Greetings! I'm New Here

Hi, everyone! I'm Pink Unicorn, and I am going through the clearance process to get DS surgery. I'm with Dr. Jean-Pierre, in Marietta, GA, if anyone knows him. I've done the blood work (19 vials of blood in one sitting!!), peed in a cup, breathed in a bag, got an ultrasound of my gall bladder, chest x-rays, an upper G.I., and attended both a nutrition class and an exercise information class. Next week, I see the cardiologist; the week after I see the psychologist and pulmonologist.

Whew! I think I'm losing weight just running around to all of the appointments.

Anyway, I'm nervous about the surgery. I know that the DS will help with my diabetes and I am more than okay with taking vitamins for the rest of my life, as it beats using needles for insulin shots for the rest of my life. I also know that the DS procedure is only slightly more technically difficult a surgery that the RNY, and that the success rates are great.

But... what if I'm one of the people who doesn't lose weight? What if I follow the nutritional program, exercise, journal, and still don't really lose the weight?

I know that this is not a rational feeling. But I have been working on my eating habits for a few years now, and I did manage to lose 25 pounds on my own. Sadly, I feel like I'm fighting my body to lose the weight and this leaves me feeling like it will never happen.

Any advice? Thoughts? Anything?

Thank you for listening to me.

Pink Unicorn

Hi there,

I generally just lurk here and read all the awesome replies and soak in the great information as I try to decide between a VSG and DS myself but I saw your post and I am delurking for a moment because I said the same thing to someone recently. This is what they said to me.

Fear is normal. If you put the work into the process you will see the results. And I said to myself "Of course I will!"

BUT When they said that to me, I realized something deeper. That voice, the one that says, "hey you could do everything right and still fail" is not on my side. It is the deeper part of me that doesn't want to change. That is speaking up to plant doubt. Waiting for me to begin to fail.

That voice can go to hell.

So the next time that creepy little voice pops up in your head decide what you will say. Tell it you plan to win and tell it to go someplace else.

Thank you for delurking and telling me that. I will tell that little voice to go away next time it shows up.

Welcome. The fun fact is that your body is going to change. Not some new habit that will retrain your body in several years but an actual physical honest to goodness actual change.

It's no longer a question of fighting your body but working with your body. It may take a while for that voice to go quietly into the night ( or kicking and screaming as the case may be ) but go away it will.

You will hit stalls that make you think it's not going to work but take my word for it they go away. Keep to the program, eat into the strengths of the DS and you will be fine.

I remember being scared the first year at each stall but time just fixed that for me. Not that I didn't try anything and everything I saw on the boards to break a stall but eventually when my body decided it had rested enough I started losing again. Not that I didn't like the donut day (even sitting on the john after) or added fat (same result) but experience quieted the voice eventually.

Just don't tell the shrink about listening to voices in your head. :) The standardized test has no sense of humor.

Keep asking questions it will all work out OK. You seem pretty knowledgeable already but nothing sharpens the mind like getting home after surgery.

Pete

Thanks for the encouragement, Pete. I do think my voice will be kicking and screaming as it goes away, but it's nice to know that it will go away and not haunt me forever.

P.S. I'll be sure not to tell the shrink that.

Yeah, While I saw the value of the psych requirement on my journey it was probably the most amusing part of pre-op. :)

Hi Pink! I looked up your doc because I am not at all familiar with him. Just make sure you are getting a true DS and discuss limb lengths. What nutrition program are you talking about?

Don't make this all too hard. Go for the shortest CC your surgeon will do. The postop diet is hi protein, hi fat, low carb. As far as the vites go, look up vitalady.com ds schedule. That will give you a great starting point and you can get your supplements wherever you choose.

There is nothing out there better than the DS. Someday there will be but not today. Especially for someone with type 2. There is about a 95% chance you can kiss that good bye right after surgery. Weight loss is especially difficult for diabetics. You are lucky, you are getting a surgery that will reset your metabolism. Just getting rid of the diabetes is priceless.

Yes, you will lose weight. How much is up to you.

Hi, Patty!

Thank you for your encouraging words.

Yes, it is a true DS. The doctor's office has a nutritionist on staff who runs nutrition information classes that cover post-op eating, as well as eating for the rest of your life. During the nutrition class, the guy actually had several different bariatric vitamins for us to try, as well as several protein drinks. So I think I'm set on that front, at least to begin with. I hear that tastes can change after the surgery. Did this happen to you?

Bariatric vitamins... Sorry but I have yet to see any that meet our needs. Usually these are just another revenue stream for your doc. They are not necessarily good for your needs. See for yourself, compare the stuff your doc is pushing to vitalady.com DS list. If it isn't roughly equivalent, you need to look elsewhere. And BTW, start taking a multi, calcium citrate, and extra D now to build up your stores as much as possible before surgery.

Probably true the protein drink you thought was OK preop will taste awful postop. Personally I pretty much despise them and don't use them. One many seem to tolerate well is Unjury chicken soup. At least partly because it isn't sweet. You will not just walk out of surgery and start eating 100 gr of protein and taking your vites. The general rule is 30gr at 30 days, 60 at 60, and so on. You start taking your vites as you can. Usually adding in the iron last. Immediately postop, hydration is the top priority. And electrolyte balance, think SF gatoraid or pedialyte. After you have that down you start working on re-learning to eat and drink. Once you are managing those things OK, it's time to lose weight.

The DS diet is high fat, high protein, and low carb. Some DSers do low fat in the very beginning but add in more as time passes. If this isn't basically what your nutrition class teaches you, just smile and nod. Nutritionists can't seem to function properly with any diet that isn't low fat. We malabsorb fat. And fat you don't absorb can't hurt you. You will have much lower cholesterol postop too. Because you don't absorb all the fat you eat. You will lose your diabetic hyperlipidemia too.

Best of luck!

Welcome aboard! Hold on tight for this life changing journey.

--gina