Do you feel healthy?

[CaitlynR]

Hello! Pre-op here. I had originally planned on a sleeve but following my initial consult with the team at Duke Hospital in Durham NC, I started to consider the DS. I have briefly talked to my surgeon and he feels he DS is a good option but either surgery is appropriate. I am 35, have a BMI of 44, long term high blood pressure (stable but on 3 meds), have a strong family history of DM type 2 and have recently tested in the pre-diabetic range.

I am ambivalent about the DS, still trying to decide between the 2 surgeries. I do have mild reflux some nights (easily controlled by antacids). I have chronic tendencies towards anemia and low vitamin D (most of the time taking supplements to correct or avoid deficiencies). I also have recurrent depression, doing well but on significant doses of two different medications. My psychiatrist is against DS and bypass in general and says the dosing can be tricky after these surgeries.

Anyway....my main question is, with the DS, in the long term, do you feel healthy? Even with supplements, I am concerned the malabsorption will make it hard for the body to feel like it is fully getting what it needs nutritionally.

Thanks!!

 

[southernlady]

YES!!!!

Even tho at 6 years, I am back on diabetic meds. I was an insulin pump type 2 with a long standing history of active diabetes. I DID have a 6 year break off all meds. I didn't have the sleeve as an option cause 6.5 years ago, the sleeve was not a covered procedure under Medicare. My options were RNY, DS, and Lap Band. Lap Band was OH HELL NO. RNY...I'd rather stay fat.

But in all honesty, I am glad the sleeve wasn't an option for me, I would have out eaten it a long time ago.

 

[Clematis]

Never felt better in my LIFE!!! Daily, I power walk 4 miles in the morning and do a 60 minute high-impact aerobics class in the late afternoon. Granted, I felt weary the first couple of months, probably because I was rapidly losing weight. But by 6 months post-op I was fantastic. I don't really have nutritional deficiencies. If something starts to slide towards the "edge" of the normal range I merely adjust my vitamins. And I'm OLD -- wish I'd done it when I was your age!!

 

[harrietvane]

I feel like a whole new person. I'm off all my high blood pressure medication. All I take are vitamins, which is a small price to pay. My BMI was exactly where yours is now, and mine was a revision from a lapband. I'm so glad I found out about the DS, and travelling to the other side of the world to get it done was well worth it. I'd do it again without a second thought. In fact, I only wish I'd known about it earlier.

 

[galaxygrrl]

DS was the best decision I ever made. I'm healthy and happy 9 months out. No more diabetes or all the other co-morbidities I had. Also, get yourself a new psychiatrist who will work with you and your surgery. It's the most absurd thing to say, don't get WLS and stay fat because it will be hard to medicate you. You can work around this.

 

[KathrynK]

I am 11 years out and have never been healthier. Normal BMI. I have a strong family history of diabetes (mother, father, aunt and cousin) and had type 2 before surgery. Gone. High blood pressure before surgery. Gone. Arthritis pain in knees and ankle. Gone. Three friends with knee and hip replacements. Not me. High cholesterol. Gone. I share your history of depression, and while everyone is different, I haven't needed Zoloft since about 6 months after I lost weight. Again, everyone is different, but my niece was one of those who had the sleeve who never lost more than 25 pounds and is back at her pre-sleeve weight. I do have anemia but it is manageable, and have age-appropriate bone loss. I have reactive hypoglycemia, related to my years with diabetes, but it is manageable with eating every 3 hours. While you will need many supplements after DS, you will know more about your vitamin status than most people who haven't had DS and will be able to make adjustments.

After decades of dieting, I just wanted to put the struggle permanently behind me, and DS accomplished that. I had failed at so many diets, I wanted the most successful procedure for long term maintenance out there. At your young age and lower BMI (I was at BMI 50), I think your careful decision-making process is necessary, but DS saved my life at age 55. I would not have ended my struggle with weight without it.

 

[Larra]

I'm 11 years post-op and feeling great. There are lots of people with the DS who have dealt with depression, and though I can't speak from personal experience on that one, there are lots of good meds for depression these days, way more than in the past, and doses can be adjusted as needed. if your doc is too lazy or inexperienced to do this, you need a new and improved doc. Losing weight and feeling physically better may also help with your depression, though there is no guarantee on that.

Some people do well with the sleeve, but it's definitely more work than with the DS. We are seeing more and more people with sleeves wanting to revise to DS all the time. With the DS you need to commit to lots of vitamins, true, but with the sleeve you need to commit to a low fat, low carb, low calorie diet for the rest of your life. And probably some vitamins too, though less than with the DS for sure. I hope you will consider your alternatives with an open mind, and not let anyone discourage you from doing what you need to do to improve your health and quality of life.

 

[Munchkin]

Yes I do! No issues at all.

 

[Marquis Mark]

A few vitamin and bathroom issues, but the good "outweighs" the bad. How much is having the bane of your existence lifted from your shoulders worth?

 

[k9ophile]

Nine years out, fit as a fiddle. Co-morbids of OSA, HTN, and high cholesterol...gone. It was too late to save my left knee due to bone-on-bone OA, but it looks like that will be the only knee replaced. I have been blessed with a PCP and endocrinologist who have an excellent understanding of the post-op needs. My meds have been adjusted according to my labs. I'm currently awaiting my latest lab results and new dosage of Synthroid as needed. (However, my dosage fluctuated prior to surgery, less so afterwards.)

I was looking at my floor baseboards and noticed they need cleaning. That caused me to ponder how impossible that task would be if I still was SMO. Plus I've been able to go on vacations that would have been horrible at my highest weight.

 

[Psychomom]

My DS was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I'm so much healthier, both physically and mentally. I'm able to do much more than I could before and I'm also pain free. No medications for me other than my vitamins. I no longer need knee replacements and my hip no longer pops out like it used to. (My hip would pop out from time to time--it was weight related.) I no longer have high blood pressure and I'm no longer prediabetic. The changes in me are life altering. I never, ever considered any surgery other than the DS. My husband and daughter are amazed at the difference in me. People I haven't seen in awhile no longer recognize me and I have to tell them who I am. It's been wonderful. Seriously, it has been a true blessing to me.

 

[Ray_Of_Fricken_Sunshine]

Hello, @CaitlynR! I actually just had my DS surgery 2 weeks ago with the Duke WLS program. Who is the surgeon you've consulted with??

 

[CaitlynR]

Thank you for all the responses! It is great to know so many people feel healthy in the long term.

My surgeon is Dr. A Daniel Guerron. My first impression was good, he seemed to encourage questions and was familiar with some research I mentioned in a concern I brought up. I was a little worried as he is not far out of residency but he seems to really know his stuff without the surgeon ego.

Responding to an earlier suggestion to change psychiatrists, I am considering this. My psychiatrist thought that RNY bypass and the DS were the same thing and continued to insist this when I tried to correct him. That is not a deal breaker as I can bring in info to show him but not a great sign.

 

[CaitlynR]

A few vitamin and bathroom issues, but the good "outweighs" the bad. How much is having the bane of your existence lifted from your shoulders worth?

This may sound strange... for a long time I had accepted that my life will be one of being physically unfit and my lifespan short, and that didn't bother me too much. I made sure to get a job with good long term benefits and the largest life insurance policy I could, so my husband and son are set up for after my death.

This way of thinking persisted long after I no longer felt depressed. However I recognize this as a holdover from depression as I only valued my life in terms of how I can help others.

I say all that to explain I have not thought of my weight as the bane of my existence. It has been more of a slow realization that I have worth to myself and that I want to be healthy and live for me that has led to this decision. I don't want to be sick and the die early. I want to do what has the best chance to lead to health and a longer life with higher quality of life. I would be ok being fat if I was healthy, but I'm not. I have seen what happens later on the road I am on, and that scares the heck out of me. There are other things I would enjoy from losing weight, like fitting into roller coaster seats and not feeling exhausted from walking short distances. For the most part I want my heart to work for a long time and not suffer from the diabetic neuropathy that my dad does. I just wanted to make sure that the DS didn't result in something that looks great on paper but resulted in lower QOL by feeling exhausted and malnourished even with doing everything right. I am very happy to hear that at least for many here the subjective experience of health matches the excellent objective numbers used in outcome studies.

 

[Clematis]

I cringe with shame remembering how much my children missed as I came up with excuses as to why I couldn't take them swimming, or do sports with them or whatever else I was unable or uncomfortable or embarrassed doing while MO. Your son will benefit from your weight loss!! Best of luck to you in your decision.