Search the Community

I've had hypothyroidism for a while but, my doc wouldn't give me medication for it because she claimed it was only slightly hypo. Well for years, I've been with her about 29 years, I've been fighting my weight. In 2005 while going through testing for the lapband, that hospital showed you your bloodwork online. I saw the TSH level in red. Asked my doc and she said it was hypo but, she didn't wan to over medicate. Now after the initial lapband, a lapband revision, the lapband removal and in 7/2012 RNY....it's still hypo. I have lost 70 pounds since 7/11/12 which is AWEsome for me! I've lost much slower than others but, I'm thankful the 70 is gone. At my 6 month checkup my RNY surgeon said my TSH was low and she wanted me to see an Endocrinologist. AMEN someone is finally paying attention!!!!! So she told my PCP, I emailed my PCP and I made the dang appointment myself. Unfortunately can't see the endocrinologist until April. The email to my doc worked...she finally read my bloodwork and put me on meds. I've been on them less than a week but, yahoo the scale finally moved! I'm hoping this helps me keep moving down the scale. So to answer your question it is still possible to lose weight on RNY with Hypothyroidism. If you're not taking meds for it you may want to push that prior to the surgery to see if it helps before hand. If you are taking them...I can bet RNY will still help you lose. Best to ask your doc...or attend an information night at a bariatric center and ask that question

A few things that may sound familiar and affect many of us during the holiday season are: Family traditions and ethnic backgrounds with food memories that have followed us through life. Trauma, hardships or losses that make holiday cheer tough to enjoy or even tolerate on some levels. Falling back on a diet mindset and thinking it’s ok to eat recreate old habits from October 31-January 2. Awareness of mental and emotional struggles feeling more acute during the holiday season. For bariatric patients, an immediate fear presents itself: “How can I survive all the parties and family celebrations while embracing my post-surgery food choices so I don’t lose control with holiday eating and drinking this year?” The practical answer: Prepare for it, just as if the surgery was ahead of you. Think and plan for success with the least amount of guilt and destruction possible. Holiday foods are not “rewards” or “treats” or a reason to fall off the mindful thinking that you use every day. We all have family and cultural traditions of holiday foods, and the meanings behind them; that often follow us into adulthood. The connection is to people, not food itself. Holiday time often intensifies many people’s mental and emotional struggle with life issues. Food can often be an immediate distraction and way to receive immediate gratification in tough times. The trouble is, the stresses and issues remain after the food is consumed. Often, alcohol consumption increases at holiday time as well, so mindset is altered by allowing more uninhibited behavior to prevail. Using good judgment often decreases as well. So, if we can use the model of being prepared and accountable for ourselves, what would it look like? Think of the season on your terms. Where can you plan and take the lead on making good choices for yourself while still feeling the holiday spirit? Find control where you can make food to bring to others parties or meals. Host at your home to take pressure off of yourself. Be honest and ask to be considered when food is being prepared and served so that you can also taste but be flooded by the excessive choices and behaviors all around us. Find ways to relax and refresh so you are not overwhelmed or drained by the holiday madness. Keep a journal of your thoughts, fears, successes and challenges to remind you of the proud journey you are on now. Use meditative activities to bring a more even and peaceful attitude to the business of the season and the potential for burnout and self-destruction. Give of yourself to others that need to be uplifted. Find a community, group hobby or counselor if the season is troubling of extremely unmanageable. Many times the holiday triggers are too hard to handle alone. Ask for help and know that you are being proactive (helping yourself) instead of reactive (always behind and at the mercy of others decisions and actions). The key is to stay connected to the resources, the people, places and things that bring successful experiences to us, and avoid harmful or undermining circumstances that reinforce low self-esteem and bad, and often destructive, behaviors. As a bariatric patient, being accountable is helping yourself stay focused on a positive and productive mindset with help provide a fulfilling and peaceful holiday season each and every year. Yes, this is you, enjoying your life during the holidays.

Wow, Lisa......I'm so sorry about your heart issues. And that you had an attack during childbirth! You are already coming into this with some serious potential issues, so you do need to make sure that you're not jumping from the pot into the fire. Though there are no guarantees either way, there is something reactive going on in your body, so you need to be SUPER careful. And I agree, no, I do not think that ALL issues are weight related. Weight does put a strain on so many things and causes other health issues, but it's not EVERYthing. I've done so much research on this; pre-surgery and now looking at a revision. With the bypass, the biggest (common) food issue is sugar. If you have a sweet tooth and eat a lot of it, you might get very sick (dumping). My next door neighbor had a bypass many years ago, and though she tolerates just about everything, certain things are hard for her to eat.......like popcorn. I guess everyone has to find their own balance once the surgery is done and we're back on regular food. As for the sleeve, if reflux is or has even been an issue, the sleeve isn't a good option. Reflux gets worse, and even those who never had it, get it. For me, there isn't enough long term data on that procedure, and I'm always afraid of the possible leakage from the staples. Though it doesn't happen often, if it does, you can be in the hospital for several weeks/months. I'm self employed, so that would pretty much put me right out of business. Since the bypass has been the gold standard for many years, I guess I'm just more comfortable with it. I've also heard that revisions don't lose weight as quickly/easily as "surgical virgins". I've heard this with both the bypass and sleeve. People lose, but it's a different experience over first timers. I think for you, given what you've said about your history, it might be a good idea for you to see your cardiologist to discuss. The heart issue is concerning and I'd want his/her take on putting your body through another bariatric surgery. This is serious stuff! But with that aside, you have to ask yourself the questions we always have to ask..... Will your weight continue to climb if you don't have surgical intervention? Though weight isn't the beginning and end all, I can tell you......as you get older, the health issues increase. From my 30 pound weight gain, I'm back on blood pressure meds. I had knee surgery in March and my knees are still painful. Ultimately, I will have knee replacement, but that is something I won't do unless my weight is down. The artificial joints have about a 15 year life, but with extra weight, even less. If I keep gaining weight, I'll probably end up with pre-diabetes/diabetes. When I was younger, all I cared about was how I looked. Now, it's all about the way I feel and staying healthy. No, I'm not thrilled seeing the extra weight come back on, but feel worse physically and have other health issues that are exacerbated by the extra stress on my body. You question about possible rejection to the sleeve is a good question. Honestly, because once the stomach is gone, what then? The bypass can be reversed, though I don't think it's as simple as removing a band. My doctor said he does about 4 reversals a year. He also said that band revisions are now about 20% of his practice. He rarely places them anymore; it's old technology. He seems to prefer the bypass over anything else. I will think of other questions, too. My doctor told me that I worry too much about things I don't need to worry about. Easy for him to say! Surgeons.....nothing is a big deal to them. But it is to me/us

Sorry for your panic, but one thing is for sure - it will be much easier to obtain new employment being 50 pounds lighter. Take a deep breath, try to make a game plan to continue to succeed with your sleeve, and pull your resume together to look for a new job. I find being proactive rather than reactive helps me feel in control.

A few random thoughts, in no particular order - You will likely lose some muscle mass as you lose weight irrespective which procedure you get; the main emphasis in general for WLS is to minimize muscle loss as we lose. Some maintain that it is impossible to build muscle mass while in a caloric deficit (needed to lose that fat) and while I never like to say "never" on such things, I would say that it would be exceptionally rare for it to happen, Typically, we lose what we need to lose to a healthy weight and body composition, and then work on building additional muscle mass if we so desire. The bypass and VSG have very similar weight loss and regain characteristics - there isn't much to choose between them from that aspect. You may lose a bit quicker with the bypass owing to its malabsorption, but will ultimately end up in the same place. The caloric malabsorption of the bypass is a temporary thing - it dissipates after a year or two - so weight maintenance is similar for both; nutritional malabsorption is a long term affair, however. As long as one stays on top of supplements and lab tests, both are good for long term health. The bypass, however, is somewhat fussier in its supplement requirements - minerals are malabsorbed, so one usually needs to supplement iron and calcium more than with a sleeve (and that may not be enough, as the need for iron infusions is usually greater with the bypass than with the sleeve. Iron and calcium is somewhat fussy as they need to be spaced out during the day. it's mostly a matter of establishing the habit, but this will bother some more than others. The sleeve has a predisposition toward GERD or acid reflux, so if one already suffers from this, the bypass is often preferred unless there is a specific identifiable cause that can be corrected during surgery (such as a hiatal hernia.) In contrast, the bypass is predisposed to dumping, reactive hypoglycemia, and marginal ulcers (which precludes the use of NSAIDs such as ibuprofin or aspirin, which are better tolerated by the sleeve.) The sleeve is conceptually a more straightforward, or simpler, procedure. However, it still takes some time and practice for a surgeon to master, so it is well to ensure that a prospective surgeon has performed several hundred of them. In the US, that isn't a big problem these days as most have been doing them for several years, but in other countries where they have been slower to adopt it, this may be a consideration. Owing to their national health policies, Canada is running about five years behind the US on their learning curve, and other countries seem to be similar. There is a recent poster (from AU, IIRC) here who went through a quick revision from an initial sleeve to a bypass within the first week or two, that is likely an example of this. So, if your surgeon is recommending one over the other, it is well to pay attention to them - their recommendation may (or may not) the absolute best thing for you, but it is likely to be the best that they can do for you, or are most comfortable performing on you.

I had a bad case of hypoglycemia after eating some pasta, turns out to be reactive hypoglycemia anybody else have or had this problem ?

Here are a couple sites so you can look at it yourself..K http://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthyeating/reactive-hypoglycemia.html http://chealth.canoe.ca/condition_info_details.asp?disease_id=73

I'm a diabetic, and yes it does sound very much like how I get when I am having a hypo - I think you should go and get checked out for this as its not good to let it go on. Also buy yourself some dextrose tablets and take 3 or 4 of those when you are feeling like this - if it makes you feel better quickly, you will also have your answer... Take care. this isn't something to be ignored.

Hi everyone. New to the forum. I had gastric bypass in 2010. It has been six and half years. I weighed 232 pounds prior to sx. Within 9 months I weighed 145 pounds and that is pretty much where I have stayed for the past six years. I wear a size 8. I weigh every day and when I hit 150 I cut back until I am at 145 again. I still "dump" almost weekly but not as severely or as easily as in the beginning. By "dump" I mean if I eat too much sugar I feel nauseous and need to lie down for awhile. No sweating, no beating heart, just want to throw up but can't. miserable. One year after sx at my check up my labs were normal except for K was low. I did not do any more follow ups until this summer. I called my bariatric surgeons office and explained I wanted to touch base. I just left my appointment. Oh...I have a confession. Four years ago I quit taking my mult-Vitamin and Calcium. I have been religious with my B12 and VitD however. My labs were all completely normal. I did confess my lapse of the multi and calcium to the doc; to my relief he told me since my labs were normal that essentially I am absorbing what I need from my food. He told me to keep doing what I am doing and I told him he probably would not see me again unless I encountered a problem. In addition to still dumping (which I am glad I do; but he said is patients usually do not dump so far out) I have an occasional episode of reactive hypo-glycemia. If I eat clean I can avoid both situations but I still have the head that got me fat in the first place, so there you have it. Just thought some might be interested in this info from someone a ways out from sx.

Oh, I guess I wasn't clear - I have no interest in the lap band. I've been doing lots of research and I'll be honest - I never thought I would ever be considering WLS. It wasn't until recently that I had even heard of VSG and what I've read about it makes me think it is a very viable option. I guess it just bums me out to realize that even though it seems like I am a prime example of someone who could be greatly helped by VSG (BMI of 48.something with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, pre diabetic, depression, and a history of sudden cardiac death in my family) but my insurance doesn't care about all that and would rather take a reactive rather than proactive approach to my health.

Make sure you have a dose of anti-nausea drugs available around 30 minutes before your leak test to avoid nausea from the taste of the nasty stuff you have to drink. Your throat will be dry which may make you more reactive to the liquid. Also have a dose before you go home just in case.

Definitely regular icecream and not much of it on an empty stomach. I stole about 3 or 4 spoons of my hubby's Ben & Jerry's at the movies once and about 20 mains later I got the shakes, feeling faint, nauseous etc. Haven't tried more than one teeny spoon of ice cream since. I once had a petrol station machine mocha and a small can of Pringles and oh my that made me dump AND throw up with 20 or 30 mins. That was about 4 mths after surgery, haven't done that again. Those experiences were enough to make me very cautious about sugar. Nowadays 10 mths out from surgery I have had a few reactive hypoglycaemia attacks when I ate stuff I shouldn't have. A scone with a teeny bit of jam and some nice cream gave me a hypo two hours later. As did a whole packet of cheezles I stupidly ate in one sitting. Also if I eat sweet (white or milk) chocolate I have to be very careful or I'm hypoing two hours later. Basically if I break the rules, I suffer, which is what I (well, technically the Health Service) paid €7450 for!

It did not effect my surgery date for next week 4/23/13, I just found out I was hypo thyroid a month ago.

I was hypo before surgery, and still am. It has not "decreased" for me; I am still on the same dose of synthroid as I was before surgery, which keeps it under control.

When I click on Journal Index, it says module deactivated. I really hope it is eventually REactivated. :nervous

Hello, I'm 42 and had the lap band surgery back in Jan. of 2005. Recently had issues with reflux and not being able to eat. I had the fill removed from the band. Gained lots of weight. I have celiac, thyroid issues and I'm worried about of all things with gastric bypass surgery is the hair loss. I have beautiful thick hair. I'm in the approval process right now. Wanting to know what anyone knows about hair loss and if there is anything to prevent this from happening. Anything prior to surgery I can stock up on Biotin in my system. Just thought I'd ask this crazy question. Also, want to know how soon a person can drive/go to work after this surgery. I will have the lap band removed and the gastric bypass done in one surgery.

I got that way when I was about three years out. I had a complete workup - nothing. Everything normal. Then I noticed once that I got a bad case of it about an hour after I ate a piece of cake at a retirement party. I asked my PCP if it could be RH (reactive hypoglycemia). She said it was definitely possible - it could be that my blood sugar was normal the day/time they tested it, so that wouldn't have jumped out at them. She said I could get a glucose monitor to verify - OR just try to eat something every 3-4 hours. Either a protein or, if a carb, then pair it with a protein. That seems to have done the trick - at least for me. The dehydration theory could also be what's up, though. (btw - during the workup they also checked my inner ear and checked me for orthostatic hypotension. They also did a urinalysis - not sure what they were looking for there - and did a complete blood panel.

I love all of the advice from people that have no clue! LOL! PCOS cravings are kicking, not sure what has reactivated the pcos, but it defiantly needs to go away! Unless you have the PCOS cravings you have absolutely no clue what I am going through. It is a stronger intensity than what a pregnant women has. It is not an excuse it is a fact, so unless you have a clue don't give your snobbish opinions. I am still waiting to hear back about my port revision. My foot is healed and I can walk again and work out again. Since I don't seem to have restriction I am going back to protein shake diet. I need to loose the weight that I have gained this summer while I was not able to work out. If you want to read more here is my blog! http://tinkrisegrind.blogspot.com/2013/07/still-waitingcarb-cravings-are-huge.html

Chelly, how do you manage your reactive hypoglycemia?

Hi happy to read your story. I'm a 47 year old "thick girl" also and have been proud of it. Never had a weight problem until I had my daughter in 2004. After that I found out I was hypo thyroid and the weight keep piling on. I kept eating feeling lonely, depressed that nothing I ever did I could lose. Then my meds were finally working for me & my hypothyroidism became "controlled"... I lost 65 pounds on my own but within 6mos to a year, new boyfriend who loves to take me out, cook, and have a good time I gained it all bac plus some... That was 3yrs ago & the scale keeps climbing... Same boyfriend though whose 6'4, 160 pounds lol... Anyway I'm now Type II diabetic, high cholesterol, sleep apnea (on C-pap) machine and high blood pressure because of my weight. I looked into weigh loss surgery a few years ago before I developed medical issues but it terrified me at the informational session. I ran for the hills. I tried my hardest to lose the weight. After yo-yo diet after yo-yo diet, I made another appointment with the bariatric team back in March and now my surgery is June 5th. Next Friday!!! I am so grateful & nerves all over the place. But can't wait to get this weight off and keep it off & off these meds. I'm doing preop diet until my surgery next week but I'm READY!!! Congrats and I'm so happy that you are here. Keep in touch & add me as a friend!

I would not worry about the weight loss as much as the damage an overactive thyroid can do. Mine is underactive (hypo) and I have lost 90lbs since Dec 2008, so I think I am doing pretty well with a slow thyroid.

Our surgeon doesn't perform the DS, but maybe I will have my wife talk to him about it nonetheless. I am so sorry to hear about your RA, my grandmother-in-law has it, and I know first hand how much it affects her quality of life. For a while, she found relief with remicade, if that helps at all. It is extremely expensive and I think is delivered with an IV. Hopefully, the weight loss might help relieve the stress on some of the joints. I've also been reading up on C-Reactive Protein (Mine is quite high) and it's effects (Inflammation). I remember reading elsewhere that white adipose tissue markedly increases inflammation, so hopefully that will help as well. I have Eczema which is also an inflammation/immune system issue, and I am really hoping the weight loss will reduce or eliminate it.

hey you are human and it happens, i'm sure you will have lost enough. Being type 1 diabetic having a hypo you will need a high carb boost so you know....don't worry it'll be fine

Sorry to hear of your struggles! I think the recommendation that you see a nutritionist is a good one. Maybe once a month to start, then quarterly. PCOS is very reactive to carbs, so limiting refined carbs is a good first step, even before you see your doctor. It's amazing that you conceived with BC, since infertility is common with PCOS, but not unheard of. This is one of those conditions where your ob/gyn, bariatric surgeon and nutritionist need to work closely with you to achieve your goal of regaining your health. Think of it as you managing the condition, rather than the condition running your life, etc. Best of luck, keep us posted!

Off to an interesting start for 2005 Please forgive the length of this post, but I really need to vent. Since the first of the year, I’ve been admitted to the hospital twice. Not so good when you notice we are just now on day 7 into the New Year. The official diagnosis is “reactive airway disease with restrictive ventilatory defect due to obesity.” The treatment: loose weight while taking massive doses of steroids. I’m so tired of them not knowing what is wrong, so they use my weight as the scapegoat. “Because you are fat, we will say that is what is wrong. While we’ve never actually been able to prove that your extra weight is the cause of you not being able to breathe, we heard about another doctor that saw someone who couldn’t breathe because they were fat. And since you are fat, that must be why you can’t breathe. That, or you are just faking it. … If only you had the strength of will-power, you should loose weight. Oh, and those steroids, well, yes, you will probably gain another 20 pounds, but don’t worry, you just need to be stronger…. What? You say you are currently on 1500 calories? Well, that doesn’t make sense, you should be losing weight. Why don’t you try running and see if that helps you lose weight? I got the flu for Thanksgiving, and have been sick since. I didn’t qualify for the flu shot in ID, since it was really scarce there. Not sure why they didn’t give me a flu shot while I was in the hospital. I’m tired of being tired. I’m tired of not being able to breathe. I’m tired of doctors scapegoating instead of finding the true cause.