Posted on 02/27/2010 2:29:11 PM PST by pgkdan
I'm scheduled to have Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery on March 18th. It has taken me 3 years to get to this point but now that it's here I'm starting to wonder if I'm making the right decision. This is a really serious procedure that will completely alter my digestive system. Losing weight will be great but havng my diabetes cured will be wonderful.
I don’t know much about the surgery. But I gather there are different types/ways to do it. I’ve heard bad things about the kind where they remove part of your intestines...as in actually take it out of your body and dispose of it. That kind is irreversible and if they take out too much, you gradually starve to death. There’s really no good way to figure out how much is too much.
There is another kind that has something to do with the duodenum. This kind practically cures diabetes almost instantly. Even before any weightloss even takes place.
Yes...the group I’m working with are a Center of Excellence for this procedure and my surgeon is highly recommended.
I believe this is what they call the surgery that my friend had, banding.
I had the surgery performed just 4 months ago, and I’ve lost close to 90 pounds. It was the smartest thing I’ve ever done. I was a chubby kid, and I’ve battled my weight my entire life. This surgery changed my life. I was boderline diabetic pre-surgery, and that’s no longer an issue. I probably needed to lose 130 pounds, and my doctor and I felt this was the best option. I’ve lost and gained weight my entire life, but I know that I’ll never be morbidly obese again. I see that several have commented that they know others that have gained some of the weight back...if you don’t embrace your new eating habits, yes, you can gain weight back. But it would be very, very difficult. Your body doesn’t absorb the calories the same way it did, so you really have to over do it to gain weight. Also, you need to deal with some of the emotional issues that contributed to you gaining the weight. I have, and I assure you that every pound I have lost and will lose, is gone forever. I paid for it out of my pocket ($28k), and I assure you that you can cost justify it by reduced food costs, not to mention prescription copays. Let me know if you have any questions.
Yeah...it's that forever part that scares me!
I have just started Victoza. Before you go under the knife look into it. They have just improved it and in three months it will improve again. It is a pain when it was first introduced but now that has changed.
That's the one I'm having. They reroute the duodenom so that the food never enters it. There are trials underway that are focusing on just bypassing the duodenom to cure diabetes. Tere's evidence that Type 2 disbetes has more to do with the duodenom that the pancreas.
My sister just had this surgery back in early November 2009. She had to go through 6 months of diet journals, extensive counseling (who had to have the final approval for her to have the procedure scheduled - the approval had to be done one month out), and already had to SUBSTANTIALLY alter her diet in prep for the surgery. Because of the alterations in her diet over the first 6 months, she had already lost 21 pounds the first 5 months before surgery, and another 15 the last month before surgery. (So, she lost about 36 pounds before the surgery even was done).
She didn’t have diabetes, though it runs heavily on my mom’s side. She does have high blood pressure, I believe.
Were you given/told to do all those 6 months of diet change/counseling, etc?
It helped my sister A LOT to adjust to the extreme change after the surgery. In fact, 2 weeks after her surgery, she was already on teeny tiny meals of solid foods - like 2-4 weeks ahead of schedule. When I say teeny tiny - I mean like a 1/4 bowl of chicken noodle soup for lunch or she had 1/4th of my whole grain sandwich as a meal.
She is doing pretty well now (after one small problem) and I think she’s up to the -63 or -67 range now after 4 months (plus the 6 months pre).
Do you have more specific questions? I can ask her if you’d like.
I will say that I hope that you have a surgeon who is VERY accustomed to doing them and knows you backwards and forwards. We’ve heard a couple of stories about people we’ve met’s relatives, etc - but those people had been told NOT to do the surgery by 2-3 doctors, but found a dr to do it, kind of thing.
I know it’s got to be a scary thing - but if I can help (via my sis) in any way, pls let me know. In the meantime - sending you many prayers!
From the description of your health, it doesn’t sound like it would hurt.
That’s great to hear! Good luck to you. How long was it before you were up on your feet and back to work?
Thank you so much for your informative post. I know someone that had gastric bypass and he too has regained some of the weight he initially lost. I guess it’s not that uncommon after a couple of years.
My niece has a friend whose father had it also, and he was one of the surgeries gone bad and required other surgeries to repair the damage. I’ve also heard of cases where people die from malnutrition afterward because the section needed for absorbing nutrients is the section they remove. Saw an article about a woman that died from this.
FR lost a FReeper ‘TexasFlower’ (Tammy) in 2005 from gastric bypass.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1439913/posts
PLEASE! I implore you...before taking this drastic step...read a little known book by a man Roger Troy Wilson called Let’s Do Lunch. It was nine months ago that I found this book searching the internet for anything about insulin resistance, which my doctor had diagnosed me having. This man has lived the life of morbid obesity...and his story can be read here.. http://www.letsdolunch.com/ I have lost 50 lbs effortlessly...and the most important part is that I’m NEVER hungry! I had been overweight my entire adult life and had tried everything from WW to Atkins...but have never felt “well”. At my last doctors visit all my blood tests were great! I was taken off of BP meds also...and I feel wonderful for the first time in years. I have a sister-in-law that had the surgical procedure done several years ago, and she has persistent bouts with anemia. I have recommended this book to several people who have tried Wilson’s suggested way of eating, and have lost weight. I have no weight loss goal...and it constantly amazes me how baggy my clothes are getting as I move into a smaller size...and I have no doubt I will maintain the weight loss because I love the foods so much...and I feel so well!!
That sounds familiar. But I think I remember reading that it doesn’t work on everyone. In other words, maybe somepeople have diabetes because of the duodenum, and others have it because of the pancreas. No way to know which one you are.
Yes...for a year I was seeing a DR.a nutritionist and a dietician. i take Humalin U500, a 5x consentrated dose of insulin 4 times a day and the Dr and dietician felt that as long as I was on that dieting was not going to work. I know that in the 14 months since starting the U500 I gained 75 lbs. My endocrinologist says I'm about the most insulin resistant person he's ever met. And BTW...I got diabetes BEFORE I got fat. I think starting on insulin was the worst thing that ever happened to me.
I read some articles that this surgery actually cures diabetes in a large fraction ( but not all) of people. I was searching for the article to post it for you and came across this “mini-bypass surgery”
They have links to some articles, one of which is:
Sleeve Gastrectomy Versus Gastric Bypass Comparison for Rx Diabetes
http://sites.google.com/a/clos.net/mini/sleeve-gastrectomy-versus-gastric-bypass-diabetes
“Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus resolution rate was significant better in
Mini-Gastric Bypass than Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy
( 90% vs 50%) “
I know nothing about either, nor the one you mentioned, but you might want to ask your doctor whether you are or should have this “mini-gastric bypass” and show him this paper. 90% success rate is quite remarkable. If you are having the more complete version, maybe you don’t need it and can have this mini-bypass.
Good luck!
L4 has lost 3 inches of heighth and L2 was shattered after being hit by a car while crossing the street. Thats my main problem besides the weight.
Why can’t your friend take vitamins? Is it because of the surgery or something else?
That's the case with the three people we know who've had it...a couple, though, took a little longer than 3 years.
not what you are asking, but... it seems radical to me,
since it affects the absorption of nutrients... but being
very overweight might be just as bad.
One of my biz partners lost an amazing amount of weight
by some limitations: no fruit juices or alcohol, limited
red meat, etc. Nothing complicated.
Dropped an amazing amount of fat rapidly and has kept it off
for more than a year now.
one point though... seems there is something that you must drink to allow for digestion to work properly (bear bile??). point being... this is the highest cause of divorce for marriages that went through it (incredibly bad smell after #2).
in order to save his marriage, my friend bought one of these:
he said it saved his marriage.
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