Questions

Hi all! I am currently seriously considering DS. I went through this process once before a few years ago, and just wasn't ready for the lifestyle changes (I was still in undergrad... going out on the weekends.. drinking.. etc.)... Then, I was really considering the gastric band.. I'm now really glad I didn't ru**** and be unsuccessful. I have my first consultation set up and am currently jumping through insurance hoops (required diet, etc). I plan to ask these questions to my surgeon, but I thought I would ask here first (after reading a million of these posts, I still decided to post my own). My major concerns are-

Pregnancy after DS? My husband and I would like to have a family. I am perfectly FINE with waiting 2 years post-op, but how safe is it to carry a baby? Has anyone had any bad side effects, brain damage, malnourishment, etc. that you know was specifically caused by the surgery? This is a major concern of mine.

Vitamins? How often do you need to have labs drawn? Is this something my primary physician can do and help me interpret, even though he is probably not to educated on the DS? The surgeon that I plan to go through (Dr. Inman in Indianapolis) is about an hour and a half away.. I know that at first I will be making many trips there, but as time goes on, what should I expect? Do many of you find that you are continually changing your vitamin intake, or after a while do you pretty much get set on what you need to be healthy?

Future health problems? Does anyone know what would happen if later, down the road, I got a terminal illness... Cancer... or something.. How would my treatment be affected? I'm guessing most things can be given directly into the vein...

Sorry for such a lengthy post! I have seen other similar posts, but it's hard to search for posts on this website (or I haven't figured it out yet).. Thanks!

I'm so glad you decided to wait and do more research. Have you been reading www.dsfacts.com. It's a great resource but some of the links may be a little outdated. 

There quite a few DSrs that I've seen and followed through their post-DS pregnancies. The baby takes what it needs and so far no issues have been reported. A DSr on the other hand has to know about her vitamins because a OB/GYN isn't going to know or really care. They'll give you the same tired advice about taking a prenatal vitamin and maybe extra calcium. Well, that isn't going to cut it for us. We have to watch our own labs and be our own advocates, even with our surgeons. We are lucky if we can get our surgeon's office to pull all the necessary labs in the first place. Dietitians are trained on RNY not the DS and they will preach low fat and minimal vitamins and protein. If you can get one to listen and make adjustments for a DSr, keep them! Make them your friend. lol  Anyway, the first year labs should be drawn every 3 months. If the labs are good at the end of the first year, every 6 months to a year is good. You will likely have to tweak your vitamins a little after your labs every time since most of us take our vitamins a separates rather than depending on multies.

Links to Vitamin schedules and info:

http://www.gblcreations.com/Resources/Gina/VitaladysPre-op_i deas_11-2009.doc

http://www.gblcreations.com/Resources/Gina/VitaLadysLabsandT argets_11-2009.doc

http://www.gblcreations.com/Resources/Gina/ProgramDRNY_ERNY_ BPDDS3-2010.pdf

--gina

We have several DS babies over the years.  The baby will get everything it needs from your body and you will be the one dealiing with the aftermath.  The OB may treat you like high-risk wanting to watch you extra closely, but that's about it.  Once you get past your first year and have your labs in good shape, your PCP can take it from there.  Mine was very curious and eager to learn more about the DS, and she took care of everything.  Her staff about choked on the amounts of vitamins I was taking, but she just nods and says "yes, this makes sense for you".  Since there is no recipe for perfect nutrition for labs, we consult together on the options and best approach.  Working with her has been wonderful, enough that I worry about moving away next month.