• American Bariatrics is a free online Bariatric Support Group. Register for your free account and get access to all of our great features!

Surgery 2-12-20

My name is Jamie, and I live in North Carolina. Struggled with weight all my life. Lost weight/ Gained it back and so on. Finally decided to discuss this with my primary Dr, he had suggested it sooner, but I wanted to first try to lose it myself. Well this summer, after talking to my wife's cousin (She had gastric sleeve) i started the process and after talking to the surgeon and since my Insurance will cover it, I'll be having The single-anastomosis duodenal switch
 
Last edited:
CoachJHill said:
i started the process and after talking to the surgeon and since my Insurance will cover it, I'll be having The single-anastomosis duodenal switch
Click to expand...
I'm really excited you're having the duodenal switch. I does come with its own set of challenges, though. I'm finding its cure rate very exciting. It cures type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, hypertension and high cholesterol. A very high cure rate for diabetes has been reported with this surgery. we're taking cure, not management.

Please tell us more and DON'T LEAVE! the SADS with VSG is a relatively rare technique and I, for one, would love to hear a frst-hand account of it. Please stay, please post as you go along and please report your side effects so we can learn.

And more importantly, stay in close touch with your medical team and your surgeon. Call in for any little problem you detect. It's much better to be considered a whiny hypochondriac than to ignore a symptom that may kill you or put you back into the hospital.

Because of the DS and the amount of intestine that's removed, you really can't get more surgical repair or relief. There's not enough gut left to sew on. But it is promising and I completely support your choice. Just please teach us by keep us informed. Welcome to your group. We are all very interested in everything you have to say. And if I needed to, I would choose DS today instead of RYGB.
 
dianeseattle said:
I'm really excited you're having the duodenal switch. I does come with its own set of challenges, though. I'm finding its cure rate very exciting. It cures type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, hypertension and high cholesterol. A very high cure rate for diabetes has been reported with this surgery. we're taking cure, not management.

Please tell us more and DON'T LEAVE! the SADS with VSG is a relatively rare technique and I, for one, would love to hear a frst-hand account of it. Please stay, please post as you go along and please report your side effects so we can learn.

And more importantly, stay in close touch with your medical team and your surgeon. Call in for any little problem you detect. It's much better to be considered a whiny hypochondriac than to ignore a symptom that may kill you or put you back into the hospital.

Because of the DS and the amount of intestine that's removed, you really can't get more surgical repair or relief. There's not enough gut left to sew on. But it is promising and I completely support your choice. Just please teach us by keep us informed. Welcome to your group. We are all very interested in everything you have to say. And if I needed to, I would choose DS today instead of RYGB.
Click to expand...
I won’t go anywhere, and I’ll post as I go. With the single, your plumbing is only worked on, on the stomach side and not on both ends.
 
I didn't feel particularly anxious, largely because I didn't think the surgery would actually result in weight loss. Little did I know it would change my life for the better. Coach, it's really such a small thing. I am serious when I compare it to a dental visit. I've suffered more pain and bad results in the dentist's chair than I ever did with this surgery.

Try breathing into it. When the panic hits, just stop, close your eyes and breathe in and out, very deliberately, saying some kind of affirmation to yourself with each breath, like "I am strong and living life to its fullest."

But if nothing works, then just be nervous. It will only serve to make you twice as happy later, when you discover you had nothing to worry about.
 
dianeseattle said:
I'm really excited you're having the duodenal switch. I does come with its own set of challenges, though. I'm finding its cure rate very exciting. It cures type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, hypertension and high cholesterol. A very high cure rate for diabetes has been reported with this surgery. we're taking cure, not management.

Please tell us more and DON'T LEAVE! the SADS with VSG is a relatively rare technique and I, for one, would love to hear a frst-hand account of it. Please stay, please post as you go along and please report your side effects so we can learn.

And more importantly, stay in close touch with your medical team and your surgeon. Call in for any little problem you detect. It's much better to be considered a whiny hypochondriac than to ignore a symptom that may kill you or put you back into the hospital.

Because of the DS and the amount of intestine that's removed, you really can't get more surgical repair or relief. There's not enough gut left to sew on. But it is promising and I completely support your choice. Just please teach us by keep us informed. Welcome to your group. We are all very interested in everything you have to say. And if I needed to, I would choose DS today instead of RYGB.
Click to expand...
Diane, why would you choose DS today instead of RYGB? What would be different?
 
DS data is still kind of early, but indications are that it is better at curing diabetes, controlling blood pressure and even better/more weight loss. There's a downside, though, if I recall correctly. It's harder to reverse if you need to do that. More small intestine is bypassed, and that's where nutrients are absorbed, so the life after DS is more complicated than with RYGB. But if diabetes and HBP are life-threatening issues for you, it's the one to choose. That's what kills everyone in my family. But I think I just liked the idea of losing more body weight more easily and permanently.

But whatever you chose or choose, the decision should be made based on your medical history.
 
Completed all my Pre-Op stuff yesterday. I felt a sense of relief talking to him, yet i know come the morning of surgery that will all change. I went to pickup some of my Pre-Surgery meds, and a few afterwards, needless to say, I glad that I have a HSA with my insurance, While talking with my Dr, he said that the single DS should be now covered by all insurances.
 
HI Brenda 2.0. We actually have four Brendas here and you're the latest one, so I'm just distinguishing you thusly.

if i were you I'd stop reading the stories about surgery here, except Brenda's surgery day experience:

My Surgery Day Experience

It was suggested to me that I share my account of surgery day here. This was my experience: Monday March 11, 2019 4am – Woke but never really slept, way too nervous/excited. Showered with a surgical sponge/medical soap that was provided at the...
www.americanbariatrics.org

I'd also like to assure you that with the exception of the heparin shot before surgery and the episode of constipation after surgery, as well as an unfortunate nerve injury within my incision, my surgery experience was less traumatic than a visit to the dentist. Seriously.

Fear is a big factor in determining whether or not you have a smooth recovery. Some people also have a low threshold for pain. Still others are so accustomed to being abused emotionally that they consider surgery a punishment and cry out at every little thing that feels icky. Others use the surgical experience as an opportunity to be quite dramatic about nonexistent pain and fear of death or dire outcomes. Don't pay any attention to these kinds of posts. They are valid, for sure, but UNIQUE to the patient and can only be dealt with by the patient and his/her docs.

On some levels, a person's eating disorder can get really loud when it's time for surgery. Like alcoholics about to go to rehab, they will do anything to resist being destroyed or minimized. People who really want what surgery offers find their eating disorders disappear a year or so after surgery and they can't imagine why they ever wanted to eat that way or get so sick.

it is so important to fill your thoughts with affirmations and to fantasize about the future you. there are a lot of techniques that will help you feel less afraid. Just don't cancel the surgery.

If nothing works, then just embrace your fear and let it be your dominant feeling. When you get to the hospital, you'll be sedated and then put under general anesthesia. One minute later someone will be calling your name to wake you up, telling you surgery is over and wheeling you off into a room where you can sleep or come out of anesthesia, depending on the procedure you chose.

Rarely, but sometimes, a doctor will prescribe a mild sedative for you before surgery if you're really in a state of panic. Call and ask.

Your doctor is your first line of defense. There's nothing you can say he/she hasn't heard before. Call.

You're going to be fine. In fact, you're already fine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top