I think this surgery is finally going to kill me

I had a BPD-DS in 2000. I lost a lot of weight. My first problem was malnutrition in 2007. It ended up with me in a coma and both legs amputated. Now I have had to have Open Heart Surgery which did not go well due to too much calcification of my heart. I was doing pretty good, holding my own now in the last 8 months I started losing weight again. I have lost 30 lbs. in 8 months I take lots of supplements and I am trying to eat 2000 calories at least each day. I don't know what is going to happen. They are still looking into it. I have other problems and I am not sure I could make it through a revision considering my heart situation. I wish I had never done this but it sounded like the answer to my prayers when I did it. It was fairly new at the time. My wife also had it 6 months later  and she has gained weight lately but she has a problem with about 6 bowels movements every morning. She has been gaining weight lately but she has been feeling better since she was able to gain a little. We are 62 and I 64. I need to have something happen soon. Dr.Lee Trotter saved my life in 2007. They didn't think I was going to make it. They had given me an infusion of albumin and I stopped breathing. They intibated and put me in a medically induced coma. My heart stopped pumping blood out of my feet, thus amputation. Dr. Trotter was able to get me on the right track and I did well. I even went back to work, tho not at the same job but worked for 2 years. I can't seem to stop losing weight now and I don't know why but malabsoption is suspected. I am 14 years into this and really don't want to die and leave my wife behind. I hope I can get this straightened out. I will stop now. All I can say is Dr.Trotter said this particular operation should not have been given to us since we were on.y 100 lbs overweight. It was too drastic and was meant for someone more like 200 or more over. I don't blame Dr.Heap he did what we asked for but I am hoping I can get it straighted out.

I feel terrible for you!  I hope you find a way out of this mess.  If I was in your situation I would go to a REAL DS surgeon and find out what's going on.  Find out what surgery you really had.  In my opinion, Dr. Heap has a terrible reputation and has had many poor results.  It's also been said that he did many questionable hybrid type procedures that were really NOT a DS.  If anyone can fix you it would be Dr. Keshishian in Cali.  That's who I would see asap.  The reason you have had no replies is that people are afraid to say what I wrote above.

There are plenty of us who are happy and healthy who had the DS needing to lose 'only' 100lbs or less.  The problems you are describing are not typical of long tern DSers at all.  That's what leads me to believe there may be some other issues with your first surgery.  You need an expert to find out what's really going on.

In the meanwhile I'm guessing you are not eating enough protein or getting the correct vites either.  2000cal per day is not enough.  You should be getting around 100gr of protein.  Carbs you don't need.  Protein, protein, protein.  A good starting place to tell you what vites and doses you need in vitalady.com.  Look at her DS package.

I urge you to to do your own due diligence and see an expert.  Again all of this is my opinion!  Best of luck to both of you and please get the help you need!

I know Dr. Heap is questionable now. He told us all we needed to do was take a multi vitamin a day  and we would be fine. I drink 2 40g protein drinks a day. This was the BPD-DS removed 2/3 of my stomach.

Is your stomach a pouch, or a sleeve?

I don't know enough to be very helpful, but it does sound like a second opinion from a good bariatric surgeon would be helpful.  Since I just did that research to obtain a virgin ds I thought I would post the pitiful small list of ds surgeons in WA state.  It ended up that my insurance didn't cover it so I flew to Mexico so I have no personal experience.

The one that seems to get the most respect is http://www.obesityhelp.com/profiles/bariatric-surgeon/dr-myur-srikanth/ or http://www.centerforweightlosssurgery.com/duodenal-switch.htm. 

This guy is the head of Swedish Bariatric Center, http://www.obesityhelp.com/profiles/bariatric-surgeon/dr-ross-mcmahon/ and lists the DS.  Sometimes having a multi-disciplined approach available to you is the best bet.  Again, I've never met with him.

Good luck!

You had a double-whammy indeed, and then some.  First you had a surgeon with a questionable reputation and second you went 14 years not knowing how to take care of yourself properly.  Unfortunately, even the good surgeons give sub-par nutritional advice, and nutritionists and dieticians are clueless about DS needs, for they bundle us all into one tidy "wls category" folder.  Like the others, I can guess that on the 2000 calories you're struggling to get, you're not getting enough protein in them.  I did a calorie calculation for kicks one day and was well over 3000 calories.   The main thing you want to be counting is how many grams of protein you're eating.  100 is the standard minimum.  Some people need more, and considering you suffering from malnutrition, you may need more.  There is also a digestive enzyme (Creon) that can be prescribed to help you absorb more nutrients.

Dr. Srikanth has an excellent reputation. He is the only DS surgeon in your state at present that I know of.

Having said that, I suspect, given who did your original surgery, that what you have is NOT a true DS, but rather a non-standard operation that only Dr. Heap (as far as I know) ever did which he called a "mini-DS", which was not a DS and not remotely mini. If so, the malabsorption you probably have is caused by a lot of your small intestine being removed. In the real DS, no small intestine is removed, instead a significant portion is bypassed. The operation Dr. Heap was known to do was never a standard of care operation and even though you aren't blaming him, it's almost certainly the cause of the problems you have had.

I will send you more info in a pm.

Larra

Well I kind of lied about not blaming him because the last time I said something against him I had people telling me how great he was. My wife like I said supposedly had the same operation. She has about 6 bowel movements every morning and has been gaining weight these last 8 months. She had hers 6 months after me. The last time I said anything bad about him was when I had malnutrtion and lost my legs. I wonder if Medicare would cover  a procedure if it was life threatening if you didn't have it. Dr.Lee Trotter who was here in Spokane and saved me then in 2007 is in Rapid City, S. Dakota now. I sent him an email and I am sure I will hear back from him. I have even called him on Sunday and he answered his phone. I don't know if any of you have any experience with him but he is a very caring surgeon in fact even though he does mainly bariatric he amputated my legs and did a great job. Have always been able to get a good fit with my prostetics.

Pat, I first want to say that it sound like you have been through so much and I wish you yhe best. I had my DS done by Dr Troy Houseworth at Franciscan Medical in Federal Way. Does he advertise that he does DS? No, and thats because he doesnt get many requests. He is familiar with and has performed the procedure many times, and has a great reputation. I would recommend trying to get in with him. Look up his background, its quite impressive, and he is amazing. Anyway, there are some more "local" options, just making you aware. I wish you the best. 

Just sending my best wishes that get you healthy. I'll be sending some prayers your way.