lost too much weight, still losing fighting to maintain :(

 So this will sound like a bad stephen king novel but its true. So at 24 my very good insurence was going to expire and i would be on state insurence. At 330 lbs i decided to get bypass knowing i would not have another oppertunity for many years if ever. I had looked into it as a teenager and decided to try exercise and diet, but at 24 it would be my only chance to get it with full insurence so i went for it. the surgury had complications internal bleeding and i spent 2 weeks in the icu teetering on the brink of life and death. Luckily i was in a very good hospital and i survived but since i have never been able to eat solid foods w/o throwing up.  by 9 months out i had lost 100lbs, by one and a half years out i had lost 180lbs went from a pant size of 44 to 29 and was a stick at 150lbs so weak and feeble that i could barely function a scary low BP 90/40 and was losing muscle and decided to seek more medical help, this was 4 months ago. I've been having 120g of protien a day in liquid form, for food high calorie shakes and beans and pudding. My body can not handle meat or any fiberous food. spice is out so are countless other things, my stomache size is about 1/2-3/4 cup of food. I take many vitimans and have a nutritionist and my GP and still see my surgeon who seems concerned but also aprehensive to say anything is wrong from the bypass. I also deal with food/stomache/abdominal related pain i . This had affected my life in many negative ways, work is a struggle from fatigue and pain. I love being skinny don't get me wrong i had been over weight all my life but this is the other extreame. Ive just recently notice how sickly i look in photographs like a mix of ghandi and aberham linclon :(. ive managed to gain 10lbs in the last 3 months been to gi doc had ct/xray/cat and am at 160lbs. It is a full time job to stay hydrated and well fed. Anyways my question is has anyone else had a problem maintaining a healthy weight.

Hi,

Well, some people do have the reverse issue.  It is rare but it happens.  You seriously need some intervention!  See your doctor.  Get a second opinion.

My husband had RNY on June 25th, 2008.  He has lost 160 pounds in 8 months.  He has trouble holding down solid food unless it is very soft or fine.  I'm very concerned about his weight loss continuing. He too looks sickly, but the doctor has taken blood work and did another scope to check. We thought perhaps he had scar tissue form around the opening to the pouch. Which is not all that uncommon and requires dialation.  That wasn't the case with him, but he still can't hold down solid food.  It i**** or miss.  It is almost like he is balemic.  He has also been dealing with depression.  Major depression, and he has started having anxiety attacks as well.  Yes he too loves being thin considering he has gone from a 58 pants to a 38, but it is all these other issues.  Our whole lives have changed.  We used to be outgoing and very social. Now it is a task just to get him to go somewhere ever for a drive down to the water.  He has lost his desire to put himself out there.  We used to go out to dinner or movies or something at least 2-3 times a week, and weekends we'd just go off somewhere.  Now all we do is hang out at the house.  He is seeing doctors but I'm beginning to question if they are the right kind or perhaps question if they are the right ones.  Considering an endocronoligist for the blood imbalance and malabsorption, and perhaps changing his psyc doctor.  Perhaps going to a phycologist instead to help him with wls adaptive behaviors.  He's not adapting very well.  I'm very confused and concerned.

 yeah sounds like me, beans n pudding :) it is tough to go out because of pain and very low energy levels probably less than when i was obese. Ive go to the doctor every two weeks my gp is my best ally he belives that something major is happening and she has sent to to nutritionist *****cently told me to consume 4k cals a day  and 150g fat which i find impossible thats double a normal persons intake!!! currently im looking for high fat/cal shakes i used to see for bodybuilders but i think they went out with the low fat craze. ive been scoped from both ends done barrium swallows with no visible concerns. Im so sick of medical plazas and having my health run my life not benefiting it. i don't do any cardio anymore and fight to maintain what muscles i have. I feel sorry for you and your husband this can cause social problems, i lost my girlfriends because i couldn't keep up with her anymore it really was for the best i hover around 155lbs one day of sickness or the wrong food can cause sever diahrea and dehydration causing me to go to 150. My goal of 175 seems so far out of reach. it just really sucks going from one health extreme to the other. I to have dealt with depression been on several different medications sometimes seem to help sometimes dosent. This severity of this problem is really starting to sink in the newness of this body is going away and what i see in the mirror is starting to frighten me. has anyone else dealt with this please let me know!!

Who was your surgeon and where did you have it done?  Where is the support from them?

 they are helping have done blood work ordered all the right tests, but just havent found anything yet. they are pretty puzzled they have said.

Bless your heart.  I'm so sorry to hear about your troubles with this.  I'm just praying that all goes well with my surgery next Friday.

The doctor's office NEVER gave me even a "HINT" of what some of the realities of this surgery are.  I am so glad I found this site.  After reading a few of these posts from you folks, I can't help but feel extreme desperation for you all.  And to think, I was going to put myself through this same thing.  I am scheduled for July 7 gastric by pass.  My god....is being fat that bad?  I'm a nice person even if I like food.  I wish you only the best and hope that all of you find some type of peace and happiness.  Not sure how you will with this surgery changing your body for life, but I still hope that somehow you are all able to find a way to "cope" with it.  My sincerest sympathies.  

I'm sorry you're having these problems. It still sounds like they are missing something in your supplements. You may also want to add liquid protein drinks to make sure you are getting enough while they figure it out.
Worst case, you may need your bypass revised if you are not absorbing enough, but there are other things they can try, such as taking digestive enzymes to help you get more nutrients. Keep on them till they figure it out, you deserve to feel better.

 According to everything that I've read, your intestines will start becoming more efficient at absorbing what you put into them.   Also, your pouch will stretch out and you can take in more food and liquids.  Most people who have RNY surgery experience "bounce back" weight gain which starts at 2-3 years out.   I don't know how far out you are from your surgical date.

It sounds like something else may be at play here.   I'd get to another surgeon (maybe at a major medical center or the bariatric department head at a local medical college) for a second opinion.   You may have a stricture, hernia, fistula, fissure, partial blockage or some other complication causing your current problems.   I'm recommending another surgeon because if you go to the one who did the original WLS, he or she has a vested interest in telling you that everything is OK and to just "wait and see".

Have you  had your vitamin levels checked?    Are you taking the dry forms of the vites?    That is important for absorption.

I've  read of these types of problems with the old BPD/DS (Scopinaro) procedure, which is why they don't do it anymore.     Do you know if you were made "proximal" or "distal" or "extended"??(It has to do with the amount bypassed and the length of your common channel.)   

If your surgery was done LAP, maybe the surgeon didn't realize how much intestine he/she was bypassing and accidentally took too much.   Sometimes during LAP surgery, mistakes can be made.   Not common, but it does happen because they're not actually "in" there.

In answer to your question:  No, I haven't heard of anyone with this problem after a virgin RNY surgery.    I have, however, read about someone who was an "extended" RNY (ERNY) revision who is having similar problems.