Hello everyone my name is Tina otherwise known as breakingtheshell. I really want to share my story with you I am so glad that I found this website. I am sure that there are many others out there with my situation maybe somebody can help me understand this because I asked my doctor my dietitian and they just seem to give me short answers and then there in a rush to get away

I started out at 347 during my six-month counseling sessions and the day of my surgery I was 327 my surgery was on October 26, 2012. I wore a size 5x tops and bottoms or a 32/34 and my bra size funny funny was a 54 Double D. I never wore jeans after my disability which was a big contributor to becoming morbidly obese. Oh this is funny, I used to wear a size 13 wide shoe now I'm in a 12. How did that happen??

The surgery was extremely painful for me and it took a great five hours for them to poke and probe me and rearrange things rather then the simple 2.5 hours. My liver was extremely enlarged because I suffer from nonalcoholic liver disease so they needed to go in other places it was hard for them to lift my liver to work around it. I have been on the highest strengths of morphine for so long that when I got into the recovery room I felt all the pain and there was nothing else they could do for me so I stayed at the hospital for three days straight crying and begging for help to get rid of the pain.........I felt like I was butchered. By the way I was on pain medication for so long because I have severe back injuries I need to have a Nother three surgeries on my back I have fibromyalgia rheumatoid and osteoarthritis degenerative disc and joint disease spinal stenosis sciatica And everything else that causes pain. This is how I got started on my venturers for a gastric bypass surgery my back surgeon had to do another surgery on me but because I was so morbidly obese he refused to open me up on the operating table for fear that I would die. He told me I needed to lose over 100 pounds and in order to do that I had to go have the gastric bypass done so I quickly did my research checked my insurance and was approved quickly after six months of counseling.

I lost a lot of weight I'm talking about 85 pounds by the end of my third month. I felt horrible I felt lethargic and spent most of my time in bed because I was so tired. My skin dried-up like you would not believe my face looked horrible like I had aged 10 to 15 years and I still with having pain in three months in my stomach area. Oh and the hair loss ......it's still coming out!!

My six-month mark was on April 26, 2013. I had lost 122 pounds and my clothing sizes got to an extra large top a size 16 trying to wiggle into a 14 jeans and my shoe size went down and my bra size is now at 38b. When I look in the Mira I see a totally different person I look like a skinny person but I know that I need to lose at least 60 more pounds!! my husband says I should be grateful for what I have lost but darn it I didn't go this far to stop here but the problem is it STOPPED!!!! I understand that there are times that you will Platau but mine has lasted two months now losing only 9 stinkin pounds. I started solids a little late because of having Strictures and having to be dilated three times but I noticed that when I started eating solid foods my hunger started and I always feel hungry again an hour after a meal. I can only eat 1/4 to 1/2 cup of solids. I mentioned this to my doctor and that was hysterically crying and he says to me well that means your metabolism is working again that's a good thing and then got up and walked out!!! Wtf???? This is my life. This is my dream.

I am doing everything by the book I am drinking my Protein I am actually drinking the whey protein bullet (with approval) which is nice because it's only 3 1/2 ounces to suck down to get your protein and I don't know what else to do. I cannot exercise because of my back injury. I'm going to be having surgery again rods and screws put in my back and I just don't know what else to do. I've kept logs, drink my liquids,snack on a little fruit or fat free sugar free yogurt. UGH

CAN SOMEONE GIVE ME ADVICE ON HOW TO KICKSTART MY WEIGHTLOSS AGAIN????? I don't want to be skinny because I love curves. I'm not being selfish!

Thanks in advance for your input.

Tina

Welcome to the group & I'm sorry you been going threw so much & have so much issues. I have no advice for you but it doesn't mean I don't care. Since you have back issues there is no exercise at all you can do? Walking 5/10/15 mins? Arm exercise?sitting on the sofa lifting 1 leg at a time? Swimming? I also have back issues but its not like yours(I wish you didn't have all these issues) but I'm able to exercise which helps out. I wish you the best & hope someone have advice for you

I had a stall at 5 months post op that lasted for 3 months. I did everything by the book as well. The key to success with RNY is the diet and exercise. I would ask your back surgeon what type of exercise you can do. As Mamiof3kids said above, there are many types of exercise that you can do sitting down and not involving you back. You have lost a great deal of weight and be very proud of that !!!! Stalls happen you just need to change things up a bit. To break my stall I started jogging/running rather than walking and I creased my exercise time from 45 minutes to 60-75 minutes daily. Once I started losing again I never lost the 3-4 lbs. a week I did when I first had surgery I think those days are gone for good. I stick to my meal plan and keep active and exercise daily and bring my heart rate up for minimum 1 hr.

Please speak to your back surgeon, I am sure he can help and as far as your RNY doctor I would say " please don't walk out you have not answered my questions". Try not to cry and get upset, remain calm and keep your composure and be very frank with him and don't let him leave until he answers your questions.

So sorry for your troubles, Tina. I'm 5 months out and have lost 59 lbs. I've never lost 3-4 lbs in a week. Many weeks I've only lost a lb or sometimes nothing. So your loss of 9 lbs in 2 months doesn't seem like a stall to me. Especially since you have lost so much, aren't exercising, and getting closer to goal. Every pound counts! "9 stinkin pounds" is 9 big lbs lost! Sure it can be discouraging to lose slowly but you are going in the right direction and you ARE losing. I agree that any exercise of any kind would make a big difference. Hang in there! From where I sit, I think you're doing great. Slow and steady wins the race! My doc says slow losers often keep the weight off better. Good luck!

122 lbs in six months is an average of five lbs a week over a six month period. That is extraordinary and a tribute to your commitment - congratulations!! Sounds like your body is taking a break from a lot of dramatic changes in a very short period of time. I think all of us can appreciate your frustration. But there are times in this journey when you just have to trust the process. Take a deep breath. Relax. And allow your body to find its own way in its own time. What you've accomplished is monumental! Celebrate your success and know that as long as you continue to follow the protocol as closely as you can, the rest will take care of itself. I would be very grateful if you would share the name of the whey protein bullet that you are drinking. There are a number of inferior products out there and it sounds like you may have found an exception. That would be great news for a lot of folks!

Tina,

Check and see if you can do a recumbant bike. It really works for me. You need to exercise past the first 6 month period.

Thank you everyone for your thoughtful words and your advice!! I am so sick of being around people who think that they have a doctor's degree and knows everything about gastric bypass surgery!! We are the ones that went through six months of counseling went home with a Bible to go by for the rest of our lives it is nice to finally find a place to talk to people who know what in the heck they are talking about!!

Unfortunately I cannot do any type of exercise my back is so broken I need to have rods and screws inserted and I don't know what they're going to do from there. Washing my hair and showering can be a chore I do the majority of it but even raising my arms in the air for a small length of time really aggravates my back and causes great pain that is when my husband takes over and helps me out.

Don't get me wrong I really adore my doctor but I think before the surgery they all get you so hyped up and then the surgery is over the money is in their pocket and then when you ask questions over and over without getting an answer that satisfies you or make sense they want to quickly run to the next patient. That is very unacceptable to me and I will raise my voice when I see him again.

I am very grateful don't get me wrong of all the weight that I had lost and 86 inches is a great deal when you take out your measuring tape and hang it on your wall. I always felt sexy about my body when I was between 185 and 200 and if I can get to 185 giving myself wiggling room in case I do gain a little bit of weight.

However I still feel like I am hitting a brick wall I know that you're not supposed to lose after so many months as quickly as the first few months I am not being delusional about my expectations I have sincere questions that need to be answered as to why it is stopping and I am gaining a few losing a few gaining a few losing.

Thank you all once again for supporting my concerns. I have to figure out how to post my pics! Lol

Great day to all!

Xoxo. Tina

finally breakingtheshell.

You certainly deserve to be heard and not brushed off and it's good to hear that you plan to discuss it with your doctor. That said, hopefully you won't be too disappointed if he/she simply cannot give you a definitive answer regarding the pattern of your weight loss. The fact that your weight loss is different from mine (or anyone else's) means nothing. We are all individuals and all different. Comparing your weight loss to someone else's is a sure formula for frustration. There are simply too many variables. But that is changing almost as you read this. Although the effectiveness of rny is statistically indisputable, researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center have only very recently begun to understand why it works in terms of hormonal and amino acid changes during digestion - Full Article . Another very recent study conducted on mice by researchers at Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital has shown that rny almost immediately transforms gut bacteria into microbes most often found in slender people - Full Article . And finally a third very recent study by Massachusetts General Hospital has identified a gene variant that helps identify how much weight a person is likely to lose following gastric bypass surgery. They are hoping to develop a test for that gene within a year - Full Article . All of these studies have opened a small crack in the door that could eventually lead to a non-surgical option or options that would provide the same benefits of bariatric surgery. They may also allow doctors to effectively predict how much weight a patient is likely to lose. That's the good news. The bad news is that it almost certainly will take several years, if ever, for those options to become available.

You should be grateful