Question:
What complications has anyone had from the BPD/DS?
I read so much about the complications of RNY: stoma's closing, nausea and vomiting, leakages, having to have dilations, etc. What, if any, complications has anyone had with the duodenal switch procedure, given the different type of stomach reduction that is performed? I am not asking for published listings, but rather people's actual experiences. Thanks! — merri B. (posted on November 26, 2000)
November 25, 2000
Merri: I am 13 - 14 months post-op from Lap BPD/DS and can honestly say I
have had NO PROBLEMS either in recovery or in my day to day life. I was
out of the hospital 3 days after surgery, with no help home at all, and
back to work at 3 weeks. No hernia, blockages or deficiencies. My blood
work is perfect. I have no lactose or fat intolerances. In fact I eat a
pound of bacon many mornings for breakfast. In early recovery I experienced
no nausea, and only vomited infrequetly (actually like a baby spitting up)
when eating out and overestimating how much my new stomach could take in.
Now I have a handy-dandy full gauge that I've learned to listen to -- my
nose starts to run when I've eaten too much. I can eat ANYTHING. This is
what I ate yesterday: Coffee, lb bacon, cup of pistacchio nuts (maybe
two), 1/2 corned beef sandwich on rye (left over from eating out the nite
before), coffee and 2/3 chocolate creme donut (threw the rest out when full
-- what a concept), dinner at Boulder Creek with another DS freind and we
split ribs and friend shrimp with baked beans and garlic mashed potatoes.
Midnite snack: 6-8 nutterbutter cookies with coffee. Also took my
supplements (2 vits, tums & iron). I've lost almost 150 lbs, feel
younger and better than I remember ever feeling, and will be beginning my
reconstructive surgery on Wed -- bat wing removal and breast reduction.
I am so happy and look so good that my co-workers, neighbors, etc., have or
are also having the DS with my surgeon. Hope this helped. Jill Sokol,
from BMI 51 to 30 this year.
— Jill L.
November 26, 2000
I am a pre-op for laparoscopic BPD/DS, so I don't have any experience to
relate. However, I just wanted to note that you can find a lot of personal
experiences and hear about both success stories and potential complications
at the following e-group lists: duodenalswitch and DS_Postop. I'm sure
you'll get responses here as well! :) I just think maybe one of the
reasons one doesn't hear much about BPD/DS (good or bad) is that the
majority of people have an RNY (not only on this site but in the US as a
whole). Also, there are only a handful of surgeons who peform this
procedure in the US, although I think it is becoming more widespread.
— Teresa N.
November 26, 2000
Boy, comments on this site keep getting uglier and uglier every time I
check. How very sad. It's really hard sometimes, but I try not to
question people's motivations for for asking certain questions. I assume
that Merri asked because she actually wanted to know. If there was
something else behind it, I don't want to know. Every procedure has
complications. I didn't have DS, so I can't comment on what those would
be. While the RNY complications are true, not everyone has them. There
are many of us who are just fine. Hope this doesn't sound defensive. I
don't want to get slammed. I don't advise people to have RNY or any
weightloss surgery for that matter. Just point them to websites with lots
of info. How could I possibly know what would be right for anyone but
myself? I don't criticize the choices others made either. I always love
reading your updates Merri, so I hope your motivations are genuine.
— Maxine E.
November 27, 2000
Hi Merri--Well...after my one year anniversary, I was asked this question
by so many people. I had to sit and really think back if I had any
complications or not. There certainly were no obvious ones. The answer I
came up with was no... I had absolutely no complication, major or minor.
For me, this surgery, the Duodenal Switch, really is too good to be true!!
I FEEL SO GREAT!! You can read the good, the bad & the ugly on my
website at: <a
href="http://www.mywls.com">http://www.myWLS.com</a>.
<br>Maxine...I didn't see any ugly comments..I guess they were
already deleted... I hope so.. I agree with you...I don't care to read
those either!! Take care...
— [Deactivated Member]
November 27, 2000
Dear Merri,
I know that I am probably gonna get slammed for answering this because I
seem to be the only person in here who has had trouble with the BPD/DS.
You asked for honest answers and so, that is what I shall give you.
I have had numerous problems from the BPD/DS, all related to
malabsorption actually. I am 18 months postop and being honest here, there
was a 3 month period around the 6th month where I didn't take my vitamins
and minerals like I should have. Barring that, I have been religious about
it.
Even taking all the extra iron and minerals and vitamins that I am
supposed to, my iron count as of last week read at 4.8. That is in the
critical stage. I went to the emergency room (as you can imagine I felt
awful) and was admitted immediately for blood transfusions. I had been
getting regular bloodwork and it was slowly going down no matter what I did
but the surgeons all said to just increase my iron. THAT WAS NOT THE
ANSWER. Increasing it did nothing for me and the numbers just kept going
down. Weird, and I know people will probably think I am dumb, but it never
occured to me to see an interist for this. I just thought that the
surgeons who did this surgery would know better that anyone what i needed.
Wrong! They are great at the surgery and all but, postop, I have learned
that I needed to see specialists who dealt with these problems every day.
I would urge everyone to talk to their surgeon and then find an interist
too. I would have had this problem solved faster had I been smarter than I
was.
My numbers are still low but much better now and I am seeing the doctor
3x a month now until they get better. As for any other problems, well,
they are associated with WLS not with the BPD/DS such as loose skin, hernia
etc.
I hope that my honest answer doesn't cause problems but I wanted you to
know that yes, there are some of us who are not doing quite as well as most
everyone on here but everytime I write about it, I seem to get slammed.
Good luck to you and write to me if you want to and I will elaborate
alittle more.
Barbara
— Barbara H.
November 28, 2000
Barbara....I Applaud you....I am a pre-op about to be a postop..I have gone
on this site everynight for the last 9 months and the information you are
providing is vital in preop's making educated decisions....don't hold back
in the future..(pre ops won't slam you)
— Debora H.
April 30, 2001
I have to say I appreciate Merri asking the question she asked because I
have had the same question. I have been reading and reading and reading
about RNY and just recently heard of the DS procedure and am curious about
it as well. I must say I am rather discouraged by the amount of defensive
attitudes people have when someone asks questions about any of the
different procedures. Those of us just starting out on our journey to a
new life are only asking these questions out of a true desire to learn
about all of our options. The questions are not to hurt or slam anyone
else's decision for a particular procedure. We are desperately searching
for that tool to a healthier lifestyle and truly only want to learn about
peoples personal experiences and opinions of said procedures. I hope that
my response doesn't offend anyone. I have learned so much and received so
much support from members of the group. I would never want to hurt anyone's
feelings or make them feel like they need to defend their decisions. We all
make them based on what we feel is best for us but some of us need to hear
peoples experiences of the procedures before we know what is going to be
best for us.
— Nicole R.
April 30, 2001
Barbara....I Applaud you also..And no you're NOT alone in problems with
BPD/DS.. I correspond with several ladies besides yourself with similar
serious problems as yours. If you would like their email address to write
and maybe share insight, knowledge, and maybe just a comforting ear.. Let
me know.. I'll send them to you.. Never applogize for posting the truth,
that's how we all learn.. We all read posts good & bad everyday about
VBG, RNY, and other surgery types so feel free to post without fear of
being slammed..
— Victoria B.
April 30, 2001
There are people who have suffered greatly from their procedures. Every
procedure, the VBG, the RNY the DS the BPD/DS. There are people whose lives
have been transformed beyond belief in a positve way. Lives rescued and
renewed with no second thoughts. I have heard from people whose side
effects were terrible AND from people whose side effects are FABULOUS. It
is hard as a pre-op to get a clear picture of what any one procedure will
do for US. There is NO WAY to know how it will be. Will we be trading one
problem for new ones? Will we wish we had done it sooner? Will we die? Will
we be reborn? Will we go in for surgery after surgery? Will we finally
conquer the flab? Only you will be able to decide if you have no other
choice but to have surgery. Only you will know what you can tolerate after
surgery and if one of the procedures fits what you need the best. I would
like to think that on this site every surgical experience, positive or
negative could be shared without cruelty by others. I always wonder why
people don't come back to their profiles, are they dead? Did they have
complications? Did they decide to try something else? Were they so
successful that they left the computer chair and were out hiking and
traveling? All we can do as pre-ops is read and weigh, read and weigh, and
think some more. Good luck with your journey.
— Danine N.
Click Here to Return