Outcome of what happened with surgeon today.

[sunsett 2]

Jo Ann and Lena- Wow I'm so sorry!

Prayers are with you both.

It is a very personal decision on what to do next. When I was having my band replaced I had decided that I would have the ryn if I couldn't have the band. I don't know if I would if push came to shove.

If you go onto the NC site there is someone there who we won't let leave, who just had the rny. She is doing really well and I'm sure she'd be happy to talk to you. jjtaurus is who she is. I could be spelling that wrong.

God Bless big HUGS

[tracey anderson 0]

Hi,

Sorry to here this. I had my band removed on Jan.24 due to erosion and I could just KICK myself a hundred time over that I did not have him due the RNY I think I had no time to think about it I went for a endo on the 23rd had it out the nxt day had I had time like you I would have never left the table without some type of other WLS. Now I battle just keeping the 100 off I lost and I still need to lose another 100 plus. It cost about 39,000 to hvae my band removed and I only paid 7250.00 for the band to be placed in MX but it was removed in Oregon. Thank GOD my insurance is paying for all but 2000.00 that is my out of pocket for the year deductible. Other wise I am sure what I would be doing if I had to pay 39,000 . Good Luck, Tracey

[Anwyn 0]

JoAnn & Lena, I'm so sorry that you're losing your bands. Remember, like Sue said there are other options out there for you. Good luck with your decision. ((((HUGS))))

[raazzberry 0]

Thank you all for your kind words and support. At this point in time I think that I am going to do the RNY. My over all health and living a longer life is more important to me at this point and I know that I would never be able to go at this on my own. So I will be making that call monday morning to the surgeons office and see about getting the ball rolling and seeing if the insurance company will pay for a revision.

Keep your fingers crossed for me!! I'll keep you all posted!!

Jo Ann

[Amanda 0]

Just a ray of sunshine for others who have had to have their bands removed. I've managed to keep off the 20 pounds I'd lost and am now losing more thanks to the food Addicts Anonymous food plan. I think I had to get to be willing to try anything to get here. But after the excruciating pain and just as excruciating disappointment of the band fiasco, eating nothing but measured amounts of meat, fruit, and vegetables doesn't seem that bad. Better than reflux even on chicken broth! I'm glad my band is out and glad I'm healing. Still having panic attacks from all the body trauma in such a short amount of time, but these too are improving. My pitting and bruising are gone, and almost all my soreness inside and out. I'm 8 weeks after debanding. Good luck Jo Ann with whatever you decide to do. But no more WLS for me.

[NurseTeresa 0]

JoAnn I am so sorry to hear about your problems and wish you all the luck in the world with the decisions that you make. Please do some serious research as to what other form of WLS you will chose if that is the way you go. There are so many more complications with the DS then the RNY if you choose to go that way. There is more malabsorption, higher death and complication rate, among other issues. There are alot of Drs that will not even do that surgery anymore because of the complication rate. Don't get me wrong all surgeries specially WLS have their issues but the DS has more then the RNY. Including severe offensive smells from stools and when you pass gas. That is something that will never go away. I have friends that have had both done and do know that the one that had the DS done now wishes that she would have looked into the two choices better then she did. She just figured she had a larger amount of weight to loose and you tend to lose more with the DS then the RNY. So that was how she went. I am offering you all this information as a friend and someone who has seen the outcomes of both very close up. I also happen to work in a hospital where our Drs will not do the DS because of the higher mortality and complication rate. To me that says a whole lot about that particular surgery. Again, Best wishes in whatever your choice is. I will keep you in my prayers just give it to God with him all is possible.

[raazzberry 0]

Thanks Teresa and Amanda for your responses and kind words.

Teresa, I really haven't given much thought to the DS, someone had brought it up, it entered my mind and it left just as quickly!! LOL!! I don't think that I could consider a surgery that many doctors are not willing to do anymore, I totally agree with you on that. God willing,If it is supposed to be I would go with the RNY over anything else. So I'll just have to see what happens. I am leaving in Gods hands right now. I will make the phone call on Monday morning to see if my insurance will pay for the revision to the RNY and if it's supposed to be then it will happen. If not then I guess I will have to go at it alone and see what happens.

Thanks again for the advice!! It is much appreciated! Thank you for keeping me in your prayers, I can use all the help I can get right now!!

[GeezerSue 7]

JoAnn I am so sorry to hear about your problems and wish you all the luck in the world with the decisions that you make. Please do some serious research as to what other form of WLS you will chose if that is the way you go. There are so many more complications with the DS then the RNY if you choose to go that way. There is more malabsorption, higher death and complication rate, among other issues. There are alot of Drs that will not even do that surgery anymore because of the complication rate. Don't get me wrong all surgeries specially WLS have their issues but the DS has more then the RNY. Including severe offensive smells from stools and when you pass gas. That is something that will never go away. I have friends that have had both done and do know that the one that had the DS done now wishes that she would have looked into the two choices better then she did. She just figured she had a larger amount of weight to loose and you tend tolose more with the DS then the RNY. So that was how she went. I am offering you all this information as a friend and someone who has seen the outcomes of both very close up. I also happen to work in a hospital where our Drs will not do the DS because of the higher mortality and complication rate. To me that says a whole lot about that particular surgery. Again, Best wishes in whatever your choice is. I will keep you in my prayers just give it to God with him all is possible.

Here is a comparison chart which includes the complications of the various wls.

http://www.dssurgery.com/generalinformation/comparison.php

I have to take issue with some of Nurse Teresa's facts, though. For one thing, there are many doctors who think that DS should be reserved for the super MO or BMI's of 50-55 plus. In any surgery--even a tonsillectomy--super obese patients have a higher mortality rate. If we compared stats (like mortality rate) among like-BMI patients, I don't think there would be much difference at all.

Yes, the surgery is more complicated. But mine took LESS THAN two hours including band removal. That is why it is more important to me that my surgeon has done over 1000 of these procedures than how many other surgeons do it.

Yes, there is malabsorption, but THAT IS HOW WE LOSE WEIGHT. The DS works by allowing patients to eat stuff that the body does not process and absorb. Malabsorption is not some unexpected, negative side effect...it's what makes DS work.

The smells--well those stats vary. food that is not totally processed by the body WILL smell bad on its way out. A good deal of that can be controlled by diet. There are supplements, like Devrom, that some people use to eliminate odor.

I had lunch with a RnY patient friend the other day and we each had to deal with our surgeries. She had to watch out beause of dumping:

"The ‘richer’ the food, in terms of molecule size or sugar content, the more Water will rush into the small bowel to dilute it. This is referred to as ‘early dumping.’ Suddenly, the heart will pound and beat rapidly; you may feel dizzy, and overwhelmingly tired. The bowels may gurgle and churn, and will feel bloated and gassy. This might be followed by loose stools and even vomiting. It is not dangerous, but it can be frightening to the uneducated patient. ‘Late dumping’ is caused by an insulin response to the ingested food. One might feel flushed, sweaty, fatigued, and experience all the signs of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).

You can avoid early and late dumping by avoiding the foods that cause dumping. In other words: sugars, starches, fried foods, fats, and high glycemic foods. The glycemic index refers to how swiftly the sugars from the food enter the bloodstream after eating. Each person has a different tolerance, and you will discover what your personal safe foods might be throughout your post-operative life. Person A might have no problem with bananas, Person B might dump every time one is eaten, and Person C might be able to do a rare banana, only if it is a little bit green. You will learn what your own trigger foods might be. Be aware that these may change over time, as your surgical tool matures. What you tolerate in your early post-operative course you might not tolerate later, and vice versa. Every body and everybody is different!"

(source: http://tinyurl.com/mzf98 )

In my case, with the DS, I had to decide if I REALLY wanted drawn butter with the lobster. I could eat it without getting palpatations, but it would probably mean "unpleasantness" in the bathroom the next morning.

A bunch of us--band , RnY and DS--all went out beach-themed place together. The RnY people waited to taste the drinks of the DS people to see if they were too sweet and would cause dumping. At the time, I had the band (and problems) and had to skip salads and crab cakes (too much bread) and a cup of coffee AFTER lunch. Every surgery brings its own challenges. When I first joined a wls board, ALL of the ER trips for bowel obstructions and similar problems were RnY patients.

My advice is to research the surgeries. That means reading the medical literature and talking to people who HAVE HAD the surgeries and to medical professionals who HAVE PERFORMED the surgeries. Find the online groups and even in-person support groups. Good luck.

Sue

Not trying to talk anyone into a DS, but trying to make sure people hear more information from those who have made that decision.

[paula 4]

Raazzberry - Please know that you are facing something that so many of us fear will happen to us... unbanding. (Ive already responded to Lena on another thread!)

God bless~

BTW - jut wondering, have either of you logged onto the statistics thread - to join in on LBT's erosion stat's?

http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=14559

[raazzberry 0]

Hi Paula,

Yes I have already posted my stats on that board awhile back. I am really curious how all of that will turn out. Thank you so much for your support, it's really appreciated!!

Jo Ann

[nanahanna 1]

That site for comparison of different types looks to me that it was compiled by a group of doctors who are promoting the duodenal switch...thus kinda biased in my opinion against the other types of WLS.

[rachele 0]

I don't think that I could consider a surgery that many doctors are not willing to do anymore..

Hi, Jo Ann. I just wanted to clear that up real quick. It's not that the Dr's are not willing to do the DS, they are just not trained to do it. It is a more complicated surgery, and required more learning, which most surgeons are quite happy with the status Quo if they are making money with the RNY. For some people (myself included) the DS has many, many advantages over the RNY.

I'm not trying to sell you my surgery, I just wanted to say before you decide please do some research on the pros and cons of both, RNY and the DS. The DS still has the highest rate of EWL and the lowest rate of regain. I don't regret revising from the band to the DS, not for a minute.

Good luck, and I'm very sorry about your band. I know how it feels, I've been there.

Rachele

[GeezerSue 7]

That site for comparison of different types looks to me that it was compiled by a group of doctors who are promoting the duodenal switch...thus kinda biased in my opinion against the other types of WLS.

It IS on the site of a surgeon who does the DS. But the cites (at the bottom) are from published, peer-reviewed literature.

[raazzberry 0]

Rachele,

Thanks a bunch for clearing that up for me!! I didnt think you were trying to sell me your surgery at all, just trying to make me aware that I have other options and I have been looking at the differences between both. I appreciate your advice!!!

Thanks!!

[nanahanna 1]

GeezerSue, I didn't see that. Thanks!