scared, questions, duke?help

I am looking at getting the weight loss surg. done at Duke in Durham .  I  have a date of jan. 2 to get the process started.  My problem is now I am second guessing myself, Like I keep thinking "If i just try a little harder I can do this" but I know I'v done so many things  to loose weight and nothing has worked and the older I get it gets worse (I'm 50)  I fall into the guide lines for the surg. my family doc. thinks I'm a good canidate for it. I know I will follow through with it but I'm getting so anxious about it.   I just found the web site and noticed that my doctors are not signed up .I would like to talk to someone who has used them.  I guess my questions are:  has anyone out there used Duke?   has anyone ever regreated having the surg.?   does anyone have any advice on things to do before surg.? Any advice would be greatly appriciated. Thanks

Hi Mary -

I had my surgery through DukeWLS Center June 5, 2007. I have to say that second to marrying my husband and having my children, it's the best thing I've ever done. Please understand that I too was concerned and felt like I should give it one more try. Actually, I did while I was researching, considering, applying ... and I lost some weight, but the reason that I went through with the surgery is that I've done it all before ... and gained it, plus some back. I won't go into all of the details, but I had a real wakeup call last summer with a diagnosis of diabetes that was out of control. Both of my parents were/are diabetic and it has had catastrophic impacts. My father died at 58 and my mother was diagnosed with stage 3 kidney failure about the same time I was diagnosed with diabetes.

While I must say that I'm delighted with the results of my surgery, I have to say that at about 10 days out and again at about 4 wks, I really wondered what I had done to myself. Now I "wonder" at what I did "for" myself.

We are about the same age and I have to say that I feel and look better than I have in 3 decades. I have more energy, strength, stamina, and flexibility than I have had in years. My diabetes is considered "reversed" and that is the real reason I did this. Being able to wear a size 10 or 12 is nice, but it's not the reason I did it.

If you want details, please feel free to look at my profile. If you have any direct questions, please feel free to contact me. I'll be glad to answer to the best of my ability.

I hope that this helps.

All the best in your quest for a healthier you.

Regards,

Barb

Mary, (is that your name?)

I don't think you're having any questions outside the norm for most all of us.  We've all done so many things to lose the weight that didn't work, at least long term, so it's normal too, to think "I can do this on my own." I had that very thought laying on the gurney waiting to be rolled into the OR on my surgery morning.  I'm 49, and there are lots of us around here in the same age ballpark.  And don't be concerned because your docs are not "signed up" here.  Mine isn't either.  I'm only 3 1/2 weeks out, but so far, no regrets.   As for advice, you'll get guidance once you start the process. Each doc has their own process and protocols that vary one from another.  Start making your list of "last meals" you want to enjoy for a while and enjoy those. One of mine was to go to Krispy Kreme and eat donuts while the "Hot Donuts Now" sign was on, as many as I could so I'd be SICK on them and never want another one. I'm not even a sweets-eater and can't even tell you the last time I even had a KK donut, but for some reason I thought that was something I "needed" to do.  I did go there, but limited myself to 2 donuts that night.  I new it would be a while before I could eat steak again, so I told my family  I wanted to hit the Angus Barn for my birthday so that's where we went (end of August).  And the night before surgery, we "hit" Golden Corral so I could have a bite of this and bite of that... stuff I hadn't had for a month (corn, butterbeans, mashed taters) and stuff I may never have again sweets and a yeast roll). 

My NUT had us greatly reduce carbs (30-40gm I think) 4 weeks before surgery to shrink and clean the liver to make surgery safer.  I lost about 12-13 lbs. in that month, so any carbs you can leave off will definitely be beneficial.  It will knock off a few lbs. and be that many less you'll need to lose after WLS to meet your goal. Just enjoy your time between now and then.  Start making small adjustments that will make it an easier transition down the road. Stay in touch here with us too!

Mary -

I wouldn't put too much stock in whether a particular Dr. decides to participate with OH or not. Honestly, Duke doesn't have to. They have so many people interested in their program that they have a waiting list just to be seen for the preliminary appointment.

That doesn't mean that there is anything at all wrong with Drs that do decide to "adverstise" with OH. Have you looked at any of the other programs in the area? There is UNC Chapel Hill. Dr. Timothy Farrell and Dr. Overby are over at Chapel Hill. There are several in the Raleigh area and there is Dr. Mitchell down in Pinehurst. I had to use Duke because my insurance required a Center of Excellence recognized by the American Society of Bariatric Surgeons.

The upside with Duke, is that they have done a lot of these procedures and the hospital that they work with, Durham Regional has too. The downside, because it is a University program and they do a lot of procedures I think you can get lost in the shuffle if you are not careful. Please know that the different programs have different protocols. I don't know that one is necessarily better or worse, but they do have different ways of doing things. For example, UNC CH always uses a vena cava filter and Dr. Mitchell uses a "G-tube" ... I asked Dr. DeMaria about these differences and was comfortable with the reasons that they do not "always" use them. I think that talking to the different programs, helped me make a more informed decision about my surgery.

I hope that this helps.

Barb

Thanks for the advice and help....I am new to this message chat thing..:) ..bear with me!

We all have doubts... its a huge decision to make. It took me about 5 years before I decided to 'take the plunge'... once I got approval from insurance the old doubts started to creep back in. For me, a few years ago I dropped to 194lbs thru diet pills... when I regained the weight (and then some) I really saw how MISERABLE it was being overweight... I had really truly known how I was effected by the weight because I had started gaining in 8th grade. After losing weight and knowing how it felt... when I gained it back I really saw how my body HURT... my knees hurt and were creaky, my joints hurt... I had no energy, couldnt walk up stairs easily, was always hot, got horrible rashes under my big hangy stomach... etc etc. When I would doubt my decision I would think back to why I had decided to take those first steps into the surgeons office. I remember the day I woke up and said I CANT TAKE ANYMORE and called my PCP for that first appointment... I knew in my heart of hearts I couldnt keep going like I was... I knew it was a matter of time before I broke 300lbs... I knew it was a matter of time before the obesity related medical conditions started to pile up... there were so many things in my future that scared me if I stayed overweight (and gaining!!).

The only regret I have about the surgery - and you will hear this a lot - was not doing it sooner. Of course I had to mentally be prepared so I knew I chose the right time in my life but I still feel like I missed out on so many things because I was overweight - definately making up for time now!!

To do before surgery... start making small changes... cut back/cut out soda... start to cut back on fast food... start to cook more at home and make healthier choices... start to exercise - even if its something simple like 10 minutes a day... parking farther away from stores, using the stairs - something is better than nothing. I also picked up books about food addiction and changing habits... I learned about the things that made me eat (boredeom, stress, depression) and started to work on finding other things besides food. I learned what some triggers were for me and how to avoid them and how to deal with them... basically I loaded up my 'tool box' pre-op so I could be prepared as possible post-op. I also came to OH and started to attend local support groups so I could hear other peoples stories. I also made friend pre and post-op so I could have people to relate to and ask questions to that would know exactly what I was going thru.

IF you are considering lap-band WLS by Duke..be assured that there is a high potential that YOU will be lost in their RNY focused program.  However, if you are sure you only want to consider RNY WLS, Dr. DeMaria or Dr. Prior are world-class and you should be in great hands for the surgery. In addition, their protocol with their in-house physiology review was also highly over stated.  But Patrick, their nutritional exspert is very, very good and the only one there who follows-up.   However, lap-band WLS reguires greater management and follow-up than Duke WLS Center will provide.  My 1st lap-band was done at Duke WLS Center at Durham Regional.  I had no problems with the surgery.  But for 30 months, I had on-going problems getting on their schedule for a fill or routine appointments.  Then even when you got the appointment,  the waiting was ALWAYS over 1-1.5 hours before you saw the doctor or PA.  After my lap-band leaked and Duke was to busy to get me worked-in for an appointment with the doctor or surgery from Nov 6th 2006 to the end of the year, I highly researched and found the best Lap-band surgeon and practice I could in NC.  But after repeated calls, emails, and being ignored by DUKE for over 6 weeks, I did finally get a call back from the PA, less than 2 weeks before Christmas, where I could have had surgery on the 21st of Dec...."if you still feel like you want to have it removed or replaced". Regardless of how much they value themselves and their BCBS "Center of Excellance", it was not my exsperence with Duke.  Also having a comparison now after a second lap-band surgery, I can assure you that for lap-band WLS they are not world-class.