Six Years Post Op

I am six years post op today! I know a lot of people are interested in hearing from those of us who are post surgery for a few years. It has been an interesting six years of an array of different emotions and body changes. In the beginning I was too thin and lost too much weight. For the first 6 months I almost wished I hadn't had the surgery because of vomiting and not feeling well. But now that I am six years post op, a lot of the problems are gone. I did have a really bad bout with a c. diff (Clostridium difficile) infection a few months ago. For those of you who have had a DS and don't know what this is, here is some information to help explain: A susceptible population for C. diff. is weight loss surgery patients, specifically those who have had intestinal reconstruction that includes a non-alimentary limb. These include patients who have had a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and duodenal switch. These surgeries create a Y shaped intestinal tract, usually for the purpose of separating the biliopancreatic secretions from the food for a certain portion of the passage of food down the alimentary limb. This introduces an element of deliberate malabsorption (the bile acids and pancreatic enzymes are needed to solublize and break down fats, complex carbohydrates and protein, in order of decreasing malabsorption) and is for the purpose of enabling and maintaining weight loss by creating malaborption of those calorie sources. The source of the C. diff. problem seems to be the biliopancreatic tract, as this portion of the intestine has much less flow of fluids to keep things moving, and therefore a relatively static condition sets in that allows for a bacterial overgrowth. This seems to be a good environment for C. diff. to take hold. In addition, many weight loss surgery patients are on chronic acid-reducing medication, which has been shown to potentiate C. diff. infection. When I get the infection it causes severe intestinal problems! Flagyl is about the only drug that gets rid of it. At six years post op, I have gained a little weight. I range between 145 and 149 at 5'6" but still within my normal weight range. However, I would like to drop back to around 138 and stay there. I don't want to "diet" but I really need to find a way to drop a few pounds. Knowing I only have less than ten pounds to lose is nothing compared to what it would have been before my WLS! Overall I am very happy about my weight and my health! Thank you Dr. Baltasar!