About Me...

Hi. My name is Amy Yowell. I am 31 years old and was born in August of 1971. I was only 6 pounds 9 1/2 ounces. Boy, that was a long time ago. My father died when I was just 10 years old of cancer, and since then I have gained and gained to what I am now. A very unhapppy morbidly obese woman with two young children.

I had never really considered having surgery to lose weight. One of my friends, whose pictures are on this site had WLS (Weight Loss Surgery). She had the RNY (Roux-En-Y) procedure. This is a very good procedure and is currently considered the "Gold Standard" of all Weight Loss Surgeries. However, some of the side effects that come along witht the RNY are not for me. The main of which is the Dumping Syndrome. This is where food (mostly sweet)travels too fast from the stomach to the intestines causing a reaction. This reaction can be anything from sweats, dry mouth, dizziness, heart palpatations to passing out. Not everyone has it and it does not mean that you will have it or in what degree of severity it will be, but this worries me. Another reason that I did not chose the RNY, is because of the lack of Iron Absorption. I have always been amemic and this could just make me worse. Don't get me wrong, for a LOT of people this is the surgery of choice, just not for me.

To tell you about the surgery that I have chosen. The Duodenal Switch. This surgery keeps the Pyloric Valve (the valve that regulates the release of food from your stomach to the intestines) in tact, therefore eliminating the dumping syndrome. It also keeps some of the duodenum (the area of intestines directly after the Pylorus), which helps in absorbing Iron, B vitamins and other nutrients. You still have to take Multivitamins, and possibly others, even more than you do with the RNY. There are also issues of diarrhea. This ususally comes from eating things with too much fat in them. You can't absorb fat like before, so your body gets rid of it and causes diarrhea.

You will also be required to take several Pre-Op tests. The tests that you will be required to do depend on you and your doctor. Most everyone that I have talked to have done most of the same tests. Here are a list of the ones that I am going to have to do before surgery.

EKG

Chest X-Ray

Polysomnography w/C-Pap Titrations

Ultrasound of Gallbladder

EGD

Psychiatric Clearance

Numerous Blood Tests

You can find out more about the side effects by visiting the Duodenal Switch Information Zone. You can also find surgeons that preform this procedure, since at this time it is more uncommon than the RNY or other surgeries. You can also find out more about the different types of surgeries at Obesityhelp.com. There you can find surgeons, get insurance information, find others that are at the same stages of Weight Loss Surgery, and more. You can also talk to people that have had or are having the DS, with the Doctor that I am seeing (Dr. Hazem Elariny **GREAT DOCTOR**) at Yahoo Groups DS_Elariny.

Disclaimer: All information provided by this web site is the opinion of ME and is not meant for medical advice. For more information, please check the Web Page Links and/or with YOUR Doctor. Not everyone is a candidate for WLS. You have to chose the procedure that is right for you, for whatever reasons you see fit. I am just giving you my opinions and experience and hoping to be as helpful to someone else as everyone that I have come into contact with has to been to me. Thank you, Amy Y