Marie Louise Hoefer

Hi ladies,
I had the DS on 9/22/2014 at Barker. Dr. Hodges did my surgery as well. My starting weight was 405, my highest was 415, on day of surgery my weight was 385. I am now down to 299 and it's been just over 4 months. I'm currently at a steady stall, but I'm not focusing on that. From what I've read, you have your first rapid weight loss during the first 3 months, then may taper off between 3 and 6 months, then may see more weight loss around months 6-9.. but of course everyone is different and if you add exercise you lose more. I had my fair share of complications, but not from the surgery itself, but from how my body reacted. I'm on the mend now and doing better.

I had the biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (bpd/ds) on September 22, 2014. The next day I was discharged, and was given the option to walk out or be wheeled out. I chose to walk out, unfortunately this was a bad idea. Apparently one of the kitchen workers spilt Water on the floor of the lobby, but didn't put any sign out to warn people. So when I was walking through the lobby, I happened to step in it. I slipped, my left leg twisting to the left and pulling under me as I fell backwards. Thankfully this incident didn't affect my surgery, but it haulted any additional walking for excersize for a very long time. The fall I think in creased the pain in my left side, that took at least a month to go away.
Two weeks after surgery I developed an issue in my stomach, where I was vomiting 4-5 times a day for no reason. I wasn't nausious, and it wasn't due to food. I have pretty bad allergies, and misunderstood the consumption of pills, and thought I had to stop taking all pills that I was taking before surgery. So I had a bad case of post-nasul drip, which was draining into my stomach. Though I attempted to drink my Protein shakes, or take my Vitamins, I would just start to throw up, and so the idea of eating was a put off, and I just stopped. I wasn't able to get my fluids in as I should, because the moment I introduced any liquid in my stomach, it stired up what ever mucus was in there and caused me to throw up. I spent most of my time in bed, where laying on my side or sleeping was when I didn't feel the most crappy.
This went on for about two and a half months. My vision started to get bad, I was seeing double, and my head was dizzy, light and it was like I was intoxicated. I couldn't walk straight, it felt like my legs would just buckle under me, so I had to always hold on to someone when I was walking. Around Thanksgiving my stomach finally settled down, and I was able to eat the first solid things, turkey, ham, mash and gravy. I didn't eat a lot but it was a nice chage. I only threw up one more time, and that was after taking a sip or two from OJ. Due to the excessive citrus in the concentrated OJ isn't agreeable with my stomach, so I avoid it like the plague now.
I attempted to return to work on December 4th after only working two days in November, but went home ill, and was still living my life in bed till December 9th, when I had an incident tat caused me to finally kick myself in the ass and go to the ER, Pretty much was severly dehydrated, my urine was copper, and my Vitamin and food levels were extremely low. I was admitted that night, and hooked up to a "banana Bag", liquid vitamins. I was also hooked up to an IV to get the fluids. By the next day, my head didn't feel so light, and drunk and I was able to walk on my own while holding on to the IV cart thing I was hooked up to. I learned how to use crutches to go up and down stairs.
I was discharged on the 11th and went home to recover more. I was able to eat, start taking my Vitamins and get my Water in. Since then it's been one day at a time and my legs are getting stronger and stronger. My eyes are nearly back to normal, and I'm working hard to ensure that I get my vitamins in like i'm supposed to. I'm back to work, and now I'm struggling with getting burnt out on water and Protein Shakes. So I'm working on finding ways to keep it interesting and with variety. Needless to say, I will not procrastinate or be stubborn about my health since this incident. Now I know the symptoms of dehydration, and what to look out for, in the event that I fall off the tracks again.

Hello,
I had my DS four months ago, and had issues the first two and a half months also. Mine was due to drainage from my nose, I wasn't able to eat, take my Vitamins or get enough Water down. I had physical things happen because of it, and finally around Thanksgiving I was able to start eating, but I was still not able to get myself back on track. In December I finally went to the hospital and was admitted, hooked up to an IV and had Vitamin bags pumped into me, along with fluids. Been almost two months since that and I'm doing good with my Vitamins, and regular food. I'm struggling with the Protein shakes now, so when I get the funds I'm going to go to the Vitamin Shoppe and check out their alternatives. I'm trying to stay focused when it comes to Water, I've been drinking a lot of juice and coffee lately, and forgetting the 64oz of water I need each day. I've been able to eat things that I guess are uncommon so early one, like Pasta, bread and rice. I can also eat like pringles and other chips, but I don't eat them in large quantities. Everything that is not Protein I eat in small quantities just so that I don't cause myself discomfort. As my ticker says I've lost just over 100 lbs since my starting weight, and 86 since my surgery. I've kinda stalled right now, I'm not losing weight as fast as I started, but I don't focus on that because I know that it's only temporary. I just try to focus on one day at a time, and make sure that I meet my goals for each day. Good luck to you !