Comparison of effects of gastric bypass and biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch on weight loss and body composition 1-2 years after surgery. Strain GW, Gagner M, Inabnet WB, Dakin G, Pomp A.
CONCLUSION: The BPD/DS procedure is more effective in reducing the BMI and promoting fat loss than is GB. The assessment of the impact of these two operations on an individualized basis offers additional information to assist in the evaluation of these procedures.
This coming weekend will mark 18 months since I had my DS.The surgery itself was pretty uneventful as far as surgeries go.A couple of hours in the O.R…..a few days in the hospital….A few weeks to heal and recuperate.All in all it was just as it should be.
I started losing weight easily and effortlessly hitting 50% lost by 6 months post-op.Labs were good.Protein intake was good.Fluids were good.WLS life was sailing right along.
At 7 months post-op my weight loss stopped.Didn’t slow down.Didn’t stall.Didn’t plateau.Stopped.I spent several months trying to figure out what was happening.I resumed tracking, on Fitday, everything I ate and drank.I was eating 90 – 100gr of protein per day.Carbs were under 100gr per day….often hovering around 50 – 70.Fluids were still right-on.I typically drink 1 gallon of water per day.I did pre-op, I still do post-op.(It took a little while to build back up to that after surgery but I did it.)I tried shaking things up by having a couple of high carb days – to no avail.I ate more protein – nothing.My physical activity was already increased.I was stumped and started trying to accept the fact that this was all there was going to be for me.
It didn’t make any difference what I did; I couldn’t drop any more weight.The up-shot was that I was able to maintain my weight.My diabetes was gone, as was my hyperlipidemia.My blood pressure returned to normal, occasionally creeping into the high-normal range.
I spoke with my surgeon about the loss stopping.We discussed surgical options.I spoke with another DS surgeon and we also discussed surgical options.The bottom line on those conversations was that the risks out-weighed the benefits at this time.
Just to be clear for lurkers or others who may want to use my weight loss as a negative example against the DS, I have an unusual circumstance with my intestine that has caused this outcome.I was born this way and it was not known until the DS was performed.Thank God I had the DS and not one of the other surgeries available because my results would not have been as good as they’ve been.
Fast forward to my upcoming 18-month surgiversary.Last week I began drinking 2 – 3 protein drinks daily.This is in addition to the ~100gr of protein I was eating daily.Within 2 or 3 days the most incredible thing happened.I dropped a pound.Then another.After being on the additional protein drinks for the past 9 days or so I have dropped 5 pounds!My carbs have been below 50gr.My fluid intake is still high.The only difference has been adding the drinks.
So…..to the slow losers, don’t give up.To those who feel like they are living in the stall from hell, don’t give up.I am now revising my position of having stopped losing weight at 7 months post-op to one of having been in an 11-month stall.LOL
Oh my goodness this is so yummy - and good for you too! Who would have thought that our protein drinks would make delicious ice cream? Well, OK, Eggface did, and so did Jupiter....and Ms. Moore...You guys are awesome.
Here's how I did it:
3 scoops Banana Scream Protein Powder (Champion Nutrition)
3 Cups 1/2 & 1/2 (Hey, DSers don't absorb the fat so we can do this)
2 tbls toasted chopped pecans
Blend the protein powder with the milk, either in a blender or with a stick blender. Make sure all the lumps are gone. Add the pecans to the milk mixture.
Pour into your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's directions provided with your ice cream maker.
Makes approximately 1 quart of ice cream.
Protein: 92 grams. Carbs: 42 grams. Fat: 101 grams. Cals: 1430 (but 909 of those are fat grams and we don't absorb 80% of those). These nutrition counts are for the entire quart. Divide according to how much you eat at a serving.
It has been7 months since surgery and I'm happy to say....
On the plus side:
-73 lbs gone
-Flew cross-country last month and fit comfortably in the seat.Also didn’t need a seat belt extender.There was also lots of room for the pull-down tray table.
-Able to wear high heals for two or three hours at a time before my feet start talking to me.
-My dog gets tired on a walk before I do.
-Soooo much energy.
-No problems with gas or loose bm’s
-Able to tolerate carbs well.(Except some noodles in my homemade chicken & noodle soup.I was a tiny bit gassy for a couple of hours.)
On the negative side:
-New clothes don’t last long.I keep shrinking out of them.Oh, wait, that is still a positive.I guess I don’t have any negatives to report.
It's been 4 months since my open DS and it's update time. First a couple of WOWs --
I'm obese! Yep, that's right, I'm no longer morbidly obese.
The next WOW is one of those that happens without thinking and then you realize what just took place and you are surprised. I was driving my little car and it has a manual transmission. It also has no cup holders anywhere in it. I had just left Starbucks with a large cold coffee drink when I needed to use both hands for a moment. Without thinking I set the drink in between my legs. I finished the driving maneuver that required both hands and both legs working in unison and suddenly realized......Holy Cow, the drink fit between my legs and didn't get squished or demolished! HeeHee.
Month 4 has been a month of careful observation of my DS. Let me first say that I have not had any problems with gas or bowel function from day 1. With that said, I ventured a bit further into the carb kingdom this month wondering if I would find food(s) that would cause problems. I had small amounts of pasta, breads, starchy veggies, ice cream, etc. No problems with any of them. I can't decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Still my diet consists of mostly protein only.
This month has been a very slow month for weight loss. Up to last night I had only lost 3 1/2lbs for the entire month. This morning I got up and the scale had eeked its way to 5lbs. I have found it discouraging to have such a small loss. It was because of the small loss that I experimented with carbs, inlcuding the "Krispy Kreme" suggestion. I was hoping to shock my system into action. Nothing seemed to have made any difference - good or bad.
I'll hold onto hope that this was just a month of adjustment for my body and hope that the weight loss picks up for month 5. Before anybody jumps on me (BT ) I know that I would not have lost 58lbs in 4 months through any other method. I'm good with that. I just want more. What can I say, I'm a "I want it all and I want it now" kind of person.
Some of you may recall that I asked for prayer a few weeks ago for my 89 year old mother and her health problems. She is recovering well at home now. However, I bring that up to say -- I had to do a lot of driving out to the hospital (75 miles each way), nursing home, her home, dealing with doctors, social workers, etc. while she was so ill. I was able to do it all, in NO small part, due to my weight loss and increased energy. I don't fall in love easily so I'm not yet ready to say "I love my DS", but I sure do like it an awful lot.
This past Monday was 2 months since my surgery. Somewhere around 6 1/2 weeks I finally felt the anesthesia fog clear out of my head. The fog was the worst part of recovery for me and even that wasn't debilitating. Once it cleared I was able to recognize a significant increase in energy. I think the energy was from two sources -- One was simply recovery, and the other was more energy from LESS WEIGHT. I have lost a total of 45lb and feel a huge difference. My knees don't hurt. My back doesn't hurt. My shoulders don't hurt. Wow.
I've noticed that my drinking is almost like it was pre-op. I can drink swallows of water, and even an occasional gulp, rather than small sips. Now if I could only get back up to 1 gallon per day. Oh well, in time. Most days I get in 70 - 80+ grams of protein now just by eating. Occasionally I have a "don't want to eat much today" and I supplement the protein. I do have to eat several times a day in order to get my protein in but so be it. I haven't added much in the way of carbs but I do occaisionally have some veggies or a slice of low carb bread. Still mostly just protein. So, overall I feel like I'm doing pretty darn well.
My concern:
At my 6 week follow-up visit I discussed my surgery report with my surgeon. When he measured my intestines he found that they were 385cm overall. Obviously one's height (I'm 5'10") has nothing to do with length of intestines. Anyway we discussed that I had incredibly efficient intestines which is why I ended up morbidly obese despite eating less than anybody thought I probably did.
So now even though I've been rerouted and given a 100cm common chanel I still have efficient intestines working with the DS.
It will be interesting to see if/how this affects my weight loss and any regain.
A little bit about me personally -- I have reached the fantastic age of 50...or so says my birth certificate. My mind, however, says that I'm still in my 30's. I choose to go with my mind. I have two great children -- both adults. I also have a wonderful grandson.
I have been overweight nearly my entire life. I was put on prescription speed - oh wait, it was called a weight loss drug - when I was 12. That did a number on messing up my metabolism but it didn't do a thing for weightloss. Somehow or another I was thin for a minute during my junior and senior years in high school. Starting about a year after high school I started to slowly gain back the weight. It just crept up and up through marriage, two pregnancies, stress and traumas of life, etc. until I got just plain miserable. Oh, I dieted. I did the paid programs with pre-packaged meals -- Lost 30 pounds. Gained 50. Did the weekly meetings where I would weigh my food or count my points. Lost some. Gained more. Liquid diets, prescription drugs, over the counter pills, personal trainer at a gym, yada yada. Same story. Always found more weight than I lost.
In time I developed Type 2 diabetes; hypertension; hyperlipidemia; hypothyroidism; all the usual suspects associated with obesity. I also earned the "privilege" to take a boat load of prescription drugs each day to deal with my new found health woes. Then, just to make it interesting, my back hurt, knees hurt, ankles hurt, neck hurt, oh heck you know the drill.
I started getting curious about weight loss surgery. I have spent the past couple of years picking up bits of information about it but nothing had moved me past mild curiosity. Then it seems like something inside of me switched. Suddenly I became VERY interested in learning more -- lots more -- about WLS. So my journey began.
In early September, 2006, at a routine office visit I asked my PCP what his thoughts were about WLS. He told me that he thought it was a great option for certain people. He also thought it was a great option for me. He then had his office staff submit paperwork to my insurance company for a referral authorization. I was shocked. I expected some resistance from him but he got that ball rolling right now.
A couple of weeks later I received the referral authorization from my insurance company to have a consultation with a surgeon. YeeHaw!!
In my very early stages of researching WLS I decided I wanted the LapBand procedure and the surgeon I was going to see performed this. However, the more I learned the more I realized that it was definitely not the right choice for me. It didn't offer the level of weight loss I needed and it had a high "re-gain" rate that I didn't want to chance. And I wasn't thrilled with the complications I was reading about. So the only logical choice to make then was gastric by-pass known as Roux-en-y (RNY). This worked fine because the surgeon I was referred to did this also.
I then attended the patient orientation meeting required by the bariatric surgeon and got the ball rolling, so to speak. All the while I was doing a tremendous amount of research about WLS to learn as much as I could about what was ahead for me. I really like making an informed decision when it comes to important things like, oh, CUT ME OPEN, BODY ALTERING, LIFE CHANGING, THE REST OF MY LIFE SURGERY. I consider this surgery a last resort. Something I want to do right and only once.
Continued research un-earthed something I didn't know about WLS. I learned that the LapBand and RNY gastric by-pass aren't the only choices available.
Somehow (Thank you God) I stumbled across the Duodenal Switch forum on ObesityHelp. After all the research I had done I learned that there was SO much more to learn before I let someone cut me open and rearrange my insides. Research in the DS forum led me to more sites with information about all the available WLS options. I started learning about the benefits of the various procedures. But, perhaps more important, I also began to learn about the down-sides. The complications. The side effects. The solutions, or lack thereof, to problems patients were having. I actively sought websites that dealt with the negative aspects. I looked for, and found, medical reviews, reports, citations, etc. stating the facts about initial weight loss, complications, re-gain rates, failure rates, success rates and so forth, for various sugeries. I wanted to know the good, the bad, and the ugly.
With the medical information and technology available today it was clear that the Duodenal Switch was the right wls surgery option for me.
Add as a Friend
Send Message
Member Card
Block Member
 & BT).jpg "Sandy (SaMaRo) & BT")
 & Ken M).jpg "(from L to R): Melissa Mermaid, Me, Sandy (SaMaRo), & Ken (Melissa's Husband)")
Still my diet consists of mostly protein only.
) I know that I would not have lost 58lbs in 4 months through any other method. I'm good with that. I just want more. What can I say, I'm a "I want it all and I want it now" kind of person. 
