CharlotteKat

I had gastric bypass surgery 5 years ago. I was incredibly determined and managed to lose 180 lbs. in a year's time. I'm 5' 9.5" and I went from a size 28 to a size 10. Now, I've regained a lot of weight and I'm starting over. I thought it might be helpful to list the steps that caused my weight gain. My goal is to tackle these 6 and starting moving in the right direction. Does anyone else have additional things that contributed to regaining weight? Stop weighing yourself Stop tracking your food intake Stop exercising Drink liquids with meals and ignore the 15 minutes before/30 minutes after rule Start eating your old favorite foods Stop visiting Bariatric Pal forums

Update - I have lost 3lbs. since my post last week. The 2 biggest things that have helped me get back on track is observing the 15 minutes before/30 minutes after meal rule for liquids and tracking all of my food on MyFitnessPal. Exercise is next on my to do list now that I've gotten the food situation under control.

I had posted this on the WLS Veterans forum, but thought it would be a good idea to post this on this forum as well. I had gastric bypass surgery 5 years ago. I was incredibly determined and managed to lose 180 lbs. in a year's time. I'm 5' 9.5" and I went from a size 28 to a size 10. Now, I've regained a lot of weight and I'm starting over. I thought it might be helpful to list the steps that caused my weight gain. My goal is to tackle these 6 and starting moving in the right direction. Does anyone else have additional things that contributed to regaining weight? Stop weighing yourself Stop tracking your food intake Stop exercising Drink liquids with meals and ignore the 15 minutes before/30 minutes after rule Start eating your old favorite foods Stop visiting Bariatric Pal forums

Pandemonium - Excellent Step! It needs to be 7 easy steps...

I'm 5 years out from surgery and I have to say the hair loss was distressing. I lost at least 1/3 of my hair. After I reached goal it took about a year to have a full head of hair again. This is because I was no longer on a super low calorie diet. The good thing is that your hair really will grow back.

I'm 5 years out from my surgery and dumping triggers change over time. I had a terrible time with breads and anything with more than 12g of sugar per serving initially. Now I can tolerate most breads and a bit more sugar. There's still a cut off for the amount of sugar I can consume before it makes me sick (Publix's Key Lime pie 🤢). I'm not sure why this changes over time, but it does get better. I still have issues with greasy fried foods, but that is probably a good thing since I automatically avoid them now.

It took about 3 months after surgery to start losing a good deal of hair. I lost almost 1/2 of my hair before I reached my goal weight. It is kind of disturbing while it is happening. I had to keep reminding myself that the hair would return. The good news is that your hair does grow back. Things started looking a lot better after 1 year. I'm 3 years out and I have my full head of hair back. A bit of advice - don't waste money on products that claim to grow hair. No product can fix hair loss while you are on a very low calorie diet. I see posts recommending shampoos and supplements. I took biotin after surgery and it didn't have any effect on my hair loss.

It's been 3 years since my gastric bypass. There has been one thing that has been on my mind and I'd like some feedback. Prior to surgery, I LOVED olives. I always had them in the house and often made olive tapenade. Since my bypass, I have zero desire to eat them. I bought a jar recently and ate just one olive. It just didn't taste good to me anymore. I suspect that the surgery changed my food preferences. Has anyone else found themselves disinterested in their old favorite foods after surgery?

The medical term for losing your hair is called Telogen Effluvium. The low calorie diet for months and months after surgery causes the hair loss. TE happens when there is a change in the number of hair follicles growing hair. If the number of hair follicles producing hair drops significantly for any reason during the resting, or telogen phase, there will be a significant increase in dormant, telogen stage hair follicles. The result is shedding, or TE hair loss. Sadly, there is no vitamin or hair care product that stops this. The only thing that does work is returning to a higher calorie diet for an extended amount of time. I lost 1/3 of my hair during my weight loss. When I reached goal weight and started to increase my calories, the shedding stopped. It has taken a full year for my hair to grow back. I finally have a full head of hair now. My best advice is to expect the hair loss and know that your hair will grow back again. Save your money for the new smaller clothes that you will be buying instead of wasting it on hair care products.

I've tried so many protein bars over the past few years. My top 2 favorites are Quest White chocolate Raspberry and Oh Yeah! Almond Bliss. Both are low sugar.

I have experience with this. I was referred to a hematologist and ended up getting an iron infusion. Iron pills and supplements do nothing after a gastric bypass because the part of your digestive tract that absorbs iron, the duodenum and proximal small intestine, are completely bypassed. I've ended up having 2 iron infusions, 1 each year. This will continue for the rest of my life. I do the day long infusion which is about 6 hours. I take things to read and watch on my phone. There are no side effects of any kind. The upside is that after about a month my energy level is greatly improved. The downside is the cost if you haven't met your deductible for the year. It costs me $1100 each time.

Iron supplements are a waste of time and money if you had gastric bypass. Most of the iron from foods such as meats, legumes, and iron-fortified grains is absorbed in the first part of your small intestine (duodenum). But after a gastric bypass procedure, food bypasses the duodenum. This means that it is IMPOSSIBLE to absorb iron supplements because they will NEVER pass through the your duodenum. It is shocking how many patients are not warned about this in advance. I found out about this because I developed a serious iron deficiency about a year after surgery. Now I have to see a hematologist and receive an iron infusion at least once a year. The infusion is expensive - about $1100 with insurance before meeting a deductible.

It really depends on how old you are when you have the surgery. I had the surgery right before I turned 50. Up to that point I looked younger than I was because the fat filled in my face so well. Now with all of that padding gone, I'm being offered the senior citizen discount everywhere I go. It's nice getting the discount, but a little depressing to look old enough to get it ahead of time.

Your loss sounds fine. I looked back and I had lost 76 lbs. in the same amount of time.

WannabeH, Please don't tell people that Iron supplements work when their ferritin is low. It is irresponsible and science does not support this. Please tell everyone what your ferritin levels were and NOT what your iron level was when you started your supplements. These 2 things are not the same thing. You can have a good iron level and poor ferritin level at the same time.

OK, folks, it seems that no one is comprehending what they did to the part of our stomachs that absorbs Iron. The duodenum is the part of our digestive tract that absorbs iron. Gastric bypass reroutes food so that it will NEVER pass through the duodenum ever again. This is why iron supplements are a waste of money. You would think that doctors and nurses would know about the duodenum being bypassed, but it appears that many do not know this. If you look at the picture then you can see that our new stomachs aren't attached to the duodenum anymore. http://www.women-info.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/obesity-64-gastricbypass.jpg

I developed an Iron deficiency after a year. My doctor sent me to a hematologist for an iron infusion. It turns out that our pouches have the section of our stomach that absorbs iron bypassed completely. My hematologist explained that no amount of iron supplements can change your ferritin level after surgery since the iron will just pass through you. It's odd that so many nurses and doctors don't seem know that our duodenum has been bypassed. Not every patient will develop iron issues. Make sure you know your ferritin level. Mine was at 33 ng/mL. Please note that your ferritin level is NOT the same as your iron level. You can have a normal iron level and low ferritin at the same time. This picture shows how the duodenum is bypassed after surgery. It makes it obvious why your supplements are never going to pass through it. http://www.women-info.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/obesity-64-gastricbypass.jpg Low ferritin levels can be serious for GB patients when left untreated. Iron infusions are the only known treatment that improves ferritin levels.

The "honeymoon phase" is that wonderful several months when you have no appetite at all. I had 6 months of no appetite which made it so easy to lose weight. My hunger started creeping back after that. The good news is that your level of hunger will never be as extreme as it was prior to surgery.

I am also in maintenance. I fiddled around with several calorie calculators online. The one that seemed to come up with a workable number of calories that is holding me steady can be found at http://www.healthycalculators.com/calories-intake-requirement.php According to an article in Bariatric Times, 130 gm of carbs a day seems to be maximum for losing and sustaining weight loss.

I doubt coffee is causing your stall. I looked back to see where I was at 52 days and I also saw a stall. Stalls will come and go no matter how careful you are. Enjoy your coffee and know that things will start moving again.

This is a very good video that shows what happens when you drink liquids after eating. Our new pouches let liquids push food through our stomachs. This can leave us feeling unsatisfied. It is very important to time food and liquids even after you reach goal weight. We are far smarter than our pouches so we will always need to wait after meals before drinking anything. Simply timing our fluids can help us all maintain our weight loss. Check it out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR0VM3mnsgM

My hematologist told me that the frequency of Iron infusions varies. If you are still having a period then you may need it more than once a year. They will check your iron level about 2 months after your infusion to estimate when you will need it again. If you are peri-menopausal or in menopause then you may be able to make the infusion last up to 2 years. I go back in mid October to have my levels checked. One thing is for sure, you will feel better after about 3 weeks. My energy level is so much better now.

You are getting uninformed advice from your clinic. You CANNOT absorb Iron after gastric bypass. If you have had gastric bypass, your duodenum is now bypassed. That's the part of your stomach that absorbs iron. My doctor sent me to a hematologist and she explained that no amount of supplements will ever raise your iron level because it is impossible to absorb it. She told me that the supplements whether they are pill or liquid are a complete waste of money. The only way to raise your iron level now is having an IV iron infusion. Red blood cells only live 120 days. With low iron, you are producing less and less red blood cells. If you don't correct this, you are going to become very weak and ill. Your red blood cell deficit will only get worse over time. Demand a referral to a hematologist as soon as you can!

I just went through an iron infusion a month ago. It took about 6 hours start to finish using Infed. I had no side effects of any kind. Now that my iron levels are up, my energy level has also gone up a great deal. The only downside was how long it took. You are sitting most of the time, but you can get up and take your infusion with you to the restroom if you need to go. I took my tablet with me to watch movies and to read. There is another infusion drug that only takes 30 minutes and you do it twice in 2 weeks. It is a far more expensive drug. Your insurance coverage may vary depending on which infusion you choose. The 6 hour drug, Infed, is the cheaper infusion.

There is a simple reason why you are anemic. Gastric bypass surgery reroutes the stomach so that the part that absorbs Iron, the duodenum, is no longer used. I became anemic after a year and required an iron transfusion. My hematologist carefully explained that no amount of supplements or food can change your iron levels with your duodenum bypassed. Red blood cells only live 120 days. Since we can't get enough iron, we slowly become anemic because we can't create enough new red blood cells to replace the ones that have died. It amazes me that the information you get at your doctor's office is often not very informed. I had a nurse tell me that it was fine to take iron supplements. That was really stupid on her part since we can't absorb iron. You would think that after hundreds of patients they would know better. Go figure.