Hey folks,

She probably won't be here for a few days, but Rachele is having a LapBand-to-DS Revison today.

She did great with the band at first, but then had complications. She tried to make it all work, but decided that enough was enough and that it was time to move on.

For those who are not aware, the DS is the most extensive of the usually performed weight loss surgeries, but has much greater success rates than the others. (Yin and Yang and all that.) The surgery itself requires a much more experienced surgeon and there are not really many DS surgeons in the country.

When she is finished with the surgery, there is a long recovery period, with rapid initial weight loss...about 30% of excess weight is gone in the first couple of months, and by six months post-op, it's closer to 50% of excess weight loss. There are lifelong malabsorption issues and routine labs must be done and Vitamins and supplements MUST be taken religiously.

The payoff is about a 75-80% excess weight loss, maintained over five to ten years post-op (maybe longer) and a 99% cure rate for type II diabetes. More info is available here:

http://duodenalswitch.com/

Anyway, you can see Rachele's before and after LapBand photos in her profile and, if you are so inclined, I think you can send a PM or something through there as well.

Sue

Hi Sue

I wish Rachele the best of luck. I was wondering how much did you guys lose with the band? Did you have troubles finding restriction? Im hoping I am not asking too many personal questions I was just wondering what the reason was the band didnt work for either of you.

I agree letting people know the possibilities of what could happen with the band, even though I read all the stories when I was researching and the small amount of complications was not enough for me not to give it a try.

Good Luck to both of you

I knew the stats that were available at the time and made the same decision. One of the important points for me was that the band could be removed. I don't want to go over all my problems again...but here's a link to that discussion:

http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=10829&highlight=pending

You have the right to disagree. But if you have a surgery that is supposed to correct a problem and it doesn't and you die from the uncorrected problem...

...then you have died from the uncorrected problem, not the treatment. There's just no logic in adding those deaths in with the treatment's mortality rate.

In case you need to hear it, Sue, I think it's wonderful that you are posting this information and sharing your story. Please don't go away. It is absolutely true that banding won't work for everyone, and knowing the potential pitfalls and what the options may be down the road is CRUCIAL to making an informed decision. Thank you once again for sticking around. :)

I got the 60% off the internet, as as I search again I see numbers ranging from 60%-85%, again no clear answers here. If I were you I would believe the 85% - I think one should think the best of thier surgery.

Sue,

((hugs)) huge hugs to Rachele and many thoughts and prayers for a well deserved recovery!

I asked you this question on another thread...

what made you decide on the DS as your second choice (instead of another WLS)?

Paula,

A partial x-post from OH...

Nutshell version of things that matter to me:

RnY--your stomach is (immediately post-op) two teaspoons; you can take bites that are actually bigger than your entire stomach; the MAIN mechanism which causes weight loss is just very little food; two years out, when the stomach has stretched, you are mostly on your own. Mortality rate is about 1/200; average excess weight loss is about 60%.

DS--your stomach is (immediately post-op) about 4-6 ounces; you can eat normal size bites of food; the main mechanism that causes weigh loss is malabsorption; two years out when the stomach has stretched, the malabsorption continues. Mortality rate is about 1/100 (but the majority of DS patients are Super MO or VERY Super MO and they are high risk at ANY procedure); average excess weight loss is about 75%.

There are more reasons, but these are what attracted me. I hang out--in 3-D--with people who have had RnY and DS. At one gathering, some outsider/guest asked, "Well, how can I tell who had the DS?" I heard my mouthy self saying, "Easy...they're all those skinny b!tches." Lightbulb moment. And when we go out to eat, the DS'ers order what they want and the RnY people wait and TASTE what the DS'ers ordered to see if it's too sweet. (Some DS'ers might pay later on with bathroom issues, but the ones I know have few/no problems in that venue.)

I wonder if DS has a high weight regain like GB. The longer GB has been around, the more people are gaining the weight back b/c of stretching thier stomachs out.

We can just disappear, so as not to burst anyone's bubble...or show some courage in continuing to OPENLY fight the demon we all share. Many of us got the band because we did not want RnY. If/when the band fails, it is nice to know that there are other options.

Please Sue do NOT go away and thanks for all your information.

I wonder if DS has a high weight regain like GB. The longer GB has been around, the more people are gaining the weight back b/c of stretching thier stomachs out.

This is long, but I have taken the liberty of taking it off of a DS support board...I hope Melanie, the author, doesn't mind;

This surgery does soooo much for us. But it doesn't make us 100% immune to weight gain. I honestly don't believe that I will ever see 300 pounds again, or anything close to it. However, these darn bodies of ours are amazingly adaptable, and the sad truth is that even with 60% of our guts out of the food path, our bodies can eventually find a way to gain weight again.

It's a bummer. All of us who have undergone WLS of any sort are very brave souls. We deserve to have this weight come off and stay off!

I don't think the DS is a "tool". The DS procedure changes our metabolism in a fundamental way that results in a much lower "set point" than we previously had. That is a miracle in itself.

For RNY folks, perhaps they can accurately call their tiny stomach pouch a "tool", since they need to follow a list of rules to keep it working for them long-term. And if their tool breaks (eg. staple line failure or excess stoma dilation), the weight can come back with a vengeance.

But I don't think any similar logic applies to us DSers after our weight has stabilized and we are looking at living with this lifelong. There's nothing that we can break. We can certainly test our limits though, and lord knows that I have! It isn't limitless -- we can put on some pounds. But it's a whole different ballgame than when we were morbidly obese. Unlike before, we can make a few simple changes and see a happy result. Before my DS, I had to go into such utter deprivation to lose any weight that I eventually threw up my hands and said "I give". Now, I can cut out sugars for a week, and the scale drops. It's just a different playing field now. A fairer one. And fair goes both ways -- we can't throw moderation out the window and expect to maintain the status quo. But if we do the right things, we will be rewarded more than ever before the DS. Our margin for error is much better now, and we can get away with more than we could before the DS, but even freedom has limits.

As DS "lifers", we have the same "tool" that any never-operated person has within them: we have the ability (not always the willingness, however) to self-impose dietary limits. If we do a good job with that, we will be rewarded with some weight loss. We have the ability (not always the willingness, however) to self-impose some daily physical exertion. If we do a good job with that, we will be rewarded with a body that is more toned, a healthier heart and lungs and bones, and perhaps a bit of weight loss. Those are the extent of our tools.

I'm basically a lazy person, so I hate using those tools. As DSers, the most potent thing we can do to affect our weight is to cut out simple sugars. My surgeon's clinical coordinator, Barb Metcalf, who has followed some 1500 DS post-ops over the past 11 years, says that "sugar is the control for our weight". She has related stories of long-term DSers who dropped a 10-20 or more pounds very fast simply by cutting out all sugars for a month or so.

I love sugar! When I get on a roll, I can easily find myself enjoying dessert after every meal of the day. It's a hard habit to break. But it can be done. I find that if I can tough it out for 3 days or so without grabbing the sweet stuff, it then becomes much less difficult to maintain the sugar avoidance.

Bottom line: I'm just like my mom now. She never had WLS, but she has battled the same 20 pounds for her entire adult life. She diets down to 160 or so, then gradually regains to 180 or so, then goes into diet mode for awhile, and around and around we go. It isn't fun. I think that's the boat I am in now, but I remain grateful to be looking at 20 pounds and not 120.

So, no, the DS isn't an immunity shield against any and all weight gain. I think it simply makes us like any other shlub out there who has to diet once or twice a year to keep things on and even keel.

Lest I be misunderstood, let me state emphatically that the DS is the best option currently available in weight loss surgery. Dr. Hess has results with patients out to ten years and beyond, keeping upwards of 75% of their weight off. That is astonishingly good! Paclap's results are unparalleled as well. No other WLS comes close to the DS, not only in results but in quality of life. I feel certain that if I had chosen any other procedure, I'd be sitting here today with a bunch of regain and a ton of regrets. I don't do well with pain or deprivation, and the DS has spared me all of that.

I "bolded" the prt that most impacted me.