Please help me solve this very painful puzzle

[happybuddy 1]

I've been reading these forums for years but I am so desperate, I am finally posting.

In 2012 I had the lapband- went from 290-250 and stayed there within 3-4 lbs for most of the years I had band. I had band port replaced due to puncture and then when it slipped in 2015 causing an obstruction I decided on conversion to sleeve. I went back up to 278 in the 6 months between band deflation and getting the sleeve.

Got sleeve mid-January 2016. Within first 2 1/2 weeks I got down to 258, 20 lbs (a lot of it was probably Water but still, great!) Hit the dreaded 3 week stall but continued to follow all the rules and be patient. Now I am at week 9 and am still just fluctuating in the low 250's but I have lost only about 4 lbs in the past 6 weeks! I started measuring inches in the past two weeks but nothing noticible there either. I've heard of this long of a stall happening but usually further out after more weight loss to begin with.

About a month ago I started tracking everything religiously in my fitness pal and on fitbit. I aim for around 650 calories a day (sometimes when I work out really hard, I eat something after the gym just to be able to drive home safe, brining it to around 750-800 calories per day.) I always get at least 65g Protein, low-carb, low sugar. etc. My fitbit average steps per day is 13,000 which includes the gym 3-4 times a week. My apps had me at around -22,000 calories for last week and nothing at all!! I keep waiting for the stall to break but I feel like my spirit is breaking instead.

Other things: I started having super frequent periods since the surgery, like 5 days on 10 days off, repeat. My primary care was puzzled and tested thyroid which is fine (thank god!) I also take a very small daily does of prozac a day 20mg. Could med be the reason I am not loosing?

I see my surgeon and nutritionst in 1 1/2 weeks. I am scared that they will either think I am cheating because it seems so unusual or just say "some people don't loose the weight."

Any ideas are greatly appriciated. This doesn't seem like the other stalls I've been reading about. I'm scared because I've gotten to this weight a bunch of times as an adult on atikins, weight watchers, lap-band, etc but never lower. I feel like I am failing at yet another attempt to loose weight.

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

You aren't failing. Keep tracking, and use that info to meet with a decent nutritionalist.

I am unclear on the intensity of your exercise, but suspect that over time you may need more calories. 9 weeks, it is still hard to get much in.

Are you meeting hydration, Protein and carb targets? Try to not eat late at night.

I don't know about prozak, i took it for about 2 weeks when I was depressed after my mother died and it made me insane, so didn't stay with it long enough to assess impact on weight loss. Some anti depressant drugs are known for weight gain as a side effect.

I didn't catch the painful puzzle - do you mean emotional pain over the slower weight loss or something else?

i know I am not offering much here - but I think the key is to take a breath, keep following the program and in time, the weight loss will come. I too failed a million times, including with the lapband, so I understand the terror, but it isn't very productive or helpful... hang in there!

[needtorecover 574]

I don't have the sleeve so I may be off base here but it sounds to me like you're starving yourself and your body is fighting back. When you restrict your calories that drastically (less than a thousand a day plus intense workouts) your systems are going to adjust to hang on to your fat reserves as much as possible because it's in panic mode. It's only been in the past hundred years or so that food has been so abundant and we're battling thousands of years of evolution when hanging on to fat was critical for survival (versus now when it's killing us).

Personally, I would consume more fat and scale back on exercise. Maybe eat a quarter avocado or a handful of nuts as a snack and take a brisk walk rather than spending an hour at the gym doing intense cardio.

The menstrual cycle changes could be a result of starvation/overexertion as well. You need to take care of yourself and be gentle. Remind yourself this is a marathon, not a sprint.

[lisacaron 5,075]

@@happybuddy my advice would be to go and see your OB/GYN. Primary Dr. is great but what it sounds like right now is that your hormones are in a big flux. You want to check that out and make sure you aren't experiancing PCOS (Poly cystic overian syndrome) This can be the cause of your body holding on to the weight as well as Water weight gain.

Our hormones and not just the thyroid are what make our body and our brain work to keep a balance. If any of these are out of balance they send signals to the brain that we might not want them to send and trust me I speak from personal experience here.

Even though you see the OB/GYN the sex hormones may or may not be your issue. They are probably the issue with the periods but more than likely there are multifaceted issues going on at once as your body is undergoing major changes to the way you are eating etc.

Keep the faith, you will get where you want to be. In the mean time be healthy and keep doing what you need to do for you. Try not to focus on the scale number and let it get you down. It's just a number, focus on how you are feeling and work from there to get your body in motion.

Prozac can make you hungry and can also cause some weight retention, however if you have been on it for a bit and your dose sounds low it's probably not the issue. My step son is on this medication and it has worked wonders for him, don't stop any medications without checking with your doctors.

[JamieLogical 8,708]

You aren't eating anything close to enough calories for your level of activity. If you had a 22,000 calorie DEFICIT last week, that means you have a 3142.857 calorie deficit per day. That is WAY WAY WAY too high. Your body is definitely going to go into starvation mode running that kind of deficit and you are going to completely trash your metabolism. You should be trying to run about 1000 calorie a day deficit to keep your metabolism in tact.

[happybuddy 1]

Thanks, everyone. I do have the feeling I should eat more. It is just a scary thing to try. I'll keep everyone posted on what doc and nutritioniist says.

[James Marusek 5,244]

Since you had surgery in mid-January 2016, you are still very early with the program. I had RNY gastric bypass, and I lost the weight quickly and then slid into the maintenance phase at about month 6 or 7. But sleeve patients loss weight typically over a much longer period of time and generally at a slower pace.

Drugs can affect weight. Prozac might be one of those according to the internet. http://www.rxlist.com/prozac-side-effects-drug-center.htm But there are a variety of other problems or conditions that also may affect your weight loss. Some sleeve patient on this board seem to indicate that sometimes one must consume a few more calories in order to break a stall. This seems counterintuitive - but if it works, it works. After my surgery, I did a lot of experimenting. Every time I hit a bump in the road, I would analyze and experiment and find my way.

Since you are early in the program, I recommend that you not get too stressed out about the weight loss. Just follow the primary requirements of daily Protein, Fluid and Vitamin requirements and get at least 30 minutes of walking each day, and then let the magic happen.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

What is your Protein target? It looks to me that you aren't eating enough (protein or calories) to support your base needs let alone intense exercise.

[ssflbelle 829]

HappyBuddy I can't offer any knowledge to the puzzle. However I wanted you to know you are not alone. The same amount of weight loss happened to me in the first 10 days of my Jan 26th surgery. I had the three week stall. After the stall I lost 8 more pounds only this week to gain 6 of them back, I am 6 weeks out and even eating less than you as every time I eat food I get a terrible pain under the left breast area. Eating is like 1 1/2 to 2 ounces or maybe 1/2 cup depending on the food. I am too old for the puzzle of the period.

Some great suggestions were given and I hope you solve this puzzle real soon as I know the emotional feeling your expressing. I am right there with you.

[SweetPotato 142]

prozac can cause weight gain, but the majority of gain usually happens in the first few months and it generally is around 10 lbs total throughout the course of treatment. it shouldn't keep you from losing with this surgery, however. If you are concerned about the meds and your doc is open to it, you could talk to them about switching to a non-SSRI, like wellbutrin/bupropion. people tend to lose weight on it and it has less libidinal side effects. if you have ever had anxiety or manic symptoms, however, it is not a good idea to switch to this med.

[Debra Henson 1]

The Rny sorry

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[Debra Henson 1]

Has anyone wanted to get a reversal on the RNY surgery? Can it be done?

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