New to the site & forums in general!

Hey everyone - hope you are all doing well! I am new to the site and have never really posted in a forum before, so bear with me as I learn.

I am a 31 year old wife and mother living in the Mid-Atlantic. I have been overweight my entire life. Honestly... there is a picture of me, five years old - with the roundest, Butterball turkey little face you have ever seen.

When I was 23, I had my son. I had Gestational Diabetes while I was pregnant with him that I managed very well with diet and exercise. I'm very proud of it. I gained 9 lbs. throughout the entire pregnancy and my son weighed 7 lbs. 1 oz. Let's just say my body is not behaving so nicely these days.

When he was about 9 months old, I decided to begin an extreme no carb diet and 3-hour a day workout plan. I can't make this stuff up. I lost weight fast. My highest weight was about 273 pounds. I am tall, I suppose... but am still always teetering at a 40 BMI. Anyway, back to working out. I lost about 40 pounds in 2 months. I was thin for me, but I couldn't see it. Looking back now, I am kicking myself in the pants... don't we all, though? I would kill to be back to 225 and a size 16. My husband and I began dating when I was still thinner. He always gave me a hard time about my 'rabbit food' and eventually I fell off of the no carb diet. It was inevitable. It definitely was not a lifestyle that I could maintain.

Over the years, I began to put a little more weight on here and there. It was not until recently, weighing in at 271, that I realized how bad things had gotten. My husband has also put on a good 40-50 lbs. We are both working hard now to reverse the damage that we've done to our bodies.

I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertension about two years ago. It is unreal. I am too young for this. I am practically at my heaviest weight again. My clothes don't fit me and while I do love myself, I miss being smaller... but more than anything, I miss being healthy. Diabetes is no joke.

My husband and I got married last year and while I didn't really get down to my goal weight prior to my wedding, I was 20 pounds lighter... just one year ago. This is why I am here, today.

We decided that we wanted to have a baby. I talked with my Endo and he gave me very specific goals for my blood sugar. To be quite frank, my Diabetes has been so severe since I was diagnosed. I have been on pretty much every medication there is with varied results and many bad reactions. It is poorly managed. It scares me. Within 6 months, my A1C (which I had previously gotten down to 7.7 after a 12.1 at diagnosis) had crept up two full points. I should mention that since we were going to try and have a baby, I switched off of my meds onto insulin only. Coming in at 9.7 at my last Endo appointment was embarrassing. When I say looks of disapproval and mild chastising, I do mean it. I expressed to my husband my concern... how can I get pregnant when I can't even get into the same hemisphere as my 'pregnancy goals', let alone the same town?

This is what made me really begin to consider WLS. I had thought about it many times over the last 12 or 13 years. As I said, I've always been overweight. I have had several family members on both sides have different surgeries... most recently my mother (Gastric) in 2008. I have had a couple of friends have WLS in the last year or two as well. Unfortunately, we don't live in the same region of the country, so leaning on them isn't quite so easy. After lots of reading and Googling, I scheduled an appointment with my surgeon. I am a very thorough person, getting all of my ducks in a row quickly. I decided on the DS. While I know this is typically reserved for BMI >50, with my severe and poorly managed Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertension, I feel it is a good choice for me. I met with my nutritionist, surgeon and psychologist all within the same week. Prior to the appointments, I hit up the lab, radiology, my PCP and whoever else needed my attention. I have Cigna and they require a 3 month WL program, which I am currently completing with my nutritionist. My first month is in the books and we are meeting next week for a follow up. I discussed DS with my surgeon and he agreed that I am a great candidate for the program. He felt that my extensive knowledge about my own health and Diabetes was a testament to the quality of patient I might be. We have discussed a modified DS, leaving my common channel a bit longer (150 CM) and a bit more of my stomach in tact. My hope is that this will slow some of the weight loss for me. I am about 100 lbs. overweight and do not want to lose too much and become underweight. My surgery is not yet scheduled, but provided my insurance doesn't throw me to the wolves, I am hoping to have it done in the beginning of 2018.

It was a very serious decision to post-pone baby making another couple of years... hello, I ain't getting younger. However, at this point I can't even get pregnant safely, so I really felt that this was a no brainer. I am very lucky to have a supportive husband, I know not everyone is as fortunate.

So now that you all know my entire life story, let me give you my credit card number. Say Hello! Share your stories with me. Tell me a joke. I look forward to being a part of this community.

-A

Welcome!

Your story of years and years of struggle with weight and comorbidities is sadly very typical of the people who end up having bariatric surgery. I prefer to call it bariatric rather than wls because it's about so much more than the number on the scale.

One thing not quite correct in your story is your belief that the DS is generally reserved for people with a bmi over 50. Not true! The DS is a standard of care bariatric surgery for anyone who qualifies medically for bariatric surgery, not just for the heavier patients. It is accurate, though, that it's an excellent choice for anyone with a higher bmi because it has the best statistics of any bariatric surgery for percentage excess weight loss, for maintaining that weight loss, and for resolution of almost all comorbidities including type 2 diabetes. Weight regain is a major problem with other forms of bariatric surgery, and can happen even with the DS but is much less of a problem.

I would be cautious about having a longer common channel. The percentage of people who lose too much with the DS is very small, and even when it happens it can be dealt with (usually) with increased intake and/or with digestive enzymes. And frankly, most of the people (not all) that I've seen over the years have this "problem" are men.

Larra

Thank you for your insight, Larra. So much of the reading that I did about DS emphasized the higher BMI. I am glad to know that it is not uncommon for people with lower BMI's still choose this route.

I will consult with my surgeon about the common channel issue again at our next meeting. I appreciate you taking the time out to reply!

Welcome aboard! I'm in Northern VA, or mid-Atlantic, as well. It sounds like you're pretty much "lightweight" in terms of your BMI and you might also follow the link in my signature block to the Lightweight forum here on Obesity Help. I was only a 36.8 BMI when I had my DS and I had the regular 100cm common channel and I'm so glad I did. Send me a friend request and you can see in my profile my early days post WLS. Lots of DS stuff and Lightweight stuff.

--gina

Gina, thanks so much for your reply. I will check out the lightweight forum and send you a request!

You've come to the right place. The most I ever lost with a diet effort is 21 pounds, and that took 18 months to do it. I was an athlete despite my obesity (swimmer) and obese despite my activity. The DS was the answer to my prayers.

My BMI was only 44. For most insurance companies, the requirement for DS is the same as any wls. Many lightweights got it as low as BMI of 35 and doing great. Start learning what you can about nutritional health now, for the nutritionists cannot wrap their heads about how a DSer needs to eat...not even those who work with DS surgeons. It's a best guess, but there is a population of us who share what we have learned along the way. There are some groups on Facebook that are extremely active. Vitalady.com is not only a vitamin retailer online, but the founder is a wls patient herself and has a fantastic starting line-up recommendation for DSers. I don't know of anyone that ever went deficient on her regimen from the beginning. You do this for about six months, and start making adjustments according to your lab results (a little more here, a little less there). Also, don't let anyone sell you on bariatric vitamins. They are a waste of money. They are overpriced and not enough to meet our needs.