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I don't have MS, but I do have several autoimmune diseases along with Fibro and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I am almost 3 months out from a traditional duodenal switch. I have found my energy level and ability to exercise has increased a lot, I no longer get post exertional malaise. I also have less pain because the surgery causes your inflammation levels to decrease and as you lose weight, those levels will continue to go down. Since I am so early out, I have not had any nutritional issues. However, my surgeon did advise I go with a longer common channel than the standard 100cm cookie cutter length that most doctors go with, because I have a history of nutritional deficiencies. I went with 175cm. I'm really glad I had the DS, I'd do it again every year if I had to just for the fact it put my diabetes and high blood pressure into remission immediately after surgery!! Plus I have more energy than I've had in 2 decades. There is a different forum that has more DS patients on it, you might try posting there. It is www.bariatricfacts.org I'm not sure if anyone there has MS, but they are great with recommendations. There's also a support group for DS patients on FB called "Duodenal Switch SUPPORT Group" and there are a TON of DS patients there, you might try posting and seeing if any have experience with the switch and MS. As for surgeons, I had my surgery done with Dr. Pilati at WakeMed Bariatrics in Cary, NC which is right outside of Raleigh. We have a number of excellent DS surgeons in this area because of our world class healthcare centers. I don't know of any in the DE area but the women at bariatricfacts might, a lot of them are vets of the surgery for 10+ years!

I've read that caloric intake for a bypass patient at that month mark is not unusual. However, if you are more active than the normal bariatric patient, it is possible you are burning so many calories that your body is experiencing more of a caloric deficit than your dietician has estimated for you. Some dieticians are VERY good at individualizing their care to each patient's intake, activity, and dietary needs. Others stick to the book and will give everyone the same plan regardless of how many calories they are burning. That can be a detriment to you if you are burning more. If you are walking several miles a day, or intensely working out, you may need more protein than your current calories are allowing for. It might be worth messaging your dietician to ask if they took this into account. Stalls definitely happen, I had one last 6 weeks pretty early out after surgery, and I'm losing a little slower than I like, though they say it is right on target so I'm making my peace with that. It is good to stick to the plan you are given by your team, just make sure that plan is taking into account the whole picture of YOU, not just what patients average in general. Many bariatric patients are quite sedentary and averages account for that, not for active patients.

I concur with AmberFL, each surgeon has their own requirements. I was on liquid diet for 2 weeks pre-op and 3 weeks after... Hopefully your bariatric team gave you a diet plan for all phases but of your journey! Mine was no caffeine (no teas or coffees), protein drinks, broths, sugar free Jello and of course all the water I wanted! Oh joy!

"As is the practice here I had an assessment with a psychologist who confirmed I was a suitable candidate and a dietician who again confirmed I was a suitable candidate but in the process managed to make me feel like I had already failed, in her words I was "Much heavier than most people who come to us" As she was a gate keeper and I needed her approval to progress I did not complain. That time will come." Your last sentence made me laugh, I can picture it. I've always thought that dieticians should have all gone through the bariatric process in order to work at a bariatric clinic. They really don't understand nor have the empathy to comprehend what they're saying " you want something crunchy have some celery," "Oh, you're missing noodles? Try heart of palm noodles they're delish and taste just like regular Thai noodles" and my personal favorite; "you want a treat or snack have a glass of tea!" Unfortunately, despite all their training and understanding of nutrients they don't understand its not will power we lack, we've all lost 100's of pounds on our dieting, nor is it a lack of knowledge knowing what we should be eating - its our bodies demanding certain foods, talking over our common sense. Dieticians act as if we just don't have the knowledge or that we just eat garbage for the heck of it. Food processed today was made to be addictive, why else are populations getting heavier than ever before? Good for you doing what you had to and choosing to address her comments afterwards to get what you need. I did the same thing with my dietician and psychologist (she said she really thought our session helped me open up) nope, I'm not one to talk about my feelings, I just didn't dispute her so I could get my surgery and oh yes date of palm "noodles are delish" to my dietician bleh..they're nasty to me, because I enjoyed eating slimy rubber bands! 😉 Congrats on your journey and doing what you had to do!

Hi All, First Post I'm female in the UK and nearly 59 years old. I have been a fat toddler, a fat child, a fat teen and a fat adult. I have yo-yo dieted all my life, with each yo-yo lasting for a shorter period and resulting in a new high-point when I would inevitably bounce back. In July '23 I reached a new all time high 24st 9lb (345lb) I was about to start the diet again, about to go through the same loop but just couldn't face it. I made an appointment with a bariatric surgeon, discussed my history and options and agreed that a gastric sleeve was a good fit for me. I was told I was too heavy for their practice and I needed to lose 56lb before I could have the surgery. The surgery was booked for Jan 2nd '24 and I started dieting. As is the practice here I had an assessment with a psychologist who confirmed I was a suitable candidate and a dietician who again confirmed I was a suitable candidate but in the process managed to make me feel like I had already failed, in her words I was "Much heavier than most people who come to us" As she was a gate keeper and I needed her approval to progress I did not complain. That time will come. Following my initial consultation on the 8th Aug I started dieting to get down to the target weight. I have never had difficulty in losing weight I simply cannot maintain any losses. My normal pattern is if it takes me 6 months to lose the weight I will regain it and 10lb in the following 12-18 months. By the day of surgery I had lost 75lb and was already feeling so much better. I considered carrying on with just dieting and not having the surgery but I was already beginning to see my discipline weaken and I knew it would be the same old story. Surgery went well, I had very little pain or discomfort and by and large I cannot complain. I'm currently on the pureed stage of the diet and doing OK managing to keep protein and fluid levels up though I struggle with the fluids some day. I have lost 13lb in the last 21 days but have hit the dreaded 3 week plateau. Early days but I have no regrets - to be without hunger for the first time in my life is such a relief, I feel good and am doing more and more each day. I am already starting to live the life I want and i can see so many more benefits ahead and believe they are attainable and retainable. I wish I knew why I have struggled so much with my weight - there is no one trauma or set of childhood issues I can point at. It is not that I have a compulsion to eat everything in sight there are so many foods I can just ignore, I have no interest in sweet foods of any kind or greasy deep fried foods. But I cannot resist bread, pasta , rice etc and my down fall has always been the second or even third portion of these carbs. For this reason if no other I hope the VSG will not only prevent that behaviour but I also hope it will give me enough time to re gain control before considering a second helping. My parting thought for this post is that as I have gone through my journey thus far the one thing I have found is that my story is not that unusual, my problems are not unique and most importantly that they are not the result of some moral failing or fundamental weakness. There is more to life long obesity than can simply be solved with "diet and exercise" and having finally found medical professionals who believe that is the case I see this year and this journey as a new lease on life that I am going to grab with both hands. Koshk - newbie

I haven't, but lots of bariatric patients on the east coast have used him and have been very happy with his work.

I didn't have any pain after my bariatric surgery, but I DID after my first plastic surgery (lower body lift). I also felt like my body was on fire when I woke up. They put fentanyl in my IV line, and it knocked me out. I'm guessing that's what they did to you - that, or morphine.

The guidelines lines I’m referring to are : Limiting sugar intake to 5g or less per serving, protein forward meals, limiting carbs and fats. Separation of meals and drinks (30 min rule), limiting calories from drinks, etc. (I’m sure others can chime in with more Bariatric specific rules that they were given to follow). What is your doctors recommendations now that you have stalled? How tall are you? What does your exact calorie intake look like weekly? Do you accurately track it or eyeball the amounts? Have you used any online calculators to figure out your BMR, visceral fat, lean muscle mass, etc? These can help you figure out your excess body weight . Also InBody and DEXA scans will tell exactly how much excess fat you are carrying.

I only wore the Pneumatic compression leg device the first day in the hospital until I left. Do you have a known circulation issue the doctors are/were trying to circumvent with having you wear it so long? Unless your bariatric team or GP specifically tells you you need to utilize the device I don't feel you need too wear them again.

if u ask me, i would suggest speaking to a couple other bariatric surgeons for thier opinions...? the idea of "testing out" the sleeve first to see if it would work on a KNOWN Gerd sufferer is bonkers to me...but then, im not a bariatric surgeon.... in any case, i hope you find the answers u are looking for. Good Luck! ❤️

My bmi wa 37 but I only carried my weight in my belly. I was on 20 mg of protonix then after I was bleeding internally they bumped me up to 40 mg. I’m daily and now dr wants me on 40 mg of protonix and 40 mg if Pepcid which to me is stupid this is my bariatric surgeon. I’ve been arguing with her that none of this is working and my burping has increased back again. That’s a lot of weight loss in 6 months, I’m still at 180 and it’s been 4 months. Idk if I could drop that fast in 2 months……… I already lived through the dos and donts as a GERD patient.

As I stated I’m not in this for weight loss. My issues are belly fat and working hard to get rid of it since I couldn’t workout for 15 yrs because of regurgitation, vomiting and pain with my hiatal hernia. My question was only asking about GERD patients losing weight slower than regular obese patients. I don’t have any food issues and my dietitian has no worries about me. I’ve always carried good muscles in my skinny legs. I don’t compare myself to no one I just can’t believe these bariatric weight loss videos people have actually lost that much weight in 6 months as they claimed especially how huge they were. My reflux has always been horrible and I’ve been on medication for 15 years daily. Now I can only stay off for 4 days but I’ll have bad silent reflux. My GERD is unmanageable even with a strict diet. My surgeon thought since I never had GERD with my 2 older kids maybe it would subside now. This all went downhill after I had my 3rd child.

I'm only four months post-op and have lost 65lbs as of this morning. I've been trying to maintain 900-1000 calories per day with a minimum 70g protein and trying to limit carbs to 50g or less and fat to 35g or less. At my three month post-op consult with my bariatric nutritionist, she was satisfied with those numbers and was happy with my weight loss progress to that point, which was 48lbs. I'm currently riding a plateau and have only lost 3lbs over the past couple of weeks, but it's my second one since surgery and while frustrating, I know it'll pass.

most people with bypass don't have complications- and of those who do, they are usually minor and correctable (or in the case of dumping, preventable). Major complications with bypass are pretty rare. only about 30% of bypass patients dump. I never have, and neither do most of the other bypass patients I know. For those who do dump, it can usually be prevented by not eating a bunch of sugar or fat at one sitting (which none of us should be doing *anyway*). I threw up occasionally the first few weeks after surgery when I ate too much, too fast, or something that my stomach wasn't going to tolerate, but now I throw up about as often as I did pre-surgery - that is, very rarely. And as for food intolerances, most of those are temporary, but some can become permanent. But you'll figure out what your body will and won't tolerate pretty quickly. re: only eating a couple of bites of food. That's only in the first few weeks after surgery. For the last several years, no one would be able to tell I've had bypass surgery by watching me eat. They'd just assume I'm a "light eater", like many of my women friends who've never been obese. When I go to restaurants, if I'm not that hungry, I'll order something like an appetizer, soup, or a salad. If I AM hungry, I'll order an entree, eat half of it, and box up the rest to take home. Most of my women friends do the same thing. you're probably seeing more issues with bypass for two reasons: 1) it's a much, much more common surgery than SADI. As in a LOT more people have bypass than SADI, so of course you'll see more on it. 2). after people get over the first few weeks (which can be tough with either surgery), they usually only post when they're having some issue, because they're looking for advice or support. People who've never had issues (which would include most of us) aren't likely to post that everything is hunky-dory. as far as which to choose, they're both good surgeries. Advantage of SADI is it's a stronger surgery, and you'll likely lose more weight with it. Disadvantage is regular doctors (as opposed to bariatric surgeons) know a lot more about bypass than they do about SADI, so your PCP may not be able to help you if you have issues - they may have to refer you to a bariatric specialist (which, of course, is fine - but just something to keep in mind). Also, if you have GERD, bypass is usually the better choice, since it tends to improve GERD, if not outright cures it. SADI involves a sleeved stomach, which can cause GERD in some people (or make it worse if they already had GERD before surgery). It doesn't happen to everyone, but it IS a risk... good luck with your decision!

I started taking my bariatric vitamins back when I got my original surgery date, in October, I think. I take the Celebrate One 45 chewable bariatric vitamin and 3 Celebrate calcium chews (fruit flavored, delicious!) per days, as well as lutein and omega 3 supplements that were recommended by my eye doctor (not weight related), and half a biotin chew because it can't hurt, right? I started early strictly to get into the routine. My memory is shite and I wanted to have it be second nature by the time I truly needed it. I do also add a scoop of collagen powder to my tea in the morning and I use retinol body and face creams, but that's more an anti-aging thing as opposed to loose skin prevention. As everyone has said, the loose skin and hair shedding is kind of unavoidable. The supplements, at best, are hopefully to ensure the new hair growth is as healthy as can be. I wouldn't go with expensive "miracle" products because they probably won't live up to the hype or the cost, but if it's in the budget to get a few things that make you feel better, it also can't hurt. I mean, peppermint and rosemary just sounds lovely. Even if it doesn't do a lot, it smells like heaven!

Today (January 16th) is my birthday. 🥳 This year I opted out of the birthday dinner’s I’m usually taken to by friends and family. I am 40 days post op and while I am now in the “eat whatever I can phase” ofc I’m following the low carb / high protein / no sugar diet I’m advised to follow by my bariatric nutritionist. So for my birthday this year, I didn’t want to go to a restaurant knowing I can’t eat too much food right now + I didn’t want to be tempted by restaurant foods. But I did want to know if anyone else had surgery close to their birthday like me and if so, did you allow yourself a birthday treat? Like a cupcake 🧁? I haven’t had sugar (other than my protein shakes and yogurts) since late November so idk how it will affect my stomach either but I was thinking of just getting a little birthday cupcake 🧁 for myself tomorrow. I’d love to hear others input or experience. Thanks! ☺️

In answer to one of your questions, I took bariatric vitamins before surgery thinking to put myself on the right track before surgery. My dietician was surprised to find out I was..but I thought I was supposed too..they gave me several months of samples before surgery... I started biotin, collagen etc., bioton shampoo/conditioner all months before surgery. Results: My hair is still shedding tons 5 months post op regardless a lot!, I don't know about my labs yet .. That's next month. Its not about what you do before since your body decides to divert its energy to surviving on reduced calories afterwards and growing hair is not on your bodies needed requirements. So, each body is different - hopefully yours will react better!

Congratulations on your surgery and great progress. You are over the worst. The liquid and puree foods go through your new tummy really quickly. Are you remembering the no drink rules? Your tummies nerve endings have been severed and your full signals are missing. I would sneeze when full. So as they say on here just because you can eat it does not mean you should. When your new tummy stitch line has healed and you begin on real foods your restriction will kick in and oh boy will you know about it. Its like a long lost friend coming back but now it has rules of its own. Over eat at your peril, it feels awful for hours. This is what we mean when we say bariatric surgery is not an easy option.

Thanks all. I am still losing weight each week so it wouldn't be for any time soon, I was just wondering about it for an extra energy boost at a later date when I am sure I might reach a plateau. I had seen it really heavily plugged on a bariatric blog so was wondering about it.

Hi OP! Lots of us won't know what trimfit is. Or how it would help a post bariatric surgery lifestyle. I think most of us just stick to the plan our surgeons set out. We see greater or lesser losses depending on a number of variables. Please could you provide a link or a clearer description of what it is and what you're hoping to achieve by incorporating it into your plan?

Thank you for the response @learn2cook it’s a little scary even though it seems to be really common. I don’t want a revision and hoping I can just get a hernia repair. But such is life. The doctor said I also had some curves to my sleeve so a revision maybe in my future. But he wasn’t a Bariatric doctor but a gastro. Thank you

I had a 6 week follow up with my surgeons bariatric team.. I was asked how things were going and how I felt I was doing.. I went in with some many questions and concerns in hope of making myself feel better and not feel so overwhelmed.. I left my appointment feeling like I have not done anything right. I was told that I am not eating enough protein and that I was not drinking enough liquid. I don't know how much more I can do. All day I feel like I am either drinking my water, eating something or waiting the 30 minutes between so I am not sick. I knew this would be hard and it would take some time to get used to my new life/ routine but todays appointment makes me wonder if I made a mistake of getting the surgery.. I got back in 2 months. I hope it is a better appointment thank you for letting vent...

Hello all I was wondering if anyone else has had this rare complication. I got my sleeve done in Mexico Oct 2021. About a year ago, January 2023, I noticed I started to have excessive saliva. It started randomly but picked up more. Well fast forward to January 2024 I got an endoscopy and was told my sleeve is “tortuous” and I have a hernia. This means that my sleeve has a lot of turns. I don’t feel any pain but the acid reflux which was manageable completely prior with one 20mg Prilosec, some days didn’t have to take it at all, has now been more annoying. I’m getting a referral to a Bariatric surgeon here in the states even tho the gastro told me I’ll be fine and don’t need to do anything. I’ve read that a twisted sleeve happens to about less then 2% of sleeve patients. I’ve also read some great success stories of surgeons fixing the twist and hernia without revision to bypass etc. I’m hopeful and not in any pain. But I don’t want it to get worse and it’s just a little overwhelming. Thank you!

Courtnay, I am so sorry you had such an awful experience... I had some nurses that really irritated me and treated me poorly but an orderly found me crying because I was in so much pain and stressed by the nurse and so she reported the nurse, which was uncomfortable in the moment because I had to talk to a bunch of people, but really made them treat me decently the rest of the time! You can definitely have the bypass later once the sleeve takes off some weight. This happens sometimes with DS surgeries where they end up doing the sleeve first and then the intestinal part later once some abdominal fat is lost. Livers can be really tricky. Mine was still "plump" during the surgery, I just happen to have an extremely skilled surgeon who was able to work around it, but he told me sometimes that isn't possible. And I really want to say this, what happened to you IS NOT YOUR FAULT!! I'd find a therapist that deals with trauma, specifically medical trauma if possible, to help process this experience. Later down the road if your weight loss isn't stable you can consider converting to bypass or DS, you have options now with the sleeve! I know it isn't what you wanted, and I don't understand why the doctor didn't just close you up and try again later if you felt so strongly about it, but hindsight is always 20/20 and the good thing is that the sleeve DOES take off weight and that weight loss will help you feel a lot better. You should be on a good PPI with your heartburn, twice a day if needed. Omeprazole was always useless to me, so I use pantaprazole in the morning and Dexilant in the evening, both are prescription and they work wonderfully, no food triggers at all. You don't have to suffer with heartburn and reflux, they really should sort your meds out for that. It will make nausea and eating a lot easier. Oh and a few weeks out my digestive system was very testy. I had IBS before and it was grumpy post surgery. Fairlife shakes make me run to the bathroom for days for some reason! I like the Syntrax Nectar fruit flavors, they are like juice. Seeq is also good, it is like juice too, they are water based protein drinks, not creamy milk ones, and my digestive system handles them both better. You can get samples of Syntrax from Bariatric Pal and samples of Seeq from their website. Sending you lots of love... I hope things ease up soon and those hormones calm down, they are really rough after surgery! ❤️

Hello all I was wondering if anyone else has had this rare complication. I got my sleeve done in Mexico Oct 2021. About a year ago, January 2023, I noticed I started to have excessive saliva. It started randomly but picked up more. Well fast forward to January 2024 I got an endoscopy and was told my sleeve is “tortuous” and I have a hernia. This means that my sleeve has a lot of turns. I don’t feel any pain but the acid reflux which was manageable completely prior with one 20mg Prilosec has now been a little more annoying. I’m getting a referral to a Bariatric surgeon here in the states even tho the gastro told me I’ll be fine and don’t need to do anything. I’ve read that a twisted sleeve happens to about less then 2% of sleeve patients. I’ve also read some great success stories of surgeons fixing the twist and hernia. I’m hopeful and not in any pain. But I don’t want it to get worse and it’s just a little overwhelming. Thank you!