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Old 07-08-2009, 03:57 PM   #46
Razzmatazz13
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Thanks for the kind words, and also for making me laugh. Thanks for the prayers, they helped. All of your posts in this thread were wonderfully helpful and supportive, and I appreciate your thoughts and time. You rock, thank you.

My mom is 2 days out of surgery and home now, She is down to 10 units of her diabetes medication from a shot at each meal and 100 units at night. Hopefully at the next doctor's appointment she has, they will tell her that she will no longer needs it. (Sidenote: She said that the surgeon came to see her after, and he told her that during surgery, her blood sugar would spike really high, and then crash again, and repeat, and she really scared him. He said he hadn't realized that her blood was so uncontrollable. She laughed and said "well that's why I got the surgery.")

She is a little sore (obviously) but she's doing well and is only taking aspirin, she is not using the uberpainkillers that they gave her, unless she needs to (which she hasn't yet). She's happy, and lost 1 pound so far.



That said, joelguy, you should really read a thread before you contribute to it. My family has a type of diabetes that cannot be controlled by diet OR exercise no matter how much "disipline", "motivation", or "magic beans" you try to shake at it. Thanks for the advice though, I guess. (Cause we totally never thought of eating right or exercising before we considered the dangerous surgery and hacking out bits of organs.)
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Old 07-08-2009, 04:00 PM   #47
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Originally Posted by Aliantha View Post
So she must be out of recovery by now. How's she doing Razz? I guess she'll be on chicken soup for a few days? (I'm not really sure how these things actually work, but I think I heard somewhere that the diet afterwards is supposed to be high in liquid?)

Anyway, here's to hoping your mum has as much success as your gran.
Right, I forgot this part.

She was on a liquid diet for 2 weeks pre-surgery and I believe it's also 2 weeks post-surgery. Right now she's on clear liquids only, although she's thinking of trying a bit of broth tonight.
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Old 07-25-2009, 12:09 AM   #48
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I'm glad to hear that both your grandmother and mother are doing great.
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Old 07-25-2009, 06:56 AM   #49
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Do you got some of them magic beans though?
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Old 07-29-2009, 04:34 PM   #50
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Hey Razz - How are the two lovely ladies doing?
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Old 08-10-2009, 01:44 PM   #51
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I have PCOS, and insulin resistant diabetes type II. After 6 years of gaining weight REGARDLESS of what I ate, exercised, or anything, I was gaining a net of about 10 pounds per year. I finally pushed my GP into letting me see an Endocrinologist.

We discussed all the issues, and she said that the Metformin is the first drug of choice because it is one of the few diabetes/PCOS drugs that help insulin uptake and don't make you uptake fat. (Fat loves to absorb estrogen, and estrogen is a fat magnet...it's a vicious cycle.)

So. If that didn't work, she said, I could go on Byetta. That's the twice daily injection, but it has a lot more side effects.

The last resort was bypass. She didn't go into details, but she said that the bypass actually changed the way the body metabolizes, and that has everything to do with the way it processes sugar/carbs.

If my current treatment doesn't work, I'm looking at the bypass, and I'm at once terrified and filled with hope.

Keep us updated, Razz! Prayers to you and yours.
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Old 08-10-2009, 08:01 PM   #52
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I had Lapro RNY Gastric Bypass this past December - and I'm glad that I did. It's still a daily struggle - but knowing that I made the choice to do something that will make me healthy helps me get through the day to day grind.

So far, I've lost nearly 60 pounds (depending on the scale, more, or less). I'm down to sizes I haven't worn since I graduated from college, and haven't taken a single med for my Type II diabetes since.

There are great resources out there for folks who are looking into the surgery - or have had it. (obesityhelp.com is one that immediately comes to mind). There is much positive feedback and support there - and folks who pipe up with the 'its their own fault they're like that' are immediately educated on what reality is.

Razz - your family has my support - and if you, or anyone else who wants information on the procedure has any questions, please ask. I'll answer.
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Old 08-10-2009, 09:12 PM   #53
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Selene had the same surgery, Dags. Been almost four years now, and it has totally changed *both* of our lives.
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Old 08-10-2009, 09:26 PM   #54
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It's made lots of changes to mine to date - unfortunately, I got a kick in the ass from the doctor today I wasn't quite expecting, but am channelling that into a more positive path. (Or annoying my husband, not quite sure which...)
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Old 08-12-2016, 10:39 PM   #55
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Hey so, an update from the very distant future. Just in case anyone stumbles across this thread and wants info from life post surgery.

Both my mom and Meme recovered from the surgery well and have consistently maintained their weight losses at a healthy level. My Meme has been medication free for her diabetes ever since the surgery and has had her quality of life increase by leaps and bounds. She's incredibly active and does lots of volunteer work with different organizations including meals on wheels and has thrown herself into her artwork.

My mom stayed off her diabetes meds until about two years ago when she had to start taking pills again (but still no shots!) She's got a more accurate diagnosis now which is that she has some kind of crazy hybrid Type 1/Type 2 diabetes which is basically just a jerk and is really hard to control even with a proper diet, exercise, and meds so she's just really careful logging everything and she's got a dog who wakes her up if her sugar drops too low.

The doctors and hospitals around here are extremely strict with preparing their patients before they will allow it to be done, so if this is something you or a family member is considering I highly recommend visiting a therapist, joining a support group, and seriously researching all of the benefits/complications that go along with it as both of my family members were required to. It's not the easiest life post surgery, but for these two it was definitely worth it.
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Last edited by Razzmatazz13; 08-12-2016 at 10:49 PM. Reason: Autocorrect
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Old 08-13-2016, 08:45 AM   #56
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El Sic may have something new to add here as well.
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Old 08-13-2016, 08:42 PM   #57
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Long post incoming...

I am now a year post-surgery...did I ever mention I was having the surgery here? I don't know if I did. Anyhoo...

So at the beginning of 2015, I was at my highest weight ever (450 lbs/205 kg), and just a hot mess. I was genuinely worried I would die sooner rather than later. So I was approved for gastric bypass in January, but my insurance company required that I do a 3-month diet before having surgery. In addition, I had to do counseling and go full liquid for 2 weeks before surgery. On June 29, I went under the knife and was at the home the next day...at 410 lbs/186 kg. Recovery was fairly uneventful, and I went back to work 2 weeks later.

It was a real trial and error as far as food. I followed the guidelines pretty well, but tried to jump the gun a couple times...and learned the hard way by vomiting like a motherfucker. I exercised and ate well and was down 160 lbs by January.

Then I started developing some complications, mainly with digesting meat. Then I was also on the road a lot. The only thing I could comfortable tolerate for some time was carbs, which of course is no good when you have this kind of surgery. The issue was that the opening from my stomach to my intestine had started scarring over and was restricting my food intake. After 3 stretches, I was back to eating meat again about a month ago, and now that I'm off the road, the weight is starting to come off again. Just had my yearly followup last week and the doctors are pleased.

Before surgery, I was taking diabetes medicine, cholesterol medicine (I didn't have high cholesterol, but my doctors thought it good given my weight and my long-term heart condition), and some other meds. Right after surgery, I was only taking my heart pill, my anti-anxiety med and Zyrtec. Unfortunately, when I started having the stomach issues, I had to start up on Prilosec AND Pepcid AND Carafate to reduce acid in my new stomach. I'm off the carafate now, and will hopefully be able to drop the other acid blockers next year.

I would do the surgery again in a heartbeat, despite all the complications of the last 6 months (mainly throwing up after eating...oooh, that's fun!). I'm down 3-4 sizes and have more energy than I have in a long time. And I look much better. I will have to have another surgery, probably next year, to remove all the excess fat. Looking forward to that...seriously.

Of course, here's the thing...when you have a food addiction as I do, the surgery is a helper...your stomach will reject what it doesn't want. BUT...you have to learn to deal with the things that led you down that path in the first place. I can't point to any specific psychological or physical issues that necessarily led me down the path. I mean, I've always been fat and food was a source of comfort. It also led in part to two bankruptcies...and it wasn't even good food that much. Just the worst shit!

Ultimately, I'd like to be at 220/100...but if I'm stalled at 280/127, I'm good.
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Old 08-13-2016, 10:41 PM   #58
Razzmatazz13
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I'm glad you're doing well so far! It can be a hard life post-surgery. My mom's local hospital required almost a year's worth of pre-op group meetings and psychological evals before you were fully cleared for the surgrey to help prepare patients for the mental as well as the physical after effects. Both my mom and Meme struggled with throwing up due to certain foods for a long time and my mom had a similar issue with meat for quite a while, so I'm sorry you're struggling there like she was. Thankfully as frustrating as it was for her she would just attempt to broaden her food horizons every so often with things that had made her sick before and has gotten to a more or less back to normal place with food (though with better portion control and such.)

I can remember that first year of recovery really well. Every time a family member took a flight we stole all of the surrounding sick bags as gifts to my mom and Meme, they're the best for when you're out and about and your tiny stomach disagrees with a choice you've made!
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Old 08-20-2016, 08:33 AM   #59
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Quote:
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Every time a family member took a flight we stole all of the surrounding sick bags as gifts to my mom and Meme, they're the best for when you're out and about and your tiny stomach disagrees with a choice you've made!
Love that!


Sic - I was looking at a couple pics of you from when we met and a recent one. I was actually thinking of doing a side by side but couldn't fine an old one... Oh well. you look fantastic. Serious props to you, brother.
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Old 08-20-2016, 11:39 PM   #60
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The first is from the day we adopted Tango, 2 years ago. The second is from 2 weeks ago.
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