Question for those that have had a VSG revised to DS
For this who've had their sleeve revised to DS, can you tell me how different it was to "live?" Meaning once you'd recovered and went about your life, what differences did you notice with the DS than you did with the sleeve? Did you have dumping syndrome? Did you have to drink a protein shake every day or could you get what you needed from food? What about carb intake? I was told that with the DS that you would have malabsorption with protein and fat as well as carbs. This is what Dr. Ungsons coordinator told me, but after reading up, I don't think that's correct. Also what about pills? I take some meds for depression that must be taken with food, not sure how to address that.
My problem is I am my own worst enemy when it comes to carbs. I have PCOS, and even complex carbohydrates affect my body negatively. I did really well after the VSG in 2010, I lost 100lbs. Then my husband and I went through IVF to get pregnant (my tubes were tied, I had 3 kids, but my husband had none, and I wanted him to experience being a daddy). After 6 months of IVF injections which were horrible on my PCOS, we got pregnant with twins (boy and girl). Being pregnant at the age of 38 was HARD, and twins even more so. Unfortunately our baby boy twin passed away at 22 weeks (not sure why), then I carried him and our baby girl until 29 weeks when I went into premature labor. Needless to say that was a very rough time. Thankfully my daughter is perfect, despite being born at 2lbs and 11 weeks early. She just had her first birthday! I gained only 30lbs during the pregnancy, and about 30 AFTER I delivered (stress eating mostly). And my body is just now getting my hormones back to normal. But I cannot seem to lose more than 10lbs so I think my sleeve is messed up.
I am scheduled with Dr. Ungson on 7/16/15, and he will determine by scans if my sleeve is just "broken" and can be repaired, or if he needs to do a DS to help me lose the weight and keep it off, despite my horrible carb sensitivity.
Sorry about the novel, I'm just curious about everyone's experiences who've had the DS after their sleeve "breaks!"
Thanks in advance!
I revised from sleeve to DS 11/28/2014 with Dr. Ungson.
My experience there was great. I highly recommend that whole team.
The surgery itself was a breeze...very similar recovery to my VSG surgery. I handle surgery really well though and I don't do being a patient well...I just want to get back to normal as quickly as possible so that's the attitude I go in with. The major difference was that I had a drain tube the first two days after my revision. That was uncomfortable but it didn't stop me from walking. Once it was out, I felt much more myself again and then I was bored out of my skull the rest of my stay. I walked a LOT. All around the hospital....inside and out. Walked around the block many times a day. Yep, in my hospital gown and all.
I had a partial re sleeve too as my barium swallow showed the doc who did my original surgery didn't touch the bottom portion of my stomach at all and it resembled a backwards L with the horizontal part being quite large compared to the vertical part. Dr. Ungson trimmed it up and made it look more like that classic banana shape.
My life after the DS is no different than after just the sleeve. The only difference in my diet is that I eat more fat. I've had zero issues or complications. I follow a low carb, high protein, high fat diet. At 5.5 months out, I aim for 100g of protein, 100g of fat, and I stay under 30 total grams of carbs.
I do drink a RTD can of Pure protein frosty chocolate every morning for breakfast. I certainly can get all my protein from food but I'm never hungry in the mornings and have never been a breakfast eater so this is just easier for me. I eat NO simple carbs..,those we absorb 100%. My 30g carbs per day come from complex carbs like veggies. There's also like 4g in my protein drink. We do malabsorb a bit of the complex carbs...but I don't think it's much and I don't even factor that into my numbers. But remember we absorb 100% of simple carbs. I don't eat any bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, grains, flour products, high carb vegetables, etc. I'm super carb sensitive and can gain weight just looking at them. I gained 15 lbs last summer just adding fruit to my diet!
I'm religious about all my vitamins. I follow the Vitalady recommended DS regimen, and I've tweaked that according to my labs. I'm about to have my 6 month labs done and I'll tweak as necessary. That is one big difference between just the sleeve and the DS. We need to take a lot more vitamins and we have to take that VERY seriously. They are not optional.
I had the VSG in 2010 also at 273 lbs. I got down to about 150-155 fairly effortlessly. Then life stuff happened and I got sick with severe anemia due to female issues and I essentially lived off of soni**** pistachios, and coffee for a year. It was after I was better and back to eating normally (back to my VSG way of eating) that I started gaining. I did allow some carbs back into my diet but nothing drastic and not everyday. Whether I "broke" my metabolism or whether my body just adapted to the reduction in caloric intake...I don't know for sure but I ended up gaining back about 50 lbs. I tried everything to get it back off and couldn't lose more than a pound or two. That's when I decided on the revision.
i was 196 the day of revision surgery. At 5.5 months out, I'm at 160. The loss is definitely slower, but I knew it would be given I was a revision and a lightweight. But what matters is the percentage of EWL. I've lost 60% of my excess weight and so that's ahead of the game.
Lastly, I'm so very sorry about your baby boy, but very happy you gave a perfect healthy daughter.
If you have any other questions, I'll be happy to try to help if I can.
Weight loss is usually slower with a revision than with a virgin DS, but most people still do very well. But there is no way you can return to work after just one week, even with a desk job. You will not even be driving at that point. You will be recovering from major surgery, still getting the general anesthesia out of your body, on pain meds and undergoing significant metabolic changes. A minimum of 4 weeks is realistic, and some people need a lot more time than that.
Larra
I am so sorry for the loss of your baby boy!
With the DS we absorb only about 20% of the fat we consume, and about 40 - 60% of the protein we consume, which means we can eat fat freely but MUST consume a generous amount of protein to maintain good health. We do absorb carbs well, so these must be limited. Dumping is very rare with the DS (that's a gastric bypass problem - very different operation).
Given that you have PCOS your metabolism would probably benefit greatly from the metabolic changes that come with the DS. The responsibity that comes with the DS is the protein requirement and the vitamin and mineral requirements, which are for the rest of your life. It's a commitment to yourself, but given all you have already been through I'm sure this is something you can handle.
Larra
I am a VSG- DS revision. The DS part of the surgery was an absolute breeze. No pain, almost no recovery, but the first part, the VSG was weeks in bed with serious pain. I gained weight after my DS. It was a complete failure, I had a 75 cm common channel and a normal DS, not a SADI. Gagner in Montreal. I am sorry to worry you with my fail, but it is true, and people need to know it.
