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I have hypo thyroid and i am 2 months out. I have lost 45 pounds so far. My doc is a debbie downer as he thinks that is slow, but ai m half way to goal so I am concidering it a win

Hi. I had Graves Disease & now I'm hypo, so I shared your concern. You will def lose weight. I'm about a month out & so far have lost about 24 lbs. I think that's pretty good! My hypo dose of med is 225 mg and I have to crush my pills before I take them & that's not as bad as I thought it would be. Talk to your dr about your concerns. It really might make you feel better. Anyway, good luck & see you on the "losers bench"!

I have hypEr thyroidism, not hypO thyroidism. Hyper is low levels, which can effect weight loss. People with hypo have high levels, which is usually found in skinnier folks- high levels can cause someone to be thin. There are people who go between both types and there are bigger folks that have hypO thyroid conditions. I am on synthroid for mine and get checked periodically.

I have the sleeve and I developed reactive Hypoglycemia after surgery as well. And I have passed out...I have to watch what I eat now all the time..Well it feels like I am eating all the time too.... gee gads!

ivonea No I haven't had the surgery yet. I am still in the process of all of the pre op testing and all that. I should be done with all of this in the end of June or Mid July. After that we will submit to insurance and I am hoping I can have surgery in August. I just did my second night in the sleep clinic to titrate to the machine 2 nights ago. I honestly have to say that I slept ALL night. I haven't done that in years. I was not uncomfortable with the machine or mask and I felt very rested the next morning. They told me that t hey will send the results to my doctor and he will prescribe my machine at the setting that it needs to be set at. I am hoping that I can get the same kind of mask and that it goes as well at home as it did there the other night. I asked the tech the other night if sleep apnea is pretty common and he states it is. He told me everyone has some sleep apnea but the 'normal' number of apnea episodes in an hour are 3-5 and I had 7 so really mild is VERY mild. He told me that I will probably not need the machine once I have the surgery and loss so weight but he couldn't guarantee that and I understand that but I can hope. HAHA. Anyway he also told me that even though my apnea is so mild the surgeon that I am having requires me to have a CPAP because it will help with the healing process and the already high risk because I am obese. I don't mind that either because I am thankful my surgeon is being so proactive instead of reactive if something were to happen or go wrong. He told me to think of all the pre op testing as the most invasive medical physical I will ever in my life have. He said they will look me up and down, inside out and around and around. I guess I am very thankful that he is being so careful. Good luck with your apnea and hopefully after some more weight loss you will not have to wear the mask anymore. Have you tried different masks? I started with a mask that just covered my nose but I couldn't use that because I am a mouth breather at night so then I used a mask that covered my nose and my mouth and I was fine.:clap2:

It may not until you've had several fills...that depends on many factors including you, your stomach, your surgeon and how aggressive s/he is will fills, how big your band is now, how much is IN there now, how "reactive" your stomach is (some swell, I don't seem to) etc etc. AND what foods linger seems to vary by person too. Some find things like thick warm "cereal type" foods (cream of wheat, oatmeal) stay. I personally feel full longest on about 3 ounces of grilled steak, or some chicken breast. You'll find what works for you as you get more restriction.

I am on the other side! Going pretty good. Just a lot of gas pain in lung area. Can't walk hypo much bcuz my bp drops. Overall good! Excited now to move forward

were you hypo?

I have hypothyroidism too. I can tell when doses are off. I am thinking its off now. Heart racing lately. I know the signs and symptoms of both hypo and hyper. Maybe this surgery jacks up hormones and changes occur. How long ago did you get banded?

Thanks everyone! Most days I may take in 1000-1500 calories, and I workout 5 days a week. Those workouts usually burn 1000+....so my net is too low for my body to recover. 1700 seems high but there were a couple times I did hit it and I lost weight. One of my problems is I need to eat more & but right now I am limited on funds to buy what I need to hit 1700. I've been having issues lately keeping food down...seems like I get food stuck easily lately. If my calorie net is too low or negative my body reacts by storing :/ I am still losing fat but it is frustrating. Can't net enough because I don't eat enough lol Did any of you have any underlying medical issues like with your thyroid by chance? That was the only reason I qualified for surgery because I was hypo & my surgery goal was only 60lbs. My body likes to horde anyway cause of the hypo part. I'll have to wait and see how my tax return looks to see if I can make an appointment with the doctor I went too. I did selfpay so it costs $200+ for a visit and I don't have that to go to it.

Just a thought it could be RHG reactive hypoglycemia. I was having problems starting out a few months ago. I was banded in Oct 2011 i also have fibro but my sugar started dropping i went through 3 weeks of checking my sugar to really see what was going on. Sometimes what happens is our sugar goes crazy post surgery (not just lap band any abdominal) what we need to do is eat regularly never eat A carb on its own always follow with a protein. Google RHG it will give some good tips to ask your dr. HTH

Don't think of losing weight as if it were a given symmetrical line going down for each day you burn more than you consume. Your body is a reactive machine and will retain fluids if it's TOM, or you consume processed flour/sugar, or too much sodium or simple carbs. Fluids can create plateaus that last months. If you're exercising, you will retain some fluids due to your body rebuilding torn muscles. If you exercise, you can lose fat but gain weight. Weight vs. fat are two different animals. Burning fat cells and replacing them with muscle cells will make many weight scales stop moving or even increase. This is a long long journey and one or two weeks or even months here or there are inconsequential in the long run. tmf

I had my thyroid removed in Aug of last year. I am just now getting my thyroid replacement meds adjusted. I gained a lot because I went from hyper to hypo. I am on 225mg of Synthroid now and hopefully I've finally hit the right mark!

I'm concerned about my hypothyroid too, although my doctor thinks my hypo may go away when I lose some weight. Fingers crossed!

Good to see this topic, as a diabetic on two insulin's myself my motivation for this surgery is to get off the meds and hopefully go into full remission (fingers crossed). The optifast is helping me immensely to the point I have to be extra careful with my dosages as I've had 2 hypos since I started 7 days ago.

After surgery some individuals experience low blood sugar (reactive hypoglycemia). This occurs to both individuals with diabetes and those who did not have diabetes prior to surgery. The easiest way to test for this is by measuring your blood sugar levels when you get tired after you eat. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/expert-answers/reactive-hypoglycemia/faq-20057778

My two cents for whatever it's worth. I'm only 3 years 5 months out. No regrets. I bounced back from surgery quickly. My weight came off quickly. I'm healthy and in the best shape of my life for an old fart. Maintained well for the first 2 years. 3rd year battling a 10-15 pound gain back and forth. I can gain weight quickly and it's a snail's pace to get it back off. Always a risk of complications with any surgical procedure. Statistically is seems to be a low percentage. I only have one minor issue from my sleeve procedure. I have reactive hypoglycemia/low blood sugars. It's manageable. ( I'm not in hospice care with month to live... so, life is good.) Long term data and statistics have been an interesting thing. My local surgeons office is having problems collecting data because many patients stop coming in for appointments/check ups as they get further out from surgery. I just decided I didn't want to be a statistic. I'm responsible for my own outcome and success with weight loss.

I've had hairloss related to hypothyroidism in the past. It is a common symptom of a thyroid imbalance whether it be Hypo or Hyper. If you were put on a medication when this problem was found last summer (which you should have been)then losing weight since could have caused your dosage to need to be adjusted (mine had to be lowered due to weight loss). If you were not put on medication then the hair loss could be due to ignoring the imbalance. Either way, proper treatment will resolve it. I am surprised that this was not checked during your pre-op tests for surgery. It was for me. Most check this becaue if you have a thyroid imbalance, specifically if you are hypothyroid, and it is not being treated properly it could hinder your weight loss with the lap band. You should see a good Endocrinologist to treat your thyroid problems.

As a bandster, I have to disagree with this statement. I'm not saying we need to rigidly schedule our meals and never deviate from that routine, but I've found that if I let myself get too hungry I almost always eat too fast and make myself sick. As a diabetic, here's what I have done (and I'm now off ALL diabetes meds since about three weeks post-op). I follow Supreme Band Rule #1 (I made that up, like it?) and eat my Protein first, then my green veggies, then any low GI carb source last (only if there's room). I am eating very low-carb by default. I also eat a little something every few hours, for a couple of reasons. First, until I am off meds for at least a year I still consider myself diabetic and try to avoid hypo episodes at all cost. Second, that helps to boost your metabolism and keeps the weight loss going. As for your original topic of head hunger, I think we all have to deal with that to a point. I haven't found any magic bullet for it yet. :phanvan

Hi all, I haven’t been around here in a while but I’m working on a reset and wanted to check in. I’ll be 4 years out in a few weeks. I had RNY gastric bypass. I initially lost 125lbs and have slowly gained back around 20lb, it fluctuates a little. Some of that is definitely fat, I’m not always vigilant about my diet but I also weight train a few days a week and have added on some muscle mass. I had a bike wreck last summer which resulted in a broken hand, dislocated knuckles, and pretty severe scrapes and bruises. It could have been much worse, but it did put me on my butt for a few months. I get most of my exercise in the summer by riding. I put put on about 15 pounds and it was winter by the time I finished physical therapy. For the last 4 months I’ve been really committed to my gym routine. I’ve been watching my diet more closely, cutting back on my drinking which, was never a problem or excessive but it is empty calories. I’ve lost most of the 15lbs and put on a little muscle. Sorry for the book, just want to give you the full picture. 3 months ago I woke up in the middle of the night to let my dog out and suddenly had what felt like severe hypoglycemia. I was pouring sweat, shaking, dizzy ect. I got some juice in me, laid back down, and felt ok soon after. I don’t have a meter so I couldn’t test. I had a drink earlier in the evening after dinner, which I normally don’t do, so I thought that might have been the cause and made a mental note to not do that again. But this incident was also many many hours after that, much longer than a normal reactive hypoglycemia episode or dumping. 3 weeks ago, I had a fairly normal dinner, a couple of pieces of thin crust pizza with vegetables, fell asleep so on the couch, and woke up again the same state. I hadn’t had anything to drink that night. This time I was slurring my words and stumbling around. I got some juice and felt ok. 2 weeks ago, same story. Except this time I didn’t have juice, I rubbed some honey on the inside of my cheek and ate a tea spoon of it. I was home alone and the next thing I know I’m waking up on the kitchen floor with no idea what happened. I went to my doctor, she told me to go on a hypoglycemia diet, which is pretty similar to an RNY diet and she ordered a glucose tolerance test. Let me tell you, that was not fun. Considering I avoid sugary drinks and items, trying shove 75grams of it into my pouch was awful, it’s amazing I didn’t throw up. My test results came back yesterday and they were interesting. Fasting glucose was 82, 1 hour was 77, 2 hours was 67, and 3 hours was 78. They actually did a finger stick at hour 3 and said it was 58, i know the meters aren’t as accurate but I was surprised at the difference. Does anyone know if those are expected results from an RNY patient? I was surprised to see my blood sugar never really went up. I’m not sure what my doctor will have to say about it yet. It figures when I’m watching my diet and focusing more on exercise than I have I start having these issues. But I’m determined to keep going. I’ve been keeping a juice box and glucose tabs next to my bed. I’ve also been splitting my dinner up and eating a little later, so far i haven’t had another incident. I really hope that’s the end of it. I have a good friend that’s in the process of having the sleeve so I’ve been talking to her a lot lately and going to support group and it’s been such a great motivator. It’s funny people thing this surgery is an easy way out, at 4 years I’m working even harder on it now than I was at 4 months.

That does sound like it is a bit on the low side. One time my mom was lying down on the couch, my daughter called me and said there was something wrong with mom. She was white as a sheet. She couldn't talk. She tried but no words came out, only a few whispers. She couldn't move. She looked like she was dying. We called an ambulance, they came in and measured her blood sugar and I believe it was in the 30's. So 58 is too low. So I think you are right about reactive hypoglycemia. Here is a link https://www.stjoes.ca/patients-visitors/patient-education/f-j/PD 7972 Reactive Hypoglycemia after Bariatric Surgery.pdf According to their webpage: How can I prevent reactive hypoglycemia? You can help prevent reactive hypoglycemia by following your diet guidelines for bariatric surgery. • eat 3 healthy meals and 2 healthy snacks each day • space meals and snacks 2 to 3 hours apart • eat protein at each meal and snack time • avoid skipping meals and snacks • avoid or limit alcohol depending on what stage of diet your are at • avoid or limit caffeine depending on what stage of diet your are at • avoid sweets like cookies, cakes, candy, pop, juice and sweet drinks Instead of sugars and simple carbohydrates, eat complex carbohydrates because they release less sugar over a longer period of time. Having a complex carbohydrate with protein will slow this release even more.

having hypo thyroid certainly has made things harder for you, im sorry to hear that your thyroid isnt working up to scratch. Ive bought some MACA root powder which is extremely good for thyroid and adrenals and ive used that. you could do a search online for it. i bought it from australia but i believe its grown in peru. let us know how you get on with this.... its not an easy road that you are on.

I'm hypo had surgery Oct 25th and I'm down 32 lbs. Sent from my SM-G900R4 using the BariatricPal App

I am and have been since 6 weeks before surgery.I had half of my thyroid removed in 2010 for a nodule and when I had my pre surgery labs they came back hypo I am on 0.05 mg synthroid .

As Fluffy said, differences for different programs - and also for different individual needs. I never worried about carb or fat counts as those don't bother me, just calorie count as that is what ultimately drives the weight loss. There is too much good nutrition associated with foods that are nominally carbohydrates for it to make sense to place arbitrary limits on them; on junk food (high calorie/low nutrition stuff) yes, but not solely on the basis of something being high carb or fat - the calories are an adequate limitation. With your bypass, however, and the prospect of dumping or reactive hypoglycemia, a reasonable carb restriction can be in order, particularly for simple carbs and/or sugars, at least until one figures out ones' individual tolerances.