whew...it's been forever...hi again!

conceit

Baroness
Joined
Jan 7, 2014
Messages
188
Hi everybody,

I hope you are all doing well! I have been away for a very long stretch this time. On my end, I've switched careers since then, exited a long term relationship, become a caregiver to my mother and have maintained normal A1Cs (between 4.9 and 5.5, averaging around 5.2) and slightly elevated fasting numbers (100-115) for about 5 years now. My kidneys, livers, eyes etc. are all fine. Coronary arteries look great on CT coronary angiograms, so I'd say so far so good on the Diabetes front. If I count the 'pre-D' years, I have probably been diabetic for close to 10 years now. Keeping fingers crossed :)

I have mild sleep apnea for which I use daily CPAP. Cholesterol levels are a bit elevated but otherwise stable.

My weight, despite a keto-ish low carb diet (under 30 grams of carbs per day, no more than 5 grams of net carbs for dinner), has stayed about the same. I work out on and off, but as we all know, neither the diet nor weight would have done much with my endocrine system and body being what it is.

Thankfully, If I may say so myself, successfully managing diabetes for close to half a decade, which is both not very long and an eternity considering the level of discipline I have exercised every single day for years on end, has given me a lot of confidence about managing life after WLS. I have refused meds like Jardiance and the weight loss drugs (Victoza), preferring to maintain my numbers through diet, exercise and metformin usage alone. It's worked okay so far, but I can't count on it forever as I head towards my 40s in the next couple of years.

I have not opted for the DS, because caregiving and COVID both impacted my finances in the last couple of years. I am saving up for it again and will be able to self-pay by the end of the year.

But if I am honest, there's also a part of me that wants to keep managing diabetes the way I've been doing so far because I worry about the nutritional impact of the DS, 30, 40 years down the line.

And I am also aware I will not always be lucky enough to manage diabetes just with diet, exercise and metformin. So the DS is my best bet for remission and better outcomes regarding coronary artery disease (for which I have a family history) later in life. It's still a very daunting decision to me. All these years later, a big life changing surgery like the DS feels like a massive responsibility (and it is). It intimidates me, if I am honest.

And maybe that's how it is for us anxious folks until we have our surgeries. :)

Quick questions:

A while back I had read Vitalady was no longer operating her supplements business, if I recall correctly. Where do folks buy DS vites these days, usually? I will also look up the forum for more details tomorrow.

Do folks know if Dr. Ungson/Dr. Esquerra and/or Dr. Marchesini are still working? I will email them this week as well.

Thank you all for reading, for your compassion and support through the years. When I first joined DS spaces, I was a baby...like I was barely 24. I can't believe I am 34 now. Time really does fly by. I am so glad this amazing group is still active. You were the first place I thought of as I ventured back into caring for my body long term.
 
A while back I had read Vitalady was no longer operating her supplements business, if I recall correctly. Where do folks buy DS vites these days, usually? I will also look up the forum for more details tomorrow.

Do folks know if Dr. Ungson/Dr. Esquerra and/or Dr. Marchesini are still working? I will email them this week as well.
Vitalady has gone out of business. Michelle passed away in Feb 2019, Don, husband, passed March 2022. Ben their son tried to keep it going but nothing was spelled out in Michelle or Don’s will so the lawyer told him he had to close up shop.

We‘Ve been using Amazon pretty much for most of what we need.
Mexicali Bariatric Center is still going strong with Drs. Ungson, Esquerra, and Wilhemy all in practice.
Dr. Marchesini, I think Sr. retired but Jr is active.
 
Hi there.

If I were you, I’d be begging to try Mounjaro.

As I am me, I have asked doctors to prescribe it, but they won’t because I’m not diabetic. As a diabetes drug, it’s great. As a weight loss drug, it’s spectacular. I could probably get a script for it for weight loss from a quack shop, but I can’t afford to pay full price for it off label.
 
Hi there.

If I were you, I’d be begging to try Mounjaro.

..... As a diabetes drug, it’s great. As a weight loss drug, it’s spectacular. ...

FWIIW... back when I had T2 diabetes people swore Byetta, a GLP 1 agonist, would help one loose weight, as well as control BG. Well, for me , it helped with theT2 diabetes, but was no help for weight loss

DS completely resolved the T2 ( last A1c was< 4.2), and it did it almost immediately.

Here's hoping Monjaro works for weight loss for those who try it.
 
Hi everybody,

.....Coronary arteries look great on CT coronary angiograms,

...., I was a baby...like I was barely 24. I can't believe I am 34 now. ...

Well, FWIIW, 34 is still very young, and might account for the heart health

Alas, things get worse as you get older, and one of the helpful modifiable factors for comorbidities is obesity control. One can do something about obesity, age, OTOH, is inexorably unmodifiable

Compared to age, obesity control is paddling about on a summer day in a backwoods pond. Age is like being tossed about with a broken main mast and lost rudder in an antarctic winter's gale, with the ship taking on water no matter how hard you pump.


Age... definitely not for sissies
 
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Age... definitely not for sissies
That is so true. Age is not kind when you carry a bunch of extra weight.

If I could go back in time I would have gotten my DS 25 years ago, but I thought I could right the ship myself. When you are genetically wired to keep extra weight it is a losing battle that creeps into so many corners of your life you don't even realize how big of a burden it was until you are free. It's not just the weight.... It is feeling like a failure because you can't lose it, people judging you or at least your perception of them judging you.....

There are"side effects" , but I don't regret my decision even a little bit.
 

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