Has anyone had their DS revised to lose more weight?

[Sunshine68]

I am wondering if anyone with the DS has ever had their intestines shortened or stomach size made smaller so that they could lose more weight or if it's even a possibility. If so, could you please share your experience with me.

I'm feeling terribly frustrated. I had my surgery in December of 2013. I was extremely strict with my diet for the first year and went from 310 down to 185 then the weight loss just stopped. My goal was to get down to 145lbs as I am only 5'2. I had an iron infusion December 2014 and in January of 2015 had difficulty with very low phosphorous as a complication of the iron infusion-this particular one can cause hypophosphatemia. I Just couldn't seem to lose weight after the iron infusion and low phosphorous. I don't know if it's related or not.I eventually began to eat carbs and wasn't watching carefully. By the time Jan 2016 hit I had gained up to 205 lbs and now I am at 215lbs. I have been trying to get a handle on my food intake-particularly carbs but I'm struggling with it. I don't feel that I have very much restriction anymore and I can eat most foods without any problems. I never had many of the complications or running to the bathroom episodes others may have had when they ate fat.

I am just wondering what my options are. My surgeon did a one size fits all DS surgery-5 oz sleeve with a 100 common channel and I think I may be one of the individuals the one size fits all doesn't work for. Not that I don't have to do my part, because I do, but I could not get my weight to budge after a year and that was eating very low carbs. I'm not sure where to go from here and I'm just very depressed about this. I am going to continue to try to get my carbs reigned in and once I do I am going to attempt to do that for a good amount of time to see if I begin to lose again; however, I want to know what all my options are. I'm grateful to no longer be over 300 lbs; however, I'm still obese at 5'2 and 215 lbs. Feeling defeated. I am interested in any suggestions for getting back on track and if you know anyone that has had a DS revision to lose more weight I would really love to hear from you or them.

Thank you,
MG

 

[DianaCox]

Average weight loss for the DS is 75% of excess weight. Short women lose the least, on average. Shortening your common channel likely isn't an option, and making your stomach smaller will more likely cause more problems than it might solve in the short run.

After a DS, dieting works, which means strict low carb, high protein. And more exercise.

 

[southernlady]

Welcome, @Sunshine68

What I would do is log my food. You want to count grams of protein, fat, and carbs. Don't count calories but calories do count...if not eating enough protein and fat (and fat is very calorie dense), you will stall or regain.

Also join in on the Sunday Weigh In thread that I post weekly. http://bariatricfacts.org/forums/staying-on-track.40/

 

[Larra]

Well hi there! Glad you found your way here.
I agree with everyone else that going low carb is the way to go. However, I still think it couldn't hurt to consult with one of the DS surgeons who does revisions. Even if they say no, at least you would know where you stand. No harm in asking, right?

 

[Munchkin]

I never hurts to ask! Results of the DS are a bell curve. For every *LUCKY* one who loses too much, someone else doesn't lose enough. Sorry! I'm right there with you and ohhhh how I longed to say these 00 jeans are just too loose... Hey after being a fatty all my life I just once wanted to see the other side! And as Diana said, average is 75% and I believe most of the surgeons claim success at 50%. Almost every DSer I know who is 10+ years post wants to lose weight.

We never stop chasing the dream! We can never be rich enough or thin enough!

 

[DSRIGGS]

Do you know how long your AL is.

I never hurts to ask! Results of the DS are a bell curve. For every *LUCKY* one who loses too much, someone else doesn't lose enough. Sorry! I'm right there with you and ohhhh how I longed to say these 00 jeans are just too loose... Hey after being a fatty all my life I just once wanted to see the other side! And as Diana said, average is 75% and I believe most of the surgeons claim success at 50%. Almost every DSer I know who is 10+ years post wants to lose weight.

We never stop chasing the dream! We can never be rich enough or thin enough!

I believe this to be true for the Standard Limb Length DS - that is an unnecessary crap shoot, IMO. If a Hess DS is done properly then weight loss will be within a range that will yield that 80% EWL +/- a few percentage points. I am soap boxing but I just can't for the life of me understand why surgeons won't take the extra 15 minutes to measure the SBL and then do the appropriate limb lengths. If we are going to do this thing they need to do it right and give the BEST OPPORTUNITY for success. What they did to you is not acceptable anymore than what they did to me. We both deserved better.

 

[-Flo-]

Mary, I am so sorry you are going thru this. I also think you should consult with a DS surgeon that does revisions. Where do you live, we may be able to give you suggestions of vetted DS surgeons who do the Hess method. Would you be willing to self pay?

 

[raven300]

I was just re-sleeved last month.

I had the DS in May of 2010 and went from 320 down to 140 within the first two years. Managed to maintain the low weight within 10 lbs until early 2015 when I began gaining. While I'd like to say that the gain back up to 200 lbs was due to depression, stress, and going on anti-depressants, the truth is that while those might have played a part, I just basically failed and screwed things up by myself. I let the carbs creep back in, consumed a fair amount of non diet soda as an "upper", and a lot of wine as a "downer" at the end of the day. I gained 50 pounds within 6 months and couldn't seem to fix my eating habits despite my ability to follow my plan previously and really work my DS. I tried talking with my doctor and seeing a therapist for help - neither of which proved helpful because I live outside the USA in a country with pretty crummy attitudes towards mental health issues.

As I felt completely out of control and was afraid that another 6 months would see me back to my giant weight, I decided to revisit my surgeon and get a re-sleeve. I had great restriction for the first 2 years but thru my own poor choices, really stretched out my sleeve. I was very excited to get back to a restriction and be forced back into good behaviour. After my first surgery, I discovered that my hatred of vomiting helped me to be a model patient. I ate just protein, small quantities, ate slowly, chewed very very well. If I didn't, I would vomit and I learned I really don't enjoy that.

I was informed at the hospital that they almost never do the DS anymore. Not because it wasn't effective but because patients have to have exactly the right type of personality and intelligence in order to get the type of care and vitamins they need post-op. They had found that most primary care doctors were unhelpful and uneducated and that patients suffered from vitamin deficiencies and were unable to advocate for themselves ( I guess those patients didn't have forums like this one). I mention this change in attitude because perhaps it impacted my results.

After my resleeve, I was very surprised that I had no trouble consuming liquids. After the first surgery, I could take like 1/2 a sip of water at one time. This time, no problems. No problems eating my breakfast of 125 grams of applesauce or my glass of 150ml of milk along with the plain yogurt they served. Fast forward a month and I have no feelings of restriction whatsoever. I've spoken with the doctors and they tell me that they did indeed trim my sleeve but if I didn't have the scars, I wouldn't believe it.

I have been successful in eating properly again. No soda, no alcohol, very low carbs, lots of water. If I am going to lose the weight, I'll have to do it on my own. I find that I have the motivation now that I lacked before the re-sleeve. I've returned to the forums looking for information and found most of the people whose posts I used to read religiously on OH then on Proboards have migrated here. I've started using the myfitnesspal website to track my intake of food and water and my exercise.

I'd seriously try the zero carb, everything like you used to method before proceeding with any additional surgery. I've done a lot of crying in the last month as I discovered there was never going to be restriction again for me. I've done a fair amount of calling myself an idiot and thinking of how stupid I was as well as some weeping over the money I spent to get the additional surgery that didn't give me the outcome I was hoping for.

Maybe a new surgery will work for you. Maybe you'll just spend money to have the doctors tell you that they didn't want to give you too much restriction this time around because, after all, the DS has malabsorption issues...so they just trimmed things up (in a way you can't notice). I wouldn't have had the re-sleeve if I knew it would be like this.

 

[KathrynK]

I think this discussion is very important for people considering DS. There is no magic. Meal size and food choice will always matter. I am okay with small meals as long as I never go hungry because I can eat another small meal soon. I'm okay with giving up pasta as long as I can have Alfredo sauce on chicken. I can give up soda and juice, but I am not okay giving up wine, which is my downfall. And there's that box of chocolates calling my name. We all struggle with giving up a lifetime of bad eating. No one is perfect in this journey, but DS success is based on thoughtful decisions every day, every meal, every restaurant menu. That is forever. It doesn't work all by itself. It is the easiest way I have ever had to lose weight, and I never have to go hungry, but it hasn't been effortless for me to maintain the weight loss. We have all used food for a reason other than nutrition, and those reasons will still be there after you leave the operating room. Newbies, you've been warned.

 

[Ralph]

I am wondering if anyone with the DS has ever had their intestines shortened or stomach size made smaller so that they could lose more weight or if it's even a possibility. If so, could you please share your experience with me.

I'm feeling terribly frustrated. I had my surgery in December of 2013. I was extremely strict with my diet for the first year and went from 310 down to 185 then the weight loss just stopped. My goal was to get down to 145lbs as I am only 5'2. I had an iron infusion December 2014 and in January of 2015 had difficulty with very low phosphorous as a complication of the iron infusion-this particular one can cause hypophosphatemia. I Just couldn't seem to lose weight after the iron infusion and low phosphorous. I don't know if it's related or not.I eventually began to eat carbs and wasn't watching carefully. By the time Jan 2016 hit I had gained up to 205 lbs and now I am at 215lbs. I have been trying to get a handle on my food intake-particularly carbs but I'm struggling with it. I don't feel that I have very much restriction anymore and I can eat most foods without any problems. I never had many of the complications or running to the bathroom episodes others may have had when they ate fat.

I am just wondering what my options are. My surgeon did a one size fits all DS surgery-5 oz sleeve with a 100 common channel and I think I may be one of the individuals the one size fits all doesn't work for. Not that I don't have to do my part, because I do, but I could not get my weight to budge after a year and that was eating very low carbs. I'm not sure where to go from here and I'm just very depressed about this. I am going to continue to try to get my carbs reigned in and once I do I am going to attempt to do that for a good amount of time to see if I begin to lose again; however, I want to know what all my options are. I'm grateful to no longer be over 300 lbs; however, I'm still obese at 5'2 and 215 lbs. Feeling defeated. I am interested in any suggestions for getting back on track and if you know anyone that has had a DS revision to lose more weight I would really love to hear from you or them.

Thank you,
MG

I hope your situation worked out for you. I too just appear to have had / having a bout w post infusion hypophosphatemia after a FCM iron infusion. Wondering how that wound up for you?