2 Weeks And 2 Days Post-Op ..... So Discouraged!

[Scooterbug 13]

As the title states..I am 2 weeks and 2 days Post-op..and I am feeling so discouraged.

Prior to surgery I was losing weight on a daily basis (1 to 2 pounds a day)... after surgery I have lost nothing!! I can seriously not wrap my brain around how I could be eating extremely less then i was Pre-Op and have not dropped a single pound in 2 weeks time

My diet consists of all Protein (fish, chunked chicken, chunked ham) and almost no carbs at all. My intake of food is maybe 1/8 of what I was eating Pre-Op, but I was losing weight then...now nothing. I just can't figure out what I am doing wrong. My wife keeps telling me to wait until I get a fill to see what happens..but really..If I am eating less then before and not losing, I don't see how a fill will help at all.

I waited so long to have this procedure, and jumped through every hoop in the book to get it..only to feel like it's not working at all

[angel70 11]

Hi Scoiterbug - out of curiosity how much calories do you have in a day - the reason I ask that apparently not eating enough calories can actually hinder your loss !!!!

[vlp1968 83]

Agreed, you are probably not taking in enough calories. Why not go back to what you were eating preop when you were loosing rapidly? Are you too tight to do that?

[Scooterbug 13]

Hi Scoiterbug - out of curiosity how much calories do you have in a day - the reason I ask that apparently not eating enough calories can actually hinder your loss !!!!

Right now I am trying to get in between 1200 and 2000 calories a day. Pre-op when I was doing the strictly low carb diet I stalled out a few times. In the past I only lost weight doing 600 calories or less. My dietitian at the time (pre-op) told me to go back to calorie counting if it worked. When I went back to calorie counting (600 or less) I lost 30+ pounds pre-op. My surgeon told me "don't worry about calories, just eat less then 30 carbs a day".

[Scooterbug 13]

Agreed, you are probably not taking in enough calories. Why not go back to what you were eating preop when you were loosing rapidly? Are you too tight to do that?

Not too tight to eat yet, haven't had a fill yet. Pre-op I was doing 600 calories or less...consisted of no Breakfast or lunch....a diet soda during the day..and some chicken or fish for dinner..thats it.

[carolann0117 5]

Also... remember that you are recovering from surgery. Sometimes the body takes time to catch up. Make sure also, that you are doing some exercise ~ walking 30 - 40 minutes every day....

[Sojourner 2,446]

What were your surgeon/nutritionist instructions to you...and are you following them? Are you exercising on a regular basis?

I was advised to never count calories, only make healthy food choices and measure my portions. Every meal consists of 3 oz of lean Protein and 2 oz of a Fiber carb, measured by weight after cooking.

My philosophy is a bit different than many others who participate on this forum. I'm not trying to get my band overfilled to create restriction to curb my intake of food. I've been very conservative to have my band filled, and prefer to accept more of the responsibility for my weight loss by managing my hunger myself.

So far, my approach has been working well for me, so I intend to stay with it...

I've found that there are 3 situations which will stall my weight loss: not enough calories, not enough Protein, and not enough exercise.

That said, your number of calories a day seems a bit too high for weight loss. It does matter to make healthier food choices...avoid extra fats and anything "white". I shop only on the periphery of the grocery store; I avoid the bakery and focus on the produce, meat, and dairy sections.

I hope that some of this information will help...

[Lori Voss Green 93]

I had a couple of weeks post surgery where I bounced around the same 3 lbs....up and down. Do NOT be discouraged. Your body is still healing too! I had swelling for weeks after. It WILL happen. In this last week I have had TWO days where the scale moved at least 2 lbs. It takes time. We didn't put the weight on overnight and we won't lose it overnight. Your body needs time to adjust to the HUGE difference it is being put through.

I was actually going to say what Sojourner did about calories. My max is 1200 in a day. My goal range is 900-1200. I know all dr's are different, but it does seem like the calorie range is high. HOWEVER, follow whatever YOUR doctor is telling you.

[gottobeme 81]

I wonder if you were eating less than 600 calories a day if your body is not just adjusting to having had surgery but also the amount of calories your body is now getting. How long were you eating less than 600 calories a day? It sounds extreme to me, hopefully it was not for a very long period.

I spent 8 months before my surgery working with the nutritionist and was on an 1100-1400 calorie diet. As a part of watching the calories I also was aware of what they were coming from, i.e., Protein, veggies, carbs, supplements. I wasn't always good about sticking to it but did loose a significant amount of weight.

I'm sorry to hear you are getting conflicting information from your doctors & nutritionist but please don't get too discouraged. It is a lifelong change for us and some of us loose faster than others. My weight loss since surgery has been slower than prior to surgery but as I mentioned I lost a significant amount pre op so I feel it is normal for it to be slower now.

Hang in there and if the nutritionist you were working with before is familiar with bariatric surgeries see if you are able to return to them. They will probably be more helpful than the surgeons office at this point. I know my clinic has nutritionist follow up appointments for a least 1 year post op.

[Scooterbug 13]

Also... remember that you are recovering from surgery. Sometimes the body takes time to catch up. Make sure also, that you are doing some exercise ~ walking 30 - 40 minutes every day....

Exercise at the moment is a bit tough...to elaborate... After surgery I had a good bit of pain near my port area. I figured this is normal and it would go away in time. My doc had me on the standard liquid hydrocodone for pain. I soon found out that the hydrocodone would not even come close to helping the pain.

A week after surgery the pain got worse..and one day it got to an almost unbearable level. I saw my doctor again that day and he checked and made sure everything was ok with the band. He did say that the port is pinching a nerve, which is making all the muscles in that area spasm. he gave me Tramadol to relax the muscles (makes me sleepy too). Even though the Tramadol eases the pain..I can still feel it there when I walk, sit, or sleep. My doc said the next step is for him to do an injection that will deaden the nerve so the pain will stop. So basically, at the moment, walking for then 10 feet agitates the nerve and causes pain. I think I may call the doc tomorrow and tell him I need the injection.

[Scooterbug 13]

What were your surgeon/nutritionist instructions to you...and are you following them? Are you exercising on a regular basis?

I was advised to never count calories, only make healthy food choices and measure my portions. Every meal consists of 3 oz of lean Protein and 2 oz of a Fiber carb, measured by weight after cooking.

My philosophy is a bit different than many others who participate on this forum. I'm not trying to get my band overfilled to create restriction to curb my intake of food. I've been very conservative to have my band filled, and prefer to accept more of the responsibility for my weight loss by managing my hunger myself.

So far, my approach has been working well for me, so I intend to stay with it...

I've found that there are 3 situations which will stall my weight loss: not enough calories, not enough Protein, and not enough exercise.

That said, your number of calories a day seems a bit too high for weight loss. It does matter to make healthier food choices...avoid extra fats and anything "white". I shop only on the periphery of the grocery store; I avoid the bakery and focus on the produce, meat, and dairy sections.

I hope that some of this information will help...

Instructions were basically to not worry about calories...just to 75 to 80 grams of protein a day, and less then 30 carbs. Plus we were given a sheet with what we could eat certain amount of days after..such as 1 to 7 days after, 8 to 12 days after, etc, etc.

[gottobeme 81]

Exercise at the moment is a bit tough...to elaborate... After surgery I had a good bit of pain near my port area. I figured this is normal and it would go away in time. My doc had me on the standard liquid hydrocodone for pain. I soon found out that the hydrocodone would not even come close to helping the pain.

A week after surgery the pain got worse..and one day it got to an almost unbearable level. I saw my doctor again that day and he checked and made sure everything was ok with the band. He did say that the port is pinching a nerve, which is making all the muscles in that area spasm. he gave me Tramadol to relax the muscles (makes me sleepy too). Even though the Tramadol eases the pain..I can still feel it there when I walk, sit, or sleep. My doc said the next step is for him to do an injection that will deaden the nerve so the pain will stop. So basically, at the moment, walking for then 10 feet agitates the nerve and causes pain. I think I may call the doc tomorrow and tell him I need the injection.

No wonder! I hope things get better soon. Based on this, your body is going through a lot! Don't worry about weight loss at this time. Worry about getting this resolved, the weight loss will come.

[Scooterbug 13]

I wonder if you were eating less than 600 calories a day if your body is not just adjusting to having had surgery but also the amount of calories your body is now getting. How long were you eating less than 600 calories a day? It sounds extreme to me, hopefully it was not for a very long period.

I spent 8 months before my surgery working with the nutritionist and was on an 1100-1400 calorie diet. As a part of watching the calories I also was aware of what they were coming from, i.e., Protein, veggies, carbs, supplements. I wasn't always good about sticking to it but did loose a significant amount of weight.

I'm sorry to hear you are getting conflicting information from your doctors & nutritionist but please don't get too discouraged. It is a lifelong change for us and some of us loose faster than others. My weight loss since surgery has been slower than prior to surgery but as I mentioned I lost a significant amount pre op so I feel it is normal for it to be slower now.

Hang in there and if the nutritionist you were working with before is familiar with bariatric surgeries see if you are able to return to them. They will probably be more helpful than the surgeons office at this point. I know my clinic has nutritionist follow up appointments for a least 1 year post op.

The nutritionist I was dealing with was at a different practice then the doc who actually did my surgery. I saw that nutritionist for the 6 month supervised weight loss. At that time I was given a list of foods, and told "Keep carbs to 30 grams or less a day, and don't worry about calories". I did this for several months and lost maybe 1 or 2 pounds a month. The nutritionist said I should be dropping weight like crazy. I told her the only times in my life I actually lost weight was when I did EXTREME calorie counting, 600 calories or less a day. She told me to go with what works. So I did..and that when I started losing. Even after losing almost 30 pounds..the doctor at that practice still accused me of eating "cake and ice cream"....If I was I certainly wouldn't have lost almost 30 pounds.

Due to one physician quitting the practice, another not being able to operate at any hospital in town, and a complete breakdown by there office staff...I went to another doctor and he was the one who did my surgery. I lost another 9 pounds on the Pre-Op diet, which brought my total Pre-Op loss to 39 pounds.

I will find out if my newer doc has a nutritionist to work with.

[Morganjm 5]

Scooterbug, u may want to try weight watchers for men online. I did weight watchers from april - august online and lost 40lbs. I am going to go back on it after I can eat regular food again. My surgery was sept 19th. Im on full liquids still. I am also having a lot of burning pain under the bigger incision, hoping it lets up soon.