tcirivello
Member
I have done all my appts, now I just met with my Dr yesterday. He told me the 3 surgeries that I can go for. Now I need to decide which one. Very confused. I was thinking of the duodenal switch. Thoughts? Advice?
New to this, need advice...
- Thread starter tcirivello
- Start date
3momchaos
Member
Deciding which surgery you have is very personal to your needs. There’s a lot to consider between the surgeries. Why are you leaning towards the switch? I first was going for the sleeve, but changed my mind to the bypass. It’s because of the weight I need to lose, thyroid disease, and predisposition for GERD. Good luck on deciding!
Why are you leaning towards duodenal switch?
WazzuCoug
Member
It is a very personal decision and really depends on the current state of your health, how much weight you need to lose and what you would personally feel good about. The DS is usually reserved for extreme conditions of obesity (BMI 50+) and comorbidities and modifies the GI tract more than the other surgeries. It is sort of a combination of the two. You get a vertical sleeve gastrectomy that makes the stomach smaller, and then the GI tract is modified to pass most of the small intestines. This surgery has the highest amount of risk than the other two, but is still a safe surgery. It also has the highest amount of malabsorption, so diet and vitamin you have to be vigilant about diet and vitamin monitoring.
The VSG was born from the DS, as it is the DS surgery without the bypassing of the small intestine. People can have great success with VSG, but it is usually not recommended if you have a history of acid reflux, and even in patients who don't have acid reflux issues pre-surgery, about 20% of VSG patients do experience some after surgery. I chose the VSG and I'm happy with it. I felt it important to get my GI tract in tact, but if I would have been told that an RNY or DS was the better option, I wouldn't have hesitated to go that direction. As it was, I was given a choice to pick was was right for me, and I chose VSG.
The RNY bypasses the stomach and small portion of the small intestine completely. It has a slightly higher average of weight loss than the VSG and slightly less than DS in most cases. It's has a long track record of success (as does the DS) since they've been around longer than the VSG by itself.
All three surgeries can have an incredible influence on health.
I would talk more with your personal doctor and the surgeon to try to really drill down on the pro and cons and what might be best for you.
The VSG was born from the DS, as it is the DS surgery without the bypassing of the small intestine. People can have great success with VSG, but it is usually not recommended if you have a history of acid reflux, and even in patients who don't have acid reflux issues pre-surgery, about 20% of VSG patients do experience some after surgery. I chose the VSG and I'm happy with it. I felt it important to get my GI tract in tact, but if I would have been told that an RNY or DS was the better option, I wouldn't have hesitated to go that direction. As it was, I was given a choice to pick was was right for me, and I chose VSG.
The RNY bypasses the stomach and small portion of the small intestine completely. It has a slightly higher average of weight loss than the VSG and slightly less than DS in most cases. It's has a long track record of success (as does the DS) since they've been around longer than the VSG by itself.
All three surgeries can have an incredible influence on health.
I would talk more with your personal doctor and the surgeon to try to really drill down on the pro and cons and what might be best for you.
tcirivello
Member
tcirivello
Member
My Dr says I do not need the gastric bypass bc I do not have heartburn. So he recommends the Sleeve or the duodenal switch. I am thinking the switch bc I have high blood pressure, sleep apnea, diabetes and more emotional stuff. And from what I read and the Dr said the switch would help more with my problems. Dr would like me to make a decision and call him Monday.
tcirivello
Member
My Dr did talk about me needing more vitamins forever and I also read that. I would rather take the Vitamins than all the medications. My BMI is 51 and it seems to be going up.
TraceyT
Member
Hi TC -
From my experience - I had RNY 1/22/2020 - with my own additional medical issues - my Dr. said that I would benefit more from the DDS surgery. However - my weight wasn't high enough for my insurance to cover it. My Dr. said that most patients with my diabetic history - don't completely get off all the medications. He said that 12 year diabetics was what the research showed - there was not a lot of success for people with my history - this is why a lot of Dr's suggest the DDS.
The DDS does offer better results for helping people get off of diabetic medication. But, it also depends on how long you've been diabetic - if you're insulin dependent and other factors as well.
With all that said - there is no "cure" for diabetes - I was a 29+ year insulin dependent diabetic and I had RNY and I'm now no longer on insulin or metformin - or other diabetic medication. I don't eat much of anything sweet.
My husband and I were watching movie and one of my daughters was baking cookies in the kitchen. There is just something almost intoxicating about fresh out of the oven homemade chocolate chip cookies! The smell of the melting chocolate chips - YES PLEASE!!! I was just staring in the direction of the kitchen - I'm pretty sure I was drooling.... and my wonderful smart ass husband says - "Looks like your sweet tooth is intact!" --insert my VERY loud eye-roll here -- he continued "Baby if they had removed your sweet tooth - You'd be TOOTHLESS and gumming all your food!" My eye-roll became verbal after that!
