Update

I agree completely and I didn't know that from the beginning. I'm sure things are much better now and now I know that I have to take all the stuff I take and so does my wife but all my problems could've been avoided. I don't need counceling I'm a little beyond that now. I would consider a revision if it wasn't for all the other health problems that have developed probably because I didn't know in the beginning and felt fine as long as I had fat for my body to burn. As long as I can maintain 140 I will just keep it up. Dr. Heap was a quack as far as I or my wife are concerned but that is why in years after us he started doing his own procedures and made everyone pay in cash before the surgery plus sign something so he couldn't be sued. He had plenty of those. But when he did ours was before he branched out into his own form of surgeries which as far as I know were never good. I just would like people to know what can happen if you don't take care of yourself from the beginning, especially if you know what is expected of you. We didn't.

Hi Pat, sorry to hear about the troubles you and your wife have experienced. I had the "Frankenstein" variation of the DS procedures called a SADi which leaves a 350 to 400cm common channel instead of the standard 50 to 100cm version. People seem to lose all the weight regardless but have less or no malabsorption.

Like you, my weight went well below my goal and after about 12 months, I was 135lbs as a 6'1 male age 55. If I lost any more weight, the doctor would have lengthened my common channel even more, although he felt this would not be a major procedure in comparison to other options. I opted not to have this done. At about 2 years, I have rebounded about 10% in body weight and I'm pretty healthy compared to most men my age. I would suggest you consult with someone that has a lot of expertise with the DS and options for revisions. It may make sense for you to have your common channel lengthened substantially. 400cm+ is not uncommon now. The bypass part of the DS is reversible or modifiable and would probably make a big difference in weight gain and absorption.

Good luck. 

 

That is good to know. I will email the doctor that I trust and he also said that a revision is not a big deal. The doctors in this city don't even want to talk to you if you've had the DS. That Dr. Milarney or what ever it was I contacted and although he is supposed to be really good he doesn't accept Medicare and I can't afford to pay the ridiculous amounts that hospitals and doctors are charging now days. The doctor that pulled me out of the original coma I would trust although some people on here didn't think I should because he is not a well known bariatric surgeon. He still does the procedures but his business is not limited to that. This was a procedure that I don't think should be done on someone who only needs to lose 100 lbs.. He told me he never would've done it on me or my wife. One problem with him is he moved from here to S Dak and his practice is in Rapid City. He is an excellent surgeon although he is not an Orthopedic specialist he amputated my legs and did an excellent job on that also making it easy to walk with prosthetics. He is a General surgeon now but when he was here he was with a Bariatric Clinic. He still does Bariatric but the DS is not one he uses a lot but he knows a lot about them. You must be as skinny as me. I can't sit on hard chairs I've lost so much strength my wife is stronger then me. She has been gaining weight and can't figure it out because I eat more then her but her common Channel is 100cm and mine is 75cm but the other doctor looked over the operative reports on both of us just to make sure because we heard of Heaps special surgeries he started doing and said ours were both a standard DS. We just weren't given the info we needed to stay healthy.

I know Dr. Roslin started doing the SADI. Did he explain why he stopped doing the traditional DS? I'm just wondering his reasoning-I respect him tremendously-and I know he likes latest advances-and he has been involved in some FDA type trials for new procedures/devices. Just wondering how he thought the SADI improved the DS?

He still performs the traditional DS but only under limited cir****tances. I believe his reasoning is the SADi offers a longer common channel which translates to lower risk for malabsorption, and he told me it only required a single stitch during surgery. The combo of lower surgical and malabsorption risk with all the weight loss makes the SADi a no brainer for many people. So far my experience bears this out.

Would like more info on this.