Recent Posts
Hi everyone. I had my DS in 2004. I weighed 312 at the time and now stay between 150 and 170. I am having trouble absorbing copper. This is a big problem because I have osteoporosis. Has anyone else had trouble with copper absorption? I would appreciate any help! 
on 3/6/23 9:35 am
Is it this one?
HW 282, LW 123.4 (8/29/23), CW 144.4
Pre-op-33, M1-12, M2-17, M3-14, M4-11, M5-14, M6-5, M7-6, M8-5, M9-22, M10-6, M11-5, M12-2, M13-2, M14-5
Congrats on the surgery. I'm male, 62 yrs old, had the SADi in 2014 (300cm cc). I have mostly similar experiences to HESS DS patients except for carbs. It seems that everyone has a unique experience, and you'll only be able to answer your questions based on trial and error over several years.
My experience and those I've read here don't generally include spasms post-surgery. It doesn't seem like a big deal but your dr should offer some insight. Regarding protein, fat, and vitamins you should generally follow guidelines for the first few months and then go by your own experience and adjust annually based on lab results and also monitor based on what you see on the scale. Many people cling to their Dr. and Nutritionist after surgery but in reality, they become irrelevant very quickly. You're better off finding a good support group and finding a PCP that understands annual lab results.
My suggestions based solely on my own experience: 1) Eat heavy protein, 2) Fat Full Everything 3) Eat unlimited loads of fruits and Veggies.
I eat 20 to 30 lbs of fruit every week, 100 to 150 grams of protein daily, ice cream and avocadoes for fat, and every morning starts with a banana, chobanni strawberry greek yogurt, and oatmeal. I eat a lot of carbs (chocolate) but I get daily exercise now that I can. I also weigh myself daily, track steps on my iPhone and occasionally track what I eat to confirm nutritional content. My weight has been very stable over the past 5 years, and I'm very aware when things change even a little.
Does anyone have Brock's Pizza recipe saved? The forum doesn't go back farther than 2010 and the search function isn't working.....
Ahh thank you for this information--seems I had a BIG misconception! I appreciate you taking the time to help me get on the right track.
For me, I still see protein and fat as free food. If I am hungry, that is what I eat. You won't malabsorb as much as I do so moderate is probably the way to go. And that doesn't mean I eat sticks of butter. I just don't avoid fat and eat full fat everything.
Do some reading about fat soluble vitamins. You should avoid taking them with fat if you can. Learn about how they are metabolized. Has nothing to do with fat, has everything to do with the receptors in your gut. Fat soluble vites are stored in fat and your body will always have enough fat to do that unless your BMI is extremely underweight. You will absorb less of everything you ingest with fat. Fat decreases your transit time(how long it takes for food to go from your mouth to the toilet).
For now just take the pills and don't worry too much. Let your labs tell the tale. Best of luck to you!
Thanks for your reply--from the guidance I'm seeing in the post-op instructions from my doc's office, it's not low-fat everything thank goodness! But I did know going in there was no way I could be completely low fat anyway due to the fat-soluble vitamins needing something to dissolve in, plus I want to keep my skin and hair in good condition. I also want my bowels to function properly and don't want constipation.
They haven't counseled me on vitamins just yet but at my two-week appointment this week they indicated that's when I'd learn about what vitamins to take. I have a bariatric all-in-one vitamin pill with iron in it that I took for a few months pre-op but I don't know if it will be enough post-op. I already take a 50,000U vitamin D capsule (prescribed by my PCP) so I figure I am good there. I hadn't planned on buying any supplements from my doc's office because I know there are plenty out there that will work just as well. Right now I'm taking a sublingual B12, and a B1 tablet (doc's office recommended immediately post-op).
I'm just a little over a week out and have tried to get between 60-70 grams of protein each day and so far have been pretty good at it. I've been pretty good at hitting both protein and fluid goals the past few days so forward progress is good progress in my view. I figure that my protein goal will be between 100-120 g a day but I think you're right--maybe I should see what my next labs say. As of surgery, my protein was at 6.8 g/dL so we will see what it is in May when I have my 3-month labs run.
Thanks for the tip about gelcaps--I remember reading that those were a no-no but couldn't remember why. I appreciate your advice and counsel!
Many dieticians are so invested in the whole low fat thing that they can see nothing else. If they tell you to eat low fat everything, they are probably wrong. A more sensible approach is to start by simply not avoiding fat and see how you do. Carbs are what you need to avoid as much as possible. The only good carb is the carb you don't eat. Once you hit goal -10% you can experiment and find out what you can tolerate without gaining. And I said goal -10% because almost everyone has at least a little bounce back.
Some of us eat a lot of fruit and other sugars. I can't. I can count my fruit intake in bites per year. Maybe you will be able to and maybe not. First and foremost, lose the weight while it is RELATIVELY easy. Lose the weight learn what works for you. Yes you can lose weight any time. But your easiest time is right now. Down the road weight loss looks more and more like dieting. And I still diet.
Protein. Your labs will tell the tale. Some people need a LOT and others don't need that much. Just for example, I am fine doing 80-100gr protein per day. And my CC is 75. Yours is much longer.
You will find out what works over time. But you have to remain flexible and willing to change. Because I can pretty much guarantee what works for you today won't be the same as what is working for you 20 years from now!
Malabsorbtion is why we take all those supplements. If they have you on bariatric vitamins and your numbers are bad, be aware that those are not enough for most DSers. Surgeons are cutters. If you buy supplements from your surgeon it is just another revenue stream. Just because your surgeon sells them doesn't mean they meet your needs. You need dry vitamins only, pills or capsules with powder in them. Don't buy gelcaps because most of them are the supplement dissolved in oil(fat).
on 3/2/23 7:55 pm
I will say that after 3.5 months on a very low fat diet, I did have all the things you mentioned. My skin and hair were dry, dry, dry. I was taking Miralax every day and had several malabsorptive issues with my fat soluble vitamins. So, I get it. Moderate fat had been working better for everything until my gallbladder went. My vitamin numbers were largely back in range. It did make a difference.
HW 282, LW 123.4 (8/29/23), CW 144.4
Pre-op-33, M1-12, M2-17, M3-14, M4-11, M5-14, M6-5, M7-6, M8-5, M9-22, M10-6, M11-5, M12-2, M13-2, M14-5
Thanks so much for your reply! I had two connections done since I had a traditional DS and not a SADI. The only thing that differs is the length of my common channel--it's 200 cm as opposed to the 100-150 that most traditional DSs are. My doc does a standard CC for all his patients and they get great results with that.
I figured that my fat intake should be somewhat moderate but not so low that I can't have normal bowel movements or end up with dry skin and brittle hair. I also want to be able to absorb the ADEK vites since those are the fat solubles. I guess when I see my doc and dietician next week I can ask them what that looks like. I figured my protein intake would be anywhere from 100-120 grams a day once I'm able to work up to that. Because of the spasming in my GI tract right now, getting 60 is a challenge.
I appreciate you sharing your experience so far--at this stage, information from folks who have walked the walk is helpful! Thanks again.
