For all you DS'ers....any of you have a problem with???

Thank You Larra, that is nice of you.

Hi,

I had accidents very early on due to not getting to the bathroom early enough. I am 6 months out and that was in the first 2 months or so. No probem with oil slicks. I have no fear of shrinking down to nothing... in fact due to my carb intake I am not losing very fast. I really, really have to work on that. I have fallen off tracking my food every day but need to start up again.

Best of luck with your decision. Just make sure you get a good surgeon and one who has experience with revisions. It is a complicated surgery.

Terri

i am 9 months post op i have never had an accident. the only time i have had bad poo is when i ate certain simple carbs. other than that i am pretty consistant. i never trusted a fart early out but i do trust farts now lol, i have never had a toot that had extra come with it. so far i am 12lbs from goal and i have lost 97lbs so far, i also was a lightweight (barely over 40bmi)

i did have complications eary out but as soon as that scary period was done i was on my journey to become healthy. other than my complications, this has been an absolute amazing journey! i was a college athlete, so gaining my active life back is just so awesome!

i don't think you have to worry about you shriveling up, the body knows when to stop. very few people have to take enzymes to put on the weight.

the ds is work but when you get used to it, it become easier and just a way of life. :) hope that helps

I'm coming up on my 9-year anniversary, and I think the DS is the best decision I've ever made. I'm not as thin as I'd like to be, but I am at a place where I'm comfortable with the way things are---and I've had zero regain while eating happily. (*grin*)

Oil slicks are, as someone said, simply oil floating in the toilet. I only notice mine if I've eaten something tomato-based---turns it orange.

I'd had a couple of 'accidents' in the past nine years---one during the first week post-op, and one when I was about five years out, and had a stomach bug. So---'accident's are not something most of us have to worry about. Immediately post-op---say, for the first three months or so---it's pretty common to have frequent, loose stools. This is because most of what we're taking in is either liquid or fairly moist foods, and because our new guts haven't yet had time to adapt. It's pretty easy to control through diettary means, like taking added fiber.

Once our guts DO settle down, some DSers actually have trouble with constipation if we don't eat enough fat.

 None at all.  I have to be careful not to put too much back on.

I'm about 10 years out and I've never yet pooped myself or thrown up.  And I'm glad!

I've met 3 DSers who did have a problem with losing too much or getting too thin.  The problem was handled with extra digestive enzymes and one with surgery (he still had the DS, just had his common channel lengthened)  Personally, my problem is the opposite of loosing too much.

 Six years out here.   I got a little too thin at first....I am 5'4, and my lowest weight was about 116...for about two weeks.   I now weigh anywhere between 125 and 130, and I eat pretty much what I want.   When the scale creeps up over 130, I cut back the carbs.    That's it.    I have only had a couple of problems with oil slicks - and it's usually after having a day filled with fried fish, kielbasa and mountains of butter on my popcorn, and for some odd reason, it's usually the week after my period!  Not sure why!

You will not likely have bowel problems if you don't go nut-so on sugars and simple carbs.     I had to learn that the hard way.   It's my built-in DS moderation system.    

OMG, Thank you all so much for all the replies. It helps me....that is why I am here and  am sticking around. I know that some have complications. I know that I have to sign that dotted line. I at times take care of these patients. I am doing all I can to be a great DS'er for life. Thank you all again.

Hey, I just wanted to let you know I got your PM and friend request, but I can't PM you back because I'm on permanent, super-secret moderation. (*grin*) If you'd like to e-mail me, you can reach me at missvonbatt@ *omit this space* yahoo.com.

I started out with a BMI of 40, also (249 lbs., 5'6" tall).  The lowest I have gotten to weight-wise is 130, but nowadays I am sitting comfortably at 137.  This puts me at a healthy 22.1 BMI; even at my lowest, my BMI was only 21.0 - definitely NOT "shriveled down to nothing."  I do not struggle with keeping weight on.  My body is actually pretty stable with weight, and has been since about 9 months out from surgery.  The only thing I semi-struggle with is my protein levels - my body likes to malabsorb protein at a pretty high rate, so I have to drink three to four double-scoop protein shakes a day in addition to eating a primarily protein-focused diet.  To me, it's no big deal AT ALL.  I would drink six shakes a day if that's what it took to keep my protein labs looking good...I happen to really LIKE my protein shakes, so I am happy to drink them mixed up in my coffee.

"Oil slicks" are just our bodies malabsorbing fat - which is one of the reasons to get a DS in the first place - typically, we DSers only absorb about 20% of the fat that we ingest.  It's gotta go somewhere if our bodies aren't absorbing it, right?  I've never had any accidents or mishaps because of my DS, even early out.  I also don't eat a completely high fat diet - I do more "moderate" fats, and I love the fact that I don't have to eat "low fat" anymore.  The key to not having accidents or mishaps is to pay attention to your body.  Everyone is different in the way their newly-configured guts handle things, and you have to figure out what works for you.  Once you get it figured out, it's pretty easy to avoid anything that could cause you to have GI issues, therefore eliminating the possibility of "accidents."