X-Post: I had my DS four years TODAY!
is Jewels. Love her very much!
HI NICOLLE!!!
I'm virtually never on here (or any WLS forum), but I'm super glad that I did today b/c I wouldn't have wanted to miss your post. You were one of the people whom I followed pretty closely for inspiration & guidance since I had joined a few months after your surgery and a few months before my own. I'm sitting & smiling right now! I want to offer you a Great Big Congratulations for doing an amazing job - both in your own right & helping others for YEARS now! I can certainly testify as to how easy it can ultimately be to drop off a board when the **** hits the fan in your personal life, but while everyone has their own times of trouble, you & several others I've known over the few years I've been on here just persevere & keep plugging away. THANK YOU.
I'm virtually never on here (or any WLS forum), but I'm super glad that I did today b/c I wouldn't have wanted to miss your post. You were one of the people whom I followed pretty closely for inspiration & guidance since I had joined a few months after your surgery and a few months before my own. I'm sitting & smiling right now! I want to offer you a Great Big Congratulations for doing an amazing job - both in your own right & helping others for YEARS now! I can certainly testify as to how easy it can ultimately be to drop off a board when the **** hits the fan in your personal life, but while everyone has their own times of trouble, you & several others I've known over the few years I've been on here just persevere & keep plugging away. THANK YOU.
HW / SW / CW / GW 299 / 287 / 160 / 140 Feb '09 / Mar '09 / Dec '13 /Aug '10
Appendicitis/Bowel Obstruction Surgery 8/21/10
Beat Hodgkin's Lymphoma! 7/15/2011 - 1/26/2012 
Ran Half-Marathon 10/14/2012
First Pregnancy, Due 8/12/14 I LOVE MY DS!!!
Well, holy hell--all it takes is an anniversary for you to show up? I'll hurry up my fifth anniversary just so we can all see you again sooner! Long time no see!
You have been through the ringer, lady. I hope you are doing well.
Thank you for the kind words. It is hard to stay involved, but I promised myself early on that I would stay for one year, then I added a year and then another. I have never been a guru of anything like labs, vites, exercise, etc. like others here, so my input is generally generic. Glad it has been helpful. I guess at this point, simply being alive and happy is the best endorsement for the DS I can offer.
Take care,
Nicolle
You have been through the ringer, lady. I hope you are doing well.
Thank you for the kind words. It is hard to stay involved, but I promised myself early on that I would stay for one year, then I added a year and then another. I have never been a guru of anything like labs, vites, exercise, etc. like others here, so my input is generally generic. Glad it has been helpful. I guess at this point, simply being alive and happy is the best endorsement for the DS I can offer.
Take care,
Nicolle
I had the kick-butt duodenal switch (DS)!
HW: 344 lbs CW: 150 lbs
Type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea GONE!
Happy surgiversary, Nicolle. You've done an awesome job and are a wonderful inspiration for so many. :)
--gina
--gina
5'1" -- HW 195/SW 187/GW 115 July 08/CW 121 Dec 2012
******GOAL*******
Starting BMI between 35 and 40ish?
Join us on the Lightweights Board!
DS on Aug 9, 2007 with Dr. Hazem Elariny
Oh, no. I had both parts of the DS--the VSG and the intestinal portion--at the same time.
You had just the VSG, so probably lost weight like gangbusters in the beginning. When you have a teeny tummy, that stands to reason. But maintaining is hard because you absorb every calorie you consume and your stomach heals and stretches. It seems you need malaborption to help you keep the weight off. That's not unusual and it's not your fault.
There are many theories on how big our tummies should be cut and how long our common channels should be. No one seems to have a definitive answer. Some surgeons err on the side of big tummies and long common channels. While other do long common channels and teeny stomachs to try and head off malnutrition.
Compared to a lot of people here, my tummy was cut in the small-to-medium range. It was initially cut to hold approximately 2.7 ounces. The size of many original, stand-alone VSG tummies. When I got mine, many people here were surprised that mine was so small. Since then, they've gotten even smaller.
Originally, DS surgeons made our tummies much larger, (I've seen people here say they had their DS 8-10 years ago and their tummies were cut to be about 5-8 ounces) to try and counterbalance the malabsorption and perceived malnutrition. However, a stomach that large made it harder to keep the weight off, so surgeons started cutting stomachs smaller for the DS. Today's VSG surgeons freak me out though, because many of them cut stomachs too small, in my lofty and non-medical opinion (1 ounce).
When you get your revision, will they re-sleeve you, too? Or will they just add the intestinal part? Do they know how large your sleeve has become now? I ask because re-sleeving can be dangerous. Would you mind sharing the name of your revision surgeon--will it be Dr. Smith? You want to make sure your surgeon is not going to revise you to a RNY or an ERNY and call it a DS. That could cause you a host of problems. I don't know your current weight but it seems like you do not have much to lose. Maybe a re-sleeve is unnecessary. And perhaps your common channel can be longer than most of us. What I'm saying is make sure your surgeon actually does a DS and that accommodations are made for the person you are.
Nicolle
You had just the VSG, so probably lost weight like gangbusters in the beginning. When you have a teeny tummy, that stands to reason. But maintaining is hard because you absorb every calorie you consume and your stomach heals and stretches. It seems you need malaborption to help you keep the weight off. That's not unusual and it's not your fault.
There are many theories on how big our tummies should be cut and how long our common channels should be. No one seems to have a definitive answer. Some surgeons err on the side of big tummies and long common channels. While other do long common channels and teeny stomachs to try and head off malnutrition.
Compared to a lot of people here, my tummy was cut in the small-to-medium range. It was initially cut to hold approximately 2.7 ounces. The size of many original, stand-alone VSG tummies. When I got mine, many people here were surprised that mine was so small. Since then, they've gotten even smaller.
Originally, DS surgeons made our tummies much larger, (I've seen people here say they had their DS 8-10 years ago and their tummies were cut to be about 5-8 ounces) to try and counterbalance the malabsorption and perceived malnutrition. However, a stomach that large made it harder to keep the weight off, so surgeons started cutting stomachs smaller for the DS. Today's VSG surgeons freak me out though, because many of them cut stomachs too small, in my lofty and non-medical opinion (1 ounce).
When you get your revision, will they re-sleeve you, too? Or will they just add the intestinal part? Do they know how large your sleeve has become now? I ask because re-sleeving can be dangerous. Would you mind sharing the name of your revision surgeon--will it be Dr. Smith? You want to make sure your surgeon is not going to revise you to a RNY or an ERNY and call it a DS. That could cause you a host of problems. I don't know your current weight but it seems like you do not have much to lose. Maybe a re-sleeve is unnecessary. And perhaps your common channel can be longer than most of us. What I'm saying is make sure your surgeon actually does a DS and that accommodations are made for the person you are.
Nicolle
I had the kick-butt duodenal switch (DS)!
HW: 344 lbs CW: 150 lbs
Type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea GONE!
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