A true story of protein deficiency

[vluckey 1]

For anyone struggling to get their daily intake of Protein in, or anyone who doesn't take protein seriously, here's my story of what it can do to you.

I gave birth to my daughter on March 8th by c-section. (She's perfect and beautiful). Up until her delivery I had no problems with my band. I had gained 35 lbs and was eating without too many problems. Right after giving birth all of the sudden my band was swollen to the point where I could barely drink Water. After several weeks of dismissing this as post surgical swelling I began to be concerned. I talked to my doc who basically said give it more time. I put several threads on LBT to see if anyone else had dealt with this. Very little response, nothing that really helped.

I finally had an upper gi done and sure enough, I was really restricted. No one could figure out why. My doc could only suggest replace my current band with a larger one. I told him to wait a few more weeks. By now, I'm living on water and what Protein shakes I could get down.

When I went for my 4 week check up with my ob/gyn we talked about my band issue. When I told her what was going on she told me that she had noticed "edema" (swelling) in my organs when she did my c-section. I believe in wellness and nutrition, so I went to Wild Oats and talked with a nutritionist about swelling. He went to a nutritional book and it gave several suggestions with the number 1 reason given for edema being protein deficiency, the second being a B6 deficiency. This made sense to me because toward the end of my pregnancy I had gotten lax in getting protein in.

So, I got some more Protein Shakes (that was easier for me to drink) and a B6 supplement. It took about 10 days before I felt a significant difference and I basically had to suck down 2-3 shakes a day, getting 65-100 grams of protein. Some days I would nurse a shake for 2 hours.

Now its been 8 weeks since she was born, the last 2 I have returned to almost normal.

Here's the thing, had I not talked to my ob/gyn who had done my c-section I would never have known about what she observed. How many of us are walking around with swollen organs and don't know it. How does it affect us if our heart is swollen or our liver???

Of course, I'm not a doctor, so this is only the opinion of someone who doesn't trust doctors. (although I love my lapband doc). BUT, we never know what the effects of some of our eating habits are until we have symptoms. Had I not had a baby, I would have not known this for a lot longer.

Please please please get your protein!

[Lap_dancer 8]

Thanks for sharing that Vanessa. Glad everything is working out for you and congratulations on your new little girl!

[fabfatgrl 10]

Thanks for sharing your story. I know that when I got pregnant with my first Lap-Band baby, I was probably deficient in a lot of nutrients. I was so restricted.. and was happy that I was losing so well... that I kind of ignored it. BUT, deep down I knew... so the second I found out I was preggers, I got unfilled. The good thing is that during pregnancy, your body puts the baby first... but I have no doubt that if I had kept a fill, I could have faced nutritional issues myself.

[louise162 0]

Thank you so much for sharing! I've been feeling really crappy for a few weeks and not losing any weight at all. I looked up Protein deficiency in response to this post and I have realised that I've been eating less than 10g of protein a day and that I am deficient. My hair is rough and my liver is tender. Thanks to your input I can now put things right!

[vluckey 1]

Thanks for your responses. Louise, your post is exactly why I posted my long thread. I'm so glad you took it seriously. I guarantee you will not lose weight if you don't get your Protein in. What weight you would lose could be muscle mass.

Here's the thing, it only took a few weeks of me being lazy to get myself in that mess. I am normally a Protein freak. Find a Protein powder you really enjoy and find as many ways to drink it as you can. Add with Peanut Butter, banana's, strawberries, frozen mango, instant coffee, almond extract, mint extract, etc. Make it like a shake or a smoothie. Add vanilla yogurt or heck, ice cream! Get it in get it in get it in!

fabfatgirl- congrats on another baby. I knew I'd get preggers when I had lost 60 lbs. I figured I have the rest of my life to lose weight, only so long to have babies. It took me 10 years to get started because of my weight!

[travelgirl 3]

I have been falling short of my 60 grams of Protein lately, and all the Protein shakes I've tried give me explosive diarrhea. (sorry so graphic) Anyhow, I'm renewing my protein Quest to find a form of protein supplement that I can stomach without the horrible side effects. I actually sharted at work the other day, and was mortified. Needless to say, that cannot happen again. And it doesn't, as long as I stay away from the Protein Shakes.

Thanks for the reminder, and congrats on your baby girl, she almost shared my birthday (March 7th)!

[vluckey 1]

Travelgirl, (by the way I used to be a travel girl. I worked as a leisure agent for 5 years and a corporate travel administrator for 5 years.) You might want to try getting a Protein Powder that is pre-digested. Go to a local health food store and ask about it. There is one that I have used you can check out online at www.advocare.com. It's called perfect meal I think. They also have a plain Protein powder in their sports line. It's pricey and it's sold by distributor, but it's a really good product that's easy to digest and full of nutrition.

[janed 0]

Is there any such thing as a Protein supplement in pill form. I don't think I hit 60 grams a day. I can't eat much meat,and the little I eat doesn't add up to much I'm sure.

I read somewhere if you eat more than 25 grams of Protein at a time it is wasted. The body won't absorb it? I'm not sure, just asking.......

Thanks

Janed

banded 1-19-2007

s212/c179/g150

[vluckey 1]

A company called Agel was coming up with a gel form of Protein that was like 20 grams in 1.75 ounces of gel. I know they had run into problems with the packaging when they were launching it. Check www.agel.com.

Other than that you might want to look in to amino acid supplements and research that. I believe those are Proteins in the most basic form. The one I take is from www.advocare.com called Catalyst. I take it for muscle mass and fat burning. It's fabulous right before a workout.

You might want to call a really good local health food store and speak with the owner. They are a bevy of good information.

[vluckey 1]

By the way, I had never heard that 25 grams thing. It would make more sense the other way around. (eating too much at a time might cause it to not absorb).

[juliegeraci 7]

Thanks for the post. It is difficult for me to get in my Protein. I wonder if that has something to do with recent tightness I experienced with the band. I wonder if My organs are swollen?

[vluckey 1]

You can't go wrong with taking 7-10 days and going Protein crazy to see if it helps. I'm a true believer now.