Not well, unfortunately. Her doctor says she is starving to death. Her levels are like zero despite her eating a ton of protein (and she's eating so much of it that she gained ten pounds). They had to give her a feeding tube and we're all hopeful that this will turn things around for her. She's so weak that she can't even get up to go to the bathroom on her own. We've been very, very worried

I already posted this over in one of the gastric bypass forums, but you all tend to have such good advice that I thought I would post here too.

My mom had gastric bypass a few months ago. Her doctor wanted her to have it because she was Type 2 diabetic and in danger of a lot of other health issues that would be solved by losing weight. She is 69 years old. Things were going well at first - she felt well, she was able to eat as needed, and was losing the weight. She is about 5'5" and I'm not sure about her current weight, but she's lost quite a bit and can now fit into like size large in women's (she was at a 2XL or 3XL before).

But recently she has become very weak and has fallen several times (which is dangerous at her age). She went in to the doctor and they were initially convinced based on scans and blood work that she she had fatty liver that had advanced to cirrhosis, and they said it was Stage 3 cirrhosis (and that her only hope for survival would be a liver transplant). The doctor also told her that she was severely malnourished, comparing her to starving kids in other countries. He said that was the cause of her weakness, along with the liver issues.

A biopsy was done on her liver and she's Stage 1 of fatty liver, which means she can turn it around with diet and exercise, and we're all very happy about that. However, she is still extremely malnourished. The doctor's solution was that she eat more protein. She has been focused on doing so ever since her surgery; now she is trying to up her intake even further. And despite trying to get as much protein as she can, her last blood work showed that her protein is at a 2, which is apparently really bad.

So a couple of questions for you - Have you heard of anyone going through something similar to this? What did they do to improve their nutrition and overall health? (Because at this point the doctor is now recommending undoing the surgery so that she can absorb protein better, but I don't want my elderly mother to undergo surgery again.)

How can she up her protein? She is already eating large amounts of protein at every meal and snacking on it throughout the day. She is also eating plenty of vegetables. I know you're not supposed to get your protein from drinking, but would that be helpful here? Just to make sure that she's getting enough? And how many grams of protein should she be eating a day?

What kind of vitamins should she be taking, and at what dosage? She is very low on like Vitamin D and B, and assures me that she's taking OTC vitamins that her doctor recommended. I know that's not good enough if you have absorption issues and gastric bypass, and I also know that doctors' recommendations (especially those who don't focus on bariatrics) often recommend way below what is needed. (Her vitamin levels are bad enough that the doctor wrote her a prescription for vitamins to take once a week.)

Any and all advice/help/suggestions would be most welcome. Thank you!

Literally nothing has changed. I'm eating /exercising exactly the same as always.

It happened to me too - but the doctors discovered a non- cancerous growth in my uterus that they cleared out and ever since my iron has been within normal ranges.

My mom had gastric bypass when I was young. She lost fifty or so pounds, and then gained everything back and then some. I'd seen for myself that it didn't work; it was an extreme lifestyle change that she couldn't adapt to and I didn't want a temporary stop-gap/Band-Aid. I wanted something that would really work.

I chose DS because of the research that showed it was most effective for keeping weight off long term and that you could resume a realistic way of eating (gastric severely limits how much you can eat; I eat pretty normally with DS. And by normally I mean how other people eat, not how obese me used to eat).

Every website that talks about it says the pain can last from six months to a year, but most people are better by six months. I was just trying to see if this was a DS thing or if I'm just lucky enough to be one if the people who take longer to heal. (My face still hurts from my face lift, too, and there was nothing added there. I just seem to not be a fast healer, which I've read is common with DS.)

I just had my two year checkup and everything else looks great except for my AST and ALT levels (the internet says these are things related to the liver).They are 162 and 126 respectively, which is four times higher than what's considered the high end of normal.

My doctor's office doesn't seem too concerned; they're saying it's normal for DS patients to be this high.

Is this something I need to concerned about? Is there something I should be doing to lower them?

3.

What dosages do you take of the C and Proferrin?

And thanks for the info on symptomatic bowel movements. I'm definitely not having those.

I'm about 18 months post surgery and lately I feel like I want to eat ALL THE TIME. Is that normal? Is this how things will be now or is it more cyclical?

Me! I have definitely lost too much weight - to the point that my doctor and I discussed options if I keep losing (like changing the channel length or putting me on a feeding tube). Everyone remarks that I look gaunt or sickly. I also lost weight really quickly. I am 14 months post op and I'm 25 pounds under my goal weight. I keep waiting for the bounce back so that I can start putting some weight on. Hasn't happened yet.

My BMI has stayed within a normal range on the low end (19 to 20), so no drastic measures yet. But I have stayed around 145 to 150 for the last four months or so, so I'm hoping the weight loss has stabilized and won't go down any further.

Thanks for the advice and support everyone - it has helped me a lot!

I am a very private person. Very. I feel like my medical history is nobody else's business. I also thought that there would be people (all in-laws) who would judge me and mock me. I figured I'd lose a certain amount of weight, say I'd worked hard to get it (which is true - exercising, changing my eating, recovering from surgery, dealing with all the unexpected side effects have not been easy) and move on.

My issue has been (as I've mentioned before) that I've lost more weight than my doctor or I expected (prisoner of war type). I seem to have leveled out, but given my unexplained anemia I am having a hard time gaining weight or muscle (if only that had been my issue before!).

And the only people who know about my DS are my husband and my doctor's office. When asked about my weight I mention my eating plan and supplements because I feel like it's my personal business and I don't have to share my private medical history with everyone who asks.

I haven't told my kids or my parents/siblings. I have a sister-in-law who hates me (the feeling is pretty mutual) and has been obsessed with uncovering what I've done and how I've "cheated." She's sending my siblings to interrogate my mom about me having "lap band." I say I didn't, which is true, but I'm starting to feel some guilt about my mom having to defend me.

Has anyone else been in this position? I've seen plenty of friends online who have lost 100+ pounds without surgery, so it is possible. That's not how I did it, but again, that's no one's business but mine. How did you deal with it if you made a similar choice? I also don't want to go back and be like, yep, you're right, I did surgery and deal with that judgment/drama/fallout from it. Emotionally I don't think I'm in a position to deal with it. Any suggestions?