Gained most of my weight back

[snowkitten 371]

@@globetrotter no no, it doesn't "matter"... I was just curious because I was wondering if it's true that not all calories are just calories. I'm sure we have all heard calories in vs calories out. But the doesn't seem to be the case.... especially like with your circumstances. I was just hoping to figure out a way to "fix" my stubborn weight loss.

[efierke 60]

Thanks for the support Snowkitten. Does it matter what I was eating while I was gaining? I have eaten the purest and cleanest, most perfect foods for the past 27 days, with an excellent Water intake AND walking at least a mile a day. My average daily cals are 600-700 (yesterday was 450), carbs >40, Protein <60.

sample menu:

Protein shake make with Water (very clean, no sugar added, no soy, no fillers, etc etc etc)

sardines 1 serving

small green salad with plain vinegar, pepper

1 steamed veggie sprinkled with nutritional yeast, 1 serving

another Protein Shake

Minimum 80 ounces of water/herbal tea throughout the day - no sugar added.

If it is a very hot day and I feel the need for more protein, a protein shake popsicle (powder and water, 1 pop = 1/6 of a protein shake serving).

To be honest it makes me wonder if you're eating too little. Even within a week of surgery I was eating more than 450Kcal/day - average for me for the first few months was in the range of 800 and I'm up to about 1100 now at 5 months out and still losing (it's slowed a little, but not much). I'm down about 90lbs (about 75% of my excess weight). From soem of the comments I've seen on here, and suggestions I've seen, try adding in some healthy fats (Avocado or Peanut Butter, for example) to bring up your daily intake. your body may just be scrambling to hold on to anything it can right now.

[mistysj 1,940]

I just want to step in and say to Frumpy, regardless of the weight gain, please take the GERD seriously. I am just a month out from revision to bypass that was necessary because of multiple ulcers and inflammation that occurred despite me taking nexium since my surgery in 2013 and never actually feeling heartburn. We don't have much stomach left after sleeve and we can't afford for GERD to damage it. Gastric bypass makes GERD practically impossible because the bile duct is in a different part of the system from the esophagus and stomach after the bypass. I'm not saying you need bypass but you need to be monitoring the situation with your doctor.

[Globetrotter 1,340]

mistysj could you pm me about this surgery revision and GERD? I have had to take a daily pill for intense heartburn since surgery nearly 5 years ago.

Also, yeah it would be nice if that story of too few calories were true, but it isn't.

[SleeveandRNYchica 1,155]

I am in process of revision from sleeve to bypass. I have gerd, angulated sleeve and hiatal hernia.

[woo woo 872]

I am curious as to what causes angulated sleeve? Is that Gerd related or something else?

[Globetrotter 1,340]

Who do I go to to find out about the angle of my sleeve? I don't have a hernia and don't live anywhere near the surgeon who performed the surgery.

[woo woo 872]

I know the question was not necessarily directed at me, but my guess would be to get in touch with a good bariatric surgeon in your area.

They could at least point you in the right direction if nothing else.

[SleeveandRNYchica 1,155]

I had an endoscopy and it showed that my sleeve is twisted like a corkscrew, that's the best way I can describe it. There is a bit of a pouch on the end of it. (I don't like using the word pouch, but that's what the surgeon called it). The food is not emptying properly, it backs up. So it causes the Gerd and has caused slight sleeve distention (stretching).... I also had a barium swallow. So my surgeon does believe a revision is my best option. As far as I can find on sleeve Angulation it is a late term side effect.....oh and I have a nice size Hiatal Hernia...

I was a very slow loser with the sleeve, however I did loose 50% of my excess weight (w/pre-op). I am just not sure even without getting pregnant if I would have made it to goal and I think 1200 cal would be my limit. I never thought it would be easy, but I also never thought it would be this hard. I never experienced a honeymoon phase. I lost weight month 1, but lost nothing in months 2 & 3.

I was very active in the forum and had a difficult time processing why my journey seemed so hard the 1st 9 months. I am currently seeing NUT again and will start attending group for post surgery patients.

We always see a lot if the great success stories here. I think those like me, stop participating because the outcome was not what was expected or never see goal. Even if you are doing everything right, by drs orders and then come to the forums the remarks can be discouraging. There is a huge percentage of people that obviously fail because they did not do what they were suppose to do. But trust, there are those of us that are out here that had a difficult time out the surgical suite. And yes, I got pregnant 8 months earlier than my surgeons recommended time frame....so I will slap my own hand for that.

[SleeveandRNYchica 1,155]

Who do I go to to find out about the angle of my sleeve? I don't have a hernia and don't live anywhere near the surgeon who performed the surgery.

My surgeon is in Latin America, I found a new one. I had my surgeon send my report to me. He was amazing and my NUT there was amazing too. I had to do all the surgery requirements there, just like here in the US.

[livvsmum 2,370]

I'm sorry to hear that you have gained your weight back. That has definitely got to be a really discouraging feeling. I didn't read through all the posts, but have you worked at all with a therapist to get to the bottom of the "food issues" that most of the time aren't reallly "food issues"? Around 8 months post op the "honeymoon" was over for me, and I know for a fact that I would have gained weight back instead of going on to reach my goal weight without the help of my therapist. I still go weekly. I highly recommend it. Or at the very least I recommend the books "When food is Love" and "Women, Food, and Love"........

[mistysj 1,940]

Globe, I know you asked for a PM but there seems to be general interest so I will put it out there. GERD can cause cancer. If you are not controlling it with a PPI you need to be proactive. The sleeve increases the pressure inside your stomach causing stress on the valves at the top and bottom. Some of us seem to be able to handle it and others not. I was not only having GERD but bile reflux from my intestine back into my stomach. Bile is caustic like lye and reacts to stomach acid sort of like vinegar and baking soda. I had ulcers in my stomach and intestines. In addition if bile and stomach acid reflux into your esophagus you can get Barret's Esophagus which is a precursor to esophageal cancer. Not trying to scare you but just to be real.

The RNY splits your stomach or sleeve into two parts. An upper part which connects to your esophagus and your small intestine about 100 cm down from the normal place, and a small part that connects to the common bile duct and then connects to your intestine. So the food and digestive juices don't mix until they get together in your small intestine (which is where digestion happens anyway) and reflux is basically impossible.

My surgeon said that the part of my sleeve that he used for the bile part is only about 10 ml (2 tsp) and I am already close to my pre-revision capacity a month out. I've had no issues. Even my poop is kind of normal for the first time since my sleeve surgery.

I know most of us chose the sleeve because we were dead set against the bypass but I am sure seeing a lot of sleeve to bypass revisions now because of GERD, both here and on Thinner Times. I hope the word gets out to pre-op folks so they can make more informed decisions.

[WL WARRIOR 692]

I read somewhere that most post-op patients are able to get down to the same weight they were at 18 years old. When my doctor confirmed this, it became my goal weight. I'm curious if this holds true for everyone else. It wasn't easy to get to my goal weight, but it wasn't as difficult as the original poster describes.

Am I the only person out there that never had the opportunity to speak with their surgeon? I only remember seeing a blurry image of him standing over me angrily because I kept trying to pull the oxygen out of my nose. Give me a break, I was just out of surgery and completely confused. He said a few words (that I don't recall) and walked away. He did go to my mom and quickly say, "Everything went great!" in the doorway of the waiting room. There wasn't an opportunity to ask questions.

However, there were other medical professionals (bariatrician, PCP) that did a good job answering questions, so I'm not going to complain.

[Globetrotter 1,340]

I have had a colonoscopy and ultrasounds and MRIs and X rays and CTs, and an endoscope and there has never been any mention of a problem with my sleeve. None of the doctors were bariatric doctors but I think they would have said something. But my acid is really powerful and if I forget just one time to take my pill, it is agony.

[woo woo 872]

@@WL WARRIOR I have never heard about the 18 thing. I was probably 120 at age 18. I'm not sure if I could get down that low now or if I would want to (would be tough to maintain!)

My doc suggested 145 to 150 as a goal. I am 5'6".

@@globetrotter I recently had a thoracic xray and all I could really see was a shadowy sleeve-like outline with a bunch of metal staples (I took a copy on cd and took a long look at them on my computer at home), so who knows if your sleeve was really visible in your tests (assuming they were looking at other stuff)? Just a thought.