urgent advice needed lost too much after bypass

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mixdoctor
mixdoctor Posts: 6
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Hi All,

Well I never thought I would ever be typing a post like this in my life but they say a gastric bypass is life changing but maybe I have played exactly by the book and never cheated and thats why I am in the mess I am today and in a way can not see no end to my problem yet.

Last September 2013 I weighed in at 25.5 stone (355 pounds) I had my bypass and as I have said never cheated and kept a log of my foods as any member can view my diary and well I got to my goal weight in April of 13 Stone (182 pounds) but now I am down to 11.7 stone (161 pounds). The ironic thing though is I have stopped exercising and walking etc and I am still loosing in fact on sunday i weighed in at 11.10 Stone (164 Pounds) and 3 days later i had lost another 3 pounds thats a pound a day and I just can not go on like this as I feel ill, weak, very tired and cold if i am honest.

Maybe because of the horror stories you read about others cheating like blending chocolate bars etc and the stories you hear about people stretching their pouches by over eating has made me what i am today i just don't know. I really can not see how you can push the boundaries as myself have tried to eat just that little bit more but my pouch and brain won't let me as i literally feel physically sick if I try to push that one last spoonful of food into my body so yes I stop but then I have no hunger at all for the rest of the day hence I am not looking to eat if you get my drift.

Saw doctor yesterday who gave me some ensure drinks to make up with full fat milk but I was really ill on that it was my first and last experience of the dumping syndrome as there is too much sugar in it for me i think, so today I am trying half a packet at a time but it still making me ill for about an hour after taking it hence build me up drinks are possibly not my answer.

So in a nut shell I can not take in the amounts of food to maintain my weight, Build me up drinks are giving me dumping syndrome, so what can I do please anyone else had this problem I am wondering?

Today I am trying something new as you can see on my diary but I know deep down I am doing it wrong and eating the wrong foods like i used to but I am at my whits end and pulling my hair out now. I am eating little and very often but the wrong stuff if you get my drift just to try and get in the calories as I now do not want to maintain my weight but put on at least 30 pounds.

My friends say I look ill and under nourished and haggard and this is no way how i want to look or feel. Maybe playing by the rules and loosing so much in so little time has destroyed me in a way and now I got to go the other way and somehow healthily gain weight but then I will need to maintain which seems to me to be harder than loosing the weight in the first place because of my surgery.

I hope my post makes sense to some of you and maybe some one else has been in the same boat and can help me out of this situation.
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Replies

  • brevislux
    brevislux Posts: 1,093 Member
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    Please go back to the doctor or maybe see some other doctor... really, I don't think any advice from any of us who isn't trained and doesn't know you and your situation can be better than a doctor's opinion.
  • fullersun35
    fullersun35 Posts: 162 Member
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    Your diary isn't open.

    Have you called your doctor and told him/her that your body can't handle the Ensure?
  • bakemma
    bakemma Posts: 161 Member
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    Most gastric bypass patients become lactose intolerant after there surgeries, that would be why the ensure made you sick. Any whey based or lactose based anything is going to make you sick. Stop drinking it!!! Try soy based or nut based products like soy milk with soy protein.
  • mojohowitz
    mojohowitz Posts: 900 Member
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    Doctor. Go back for another visit.
  • AbbeyDove
    AbbeyDove Posts: 317 Member
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    I understand that you may be feeling discouraged with doctors and medical information, given your history. I do think the other community members are right that you should consult with one, though.

    That said, I think you should see a nutritionist who has experience with gastric bypass patients. If you're not able to eat much, I would think that the calories you do eat need to be very high quality. I totally understand that you may fear exercise, but it's possible that your body may feel better if you do a little gentle walking. That can help improve digestion. But my suggestion would be an experienced nutritionist.

    My best wishes to you.
  • AmykinsCatfood
    AmykinsCatfood Posts: 599 Member
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    You should probably see a dietitian who specializes in patients with these kinds of surgeries. A nutritionist doesn't have the knowledge or training that a dietitian has, and at least in Canada, just about anyone can claim to be a nutritionist because there aren't clear guidelines governing the title.

    After you've gotten your second opinion, and if things don't change you may have to consider the possibility of a reversal. The most common type of bypass surgery can be reversed although the risk is higher than having it done in the first place. This is a last resort but it's one that you need to consider if the advice of the doctors and dietitians isn't helping.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    Please go back to the doctor or maybe see some other doctor... really, I don't think any advice from any of us who isn't trained and doesn't know you and your situation can be better than a doctor's opinion.

    Talk to your doctor and your nutritionist.
  • minibandit
    minibandit Posts: 77
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    Never assume, and neither should your health care professionals, that everything is down to the bypass. Go back to your Doc, he should run bloods at the very least.

    Your dietician should have been working with you to up your cals to maintenance. What is your daily cal intake roughly?
  • sfbaumgarten
    sfbaumgarten Posts: 912 Member
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    You really need to be working this out with a specialist.
  • djeffreys10
    djeffreys10 Posts: 2,312 Member
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    2 frozen bananas
    2 cups almond milk
    2 tablespoons peanut butter
    2 scoops protein powder (get a lactose free powder)
    a few dashes of cinamon

    Blend, and drink. 700-800 calories right there.

    Also, see a doctor.
  • mixdoctor
    mixdoctor Posts: 6
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    Hi all,

    So many responses so quickly thank you all. Sorry my diary was only open to friends only but just opened it to the public now and you can see even when I was in Malta 2 weeks ago my intake was quite high (the wrong foods lol) but I still lost weight at the end of the week.

    Doctors and nutritionist well the problem I have here is I live in an area called Cornwall and tbh they are not set up for people like me I am the only WLS patient at my practice and I saw a nutritionist a week ago and she could not really help me all she suggested was eat eggs and fish high protein foods which I do anyhow.

    My diary is all over the place now as I am trying to eat normally instead of counting the calories but this is still not working as you can see if you look at last saturdays diary as I am a D.J. so there are plenty off lovely foods about when I work and last Saturday was the first time I really went for it so you can imagine how shocked I was when i got on the scales today to find I had lost 3 pounds again.

    What I have noticed today is my sugars and sat fat intake has gone above MFP recommendation to maintain my weight but it also did last week on some days and still i lost hence this is why i am pulling my hair out as you can imagine. Have just rang and spoke to doctor again who basically said he has nothing else he can prescribe so I would have to seek advice from a health shop but again they just want to sell you products and someone like myself who has no idea won't know what I am buying so perhaps if anyone could point me into a direction of a supplement i can get here in the U.K. that could help.

    I have 250 calories left today and already over my sugar and sat fat but I literally can not take any more in and this is my main problem. Re exercise don't get me wrong when I say I have stopped I meant literally stopped going out for walks and swimming as my daily routine i still clock up over 5000 steps you see but when i used to force myself i used to do 10000 steps a day plus half hour swimming 4 times a week and I have stopped this now to try and gain or maintain my weight but again with no success.

    So I have hopefully answered all your comments so far and put you further in my picture I shall sort a photo out and you can see i am well skinny and no longer look like i should.

    Thanks again everyone

    Martin
  • mixdoctor
    mixdoctor Posts: 6
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    2 frozen bananas
    2 cups almond milk
    2 tablespoons peanut butter
    2 scoops protein powder (get a lactose free powder)
    a few dashes of cinamon

    Blend, and drink. 700-800 calories right there.

    Also, see a doctor.

    would this be low in sugar i wonder thank you
  • djeffreys10
    djeffreys10 Posts: 2,312 Member
    Options
    2 frozen bananas
    2 cups almond milk
    2 tablespoons peanut butter
    2 scoops protein powder (get a lactose free powder)
    a few dashes of cinamon

    Blend, and drink. 700-800 calories right there.

    Also, see a doctor.

    would this be low in sugar i wonder thank you

    Do you have diabetes? Because if not, it doesn't matter. Sugar is just a carb, and there is absolutely no reason to track it short of it being required for a medical condition.
  • aledba
    aledba Posts: 564 Member
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    Most gastric bypass patients become lactose intolerant after there surgeries, that would be why the ensure made you sick. Any whey based or lactose based anything is going to make you sick. Stop drinking it!!! Try soy based or nut based products like soy milk with soy protein.
    Soy is a poor choice for a male.
  • aylajane
    aylajane Posts: 979 Member
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    Bypass messes with absorption, so just because you are eating all the protein and calories does not mean you are actually using them or absorbing the nutrients etc. You basically need to assume you only get maybe 60-75% of the calories and nutrients in the foods you eat, and adjust upwards to make up for it. I.e. your "maintenance" calories are going to be higher than one would expect for your size.

    Start looking into ways to "pimp" your food so the volume is the same since your stomach is smaller, but the calories and protein etc are higher. I.e. greek yogurt already has lots of protein, and you can add a scoop of protein powder to it to double the protein and calories but the volume (5 oz) stays about the same. Add protein powder to coffee or tea, etc. Eat more peanut butter (go easy on fats, that malabsorbtion doesnt play well with dietary fat!) or other calorie dense foods. Look at everything you eat and drink and see if there is a way to easily add a few more calories without making it "bigger" - there are lots of tricks for doing that if you get creative.

    You might also research "wasting syndrome" - I think its more prevalent with the DS than GB, but maybe part of your issue or you can get some tips or ideas from the research.
  • mixdoctor
    mixdoctor Posts: 6
    Options
    2 frozen bananas
    2 cups almond milk
    2 tablespoons peanut butter
    2 scoops protein powder (get a lactose free powder)
    a few dashes of cinamon

    Blend, and drink. 700-800 calories right there.

    Also, see a doctor.

    would this be low in sugar i wonder thank you

    Do you have diabetes? Because if not, it doesn't matter. Sugar is just a carb, and there is absolutely no reason to track it short of it being required for a medical condition.

    no I don't have diabetes but high sugar can cause us to have what they call dumping syndrome you see which i had my first one when i had my first ensure and trust me its not a nice thing to have it cripples you for about an hour and you become really ill and vomit and hot etc. Peole say it is like what a diabetic gets but only happens to by pass patients thats the only reason i asked about the sugar.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    I'm not doctor and I'm not versed in weight loss surgery but it sounds like you're in quite a pickle.

    Sugar is out because of this dumping syndrome as you say, but what else is out? Is it ANY kind of sugar? What about fruit sugar (fructose). I ask because fruit juice might be a good option if you can manage it. Orange juice, apple juice, grape juice etc are all loaded with calories but will not fill you up at all.

    Do you have a problem with lactose? Straight up milk (whole milk) or even heavy cream added to drinks (do you drink coffee or tea or anything) might help add calories. Liquid calories are generally the best way to pack a punch without filling you up fast.

    Maybe try cooking foods in lots of oil? That shouldn't add a lot of volume but will add calories for sure.

    What about really starchy foods like baked potato? Very high in carbs but not sugars. Shouldn't stick around TOO badly. Cheeses, nuts, whole eggs?

    Again, I'm not an expert but what if you just simply added a small amount of calories over time? Add 100 calories to your daily intake for a week. Then 100 next week. Then 100 the following. Acclimate yourself slowly.

    Finally, maybe try some forums specific to weight-loss surgery? Some people may have more intimate knowing of your specific situation.
  • ladiablo
    ladiablo Posts: 42 Member
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    I am in no ways an expert here, so definitely take this with a pinch of salt.... but you seem to get a lot of dairy. It's great for adding calories to a meal but many people develop intolerance late in life, which could mimic dumping syndrome. Lactose is a sugar, so that may be contributing too. Have you tried cutting back on dairy and increasing other calorie-dense foods, like nuts (cashews, walnuts, macadamia), avocados, peanut butter? Might be worth a shot! High fat, low carb so might help you keep food down a bit.

    Please tell me you take a good multivitamin to make up for the nutrients you aren't able to get through food!

    I do hope your doctor's running some bloodwork to rule out any metabolic, parasitic, and viral illnesses that may be interfering.

    Hope you start to feel better soon - please check back in over the next few weeks and let us know how you're doing!
  • sam45890
    sam45890 Posts: 43 Member
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    If you were losing weight like this and you hadn't had the bypass the doctor would surely be looking at other reasons for your weight loss. I think you need to ask them if they think there could be any other causes and ask for a referral to hospital if they can't give you any answers. Good luck.

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