Hello!

[juliebird4828]

Hi - My name is Julie. I am an almost 45 year old mother of two almost adult guys, ages 17 and 20. I am married for almost 23 years. I am an RN/BSN, that works in quality and patient safety. I have been overweight for as long as I can remember. Food has been my means to every end- happiness, sorrow, celebration, mourning...Every family event was bound to huge spreads of food designed for a farming family. Yet...none of us really seemed to grasp that we weren't a fair family anymore and few of us worked like that anymore. My husband does not share the same ideas as I regarding food and exercise (that it needs to be healthy and frequent) but he never gets in the way of what I want to do. I am not 100% sure how that will work out in the future. We have spent the last 25 years together growing and learning- so I hope that just continues.
Being an overweight teen was miserable. I was able to lose a little weight as a senior and that was when I started down the path of nursing in a trade school during high school. I was never able to shop where the others did and never dated. I was always everyone's "best friend" but never a girlfriend. After college, I met my husband and married young in hopes of never having to look for that approval and attention again.
However...I have recently realized it isn't up to anyone else- and I don't need approval from anyone. Depression, GERD, arthritis, hypercholestremia, fibromyalgia, and pre diabetic. I want to do this to be healthy and I want to do this for myself. This is my one shot. I am going to be selfish for once. My highest has been 296 and I made my decision at 278. Right now I am 265. I am 5'8". I have completed my 6 months of required nutritional consults, Psych eval and EGD. I am awaiting the final word from the insurance company- I have been assured I have met my obligations. I have a 6/22 tentative date for the DS. I was going to go the sleeve route- but upon conversations with my surgeon- he referenced the fact that my insurance will never cover revision, if I have lived with this struggle my whole life I may need a malabsorption component and he recommended the DS for that. I relied on a lot of his experiences, including his own. The nurse in me is fine with surgery, pain management and mobility....I am most concerned about the risks of leak and not being able to balance the malnutrition. Wow- that was long huh? I am glad to be here and look forward to anything folks have to offer!

 

[KathrynK]

Welcome! The advice you will get here may help quell your worries about DS malnutrition. Many of the nutritionists and surgeons don't give specific DS info, and we have all learned from our lab tests what we need. Who is your surgeon?

 

[Pink Unicorn]

Welcome, Julie! I am also a mother of two kids, a 17-year-old son and a 15-year-old daughter. I am not as far along as you in the process - I have my psych eval tomorrow and my pulmonary pre-op clearance on Wednesday - but I understand your feelings and hesitations. Mostly because I have them too. I love this site and the people here are open, honest, and don't sugar coat anything. I wish you luck with your surgery.

 

[Munchkin]

You will be very glad you decided to do the whole thing! We are seeing more and more people being revised to the DS after the sleeve didn't give them the results they needed long term.

And just to be honest, the sleeve is just another diet with a smaller stomach. And how do diets work for you?

Welcome!

 

[Larra]

Hi and welcome! Good decision - when someone has struggled with weight for so very long, it's almost certain you need an operation that provides malabsorption and metabolic changes along with restriction. Who is your surgeon?

 

[southernlady]

Welcome @juliebird4828

 

[galaxygrrl]

Welcome! DS was the best thing I ever did for myself. You'll be so happy afterwards.

 

[writegirl]

Hey Julie! Glad you found your way here. As I mentioned in our chat, the incredible people on this site have taught and supported me since the start of my WLS journey. You are in the right place. Glad to see you

 

[juliebird4828]

Welcome! The advice you will get here may help quell your worries about DS malnutrition. Many of the nutritionists and surgeons don't give specific DS info, and we have all learned from our lab tests what we need. Who is your surgeon?

Thanks for the welcome! My surgeon is Dr. Gandhi in Rochester NY. He's pretty straight forward. I have done some work with primary care practices and care management/social determinants of health, etc. I just know the PCPs around here won't understand. Does anyone else seek care around here that has had DS? I am in the market for a new primary too

 

[juliebird4828]

Hi and welcome! Good decision - when someone has struggled with weight for so very long, it's almost certain you need an operation that provides malabsorption and metabolic changes along with restriction. Who is your surgeon?

Thanks! Dr. Gandhi in Rochester NY.

 

[juliebird4828]

Hey Julie! Glad you found your way here. As I mentioned in our chat, the incredible people on this site have taught and supported me since the start of my WLS journey. You are in the right place. Glad to see you

Thanks! Still learning my way around here- but so glad you helped me find my way!

 

[juliebird4828]

You will be very glad you decided to do the whole thing! We are seeing more and more people being revised to the DS after the sleeve didn't give them the results they needed long term.

And just to be honest, the sleeve is just another diet with a smaller stomach. And how do diets work for you?

Welcome!

Truth! thanks! I want to never use the word diet again

 

[Larra]

@juliebird4828 this is a surgeon I haven't heard of for the DS before. Have you verified with that he/she does the standard of care DS with 2 anastomoses? We are seeing a good number of surgeons these days saying they do "the DS" but actually doing an experimental variation that goes by a bunch of different names - loop DS/aka SADI/aka SIPS/aka modified DS and maybe others. Sadly, we've seen some people not having the results they expected and finding out a year or so post-op that they didn't get the DS they thought they were getting. So if he's doing the DS that's great, because we'd love to see more surgeons adding the DS to their practices. But you do need to make sure of what you are or aren't getting, and find a different surgeon if what this one is offering isn't what you want.

 

[juliebird4828]

It is the 2 anastomoses procedure, and he mentioned the others to me as an option but was also clear that that they aren't the standard. I have met one of his patients on another forum and I will verify with her- but she knew the surgeon he trained under and his name was well known. I appreciate the encouragement to ask. I have asked him to send me a visual for my procideure as we talked about it, but I didn't ask him to send me with a diagram.

 

[Larra]

I like that he was so forthright about the other procedure(s) not being standard. That speaks well for him.

Every patient should feel comfortable asking whatever and as many questions as he/she needs to ask. And diagrams are great as well.