ShrinkingMyTiara
Well-Known Member
Hi everyone!
I thought I'd start a new journey here to track my experience with this surgery as I've found reading others threads to be so helpful!
I guess I should start with my whys. I have had issues with my weight since I was a teenager. I hit puberty and the weight started piling on. When I was 14 my parents decided to go vegan and while everyone else in the family did well with it I got very sick. Within the year I had gained 60 lbs and an autoimmune disease (that wasn't actually diagnosed until I was 26). I was in pain constantly. I started developing food sensitivities to grains, veggies, and fruits. I broke out in a rash over most of my body. I was not a happy person. I think the switch to a heavily carb diet really pissed off my system. I do much better with fat and protein.
I was vegan for 8 years and gained steadily until I was about 220lbs. When I was 24 I met my spouse and moved to NZ and my diet became much more balanced but my weight didn't seem to care. At 26 I was diagnosed with autoimmune arthritis. The rheumatologist said it was probably triggered by the diet change as a kid, some bodies treat that sort of thing as a trauma. We moved to the US for a while and over the next 10 years I gained more weight and the autoimmune disease got worse, affecting my spine, digestive system, and eyes. So I finally went on a biologic which keeps it down to a dull roar. In that time I also developed pretty severe deficiencies in Vitamin D and Iron. I take large doses of Vitamin D and have regular iron infusions, my GI tract just does not absorb it and taking it by mouth makes me very sick. They now say I have ankylosing spondylitis.
About 4 years ago the co-morbidities started. High blood pressure, sleep apnea, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, hypothyroidism, then two year ago diabetes. A few weeks after I was diagnosed with diabetes I was diagnosed with endometrial cancer. They caught it just in time. A hysterectomy was curative, though I still have my ovaries themselves thankfully. The oncologist says losing weight will decrease my risk of recurrence. I also found out I carry a gene mutation for breast cancer and that oncologist said losing weight could decrease my chances of breast cancer too. So it was clear what I needed to do...
I've tried all sorts of different things for weight loss over the years. Pills, meds, injections, every diet under the sun, extreme exercise, etc... Nothing budges more than 10 lbs at a time. My weight gain continued even in the face of years of a 1300 calorie low carb diet. My highest weight was over 320. Some of my weight gain is definitely from steroids for the autoimmune flares.
On Nov. 1st I have surgery with Dr. Pilati here in NC! He's a very kind, compassionate doctor who will spend over an hour answering any question I've come up with! I consulted with another doctor but ultimately went with Pilati because he actually answers what I ask and is very thorough. He consulted with my gastroenterologist to make sure the DS would be safe for me, she feels it will be. But we've decided on a longer common channel due to the deficiencies and autoimmune history. We'll go with 175cm and a stomach with a bit larger top to help with the reflux as I have chronic heartburn. I'm hoping the weight loss will help with that.
I'm excited!! I'm ready for the comorbidities to be gone and this extra weight! I've never been below 200 as an adult. My starting weight is 312 (I'm not losing a thing on this pre-op diet unfortunately), the surgeon's goal we agreed upon is 180, my personal goal is 170. But to be honest anything below 200 would be amazing. I can do so much more at that weight and the chronic fatigue and fibro I have aren't as severe then. My biggest worry is a flare after surgery from the surgical trauma, and that I won't absorb the meds I take for my depression and PTSD, though the psych has worked with Dr. Pilati on other cases and feels we'll be able to make something work!
Okay, I'm done rambling. If you got through that wall of text you deserve a gold star! Thank you! LOL
I thought I'd start a new journey here to track my experience with this surgery as I've found reading others threads to be so helpful!
I guess I should start with my whys. I have had issues with my weight since I was a teenager. I hit puberty and the weight started piling on. When I was 14 my parents decided to go vegan and while everyone else in the family did well with it I got very sick. Within the year I had gained 60 lbs and an autoimmune disease (that wasn't actually diagnosed until I was 26). I was in pain constantly. I started developing food sensitivities to grains, veggies, and fruits. I broke out in a rash over most of my body. I was not a happy person. I think the switch to a heavily carb diet really pissed off my system. I do much better with fat and protein.
I was vegan for 8 years and gained steadily until I was about 220lbs. When I was 24 I met my spouse and moved to NZ and my diet became much more balanced but my weight didn't seem to care. At 26 I was diagnosed with autoimmune arthritis. The rheumatologist said it was probably triggered by the diet change as a kid, some bodies treat that sort of thing as a trauma. We moved to the US for a while and over the next 10 years I gained more weight and the autoimmune disease got worse, affecting my spine, digestive system, and eyes. So I finally went on a biologic which keeps it down to a dull roar. In that time I also developed pretty severe deficiencies in Vitamin D and Iron. I take large doses of Vitamin D and have regular iron infusions, my GI tract just does not absorb it and taking it by mouth makes me very sick. They now say I have ankylosing spondylitis.
About 4 years ago the co-morbidities started. High blood pressure, sleep apnea, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, hypothyroidism, then two year ago diabetes. A few weeks after I was diagnosed with diabetes I was diagnosed with endometrial cancer. They caught it just in time. A hysterectomy was curative, though I still have my ovaries themselves thankfully. The oncologist says losing weight will decrease my risk of recurrence. I also found out I carry a gene mutation for breast cancer and that oncologist said losing weight could decrease my chances of breast cancer too. So it was clear what I needed to do...
I've tried all sorts of different things for weight loss over the years. Pills, meds, injections, every diet under the sun, extreme exercise, etc... Nothing budges more than 10 lbs at a time. My weight gain continued even in the face of years of a 1300 calorie low carb diet. My highest weight was over 320. Some of my weight gain is definitely from steroids for the autoimmune flares.
On Nov. 1st I have surgery with Dr. Pilati here in NC! He's a very kind, compassionate doctor who will spend over an hour answering any question I've come up with! I consulted with another doctor but ultimately went with Pilati because he actually answers what I ask and is very thorough. He consulted with my gastroenterologist to make sure the DS would be safe for me, she feels it will be. But we've decided on a longer common channel due to the deficiencies and autoimmune history. We'll go with 175cm and a stomach with a bit larger top to help with the reflux as I have chronic heartburn. I'm hoping the weight loss will help with that.
I'm excited!! I'm ready for the comorbidities to be gone and this extra weight! I've never been below 200 as an adult. My starting weight is 312 (I'm not losing a thing on this pre-op diet unfortunately), the surgeon's goal we agreed upon is 180, my personal goal is 170. But to be honest anything below 200 would be amazing. I can do so much more at that weight and the chronic fatigue and fibro I have aren't as severe then. My biggest worry is a flare after surgery from the surgical trauma, and that I won't absorb the meds I take for my depression and PTSD, though the psych has worked with Dr. Pilati on other cases and feels we'll be able to make something work!
Okay, I'm done rambling. If you got through that wall of text you deserve a gold star! Thank you! LOL
