Hi all, new to the site, but glad I found it.  I had a lap band in 2005 and lost 85 lbs.  It was perfect. We moved to TX and then went to see a Physical Therapist about a problem I was having. She put me in some kind of stretching device that really hurt.  That night I felt ill, but thought ist was just from the stretching, but I found out it caused a hernia. I couldn't eat or drink for a whole week.  I had to have the hernia repaired and my band removed.  A month later a new band was placed on me.  No sucess at all.  First the port was upside down and then I was checked for a leak and a new port put in even though I was told there was no leak.  I have had so many fills and I feel no difference at all.  In fact I have gained 35lbs. back.  My Dr. says sometimes the lap band doesn't work for everyone, but I was very sucessful last time.  Does any one know if Medicare will pay for the sleeve?  Gastric bypass is not an option.  I know they don't normally pay, but if my Dr. claims its my only hope, since wt. gain, return of high blood pressure, and now sleep apnea. Any advise will be sincerely apprecfiated.  Terry M.

here is a study supporting the constellation of possible neurological issues that can happen with wls.
I also had mine reversed 3.5 years after the surgery. now its been 2.5 years and for the most part I have my health back.
it is not mere whining, but just putting it out there so hopefully others dont suffer in the silence I did
Grace

http://archneur.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/61/8/1185?maxt oshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=bariatric+surg ery&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT

It provides greater weight loss because it has much more bypass. Therefore, severe nutritional deficiencies are more common with the DS than with the RnY.

However, there is less chance of B12 deficiency compared to RnY. But that's about it.

Aall the fat soluble vitamins are a big problem because only about 10% of fat is absorbed. So that is why the ASMBS recommends taking an ADEK for DS but not for RnY. They also recommend more calcium supplementation for DS compared to RnY. Iron also must be supplemented just as for RnY.

In addition only 50% of protein is absorbed (compared to 70-80% for RnY) with a DS. Since your theory is that transfer addictions are a result of malabsorption of certain amino acids, DS has more issue with that than RnY. Also, RnY will eventually absorb most, if not all, of their protein. DS will never absorb it all even if absorption of macronutrients does increase over time with both surgeries.

The DS bypasses the duodenum.

I'm glad you brought that up.  Actually I have found out that although the DS patients do bypass quite a bit more intestine than the RNY patients they do not bypass the duodenum and upper jejunum which, as you know, is where many of the important nutrients are absorbed (ie., calcium, iron, magnesium, Vitamin A, B1, amino acids, etc).   I'm finding out, primarily anecdotally of course, that many of the DS patients are not having these problems like the RNY patients are.   (Some have suggested to me, that this may be solely a RNY issue).  I don't know if that is because there are fewer of them, or if it is because their duodenum wasn't bypassed, but I'd be interested to see if that data was available.   I did actually contact the author of the Karolinska study - we'll see if she responds.

As far as the labs go, unfortunately the labs don't always tell the whole story.   For example, magnesium, if they even test it, it is most always serum magnesum, which tells you very little regarding tissue magnesium levels.  Your body will maintain a stable blood level of magnesium pulling from wherever it needs to in order to maintain that value, so unless your doctor orders the EXAtest (which you usually have to request) you have no idea how deficient you really are.  

Other people have emailed me their labs with low symptomatic levels but are within the lab range yet are not within the optimum health range.   Most doctors just look at the labs and if nothing from the labs are flagged - they just ignore it.   But lab ranges and optimum health ranges are not the same.

That is if your doctor elects or knows to test for everything.   And there isn't even a test for all the nutrients that are essential for our health.   Most doctors often just run CBC.   Maybe B-12, D-3, TSH, T3, T4, ferritin if you're lucky.   And we haven't even touched on the micro-nutrients.  We are in uncharted territory here unfortunately.   For example, they just studied how this surgery cured diabetes and found our blood was much lower in certain amino acids.   That isn't a standard lab test with a typical optimum health range for branched-chain amino acids.

Another recent study shows that bone fractures for gastric bypass patients is even worse than previously indicated.   Also Peripheral Neurapathy is becoming a much more frequent ailment for gastric bypass patients.   Add that to the study showing teens losing their bone density.   These are all malabsorptive based issues.

Unfortunately, I also can relate to your shopping excess.   That too has been an all too common email to me.   But to me, they are all just different sides of the same coin - shopping is just a bit easier on the liver (can be more difficult on the bank account  though).  How we choose to cope with our feelings are just as varied as each and every one of us.   But when that "feeling or dis-ease" comes upon us - we each deal with it in our own way.

So much attention keeps being paid to the alcohol - and  - I agree,  the lack of metabolism makes alcohol more potent .  But it is the "wanting" or the "craving" for that sense of well-being or that feeling of "Ahhh" for everything to be all right  that drives the addiction.   The alcohol, drugs, shopping, gambling, sex, *****graphy, whatever is just the mechanism we choose to find relief.  

The malnutrition has just as much to do with shopping as it does with alcoholsim or substance abuse or depression - that is why I try to so hard to take the focus off the alcohol and focus it on the root cause - but the news media seems determined even though the data shows just as many problems in other areas.  

If you feel "wrong" you are going to go to whatever behavior provides comfort to you.  It may also depend upon the degree of nutrient defiency you are experiencing - or "how bad you are feeling". Someone may start off by being able to medicate themselves and achieving adequate relief with "shopping" or "snacking" but if they don't renourish their brain it may not be enough after a while and they may progress to depression or to harsher chemical substances.

I was able to find some overall relief to my brain, by replacing the vitamins, minerals, protein, etc. But I also now put some GABA under my tongue whenever I go into a store.   I was surprised at the difference, and stunned to find myself sticking to the list for the first time.   People would always say "make a list", "make a budget", "yada yada yada".   That was never the problem.  I made beautiful lists, budgets, etc, in Excel, in MS Access, whatever.   The problem came when I went to the store with the perfect list and ended up with the extra $200 worth of "necessities".

I get this - people cannot associate how shopping can be associated with malabsorption.   Many people couldn't understand how iron deficiency made people crave eating the ice shavings from the inside of the ice box, but it happens.   B-12 deficiency mimics dementia.  Cults utilise diet to make people docile.

You say you have had a terrible time with excessive shopping since your surgery.  This I would think would be a sign to you that something very different is going on with you?  Did you always have a problem with shopping?   Did you notice it getting worse at a certain period of time after the surgery?   This can be very problematic as well, and some minimize it because it "isn't alcohol".   But like I said earlier, as far as I'm concerned, the root problem is the same, so I hope you don't dismiss it.   I hope you at least consider that what I'm saying might have some merit before things get worse.

Regardless, I wish you the best of luck with the spending.   I know it can be very difficult on you personally and on your family and is a very frustrating issue to deal with.   It's hard enough for the average person in this economy, and throw this issue on top of things, and that just makes it doubly hard.    I appreciate you bringing up the DS issue as well - good point.

Best Regards.

Lisa