Long Rant - Not Losing - Need Help

Hi there.  I am posting because I am fed up, depressed and not living a happy life.

I am morbidly obese. At my heaviest I was 470lbs. I have never been a big eater and struggled for years to lose weight. I finally decided to have WLS. I needed to lose 50lbs prior to the surgery. This took me a year and a half to do, mostly with water pills, even though I was only eating about 1500 calories a day.

I had my surgery June 2009. I gained 15lbs (yes gained) the week after the surgery. The surgeon finally believed then that I had issues with water retention. I followed the post surgery diet plan to the letter. By December I had lost only 80 lbs.

Since January 2010 my weight has stayed the same.

I see a personal trainer twice a week. I eat 3 meals and 3 small snacks a day. I've tracked my calories and do about 1200-1500 a day. I do not eat junk food or take out. I have a personal chef who cooks low sodium low fat meals for me. I eat salads and fruits and try to get my protien in. I rarely eat potatoes or pasta and never eat rice. I have weigh****chers bread if I do a sandwich or toast during the day.

My doctor keeps telling me it's hormones and there's nothing he can do about that.

My life is consumed with trying to lose weight and nothing works. I see friends who've had the surgery (and don't even stick to the plan) and lose more weight than I have in just a few months. I feel like a failure.

I want to know if there is anyone else who cannot lose weight for no reason. My life since surgery has been miserable. I still weight 345 lbs. This is up or down a few lbs each week but the average is 345 (which is what I was Jan 2010).

I don't need lectures on not eating right because I know that I do. I've weighed food and counted calories/sodium/protein/carbs, etc.

I just want to know that I'm not alone or have suggestions for what may be the cause or tests that my doctor could do. I've had metabolism and thryoid tested.

Thank you and sorry for the long rant but I'm tired of being depressed. I had the surgery so I could get my life back and I'm right back to where I was (emotionally and struggling) before the surgery.

Challenges are not good. I jad my gbs 12/08 and feel fortunate to be down 170 pounds. Internal hernias frequently happen with the procedure and I can' t recommend my surgeon enough in Cedar Falls, Dr Matthew Glacoc 319-368-3990. Keep me posted.

I do have a hernia. I'm waiting to see a surgeon about it. Could that be the cause of my lack of weight loss?

I'm sorry to hear that you are struggling. What does Dr. Fitzer say about this? (Or is he the doctor you refer to in your post?)

 I'm sorry to hear about your struggles!  Are you insulin resistant?  Not that I know much about it, sorry, but some people just seem to really be metabolically challenged.  How many carbs do you eat a day?  Some people seem to be more affected by carbs than others and fruit for example can be a problem for them.  What were the results of your metabolism and thyroid tests?

Big congratulations on the 125 lbs lost, that is quite a feat and something to be proud of!

Hi Meilyne, I did some digging on google and found something that may be helpful.

Here is one cause of water retention:

A blockage or congestion of the lymphatic system can cause a type of water retention known as lymphoedema (lymphedema), which is common after some types of surgery, for instance. People who spend a lot of time immobile, e.g. those in hospital beds, wheelchairs, or on long-haul flights,  can develop water retention because without regular movement, it is difficult for your lymphatic system to drain excess fluid out of your tissues.

Also, here is a site that explains in detail about this condition:

http://www.vascular.co.nz/lymphoedema.htm

I found another good site with a list of possible resons for water retention:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Water-Retention-Caused-by-Hormonal -Imbalance&id=1918533

Thank you everyone for your responses so far.
Karen M: Dr Fitzer is the one I referred to and his only response has been to "eat less".

sam1am: I have tried a no carb diet, reduced carb diet and none have had any affect on my weight loss.

Lil-Stinker: Thank you so much for the info. I do take water pills (they are what helped me lose weight prior to surgery). They don't seem to help much any more but if I stop taking them I will gain weight.

Hi Meilyne,

I feel so bad for you when you are obviously working very hard at this without getting the results you deserve.  First, though, you have done a wonderful job so far to have lost well over 100 pounds.

Second, has your doctor considered that you might have a problem with cortisol, or cushing's disease?

I had heard about this disorder in the a few years ago, and last night there was a television documentary about weight loss, including information about weight loss surgery (rny) as well as cushing's.  There was a woman, who, like you, was taking proper care of her diet and excercise routine, but continued to gain and gain.

It turned out that she had tiny tumors on her pituitary gland, and once they were removed, she returned to a normal weight within months.

Best of luck finding a solution to your problem, but most importantly, you should be proud of continuing to work at it even though you aren't getting a lot of positive reinforcement from the scale.

Sharon B

I saw that show too .. National Geographics Extraordinary Humans. It did get my thinking and I looked up Cushings on the internet.

I am definiately going to make an appointment with my doctor to talk about this.