I had my DS 7 years ago!

Nicolle
on 2/23/15 2:39 am

I haven't been around here much lately, but for the benefit of the newbies who are doing their research, I like to pop up with an "I am still alive and happy" update every now and again. Yesterday marked 7 years since my DS surgery with Dr. John Rabkin of Paclap! (I live in Chicago, but wanted the very best surgeon I could find, so I traveled to San Francisco.)

Honestly, not a day goes by when I don't think about my DS. Oh sure, it's usually just in the "I have to remember to take my vitamins" way, but I think of it. I am extraordinarily grateful for the quality and quantity of life my DS has given me!

I chose the DS because I read all of the peer-reviewed scientific literature I could get my hands on and saw the DS had the best excess weight loss and long-term success rate. I wanted to live as normal a life as possible, eating normal foods, not dumping or "sliming" (lap-bands were popular when I had my WLS). I visited several prominent bariatric surgeons in Chicago and they told me the same thing: with a RNY, I would gain back about half of my excess weight (100 pounds) after a few years. Oh, and my diabetes would come back. I hung out here and met a lot of people IRL with a variety of surgeries and they shared their experiences, some horrifying. The DS just sounded like my best chance to have a high-quality, long life. So I did it.

I was blessed with a picture-perfect lap surgery, easy recovery, rapid and complete excess weight loss and then a delightfully boring post-DS life. No excessive gas, no crazy poops, no severe vitamin deficiencies. I get my labs drawn annually and everything is within range of "normal" to "good." I take a total of 11 vitamins each day--8 of them are calcium citrate, two of them are high-dose vitamin D. I have had to have a few iron infusions along the way and I did have a bout of kidney stones, but that was probably 5 years ago now.

I eat everything I want, from bacon to salads to desserts to cookies. No negative side effects from anything I eat (ok—rice DOES bloat me, so I try to avoid eating much of that). I enjoy going to restaurants and really TASTING the food, instead of just shoveling it in like I used to do. I take leftovers home from restaurants and end up eating them a few hours later, due to hunger.

I did not lose any friends or family over this surgery. I was pretty clear from the get-go that I was doing this and those who did not support me could go away--I had a life to save and I had children to raise. I DO know that some people are waiting for the other shoe to drop, in the form of regain or a health scare, though--it's human nature to expect people to have to pay a stiff price for their seemingly easy success. I just do my best to take care of myself and let them watch all they want.

I did not develop any noticeable psych issues like some post-WLS folks seem to do, from excessive shopping to drug-taking to sleeping around. I am still married to the same man, live within my family's budget and stay drug-free. I have an alcoholic drink maybe once a month. Sure, I still have the same stressors/problems I had before surgery, but now I am healthy and confident enough to better cope with them.

About 2.5 years after my DS, I had a fleur-de-lis tummy tuck and my arms done. Insurance covered the belly, since I was having such bad skin breakdown and pain and I paid for the arms myself. That went complication-free, as well. I love my results!

I started this journey in a size 30-32 jeans at 344 pounds and a 55.5 BMI, with Type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea. Today, I wear a size 8, 10 or 12 jeans (depending on the maker) and weigh about 155 pounds and my diabetes and apnea are gone. My weight fluctuates about 5 pounds. I weigh myself every day, just to keep an eye on it. I do not work out per se, but I am very active with my kids and husband.

It took me about 15 months to lose all of my excess weight. I actually got a little too light for my tastes (144 pounds), which caused me to look bad. I hate to look at my pointy collarbones and face from that era in pictures! I waited it out, adding a few more carbs and I leveled off to my present weight, where I have been the happiest.

My clothes are exploding out of my closet, not because I have gone on sprees. I have simply stayed the same size for so darn long (something that NEVER happened to me before the DS) that I cannot get rid of anything. So, each season, I buy a few new items to freshen up my wardrobe and whammo--28 seasons later, I have too many clothes! I will address that surplus this spring.

On a side note, I love the optical illusion of "WLS weight" and "regular weight." People see me and say things like "you are so tiny." (A man grabbed a heavy box from me the other day to carry it because I was "such a little thing.") Last year, a woman who was obsessively trying to lose weight--trying to starve herself down to 120--asked me how much I weighed, since I was so tiny and I told her "155" and she audibly gasped and then apologized. Apparently, that number's fat to non-WLSers. LOL!

So, please do your research and find the best option for you, whether it be no surgery or one of the available ones today. Where possible, get an opinion from someone who routinely performs all of the surgeries. If they do not offer a DS, how likely are they to recommend that for you?

If I had not taken this step and gotten the DS, I would probably be bedridden or dead by now. I am so very grateful for the DS and the gifted John Rabkin!

All the best to you on your journeys!

Here is a before and after pic:

http://images.obesityhelp.com/uploads/profile/711403/albums/ 183632/thumbs_full/16%20years.jpg

Nicolle

P.S. I stupidly cannot figure out how to insert other pictures here. Check out my profile here if you want to see my journey in pics!

I had the kick-butt duodenal switch (DS)!

HW: 344 lbs CW: 150 lbs

Type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea GONE!