I will not be offended if this question goes unanswered because it is very TMI in nature...
I keep reading that gas and poop smell horrible after DS. Now it's not like I'm farting roses right now, so I wonder how bad it can be. I realize everyone is different, but I'd like to hear some straightforward thoughts on this from people that have experienced this side effect. Does it keep you from social situations or hold you back in anyway? Have you had much embarrassment with it?
Thanks in advance to anyone brave enough to share a response. I welcome responses from any WLS patient - not just DSers... although I doubt this is associated with restrictive-only procedures.
Thanks!!
ETA: oh, and I forgot to ask... does the length of the common channel effect this side effect? I'm getting mixed/confusing answers in articles I've found.
I am only 5 weeks out of surgery and so I can't tell too much, I DO know without a question of a doubt that if I eat simple carbs beyond 1 bite I have horrible gas but so far the smell is ok.
as far as bowle movements I have not had anything a bit of air freshener doesn't kill (I carry a small thing of air freshener sprizter around in my bag that I got from walmart and put in a mini body spray bottle for public restrooms)
I take Devrom (an internal deoderant) and anti gas pills if I know I will be out for quite a bit or if I know I might have a reason to have a few bites of carbs and it helps.
I can tell you though the fear of not being pleasant to be around keeps me more on the strait and narrow than anything pretty much, on top of that gas hurts a bit more than I prefer.
Don't ever be afraid to ask questions like this - I think you'll find that most WLS patients are very open about, well, ANYthing WLS-related!
I have a DS with a ridiculously long common channel (which I am NOT happy about, but that's another story). My experience with gas seems to be right on par with DSers in my local area that I socialize with in person who have more normal common channels - it's all a matter of carbs! I thought maybe, due to my 350+ cm common channel, I wouldn't have any gas issues, but if I overindulge in starchy carbs, I get a bloated, gut-rumbling reminder!
I've never taken Devrom or anything like that, and my farts smell like, well, farts. I wouldn't say they're any worse than some I've smelled my husband or even 10-year-old niece let loose!
Now, part of why maybe mine aren't paint-peeling-off-the-walls bad is that I started taking a probiotic pre-op and have continued ever since. Some people say this makes a difference for them. For me, I am a firm believer that this helped me to prevent bowel issues, as I've never had diarrhea or loose stool problems, not even in my first few weeks immediately after surgery, which is when most patients (of ANY surgery type) tend to have the most bowel issues.
Now I'm going to go off on a slight tangent and say that I 110% believe that many of the side effects of the DS that are touted as being so awful are more a matter of surgeons/nuts/docs not knowing how to PREVENT these problems. Things like a good probiotic make all the difference in the world for some patients, but most "professionals" don't recommend them as part of the routine supplements for DSers simply because they just don't KNOW. My gas is completely controllable by what I eat, and I've had more trouble with constipation than with loose stools, and the same is true of DSers with shorter common channels as well. I think it has more to do with how proactive you are in your own dietary and supplement needs and less to do with common channel length.
I think it has more to do with how proactive you are in your own dietary and supplement needs and less to do with common channel length.
Totally agree with this, I only take the devrom as a safety meassure when I will be out all day at one of my games or something like at a BBQ and might be a little tempted to overindulge in carbs ..... which right now is more than 2 bites... but then I am 5 weeks out of surgery and can only eat a little at a time.
I have only had stinky gas one time and that was to be honest bean dip... way too much bean dip...lol
Thank you both for your great answers!! It's good to hear that this can be managable.
Jill - that is a very long common channel! I'm curious (or is that nosy??) to hear why your surgeon decided to give you such a long one. You've obviously had tremendous success despite it. If you talk about this elsewhere, just let me know and I'll search the archives so you don't have to repeat yourself. If you'd rather not get into it, no worries. I'm just curious because I've never heard of a common channel that long. Do you think you've had any advantages with it? (Like can you get away with taken fewer vitamins or something?)
Thanks again with being generous in sharing your experiences with the smelly gas issue, ladies! I really appreciate it!
Jill - that is a very long common channel! I'm curious (or is that nosy??) to hear why your surgeon decided to give you such a long one.
Well, I was supposed to have a 100cm common channel - pretty standard. However, I had had a prior open abdominal surgery (emergency ovarian cyst and ovary removal when I was 16), and my surgeon said there were too many adhesions from that prior procedure so that he was not able to make the anastomosis as low as normal. So, I really only have about the same amount of malabsorption as a proximal RNY.
I still take vitamins 4 times a day, but I only take my Vit A and Vit D on alternating days, so definitely less than most DSers, but not a noticeable difference (those dry A and D capsules are so small anyway!). I've never had bowel movement issues such as loose stools, and I attribute that to my not malabsorbing fat like a normal DSer. However, I've also not had full resolution of my type 2 diabetes, which I believe may also be because of the longer common channel (I researched a surgeon in Spain who is known for performing the intestinal switch portion alone for non-obese type 2s, and he still does a shorter common channel because he sees more success with a shorter common channel for diabetes).
I do have a greater fear of future regain with this lack of malabsorption compared to what I was expecting, especially since I still want to have children in the future. I may seek information on a revision in the future to shorten my common channel, for which I would definitely go to a DIFFERENT surgeon (the one I had will no longer perform the DS in a single-stage, and even though he had a great reputation when I initially chose him, he has done a lot right around the time of and shortly after my surgery that makes me question his ethics).
But, yeah, I'm still grateful for the 100+ pounds I've lost! I haven't really lost much weight since about 7 months out - maybe another 10-15 pounds total over the past 7-8 months - and I have yet to reach 199.
Sensitive question for DSers
