Duodenal Switch Information Zone

Previous patient
Next patient

Surgeon: Dr. Leonard Fichter, Hurricane, WV
Surgery date: June 13, 2001
Pre-op weight/BMI: 318/54
Current weight/BMI: 252 (as of September 7, 2001)
Insurance - Health Risk Management
(approval one week after receiving all requested information)

by Jackie S.:

I have been overweight most of my life. I was a size 14 through high school which seems so small to me now but was big in contrast to all the other high school girls. I never really dated much - weight has been a factor. When I went to college I gained a lot of extra weight. I was out of place and scared to death and ate to deal with all the emotions. When I began working after college I felt better about my weight. It seems in the work world I was accepted for who I was. I lost about 100 lbs in 94 after a diabetes scare. I gained all the weight back in record time and decided to ignore the diabetes. My health was getting worse and worse. Any walking or physical activity was virtually impossible. It was embarrassing if there were any work activities planned around physical exertion because I knew I could not participate as other did.

I started thinking about weight loss surgery after changing my PCP. He was a very nice man and told me to think about it. At first I thought it was too extreme and too risky. The more I thought about it and talked to others I decided it was something that I should definitely look into. I began researching on the web and tons of info. I had not idea that there were so many people who have had this type of surgery. I went back and talked to my PCP and he set me up with my initial consultation with Dr. Fichter.

I started the process in April. Dr. Fichter requires a lot of preliminary work prior to surgery. I went for 6 weeks of counseling, PFT and sleep apnea test followed by 6 weeks on a CPAP machine, at least 6-8 weeks of PT prior to surgery to get you in a little bit better shape, and a stress test. I thought it was a little extreme but all worth it in the end. I had my surgery on June 13, 2001.

I was in the hospital for 4 days. The surgery lasted for 6 hours which was longer than anyone expected. He had planned on doing it laparoscopic but turned out he had to open me. I was his first DS patient. My parents were scared to death but I felt at ease with being the first patient. I do not remember too much about the first couple of days except that I was so upset with myself for having the procedure. I cried a lot and was upset. They pumped me so full of IVs while I was in the hospital that the first night I was up 100 times at least to pee. The second and third night it was coming out of the other end. I was miserable and sore. By the fourth night I could get myself up and I learned to wipe. All the other times it was hard, I had to ask for help a lot. My mom spent most days with me but went home at night, which was fine except for the bathroom thing. I had a G tube and stomach tube for the first two days but they were removed. The catheter came out the next day after surgery.

After I went home I was given lortab elixir for pain. I did not like the taste at all - so only took it in limited amounts for the first week or so then gave it up all together. I got liquid Tylenol but did not need it either. After I got home I stayed on full liquids for about 4 days. I went to solids pretty quickly. I have been very lucky with all my food choices. I have not had any problems keeping any thing down. One of the biggest questions I had prior to surgery was about bowel movements. I want to write about this to help someone who may read this story. My surgeon prepared me for the worst but in reality it has not been as bad as I had expected. My typical day starts with between 2-4 bowel movements (usually just loose stool). The rest of the day I am fine. I have found that dairy gives me gas. I do notice a small odor from my urine also. It may be fat leaving my body that way also.

So far I have hit two plateaus - one was in about my 6th week after surgery. I stayed the same for 10 days. The second was at about my 11th week after I stayed the same weight for about a week. Not sure why.

I have been swimming for exercise. I also do light weights to try to tone up my arms. I am hoping by some miracle that I will not have to have a tummy tuck. I have a very prominent apron so like I said it will be a miracle.

I have just started to feel better about the surgery. I had never had surgery before and was a little freaked out by the way I felt after. Now I have my energy back and feel pretty much back to normal. I do feel like a poster child for WLS though. I work at the hospital where I had surgery and it's a small place so basically everyone knows. I have got a lot of support and positive reinforcement though which is good.

Please feel free to e-mail me with questions. I would love to talk to anyone going through this. It helped me for people to answer my question.

send email to Jackie S.

back to top of page

[Home] [Procedure] [Surgeons] [Patients] [FAQ] [More Info]

Email the site administrator with questions, corrections, or suggestions.

Copyright © 1999-2006 by The Duodenal Switch Information Zone, all rights reserved. Text, graphics, and HTML code are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without explicit permission.