Question for the vets

[wanttolose]

So, I am still undecided btwn the VSG and the DS. Need help here! Can you steer me to all the stuff that is a 'must know' for the DS? Vitamins and supplements? Which ones, how much? Do's and dont's? Travel and work in places that don't have medical facilities? Long term nutrition and bone density issues? I don't really even know all the questions that need to be asked. Thank you all in advance... Liz, MsBatt, Diana, EN...looking to you for pointers.

[sherbearmama]

Make sure to go to dsfacts.com . A lot of useful information that might answer some of your questions are there.

Good luck!

Sheri

[Deleted]

I second the reading of DS Facts.

I don't have a problem with anything you mentioned in your thread. I take my supplements 4x day and 1 dose of iron, so actually 5x, I suppose. Early out, I would say that you may encounter a few problems but after that, almost everything is controlled by diet. Supplementation becomes second nature.

I have traveled, camped out, etc with no problem. I keep all my medical info on a marked flash drive. My 2 sons have a copy of said drive and know enough to direct medical personnel if I am unconscious.

I am 6+ years out and was 52 and post-menopause at the time of surgery. I have no bone density issues as of this time.

I should have quoted you because I have forgotten what else you asked.

Let me know if I can help.

Shellie

[Sandra C.]

I know I am not on your list as a "Vet", but before my D.S.decision I searched all the old posts from every site back to 2002. Found all the answers to your questions. Its good to read them yourself to see the surgery from all sides, not just answers to your questions you have now. After studying D.S. You will have many different questions we all can help you with. The newly switched or newbies have the most up to date info from their doctors, nutritionists, psychologists, cognitive therapy experts, and sports physiologists. The support group lectures are given by these trained specialists. You should consider visiting a group near you to help you decide. Our groups at GHP are open to people like yourself who want to learn about all the possible surgeries. The audience has over 30 people at times, lots of questions are asked, and answered. Visit more than one surgeons info lecture, I learned lots this way too. Good luck with your search. ;-)
Sandra

[Deleted]

Dec 27, 2011 14:18:13 GMT -5 wanttolose said:

So, I am still undecided btwn the VSG and the DS. Need help here! Can you steer me to all the stuff that is a 'must know' for the DS? Vitamins and supplements? Which ones, how much? Do's and dont's? Travel and work in places that don't have medical facilities? Long term nutrition and bone density issues? I don't really even know all the questions that need to be asked. Thank you all in advance... Liz, MsBatt, Diana, EN...looking to you for pointers.

Some questions:

1. How much weight do you need to lose?

2. What's your health like? In particular, do you have PCOS or related issues, and do you have any glucose tolerance issues, ranging from hypoglycemia to diabetes?

3. What has happened in past when you have dieted?

4. What's your current diet and activity level like?

5. How do you feel about having to swallow a significant quantity of pills every day, at least twice a day, for the rest of your life? How about getting stuck by a needle as frequently as every three months for the rest of your life?

6. What kind of food do you prefer to eat if you are allowed to eat naturally?

Okay, that's enough to start.

[wanttolose]

EN, i don't know how to quote, but here are the answers:
1. Need to lose 80-85 lbs
2. Health... Feel great all the time but have high blood pressure for 5 years now and diabetes type 2 diagnosed in October this year but high numbers of bg for about a year probably
3. Nothing ever happened when I dieted except this past year when I would say I have not been dieting. I lost 30 lbs by cutting down on carbs, increasing protein and watching what I eat. No desserts, no sugar, no soda, no rice, potatoes, pasta, bread...nothing white.
4. Current diet.. As above. Difficulties in cutting down fruit. Difficulties in drinking water (always had this), love all fats, meats, fish, chicken, salads..much prefer savoury. Activity level..... Zilch. I try to walk more but honestly its a bit pathetic.
5. Hate swallowing pills but take metformin, a blood pressure tablet and multivits every day anyway... I hate it but I am compliant. Never missed a dose, ever.
6. Pizza, pasta, rice, potatoes, bread and butter, caviar...eggs, dairy, beans, kebab, hummus, middle eastern and mediterranean food, cheeses,stews, liver, grilled eggplant, garlic,quinoa, soups, bolognaise, millet cous cous, Steak, fish and chicken any which way, buckwheet, couscous, foie gras, tajine, lamb...suckling pig... Mmmmmmm.....salads, i really love all food. Don't have a sweet tooth.

[wanttolose]

I should also say that I have never had any digestive problems. I am treating an ulcer now that I had no idea I had, found out during pre op tests requested by Dr Gagner which resulted in absolutely everything checking out perfectly apart from the ulcer. Taking a ppi and 2 antibiotics now (huge!) and gag and spit and curse but I do take them... Never had diarhea, haven't vomited in about 15 years. Don't know abt PCOS, have 3 teen kids born before I gained weight. I have been obese for about 15 years. I have never been an exerciser, even in my younger and thinner days. Never really dieted...always gave up before anything happened and the weight just crept on gradually. I think my cholesterol ratio is a bit high but not super high. Triglycerites are ok. Heart checked out perfectly. What else?

[Deleted]

Dec 27, 2011 15:09:04 GMT -5 wanttolose said:

EN, i don't know how to quote, but here are the answers:
1. Need to lose 80-85 lbs
2. Health... Feel great all the time but have high blood pressure for 5 years now and diabetes type 2 diagnosed in October this year but high numbers of bg for about a year probably
3. Nothing ever happened when I dieted except this past year when I would say I have not been dieting. I lost 30 lbs by cutting down on carbs, increasing protein and watching what I eat. No desserts, no sugar, no soda, no rice, potatoes, pasta, bread...nothing white.
4. Current diet.. As above. Difficulties in cutting down fruit. Difficulties in drinking water (always had this), love all fats, meats, fish, chicken, salads..much prefer savoury. Activity level..... Zilch. I try to walk more but honestly its a bit pathetic.
5. Hate swallowing pills but take metformin, a blood pressure tablet and multivits every day anyway... I hate it but I am compliant. Never missed a dose, ever.
6. Pizza, pasta, rice, potatoes, bread and butter, caviar...eggs, dairy, beans, kebab, hummus, middle eastern and mediterranean food, cheeses,stews, liver, grilled eggplant, garlic,quinoa, soups, bolognaise, millet cous cous, Steak, fish and chicken any which way, buckwheet, couscous, foie gras, tajine, lamb...suckling pig... Mmmmmmm.....salads, i really love all food. Don't have a sweet tooth.

Okay. You'd be in the range where I might still be willing to suggest a VSG for you. That's the only plus point I see for VSG in your answers here. Well, that plus your hatred of pills, but you'd need supplements with VSG too. When you can't eat much, you can't get in much nutrition, so you MUST supplement.

You have type II diabetes. That gets CURED almost all the time with the DS and no such promise with the VSG. If I were in your shoes that would be the deciding factor for me.

The diet you list leans heavily toward nutrient dense foods. You will have to dramatically curtail your carb intake with the DS, but it's a lot easier when you can eat loads of protein and fat . (Some fat people really DO live on vegetarian diets, or hate meat, or don't tolerate fat, all of which are contraindications for the DS.)

If you have not been successful at losing weight and keeping it off for any length of time in the past, there is no reason to expect the VSG to be any different EXCEPT that you might have some longer term reduction in appetite. Not everyone gets that, though, not by a long shot.

For your other questions in your OP, I second the advice to read DS Facts from start to finish. How to do supplementation is covered to some degree there. I strongly recommend just planning on using Vitalady's supplement schedule from the outset and then adjusting it according to your needs from your lab results. You might one of the lucky ones who only needs a fraction of the stuff on that list, at least for a while.

But I have to say that my one regret in how I went about caring for myself after my DS is that I believed it was okay to wait and see how my nutrient levels went. If I had been much more aggressive with some of them, I might not have been chasing chronic deficiencies now. I am by no means malnourished, but I have to be hypervigilant and can't help but wonder if I could have done better in the beginning.

[wanttolose]

The 80-85 lbs - if I lose all of that I'd be at 105-107 lbs for 5ft 0". So that's more than 100% of EW. If I lose 70 lbs I'd be over the moon also. And would also be in a healthy range. I have a feeling that if I see good results with the VSG I'd rather take a bullet in the head than allow myself to regain. My problem with prior diets was that it took too long and my patience wore thin...or so to speak. I have also never gone low carb before and that sure gave me a much better year with the loss of 30 lbs. I just don't want a second surgery in case I fail the sleeve or it fails me...i want to get it right from the get go. Thank you for your input. Gives food for thought.