Year long stall

[smhagood 5]

I have been on a 12 month stall journey. I have tried 3 different nutritionalists and many exercise and food trackers. The doctors have tried many tests with no answers. I actually regained weight! Frustrating. I was a self pay in 2012 and paid 25k for the surgery and never lost more than 30 pounds total, I needed to lose 60-70 lbs. Now I'm going to Mexico for a resleeve surgery. Does anyone have any experience with being resleeved, dr. Almanza or the hospital HMN?

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

How frustrating!

I am sure you have tried it all, but in case you haven't - low carb and shorter duration, high intensity exercise are the key for me. That is not in the standard portfolio of all nutritionalists, so I thought I would throw it out there. Truth is that it is hard to lose weight once you have been obese. Sleeve helps many of us... alot... but it still took that kind of modification for me, especially as the BMI gets lower.

I lost weight just from eating less at first. Once I got under 200# I stopped losing and would not have gone down to 140# without the low carb. That is just me and my unlucky metabolism.

What would bother me the most is how do you know that being "resleeved" will make things better? Did they find something functionally wrong with your sleeve?

I hope you find your answers - do not give up!

[Pookeyism 1,143]

If you are going in for a re-sleeve, I assume you either suspect or know you are overeating? Else why would you re-sleeve? It's ONLY a question, not an attack or even a negative opinion.

[onthefencejenny 204]

I have heard very good things about dr. Almanza and am scheduled for surgery with him on July 25! If you want to message me I can let you know how my experience was! I have several family members that have been to him and are super happy with the results!

[Travelmego 235]

There is a Mexico forum that you might find helpful to ask about Dr. Almanza. I have seen his patients on there.

[slvrsax 301]

@@CowgirlJane, I suspect the same is true for me. I'm curious and if I'm not out of line, can I ask you how many grams of carbs you can have and what kind to maintain your loss? I have 40 lbs to go to maintenance but am already thinking about this. I'm thinking that bread, rice, potatoes, etc. are out of my diet for good if I expect to maintain. I'm ok with that but just wondering if that is going to be the case.

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

I'm a weird one - I don't track so I can't actually say. what I do is simply not eat bread, junk food, fast food, highly prepared/processed foods, crackers, noodles, rice, potatoes unless it is truly an "occasion". I eat Protein, veggies and berries as my daily routine. If I start feeling weak or puny I add some more healthy carbs for energy

My son came home from college and brought in bread and Peanut Butter. A week of being around some old triggers reminded me that I still wrestle with that demon. When I eat carbs I get hungry and want to eat more!

@@CowgirlJane, I suspect the same is true for me. I'm curious and if I'm not out of line, can I ask you how many grams of carbs you can have and what kind to maintain your loss? I have 40 lbs to go to maintenance but am already thinking about this. I'm thinking that bread, rice, potatoes, etc. are out of my diet for good if I expect to maintain. I'm ok with that but just wondering if that is going to be the case.

[latido 178]

Why not opt for RNY once and for all?

[Teri Barowsky Hooper 22]

I am almost 2 years out from VSG. I lost 60 pounds in the first year but have stalled for most of the 2nd year. I regained 10 pounds and if I let myself, I can eat more than I thought I would be able to. When I went to my pain management doctor last month, I got to talking to her about my sleeve surgery and my weight loss. She told me nobody loses weight on the pain medication I am on and most people gain weight. When I talked to my sleeve doctor, he didn't say much and just shrugged it off. This is very frustrating because I cannot be without my Lyrica (I have fibromyalgia). Is anyone else on medications where weight gain is the primary side effect? How has that impacted your weight loss after VSG?

[chloesmom 8]

1. I suspect that is my problem also. I started to go back on the low carb (George Stella style). Had good success with that before LB. I guess I just have to realize carbs are a bad trigger for me and I have to do without.

[chloesmom 8]

I guess I'm in the wrong place. I was banded, did not get the gastric sleeve. Sorry.

[smhagood 5]

Well, I did it. I got the sleeve revision. I am really hopeful that this does the trick. I am fairly certain that this doctor was more aggressive than my first surgon. I saw the post surgery x-rays yesterday and there doesn't appear to be any stomach left. No pouch at all that I can see. Yet I feel pretty good considering. I remember seeing the x-rays from my 1st surgery and there was definitely a pouch remaining. Maybe I just needed a microscopic "pouch". For those of you who were wondering, I did feel that my first sleeve was not done as "aggressively" as I needed and that the surgeon was very conservative in the amount of stomach he removed. I could never get the Dr. to admit to this though. He just said that I needed to work harder. I wasn't eating much (less than 900 calories a day) and I still wasn't losing. I exercised as much as I could, but putting myself first as a teacher and mother of 4 is very hard. Anyhow, here's hoping that my 2nd surgery has significant results. Time will tell...

[Miss Mac 6,261]

Per other comments on Lyrica and stalling. I have been on Lyrica since summer of 2010. Since that time I gained 50 pounds and never made any connection. I definitely will research this one, because I need every advantage I can get. I have lost those extra 50 pounds, now I need to lose the other 50 extra pounds that contributed to my stroke in September 2010. Oh man, now I have to research if there is a connection between Lyrica and stroke. For sure, I am not stopping half-way. Stalls are so exasperating, but every couple of pounds, it finally breaks out and I lose another two or three and then stall again. Oh well.

[acspringhill 4]

So glad this thread is here. I am about at the 8 month post op mark and have not lost any weight for about a month. 75 pounds lost so far, but I seem to be stuck at 248-250. I have been good at avoiding bread, Pasta, carbonated drinks, anything sweet etc. I was just wondering if anyone else hit a stall that long around 7 months after surgery? Despite abstaining from the items above, I am still trying to reduce snacking and push away from carbs. I tend to crave nuts, trail mix, and crackers when I want to snack, as I finally got sick of eating string cheese for every snack. I still exercise on my stationary bike every other day, and walk as much as possible at home or at work. I'm curious to see what my cholesterol/triglyceride levels are now as I can't tolerate red meat, just a small portion and I'm full. Trying not to sweat the 'stall' stuff but sometimes feel like I'm alone with this challenge.

Edited July 13, 2014 by acspringhill

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

So glad this thread is here. I am about at the 8 month post op mark and have not lost any weight for about a month. 75 pounds lost so far, but I seem to be stuck at 248-250. I have been good at avoiding bread, Pasta, carbonated drinks, anything sweet etc. I was just wondering if anyone else hit a stall that long around 7 months after surgery? Despite abstaining from the items above, I am still trying to reduce snacking and push away from carbs. I tend to crave nuts, trail mix, and crackers when I want to snack, as I finally got sick of eating string cheese for every snack. I still exercise on my stationary bike every other day, and walk as much as possible at home or at work. I'm curious to see what my cholesterol/triglyceride levels are now as I can't tolerate red meat, just a small portion and I'm full. Trying not to sweat the 'stall' stuff but sometimes feel like I'm alone with this challenge.

I hit a major slow down at same time losing 2-3 a month. Scared me because I still had so much to lose. For me the culprit was Protein bars. As soon as I eliminated them and changed my workout routine I returned to losing 8-10 a month until I got to my goal at 14 months post op. I suspect it is the nuts, trail mix and crackers in your case - all pretty calorie and carb dense food.

What's wrong with being full after a small portion of red meat?

I don't particularly love sandwich meat but that is my main snack...I treat myself to a bit of cream cheese to help it taste better. Filling dense Protein keeps me from snacking. If i eat crackers bread nuts Peanut Butter etc I can eat hefty portions either by grazing or too much at once. Does not happen if I focus on dense protein.