I had the sleeve on Oct.27th & I have lost 70lbs since surgery the first 50lbs came off in 2 weeks! I myself am having a very hard time eating! since surgery I am extreme lactose intolerant and haven't found a protein shake that works for me without causing the dry heaves. also I was unable 2 use the chewable vitamins cause they agitated my sleeve also swallowing the prilosec for heartburn sometimes is challenging. I have several new complications that are associated from all these things, I have a a vitamin & protein deficiency making all my muscles feel like they are having charlie horses all the time, I get dizzy from malnutrition cause I am afraid to eat over 300 calories a day in fear of gaining which I gained 1lb last week because they say my body is in starvation mode. I have an appointment this Tuesday with the Dr. and the nutritionist and I am really scarred at what they are gonna tell me. my surgeon says the weight is coming off to fast and I am now treading in dangerous waters which is hard for me too believe cause when I look in the mirror all I can see is the 275lbs more that need to come off instead of the 157lbs I have lost since may 1 2010. Can anyone help me? Is anyone else struggling like this??

I am sorry you are having difficulties. Have you tried using soy or rice milk since you are lactose intolerate. What about the other types of liquid proteins like Isopure that is not milk based? I am taking Nexium for the acid maybe the doctor can switch you to another type of prescription. It is a good thing that you are going to see your doctor and Nut-hopefully they can help you out. You really need to be having more calories. Your body will adjust and you will be suprised that in actually eating more you will lose weight once your body realizes it is not starving. Good luck and keep us posted.

You're going to have to feed your body. At this point, your body is eating your muscle mass, and it is dangerous. My surgeon had the same concerns, but I was eating, and he threatened to put in a feeding tube if I didn't amp up my calories.

Your mind is not going to catch up for several months so you are going to have to take the medical advice and start eating and drinking more.

There are soy Proteins that you can mix with almond, soy milk, or Water. I personally could not tolerate those either.

BUT, you need to start drinking your fluids. You're body is going to shut down, and you don't want to be hospitalized again, do you?

Get some regular gatorade, your heart needs fluids along with electrolytes, the potassium will help with your leg cramps, get some yogurt in if you can, you are going to have to listen to your medical team, and if you aren't willing to listen to them, you need to seek counseling. Just because your mind is lagging behind on what you see in the mirror, doesn't mean you need to let your body suffer in the process.

If you are Vitamin and Protein deficient, you need to start feeding your body. Something will work for you, and you have to be willing to stop worrying about a gain, if your body shuts down. Losing weight is fabulous, but you really have gone from one extreme to the next which is not uncommon. I was scared to gain too, but you know I never had a stall. I lost steadily every week, some weeks it was only a pound or 2, but I lost weight.

Please take care of yourself. You've gone through so much to get healthy, stop starving your body.

Sometimes people on the outside can see things you cannot see so clearly. It is obvious from your post you need to not only see your doctor but you need some crisis/psychiatric intervention. Perhaps you need to sort of go through some intensive treatment and advocacy to get adjusted to your sleeve. You are excited to lose weight, you realize you have lost too much too fast, and yet you are so afraid to gain that you will not consume food that your body needs to heal and survive. These are just not rational thoughts in my opinion. You need to realize that to be healthy you need to eat and drink as specified by your doctor. And you are taking a long time to find solutions to your problems!!!. I'm sure there are liquid meds the doctor can give you in place of pills, but meanwhile don't wait too long to GET help. Your doctor is not a psychiatrist though - if you feel like you are struggling emotionally with this adjustment you need to seek help now. I'm sure our surgeon can give you a referral

It is tough. I had a hard time too, and people here had to wake me up. But it might not be enough. You have to love yourself enough to really seek out solutions to the physical or emotional problems you are having.

There are Vitamins that come in liquid form. Calcium with Vit D made by wellesse is really good and if you take one tbsp in the morning and one in the afternoon you will be able to absorb the Vitamin. B12 you can get as a subligual. I am sure they make a liquid Multivitamin you would have to check it out.

As Tiff said your body needs electrolytes to function. Try to get in some gatorade to up your Fluid and get those electrolytes in. Your body functions depend on the electrolytes.

You need to get in your protein! If your body starts to eat your muscles (and your heart is a muscle) you will put yourself in more danger. Have you tried natural Protein (tuna, salmon, Peanut Butter, eggs) check out what is available and what you can tolerate.

Your doctor will have more suggestions for you, they will know what you need to do and how to go about it.

Take care of yourself! Keep us posted on your progress.

I have tried eating protein foods as soon as they told me I could and I was really sick from any food I ate. also when I was in he liquid phase the protien shaake I was trying 2 drink didnt have enough protein and I couldnt keep it down from the whey in it. also my body seems 2 have gotten adapted to not eating and I feel if I push it I am gonna do damage to my sleeve! I know I am struggling with the psychological things and my surgeon has told me to see my therapist cause he fears I am going to get after surgery bulimia. which I don't want either! I never thought eating would be the hard part of this surgery!!! I will know more about what is going on with me and how I am gonna fix this hopefully Tuesday.. Thank you all so much for your words....

for the severe leg cramps, my doctor suggested tonic Water. it is the most wonderful solution she gave me in years. With the edema in legs and ankles, the Lasix prescription gives me cramps during my sleep. She ordered me to drink it 30 minutes before bedtime. It works

I had the sleeve on Oct.27th & I have lost 70lbs since surgery the first 50lbs came off in 2 weeks! I myself am having a very hard time eating! since surgery I am extreme lactose intolerant and haven't found a Protein shake that works for me without causing the dry heaves. also I was unable 2 use the chewable Vitamins cause they agitated my sleeve also swallowing the prilosec for heartburn sometimes is challenging. I have several new complications that are associated from all these things, I have a a Vitamin & protein deficiency making all my muscles feel like they are having charlie horses all the time, I get dizzy from malnutrition cause I am afraid to eat over 300 calories a day in fear of gaining which I gained 1lb last week because they say my body is in starvation mode. I have an appointment this Tuesday with the Dr. and the nutritionist and I am really scarred at what they are gonna tell me. my surgeon says the weight is coming off to fast and I am now treading in dangerous waters which is hard for me too believe cause when I look in the mirror all I can see is the 275lbs more that need to come off instead of the 157lbs I have lost since may 1 2010. Can anyone help me? Is anyone else struggling like this??

If you have a Wholefoods store in your area, you may want to try there for the liquid Vitamins. I have bought them before. Prices ranged from 14 to 28 bucks depending on the size bottle.

I had the sleeve on Oct.27th & I have lost 70lbs since surgery the first 50lbs came off in 2 weeks! I myself am having a very hard time eating! since surgery I am extreme lactose intolerant and haven't found a Protein shake that works for me without causing the dry heaves. also I was unable 2 use the chewable vitamins cause they agitated my sleeve also swallowing the prilosec for heartburn sometimes is challenging. I have several new complications that are associated from all these things, I have a a Vitamin & protein deficiency making all my muscles feel like they are having charlie horses all the time, I get dizzy from malnutrition cause I am afraid to eat over 300 calories a day in fear of gaining which I gained 1lb last week because they say my body is in starvation mode. I have an appointment this Tuesday with the Dr. and the nutritionist and I am really scarred at what they are gonna tell me. my surgeon says the weight is coming off to fast and I am now treading in dangerous waters which is hard for me too believe cause when I look in the mirror all I can see is the 275lbs more that need to come off instead of the 157lbs I have lost since may 1 2010. Can anyone help me? Is anyone else struggling like this??

I had the sleeve on Oct.27th & I have lost 70lbs since surgery the first 50lbs came off in 2 weeks! I myself am having a very hard time eating! since surgery I am extreme lactose intolerant and haven't found a Protein shake that works for me without causing the dry heaves.

I became extremely lactose intolerant after surgery too. I now use Lactaid Milk, which I just started using. I'm making my own home made Protein shakes with it. It takes even BETTER than the pre-made ones. Buy some hi protein powders made with Egg Proteins, such as unjury and use Lactaid as the liquid. It also adds more protein to the total.

also I was unable 2 use the chewable Vitamins cause they agitated my sleeve also swallowing the prilosec for heartburn sometimes is challenging. I have several new complications that are associated from all these things, I have a a Vitamin & protein deficiency making all my muscles feel like they are having charlie horses all the time,

Right now your sleeve is still considered new. You just have to do the best you can and be patient with yourself. Try drinking your PPI with a warm liquid first thing apon waking up, which is what I do. I am extremely tight when I first wake up - and this helps to loosen things and it doesn't hurt as much after. It takes about an hour, but once that's up I'm fine.

Also keep in mind, you will never again to be able to even touch apon the amount of food you once ate. You probably are able to eat what any normal human really should eat per serving now, but just aren't used to seeing it that way yet. I'm just lucky in that I had a Lap-Band before and I'm more use to seeing my portions smaller. I've been seeing small portions now for years and really is no big deal to me. I even eat MUCH less than now than when I was banded. Anyhow, my mind is easily wrapped around my tiny portions than someone coming into this right off the bat.

You have to really keep up with your vitamins and nutrition. It is very important. Once you get some lab work from your Dr's and they tell you what you are lacking (because I'm sure you're lacking something), go to any drug store and start taking your supplements ASAP. Healthier options for Protein drinks also add lots of nutrients as well will the Lactaid milk.

I get dizzy from malnutrition cause I am afraid to eat over 300 calories a day in fear of gaining which I gained 1lb last week because they say my body is in starvation mode. I have an appointment this Tuesday with the Dr. and the nutritionist and I am really scarred at what they are gonna tell me. my surgeon says the weight is coming off to fast and I am now treading in dangerous waters which is hard for me too believe cause when I look in the mirror all I can see is the 275lbs more that need to come off instead of the 157lbs I have lost since may 1 2010. Can anyone help me? Is anyone else struggling like this??

This is something that needs to be worked on from the inside out. I've dealt with some pretty serious eating disorders pretty much my entire life. You may need to go seek some professional mental help for this.

300 Calories per day on purpose because you're afraid of "getting fat" is very classic sign of anorexia. You may not even be getting that many calories even. It doesn't get any better unless you tackle it head on. I feel for you and know what that's like, please trust me.

Hang in there, and I do hope you get to feeling better soon. Listen to your Dr's and take their advice very seriously. You didn't have this surgery to just go from one eating disorder to another. Neither are good for your body or your mental health!!

Hugs to you!

I, too, developed lactose intolerance. Certain foods (yogurt, cottage cheese, milk, ice cream and yes, Protein shakes) cannot be tolerated. I get incredibly sick if I consume any of the foods that bother my system.

There are several lactose free protein shakes on the market. I had to try three or four before I found that I can usually tolerate Muscle Milk RTD shakes.

Keep working on it with samples or individual RTD shakes. There is most likely something out there that you can tolerate.

I also went through the lack of appetite. It does come back. You have to push yourself to eat enough calories in the meantime, even when you don't want to. You cannot avoid eating for fear of gaining; you're only going to confuse your body and cause yourself problems. I gain when my calories stay low for too long, too. Right about the time my lactose intolerance got very bad I was also eating about 300 calories a day. I gained a few pounds and then stalled out for weeks.

With your dramatic results so far, you should expect a stall at some point. Your body needs to adjust. Don't worry - it will eventually get the idea that everything is okay, provided you continue to nourish your body and stay healthy.

I, too, had major issues with the chewables, and later with my Biotin pills. I now take gummi Vitamins. They don't make me sick and they go down just fine. Find an adult gummi Vitamin, and take enough of them to get what you'd get from your chewables.

YOU CAN DO THIS. Just take a deep breath and relax. It's going to take your mind a long while to catch up to your new body. You've lost a tremendous amount of weight in the last seven months, both with and without your sleeve. You definitely should pursue some therapy to help you adjust.

Please update once you speak to your doctor. Any advice/suggestions you receive could help others in your position. I strugged with the same physcial issues you're struggling with now. I'm in a far better place now, just two months later.

Best of luck,

~Cheri