[kattybent]

Hi I'm looking to get some helpful advice.

I'm a paraplegic due to a spinal operation going wrong nearly 3 years ago.

I didn't have the benefit of being treated on a spinal unit and I have very little input from the medical profession. 'I was told to go home and live my life in a wheelchair' with no instruction on how, why etc.

Now my GP has noticed that my weight has gradually increased and I have tried the Slimming World and the Tablet thing without success now surgery has been suggested as the only other option to avoid any other major complaint of the obese!!

Here is my questions 'Has any one with a SCI had successful Bariatric Surgery?' 'Has it made a difference in the long run?'

I have searched the net but not found any case studies or information that could help me make an informed choice.

Thank you very much.

Kathryn

[Soryfam]

Hi. I had bariatric surgery 6 years before my injury. I had the full surgery, not the Lap Band. If you were to have the surgery I would go for the Lap Band. They can make adjustments and it's not as invasive. My surgery certainly helped me, but it didn't make me "skinny." I know some people do end up quite thin, but most of us end up at a much lower weight, but still a little chunky. I have had trouble with digestin some things (I have to make myself throw up when this happens) and I also had a small bowel obstruction about 3 months after the surgery, caused by a hernia and scar tissue. Sometimes I'm really glad I had it, and other times I wish I never had. It all depends on how my stomach is behaving. Also, I have to take a lot of supplements and get B-12 shots for the rest of my life because my intestines/stomach don't absorb like they should.
I'm really not sure what you should do. I have an ongoing battle with MRSA infections, so I would opt out of surgery if at all possible, but I can see where you're coming from also. Do you have a bariatric surgeon who will do the surgery for you? My thought would be that they would not want to operate on you for this because of possible complications. Just a thought.
Hope it all works out for you. Feel free to email/message me if you have questions.

Sandy

[McRobb]

I have about as many questions about the surgery as you do. I am currently recovering from a pressure sore and was in hospital for ovr 2 months with surgery (flap) this Feb. But, 10 daDys after surgery, the incision broke open so I am still nursing it in bed with vacuum on.

The surgeon for my flap surgery talked to me about having the lap band surgery once we had the wound healed. I have been heavy since bearing my first child and morbid obesity does run in our family. The doctor was concerned about weight being a factor in healing and keeping this wound healed and as we can't really exercise and I am a diabetic since the SC
I injury, he felt that the only reasonable way that I could lose weight was to have the procedure. But, since the wound is not healed, the surgery is out of the question.

Here are some questions that I had about the surgery but never got the chance to ask- would guess that you have some that are very similiar.

1)digestive system problems? I deal with this all the time anyway and I would not want that to get worse. I have a friend who had the regular bypass and she tells me that if she eats the "wrong" thing, she sometimes cannot get to the bathroom fast enough. She calls it a system "dump" and she is not good at predicting what will bring those on.

2) for this flap surgery and healing, doctor wanted mne to increase calories and proteins to assist healing. If I understand correctly, this is not possible to do after the surgery.

3) as I am diabetic, what would the surgery do to that condition?

4) my friend takes a lot of vitamins with her surgery. I take enough pills now and wonder how much of a mess that combination might make.

5) had uterine cancer last year and docs would not do surgery because of the risk of blood clots, (because I could not get up and walk) etc. so I had radiation instead. If that concern existed with that surgery, why would this surgery be OK to have? Both procedure would be done laproscopically so what is the difference?

Anyway, good luck getting answers. If you get any, could you please post them so others in your spot can keep up on what is going on? Thanks and good luck.

[kattybent]

Hi McRobb and Soryfam, thank you very much for reply's.
I also have MRSA so that might be an added problem. The taking of extra vitamins is also interesting as I already take 50 tablets a day the thought of more is not good. All of the questions you have raised are very valid and I will take up with my surgeon. I have a nasty feeling surgery isn't going to happen and I will be forever big:-(
I will keep you posted with how things go. Thanks Kathryn

[Soryfam]

Hi. You can have some bad digestive problems. "dumping" generaaly occurs if I eat too many sweets, and "too Many" isn't that much with a shorter digestice system. The other problem is that some foods like rice and pasta have to be very well done or the swell up in your stomach and make you MISERABLE. Drinking any kind of carbonated beverage will also make your stomach swell and can be very painful. Some foods, like steak, have to be chewed and chewed and chewed or they go into the stomach too big to pass through the surgery/lap band.
I do have to take multi vitamins, vit. C, Vitamin D, Cacium, folic acid and get a B-12 shot evey 4-6 weeks.

It really is a big decision. Also, having MRSA I would be concerned that it would be attracted to the lap band. (MRSA likes to attach to foreign objects in the body.)

Best of luck to both of you.

Sandy