Any DS'ers who wish they had gotten the RNY
I do agree that OHSU had a lousy---no, nonexistant floow-up. The diet and nutrition guidelines were completely inadequate. Thank God for the info that I have found here and elsewhere online.
OHSU is now starting a Bariatric / Endocrine / Nutrition Center. The head of the endocrinology dept. is to be the Medical go-to guy. I saw him a couple of months ago, and sparing you the details, he has a ways to go to get up to speed regarding the needs of a DS patient. Sounds fine for post RNY.
OHSU is now starting a Bariatric / Endocrine / Nutrition Center. The head of the endocrinology dept. is to be the Medical go-to guy. I saw him a couple of months ago, and sparing you the details, he has a ways to go to get up to speed regarding the needs of a DS patient. Sounds fine for post RNY.
The follow up is not only lousy it is potentially dangerous. I had to fight to have a full set of labs drawn at 6 months out. While the levels came in at normal values some were too close to the lower end for my comfort. Because it was the first set of complete labs I was able to get I had no idea if they were improving or declining so 6 months later I requested they be drawn again. They refused to do them. The bariatric program wouldn't do them and said I had to ask my PCP. My PCP wouldn't do them because the bariatric program wouldn't. I was so frustrated that I quit that PCP and got another one who I had worked with in the past and I thought would be more flexible. It took me 3 months to see her because she is so popular but I thought it was worth the wait. She also refused to run the labs, saying that she would defer to the bariatric program since they were the experts. I reminded her that my insurance would have no problem paying for the labs but she still refused. Now I am looking for a new PCP that has some understanding of malabsorption and what was done to me. I have also been looking for a different bariatric surgeon for follow up since I have lost faith completely in their program. Unfortunately there isn't a lot out there around here. The only other bariatric surgeon that I have heard of that is familiar with the DS has an even worse reputation.
Because of my history I am paranoid about my health and I would like a doctor who is as concerned about the potential for problems as I am. I envy people who have access to professionals that are knowledgeable about the risks of malabsorption and proactive in preventing problems instead of just treating them. If you find someone who you think would be a good provider please let me know.
Because of my history I am paranoid about my health and I would like a doctor who is as concerned about the potential for problems as I am. I envy people who have access to professionals that are knowledgeable about the risks of malabsorption and proactive in preventing problems instead of just treating them. If you find someone who you think would be a good provider please let me know.
WLS 10/28/2002 Revision 7/23/2010
High Weight (2002) 240 Revision Weight (2010) 220 Current Weight 115.
Amy Farrah Fowler
on 10/31/11 3:51 am
on 10/31/11 3:51 am
If you can't find a doctor to order those labs, there are a couple of places that you can order them yourself. Andrea (vitagarden) has a link to one or two on her page I think.
Not as good as having your insurance take care of it, but better than not getting them at all, and the price was decent.
Not as good as having your insurance take care of it, but better than not getting them at all, and the price was decent.
LadyTazz,
I really feel that we are pioneers out here. I have yet to come across anyone who is familiar / comfortable with the supplement dosages that I need. My last endo quit OHSU out of frustration with I no not know what. The person that he recommended, their bariatric specialist told me "...I am familiar with pt's who are experiencing recalcitrate Vit D issues with two pt's taking 100k !! daily" I then told him that I take 250K, as do several others. He was astounded, suprised that other endo's are pushing their pt's VD'levels to >80. And , unfortunately, has never felt the need to look at other elements, such as boron, magnesium,etc. I am planning to stick with him and , hopefully, help expand their exerience for those who follow us. So far, he is open minded. I don't think that there is anyone with greater experience in the Portland region. If you find someone, please let me know.
I am distressed re: Dr. Deveney's reputation. I worked with both he and Dr. Rabkin (I realize that he would not remember me from Joe-Blow with 1,200 nurses on the Hill). Both had equally stellar reputations in our medical community. Both very fine surgeons and fine people. When I saw all of the ruckus here, I was quite suprised and asked for names of the patients ruined by Dr. Deveney. Despite all of the "I know someone who knows someone..." only 2 names came up, yours and another gal out of SW Washington, who did not loose the amt she had hoped for. To my mind, that is not enough to justify destroying a reputation.
For the record, Dr. Bob Martindale was also in on my operative case. My genetically "unusual" internal arrangements made for a very long case--8hrs. I have done quite well. I am certain that I did receive a slightly larger stomach and a standard 100cm CC. With this arrangement, I need to very aggressively supplement. Some people, same surgical arrangement, only have to supplement 1/3 of what I take. Each person is different and has unique needs. The trick is finding the right aftercare to support us.
I really feel that we are pioneers out here. I have yet to come across anyone who is familiar / comfortable with the supplement dosages that I need. My last endo quit OHSU out of frustration with I no not know what. The person that he recommended, their bariatric specialist told me "...I am familiar with pt's who are experiencing recalcitrate Vit D issues with two pt's taking 100k !! daily" I then told him that I take 250K, as do several others. He was astounded, suprised that other endo's are pushing their pt's VD'levels to >80. And , unfortunately, has never felt the need to look at other elements, such as boron, magnesium,etc. I am planning to stick with him and , hopefully, help expand their exerience for those who follow us. So far, he is open minded. I don't think that there is anyone with greater experience in the Portland region. If you find someone, please let me know.
I am distressed re: Dr. Deveney's reputation. I worked with both he and Dr. Rabkin (I realize that he would not remember me from Joe-Blow with 1,200 nurses on the Hill). Both had equally stellar reputations in our medical community. Both very fine surgeons and fine people. When I saw all of the ruckus here, I was quite suprised and asked for names of the patients ruined by Dr. Deveney. Despite all of the "I know someone who knows someone..." only 2 names came up, yours and another gal out of SW Washington, who did not loose the amt she had hoped for. To my mind, that is not enough to justify destroying a reputation.
For the record, Dr. Bob Martindale was also in on my operative case. My genetically "unusual" internal arrangements made for a very long case--8hrs. I have done quite well. I am certain that I did receive a slightly larger stomach and a standard 100cm CC. With this arrangement, I need to very aggressively supplement. Some people, same surgical arrangement, only have to supplement 1/3 of what I take. Each person is different and has unique needs. The trick is finding the right aftercare to support us.
The NP that I saw was concerned about vitamin D toxicity because my D level was 87, lol.
I think the reason Dr. D has a bad reputation is because of his obvious dislike of the DS. I am sure that is why they were so quick to revise me. I feel like he made my sleeve way too large to compensate for the malabsorption. Of course he didn't like the DS. I am sure there were many people with problems post op at OHSU, not because of the surgery but because of their poor education and follow up. I do know that others that had their DS at OHSU didn't seem have as good of weight loss and had more regain then people who had their surgery elsewhere. I learned this after my revision. And it seemed like many others I knew at the same time as when I had my surgery had issues with gas, diarrhea and the odors, probably because we were never informed about how to eat properly. It seemed that bacterial overgrowth was pretty common then, too, maybe because of the way they did the surgery since it doesn't seem to be as much of a problem for many I hear about on here. Or maybe they are doing things differently now then they did back then. Or maybe just the luck of the draw but it seems like it was too common to be a coincidence.
As I recall back in 2002 when I had my surgery he was the chief of surgery at OHSU. That gave me confidence in his ability. I still think he is a good surgeon. Just not a good DS surgeon. Also, I don't believe that when I had my surgery he had done that many of them so he may have been in the learning curve for that particular surgery. I guess the DS requires a lot of skill and experience in order to be done optimally for the best results. While he may be an experienced surgeon he may not have been experienced enough with the DS. Of course in 2002 there probably weren't a lot of really experienced DS surgeons since it hadn't been done very long at that point by a lot of surgeons.
I think the reason Dr. D has a bad reputation is because of his obvious dislike of the DS. I am sure that is why they were so quick to revise me. I feel like he made my sleeve way too large to compensate for the malabsorption. Of course he didn't like the DS. I am sure there were many people with problems post op at OHSU, not because of the surgery but because of their poor education and follow up. I do know that others that had their DS at OHSU didn't seem have as good of weight loss and had more regain then people who had their surgery elsewhere. I learned this after my revision. And it seemed like many others I knew at the same time as when I had my surgery had issues with gas, diarrhea and the odors, probably because we were never informed about how to eat properly. It seemed that bacterial overgrowth was pretty common then, too, maybe because of the way they did the surgery since it doesn't seem to be as much of a problem for many I hear about on here. Or maybe they are doing things differently now then they did back then. Or maybe just the luck of the draw but it seems like it was too common to be a coincidence.
As I recall back in 2002 when I had my surgery he was the chief of surgery at OHSU. That gave me confidence in his ability. I still think he is a good surgeon. Just not a good DS surgeon. Also, I don't believe that when I had my surgery he had done that many of them so he may have been in the learning curve for that particular surgery. I guess the DS requires a lot of skill and experience in order to be done optimally for the best results. While he may be an experienced surgeon he may not have been experienced enough with the DS. Of course in 2002 there probably weren't a lot of really experienced DS surgeons since it hadn't been done very long at that point by a lot of surgeons.
WLS 10/28/2002 Revision 7/23/2010
High Weight (2002) 240 Revision Weight (2010) 220 Current Weight 115.
In addition to LadyTazz, isn't there one other person who had their DS reversed? A guy??
Anyway, obviously, it's not too many people compared to the other way around.
Anyway, obviously, it's not too many people compared to the other way around.
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on 10/30/11 1:12 pm, edited 10/30/11 1:14 am
on 10/30/11 1:12 pm, edited 10/30/11 1:14 am
On October 30, 2011 at 10:13 AM Pacific Time, lamp35 wrote:As I research the 2 surgeries, I see quite a few RNY's who wish they had gone for the DS.....but I havent seen any DS patients who wish they had gone with the RNY.
Anyone fall in this catagory?
What made you regret the DS?
I had the DS about 10 months ago.
No regrets and I would do it all over again, the only regret was not doing it sooner. I have metabolic disorders that made it impossible to loose weight, despite years of strict dieting and exercising myself to exhaustion. I do not have eating disorders, I don't like sweets very often, nor was my diet ever fatty or unhealthy. The only difference now (post-op) is that I am eating much more protein through meat and cheese to meet my 100g protein/per day for DS nutritional compliance, and due to the malabsorbtion I do not need to watch my fat intake like a hawk.
I researched the RNY and the DS, and saw no benefit to the RNY over the DS. DS has no dumping, a flexible diet that is close to what I'd call "normal" where you enjoy food instead of treating it like your enemy, better EWL and EWL maintenance. The tradeoff is eating 100g of protein per day and taking some extra vitamins, I don't consider that to be a downside, and it's easy to meet the compliance. Sometimes acidic foods like tomato sauce and orange juice gives me some mild acid reflux (nothing a prevacid doesn't fix), but other then that I've had no problems.
And despite what Mini Me would have you believe, I'm not full of toxins due to fat intake (that toxin claim is pseudoscience), I do not have cancer, I look great, I have lost more weight than I ever thought I would, I'm so freaking healthy post-op that my PCP has started recommending the DS to her other patients who are MO and SMO that are also having trouble loosing weight.
Anyone fall in this catagory?
What made you regret the DS?
I had the DS about 10 months ago.
No regrets and I would do it all over again, the only regret was not doing it sooner. I have metabolic disorders that made it impossible to loose weight, despite years of strict dieting and exercising myself to exhaustion. I do not have eating disorders, I don't like sweets very often, nor was my diet ever fatty or unhealthy. The only difference now (post-op) is that I am eating much more protein through meat and cheese to meet my 100g protein/per day for DS nutritional compliance, and due to the malabsorbtion I do not need to watch my fat intake like a hawk.
I researched the RNY and the DS, and saw no benefit to the RNY over the DS. DS has no dumping, a flexible diet that is close to what I'd call "normal" where you enjoy food instead of treating it like your enemy, better EWL and EWL maintenance. The tradeoff is eating 100g of protein per day and taking some extra vitamins, I don't consider that to be a downside, and it's easy to meet the compliance. Sometimes acidic foods like tomato sauce and orange juice gives me some mild acid reflux (nothing a prevacid doesn't fix), but other then that I've had no problems.
And despite what Mini Me would have you believe, I'm not full of toxins due to fat intake (that toxin claim is pseudoscience), I do not have cancer, I look great, I have lost more weight than I ever thought I would, I'm so freaking healthy post-op that my PCP has started recommending the DS to her other patients who are MO and SMO that are also having trouble loosing weight.
I wish they had longer studies. It is about 2 years for most RNY that even with diet and exercise - we see weight gain, and more negative side effects of surgery post op RNY.
I had my share of issues, but not real regain until I was 2.5 years post op. Now - it is a constant diet for me... and I do belive for most RNY's who want to limit the regain.
Also - most nutrition deficinecies are showing up later on... My iron was fine until year 2-3. 3 years post op RNY - I could not get my iron up no matter how many iron pills I was taking, and ate food rich in iron. I also had to be on B12 injections once a week. I need 120-150 gr of proteins per day. A lot of people - the longe rthey are post op - the more they most likely will see deficinies.
I think DS folks may show deficincies much faster - but a lot of us, post op RNY - will eventually get there ... and will have to take a lot of supplements to have optimum B test.
The RH for most RNY - is a killer. Not only makes us hungry and makes it difficult lose any regain weight, but it is very dangerous... That's why a lot of RNY's need to be on a strickt diet to control that,
I had my share of issues, but not real regain until I was 2.5 years post op. Now - it is a constant diet for me... and I do belive for most RNY's who want to limit the regain.
Also - most nutrition deficinecies are showing up later on... My iron was fine until year 2-3. 3 years post op RNY - I could not get my iron up no matter how many iron pills I was taking, and ate food rich in iron. I also had to be on B12 injections once a week. I need 120-150 gr of proteins per day. A lot of people - the longe rthey are post op - the more they most likely will see deficinies.
I think DS folks may show deficincies much faster - but a lot of us, post op RNY - will eventually get there ... and will have to take a lot of supplements to have optimum B test.
The RH for most RNY - is a killer. Not only makes us hungry and makes it difficult lose any regain weight, but it is very dangerous... That's why a lot of RNY's need to be on a strickt diet to control that,
Hala. RNY 5/14/2008; Happy At Goal =HAG
"I can eat or do anything I want to - as long as I am willing to deal with the consequences"
"Failure is not falling down, It is not getting up once you fell... So pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again...."
Hala, what does RH stand for? I tried to look it up, but the only thing I can find is the RH factor in blood, and that is in our genetics (I have rh neg. blood so I had to have a special shot when giving birth to my daughter) so that must not be the RH you're talking about. I'm curious and concerned I may be missing something I should be looking after.
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