for us. I read Dr Hess's web site years ago and it said something like fat is your friend. I don't know if that has carried over to Dr L's practice. Some DSrs actually get constipated if they don't have fat in their diets. It's a your mileage may vary kind of thing.

The other thing many surgeons don't get is our vitamin requirements. Many of us start with Vitalady's DS plan, and adjust as our labs come in, rather than waiting until we crash our labs and struggle to bring things up.

Wishing you all the best in your journey.  : )

--gina

I'm 5 weeks out from surgery and my ONLY issue so far is constipation, guess I'm one of the few.  No regrets at all either, except doing it sooner!!!

I had that also at 2 months out.  I would swing from constipation to diarrhea, and back. 

I learned from the veterans to watch my vitamins - like taking magnesium with every calcium pill.  And to not take all my calcium in the evenings, which plugged me up come morning.  That iron can constipate you also, so another magnesium for that.   Maybe that might help you.

Hi, Sometimes these things take a while to pound their way into my head. I know I've seen this before about magnesium and constipation but I hadn't realized about when to take it or with what. I just started taking 500 mg because I reviewed some post op labs (2 days after)  and saw I was low. Can you tell me how much magnesium you take with your calcium?

I find that for every 600mg of calcium citrate I took, I took up to 250mg of magnesium citrate.  So it was a pill for pill on the calcium

Now, I take Kirkland Calcium Citrate 500mg, and it has magnesium 80mg in it already.  This seems to work fairly well for me.  I'm am trying to get more veggies in my diet (fiber), so I am not cranking up the magnesium at the moment.

If you are constipated, and your calcium does not have any mag in it, then start out with a low dose - like 250 mg per day, and increase it every 4 days till your assembly line starts moving again. Don't take magnesium oxide.  That is just an expensive laxative.  Look for magnesium citrate.

The bathroom thing can be a pain "AT FIRST" it does get better though. Just make sure to stay away from high carbs and sugars. I am a nurse too and I am on the road a lot. I usually go three times in the morning before work and maybe once at night. 

my only regret - I should have done it earlier!

five years post op, lost 200 pounds in the first year, have "bounced back" by about 10, at a 25 (normal) BMI which is just right for me

Both pre and post surgery, bathroom implications are determined by my eating choices

have you checked out DSFacts.com for more information?

I started doing the RNY process also.  The more I researched it (for 14 months), the more I started thinking the DS life style was actually a better fit for me personally. 

Restricting my food consumption at a meal never really worked for me because I ate small meals all day long.  So a pouch wasn't going to keep my calories down - I'd eat around that in a heart beat.  I needed the mal-absorbtion.  I was already down to 600-800 calories and working out 5 nights a week (and still could not lose weight).  How was the RNY going to help that situation?

I asked myself if I was going to be happy with this life style.  I've eaten Paleo style for 20 years, so staying on a low carb diet is easy for me.  I knew I could be happy and it wasn't going to be a battle to remain compliant.

So I switched to the DS, had to go outside my medical group and insurance coverage to get it done.  I paid for it myself.  It was the best money I've ever spent.  I don't think the DS is better than an RNY or other procedures.  It really depends on the person's habits.  It's picking the right surgery that best matches you.

I've had the bathroom issues.  It's a matter of learning to balance your food choices, your vitamins, and system healing.  Every month my system is stronger and more normal.  I used to have a BM multiple times a day - now it's down to 2 in the morning, within 20 minutes of each other.   I commuted 1.5 hours to work every morning and didn't have a problem.

Good luck in your research. 

Hi,

I am 6 months out and have lost a total of 95 lbs and I'm almost at goal. I have had no regrets at all and no complications (knock on wood) I've had no bathroom issues as far as lose stool goes my bathroom issue was the other way until I started taking miralax every day. I go to the bathroom once a day in the morning and thats it! Good luck with your research its not easy I know I did the same thing.

Trish