Hello from TN

bbenedict98

New Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2018
Messages
4
Hi Y'all,
Researching options for weight loss surgery. Have my last weigh-in Dec 6th, hope to be on my journey by the end of 2018 or the first of 2019. I have struggled to lose weight the better part of my adult life so I am looking forward to having a new tool to help me get my life back.
 
Hi and welcome bbenedict98! Getting a DS was one of the best decisions I ever made, with my only regret being not having done it sooner! The main reason I chose DS was that diets never worked for me long term, so I knew that restriction alone wouldn't be enough. I needed malabsorption too. Also I wanted to eat regular-sized meals and be as "normal" as the next person. Wishing you all the best on your journey. Get the best surgeon you possibly can! Happy to answer any questions you might have.
 
My surgeon will be Dr. Boyce in Knoxville, I had said the sleeve originally but now that I understand a little more and my insurance has confirmed as long as my doctor recommends I am looking into the BPD/DS.
 
My surgeon will be Dr. Boyce in Knoxville, I had said the sleeve originally but now that I understand a little more and my insurance has confirmed as long as my doctor recommends I am looking into the BPD/DS.
Boyce was my surgeon almost 8 years ago. He is a fantastic cutter but do NOT let them make you buy any of the Barilife products and if you can manage to avoid their preop diet plan, do it...for a good preop diet, lean meat and green leafy veggies. (or sauted squash mixed with some onion).

As to vitamins, the Vitalady list is a GREAT place to start https://bariatricfacts.org/threads/vitalady-links.11/
I bought ONE bottle of his vitamins and they were nasty tasting plus his wife is the CEO of the BariLife side and for him to recommend them to the point of almost harassment is, in my opinion, unethical.

Learn to smile and nod at his nuts, they give RNY advice. I've seen both the RNY and DS plans, identical down to all they did was change RNY to BPD/DS. Example, fat grams...they say low or no fat. For a DSer (AND I HAVE tried to explain this to them...I got the RCA Dog Look), fat is needed to keep skin nice, brain working, and being able to POOP normally. https://bariatricfacts.org/threads/fats-are-not-the-enemy.3185/
Also read this: https://bariatricfacts.org/threads/ds-math.735/

Btw, most of us on the DS boards just use the DS not BP/DS. While technically correct, the BPD part is all most medical personnel hear and that surgery is no longer done.

Best thing to do is read everything you can here. And ask questions if you get confused.
 
Hi and welcome bbenedict98! Getting a DS was one of the best decisions I ever made, with my only regret being not having done it sooner! The main reason I chose DS was that diets never worked for me long term, so I knew that restriction alone wouldn't be enough. I needed malabsorption too. Also I wanted to eat regular-sized meals and be as "normal" as the next person. Wishing you all the best on your journey. Get the best surgeon you possibly can! Happy to answer any questions you might have.
Hello, when I started I was going to do the sleeve, but then I after looking into it I started thinking the DS would be a better option for me. I never over eat but struggle to lose weight (aka malabsorption would be beneficial) and long term dieting is not something I think I will be successful at it. However all the info on the DS is very confusing. If I am understanding correctly you are taking like 20 something supplements a day costing about $80.+ a month forever? I have read horror stories about people losing all their teeth and losing hair....have you had any problems with things like this?
 
Vitamins: depends on your labs and where/how you buy.
What DSers start with: https://bariatricfacts.org/threads/vitalady-links.11/ and then tweak based on your lab work. Always get a copy of your labs. Do not rely on any medical personnel to tell you. All they look at is if it’s too high or too low. Not the trends.

Hair: yes, hair can thin and at least one never recovered her original amount. But she figured it was a small price to pay for living. https://bariatricfacts.org/threads/omg-my-hair-is-falling-out.150/

Dental: if you ignore your calcium and D, your PTH will go up which means it’s pulling calcium from your bones and teeth to protect your heart. Many think dental issues go hand in hand with the DS but not so. If you had poor dental care as a child, you will pay the price even without WLS. Or if you choose to ingest too much sweet drinks, soda, tea, etc. But for every one who has issues, you can trace them back to before the DS UNLESS they don’t take enough calcium and D and ignore their labs.

We’ve heard the horror stories. But even the few who have had issues know it’s the best thing we’ve ever done for ourselves.
 
Hello, when I started I was going to do the sleeve, but then I after looking into it I started thinking the DS would be a better option for me. I never over eat but struggle to lose weight (aka malabsorption would be beneficial) and long term dieting is not something I think I will be successful at it. However all the info on the DS is very confusing. If I am understanding correctly you are taking like 20 something supplements a day costing about $80.+ a month forever? I have read horror stories about people losing all their teeth and losing hair....have you had any problems with things like this?

Hi, I'm six years post surgery. I take calcium (2 pills x 2 daily), dry vit D, vit A, k1, k2, 2 multivitamins. I also get iron infusions every once in a while as I don't tolerate oral iron well. I eat a very high protein diet with unlimited fat. Other than that I'm fine. My hair and fingernails grow like weeds. Teeth are great, only regret there is I threw out my retainer as a teenager and so they aren't as straight as they could be!

I'm a bit of an unusual case as I had cancer surgery about 6 months after DS and they removed big parts of my pancreas and liver, so following the cancer surgery, there was a time where I was losing too much weight too quickly (common for people with the cancer surgery I had). The remaining part of my pancreas was basically on strike, so I went on CREON (supplemental pancreatic enzymes)and Welchol (a drug taken to reduce some undesirable side effects of CREON). I was able to stop that after about a year or so. I'm now intentionally chubbier than I would be otherwise (I eat all the carbs I want) as odds are great I will lose all of my pancreas someday, and then I will have a really rough go of maintaining weight - that's not due at all to the DS though, only the cancer... And that's still 150 lbs lighter than my weight the night before DS. I LOVE that the DS allows me to be whatever weight I want. Honestly, I'm about the worst case scenario for any WLS - to find out afterward that bits and bobs of other organs need to be removed. Still, my only regret with DS is not having done it sooner. It is so worth the effort.

All the best!
 
Hi! Welcome aboard.

We may not have much in common, but I'll overshare. I have a TON of issues to deal with. But I think a reasonable caveat is to not blame every problem you have after the DS on the DS. There are life choices and genetics and other things to consider.

So, I got the LapBand in 2002. Three years later, I weighed three pounds more than I did pre-op. I had lost about 60# and gained about 63# and a case of GERD as well as (self-diagnosed but observed w/fluoroscopy and witnesses) gastroparesis.

In 2005, I regained my sanity (such as it is) and had the DS. I still have the band...but it's where it belongs, in a Ziploc bag. So in a couple of weeks, it will be thirteen years! My starting BMI was a bit over 53. Currently, it is about 33. So I'm still "obese." But not as bad as the BMI charts would have us believe...because when I was a sweet young thing, built like a brick shit house and even at the end of Army Basic Training, my weight per the BMI charts categorized me as "overweight," which I was not. I'd guess that, ideally, I should lose about 30 pounds...as opposed to the 50 pounds the chart would have me lose. If I ever find myself a teensy bit motivated, it isn't that hard to do w/the DS. Just live on bacon and eggs, steak and eggs, ham and cheese omelettes...and there ya go.

Deal is, though, I'm no longer super morbidly obese, or morbidly obese, as I was thirteen years ago. Also,
I have close to zero self-control, and eat way too much junk.

I take lots of supplements. Lots. And many of them are because of the DS. Others are because I have osteoporosis. (Is that because of the DS? Maybe. Or maybe it's because my mom had it.) The cost is manageable.

I get iron infusions...maybe every 9-18 months. I was always a tad anemic. Now, it may not be worse...it is probably because I'm paying far more attention than I did in the past.

Also, in a few weeks, I'll be 72-damned-years old. Without the DS, I wouldn't have made it to 60.

Anyway, there's my overshare.

Welcome,

Sue
 
Let's be honest. The sleeve is just another diet with a smaller stomach. Restriction only. Do diets work for you? Think twice and cut once! And welcome to the board!
 
Thank you all for sharing! I don't want to hear just the good, or the just the bad, I like to hear the good, bad, and ugly.:D
 

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