Bon Bon Jovi

Thanks for the thoughtful responses. I've decided to go ahead with the ds. I think. Maybe. Lol. Best case scenario i still have another month before i will have the surgery, so Ive still got time to change my mind.

My pre op weight loss has stalled a bit. I was 306 (down from 338) when I started this thread. I'm 299-301 for the last week or so. So only about 6 pounds in the last month. Not great, but better than gaining. I've been having quite a few food funerals, so I'm not completely surprised. Regardless, I still need to lose about 130 pounds to get to my fightin weight. That's a lot of weight to lose. And yeah, I might be able to do it with just the sleeve, but statistically, i think my chances are better with the ds. Everyone I've asked that has had the ds says it was the best decision theyve ever made. Hopefully I will be among them soon.

First off, please know that you are not alone. There are SO many of us struggling with health issues that are related to weight.

If you are struggling with the idea of weight loss surgery, think of it this way: Obviously everyone is different but being overweight is not good for your health, a fact that I am sure you are well aware of. THE most effective way to lose a large amount of weight, by far, is weight loss surgery. So, if you have the opportunity to do something for yourself that will dramatically increase your chances of losing weight and being healthier, don't you owe it to yourself to take advantage of that opportunity?

Listen to your doctor and follow his/her advice to the letter and you WILL get healthier and feel better. It's almost guaranteed.

1 hour ago, The Greater Fool said:

This is an Interesting question. Makes me wonder the motivation behind it.

Good luck.

Tek

The motivation is curiosity.

Hope you are all doing well and staying healthy.

For those who had to quit in order to have surgery: what kind of testing did they do to make sure you quit tobacco?

8 hours ago, Postop said:

It's very personal to each individual. For instance, I have to take a good deal of zinc (and then copper to balance it out) bc I had terrible itching, colds that wouldn't leave, etc. Not everyone has malabsorption in that area, but I do.

Strivingforbetter is very fortunate. Many DSers I know can't take ADEK after the first year or so. It's just not enough. They have to separate A,D,E,K into separate pills. As Strivingforbetter references, it's all based on your bloods. 😎

Looking at your title again, yes, the DS is a drastic surgery. Probably the most in the WLS arsenal.

I guess it's a bit of a gamble that I really need to think long and hard about. I feel like I'm really rolling the dice with this surgery.

You have been very helpful! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences. It's more valuable than you know!!

48 minutes ago, Strivingforbetter said:

I had the DS and take 3 Vitamins a day,(calcium, ADEK, B12), and my blood panel is great. I'm three years post-op and have only regained 5 pounds. I've never been able to control my weight and not feel deprived, but the DS has solved that problem. My BMI was only 40 when I had my surgery.

That is VERY encouraging. I could definitely handle that. It's the 40 Vitamins a day stuff that terrifies me.

10 hours ago, Postop said:

I'd be curious who your doctor is and whether he is recommending the traditional DS or the modified one that is more commonly done today.

I was smaller than you 15+ years ago when I had the traditional DS. A couple of doctors didn't feel I needed it. After doing the research and a lot of thought, I believed it was best for me. But it's a very personal decision. One factor in my decision making process was I wanted a procedure that was known for letting you lose the most weight and have the greatest chance to keep it off. I have done that. However, there are negatives you learn to deal with. Such as when to eat junk and/or complex carbs. I don't eat either in public or during the day. Those are done at night so if I have gas or stool I can deal with it at home.

What I appreciate is I eat every couple of hours. As a binge eater, this appealed to me. I eat Protein (as much as I want). For a snack I'll have a triple cheeseburger with catsup. I don't eat the bun bc: 1. I always have to get in my Protein first and the bun is too filling; and 2. I wouldn't eat those carbs unless I was at home. What I like about being able to eat much and often is I don't feel deprived. I constantly snack on cheese, nuts, cold cuts, Peanut Butter, etc. There is no counting calories w/the DS. Only protein grams (I average 125-150 day) and complex carb grams. That is what was and is important to me. but everyone has their own deal breakers of what they can't live with or live without.

It took 2 years postop for me to decide the DS had been right for me. I didn't want WLS, I wanted to do it on my own but I finally realized I couldn't. I stumbled onto the DS at the end of 2004, when I was going to seminars at different hospitals in Manhattan. I'd never heard of it, but realized if I had to have WLS this was the one I felt would work the best for me in the long term.

I do take 40+ vits/minerals day and have my bloods done every 6 mos. Some doctors require them done yearly. It depends on the doctor. Often after the bloods are done, I have to tweak my vits/mineral intake up or down. I've never missed a day of supplements as this is something you must commit to for the rest of your life if you have a DS.

I'd suggest a Pros/Cons list to figure out which (if any) of the WLS is the best for you. I found it very helpful when making my decision.

He just called it the duodenal switch. He didnt say anything about it being traditional or modified.

How much do you spend monthly on Vitamins? 40 vitamins a day for life seems crazy! That has to cost a small fortune!

On 9/13/2020 at 4:36 AM, summerset said:

While this is true I hope he didn't stay silent on the possible negative side effects. There is no need for scaremongering but the more drastic the procedure, the more drastic the possible side-effects.

Over on the "Obesity Help" board there are way more DS patients than on this board, most of them raving about how good the procedure is. However, even these patients are admitting that quite a few of them have to still watch what they eat.

I'm not sure if I got this right. Is it correct that your surgeon seems to think that it's unrealistic that you're going to lose 160 lbs?

That's how I took it. He was kind of confusing, so it's possible I misunderstood. He asked what I hoped to get out of the surgery. So I told him that I felt like if the surgery could help me to get down to a healthy weight, I could reach my goal weight and maintain it through healthier food and exercise habits. Seemed like a realistic expectation to me, but he immediately cut me off and started lecturing me on the concept of one's body having a set weight that it tries to stay at and that since I'm overweight, my set weight is higher than it used to be, and the surgery just helps change that set weight. Of course this is my understanding of what he said and may not be accurate. It seemed to me from the way he was talking that he believed my expectations of what surgery would achieve were not realistic.

1 hour ago, AZhiker said:

Sure seems like overkill to me. I was offered a sleeve or bypass, and we decided bypass was the best option because of my GERD. There are absorption issues with bypass and a lot more with DS. Most people lose all the weight they need with the sleeve or bypass. What is the actual reason your surgeon wants you to have DS? There needs to be some solid rationale for this. If you feel something is fishy or his motives are simple financial, please find someone else. You need to fully trust that your surgeon has your best interests in mind - not just his own.

He didnt really give a specific reason, he just said that the ds will result in the highest percentage of excess weight loss.

I am starting to have some "comorbidities" that are creeping in. Nothing crazy, but enough to convince that I better change some habits or I'm not going live to see my son grow up.

I assume those comorbidities are the reason he is saying that I should have the ds, but wouldnt other procedures also address those problems? I mean, my problem is that I weighed 330 pounds, when I should weigh around 170 pounds. When I was 170 pounds, I didnt have any of these problems. So it seems to me that if I get back down to 170, then that will fix things.

Is 160 pounds of total weight loss just an unrealistic goal with other options? I dont know the answer to that question. My surgeon definitely seems to think so.

Hi everyone,

Just curious to hear what you all think: I'm on track to have my surgery in November. My starting weight in July was 338. This morning I was 306 (yay!) So I've lost a significant amount of weight already. I'm 5'9", so I definitely need to lose weight, and a lot of it.

But it does kind of seem like the place I chose is "selling" me on the duodenal switch a little bit hard. Maybe its because they know what I dont, but there's also part of me that thinks maybe it is too drastic and I'm being sold a more expensive procedure. I had never heard of the ds surgery before talking to the surgeon, so I was just thinking all wl surgery is the same. But it's clearly not, nor is the cost.

My family doctor seemed very surprised, almost shocked that the surgeon would advise any kind of surgery, especially a ds. But, then again, she is typically very conservative in treating anything.

Anyway, curious to hear what you all think. Have any of you had the same dilemma running through your mind?

Great job man. Happy for you. How have you been feeling?

1 minute ago, Addicted said:

I saw the surgeon in December of 2018. There are requirements I had to meet like weight tracking, approval of primary care doctor, psychiatric approval, classes and appointments with a dietician. My surgery was finally scheduled for April of 2019. Then I got Bacterial Pneumonia and Sepsis most likely due to aspirating food caused by my upper respiratory blockage. So I spent 3 weeks in an induced coma in intensive care, 1 week in transition in the hospital and 3 weeks in rehab. My primary care doctor wouldn't approve me for surgery until after a year. I was scheduled for June of 2020 but then COVID hit and surgeries were cancelled. I was again scheduled for July 6th, my birthday and I made the mistake of continuing hormone replacement therapy so I had to stop it and wait another month. I finally had my surgery on August 3rd. No regrets.

Just thought you guys would get a chuckle out of my journey.

Damn... Thats some bad luck. Good on ya for staying the course. Glad to hear you were finally able to get it done!

Just now, Kaycie said:

Gastric Bypass.

Cool. Its gonna be awesome. Congrats!

12 minutes ago, Kaycie said:

3 weeks!
I was called on 8/19 and my surgery is 9/10.

Awesome! Which procedure are you having?

On 8/26/2020 at 8:00 PM, Jeff 77 said:

Submitted for approval last week and was approved today, surgery is Monday August 31!! To be honest the surgeon had it scheduled before paper work was ever submitted. It’s all happening so fast I’m pretty nervous.

I bet you are excited. Congratulations!

Thank you all for the replies. Apparently my insurance requires a 90 day waiting period. I am about halfway there. I've already met my deductible for this year so I was a little worried about getting this done before the end of the year. Sounds like it shouldnt be too much of a problem.

Best of luck to you all. Thanks again for your responses!

Hi everyone,

How much time was there between the day you got insurance approval to your actual surgery date?