New Surgeon Consult - SADI DS?

[David in Washington 17]

My original surgeon left the state unexpectedly so I had a consult with a new one today. I'm down to the point of choosing which surgery I want and I had settled on RNY. This new surgeon brought up SADI DS which he said solves issues the old DS caused, i.e. less malabsorbtion and less GERD than the sleeve alone (something to do with how they deal with the pyloric sphincter). He said the advantages over bypass are less chance of ulcers, increased weight loss and better control of serious type 2 diabetes (which I have).

I hadn't considered ulcers in my research so I would like to ask if others with RNY have had issues with these and/or have noticed this being a serious issue in your own research. I did a search here and there are almost 1K mentions in the RNY forum. I would also be interested in hearing from those who had this particular DS procedure (I think it is the most common DS version now?) and developed GERD after, and any other issues with DS in general.

I'm still inclined to get the RNY but want to keep an open mind at this point. Malabsorbtion is an issue for me as I do take a number of medications that I will continue even with weight loss. Thanks for any input. I really want to get past the decisions and get this done!

[NovaLuna 710]

I had the Loop DS/Sadi-S surgery. I actually take less Vitamins then the average person for my surgery... I take 1 Multivitamin with Iron and 1 (one a day) multivitamin without iron, two calcium citrate, and every other day 1 Vitamin A. If you do for some reason decide to have the Loop DS/Sadi-S I recommend a probiotic every day (it helps your stomach so much and I swear by them). Either surgery has malabsorption and what they don't tell you is that ANY surgery with malabsorption (RNY, DS, Loop DS) has a 3% chance of giving you either a wheat allergy or full on Celiac Disease. I have terrible luck and ended up with the wheat allergy, but honestly? It's been a blessing in disguise as I quite literally can't eat fast food and any restaurants I go to are very, very, VERY limited because they have to full on either be a gluten free restaurant, Celiac friendly, or a restaurant that deals very carefully with food allergies. I have two conditions that cause acid reflux issues (not GERD. One is an autoimmune disorder and the other is an immunological condition) and my acid issues were actually improved for a good two years before going basically back to normal (no better or worse).

I recommend going with your gut. If you've decided on RNY then go for it. It's YOUR body and YOUR choice in the end. You are the one that has to live your life, not your doctor so go with whatever choice makes you happiest.

[catwoman7 10,874]

all surgeries have their pros and cons, so I know it's hard to decide. You brought up some good advantages and disadvantages of both.

one other thing to possibly consider is that most doctors (not just bariatric surgeons) are familiar with both RNY and sleeve, but not with DS (and it's variations), since those aren't very common - if that makes a difference to you.

[David in Washington 17]

15 hours ago, NovaLuna said:

I recommend going with your gut. If you've decided on RNY then go for it. It's YOUR body and YOUR choice in the end. You are the one that has to live your life, not your doctor so go with whatever choice makes you happiest.

I agree with this. My head has been swirling with all the things I've read and experiences shared on this forum. It is a lot to take in. I think what makes this decision harder is that, unlike other surgeries I've had, it isn't quite like a doctor saying this is wrong with you and here is what needs to be done to fix it. This feels more like a choice when I'm deciding to have my insides rearranged (and by which method) and all that goes with it. This makes me feel like it's all on me, which I guess it mostly is.

There is also always the little voice that says I might be able to do this without surgery. I'm smart enough to know that this would have worked long ago if I could do it, but it's still part of the mix. Thanks for your comments. You seem to have done very well with your own weight loss. I'm glad your DS worked for you.

[David in Washington 17]

13 hours ago, catwoman7 said:

all surgeries have their pros and cons, so I know it's hard to decide. You brought up some good advantages and disadvantages of both.

one other thing to possibly consider is that most doctors (not just bariatric surgeons) are familiar with both RNY and sleeve, but not with DS (and it's variations), since those aren't very common - if that makes a difference to you.

I was surprised when he brought up the DS. My previous surgeon hadn't. I was having enough trouble deciding between the GS and RNY, and now this. I'm still leaning strongly towards the RNY. And congrats on your weight loss as well! It's good to see people successfully on the other side of this experience.