You can undo a DS!!!!

I haven't seen anyone post about this before so I thought I'd share my DS experience.  I had the DS done 7 years ago and had a 200 pound weight loss.  I thought it was so great that I could eat like a "normal person" within a few weeks of the procedure and still have a steady weight loss.  For anyone who has "disordered eating", which would be most of us I guess,  it doesn't take much to go from "normal" eating to over eating and a stretched pouch.  My surgeon never told me this, but over time, our lower intestines adapt to being shortened and start absorbing more.  How much more exactly, no one seems to know.  Two years ago I was at my lowest weight of 155.  Now I am at 235.  The thing that we all need to realize is that any weight loss procedure can be undone or fail for a number of reasons.  Like Dr. Garber said to me, WLS is  basically a diet aid, plain and simple.  To all the folks that think getting a revision to the DS is going to solve everything.....it's still just a tool.  My goal here is not to be negative, but to remind everyone that we cannot afford to take anything for granted, or believe that any procedure will fix everything.  I'm scheduled to be Dr. Garber's first DS to StomaphyX revision in December.  I hope that I've learned enough from my mistakes to make is successful.  There are no guarantees or promises.  Just another chance to make it work.  Angie

At two years post op, I can now gain weight.  This is a good thing right now, but I can see were liking carbs and sugar more than protein can be a problem.  I get in my 100+ grams of protein, but then eat carbs to keep the weight on.  I'm sure my days of doing this are numbered.  Once I hit over 145, I'm going to have to "watch" it.  I never expected this to be the cure all.  Just to stack the odds in my favor!

Hi Angie, I was wondering why you have a "pouch" ... instead of an actual stomach like DSers.  This is all so confusing to us DSers, since Stomaphyx is designed for those with a stoma.  And Dr. Garber?  I've never heard his name before in the DS world.  If you have the DS stomach (reduced in size by vertical gastrectomy - no stoma), you could be putting yourself at risk by being this doctor's guinea pig. I urge you to contact an experienced DS surgeon regarding a reduction in the gastric sleeve, that is unless, what you really have is a BPD, which in that case you WOULD have a stoma that Stomaphyx could "phyx".  Laurie

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070721152431.ht m For those that are interested the above site explains more about this procedure.

Hi Angie. LIke the others who have responded, I'm puzzled by the terms you're using. If you had the DS as it is currently performed, you have neither a pouch nor a stoma, so I fail to see where the Stomaphyx would be a good option. A gastric sleeve reduction and perhaps even a common channel reduction I could understand, but the Stomaphyx?  Or did you have the BPD procedure?  You have a very important message: There is no such thing as continuing to eat like a preop and maintain a postop loss forever. The rules of the particular procedure (such as high protein eating with the DS) have to stay with us, and there's always going to be a chance that we'll have to adjust our intake to compensate for changing realities. AND no surgery fixes the mental and emotional issues around food. Healing those issues is frequently a far bigger project than living with the surgery is.

Hi Angie, I'm so sorry to hear that you're struggling, but I am also puzzled about you needing Stomaphyx, since with the DS, there shouldn't be a pouch to fix.    Can you please elaborate on this? You are a minority, but a reality indeed. One thing people need to get straight who are reading this is that eating normal means eating like a normal thin person, not a thin person with a hollow leg, not like a junkfood junkie.  With this procedure, we're taking control and eating to nourish ourselves.  That means nutritious foods, meats, veggies, etc.  Like normal people, desserts are to be occasional ndulgences, not commonplace replacements for eating what we're supposed to.  Yes, it IS easier to eat better variety of protein foods when not counting fat grams (because so many of the two go together), but like everyone else, sugar consumption should be kept down. Simple carbs should be kept down.

I believe Stomaphyx can be used on vertical sleeve gastrectomies or the stomach portion of a DS. (I researched this before I had my Stomaphyx done) The stomaphyx is not used on the pyloric valve, but higher up the sleeve, to form pleats and make the sleeve narrower and therefore less room for food. The pleats scar over and make the connections permanent plus make the stomach less stretchy in the future. A vertical sleeve gastectomy can also have a lap band placed around it. It is a very versatile restrictive procedure.

You are exactly right. The issue for her would be to make her STOMACH smaller. Just because the name is Stomaphyx, doesn't mean it doesn't have applications for anyone whose stomach/pouch is stretched. She explained herself very well, but anytime someone mentions the possibility of regain with a DS, you will see people assume she doesn't know what surgery she had, or that she doesn't know what her surgeon is doing.

You haven't had the DS, right?  Or a StomaphyX procedure, right?  Or a revision, right?  So you're here because...oops...I see.  My goodness...you should still be in the Honeymoon Phase instead of over here thinking about a revison already!    Poor thing.  Let us know what we can do to help. Sue

OMG, Sue!  You Freakin' Slay Me!