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BPD-DS
Oct 21, 2016 22:04:55 GMT -5
Post by patngin on Oct 21, 2016 22:04:55 GMT -5
Just to let everyone know. Me and My wife had this operation in 1990. Now that we are getting older we are having all kinds of problems pop up. We both take all the supplements including Vit D 50000 units twice a week calcium magnesium. The latest problem is my wife has been diagnosed with Osteoporosis and needs to have 5mg Reclast IV once a week. Now this is just one in many problems that we have that have started popping up when we were about 59 now I am 66 my wife is 64. IMO this operation works real good when you are young but as you get older it is not. Maybe for some but not for us. We should have had a different one that isn't so drastic. I have terrible absorption problems. I am 5'9" and now weigh 140, 298 when I started. She has lost 130 at the highest but has been gaining some back and now outweighs me at 143 and 5'2". I can't gain weight. I am just writing to let you know this particular operation is not a magic bullet. If you want to get it go for it but be aware that there can be problems later in life as your body gets older. I'm not trying to scare anyone away from this but just be aware.
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BPD-DS
Oct 22, 2016 22:56:38 GMT -5
Post by Gutless_in_Seattle on Oct 22, 2016 22:56:38 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing Pat. Sorry to hear about your problems. I'm 62 and had the DS in 2012. So far I'm doing really good. I follow a stringent supplement regimen and twice a year I have full labs and a follow up from my surgeon. As I get older, I've often wondered about how the DS will affect me in old age. Have you considered a revision so that you only have the sleeve? It would eliminate the mal-absorption we experience and might help you gain weight and fight the calcium deficiency your wife is experiencing. I've often thought that is what I would consider if I run into problems down the road.
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BPD-DS
Oct 23, 2016 13:26:45 GMT -5
Post by patngin on Oct 23, 2016 13:26:45 GMT -5
I have thought about a revision, but the problem being that I also developed heart problems. I had to have my aortic valve replaced and when they got in there for some reason my whole heart structure was calcified making a clean replacement impossible, so when they sewed the new valve to the calcified tissue it didn't make a good seat and I have a leaking valve, making any surgery for me high risk. I couldn't go to a sleeve because 2/3 of my stomach has been removed but they can possibly lengthen the common channel so increasing absorption. It seems like the longer this has gone since I had the operation the harder it is to absorb essential vitamins and minerals. I take iron tablets 3 times a day and my wife had to have 2 infusions. Now that they have said she has osteoporosis they want her to have Reclast IV and we are not convinced about that. We have read so many people who have done that and suffered almost forever after. At 4 years like you I felt great but now at 16 years I have had all sorts of problems. Our surgeon really gave us no follow up or good instructions for after care and I let myself get so far down that it became life threatening now trying to come back from that has been a struggle for the last 8 years. I judt don't feel this was the proper surgery for me or my wife. Something less drastic that would be reversible would have been more in line. This isn't that, but hey I have had a good run. I got so bad in 2007 I had an infusion of albumin and went into anaphlactic shock from it, coma for 3 weeks and ended up losing both legs below the knee. All because the doc didn't tell us the supplements and care that needed to be taken after. The doc that kept me alive said it was the worst case of malnutrition he'd ever seen. No doc in this town are even familiar with this surgery. Now I can't afford to go to someone who knows anything and not really sure I want to take the risk or just try to keep living as long as I can.
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Post by mark540 on Oct 23, 2016 15:08:34 GMT -5
Hi Pat,
Sorry to hear about your problems that are surfacing. I too have some issues but I keep reminding myself that I could just as easily had all the troubles with a different surgery.
Osteoporosis, vitamin D issues, MS, and more cannot neccesarilly be linked to our surgery, okay, the vitamin D can.
I ask myself if I am better off smaller and the answer is yes. I ask myself if another weight loss surgery would have resulted in as permanent a solution and I have to say probably not.
My big concern as I make my way to 60 is will all this bacon I eat cause me issues later.
Don't beat yourself up too hard playing Monday morning football person that analyzes the mistakes of the Sunday games.
You mentioned the docs where you are don't know much about the surgery but I bet they all are willing to point the finger at it.
Good luck.
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Post by newyorkbitch on Oct 23, 2016 19:31:19 GMT -5
Pat, we have discussed these issues with you so many times. You have never taken the advice you get here. It looks like you never will. Just for example, you have been told to take at least 50,000 units of dry D ever day. But you choose to ignore the advice. You've been asked to post your detailed food logs here - you don't do it. Also I remember quite well that the surgeon you used did not seem to be performing a "correct" BPD/DS and you did not follow up with this. You have been told to add certain enzymes to aid in digestion - you didn't follow up. I am not going to bother finding all the many, many discussions we had or the many, many comments from people trying to help you. Your problem is not primarily your surgery - your problem is your unwillingness to be assertive about your care and your needs.
I am 54 years old, and I am 16.5 years post-op. And my CC is 75cm which is quite short. I take 100,000 units of D every day. I take a ton of dry A, E, and K too, and of course calcium citrate. I get iron infusions 3 times a year. Maintaining good health with a DS is difficult, it takes a lot of work, time, attention, good doctors. And it takes an attitude that you are in charge of your own health, and you will demand the care you need.
I'm sorry, but warning people that it's a bad idea is ridiculous under your circumstances. If you were compliant, if you followed up as needed, took advice, etc....and still had huge issues that you could be sure are related to your surgery - well that would be different. But that is so far from reality that your warning is meaningless.
How many grams of protein and carbs are you eating every day? I will make a bet that a) you don't know and b) even if you did, it wouldn't be enough.
And by the way, as we age we have health issues, all of us, surgery or no surgery. There are many many women with osteoporosis in their 60s, the vast majority of whom have never had bariatric surgery.
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