Bariatric surgery

[devlinswife]

Has anyone on here had bariatric surgery while on perritoneal dialysis? I have just been put on hold for a transplant because my BMI is greater than 40. I now need some kind of bariatric surgery, I am leaning toward the vertical sleeve. Has anyone else had this done and how did it do with your dialysis/ Were you able to lose enough wieght being that you get 1000 calories a night just in dialysis fluids? How did you do diaysis while your stomach healed from surgery? I have tons of questions but those are my biggest ones. PLEASE someone help me!!

[noahvale]

*

[cariad]

Oh, I would strongly urge you not to get bariatric surgery of any kind. Complications are common, not everyone loses weight, many gain it back after a period of several years, and it will forever restrict you to eating next to nothing (which you could try without the surgery, though it might not result in weight loss). Some people even wind up heavier than before surgery. From what I've heard (never had the op myself) if something goes wrong, not only do the doctors not want anything to do with you, many other patients slime you as well, blaming you for not following the instructions to the letter or accusing you of lying about your condition. Bariatric surgery centers use aggressive marketing to convince people to sign on, and like any other publicity campaign, not everything they say is true.

Here's a good article that reviews some of the horrific outcomes that people have experienced with weight loss surgery: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26076054/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/t/miracle-weight-loss-isnt/

I would instead look for a transplant hospital willing to work with you at the size you are now. There are a few out there.

[devlinswife]

I have talked to 2 different Transplant hospitals, neither will touch me till I have lost at least 40 pounds. I am trying to lose weight on my own, but getting so many calories from dialysis each night doesnt help my situation. I am not able to do hemodialysis, I did it for 6 years and have lost all accesses and am unable to get a new one, peritoneal is working great for me and I love everything about it except the excess weight. I have massivley researched bariatric surgery and while I wish I didn't have to do it I feel that I will be able to maintain a healthy lifestyle if I do. II fell that out of the 3 surgerys, Gastric bypass, vertical sleeve, and lapband, that getting the vertical sleeve would be the safest and the healthiest option for me. This is not a option that I am looking at lightly, I will continue to "weigh" my options and seek advice everywhere, including talking to my nephrologist, and both transplant centers.

[smcd23]

That was a really good article on the surgeries cariad, thank you for posting it. I know a few people who have had the band done, and both have lost a lot of weight and had few complications. That being said, after reading those stories I don't think I'd ever consider it for myself.

devlinswife, you obviously use the computer, have you looked into myfitnesspal.com? They have a calorie tracker. I am always giving a half assed effort to lose weight (still 50lbs more than I was pre-baby and he's 3 now, and 65lbs more than I was before I donated my kidney) but I think a lot of my issues are genetic. I did lose 20lbs rather easily over the summer before hubby had his most recent transplant by simply tracking what I was eating on that site. They also have an app you can download for free to a droid or iphone. I know it seems silly, but seriously seeing how much you consume, or how many calories are in what you are eating (despite thinking it's a better choice) can be really astonishing. The app for the phone even has a barcode scanner so you can scan the product you are eating, and then you put in the quantity. It also keeps track of your exercise so you can see how many extra calories you burn by talking the stairs, or walking around the block in the evening.

Also, I know with PD you have less diet restrictions, have you asked your PD dietitian about meal replacement shakes? Like slim fast type stuff? Maybe she knows of something safe for D patients? 

Aside from exercise, the only other advise I can offer is to eat lots of fiber. Fiber will make you feel fuller longer, so fruits like raspberries, apples and pears are high fiber per serving as are green peas. But the catch for D patients (and I am still going through this while trying to diet while hubby is on HD) is that you have to eat a lot of empty carbs, like bleached grains. Whole grains are high in fiber and less processed so they have more nutritional value, while processed grains like white rice, white bread get broken down some during processing, so they lose a lot of their benefits. And I refuse to buy 2 things of bread, 2 types of rice etc.

Good luck, and I mean that. I really think surgery should be a last resort option. I said I know people who had great success (though one recently had to have a revision on her band because she couldn't keep down food), but after reading that article the horror stories and risks seem way more dangerous than I ever imagined.