 |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
 |
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
Surgeon: Dr Mitchell Roslin (Lenox Hill Hospital, NYC) Most recent update: February 10, 2006 By Melissa M.
A very lucky woman, I have been married to an incredible man who is everything a husband should be to a wife and more. (Third time is the charm, as this is my third marriage.) We have been together for more than thirteen years, and married for almost seven. I also have a 24-year-old daughter (from my second marriage), who is engaged to a man nearly as perfect as mine. From about age eight, I started gaining weight (which was about the time my stepfather had started sexually abusing me). My chubbiness was a constant source of aggravation and focus by just about every family member. Most of my female family members had weight issues and they were only trying to nip mine in the bud for my own good. Over the years I managed to get thinner than -- and fatter than -- them all. It just depended on the year. I have been a size 9 four times in my life. Each time, within a three-year period, I started regaining the weight and ended up morbidly obese. Ironically, I mirror the weight patterns of my father, who essentially disappeared when I was age five. My parents had divorced and he just stopped coming around. But my mother said she had never seen anything like my father; he could gain and/or lose thirty pounds in a month. Hence, this is where I get these horrific genes. It was the only legacy he left behind. Before long, I learned that losing weight does not mean all your problems are solved. I can still hear the voices of well-meaning aunts/Grandma in my ear: “You’re so beautiful, if only you’d lose weight, your life would be perfect.” Sound familiar? It’s the mantra of many a well-meaning friend/relative. Well, being thin gives you an edge in life that you don’t have as a fat person, but it has little to do with having a perfect life. And that’s what brings me to this day. The thought that – even at my “advanced” age – I can rid myself of the yo-yo syndrome, of being fat permanently and focus on other things (as long as I pay attention to doctor’s orders, of course) is like hitting the lottery to me. It is a concept so utopian as to be beyond my imagination. The last time I had a major weight loss -- in 1993-1994 -- I lost over 200 pounds and was enjoying life (again) as a perfect size 9. Finally had enough money and support to have a killer wardrobe and was feeling at-ease in my body. Within a year, many stressful things started happening in our lives (second stepfather – the good one – died of pancreatic cancer, mother-in-law was dying, we moved back to New York City after an almost idyllic life in Washington DC, and my mother started manifesting signs of Alzheimer’s). Our lives were turned upside down and little by little, I started getting “crazier.” To make a long story short, I was diagnosed as hyperthyroid in 1997. My then-unsympathetic endocrinologist was unsupportive and – not caring for doctors to begin with – I did not comply with his protocol. I stopped going to doctors and did not treat the Graves Disease. By the time I walked back into a doctor’s office – in 2003 – I was 290 lbs and so weak, it was as if I had turned age 85. He quickly diagnosed me with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis but my thyroid levels are within normal range and it is currently untreatable with medication. I am weak all the time now, easily fatigued, my head just fogs over several times a day (can’t think straight), my weight has increased almost thirty pounds in the past year (in spite of being on a high-protein diet), my periods are horrific (extreme cramping and flow), and I am near-bedridden. I had to quit a job I adored as a broadcast news journalist; I even stopped driving. I am in limbo. A word to all those noncompliant souls out there: If you don’t like your doctor, keep finding one you do like, even if it is a pain in the butt to do so. Because by ignoring my hyperthyroid condition for so long, the hyped-up thyroid/metabolism ate through the protein in my body, thereby destroying over half of my body’s muscle mass. That’s why I’m such a sorry soul today. I have become virtually unable to lose weight any longer. Imagine, after taking for granted the fact that I can gain or lose weight at the drop of a hat (I have documented weight gains/losses amounting to well over 1000 pounds), I can’t make that freakin’ scale move!! I thought that being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease would make me a poor candidate for weight loss surgery. But after considerable discussion with my endocrinologist, found this assumption not to be the case (thankfully). In fact, he considers me to be an excellent candidate and referred me to my surgeon, who is partners with the surgeon who performed Al Roker’s gastric bypass. The night before my consult with Dr. Roslin I discovered the Duodenal Switch when I was surfing the net. It was by far one of the luckiest things that has happened to me since meeting my husband. I can’t believe the lack of general information publicly about this procedure. My surgeon voiced concerns about my age, calcium absorption, and his perception that I’m “not quite heavy enough” for the procedure but I remain undeterred. After our consult, I took to heart what my surgeon had said and almost bought into the idea of having an RNY instead. But once I got home, I went straight to this website and reread every profile, paying specific attention to how many people in my age range had absorption problems and found that -- if compliant with vitamin/supplement regimens -- there were virtually none. More examination of clinical data and other info on the web, and ever since, my mantra has become “The DS or nothing.” This is how I see it: The DS is a tool by which to lose weight and maintain that weight loss. So is the RNY. Still, look at all we as fat people have had to suffer through in our lives. We have so often settled for second best. Well, I’ll be damned if I go through major surgery (It’s been 35 years since I last had a major surgery – removal of an ovarian cyst at age 13) and still have to deal with things like the dumping syndrome, possible daily vomiting, and eating baby food with a baby spoon, taking one bite every three minutes. It’s not like I don’t want to do the work; I’m more than willing to do the work (hell, I’d be eating glass if it would help) but I need this tool to stack the deck in my favor for a change. I can’t lose weight on my own any longer and – especially with an autoimmune disease --- it’s a lot easier to move 150 lbs around than it is to move 300+. My initial surgery date was 2/17/04. Five days from that date, my surgeon’s office and I discovered that there is a specific exclusion policy for WLS in our employer’s contract with Cigna PPO. Somehow, this was not discovered during the predetermination. We got our Human Resources Department involved in the matter and they are now “fighting the good fight” along with us for approval. Response to our appeal is due literally any second and I hope to be having the surgery within the next few weeks. I thank my “fellowship of the switch” – everyone whose profile appears on this website and those I have met on similar sites. You have given me hope, insight, support, and an internal belief that this is the correct path to take in my journey to health. Your support, prayers and blessings are welcome. Feel free to email me at mermaid@mermaidonline.net. God bless you on your own journey!
There were so many times I wondered if my life as it stood was worth living. There were countless hours of frustration and depression. Every time things appeared to be taking a positive turn, I seemed to be getting resistance. Still I believed these were tests that helped me set the table for the rest of my life – one that on a daily basis now proves to be more fulfilling and positive than I thought possible. Somewhere deep inside me a voice kept reminding me that I was worth it … that my life was worth the fight … and I thank God that I listened and made myself believe it. So now … at nearly 14 months post-op, I have lost approximately 160 lbs, am wearing a size 8 (from a size 26-28) in most things, and have regained 3/4s of the life that I had before I started getting so ill six years ago. The pre-op likelihood of facing the rest of my life in a wheelchair has been replaced by boundless energy for walking that is only limited by the Hashimoto Thyroiditis fog. I am able to push past it much better than before surgery but it does exist; it is very real. Now that I am physically able to pursue the search for an endocrinologist who takes my insurance, we can further attack this annoying and persistent problem. While the weight has come off nicely, it has not just “fallen off” past the 3-month point – due to my pre-op conditions and my age. That’s okay. I’m a great dieter. I eat ultra low carb and continue to be encouraged enough to keep going until I reach goal. I’m still about 20 pounds from where I believe I ultimately belong. I am sickeningly compliant on a protein/nutrition and vitamin/supplement regimen. Some may call me anal. But I have had virtually no problems with gas or diarrhea past the first two weeks post-op – other than a recent 72-hour virus that has thankfully proven that DSers CAN be normal! There have been no serious medical complications throughout my journey. At six weeks out I did find myself getting dehydrated and very nauseas. Water – which had been my drink of choice since before surgery (finally dropped the diet soda jones after 40 years) – was impossible to sip. Everything was difficult to tolerate. Ironically, deflated diet ginger ale (and slices of pickled ginger like you get from a Japanese restaurant) helped turn the nausea around and put me back on track. To this day if I eat too quickly, food will get “stuck in my chest” for a while. I will feel uncomfortable, find it difficult to breathe, and get “foamies” (yes, exactly like what RNYers complain about). The cure is simple: Eat slowly and deliberately. Never get so hungry that you can’t get food in fast enough. Thankfully, I experience this no more than once every six weeks but unconscious eating just isn’t cool. I hit a couple of weight stalls and found that most importantly, shaking things up helps. Don’t get too tied into the same foods everyday and – what I’ve learned most recently --- if you have thyroid issues, steer clear of soy products. I knew this along the way and thought I used them sparingly enough but eventually found that even eating a protein bar with soy protein in it once a day caused a build-up in my body that slowed my weight loss down considerably and made me sluggish. To combat this, I detoxed my body for ten days on protein only (meat, cheese and eggs) … no bars or shakes or processed foods of any kind … and certainly, no products containing any type of soy. My stall ended and my energy started to skyrocket. Most wonderful is that the concentration on protein is resulting in rebuilding so much of the lost muscle mass I experienced pre-surgery. I have gone from a 52% body fat index to 32% and a BMI of 51.6 to 25.4. It’s exciting to know that I can regenerate muscle without being overly physical, since formal exercise is the least of my strong suits. If you are considering a DS – or any weight loss surgery – make peace with your food demons before surgery. This is crucial. Do not delude yourself that your love affair with food will disappear just because you’ve gone under the knife. There are many many ties to food that many of us have that are subtle and insidious. I strongly suggest Overeaters Anonymous and/or therapy starting pre-surgery so that you’re as prepared as possible for the changes you are bound to experience when food is not an option for difficult times. As for me … At this point in time, I know I’m stronger than food. It has its place. I still enjoy it immensely – dabbling constantly in exotic dishes from all nations that I have tailored for a low-carb lifestyle -- but am able to walk away from it. That’s one of the things the surgery has done for me. Keeping protein first always (getting in an average of 100 grams each day) leaves me little room for dallying in simple carbs and inappropriate foods. I still have a sweet tooth and placate it by opting for sugar-free desserts and chocolates. Not only do they satisfy the urge, they don’t induce that “can’t stop eating it thing” inherit with their sugar-laden counterparts. With food – as in life – know your triggers. Surgery is a crap shoot; there are so many variables that play a part in successfully having the procedure and recovering. Be sure you go for it only as a last resort. I knew it was my only hope to have a reasonably normal life again. I consider myself blessed beyond words to be gratefully and graciously surviving the experience a day at a time.
|
|||||||
 |
|||||||
|
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. |
|||||||
My name is Melissa. A native Manhattanite, I am currently 48 years old and live in Ozone Park, New York (about five minutes from Kennedy Airport).
After a somewhat-intense fight with two different insurance companies that lasted nine months, I was approved for my DS. Frustrated by their claims of “experimental and investigational” for a surgery that was eighteen years old, I called their bluff and submitted a 369-page, 81-document binder that took me two weeks to create. (Tip: All the info is out there in cyberspace. Check the File Section of the DS Yahoo Group and the Yahoo DS Insurance Authorization Group, use pubmed and Google. You can also email me for details.) This, coupled with the efforts of lawyer Gary Viscio (