mlfontan

To give you a back ground to my story. I have a history(hx) of 4 back surgeries(sx) & 4 jaw sx with instrumentation. After a failed Lumbar fusion. I suffer from chronic back pain & myofacial pain and gained a lot of weight due to inactivity, previous weight issues and multiple steroids injections. I was taking 17 meds most for pain management. My MD recommended I have a Morphine pump implanted for pain management which I refused as I thought it was too drastic. I researched the VSG as it was also advised. Co-morbidities going to the VSG were: hypothyroididm, HTN, diabetes,chronic pain, chronic migrains, TMJ, GERD, gastritis. I had the first VSG on 6/2012. Phase 1 & 2 were ok did well with liquids and pureed foods, although I was extremely weak. Lost 12 lbs the 1st wk. 2wks following was down 25lbs. Went on to phase 3 to introduce soft foods. As I started doing that I began having severe reflux. To the point the food was backing up, it was violent. As if the food could not come down my stomach. The MD ordered upper GI series & Barium Swallow. It revealed a 4mm stricture & Hiatal Hernia that developed. By this time I could not hold anything down but liquids. Lost about 65lbs. So I had to have a VSG revision and a Hernia repair. This was done 7/12/13. After the 2nd VSG the reflux dwindled to zero and I lost up to 95lbs up to November of 2014. During September and the months following until Jan 2015 I had a series of 6 epidural injections for back pain and cortisone for shoulder pain. I always have been very sensitive to steroids and tend to gain weight with it. ***From November of 2014 until Jan 2015 I gained 20 lbs. I went to my PCP in Nov weight 131 and in Jan I weighted 150. Of course I knew I had gained because I weigh myself weekly but I don't know how I gained the weight. *there was no change in my eating habits. *my labs were recent and normal. *no change in meds or dosages. *I still document EVERYTHING I eat daily. I use My Fitness Pal. *I weigh my portions. 800-950 calories average. *I don't eat junk or juices or breads, rice, Pasta, grains. All eliminated. *Drinking one Protein shake per day. *meeting my Protein goal of 70gm and under 80 carbs a day *drink about 6 glasses of Water a day. I have gone back and reviewed ALL the material I was given. I contacted the NUT. She stresses to stay under 80gm of carbs to loose weight. Don't count calories but stay under 1000. I usually average 800-950. I CONSIDERING IT COULD HAVE BEEN THE INJECTIONS. I cut back on portions. I eliminated some foods in was eating. I was testing some menus on MFP that were at about the 50gm carb range. To see what I could eat. Basically I would have to go backTo 2 shakes a day and one meal. My BIG PROBLEM is that I take 17 meds a day. Which means that the GERD condition returned & I'm now having reflux almost daily. What I had to do before is take the meds with milk every 4hrs which ups the carbs. My sx office said yesterday to see the Gastro. If they confirm the GERD is too severe which they told me is a risk with the VSG, then they would recommend I have a recession to a RNY.???? I NEED to STOP THE 6GAIN, loose 30 lbs TO MEET GOAL, get the GERD UNDER CONTROL, cause I can't stop taking the other meds. HELP!!!????????????

Hi. But if you are active and working at night, what difference does it make? Your living hour change to mostly night. You have to eat at some point. You would be sleeping during the day. It also depends on what stage of the process you are in. May be it would be good you do your protein shake at work with a very light meal. Ex: I consider a light meal small green apple with 2 oz of white cheese strings. Hope that helps.????

Unfortunately I was not advised the GERD could get worse. Originally my doctor was going to perform the RNY but at the last minute he changed his mind and said he thought it was best for me to have the VSG. Since I was on the fence I agreed. I mean he is the doctor and should know best. Little did I know I would end with all the complications. ???? But believe me this time I am drilling every one I see for information. I would have a revision to a RNY if I have a good chance of getting better & jerking the weight down. I had labs recently with a metabolic panel and my thyroid is ok. So I know is not that. ????

Thanks. I'll see what the gastroenterologist says and the surgeon's recommendation and go from there. In the mean time I'm lowering my carbs down from 80 to 50 to see what happens. Thanks for the response. I'll keep you all posted.????

Thanks

Anyone have any thought or comments about my situation? Looking for some feedback. What I'm seeing is that the info my NUT gave me is not consistent with the #'s you all are using. For example. The amount of carbs v. Protein. I was told to keep carbs at or under 80 and protein at or above 60 for weight loss. Per item carb 6gm or lower, sugar 5gm or lower, otherwise don't touch it. Don't count calories but stay under 1000. I've been averaging 800-950 or so. Sometimes get to 1000. I would appreciate any feedback. Especially if anyone is dealing with taking large amounts of meds due to other conditions (4 back surgeries, chronic pain, nerve damage, chronic migraine, 4 jaw sx with instrumentation, hypothyroidism, depression) have had 13 surgeries since 2006 ????. It has not been easy and I am not esp open to the possibility of a revision to a RNY in the GERD does not get under control. Thanks.

@rgodfrey09@mlfontan No I have not yet but today I was testing some menus on MFP that were at about the 50gm carb range. To see what I could eat. Basically I would have to go back To 2 shakes a day and one meal. My BIG PROBLEM is that I take 17 meds a day. Which means that it has affected the GERD condition greatly. I'm now having reflux almost daily. What I had to do before is take the meds with milk every 4hrs which ups the carbs. My sx office said yesterday to see the Gastro. If they confirm the GERD is too severe which they told me is a risk with the VSG, then they would recommend I have a recession to a RNY.???? I NEED to STOP THE GAIN, loose 30 lbs TO MEET GOAL, get the GERD UNDER CONTROL, cause I can't stop taking the other meds. HELP!!!????????????

Also I forgot to add since last year I have has 5 epidural injections for pain which are steroids. I'm typically very sensitive to these and have gained weight In the past although MD says you should not. I'm not sure if that is the source of the problem because since injections I have cut on portion sizes and good selections to pinpoint the problem but nothing seems to work.

@startingoveryeyagain I can relate with how you feel. I have been overweight all my life plus I have hypothyroidism which makes my metabolism super slow. So no matter if I was a low eater, I exercised regularly, even with a trainer for over a year did not loose significant weight. I also had 4 low back surgeries that limited my exercise capability, 4 jaw surgeries that required a soft diet. So I researched the VSG v. Morphine pump which was recommended by my MD at the time since after all the sx I had gained up to 236 and I'm only 5'0. Had the VSG on 6/12/2012. Has a very difficult road to recovery, was very weak and in pain but did not have a problem with the diet initially. In phase 1 & 2 lost 25lbs. In phase 3 as I started to introduce solid foods the gastritis I had at the beginning of as came back. (Other co-morbidities HBP, diabetes, hypothyroidism, chronic back pain & chronic migrains). But it was violent GERD. I could not hold anything down. The MD ordered a Barrium swallow & X-Ray. I had developed a serious structure & Hernia. So I had a VSG revision with a hernia repair on 7/12/13. By this time I had lost about 65 lbs since the 1st sx. After the 2nd VSG I went down to 126. So I lost a total of 91 lbs until November of 2014 when the scale started to come up. I started to gain weight, I am baffled as to why. *I document EVERYTHING I EAT. I USE My Fitness Pal. *I weight my portions. *I am exercising at least 3x a week for 1.5hrs walk, bike, strength. *I am drinking about 50oz water daily. No juices, nothing else but water or milk. No alcohol. *I have my protein drink for breakfast. Have lunch, dinner and a small meal at night with meds. So having 4 meal a day. Per program on maintenance should have 5 small meals a day but can't fit all. *sometimes get hungry if I wait 6+ hours without eating. *my protein sources are usually 3oz chicken breast, lean hickory ham, 1 egg, cottage cheese, white cheese, milk. *I have 2 small fruits a day Per the guidelines. One green apple with no skin & one small peach with no skin. I eat it with white cheese to combine the carb & protein. That is a small meal. *when I have chicken I make a small salad with lettuce, tomatoes & carrots. I use thousand island dressing Per my guide that is 6gm carb, 5gm sugar. So I would appreciate if anyone takes the time to read my post, for someone who is 3 yrs post op with all I've been throughout, is it normal to gain weight? What I'm I doing wrong? My labs are ok. I spoke with the NUTshe sugg to drink a shake and doc all intake but I already do that. I am keeping my carbs at or under 80gms daily, protein 60-80gmgaily to loose per the NUT. She said don't count calories but stay under 1000. Which I'm usually between 800-900. My other MD's day it's too little. So, someone out there please HELP ME I NEED TO START TO LOOSE WEIGHT AGAIN. MY GOAL IS TO LOOSE 30 MORE LBS.????

Amazing. Congrats!????