DS vs Sleeve--don't know what to think?

I am in the research stages of WLS. I'm a lightweight, BMI 38 with multiple co-morbidities. I am drawn to the DS and the sleeve because I worry about dumping with the RNY. On the one hand, I like pretty much everything about the sleeve but I worry about not losing enough and gaining it back. On the other hand, the DS seems like it's pretty iron-clad.  I have IBS, which doesn't really give me all that much trouble. But I have soft-to-loose stools several times per week, sometimes 3-4 times per day.  I am really concerned that the DS will only make that worse.

 

I haven't seen the surgeon yet, I'm still gathering my insurance stuff together. but I find myself vacillating between the sleeve and DS all day long.  I don't know how to know for sure which one to go for.  I want to make sure i get it right the first time!

This is going to be a hard decision. Do your research. 

I have IBS and it did not make it worse for me. =)

Do you have a history of being able to lose weight just to gain it back?  The sleeve helps us lose the weight the DS is what KEEPS is off.  I know with absolute certainty that I would not have lost as much weight and that I would not have kept ANY of it off with just the sleeve.  I am soooooooooo glad I have the power of the DS to help me keep the weight off.

I was also a lightweight with less than 100 lbs to lose and only one real co-morbid (hypertension).

~Becky

The strange thing is that the DS seemed to improve my IBS. If you have a lot of self control and know that you can trust yourself to be on a diet for the rest of your life, maybe the sleeve would be right for you. If you have diabetes and tend to regain the weight you lose, then the DS would be a good choice. With the DS you will need to take suppliments for the rest of your life, better than the prescriptions for your co morbidities though,.

I looked at some of your previous posts. You have 2 strong reasons for the DS.

1. type 2 diabetes - the rate of permanent resolution for type 2 diabetes with the DS is the best of any bariatric surgery, about 95-98%. Gastric bypass (which I wouldn't want either) is next best, but not as good as was once thought, as it often comes back after a few years). Sleeve as a stand alone doesn't create the metabolic changes that the DS does, and has a much lower rate of resolution for type 2 diabetes, and if your diabetes does resolve and then you regain weight, it will come back.

2. arthritis - apparently, even as a "lightweight", you are having a very bad time with this. While it won't resolve no matter what surgery you have, you will get the most improvement by losing as much of your excess weight as possible. Again, the DS is your best option for getting to, or close to, a normal weight, and staying there.

There is so much more to this decision than you bmi. I hope you have chosen a surgeon who does both operations to consult with. Otherwise, that surgeon will recommend whatever operation he does and not an operation he doesn't do, regardless of what is really in your best interests. Check the list at dsfactscom for recognized DS surgeons, or at least ask about your potential surgeon here.

Larra

Do most people have horrible diarrhea though? What cam be done about that?

It's a shame that people, even doctors, who don't have experience with the DS, promote the idea that it causes horrible diarrhea.  It just isn't true.

My IBS was like yours before my DS.  Now things are much better and I can predict when I will need  to head to the bathroom.   Big change.

Also, I would suggest you start a probiotic now, even before surgery.

I had DS pre-op and posted this which may be of interest http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/ds/4479215/IBS-Pre-op-hows -it-post-op/

I was prone to constipation and still consider myself to have IBS just in a different way.  I used to take Naproxen for night time cramps and I no longer need that so I guess you could say mine's improved in some ways.

10 years out here and I very seldom have diarrhea.  Post DS poop is different.  TMI but it's much softer...and that's normal and it's not diarrhea.

Honestly there's only one surgery for people with DM2 who need NSAIDS for arthritis.  The DS.

Thank you all for your thoughtful opinions. I really appreciate your helpfulness and that nobody is pushing an agenda. You give me a lot to thnk about. I'm going to read all these responses to my DH so we can discuss this more.