7 Years later

Hello,

My name is Marleen and I have never written on here before.  I want to share that my weight loss experience has been an emotional/physical traumatic experience for me and it was the worse decision of my life.  If only I could go back and share the hope I had at tht time and how positive I was going in to the change.  Words cannot express what I have been through from all aspects.  I needed to lose 160 lbs and I lost 58 which 20 I have gained back.  the 'Dr' never helped in a way which was promised.  Quite honestly he told me on the very last phone conversation with him "I don't like talking to you because you are a failure of mine and that doesn't make me feel good".

I found many people like me when I got on-line.  Weight-loss surgery is NOT the answer for everyone. 

Marleen

Wow Thats an awful thing for your surgeon to say. I'm sorry that your experience hasn't been positive & I'm sorry that your Dr. has not been there for you.

Thank you for your kind reply.

Hmmm, I read these kind of doctor responces quite often here on the boards. Just to remind you that the insurance might have paid the bill, but the doctor did get paid a lot of money to do the job. If he failed he has an obligation to correct the situation. Sue the *******! And find a doctor who does care.

What form of weight loss surgery did you have?  Have you looked at a revision to a duodenal switch?  It is the most powerful tool out there, and includes not absorbing all the calories that you eat.  It's statistics show that people who have it lose the most and keep off the most, so your chances of lasting weight loss are better with it than with any other WLS.

please explain what is a "duodenal switch and/or revision"

For an overview of the duodenal switch, check out
http://www.dsfacts.com/
http://www.duodenalswitch.com/ 

You can also read on the DS message board here on ObesityHelp
http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/ds/a,messageboard/

A revision is when a previous weight loss surgery isn't successful, and sometimes the surgeon can undo it, change something about it, or undo it and give the person another weight loss surgery. 
For example, not a lot of surgeons do the DS to begin with, and then the pool of ones who have the skills and experience to do a revision from a RNY to a DS is much smaller yet, but some I have heard of are Rabkin in San Francisco, Greenbaum in New Jersey, Keshishian in California, and Husted in Kentucky.



Edited for spelling.

Hi!  The Duodenal Switch (DS) really is the "best" WLS around for many people.  The stats are the highest for both initial weight loss and maintaining weight loss long term (studies are at 15 years now).  The reason the DS works so well is that it involves both a restrictive component (where the stomach is "sleeved" but left basically intact, so no dumping!), and it has a malabsorptive component (where the small bowel is switched around).  Most folks are highly successful with it, and it also lets us live the most "normal" lifestyle post-op.

The general "diet" for DSers is high protein and high FAT! Yummo! This is because once you have the DS your body will only absorb about 20% of the fat you eat - awesome!  You do need to be very diligent about taking supplements and having regular labs drawn for the rest of your life, but other than that, it's a forgiving and normal lifestyle! Revisions are certainly more tricky than "virgin" DSs, but there are some really great surgeons out there that do them.  Come over to the DS forum and explore it some more. You can go to www.dsfacts.com and www.duodenalswitch.com to read more about  the surgery specifically.

I'm really sorry for your bad experiences, and hope things go better in the future. 

Daisy,
I tried to access your blog to read your story, but couldn't find it. Am I missing a link somewhere in your profile?