As we feared would happen

I don't believe the SADI solves any problems with the DS. I've have the same fun on the run the to bathroom as any true DS'r. I was not deceived but don't feel I truly understood. I was told it was the same but there was only one anostemosis (sp?) instead of two and that would lessen the chances of obstructions. I can't tell ya if that's true or not even now. It was the timing of the request that bothers me (the morning of surgery) and my stupidity in accepting it. I will say that my cholesterol as evidenced by my recent labs thanks to an angel on this board are not those of a DS'r. My total cholesterol was one point above normal. My love of butter and bacon should have excluded me from this option to begin with. I have surpassed my surgeons goal for me by almost 20 lbs, which is odd when i stopped counting carbs 40 lbs ago on the advice of a cardiologist. So, I too am a success by that standard. I have not had major issues with reflux (a lot less than I see others on this board have) and don't take a PPI. I have oil slicks daily and if I don't watch my fat intake, I live in the bathroom. Dairy is a serious issue but that can be with any of these surgeries. I honestly never opened the envelopes that came from the hospital or the insurance. I was having a really difficult time after my surgery, I had just lost my mother and my brother, was unemployed and felt unemployable, alone and that was just one more layer of concern I could not deal with. I was the ostrich with my head buried in the sand.

I've come a really long way from those dark days. I'm hoping the Sadi holds for me. It's very forgiving of what I eat but my protein is low and I have always gotten at least 100 gms of protein a day even when I was vitamin non compliant. I've upped my protein and am drowning in meat ;) I need to get to the store for bacon and shrimp as that goes down so much better ;) I've been snowed in and haven't been on a bacon binge in a while.

I am still slowly losing weight, sometimes I'll have a sugar soda or a couple of cookies to try to keep myself from doing so (I don't want to have to buy more clothes).
 
@Hollykim I am so happy to see you here! I think people who have perhaps not read your whole story carefully may not realize that you didn't choose the SADI and then screw things up. The real issues are that you signs on for the DS and didn't get it, that you were never told what you did get and had to figure it out for yourself (with some help from your other docs), which is ridiculous, and perhaps of greatest importance that you now have a complication from your SADI that would never have happened with a DS due to the difference in anatomy AND which is in no way within your control.
You have more than enough reasons to be dissatisfied with this situation and I am very hopeful that Dr. Ungson will provide you with a real DS and that this will resolve your problems.
And, welcome aboard! You will find so much more info here than on, shall we say, elsewhere. Please stay with us and keep us posted as you progress toward your REAL DS.
 
I am one week post op from an SADI. My surgeon is the head of the bariatric surgery fellowship at Duke, and they do pretty much every procedure, although my surgeon, personally, won't do a lap band because of the failure, re operation, and complication rates. I am actually part of a proper study being done at Duke. My $48,000 surgery/ hospital stay/ pre-op and post-op support cost me $900. That's not why I chose the SADI. I was looking into a switch, because I wanted the most normal post op lifestyle. I was 267 lbs at my highest weight, but lost over 50 lbs on my own over the past 18 mo. That said, as I lost weight, my blood sugar, which was always fine, started to go up to prediabetes levels, my cholesterol, while not awful @ 216 stubbornly did not budge by even 1 the whole time. So, I was looking for metabolic surgery, and I really hated the idea of a bypass. Everybody I know who has had one has gained back massive amounts of weight. Also, I'm a pastry chef. I own two bakery/dessert cafes, and so I actually do HAVE to eat a certain amount of sugar. So, my BMI at the time of surgery was 35.2. I decided to have the simpler surgery because I like the idea of a longer channel, so there is less likelihood of long term malnutrition. I also like that if I do have issues, the revision is an easy peasy operation. Lower instances of complications, scar tissue, hernias, etc... I was good with the idea of a sleeve+. I was out of the hospital in 30 hours. Im down 9 lbs from my pre-op weight and 16 from the weight When came home. They do pump you full of fluid, don't they? I do not feel awesome, and I'm not loving that I can't take a good, thirst quenching drink of water without stabbing pain. That said, I would have been disappointed to be assigned to the DS or sleeve group in the study. I like the middle.
 
Welcome @Txkat! So the study is three groups and the idea is to compare all three?

Pastry chef... Whoa, that's hard. What a career! What's your signature dessert?
 
Welcome @Txkat! So the study is three groups and the idea is to compare all three?

Pastry chef... Whoa, that's hard. What a career! What's your signature dessert?
We do just about anything with caffeine, sugar, or alcohol ( we have bars in our bakeries). But, my most likely claim to fame is that I'm only one of about 6 master gelato makers in the US. ( it's really a thing, you get papers from the Italian government and everything)

The study tracks weight loss at 1,3,6,12, and 18 mo, resolution of metabolic comorbidities, complication, revision, and re-operation rates @ 3,12, and 48 mos., and weight regain at 24, 36, and 48 mo. The Duke bariatric program is massive. When I went to my pro-op group meeting, there were people from two states away that for one reason or another couldn't be operated on elsewhere.
 
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Omg...I gotta tell my hubby about this master gelato thing! That's impressive! We went to Italy this past summer and he literally ate his weight in gelato throughout our trip. Several times a day...he just had to have some everyplace we saw it...which was everywhere!

Good luck to you on your journey and I think it's pretty cool to be part of a study.
 
The study visits are kind of a pain in the butt, I have a know-it-all, teacher's pet kind of personality, and somewhere deep inside me, I'm trying to figure out how "win" the study. It's a sickness, I know. I think Duke is really one of the few places that could manage something this big. There is an army of bariatric fellows. I think 5 stopped in my room in the day and a half I was in the hospital. I think they said they did an average of 25 bariatric surgeries a week, so I felt like I was in pretty good hands.
 
"Maestro de Vero Gelato Artiginale" is a designation of having completed a total of about 2 years of classes. There are a lot of tests in balancing different types of recipes. The last 8 week class I had we actually had to stir it by hand while it was freezing...it was the Italian version of Lucy stomping grapes. I'm really proud though. My gelato master works for one of the Italian supply companies we use, and when he comes over to teach a course, he always brings them to my shop to show how it should be done.
But anyway... I have to eat sugar. It's my job
 
I loved the gelato in Italy, in particular the amareno (small intense sour cherries) - but if I had to eat it all the time, I'd puke. After the DS, I can't eat that much sweet stuff - the first bite is orgasmic, the second bite is delicious, the third bite is good, and the fourth bite is meh.

For example, I just had dessert - I had a slice (about the size of 2/3 of a slice of bread) of pound cake, with sliced strawberries (that had been lightly sugared), and topped with homemade whipped cream (not that much sugar) - and now, I feel really "sweeted-out." There is a whole lot more (it was a 2 lb box of strawberries and my daughter and I were the only ones who had some), but I'm not going back for seconds, because I truly don't want any. (Which, based on my pre-op tastes is weird - strawberry shortcake is pretty much my favorite dessert.)
 
I am one week post op from an SADI. My surgeon is the head of the bariatric surgery fellowship at Duke, and they do pretty much every procedure, although my surgeon, personally, won't do a lap band because of the failure, re operation, and complication rates. I am actually part of a proper study being done at Duke. My $48,000 surgery/ hospital stay/ pre-op and post-op support cost me $900. That's not why I chose the SADI. I was looking into a switch, because I wanted the most normal post op lifestyle. I was 267 lbs at my highest weight, but lost over 50 lbs on my own over the past 18 mo. That said, as I lost weight, my blood sugar, which was always fine, started to go up to prediabetes levels, my cholesterol, while not awful @ 216 stubbornly did not budge by even 1 the whole time. So, I was looking for metabolic surgery, and I really hated the idea of a bypass. Everybody I know who has had one has gained back massive amounts of weight. Also, I'm a pastry chef. I own two bakery/dessert cafes, and so I actually do HAVE to eat a certain amount of sugar. So, my BMI at the time of surgery was 35.2. I decided to have the simpler surgery because I like the idea of a longer channel, so there is less likelihood of long term malnutrition. I also like that if I do have issues, the revision is an easy peasy operation. Lower instances of complications, scar tissue, hernias, etc... I was good with the idea of a sleeve+. I was out of the hospital in 30 hours. Im down 9 lbs from my pre-op weight and 16 from the weight When came home. They do pump you full of fluid, don't they? I do not feel awesome, and I'm not loving that I can't take a good, thirst quenching drink of water without stabbing pain. That said, I would have been disappointed to be assigned to the DS or sleeve group in the study. I like the middle.

Looking forward to following your journey!
 
Cool about the gelato Txkat! My husband is a bean to bar dark chocolate maker. We use unrefined coconut sugar and roast the Maranon bean. Our house smells like brownies while he is roasting. I stay away except to clean.
 

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