Well, I'm new here so I'm looking thru posts trying to find some answers to questions. I'm considering having the sleeve procedure done, so I go to heart doctor yesterday and he is very much against this. He said I will have chronic diarrhea, vitamin deficiencys, ect...u see I weigh 215, and am 5'7,,,,but I have diabetes, heart disease sleep apnea.... And he said that because I don't need to loose that much that I most likely won't loose with sleeve.... He also said that even if I loose the weight, I'll just gain it back.... And I'm scared.... I watched my mother die, all because of diabetes... When she passed she was in heart failure, kidney failure, copd, she was blind, had neuropathy, and she died at the early age of 60....I don't want to die that way and I had thought that getting the sleeve could literally save my life, but after talking to heart doctor I am now depressed thinking I have no hope, is there anyone out there that can tell me what step to take next, the surgeon is fixing to setup a consultation... But I am very Leary to even go because of what my heart said

It sounds like your heart doctor has VSG surgery confused with gastric bypass surgery.

Seriously.

I agree with Kamp.. Do not let anyone discourage you from what you are considering. Who is he to tell you not too? He's not your primary doctor, he's just a heart doctor. Unless you have a serious heart condition I wouldn't listen to him. Find another heart doctor.

I think that the only way you will have diarrhea is if you eat something that may not agree with you.

Edited October 15, 201411 yr by leenieceymic1

I agree with the rest. Get a consultation from another heart doctor, and your primary as well. That doctor sounds uniformed. As for your other question, I'm nearly 4 months out from being sleeved, and have not had one single bout of diarrhea. The opposite effect is more likely, but can be managed with fiber pills. Furthermore, my diabetes, apnea, asthma, high cholesterol, and borderline blood pressure are all gone. Saw my endocrinologist after 3 months and my A1C was down to 6.4 without any shots or pills. He was really excited for me and joked, "Damn! Those bastards are going to run me out of business!"

Does that help? Good luck!

Edited October 15, 201411 yr by Rogofulm

It sounds to me like your doctor is trying to scare you a little bit with some possible realities of WLS b/c he or she doesn't think you need it. At 215 and 5'7", I kind of agree with him/her. I know for my insurance, I had to be over 240 lbs at 5'5" to even ask for it. It's a very drastic and completely irreversible solution. Your diabetes and apnea are serious, don't get me wrong, but at your size I'd recommend other methods of weight loss first and this as a very last resort.

However, I will say that what your doctor told you are just POSSIBLE realities. It sounds like they're talking about dumping syndrome, vis-a-vis the diarrhea, which doesn't really happen with the sleeve.

Most people lose weight and gain some back after surgery. Very few people gain it all back, but it is possible, even with the sleeve.

The average amount of weight lost is around 55% of your excess body weight. So, assuming that at 5'7", 155 lbs is the upper end of a healthy weight for you, you are 60 lbs overweight, and you'd probably lose between 30 and 40 lbs with the sleeve (based on averages). Could be more, could be less.

@@tkwyant Holy hanna, from which rock did your doctor just crawl out from. I would cut all ties with a medical professional with such one sided clueless information. Any and all medical advice from him I would file in my brain as nil and void.

Nope no diarrhea, I was sleeved a month ago, I take vitamines, I eat what everyone else does, this is not a death sentence, it's a health sentence, it gives you the tools to be healthy, that's all, that's it.. Yikes I wonder how many other people this doc has misguided with his closed minded opinions, he should be offering advice based on facts, not his opinion which is WRONG! I would place him in the "Bad Doctor" file!

I am 11 months post-op...

I take Vitamins, but then again, I took them before surgery

I don't have deficiencies now that I didn't have before surgery.

I was on Metformin for insulin resistance, but don't take it now (stopped the week before surgery)

I don't have chronic diarrhea. Some days I'm a little "looser" than normal, but usually have the opposite problem which is resolved with some metamucil.

I am not to the point that I've lost "too much" weight - I also have not gained anything during my process

Here are some other things...

I can do 60 minutes of cardio - I couldn't do that before.

My blood pressure is "normal" now.

I am a few pounds from being overweight, rather than Obese Class III - there are tons of medical reasons that's a good thing.

I can do 80 minutes of hot yoga and feel wonderful afterwards.

I'm a better wife, mom, daughter, sister, employee, etc. since surgery - I'm a better version of ME

I no longer fear flying - I have no issue getting the seat buckle around my belly or hitting people with my butt as I go down the aisle

I no longer avoid leaving my house

I like being active and healthy - I miss exercise when I don't do it.

I am an active participant in my own life - a year ago, I couldn't say that.

I am beginning to like myself - something that hasn't happened in my adult life.

I say go talk to a different doctor and get a 2nd opinion!

1. Second opinion

2. I was taking Vitamins befor surgery. Now I just take better ones.

3. I do not have chronic diarrhea. Most days I am just fine in that respect.

4. Give yourself a headstart. Here are some actions that seem to be pretty common across the board with our bariatric physicians, and are especially helpful in the pre-op phase to get us used to being more mindful of our diets:

* Eat way more Protein (60 grams minimum, 80 is better) and way fewer carbs (like WAY

fewer carbs, as in 50 or less, 30 is better)

* If you must have dessert, an apple will do less damage than apple pie

* There are plenty of non-starchy veggies you can eat.

* Weigh and measure your food to get an idea of how much you are really eating.

* Drink Water (and other non-caloric beverages) until your eyeballs float

* Eat smaller bites (practice with toddler utensils)

* Chew until you are worn out with chewing

* Get up and move around, shake that thing, go outside, walk walk walk, start

incorporating some exercise into your day

All of these will help, and are all a variation of what we will be doing the rest of our lives.

I used to work in a hospital's food service department, and the director thought that low carb diets, like Atkins, were just horrible. So I asked her what she thought I could do to lose weight, and she said eat fewer carbs, more lean protein, and get some exercise. Same difference, eh?

Ok let's all take a step back

First you are a 33 bmi or so. Your insurance won't pay for it

Second it seems like you have a very serious heart condition

I don't think your doctor is misinformed or anti wls as others have said - he is fully cognizant of your health condition.

One where you already died in the table during anesthesia

This is pretty risky surgery and I think he is trying to guide you as a doctor should to another method of weight loss.

As the person before me stated - lose weight by following the bariatric principles even if it's 3 pounds a month it's 3 pounds more than the last

Your first priority is your health so you can care for your grand babies, get a 2nd opinion. Maybe your PCP someone who is totally familiar with all your care.

I wish you the best of luck

Try reading this for ideas on the diet - what to eat what not to etc

http://www.peachtreebariatrics.com/docs/Gastric-Sleeve-Patient-Manual.pdf

No diarreah at all! (More constipated actually for me) And I too think u should find another doctor. He seems to be uninformed about the benefits of weightloss surgery. Plus u may need clearance from a cardiologist, so finding a supportive one would be beneficial.

I had gastric sleeve 8/11/2014 at 5'8" and 221 pounds. I am 51. I've lost 35 pounds in two months. I had diareah once and that was the day after surgery. I've thrown up once - the day I restarted solid food and accidentally ate too much. The only thing I wish about this surgery is that I'd had it way sooner. Please do yourself a favor and go see a WLS that knows what he's talking about. Your heart guy is way out of touch. All of my doctors were very supportive of my decision. ALL of them! And I didn't have any life threatening conditions like you do.

It sounds as if your cardiologist may need to educate himself or re-educate himself about WLS. My cardiologist is the one who suggested WLS to me. I thought I would be unable to have it due to my many health issues but he said I should be fine as long as we came up with a plan on how to proceed.

I have several doctors that are all working together to support my decision to have the surgery (VSG), my primary care physician, cardiologist, pulmonologist and WLS surgeon have all worked to get me ready for the surgery. I am now just waiting for insurance to approve and to get a date set.

I would ask your WLS surgeon what cardiologist he recommends or find another cardiologist for a second opinion. I wish you all the best and remember we have to be proactive in our health care.

I'm only 4 weeks post-op and alternate between constipation and diarrhea at the moment - however that seems to be par for the course while you're on a limited diet. From what I've read longer term if anything the problem is more likely to be constipation but you can control that by making sure you have sufficient fibre in your diet.

Wow! I think I would find a new doctor! I'm 13 months post op and pretty much the opposite of everything your doctor said. Like you, I am 5'7" and I have lost 140+ pounds going from 278 to 137. No unhealthy side effects like GI distress or Vitamin deficiencies. In fact all of my follow up labs have been perfect. I was able to quit my pre-diabetes meds, and I'm actually running a half-marathon this weekend. Don't be discouraged! Find a doctor that is educated on the procedure, as it doesn't sound like yours is, and move forward with your decision!

Well, I'm new here so I'm looking thru posts trying to find some answers to questions. I'm considering having the sleeve procedure done, so I go to heart doctor yesterday and he is very much against this. He said I will have chronic diarrhea, vitamin deficiencys, ect...u see I weigh 215, and am 5'7,,,,but I have diabetes, heart disease sleep apnea.... And he said that because I don't need to loose that much that I most likely won't loose with sleeve.... He also said that even if I loose the weight, I'll just gain it back.... And I'm scared.... I watched my mother die, all because of diabetes... When she passed she was in heart failure, kidney failure, copd, she was blind, had neuropathy, and she died at the early age of 60....I don't want to die that way and I had thought that getting the sleeve could literally save my life, but after talking to heart doctor I am now depressed thinking I have no hope, is there anyone out there that can tell me what step to take next, the surgeon is fixing to setup a consultation... But I am very Leary to even go because of what my heart said

I went to another surgeon about thyroid issues and he also said don't do it. My BMI in 36. He advised to eat salad for dinner with one glass of wine and walk for 1.5 hours a day. Yeah, right! Get yourself another cardiac doctor.