catecholamine Member

Thanks. Sadly, there's no one around who is familiar with my surgery. My own primary care doctor keeps calling it "gastric bypass" even though it's not even close to gastric bypass. The problem is adding fats without adding carbohydrates. That means no regular milk, no ice cream, limited peanut butter. It mostly leaves…

I don't see my surgeon or anyone at his office anymore because he's several hours away. There's no one near that is familiar with my surgery. There are literally only 2 surgeons in my whole state who do the DS, and they work at the same office. So there really isn't anyone. Even if I drove out there, their nutritionist is…

So I don't know about other people, but for me specifically, what caused me forgetfulness, "brain fog", and cognitive problems so bad that my doc did a CT scan of my brain was...not enough fat. I went too low on fat, and after a few weeks, I became depressed, couldn't think worth a darn, like static in my brain. Went on…

Some people on DS boards/groups have told me I should eat more. Others said to just do what I'm doing. It's hard for me to eat more - I eat when I'm hungry and I can only eat so much at one time. I hate forcing food when I'm not hungry.

Fat works like fiber for DS'ers. Constipated? Eat fat. That's what we do. And it works. That's why my surgeon's nutritionist's advice to eat low fat was stupid. She couldn't tell me why I should eat low fat - while everything on the internet says moderate fat - just that I "shouldn't eat it just because I don't absorb…

I have to get more protein than a RNY, but every single meal is protein based. I am a night owl, so my first meal is usually lunch when I wake up. Every meal has more protein than anything else - unless it has more fat, which is okay.

Well...there's the issue of money. I can't afford to see a nut and my insurance does not cover it. I live off $760/month - and I pay my own rent, car insurance, all my bills. There's only really enough left over to buy my vites/protein powder. I had to pay an $1,800 fee for the surgery that covered a year's worth the nut…

I don't see an endo, my PCP manages my hypothyroidism/PCOS. I can't eat a lot of veggies - my stomach doesn't have much space now. Most of what I eat is meat or cheese for the protein. I exercise anywhere from 2-5 times a week for 45min to a little over an hour, depending on how I'm feeling and what I can tolerate that…

I'm not joking when I say this - there is not one single nutritionist that I'm aware of in my whole state that is educated on what someone with DS should eat. It's very different from sleeve or gastric bypass - it's heavier in fat and protein, some DS'ers eat 3,000+ calories a day - most coming from fat and protein. The…

I have discussed it with my surgeon. He basically said there's nothing more he can do. He said to just keep doing what I'm doing. Well, what I'm doing is not working. I've had to change my eating, get a check on my emotional eating, and had to gain some serious willpower, not to mention how horribly painful the surgery…

The symptoms of hypothyroidism are super common ones that can come from a thousand different problems. I have hypothyroidism. I found out from labs. If your labs say normal, the cause of your problems is not hypothyroidism so something that causes more thyroid hormones will not help your problem. Have other things tested.

Don't get lapband, whatever you do. It has the worst stats for losing weight, keeping it off, and quality of life. Also it is only designed to last 10yrs, then the contraption has to be replaced or removed. Another surgery. The one with the best stats for weight lost and keeping it off long term is Duodenal Switch. But…

The only thing is I shouldn't be absorbing most of those calories, and I'm not, at least some, because I can see that I'm not absorbing fat when I go to the bathroom (I know, TMI)...so one can assume I am also malabsorbing protein and complex carbs as well. So even on days where I eat 1900 calories a day, I'm only…

They told me to do what I'm doing and keep doing it, and I have been, and I'm not losing. Even when I should be losing even if I hadn't had surgery at all. :( All I can think to do at this point is see my surgeon and find out if it's possible to shorten my common channel (making me absorb less) and making my stomach…

To overeat enough to make up for the fat I'm not absorbing, I'd have to eat way more than an ounce here and there. I'd have to eat and not log whole meals. And I'm 100% positive I'm not absorbing at least a portion of the fat I'm eating....you don't wanna know how, lol.

Yep. I am. I weigh/measure everything, and my food scale is accurate.

Just checked my TDEE, looks like my BMR is actually 1960. TDEE is 2781.

Nope, just BMR. Obviously my TDEE would be higher. How much I eat varies from 1200 to 2000 (rarely) calories a day, but most of that is fat, which I don't absorb at least half of (refer to OP)...so I'm not really absorbing nearly as much as I'm eating.

You'd crap bricks if you saw the food diary of a DS'er that's a year out. Many get more than 4,000 calories a day, all fat and protein. Even the nutritionist told me to limit veggies. I need 120g protein a day and that is priority number 1.

Yawn. Saturated fats are not bad. Considering everyone in the DS community has told me on multiple occasions that I need to eat LESS lean meats and more fatty meats, more butter, more hwc, even suggested coffee with butter/coconut oil in it. But I don't like coffee. I have trouble getting the 150g a day in, and almost…

Actually, last time I was tested, my sodium was low and I was told to increase my sodium.

Google Duodenal Switch diabetes. They're actually doing the intestines portion of the DS on non-obese people to cure diabetes in other countries. I know someone personally who got it just to cure diabetes. And guess what? My a1c is now perfectly normal. My fasting sugars are perfectly normal. I'm not on a single diabetes…

Those are days I was on the road/out and busy and had to eat. I mostly prepare food at home. Saturated fats are not evil. Trans fats are bad, yes, but saturated? No. I can eat butter en masse if I want to get my fat up - in fact, butter and heavy whipping cream are supposed to be staples.

I'm inbetween. It's been hard....real hard. 70lbs in 4 1/2 months is not bad, however. But the main thing is I want weight loss that will stay off. And this surgery has the best stats for keeping it off long term. I don't expect to get down to 120lbs because I started with a BMI of 63. So, really....ask me in a year.

Yeah, right. Google it. Go to dsfacts.com and read up if you don't believe me. FYI I've lost 70lbs in 4 1/2 months. So...I must be doing something right. Tried low fat. Lost no weight, hair fell out, skin went dry and started breaking out, was nauseated all the time. Bumped fat up, started losing weight again, and my hair…

Yep, and I have a reason for this. I found myself losing a pound a day when I did 80g carbs or so. So I was trying that. I had to have something that was carb-dense and not something that would take up tons of stomach space. Some DS'ers found success with it. But it messed me up too much, made me ill, not doing it again.

You realize that DS'ers are supposed to follow high protein high fat diet, yes? McDonalds burgers without a bun is...high protein, high fat. GASP WHO WOULD EAT HIGH FAT HIGH PROTEIN ON A HIGH FAT HIGH PROTEIN DIET!?!?! Btw, it's not like I even eat there every day.

I called her stupid because she called me a liar and said I was fooling myself if I thought surgery kept me from absorbing macros. She was wrong. 30 seconds of reading with google could have informed her.

WRONG! I'm supposed to eat FATTY MEATS. I need fat to absorb my vites. I need 150g fat A DAY!! I am supposed to NOT eat much beans because they are loaded in carbs and cause me digestive problems now. I'm supposed to eat absolutely no more than 2 tablespoons of veggies per meal, twice a day max.

So what? How is a beef patty fried at home SO MUCH BETTER? I don't have the bun, so it meets my carb macros. It's high in protein and fat, which is what I need. How is it wrong when it fits my macros so perfectly? I don't eat fries, I don't eat pies, I don't drink sweet tea. I get water and a mcdouble no bun. So just meat…