mylighthouse

I replied to this topic a few days ago, but since then I have seen my thyroid doctor. He had to increase my dosage of Levothyroxine from 175 mcgs to 200 mcgs. I have to go back in for more bloodwork and a follow up in 6 weeks. I had been on 175 mcgs for I think at least a couple of years. My sleeve surgery was 11-14-16 and since October, I have lost over 80 pounds. I had thought that as I lost weight, my dosage would decrease, but that is not true in my case.

Congratulations on your weight loss! You look great... awesome and keep up the good work!

That's great that you already have the healthy diet under control. I changed the way I ate before surgery.... had a meeting with my nutritionist a couple of months before surgery and she helped me so much. I started cutting back on the amount of carbs that I was eating (cut out all starchy veggies) and focused on high protein foods and healthy veggies. I was able to drop 20 pounds a month and a half before my surgery (my surgery was on November 14). Now at almost 5 months out, I focus on a high protein, low carb diet. As you probably know, they want you to get at least 60 grams of protein a day after surgery. I am getting 90-100 grams of protein a day, which has really helped me to drop the weight. I eat about a 3 ounce portion of protein (sometimes less) for lunch and dinner. Starting with my meat first, and then I am only able to eat a few bites of non-starchy veggies before I get full. I eat mostly chicken, sometimes fish or boiled plain shrimp, and sometimes steak or even the occasional piece of pork loin. I have never been a big breakfast eater, so I usually just have a few almonds and part of a Premier chocolate protein shake for breakfast. Eating high protein helps you stay full longer and low carbs keep you from really getting hungry. I also use Isopure non flavored protein powder to get my extra protein in. That stuff is awesome! When I first had my surgery, I was on full liquids for 2 weeks, then 2 weeks of pureed food, then 2 weeks of "soft" food. Then after that, I went to regular food. During the liquid, pureed and soft food, I used to eat cottage cheese, plain lowfat low carb/low sugar yogurt and a piece of string cheese everyday. I don't really eat those foods anymore, and because I've had such terrible constipation problems, I've had to cut all cheese out of my diet.

Yes, I'm still on levo. I imagine when I see my thyroid doctor this week he will go up on the dosage. I have not felt the lack of energy, etc the entire 5 months post op. From about post op months 2 and 3 I had energy and was exercising regularly. I think that maybe after the doctor makes a change in my thyroid dosage I will start to feel better. I have absolutely NO REGRETS that I had this surgery. I have lost a lot of weight and can do things now that I couldn't do before. And the weight just keeps coming off. I am getting healthier and feeling very happy that I had the surgery.

It sounds like it might be acid reflux. That said, I will tell you that I am almost 5 months post op and for over the last month I have had vomiting off and on, nausea almost every day and severe constipation as well as severe abdominal pain. I have followed up with my surgeon and unfortunately also had a few trips to the ER and 2 days in the hospital a week ago. Without going into all the details, I was told when all of this first started, that the vomiting and nausea was probably due to my severe constipation. So, if you have been constipated at all, the vomiting might be related to that. Wish you the best and hope that you feel better.

I had an awful lot of pain in one of the incision sites. It was the incision that they pulled part of the stomach out of, and probably the incision that they inserted all of the tools, etc. I also had quite a bit of bruising around that one very painful incision. Day 4 post op for me was my worst day. I can remember thinking why did I do this, the pain was that bad. But then on day 5, I felt a little better... but that one incision still hurt awfully bad. I actually hurt for a couple of weeks and did take my pain syrup everyday for that two weeks. Thankfully, I did not have any gas pains at all. I have read that most people have to deal with that unfortunately. If you are still in a lot of pain tomorrow, it is always best to give your doctor's office a call and let them know. It's always best to be on the safe side. I hope you feel better soon.

I am almost 5 months post op. I have had a terrible time with constipation. I have severe abdominal pain constantly and have been to the ER plus was in the hospital for two days last week. They did another colonoscopy last weekend and everything was normal. My gastro doctor said I have IBS with constipation. It has also been causing nausea and vomiting from time to time. Now I am on Amitiza and Miralax everday. As far as fiber goes, my surgeon said he doesn't want me taking a fiber supplement because he said I would really have to drink a lot of water with those. I googled a list of foods high in soluble fiber and have been trying to eat them along with my 3 ounces of protein at lunch and dinner. I have added some black beans, but not every day because they are high in carbs and I like to keep my carbs low. I've also been eating brussel sprouts and beets and staying away from the lower fiber veggies like salad and green beans, etc. It really is very difficult to get the fiber that we need. I believe the recommended fiber intake for women is 25 grams a day. I am way under that, because I focus on getting my protein first and then I can only eat a few bites of the fiber rich beans or veggies.

Hello, I am almost 5 months post op. I have hypothyroidism and have been on medication to treat it for over 35 years. In October I weighed in at 324 and I'm now down to 244. So with a loss of 80 pounds, I thought that perhaps my doctor would have to make an adjustment on my levothyroxine and possibly go down on the dosage. I just assumed that as I lost weight, the lower the dosage of medication I would need. However, I just spent a couple of nights in the hospital for other issues, and while I was there, they did bloodwork. The results showed that my TSH level was high, which really surprised me. I have two follow up appointments with my doctors this week, and one will be with my thyroid doc. I wouldn't be surprised if he actually ups the dosage of my thyroid medication. I am currently taking 175mcgs a day and have been at the current dosage for over 2 years. As far as how I feel.... tired, most of the time. Worn out and a great lack of energy. But, I am having other health issues too that aren't related to my thyroid.

Congratulations on your weight loss! As far as a shake alternative, have you tried an unflavored protein powder? I have used Unjury and Isopure, and they are really a great alternative to shakes, because you can mix them into drinks and/or foods such as yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. The powder mixes well into Crystal Light, Powerade Zero, or, my favorite, decaf iced tea. I like the fact that it will help me get my protein up to 90-100 grams a day, which has been the magic number for me dropping the weight over the last few weeks. You might want to give it a try.

I agree with orionburn, it is best to start with decaf. That's what I did. Then my nutritionist cleared me for regular coffee at 12 weeks post op. She said to start slowly, which I did. I handled it just fine and now at 4 and a half months post op, I drink 1-3 cups of coffee a day. But I have read where some people's nuts or doctors don't want them getting back on the caffeine at all, so your best bet is to check with them.

I think you need to get in to talk to your nutritionist asap. When I was at 12 weeks post op, my nutritionist said my calories needed to be around 700-750 a day. That was at 12 weeks, and you are only 3 weeks post op. You are getting in way too many calories for where you are at post op right now. I am 4 and a half months out and eat 800 calories a day. Also, keeping the carbs down will help. I agree that lean meats like fish and chicken would be best right now. Protein bars may not be the best choice as most of them are high in calories. Lean meats and NON starchy vegetables are your best choice. I also like to keep my protein up around 100 grams a day. The higher protein, the fuller you will feel. The more carbs you eat, the hungrier you will be. Your nutritionist could really help guide you and show you some good things right now.

Hello, I am over 4 months post op. I have stalled a few times. The last time I really stalled was around 12 weeks post op. At that time, I saw my nutritionist and she said that I needed to get my calories up over 650 a day, and that if I didn't, it would be difficult for me to lose weight. I also increased my protein to 100 grams a day and I keep my carbs around 25-40 grams a day. Ever since I started doing those things, the weight has been steadily coming off and I haven't hit any more stalls. Now at 4 and a half months, I am eating between 775-900 calories a day. Just in the past two weeks I've dropped 10 pounds.

Congratulations on your weight loss and for making yourself healthier! Keep up the hard work! You look awesome.

I agree about upping the calories... sometimes you might think that you should be losing weight with as low of calories as you are getting, but actually, it is just the opposite. You might not be getting enough calories to get that metabolism going. Also, I picked up speed in dropping weight when I lowered my carb intake to under 40 grams a day and when I increased my protein to 100 grams a day. Also increased my fluid intake. Since I started doing all those things over the past 6 weeks, I have not stalled. The weight is rapidly coming off and I am at almost 5 months post op. It is great that you are tracking your food, because you can keep track of your carbs, protein and calories that way and I believe that really helped me to find a good balance. Also, meeting with my NUT helped me a lot, she was the one that told me I wasn't getting enough calories. Wish you the best.

Yes, you will need to stay close to the bathroom after drinking the magnesium citrate. Congratulations on the arrival of your surgery day! I wish you the very best and a speedy recovery.

You're looking great! Congratulations and keep up the good work!

You are able to take care of yourself. At least I was, and my starting weight the day of surgery was 300 pounds. I could get out of bed by myself, although it did hurt when sitting up, because the incisions were sore, especially the largest incision from which they pulled part of the stomach out. And I had quite a lot of bruising around the largest incision, so that made it really sore. But no trouble at all walking, preparing meals, etc.... everything was pretty normal. My worst day for pain was day 4. Then it started getting better. I have seen where some people hardly hurt at all and didn't even need pain pills. Everyone is different. My husband did stay home with me for a few days and he helped with the cooking for him and my son and he helped me out with chores (I couldn't bend over the washing machine to load it). Other than that, you should be fine. Just don't overdo it and get your rest, afterall, it is a major surgery. Now I see you are doing the lap-band. I guess it will be a little different, but I'm assuming they still go in through incisions when they perform lap-band laproscopically. I wish you the best and a speedy recovery!

Sorry to hear that you are losing that much hair. I am just over 4 and a half months post-op and I have been wondering when I was going to start losing mine. Well, it has started. I have noticed long strands of hair coming out on my clothes, in the bath and shower, and of course really coming out when I brush my hair.

My favorite drink has become unsweetened iced tea. And it's great by itself but you can also add unflavored protein powder to it, which gives you some protein.

When I was on my soft food phase I ate scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt, string cheese, baked salmon, chicken cooked in cream of chicken soup (to keep it nice and soft and moist), low carb meatloaf, canned carrots, canned green beans, mashed sweet potatoes. I stayed away from pork and beef, because they are too heavy and not soft or easy to chew, with the exception of meatloaf. I also got my protein in first and would have only a few bites of the soft vegetables. I didn't fill up on carbs, so when I ate sweet potatoes, it would just be a few bites.

Congratulations! I wish you the best on your surgery!

Hello Currently I am using Isopure, but I have also used Unjury. They are both good ones.

I absolutely love plain iced decaf tea. I drink a lot of it during the day. And I also mix my unflavored protein powder in it and it tastes good. You could add a sugar substitute to it like Stevia, and even some lemon if you like.

Hello, I just looked it up on a grams to tablespoons converter and 27 grams is the equivalent of 1.89 tablespoons. So, almost equal to 2 tablespoons. Hope that helps.

@MissymayorThank you. I just got home this afternoon from a 2 day stay at the hospital. They did a camera down the throat and one up the other end (colonoscopy) today. Then the gastro doctor met me in recovery, told me everything looked good, but gave me a diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome, constipation and also said that the severe abdominal pain is likley because of those things as well as bad scar tissue and adhesions from my previous open abdominal surguries. For now, I am to keep taking the Amitiza and then do a follow up in two weeks for more info/insight into the IBS issue. I am taking Zofran for the nausea. It is helping. Thanks again for your response. Sorry to hear you have had the bad constipation problem and pain too... I hope you are doing better now.