Concerns About Gas & Hair Loss with DS??

Diana,

I'll tell you the same thing I told the other rude poster, Beemerkeeper.  I came here to ask questions and you judge me for asking!  I have been researching RNY for 10 years.  My husband had it in Feb 2010 and died in Dec 2010.  I have only recently been introduced to DS as an option so yes, I have questions!  You certainly aren't encouraging new people to ask them though when you return with such biting and offensive judgements about my concerns.  Leave here if you are going to be so wreckless with peoples feelings as they are making a very difficult life decision!

Mary

Mary,

Please don't be turned off from this site.  There are all walks of people here, and while all of them go about saying things in different ways, they all have something to bring to the table.  Becky and Diana are both are vets, and they both have a TON of knowledge about the DS.  When I first started here I didn't know how to take everyone either.  But you learn pretty quickly here to have a thick skin and roll with it.  Becky was increadibly helpful to me when I first came here, and as for Diana...her and I had words just this week, but she knows her stuff.  Check out DSfacts.com, I got a TON of info there when I started looking into the DS.  Please stick around though, without this forum I have no idea where I would be! You can use the search bar to look for specific questions that have been asked in previous threads.

Good luck to you!

P.S. I'm still pre-op, but I have no doubt the DS is by far the best surgery, and since you have diabetes I really think it is your best option.

Some of the vets here may come off as being a little rude, but they are extremely knowledgeable so even if you don't like everything they say, at least  fish out the wisdom they offer you. Try not to take the "tough love" posts personally, they're not meant to be insulting, theyre there to get you thinking about some key issues about the DS. Most people here are good eggs even if they seem a little rough around the edges.

I hope that helps a little bit with the OH forum culture shock :)

Enjoy!

Beemerkeeper has serious psych issues. Just block her and go on with your life. She's that kind of intolerable ***** to everyone here.

I'm still pre-op so I can relate to you on the hairloss thing. Bad gas? I'm a stay-at-home mom, who had a c-section back in September, that came with a compulsive horrible reflux/gas side effect that I only recently managed to somewhat control when I switched pcps. Everyone has gas. I used to work in Cubicle Land around several people who had WLS and none of them had any issues with not being able to make it to the toilet - or somewhere private. And, if they did, no one knew about it. We couldn't smell anything. Candle warmer w/ candle at your desk, perhaps?

I know a lady who was quite close to me who had RNY and lost nearly all of her hair. Why? She refused to follow the protein guidelines and switched her vitamins. The good news is her hair grew back, just like yours will. From what I've researched, some hairloss is inevitable, but it is hair and it will grow back. I, like you, tend to be a little on the vain side, but I figure that, if I'm skinny with a hot-bod and can wear a wig, short-term hairloss will be worth it in the end. Point is, you're going to have hairloss with whatever surgery you have. You just have to take the bad with the good and research, research, and research.

DS is basically an instant cure for your diabetes. At this point, that is really what is important. The weight loss is an added bonus to that. I started out wanting to lose weight to feel better about myself, but since beginning the pre-op process, I've been diagnosed with sleep apnea and high blood pressure - and I'm only 24 years old. Now, as much as I still want to lose weight to look and feel better about myself, I want to do it for health reasons. And, with that being said, I know that there are risks out there, but I also know that the risks of me not having the DS are much higher and worse than the risk of having it done. I haven't completed all of my pre-op requirements yet, and, I have to say that I'm terrified to find out what other comorbidities I have.

You have to decide what is best for you; being possibly hairless for a couple of months (and having the option to wear a wig) or having diabetes for the rest of your life.

For all the Vets out there, does taking biotin help with hairloss?

Do not let the ones who do not know how to talk to people push you away.  You learn with this site just to look past some posts and hope that someone will come through with an actual answer to your question.  I am still pre op so I understand the concern.  My hair is very thin to begin with so I know what you mean.  I just keep telling myself that it will grow back and I will be healthier and happier for it.  As far as the gas I am hoping to just control that with diet.  I hope you continue to research the DS because I truely believe it is the best available surgery.  I wish you the best of luck and welcome.

MD-
Although you may not like the delivery, Beemer and Diana know their stuff.
Perhaps you too should re-read your post. It came across, by your own words, that you are considering 'vanity issues' in deciding if you are going to go for likely the best surgery to SAVE YOUR LIFE. I think that is why the ladies responded in a tough love tone.
Not everyone is a fluffy bunny around here, and if you can't take it then you likely won't have the fortitude to deal with the DS and the self-assertiveness that goes along with it.
They have lived with the DS, had fabulous results, and been proactive with their health. Your attitude that if they don't play nice you won't listen does not bode well for you should you choose this surgery and will deprive you of some of the best vets around. (BTW - most of the vets use the tough love approach.)

Almost all of us who have been around for more than a few months have seen people go into this surgery with their heads in the clouds and totally unprepared for life after the DS surgery, ignoring the advice of the meanie vets. I can honestly say I had similar concerns before surgery - who wants to be a bald farty girl? I lost alot of hair after my gallbladder was removed so I knew hair loss was likely and if I ate lots of carbs, I'd likely be gassy afterwards. Yet I knew that this surgery was going to utterly change my life for the better and it has.
Hair loss, if it can't be minimized by getting enough protein and proper supplementation, is a small price to pay.
I DO work in a cubicle, and like someone else posted, I pre-surgery I never farted with impunity. I don't now. If I have gas, usually because I consumed something I should not have, I go to the bathroom with my trusty can of orange squeeze or Ozium.

Please don't run away because you didn't like how people responded. Stick around and learn if this is or isn't a good surgical choice for you, depending on your choices and willingness to comply with post-DS life. You also should know that Becky is one of the people who OFTEN helps out newbies with her posts about common questions, concerns, and DS resources.

K.

Beemer only knows a tiny fraction of what she thinks she knows.

this is my opinion....type II diabetes is a devastatng disease,(my dad, my grandmother, father of my children, sister in law)  if i had a chance to cure it i would.  I am not sure of your starting weight but DS has the best statistics.  i worried about gas pre op, but it really is what you eat that causes the gas, when i don't eat stuff i shouldn't i have no gas whatsoever,  i have one meal i eat off my ds diet, my baby calls it fat friday.  then i have gas, i would not eat like that if i had work on saturday.  I a revision patient, my primary wls i lost about 50% of my hair which took years to come back, now with the ds I am experiencing hair loss again.  i understand, but i can always do something to make it better, cut hair, etc.  having had a pouch for 8 years then revising to a ds I would never recommend anything with a pouch, my quality of life is so much better with the ds....good luck with you journey

I had an RNY in 2000 and I lost a lot of my hair.  And I mean A LOT.  I remember one night standing in front of my bathroom mirror in tears because I could see so much scalp showing through.  Like you, I had fairly thin hair to begin with anyway.  There is a hair care product line called Nioxin that I used during the critical period of my hair loss post-RNY that I am convinced helped lessen the loss of hair that I had. 

I also had the RNY and am now faced with having to have my RNY revised to a DS.  If I had it to do all over again, I wish I wouldnt have been freaked out about what I read of the DS back then.  My weight the day I got on the OR table was 483lbs.  I dont know where you are starting at, but if you value the opinion of your doctor and trust in him/her...you may want to give some serious thought to their recommendation. 

Like everyone else said, you are probably going to end up losing hair no matter which surgery you choose.  I honestly think you should base your decision on the diabetes comorbidity because that is the thing that can cause you to lose body parts, have your organs fail, experience heart attacks/strokes, lose the ability to see/hear, etc.  But I am sure you are totally aware of what Im saying   Yeah, hair loss sucks...but its probably going to happen anyway.  There are all sorts of things you can do to cover it up nowadays that actually look pretty cool.  But losing your life to diabetes sucks more, right?