Please comment on my lap band doc email regarding DS

I am new to this site.  I can not tell you how grateful I am for it as I have learned so much information.  I was not sure how to even post a question so I had to look at the how to section so forgive me.  I selected the ds forum thinking that was the best place to post the question.  I tried to google DS failure and I got noting however when I do that for lap band as you know there are many.  I did try to ask for prices on vit packs from vitalady but I did not get a response and that was several days ago however I might have done something wrong since I am new.  I have been reading every thing I can get my hands on this site and I did read someone said they missed vitalady so maybe she is no longer on but that is only a thought on my part.  So the ultimate question you would do it again in a heart beat? 
Sincerely thank you for responding
Donna
PS I am taking 6 weeks off so I hope to adjust prior to my return.

Vitalady has been keeping a low profile on the various boards while she gets her and her hubby's health back up to par. Here is a link to her DS Vitamin Plan with last year's prices. Things may have changed some but not that much. www.gblcreations.com/Resources/Gina/ProgramDRNY_ERNY_BPDDS3- 2010.pdf

--gina

I sincerely hope she is doing better with her health.  I do not want to pry however is her health issues because of the DS or not related.  I understand if it is not your place to respond.
Thank you
Donna

No, her issues pre-date her WLS and not related. I really hope she gets back to her feisty self soon too. She has a distal RNY not a DS. She has a common channel like a DSr but a pouch like an RNY. She understands our malabsorption and her vitamin plan works to keep my labs in great shape. I tweak her basic plan to match my labs.

--gina
   

MajorMom is right - we learn more about what we need to keep healthy from each other than our surgeons. Your band surgeon may not be giving good info for prolonged health, so they may see no need to do follow-up with him. That's the way I feel with my own surgeon. She got me through the first six months, but when my levels tanked, she had no idea what to do except wait another 3 months. By the third 3 month wait, I took matters into my own hands and got my levels up with my PCP prescribing my labs and faxed them to the surgeon for a few years. I went one more time to the office, got a hug said I felt great and my labs were great and I'm sure the insurance was billed $150 for that 10 minute visit. From there, I just don't see the point, so don't take patients not consulting with a surgeon about vitamins as not being compliant. They may have gotten their results elsewhere.

Oh, and YES, I would do it again in a heart beat.

You sound sincere and genuinely concerned, but this is so bizarre as to be unreal. Only 1% of his patients follow-up? Come on! Either someone is lying, or he has the worst pre-op and post-op educational program in the history of bariatric surgery.
    10 stools/day? I'm almost 6 years out, and have NEVER had 10 stools/day, not even as a fresh post-op, not even when I had C diff from antibiotics! Protein malnutrition? Yes, it can happen, but unless you are noncompliant, it's very uncommon, and it can be successfully treated with protein supplements, digestive enzymes, etc etc.
    He's suggesting plication instead? It's considered experimenetal, even short term results unknown, let alone longterm results.
     If you only lost 16 lbs with the band and truly gave it your best effort, this tells me that a purely restrictive operation isn't going to work for you. What is the point, then, of going from one purely restrictive operation to another?
     I don't know if he isn't for real, or if you aren't for real, but that letter is crap.

Larra

 

Well to give him credit he is one of the top doc's in AZ and was named top doc in the phx AZ which is the reason I chose him.  I do remember he stated something along the lines that the out comes did not apply to all Pt's as in the number of stools  so if I did not include that at the end that is my error.  I was a bit discouraged when he suggested Dr Ortiz in Mexico as it was so important to me to be followed by a doc in the USA however after that since he did suggest someone in Mexico it lead me to look and found Dr U.  I thought I made my decision until I received his email as he took the time to write me when I am sure he has far better things to do.  I agree with you in regard to the plication as it is to new and I want something that has had success for some time.  It appears the DS has been done for 20 years.  One mbr directed me to have a specific DS to avoid removing a sphincter I believe there by avoiding the 10 stools a day.  That was helpful because I did not realize there was more then one DS.  I have found different names for the same procedure but not that there were different kinds of DS.  As for if I am the real deal yes I am.  Strangely I have received  2 personal message from some odd ball stating they liked me because of what I wrote on here and then the person is deactivated so I assume it was some kind of solicitation and I blocked them.  That said I guess just as there may be someone *****aches out to me via message which is not legitimately interested in WLS then  I guess you may have some thoughts I might not be the real deal.  I am not sure what would help as I do not have many pictures because I avoid the camera since I am embarrassed and do not even have an up dated picture on my face book.................  I guess that is pathetic.  Any way all and all I wanted to thank you for taking the time out of your day to answer my post as it is greatly appreciated.  Sincerely Donna

I have to agree with the others that posted responses. I would be helpful if you posted your statistics, like BMI, etc. I will never regret my decision to have the DS. I occasionally have multiple BMs in one day (never close to ten) but that is much less than I had pre DS when I suffered from irritable bowel syndrome. The DS really helped resolve the IBS. The BM's now are always manageable. There is never an emergency and never had an "accident".

My doctor does a very thorough educating of his patients to ensure that they will be compliant. Follow up appointments are covered for the first year and a half. You can go to his website PacLap.com to get additional information. In my opinion, your best information will come from DSFacts.com. You should study that entire site. It is essential that you educate yourself on the DS and feel free to come here and to the other DS Board to clear up any questions you have after reading DSFacts.

Regarding milk, my surgeon recommends avoiding milk for at least three months after surgery in order to avoid the possibility of developing lactose intolerance.

"Caring" is not the vibe i picked up from his letter. Desparate, oily, used car salesman is more like it.

He's lying to you because you want to buy a car that he doesn't sell. So, he's telling you that the Rolls Royce will be more trouble than it is worth, that this used Cadillac is better, or he could just put a new muffler on that Studebaker and she'd be as good as new.

Times are tough. Medical practices are expensive to run. Advertising can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Of course, he wants your business again. He didn't offer you a refund on that failed band, though, did he?

Dr. Ungson is a top notch surgeon who I couldn't recommend more highly. There is a review on the left hand side of my profile. Feel free to PM me at the link in my signature and I will answer any questions about Dr. U and/or the experience in Hermosillo.
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     The surgeon you quote is lying to you.  It's that simple.  He's lying about the DS itself, and he is lying about himself.

     First, there is NO WAY he did 350 DS operations in one year.  It's difficult to imagine him scheduling more than one DS per day (unless he just totally a butcher, or a surgeon who claims he did the surgeries while he actually has other doctors doing the work while he maintains his status as the surgeon of record).  The DS is highly complex and challenging and reputable, competent surgeons don't know in advance just how long it will take per patient.

     So unless he almost never took a day off and hardly did anything else in his professional life, he is just making that figure up.  Of course, based on his own story, one reason he may not have seen any patients in follow-up might be, according to the tale he is spinning here, he was just too freaking busy in the OR, hacking away.

     He has also filled you up with misinformation about life with the DS.  Below is the body of a message I wrote to another person considering the DS on another forum.  I think the info applies to you, as well.  (By the way, maybe the way HE did the DS caused 10 poops a day!  Another reason to stay from this guy.)

     Good luck.

     Michael

All your fears are perfectly justified. Of course. Especially if you've never had surgery. But let me tell you that if you want to lose the weight, keep it off, and get your life back, embrace the DS. Research this procedure, find a good surgeon who does the DS, and see if this is a good fit for you.

Let me put this bluntly: it is probably your best option to regain health and find the way toward having the life you want for yourself.

Now, everyone's experience is different. But, for me, and for most of the people I personally know who have had the DS, it is, in fact, the "easy way." It is a million times easier than living with the minute-by-minute discomfort, shame, and fear that comes with being morbidly obese. It's actually better than that. It's a freaking miracle. For me, it was as if the surgeon waved a magic wand over my head and...poof...I became fit and healthy...and comfortable and active and good-looking.

It was NOT hard for me. The surgery itself was very scary before I had it. I was terrified. But I had a great surgeon and a wonderful hospital. Recovery was swift and painless and without complications. All the excess weight (150 lbs) melted away as if by itself. I am at an ideal weight and maintaining it is effortless.  Over three years later, I eat normally, have no gas or bathroom issues, and don't even have surgical scars. If I indulge too much in some sugary things (like ice cream), I may...may...get some gas, but it is easily controllable and not usually a problem. I have some extra skin which is not especially attractive, but otherwise no problem and I will leave it alone. Maybe do the sagging turkey neck someday, but that's it. I'm much older than you, so my skin is not as elastic as yours. So the sooner you have the surgery, the less follow-up plastic surgery you will likely want or need.

I said I eat normally. That's true. I eat like a person who has always had a normal weight. The big difference is that I eat much less than I did before, and I am always aware that I have to get in all my protein for the day. After that, I maintain a general awareness of carbs and sugars, but don't bother counting those numbers the way I do protein.

The supplements are real easy. I take my calcium and iron and all the vitamins, especially monitoring D. So, several times a day I chew my calcium tabs (which taste pretty good, actually) and swallow some pills. It is an insignificant price for feeling so good.

I have my lab work done religiously and everything looks very good. My bone scan looks excellent.

If you can't manage your life to take in the protein, take the supplements, and get regular lab workups, then the DS is not for you. But, honestly, those are pretty simple, painless requirements, in exchange for which, you get a new life.

Some people have posted that the DS did not make them happier. Well, it has made me much, much happier. I was miserable and depressed before the DS, and it was because I was a prisoner in my own body. I was becoming anti-social and withdrawn and felt like life defeated me. All that is gone. On top of the bliss of feeling so good physically, I still get a thrill when I walk into a room of strangers and know that I'm not already being judged because of my appearance. I can buy a whole universe of clothes right off the rack, and they fit. And as an older father, I know I have a fighting chance to be around for a lot more of my six-and-a-half year old son's life than I had before. My wife is thrilled.

Your family members just don't understand that a morbidly obese person is not going to be able to take all the weight off and keep it off. Don't be angry with them; they don't know any better. It's not what we have been taught. Many people think WLS is a cop-out, that we should all have the "will power" and "character" to just lose the weight. Well, this surgery is the BEST way to do what has to be done and there's nothing to be ashamed of. And when the doubters see the results, they will understand.

Of course, some people have challenging experiences with this surgery. They have complications from the surgery itself, or with post-surgical issues. And some folks don't do the proper work of informing themselves about the post-surgery requirements, simple as they might be. So they have issues. And some people are just unlucky and have problems through no fault of their own. And you will probably have to be the one teaching health care professionals you deal with about the DS and your requirements.

You will find a higher concentration of people with post-DS issues on this fine and wonderfully supportive and educational forum because most people who have the DS become inactive with this type of thing and just go about living their lives. Most of the people who had surgery about the time I did, and who were active on the parent forum of this new one, dropped off a long time ago because their focus is on living life, not their DS. It becomes a tool, not life itself, for most of us.

Research and learn and don't fear the DS. A new and better life awaits.

Michael