In hospital/Losing weight too fast???

The following is something I posted on the main message board, but thought I'd post it here too and maybe get different thoughts... It quickly disappeared to the 2nd page on the main message board. It is my original post and some additional info in response to other posts.... Hi~ I posted questions nearly a year ago in regards to my Mom.... She was nearly 500 lbs and almost 65 and was looking at Medicaid to pay for a gastric bypass. It turned out she really hit a brick wall~ there were only a handful of hospitals in TX who accepted Medicaid and all of the Dr's had weight and age limitations. So in early January my Mom fell while walking to the bathroom (her life consisted of staying in bed and only getting up to walk approx. 4 feet to the bathroom 3-4 times a day). She was transferred between several different hospitals~ basically they found nothing broken and nobody that accepted Medicare wanted to deal with her since she was so heavy and could not even stand on her feet for a split second (her knees are completely shot). She was FINALLY transferred to a place (nursing home) that was willing to get her in and out of bed using a Hoyer lift a couple of times a day and was willing to out source PT 5 days a week to try and get her to walk again. (Sorry so long) My question is..... OK, when she fell in January and was initially admitted to the first hospital, the clocked her weight at 487. Here we are at the end of May and she weighs 346. She is barely eating anything~ she is EXTREMELY picky about the food she eats (and you *know* a Medicare facility doesn't exactly have gourmet cooking). Should I be concerned about the fact that she has lost 140 pounds (and still dropping) in 5 months??? Or should I just be pleased that after a 40+ yr battle with her weight that she is losing it??? It just doesn't seem healthy! But I understand GB patients barely eat anything and lose a lot of weight so I am wondering if it is OK??? Regarding talking to Dr.s about this...  Maybe some of you can understand or even relate to a place like my Mom is in... it is like pulling teeth to speak to a Dr. when you are in a situation like my Mom is in. Thanks for any thoughts! Helen My Mom is used to eating high fat, really bad for you food~ like for her entire adult life! She used to live with my sister who took care of her and my Dad (who is also handicapped) AND worked a full time job. So my sister 75% of the time fed her fast food for lunch and dinner and some high fat, easy to prepare Schwann's stuff for breakfast.Since my sister worked full time she would leave my Mom in her bedroom with food such as bags of pistachios or pecans, tootsie rolls, and other junky stuff. Mom basically munched all day (and night) long with only taking cat naps throughout the days.  Her dietician here originally perscribed her a 1200 cal diet.... However, because they realized she wasn't eating it they gradually upped it to 1800 calories. Honestly, I think she is lucky if she eats 800 calories a day. They serve her 3 snacks a day, but it is ALWAYS (never anything different) graham crackers and milk. She has a shoebox full of the graham crackers right by her bed in her room. I have been there during her meal times and the food has always looked decent and edible to me~ baked potatoes, roast beef, etc... but it's "too dry", "too bland", etc.... The one time she said something to me was that she has a lot of anxiety about having to use the restroom so she sometimes doesn't eat because she is afraid the staff is going to put her in her wheel chair and leave her there for 6 hours and she is going to end up using the bathroom on herself. And YES the staff has done this to her several times~ they claim that is what the PT's orders were and they couldn't alleviate from them. The PT thought it was understood that they would put her back in bed for the bedpan when she requested it. But because she uses the Hoyer lift and it takes 3 people to move her, they don't like to bother. And beleive it or not this home that she is in is the best one available to her. Nobody wanted her~ they realize how much work a bariatric patient is and don't want to deal with it. This home is now realizing that my Mom is not making them any money and is actually cutting into their profit, so they are doing everything in their power to discharge her. So I don't want to make too much of a stink about her treatment because I don't know what will happen to her if she gets discharged! Even though she is 346 (and probably not more than 5 ft tall) , she still cannot walk. She told me today that at her last PT session, she couldn't even stand because she felt NOTHING below her knees. There is no way I could take care of her at home. She needs 3 people to move her in and out of a chair several times a day.  Ugh~ thanks for listening... Not many people understand what this is like!

Super Morbidly obese people lose weight very rapidly compared to normal people.  I was almost 500 lbs when I had the Duodenal Switch, and I lost 113 lbs in 3 months, and almost 200 by 8 months.  It does slow down eventually.  You might want to take this opportunity to get her weight loss surgery to get off the last 200 lbs she's overweight.  There are many doctors who accept Medicare...and medicare pays for WLS (lap band, RNY, and DS).    So I'd wouldn't be overly concerned about the weight loss, but I would suggest you take the opportunity to get her WLS while she's still in a facility.  Scott  

When you have rapid weight loss it is still important that you are getting the right kind of nutrients.  WLS patients live on about 600 to 900 calories a day for several months after their surgeries.  But,  if it isn't mostly calories from protein, the body consumes its muscles along with the fat.  Do you think she would drink protein drinks?  As long as she is getting 60 grams of protein a day she will be okay.   I feel for you in your situation.  I know that no one can make someone do something they do not want to do.  My father is similar in that he refuses to do what the doctors tell him.  Day by day he is becoming less mobile.  It is very sad. I guess this is not much help. Lori