BDL58

My surgery (6/1/21) was robotic laparoscopic duodenal switch. Everything went very well. I had minimal pain post op, no complications. I’ve since lost 147 pounds and feel AMAZING! Best wishes!

My son brought me a t-shirt home from a concert…it was a woman’s style (i.e. fitted) size medium…it looked TINY compared to the 3XLs I used to wear. I looked at it and said “no way is that going to fit me!” But my husband said he thought it would so I decided to show him…OMG! IT FIT!!! Wow! My husband and son both laughed and said “your eyes haven’t caught up with your reality yet!” So true…body dysmorphia is real.

Amazing transformation! One thing you said really hit home for me:

it gave me the help for the work I wanted to be able to do.

That’s exactly the way I feel about the surgery (DS) that I had 6/1/21. So far I’m down 98 pounds (lost 18 pre-op) with another 75 to go to my goal. I feel AMAZING! Congratulations! You are such an inspiration! Thank you for sharing!

How is everyone doing? I had the DS June 1st. I’ve lost 52 lbs since the surgery…70 total counting the 18 I lost on the preop diet. I feel wonderful! Starting to get some of the Hair loss now but so far it’s not too bad, just annoying getting hairs wrapped around my fingers in the shower! Lol!

Wow! Congratulations! You are an inspiration for sure!!

I’ve lost 58 lbs from my preop weight (40 pounds since surgery 6/1) it’s a slow but steady downward trend and I’m happy with it. My clothes are definitely baggier/ looser. I put drawstrings in my scrub pants for work because I don’t want to buy new scrubs just yet. Got the kit on Amazon…easy to do.

I’m glad you are planning to see a cardiologist and a vascular doctor. Peripheral arterial disease or peripheral vascular disease cause leg pain and can increase the risk of heart disease. I wish you all the best and hope you get an answer for the problem. It’s terrible to be in pain so much!!

Gorgeous! Great job!

My husband is disabled by severe heart disease and couldn’t take me for my DS or pick me up afterwards. A friend/coworker (who had the DS 6 years ago) took me to the hospital and dropped me off and my sister in law picked me up when I was discharged.

Do you have any friends or family members that are nurses that would remove them for you? I’ve removed stitches for a relative before. I’m a nurse and have removed stitches from many patients over the years.

I loved the Premier Protein shakes but unfortunately have become lactose intolerant after my DS on 6/1/21 so had to switch to Fairlife Shakes…no big deal since I like them but a bit annoying since Premier has so many more flavors.

I also meant to say that I also put off WLS for years because I had taken care of patients in the ICU that died due to complications (mostly leaks) after gastric bypass surgery and it scared me badly. Fortunately techniques have changed and improved over the years and surgical complication rates are MUCH lower so after much research and consultation with friends and coworkers who had WLS I decided the time was NOW. Plus the fact my insurance now covered WLS without requiring $3000+ up front any more convinced me it was time to go for it. Still early days but I’m convinced it was the best decision I could have made to improve my health and take back my life!

I had the DS 6/1/21 and am so happy my surgeon recommended it! It has definitely improved my life and health! I’m still early in this journey but down over 50 lbs from preop ( 35 of those since surgery!) and it feels great! I too am a nurse and walking those hospital hallways carrying 50 lbs less (so far) is sooo much easier now! I already walk farther, faster and have a spring in my step I haven’t had for years, and I’m 63 years old! Congratulations on all you have achieved! You are doing an amazing job!

Wow!!!!!

Awesome! You’ve done a great job! I love looking at before and after photos…very inspiring!

I had the DS 6/1/21. I’m 63 and still working as an Administrative Nursing Supervisor. I’ve lost 54 pounds so far … 35 of that since the surgery … and I feel so much healthier now! My knees and ankles haven’t felt this good in years! I track everything I eat, making sure to get the recommended 80-100 grams of Protein daily and take my daily Vitamins. I still struggle to get the recommended 64 oz of fluids but I’m improving on that every day and get close if not meet that daily goal. Best wishes to each of you!

I would definitely make sure your hematologist becomes a part of your surgical team to ensure your safety and prevent clotting issues. He can provide guidance to you and your WLD team. My husband has Factor 5 Leiden which was diagnosed after he developed extensive bilateral pulmonary emboli (blood clots in his lungs), found he had bilateral clots in both legs (no symptoms at all) while in hospital recovering from a heart attack. I insisted on a hematology consult because he was receiving heparin shots twice daily and was on daily aspirin and Brilinta (given after cardiac stent placement to keep platelets from clogging the new stent causing another heart attack) and should not have been making clots! Hematologist did the necessary tests and found the factor 5 Leiden. It’s an inherited disorder so now his mom’s death made more sense…she died due to extensive bilateral pulmonary emboli. We had our son tested and he has it as well. So far, he’s had no clotting issues we know of. However, he definitely needs to lose weight and will need weight loss surgery, I’m sure. I’m concerned about how he will do as well. My husband takes Eliquis twice daily and does quite well. He does not do well with heparin…drops his platelet count AND still developed DVT/blood clot in his leg! After my DS I received heparin injections twice daily but was discharged home on low dose Eliquis twice daily for two weeks. Sorry for the long post! Best wishes to you!

I am a night shift nursing supervisor. Job is crazy stressful! I had the DS 6/1/21 and took 6 weeks off work which worked out great for me. Returned to work 7/14 right into the start of a new covid surge! Ugh! I prepare/pack any food I’m going to eat during the shift. I’ll set an alarm to remind me to eat and/or drink as needed during the shift. It is difficult but doable. I round throughout the hospital every 2-3 hours, assign beds to patients, respond to any in-house emergencies, any codes in the ER or.in-house. Also meet with any patients or family members that have any issues or concerns and try to help them any way possible. So setting a reminder alarm really comes in handy so that I meet my hydration needs especially. Luckily, one of my coworkers had the DS about 6 years ago and she shared tips that really helped me out.

I had the DS on 6/1/21. Once I was allowed solid foods I was still advised to avoid foods like Pasta, rice and bread. They did say I could have toasted bread and small servings of crackers. I do notice an uncomfortable full feeling when I do eat even toasted bread…like it just doesn’t want to go down well. I do tolerate 5-seed multigrain crackers well. They go real well with hummus! Makes a great snack once a day.

Best wishes to you! I too “lurked” awhile preop. I am 5 weeks post DS and what I’ve learned from this site both before surgery and am still learning post op has been and still is invaluable!

I was on protonix for years prior to surgery due to recurrent gastric ulcers. My surgeon requires his patients to take Pepcid Complete chewables twice daily for 6 months post op. He uses this to assist with healing. So far I have not restarted the protonix and I hope to not have to restart them. My ulcers were related to NSAID use for joint pain though I quit NSAIDS over 1 year ago now. EGD preop showed the ulcers were all gone. My joints are already feeling better with the 23 lbs I’ve lost since surgery (41 lbs total counting what I lost during the months prior to surgery) so any joint pains have easily been relieved by Tylenol. My husband has also been on protonix for years as a preventative therapy because he is on multiple daily meds for severe heart disease/heart failure and a genetic clotting disorder which requires him to take daily anticoagulants (“blood thinners”) … he suffered a GI bleed a couple of years ago and the GI Doc found multiple (> 40!) stomach polyps and 15 of them had to be biopsied and cauterized to stop the bleeding… the polyps were secondary to the proton pump inhibitors! I’m a nurse and was really surprised to find that PPIs can actually cause polyps in some people… like my hubby! Bless his heart, he never does anything halfway! But after all he went though, I’m in no hurry to go back on Protonix any time soon…UNLESS I truly have to because of a recurrent ulcer.

I’m 5 weeks post DS and so far have lost 23 lbs post op with the common 1 week stall at the 3 week post op point. I’m on soft foods now and my Nutritionist only wants me using 1 shake daily IF needed to get my Protein requirement. So far that’s not been too difficult. Since I’ve had the DS my daily protein requirement is a minimum of 80 to 100 grams per day. I weigh/measure/document everything because my minds eye tends to see portion sizes much smaller than they are in reality and I’m still learning to use this tool I’ve chosen. I do use some of the BariWise products because of the low sugar/high protein in them. I like having oatmeal for breakfast sometimes (like today…rainy and messy outside seemed like a good day for a bowl of oatmeal!) but instead of making it with Water like the directions called for, I substituted 1/2 cup of Fairlife 1% lactose free milk. This makes it taste much better (IMO) and adds extra protein so instead of 15 grams Protein using the Fairlife brought the protein grams up to 21 grams. I’m learning day by day. Best wishes!

My surgeon allows 2 caffeinated beverages per day. I used to drink a LOT of coffee every day plus I work 12- hour night shifts 3 nights per week… I start back at work on July 14th so it will be interesting doing so without my usual amount of coffee. I have only been drinking 1 cup of coffee per day since surgery. It hasn’t been a big deal so I’m optimistic every thing will be fine when I get back to work.

OMG, I am so sorry to hear of your loss! Please be assured and know you and your family are in my heart, my prayers and my thoughts!

My surgeon has his patients do the Multivitamin patch plus a B12 Patch for the first month then switch to the chewable Celebrate ADEK (or other brand of bariatric vitamins) and chewable calcium citrate with D3 and chewable Iron (if needed).