What all of the drama has done for me !!!!!!!
Sheri,
If you click on the name under the person's picture you get to their profile. I think you should be then able to see a button called send a message. Click on that and you can send a PM. In order to approve people as friends, go to my OH and you will see a tab called friends. You will then see who is waiting your approval then you click and approve. They also have a tuitorial, which I think you can just search for that.
I will send her a message to see if it's ok to pass your email along. If you want me to PM you first, I would be happy to do that.
Deanne
If you click on the name under the person's picture you get to their profile. I think you should be then able to see a button called send a message. Click on that and you can send a PM. In order to approve people as friends, go to my OH and you will see a tab called friends. You will then see who is waiting your approval then you click and approve. They also have a tuitorial, which I think you can just search for that.
I will send her a message to see if it's ok to pass your email along. If you want me to PM you first, I would be happy to do that.
Deanne
I meant to clarify another of your comments also but got side tracked. Yes I did not know what surgery I had and thats really sad. I felt stupid. What I wanted was the DS.......what I thought was my only other option was the DS. Again I can only blame myself for not doing my OWN research. If I don't do it no one else will but at that point if someone would have told me that to lose the weight I had to have one thumb and one big toe removed I would have done it. When I went to see Dr. Schlesinger he told me that he was going to reduce my common channel, he did not and could not say to what length until he got in there and that I would become malabsorbtive. He also told me that he would not be touching my pouch. I wanted to make sure that it was done as an open surgery and not a lap....this came from a previous surgeon who told me that it was a sure bet that at my height 5'2" and my shape round as a peach I would have complications because my organs were compact. ( and here I am with complications from open surgery). Dr. Schlesinger is a great Dr. but first impressions aren't great and I was too intimidated to ask much more, he scared me, very professional and to the point, a no BS kind of guy. No chit chat. This is what I will do for you and this is what you will do and then you will lose weight. The next time I saw him was pre-surgery in the hospital. I started to come on this site after all of my decisions were made. I really didn't talk with anyone before hand and I so wish that I had, I would have known more. I probably would have taken the chance with the ERNY anyway since the RNY to DS seems so complicated although I want to lose this weight so badly who knows. I am at the point now where I am actually thinking that I am half way there at this point and all I need is my stomach re-done...right???? All I know is no matter what I will NEVER go back to 300 lbs. again. The amazing thing is and my husband agrees that for someone who is in the bathroom as much as I am and who concentrates on proteins and little else, and I am not in starvation mode, if I was I wouldn't be in the bathroom 8 times a day, why am I not losing weight? I have not dropped so much as a lb. in over 3 weeks. But I have lost 45 since surgery so I am doing ok over all. Well this was a long one but I also wanted to clear that little slip up. It pays to do your homework and know your stuff and take your time and to listen to all of the good and bad even if you don't want to hear it.
I would like to lose 100 more. I am at 250 right now. Thats the scary part with this surgery. Last time I only got down to 225. If that happens again I don't know what I'll do. I did this with the intention of losing all of it. My plan at this point is low carb and high protein all the way. As soon as I can exercise again I am going to concentrate on that too.
Sheri:
I'd like to ask you, when you met with your surgeon, prior to your revision, did he give you any indication of how much you could possibly expect to lose? I know it is different for everyone, but I was wondering if he gave you an estimation of some kind?
Many doctors I've discussed surgery with are very apprehensive to give you an amount because everyone is different and we all have metabolisms that are different.
Just curious about that?
JR
I'd like to ask you, when you met with your surgeon, prior to your revision, did he give you any indication of how much you could possibly expect to lose? I know it is different for everyone, but I was wondering if he gave you an estimation of some kind?
Many doctors I've discussed surgery with are very apprehensive to give you an amount because everyone is different and we all have metabolisms that are different.
Just curious about that?
JR
Sheri,
I just wanted to add that 45 lbs I feel is great, and you haven't even started exercising yet. Just think when you are able to crank it up and get in the gym the weight should start coming off more. I'm at the point that I think God is making me try harder so that I don't just get relaxed and put it back on, so for now I'm okay with the slow weight loss as long as the scale keeps moving. I hope you are feeling better.
I just wanted to add that 45 lbs I feel is great, and you haven't even started exercising yet. Just think when you are able to crank it up and get in the gym the weight should start coming off more. I'm at the point that I think God is making me try harder so that I don't just get relaxed and put it back on, so for now I'm okay with the slow weight loss as long as the scale keeps moving. I hope you are feeling better.
WHEN LIFE KNOCKS YOU DOWN TO YOUR knees, JUST REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE IN THE PERFECT POSITION TO PRAY. HW 395, RNY 4/2/07 345, Lowest Weight 248, Revision to Distal RNY 1/13/09 278,Revision to DS 10/15/10
Amy Farrah Fowler
on 3/19/09 4:38 am
on 3/19/09 4:38 am
This makes me feel so bad. While I am a big fan of the DS, I know there are people who have been successful with all the surgeries.
Don't be discouraged and waste your valuable time and energy sitting around regretting, just know that you will be one of the successes, and do everything in your power to make it happen.
I appreciate your honesty by posting this, and you may help educate others, but more importantly, you will be able to reach the people that are in a position to help you when you need it.
Don't be discouraged and waste your valuable time and energy sitting around regretting, just know that you will be one of the successes, and do everything in your power to make it happen.
I appreciate your honesty by posting this, and you may help educate others, but more importantly, you will be able to reach the people that are in a position to help you when you need it.
I also replied to you in a longer post a moment ago, but wanted to mention something.
If your common channel is shortened, then you have the same malabsorption as a DS. People generally lose weight from a small stomach, and the malabsorption. You probably still have a fairly small pouch, and if you avoid carbs, you will do well. You also won't absorb the fats you eat if it's a short common channel, and I think you surgeon does anywhere from 50cm to 100cm revision to ERNY. Ask next visit how long your sommon channel is.
And be sure you get good advice about vitamins, like ADEK, and lots of calcium citrate. And others as well.
I think you are all set to lose weight!
If your common channel is shortened, then you have the same malabsorption as a DS. People generally lose weight from a small stomach, and the malabsorption. You probably still have a fairly small pouch, and if you avoid carbs, you will do well. You also won't absorb the fats you eat if it's a short common channel, and I think you surgeon does anywhere from 50cm to 100cm revision to ERNY. Ask next visit how long your sommon channel is.
And be sure you get good advice about vitamins, like ADEK, and lots of calcium citrate. And others as well.
I think you are all set to lose weight!
StacysMom
on 3/19/09 8:32 am
on 3/19/09 8:32 am
SheriAZ said:
"I meant to clarify another of your comments also but got side tracked. Yes I did not know what surgery I had and thats really sad. I felt stupid. What I wanted was the DS.......what I thought was my only other option was the DS. Again I can only blame myself for not doing my OWN research."
and
"Dr. Schlesinger is a great Dr. but first impressions aren't great and I was too intimidated to ask much more, he scared me, very professional and to the point, a no BS kind of guy."
and
"I started to come on this site after all of my decisions were made. I really didn't talk with anyone before hand and I so wish that I had, I would have known more."
Thank you, SheriAZ, for telling the truth and being a "living example" of all the points that I have been trying to make every time I post here. People DO get intimidated by their doctors. People don't thoroughly research all of their options before seeing their doctor. People don't know the lingo and which questions are important for them to ask their doctor. People believe that whatever their doctor tells them is the "last word" on their condition and don't inquire further nor do they look elsewhere for a different answer. You not stupid! You are no different from the majority of people who are out there. This happens every day and it happens with a lot of people.
And, It is not a matter of "liking" or "not liking" your choice in surgeons. It is a matter of the surgeon not informing the patient of all of his or her surgical options and using medical expertise to bring the patient to the conclusion that there is only one "choice" and that just happens to be the surgery that a particular surgeon does.
"I probably would have taken the chance with the ERNY anyway since the RNY to DS seems so complicated although I want to lose this weight so badly who knows. I am at the point now where I am actually thinking that I am half way there at this point and all I need is my stomach re-done...right????"
Sheri, every surgery is complicated! Anytime you go under general anesthesia, it is dangerous. Open surgeries have a longer heal time than lap ones, and by your own words, yours have to be open. it is my understanding that DS still requires a different intestinal "hookup" than the RNY (plus the complete removal of the remainder of the stomach), and all you have that is similar is the shortened common channel (and yours is shorter than a "standard" DS). You do not have 1/2 of a DS - just a RNY with a shortened common channel for increased malabsorption. The DS has had greater long range success than the RNY for many reasons other than just the shortened common channel. There is the Grehlin (hunger hormone) issue, among other benefits. The RNY and DS surgeries work differently. Perhaps one of the DS'ers can help us out here with a more thorough explanation. There are diagrams on the web which show the exact way that a DS is hooked up and how it differs from the RNY.
"why am I not losing weight? I have not dropped so much as a lb. in over 3 weeks. But I have lost 45 since surgery so I am doing ok over all.
I think the weight you have lost is probably due to your being so sick. In spite of that, your body, because it is so sick, is also probably holding on to every calorie you put in it to make repairs to your infected organs. After you thoroughly healed for a while, then you can judge how much weight you have lost from the actual surgery. And, it may take some time longer to see where you end up. Just by reading everyone else's results, I think you can estimate a "ballpark" figure of how much weight you expect to drop from the surgery alone. (In spite of all the sugarcoating that I've seen, the amount lost by most is similar.)
"It pays to do your homework and know your stuff and take your time and to listen to all of the good and bad even if you don't want to hear it.
THANK YOU!!! This is what I have been saying over and over again, but no one wants to listen to anything which isn't all "cheery".
P.S. to SheriAZ - please take a look at both of the WLS articles I have posted here. One talks about the failure rates of the RNY and goes into the different types of revision and their results. The other one talks about RNY to DS conversions and also mentions their success rates compared to the Distal or ERNY. Complications are also covered.
I hope these articles and this message help clarify things for you and also for whoever else is reading this.
"I meant to clarify another of your comments also but got side tracked. Yes I did not know what surgery I had and thats really sad. I felt stupid. What I wanted was the DS.......what I thought was my only other option was the DS. Again I can only blame myself for not doing my OWN research."
and
"Dr. Schlesinger is a great Dr. but first impressions aren't great and I was too intimidated to ask much more, he scared me, very professional and to the point, a no BS kind of guy."
and
"I started to come on this site after all of my decisions were made. I really didn't talk with anyone before hand and I so wish that I had, I would have known more."
Thank you, SheriAZ, for telling the truth and being a "living example" of all the points that I have been trying to make every time I post here. People DO get intimidated by their doctors. People don't thoroughly research all of their options before seeing their doctor. People don't know the lingo and which questions are important for them to ask their doctor. People believe that whatever their doctor tells them is the "last word" on their condition and don't inquire further nor do they look elsewhere for a different answer. You not stupid! You are no different from the majority of people who are out there. This happens every day and it happens with a lot of people.
And, It is not a matter of "liking" or "not liking" your choice in surgeons. It is a matter of the surgeon not informing the patient of all of his or her surgical options and using medical expertise to bring the patient to the conclusion that there is only one "choice" and that just happens to be the surgery that a particular surgeon does.
"I probably would have taken the chance with the ERNY anyway since the RNY to DS seems so complicated although I want to lose this weight so badly who knows. I am at the point now where I am actually thinking that I am half way there at this point and all I need is my stomach re-done...right????"
Sheri, every surgery is complicated! Anytime you go under general anesthesia, it is dangerous. Open surgeries have a longer heal time than lap ones, and by your own words, yours have to be open. it is my understanding that DS still requires a different intestinal "hookup" than the RNY (plus the complete removal of the remainder of the stomach), and all you have that is similar is the shortened common channel (and yours is shorter than a "standard" DS). You do not have 1/2 of a DS - just a RNY with a shortened common channel for increased malabsorption. The DS has had greater long range success than the RNY for many reasons other than just the shortened common channel. There is the Grehlin (hunger hormone) issue, among other benefits. The RNY and DS surgeries work differently. Perhaps one of the DS'ers can help us out here with a more thorough explanation. There are diagrams on the web which show the exact way that a DS is hooked up and how it differs from the RNY.
"why am I not losing weight? I have not dropped so much as a lb. in over 3 weeks. But I have lost 45 since surgery so I am doing ok over all.
I think the weight you have lost is probably due to your being so sick. In spite of that, your body, because it is so sick, is also probably holding on to every calorie you put in it to make repairs to your infected organs. After you thoroughly healed for a while, then you can judge how much weight you have lost from the actual surgery. And, it may take some time longer to see where you end up. Just by reading everyone else's results, I think you can estimate a "ballpark" figure of how much weight you expect to drop from the surgery alone. (In spite of all the sugarcoating that I've seen, the amount lost by most is similar.)
"It pays to do your homework and know your stuff and take your time and to listen to all of the good and bad even if you don't want to hear it.
THANK YOU!!! This is what I have been saying over and over again, but no one wants to listen to anything which isn't all "cheery".
P.S. to SheriAZ - please take a look at both of the WLS articles I have posted here. One talks about the failure rates of the RNY and goes into the different types of revision and their results. The other one talks about RNY to DS conversions and also mentions their success rates compared to the Distal or ERNY. Complications are also covered.
I hope these articles and this message help clarify things for you and also for whoever else is reading this.
Most Active
Recent Topics
