Introduce yourself

[Sherry]

Hello Everyone! My name is Sherry and I live in Ontario, Canada. I am researching to get as much information I can on DS. I had RNY 3 years ago and I lost 90 lbs. I have now gained 20lbs back and have stretched my pouch. I am terrified of gaining all my weight back. I have COPD (lung disease early stages) and I have problems now going up and down my stairs. My BMI is only about 30 now, and I am afraid that I will not be a good candidate for the surgery. I am an emotional eater and got back into my bad habits of eating junk food. I need the DS done as I feel it will help keep me stay more on track. Is it available in Ontario, Canada and is it covered by OHIP? Thank You for listening. God Bless!

Sherry

 

[Sherry]

I'll start....I am Elizabeth, aka southernlady or southernlady5464 depending on where else you may know me.

My husband and I both had weight loss surgery (the Duodenal Switch) about 3 years ago. He had his 3 year surgiversary in Dec, mine is the end of this month.

We live in Western North Carolina near family. But we are emtpy nesters...okay except for all the furchildren (6 cats and 2 dogs). I'm 59 years old.

I was on 11 medications pre-op including an insulin pump as I WAS an insulin pump dependent type 2 diabetic. Now, I maintain a 100% EWL, am on only 2 prescription medications (both unrelated to needing surgery). The insulin pump is long history.

I chose the DS for two reasons, I needed to be able to take NSAIDS as I have severe arthritis in my back. And I wanted the BEST shot at resolving my diabetes.

Come introduce yourself!

Hi Southernlady, my name is sherry, I am 5'4" and I was 250 lbs before my RNY. I lost 90 lbs. Since then 3 years later, I have regained 20 lbs. I am disgusted in myself as I went back to my old eating habits. I am always tired after I eat and go lay down. I have no motivation to do anything. I do suffer from Mental illness, which may have a lot do with me going back to my old ways. I got very depressed after the surgery. I am 49 and I am in full menopause, I also take medication that you can gain weight from. I feel like I am a hopeless case! From what I am reading it is a very difficult procedure going from RNY to DS, is that true? Please get back to me and let me know what your thoughts are about me and what I should do. I have been doing a lot of reading up on the DS and feel it would be the better the better procedure for me. What do you think?

Sincerely
Sherry

 

[southernlady]

Welcome @Sherry
It IS difficult but not impossible to be revised. The number of revision DS surgeons is very small compared to those who can do a virgin DS. So you are right to do your research.

 

[JackieOnLine]

Hi Sherry & welcome!

 

[Terri]

@Sherry Welcome!

 

[Sherry]

Thank You Terri!

 

[Sherry]

Hi Sherry & welcome!

Thank You !

 

[Elizabeth N.]

if you don't get the emotional eating thing in check, you should not have further surgery.

 

[Larra]

Sherry, hi and welcome!
Yes, going from RNY to DS is a very difficult surgery and carries higher risk than a virgin DS. And there are less surgeons that do it, so depending on where you are, you may need to travel a good distance.
But I also think the DS could make a big difference in your life. Of course there is no operation that fixes everything, and it's best to get whatever mental illness you have under the best possible control prior to surgery, but sometimes it's also easier to treat depression when you feel better about yourself, have more energy, and don't feel like a failure. And if you can possibly get off of whatever medications you take that are contributing to weight regain, that would make a difference as well.
Sometimes we find ourselves in those situations where one problem leads to another, or treating one problem causes worsening of another problem. If you need those meds, you need them, but they make the weight problem worse, which in turn makes the depression worse, which means you need the meds...and so on. I hope the DS can help you break that cycle.

 

[janneh]

Hi folks My name is Jan and I live in WA state. I finally got the courage to go from band to sleeve and chose Dr. Aceves. Of course you know what happened. Dr .Aceves was killed in a crash. Even though I didn't know him it made me sad because of doing so much reading about him. Now there is a Dr. Gilberto Ungson who is taking over some of his surgeries. Unfortunately I only see a handful or posing for him. does anyone know anything about him? Also how long does it take you to go back to work after a revision?

 

[Terri]

@janneh Welcome! I know Dr. Ungson is a vetted DS surgeon but I am not sure about doing revisions. I am sure one of the more knowledge persons will be along to help answer.

 

[JackieOnLine]

Hi folks My name is Jan and I live in WA state. I finally got the courage to go from band to sleeve and chose Dr. Aceves. Of course you know what happened. Dr .Aceves was killed in a crash. Even though I didn't know him it made me sad because of doing so much reading about him. Now there is a Dr. Gilberto Ungson who is taking over some of his surgeries. Unfortunately I only see a handful or posing for him. does anyone know anything about him? Also how long does it take you to go back to work after a revision?

hello Janneh!

how long you need off work is really going to vary based on how your health is in general and how the surgery goes - I understand they can't really tell what-all is going on in there until you are in surgery. how long have you had a band? what kind of work do you do? - lots of variables. glad to see you posting, feel free to start your own threads with questions.

edited for a better welcome pic

 

[southernlady]

Welcome, @janneh

 

[Larra]

Welcome Janneh!
Dr. Ungson is very well known to us, has been doing the DS (which of course includes the sleeve) more than the 8 years that I've been around, and has an excellent reputation. He is also the surgeon who trained Dr. Aceves to do the DS, though Dr. Aceves had already done many, many sleeves. We are all saddened by the loss of Dr. Aceves, but you won't go wrong with Dr. Ungson.

While you're at it, if you haven't already, be sure to research the DS as well as the sleeve. While the sleeve does work well for some people, we are seeing more and more people with sleeves seeking revisions after a few years. No matter how narrow the sleeve is made, it does stretch with time. And you have already experienced the results, or lack thereof, with one restrictive operation (though lap band and sleeve are different and sleeve results are better). So, depending on your situation, you might benefit greatly from having an operation that combines both restriction and malabsorption. And Dr. Ungson would be an excellent choice for either operation. Just something to think about.

 

[Elizabeth N.]

Hi Southernlady, my name is sherry, I am 5'4" and I was 250 lbs before my RNY. I lost 90 lbs. Since then 3 years later, I have regained 20 lbs. I am disgusted in myself as I went back to my old eating habits. I am always tired after I eat and go lay down. I have no motivation to do anything. I do suffer from Mental illness, which may have a lot do with me going back to my old ways. I got very depressed after the surgery. I am 49 and I am in full menopause, I also take medication that you can gain weight from. I feel like I am a hopeless case! From what I am reading it is a very difficult procedure going from RNY to DS, is that true? Please get back to me and let me know what your thoughts are about me and what I should do. I have been doing a lot of reading up on the DS and feel it would be the better the better procedure for me. What do you think?

Sincerely
Sherry

Sherry, with a BMI of 30 you are not a candidate for any revision surgery. With inadequately treated mental illness, you are not a candidate for any revision surgery. With emotional eating ruling what you put in your mouth, you are not a candidate for any revision surgery.

See a pattern here?

Therapy, therapy and more therapy. Then revisit the issue. I was in therapy for seven years of hard-core, twice weekly outpatient work before I could even sit in the same room with the subject of my emotional eating and my size issues. It took many more years of very hard therapy work before I was ready to DO something about it. I know, all too well, just how profound emotional eating issues can be.

Trust me, if you don't get that stuff fixed, you'll wreck a DS.