Question:
WHAT SHOULD I DO ABOUT THIS
Hello everyone , I started at 317 pounds , I'm going on 7 yrs. I stayed at 170 for 4 yrs which I was very happy about seeing where I had came from , all at once I started losing again. Now at 104 going to see another RNY surgeon tomorrow.My orignal Dr. retired 3 yrs ago , so I had to find another one in this area . my gp has already did all kinds of tests , and said everything is fine . No thyroid problems, all blood tests are great , even had a bone marrow test done , also had surgery area all checked and was told everything looked as good as it did right after surgery.I'm also on a durgesic patch for my neuropathy 75mg . some one here told me once the loss was due to the patch . I wanted to lose weight just like all of you , but didn't want to be skin over bones as I am now , size O is not getting it with me , I have to say I'm worried about such a great loss . They say you can't be too skinny or too rich , but I'm too darn skinny . I read this board all the time and know how some of you are strugging to get to goal and my heart goes out too you , Iv'e been. there and I know how you feel I have been eating like a horse about 3 thousand calories a day trying to gain back some . I'm worried to death over this , time to do something and get to the bottom of the problem, which no one thinks is bad because they can't find anything wrong . My GP says I'm within the weight limit I should be for 5'4 and small boned I think he's crazy too . Just want to know what you all think about this sistuation . Love you all , keep up the good work, thank you Sandy What would you all think about the above issue ? — Sandra S. (posted on March 4, 2008)
March 3, 2008
The duragesic patch has nothing to do with it. My mom has been on one for
years. same milligrams as you and she never lost weight.Are you drinking
before and after you eat? I would try some higher calorie foods. By the
sounds of it your eating good. I had an issue with losing too much too. The
dr told me to eat 5 or 6 meals a day instead of 3. I am 5" 7' and I
weigh 133LBS. I was down in the 120's for a while and I got scared. If the
dr's say your good I wouldnt worry to mcuh. I would try eating the 5 or 6
meals a day.
— Joanc
March 3, 2008
You've done all the preliminaries here. You're not feeling sick. I would
venture to think it's a head issue. However, I agree with the last post,
eat more often with higher caloric value and all your regular vitamins and
minerals. If you are really feeling out of sorts please continue to see
your dr. and if not keep writing and help someone. Keep up the good work
and stay in touch. Sherri
— kinkade
March 3, 2008
hey honey bunny....first off, congratulations are in order for losing and
keeping it off...now if they could just help you maintain at this point, it
would be a blessing. I feel like I am close to the same boat as you. I
started at 286 - very proportionate (thankfully) and am down to 147 (to
date). Started in a size 26/28 and now I am in a size 4/6/8 depending on
the cut, but mainly 6's seem to be the # - 26/28 to a 6? I've lost 1/2 of
my body! There are times I look in the mirror and am like - OK skeleton
let's see if I can put some meat back on your bones. Other days, it doesn't
bother me. It's a bit of a head game, I would agree. I worried when I was
heavy and now I worry when I am thinner. UGH. I will always battle this
weight loss/gain/thing. I would suggest making sure eveyrthing and mean
EVERYTHING checks out OK and then see a nutrtionist and come up with a
supervised plan. I see my NUT every 3-4 months and check my fat ratios and
I keep a journal 2 weeks prior to seeing her to make sure I am still making
sound food judgements - then we go over it and she suggests things to add,
or sub to hopefully make me maintain. I wish you luck you size 0 from a
shrinking size 6.
— jammerz
March 4, 2008
I also suggest you see your nutritionist to review your diet. Hopefully
your new surgeon has one in his/her practice; otherwise they can refer you
to one. You've done a great job with covering all possible medical reasons,
a nutritionist may be able to give you some insight. Good luck!
— obeseforever
March 4, 2008
It sounds like you've done what you needed with the PCP... I hope that the
surgeon is able to help you out. I don't know what the weight guidelines
are for someone 5'4 so I can't comment on that but I will say that a large
unintentional weight loss is not normal and should be investigated whatever
size/weight you are.
As far as the Duragesic, I lost a great deal of weight while on it and have
had serious gastrointestinal problems from it due to its effect on gastric
motiltiy.
Opiates (which Duragesic/fentanyl and most narcotics are) can cause the
stomach and intestines to work more slowly. The stomach doesn't grind up
food and push it down toward the intestines and the intestines don't propel
it along the GI tract. This can cause a variety of problems including
malabsorption, bacterial overgrowhth, nausea, vomiting, weight loss,
bloating, distension, GERD, constipation and so forth. My weight loss was
caused by lack of appetite, nausea, and vomitting. I was caught off
guard--wasn't really aware that I had reduced my food intake and lost a
great deal rather quickly.
If you are keeping track of your food and actually eating 3,000 calories,
then my guess is that you are either having a metabolism problem (burning
too many calories) or an absorption problem (pass stool without absorbing
enough/all the nutrients). Labwork most likely would have caught any
metabolism problems... you might want to ask your doctor about having a
stool sample analyzed to look for abnormalities...the presence of fat and
other substances.
Good luck to you!! Feel free to email me if I can be of any help (or
support).
Please keep in mind that even tho you are losing, it is still important to
pay attention to what you are eating... avoid sugar and empty calories and
try to get your fat from healthy sources like fish and nuts (not
cheeseburgers and french fries!).
Best wishes.
— mrsidknee
March 4, 2008
Wow! Congrats on your loss over the years and a pat on the back for your
hard work. I read a similar article about someone who kept losing weight
and it turned out he had celiac spru (sp?) and it took years for them to
finally diagnose it. According to USDA height weight charts, your doctor
is wrong about 104 being a good weight for someone who is 5'4". Maybe
he's using BMI as an indicator? I have to wonder if you do a lot of
exercise if there's nothing medically wrong. I would look for a good
bariatric nutritionist to work with.
— Bigwyfan1964
March 4, 2008
Hi Sandy. You did the right thing to get things checked out. If all your
blood work and tests have come back in normal ranges, then I would add a
few snacks to my day and do what most people cannot do, graze. I'm glad
for your sake that you are healthy, and the only other test I think they
might want to consider is a bone scan, but if that is all done, then it
sounds like you are healthy, just thin. I don't want to be too thin
either, and this is a problem people normally don't have. Keep in touch
and let us know how you are doing, I am 4 years out and curious how you
work out. Take care. Patricia P.
— Patricia P
March 5, 2008
Sid that you so much for your heads up about the fentanyl patch which has
been recalled lately by the way.....
I too have been having trouble lately with staying where I need to be
weightwise and I have been on a patch for over a year but only lately
having trouble. I now have decided that come hell or high water I am going
to get off these meds because lately my life has sucked so I'm either going
to feel like crud one way or another.
I'm glad you (Sandy) are at least able to eat. At 5'4'' only 104 lbs isn't
too terrible I know all those skin and bones do suck and you feel weird
specially starting at 317, but if you actually feel okay just keep going
with it. Keep eating! I'm 5'7'' and only 128 right now it's lower then I've
ever been since even fifth grade and then I was only four and a half feet
tall.
— EmtEeyore
March 5, 2008
Hi Sandy - I agree you should seek the advice of a nutritionist. Where I
was not eating enough starch my nutritionist said to add a little more
starch to my diet to help me maintain. They recommended that I not go
below 130 lbs. I am 5'2. I past that and I am at 118 lbs. I also look at
myself and see bones sticking out where I never even knew I had them. Even
some family members comment that I am to skinny. But like you I feel
great. My nutritionist always told me your body knows when to stop. Right
now I seem to have leveled off. I was ranging from 120 to 125. I had
cosmetic surgery done 5 wks ago and the day I went in for that I weighed
118 lbs. Of course when I got home I hopped on the scale and it increased
to 126. I am now back down to 118 and holding. I do have snacks and make
sure I have at least 3 oz of protein with each meal. I was also told that
if I was still hungry to increase protein to 4 oz.. I hope all goes well
for you...Best of Luck
— niecie54
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