Went to orientation

I went to Dr. Oh,s orientation , tonight , I was sure glad I did , even though I did get lost . I live quite a ways away from Federal way 45-60 min) . I will see my regular doctor next week . And then on the 7th of July I will have my consultation & really begin . Other than getting in all the tests , it should go quickly , since I have to self pay . I had already decided to have the distal bypass . I thought I'd have it laparoscopically , but I think I will probably be having open , instead . Does anyone here have any opinion , either way ? I'm really psyched !

One reason I was glad that I went to the orientation was that I found out information that I /or someone else , had misunderstood , before . I was told by someone that they just take a flintstone chewable vitamin a day . Dr. Oh said early on in the orientation , that a single multi vitamin is not adequate enough . Also , that you can't get a puminary embolism from a blood clot in your hand . It has to be deep vein . I have veins that break easily in my hands , so that was a concern . It must be a common concern , since he brought it up . I figure just by not getting my daily latte , that will pay for my $120.00 a month in vitamins . No loss there , except weight .. Lucy , thanks for responding . I hope you're feeling great . It's good to know of someone who will be fairly close to me , timewise , in this journey . I'll be glad , just to get it over . But i'm on my way !

You can still get your daily latte!! Just do like I do - decaf, sugar free, non-fat!! Or, as my hubby says - the "Why bother?" I do a Centrum chewable daily (plus calcium and iron) and at 14 months post-op everything looks mahvelous!! Michelle

Thanks for responding Michelle . If the chewable vitamins are okay , then why do they push the others ? I am planning on having the distal bypass . Hoping for laparoscopic . Something else I'm trying to get info on is meds available in liquid form . I am on Paxil , midrin for migraines , glucosamine , thyroid (which can easily be ground ) & a cholesterol med . I am hoping that the cholesterol one will be gone before long . Any insight would be great . Kathy

The distal bypass is very different from what most of us had. They take out quite a bit of the intestine in the distal and that increases the malabsortion factor. It means you have to be very, very careful about vitamin levels. Your dumping may be much more severe. My surgeon, and I believe many of the others in this area, does a primarily restrictive procedure. He takes out very little intestine (only a few inches), which results in few to none malabsortion issues. So we don't have to take as many vitimins as you may have to with the distal. I don't know the answer as far as which is procedure is better, but I am very happy with my surgeon and the procedure he used. For me, the mal-absortion is not the major issue it is with the distal procedure. Something I've learned is that you have to be careful about the information you take from other post-ops. Your experience may be very different, depending on the type of procedure that was performed. I know that the Vita-Lady in Puyallap had a distal procedure, so she might be the best one to get good advice from on what you need long term. She has a web-site, but I'm not sure what it is. I'm sure someone here can help you. Good luck!! Lisa

Congrats on your ball now rolling! As for the $120 a month on vitamins... WHAT???? I do the same thing as Michelle, one centrum multivitamin a day along with my B-12 and my Citracal-D and my labs are perfect. And I have my daily latte every morning. I don't do decaf since I only have one coffee per day. But it's always fat-free and sugar-free. Lori

One more thing... if you can go laproscopically, DO IT! The recovery time is so much faster. I was back to work within 2 weeks of surgery. With the open, expect to be off much longer. Lori

Kathleen, I had lap RNY proximal done by Dr. Oh on 6/15. I did have some complications and was very glad to have him as my surgeon. I had every conidence in him all along the way. Even being a proximal I am required to take a handful of vitamins every day. I take Iron, Vitamin C, B complex, B12, E, A&D, Zinc, Multi, and Calcium (I think that's all). I visited the lady in Puyallup (Vitalady.com) when I was down there (I live in Alaska). From her I got some great tasting chocolate protein mix. Champion something or other. I also got chewable chocolate calcium supplements. I don't like them as well as I thought I would but the are better than trying to swallow the horse pills. I still need to find an alternative to my B complex as they are huge. I tried cutting it up but it was so gross I ended up spitting it out. On the wall in Dr. Oh's office he has a hand out for both Vitalady and another place that has a whole line of liquid vitamins. I can't remember their name but something like Easier Living. If you call his office they can tell you. I also worried about pulmonary embolisms with this surgery as I did have one following my hysterectomy in 1992. I needed to be shocked wth the paddles in the ambulance so it was a close call. Dr. Oh reasurred me all along the way that he was doing everything he could to prevent this happening again. So far so good. My previous PE was 13 days after surgery - that will be on the 28th....after that date, I'll feel much better. Sorry this is so long, but once I saw you are a patient of Dr. Oh's wanted to reassure you that you have made an excellent choice. When you see him tell him Cheri from Juneau, Alaska said hello. He'll remember me!! Email me anytime you'd like. I'd love to help any way I can. Cheri 239/212/206/125

Hi Kathy, I see you were thinking of getting the distal but now are not sure. Have you considered Duodenal Switch? I am not sure if Dr. Oh does it or not. I have heard that he does but not all that often. If so he is the only surgeon in WA doing it. Anyway, DS might be just what you are looking for. We have some restriction and some malabsorbtion. My surgeon, Dr. Robert Rabkin, has me taking one multivitimin plus 1500-2000 mg of Calcium Citrate daily. It is very managable and my labs look good. At 6 months all signs of diabetes were gone, my fasting blood sugar was 75 and my total cholesteral was 120! If you are at all interested please check out our Seattle DS meeting on July 8. There is also a great DS board here on OH where you can get more information about it. Best of luck to you with whichever surgery you dicide is right for you. Laura

Hi Laura . I don't believe Dr. Oh does DS . He didn't even mention it at the orientation . When going to the OH main messageboard , it seems that they must do that procedure more down south or in the east . I'm going to either have the Medial or the Proximal bypass . I'm just not sue which one is better . I don't know how people make up thier minds . lol . Of course I want the one that'll give me the best results & least possible complications . I appreciate your response . Kathy