Surgery at 400 lbs +

Hi Melissa, I had my surgery at 440 pounds. Dr. Smith in Marietta, Georgia.  I wanted it done laparoscopically, and from someone who'd take Medicare (at that time he did, now I hear he doesn't).  No other surgeon in the United States would take me and do the Duodenal Switch all in one operation (don't know if you've heard much about the Duodenal Switch, but some surgeons prefer to do the sleeve gastectomy first, have the patient lose weight, then go under the knife again for the intestinal portion of the DS). I also had sleep apnea (extraordinarily severe, and barely treatable on the bipap machine), high blood pressure, and was borderline diabetic, but not on any prescriptions for it.  Congratulations on having lost so much weight pre-surgery. That's a helluva hard task, if you ask me. Then again, I was at the very end of my dieting rope and then some. My metabolism was so broken that I'd diet for two weeks, see very little change, and the weight would come back something fierce.  What to expect? Well, regardless of what type of surgery you have, I'd expect to be in the hospital for at least a few days. I was in for a total of 5 days. While in the hospital, what I found the most valuable was - of all things - my sister. When the nurses weren't able to help me, she was there by my side. I wouldn't have made it without her. Sometimes the hospital staff was so busy with other patients that I'd wait in my room for an hour for a response from any of them. That's with pushing the button a gazillion times for help. The times I needed most attention was when I was worried about my PICC-line site (my arm swelled up like a balloon, and when the nurse finally came to see what was going on, she was taken aback, called the surgeon right away, and I was taken to get an ultrasound to look for blood clots immediately); when I sat on the toilet, and couldn't wipe for myself because I couldn't twist or turn cuz of my abdomen (my sister came in before the nursing staff did!! they were just going to let me sit in my own waste!!??!!); when I started to feel pain.  Hope I didn't overwhelm you with my hospital experience.  The surgeon was impeccable. The hospital experience sucked bigtime.  I hope you have an excellent surgery, and smooth sailing in recovery.  -anne s.

I am so sorry your hospital stay was so horrible.  I have heard nothing but good things about Clarian North in Indianapolis; but I do know things can go wrong and people are people so I am not expecting perfection.  :) Thank you for sharing your story with me.  I'm looking at the calendar and see that my procedure is 3 weeks from today.  I go this Wednesday for my pre-op testing.  I have to be there at 7:30am and it's about a 2 hour drive, but going to be well worth it.  I am excited and nervous (though I'm not admitting it to many people).   I am keeping up a strong front for my mom and husband.  they are the two that I am most worried about.  I know that God will take care of me.  I have done a great deal of soul searching and found a wonderful family here on OH!  I cannot wait until I am up and able to respond to everyone.  I'm just trying to get things situated at home.  I know how I want to have things prepared for when I come home.  I don't want my husband to have to worry about all that needs to be done, so I'm trying to make sure I get things situated a couple of weeks ahead of time. We purchased a lift and recline chair in the event I would have trouble getting into bed.  Our bed sits a little high up and I'm short so it's a little difficult to get into bed now, so I imagine I will be sleeping in the recliner for a little bit.  It's fine, that is what it was bought for.  I want to get it in place so I can sort of break it in for sleeping.   Thank you again and keep in touch.  :)

Hi again, I was wondering if Inman had offered you the option to have the Duodenal Switch? Have you heard of it? Just wondering. I did lots of research on what surgery works best for us heavyweights, and the statistics looked really good regarding the DS (as compared to the RNY over the long-term). There are a few studies in my profile if you're interested and I've heard Inman is an excellent DS surgeon, too.  Best of luck, anne s.

Hi Anne Yes we discussed each of the options and I chose the RNY after reading several books and going through a great deal of research.  I haven't had children yet and I found a study that talked about the malabsorbsion and how it could affect growth of baby, etc.  I would hate to do that, so I went with the RNY.  thank you for all of your help and information though.  :)

I hope I didn't offend, that wasn't my intent. I haven't had children yet either; I wonder if you could point me in the direction of that research regarding malabsorption and the effect on the baby. That would have been a study I should have seen prior to my DS surgery.

Thanks, Melissa. Wishing you well.

 

-anne

You didn't offend me at all.  I hope I didn't come across as offended.  I got the book from a friend of mine that had surgery back in March.  She has recently moved to Nebraska, but I talk to her occasionally.  I will see if I cannot find out the information for you.  The name of the book, etc.  Unfortunately I don't have it anymore because she wanted it back prior to her surgery because it also had some good recipes and suggestions in it.  We'll keep in touch and I'll get the info to you just as soon as I can.  :)