Danged if I do & danged if I don't

Believe me, I wanted to use a stronger word than "danged" but I have to be nice so I won't. I have been struggling to lose that last 15 lbs for over a year now & am not having any luck. I am getting very frustrated & am about to conceed defeat & accept that I will always be overweight. A few weeks ago I looked at how I was using my tool & decided that for the most part I was compliant but I had slipped on one thing, something my surgeon would not be happy to know I was doing. I was consuming way too much caffeine. I, easily, can drink 8 or more cups just in the morning with no problem & another 12-16 oz on my way home from work to keep me awake. I know that too much so I decided to bite the bullet & drink only decaffeinated coffee & caffeine free diet pop, when I can find it. I was doing pretty good too, no jitters or anything. Then this week something strange started happening. My legs & feet started hurting, especially in the evening, almost as bad as they felt before I had surgery. It hurt to wear socks! My weight, which has been stable started going up. Today I'd had enough. I called my PCP & got checked. I am retaining fluid for some reason and probably had been for awhile but since caffeine is a diuretic I didn't know it. Now without the caffeine, I am filling up. I had gained 8 lbs since Sunday! He put me on a water pill & took blood. The test will show if my kidneys are working OK. I doubt if there is a problem with them. I feel good otherwise. So, I just finished a 32 oz cup of regular coffee! I refuse to keep that 8 lbs. One good thing did come out of today's appointment. I discussed my frustration in not losing weight & my feeling that the endocrine system is out of wack. My metabolism is shot. I asked for a referral to visit with an endocrinologist for her opinion & possible help. I understand I might have a long wait as the only one in our area is out of the country at this time but I'm willing to wait. Dixie

Good for you....glad you get to go see and endo....hope they help ya! Did you get massive headaches when getting off of caffiene? I have tried to give up my caffiene without success becuase I can't take the headache!! I wouldn't have even thought about the water retention, it is so crazy what our bodies decide to do! I too never got to "normal" but never planned on it......for 5'2 to get in the normal range on the BMI scale I would have to weigh 134lbs......and my lowest ever was 159. I just wanted to get to 147lbs then I would have lost exactly half my body weight since I started at 294. (well I was higher than that, but that was my official weight at my first appt) So from my lowest I still needed to lose 12lbs, and now I need to lose 22lbs. For some STINKIN reason my body like to stay in the 168-172 range .....I haven't been able to get much lower than that for awhile. I feel your frustration Did you ever get that book, losing the last 30lbs? It took me a whole hour to read and was so not helpful.....I was bummed thinking it was gonna give me some insight on how to lose the weight! I did buy another book tho Exodus From Obesity....and I am hoping it sheds some better light.....It is about a lady who lost like 200lbs with diet, only to regain it all and then have WLS.....and now she has kept of the weight for a longtime. I think it is Paula Peck Anyways....I need to sit down and read it...I will let you know if it is any good and if it is, I will send it to ya Chin up tho.....you have to agree you have done AMAZING even if you don't get to that magic number.....you are an inspiration to all of us Iowa folks....your one of the first (if not the first) people I think of when I have a problem, or need advice.....hence the emails and couple phone calls So be proud, you deserve it (I know easier said then done) Take Care and have a great day jesi

Jesi, I am happy to report that the water pills did the trick. I am already back down 6 of the 8 lbs I gained. Guess my doctor knew what he was talking about. Now if I only knew what was causing the water retention. I have both books you talked about & I agree with your remarks about both. The first one you mentioned was disappointing. A real "fluff" book & certainly not worth the long time I had to wait for it to finally come. I read the second one & highly recommend it. It's on my bookshelf & I walk past it every time I leave my bedroom. I need to reread it. She is quite inspiring & has some good advice. If I remember correctly, she is an RN so probably won't be giving bad advice. I didn't get the bad headaches you mentioned when I gave up caffeine but I did have a dull one for a few days. I just didn't make the association. I used to get migraines but haven't had one for many years fortunately. I feel for you with your bad headaches. I've decided to go back to drinking caffeine but be sensible. I'll mix my regular with decaffeinated together & just not drink as much. I used to drink lots of iced tea before my surgery but that is one thing I just can't stomach anymore. It tastes like drity rags to me now. I do like hot tea though so, go figure. I am 5'6' & my "target" weight is 155#. When I went into this I also wanted to lose half my weight. That would have put me at approximately 170#. I've been aiming at 165# but I am still hovering around 180#. Sizewise, I am smaller than my original goal. I was gonna be happy with a size 16 & I'm smaller than that but I just am ruled by the scales & the numbers. I had been thrilled with the way I look but I am catching myself looking at my reflection with disgust again. My eyes go directly to the areas that still need to be smaller, the parts that scream "Look at all this fat." Dr G's PA is telling me that maybe this is where my body needs to be but I can't agree. There is a reason the medical community came up with those numbers & right now I am considered "overweight" & not all that far from "Obese." I never want to be obese again & really don't want to be overweight by any way of measuring. I am starting to think about this way too much & stressing out about it. My life revolves around the scales & that shouldn't be. Thank you for the nice words. I hope that my advice helps people. I certainly am not all that much more knowledgable. I just have a big mouth. Dixie

Big Mouth ~~ are you kidding!!!! We all get so much inspiration from you Dixie... Don't begrudge yourself. We all love you dahling.... I've been having a lot of trouble with fluid retention too. I had always taken hyrochlorothiazide (sp) even after my surgery althouth none of my drs were keen on it. Recently I'm noticing indentations from my socks almost all the time and convinced my PCP to switch me to Lasix. She said it's actually the same as the hyro, but just works differently. Well I'm still not seeing much difference. I have my days on the caffeine, but it's not an every day thing. I hardly do any pop so that's not an issue. I'm with you -- I think our computer chips are all haywire and I'm not sure they'll ever get back to normal. I finally got off the Paxil (thank goodness) and am feeling good, but now they want me back on diabetes meds. I just got my 2 yr labs done and will see Angie on Tues. I'll let you know how that goes. I also have my "girls" consult on Tues am and am REALLY looking forward to that. My stress level is high again -- the love life is great -- but the ex has made some REALLY REALLY nasty threats. Let's just say the police are involved again.... I'd like to be a cat in my next life.... I like their attitudes... Janie

Dixie, usually I just lurk here but throughly enjoy all of the posts that you ladies (and gentlemen) write. I have been having a hard time staying away from caffeine too. I do okay but like to treat myself in the evening with flat root beer and vanilla unjury. It is not a root beer float but close enough to satisfy me so far. I used to be a big iced tea drinker. I still like it but now I make the decaffeinated kind. I used to be able to suck down several large diet pops a day. Now I struggle to get all the fluid in and usually fall 1 or 2 cups short every day. I also used to be fat...well...I still am but I am thinner than I was last year at this time!! Glad to hear your meds are working and your are feeling better. You guys just keep posting away so I can (maybe) learn from your experiances and not have to make every mistake in the book myself! Have a great weekend everyone.

Welcome, Connie, & please keep posting. We love to hear from new people & since you're just into your first year of this journey, you'll be lots of help to individuals just starting out & also a good reminder to us "oldsters" who are getting a bit slack. I started drinking flat pop at about 6 months & then at my 9 month check was shocked when the PA asked me how I handled carbonation. I told her I didn't know because she had earlier told me we shouldn't drink pop. That's when she told me that it would be ok to drink it as long as the bubbles didn't bother me. Well, they don't & I resumed my bad habit. I never drink regular pop & almost always have it over ice to cut back on the bubbles but I probably would be better off not drinking it at all. By the way, your "float" sounds kind of good. I'm afraid I can't drink it because I cannot stomach any of the whey protein supplements. I don't care how many say that the Unjury has no flavor, I can smell it across the room! LOL I use a soy protein but cannot bring myself to mix it with anything other than soy milk. I do however make a really good mocha frapachinno using chocloate soy milk, my powder, ice, & instant coffee. My normal breakfast. Dixie

Hey Dixie... I hear you about the fluid. About 2 weeks ago, out of the blue, I swelled up like a balloon. To the tune of 18 lbs in 5 days! Pre WLS I had always had lower leg edema, but this was all over my body. My PCP could even feel it in the tissues of my belly. I took 2 lasix over a 3 day period, spent a bit of time in the little girls room, and voila it's gone. She did a bunch of tests, too. Ruling out kidney and liver malfunctions. They were okay. I have caffeine daily, (not large amounts, but 'enough') and I hadn't had any changes that way. The only 'dietary' change was that I had had a rueben from Arbys. 1/2 for supper, 1/2 for lunch the next day. Very high in sodium, I would imagine, with the corned beef and kraut. I have not had the nerve to try it again, though it was very very tasty. I also requested another thyroid test, due to constant (recent) fatigue. It was normal. I had already 'diagnosed myself' as being anemic, because I discovered my gums are very pale. So she tested that too. Sure enough. All levels just under the normal mark. Nothing drastic, but added an iron to my optisource, and am FAITHFULLY taking that now, as I hadn't been good at it. So heres to skinny legs, caffeine and no more fluid!! Sheila p.s. I thought of you when I was helping my dad with cattle the other day. I love it. Actually got to see a calf born. Been years since I had seen that!

Wow, Sheila, I'd have been freaked out if it had been 18 lbs, probably off flying to the ER! I thought 8 was bad enough. I'm taking Lasix also but just 1 a day. I think we may have to bump it up to 2 because last night my legs were hurting like they did earlier last week & even this morning I noitice my fingers feel full. My blood test showed no infections but an elevated potassium level. That can indicate kidney problems or be nothing so we're repeating the blood test in a couple weeks. Funny coincidence about the Rueban sandwich. I made my own but with a wrap & was just thinking I'd do it again this wekend. Probably will skip on that because I forgot about the high sodium. The one I did have was too early to be still affecting my body. It was a couple weeks ago. I am still convinced my thyroid isn't working right. My doctor took that blood test last winter & said the results were OK but they don't give out the numbers so I can't check it. He did agree to refer me to the other doctor. I see her early in May. I know something is goffy & I don't think it's anything to do with my kidneys. As much as I complain about chores & not liking cows, watching a calf be born is still magical even after all these years. I just wish they could feed themselves. We had 4 new calves on Friday & Saturday. The guys are getting smart. If I have to feed a calf & the cow is with her, they get her into a stanchion so she can't bother me. I have gotten very leary of new mommies since twice getting rammed into the bars by protective cows. I told the guys that "three stikes & I'm out of there." If I get hit one more time, they'll be doing it themselves & they know I mean business so they are being careful. A good friend was milking with her husband a few weeks ago, just like she normally did & one cow started kicking her, pinning her against another cow so she couldn't get away. She broke both legs, compound fractures with the bones sticking out. She is in really bad shape & probably will never walk normally. I won't take that kind of chance with my life. I'll be glad to have those skinny legs. Dixie