Originally posted in RNY, but was largely ignored..

I'll just paste what I had written, I think you guys might understand more anyway.

No one probably even knows me, I've been haunting the pregnancy boards for a year now.  I had my surgery in May of 2009 and started out at 329 pounds.  I had got to 217 last march when I found out I was pregnant.  I guess I was a lucky one, I didn't gain a pound during pregnancy (dropped to 205 at one point) and I had a healthy baby girl at 35 weeks. After I had the baby I ballooned ...to my own standards anyway...back up to 219, doctor says it was hormones.  It's very difficult getting back to my "losing zone" now that I've had my daughter. While I was pregnant I had to eat every hour or I'd pass out, and I could eat a ton more and my doctor wanted me to eat even more than that. There are some days now I feel restriction and some days I don't, and I'm afraid I'm getting back into my old habits.  I'm young, 23 in fact, and just moved to a new town with no friends and am home alone all day being a stay at home mom.  I'm worried! I can't seem to find my old motivation..I linger between 205 and 210 most days, sometimes going up to 5 pounds in a day ( I believe I'm retaining water.)  My hormones are still wacked out from pcos and Mirena I had inserted last month, I couldn't even produce breast milk...at all. I was pretty sad about it. Ok, Im rambling. Anyway, I just needed some encouragement and some advice to kick my butt back into line. I never did figure out how to get an icon photo, but I'll add some more pictures to my albums so you get an idea of my body type and such. Ughh, getting depressed about it! Thanks in advance.

I'm not an RNY patient but I just wanted to encourage you some anyway. I know you RNYers talk about a pouch test.. have you tried that? Besides diet.. how about fun activities you can do with your baby girl? Not sure where you are weatherwise but maybe take her for a walk twice a day. Just go and do something. Walk the mall if it is cold. Doing things gets us off our butts.. and once started it tends to encourage you to do more. You lost a great amount of weight. You can do it. You have proven it. Keep your chin up and I am sure other RNYers will chime in as well.

Oh hon... you need to give yourself a little break. You just had a baby. You looked awesome right before having her and your weight loss is amazing!! You have come a long way. As for the breast feeding. PCOS sucks and it is probably the culprit. I wasn't able to bf very long with either of mine and was told that was the issue. And the weight loss...well I still totally struggle. But, I recently started to see a specialist in wls and pcos. He is amazing. I had complained that I had so much water retention during my cycle that I would lose 10 pounds in a month only to gain it back with period to take another month to lose it again. It sucked. I still have restriction, I dump on sugar, I am active. It just doesn't seem fair. He put me on birth control pills (even though I have my tubes tied) I take yaz for 12 weeks and then take one week off the pill for a cycle. Kind of like seasonique. He put me on metformin to regulate the hormones. And then he tole me to eat a low glycemic index diet. It has worked!! It has been hard and has taken a lot of will power still...but I have lost 40 of the 52 pounds I put on with my 2 pg's. I am no where near surgeons goal. But I became healthy enough to have 2 babies (that I couldn't get pg with prior to rny)

My recommendations. Give yourself a little break. You are beautiful and have a beautiful family! If you feel that you are depressed about this tell your ob. Post partum depression is common and happens to the best of us, don't be afraid to ask for help. And as the pp said, get out. Look online for the local mommies group. They usually meet once a week at a park for walks or things of that nature. You need people who know what you are going through. If you can, see a specialist...do it. They can run bloodwork and get your hormones in better control. Try soulcysters.com for support...awesome site. Finally, enjoy that little one! Before you know it she is gonna be 2 and pushing every limit and be on your last nerve!! lol

Good luck. Stay positive and come back around if you feel like it...this is a great support group!

Shari

Hi. I am sorry you are going through this alone. Congrats on your baby girl.
Are you exercising? If you have the room (even in a garage) I would recommend getting a treadmill. I bought one a couple months ago and use it every day for 30 minutes. I just power walk at an incline but it makes me feel sooooo much better about myself, mentally. The couple days that I didn't get on because of holiday plans or something...I felt like sh*t throughought the day. Another plus to having your own machine, you can use it when ever you want even in your pajamas and blast your own music. I hated going to the gym. So seriously, if you have the room and a little extra money, look into this idea. I bargain hunted and found a decent one on Amazon with free shipping for $399. But I know you can get them used on Craigslist for much cheaper. It was the best purchase I ever made and so what If my car doesn't fit in the garage anymore, lol.
Aside from exercising, make sure you are drinking enough water and taking your vitamins. A lack of B vites (B-12 especially) can cause mood swings, depression and lethargy. So be sure you are getting a monthly shot or taking a sublingual since you had RNY. Good luck honey and feel free to post here for support. Everyone is very nice here :)

treadmill on the way:) my mother is giving me hers.  im thinking of doing the jillian michaels thing..not sure.  i used to be really into yoga but dr told me to stop during pregnancy, they were afraid id go into early labor.

Because you are not BFing, I would totally recommend the 5 day pouch test (www.5daypouchtest.com). Remember that every food is different and will take up more or less room. For example, I can eat a full bag of popcorn, but only a few bites of fish or chicken. So you being able to eat a lot of something, and not so much of another is normal. I was the same way that I had to eat something every hour, and it is kinda hard to break.

Good Luck, and I hope that everything works out for you.

Just wanted to say welcome - and glad that you popped in.  Please don't be a stranger any more.  This board is not only for those ttc or pregnant...but for mommies out there too.

I peeked at your pictures.  You are beautiful...you have gorgeous eyes and a beautiful smile...and your little girl is just as gorgeous. 

I'd also second what everyone else said - especially Shari.  Talk to your dr and tell him/her how you're feeling.  I'm by no means an expert - but you do sound like you could be depressed. That could be a combination of post-partum made worse by the move to a new town.  I've moved plenty in my life - across country and around the world - and I know how it is to move where you don't know anyone.  The fact you're doing it with a new baby just makes you feel more isolated because you don't know other mommies.  Look around, I'm sure they're there.  If not...go where you see other mommies go (even the mall or - blech - McDs!) - and talk to other women with young babies...maybe you could start up a small group of young moms...make friends amongst yourself and have play dates with the kids as they grow. 

Don't hide away in your house in your new town - go explore the town. Go walk around the center of town, learning where everything is at...talk to the local people.  Find a volunteer group you could participate in just to get out of the house and make friends. 

I think addressing the possible depression - as well as the PCOS issues Shari mentioned - will seriously help you get back on track with the weight loss, or even just weight maintenance....and make you feel better in general. 

Best wishes...congrats on the birth of your little girl (what's her name?)...and please stay active here...we're here when/if you need to chat.

You're very right about feeling isolated. As much as I love my baby (Israel Melissa is her name) she was very unexpected and I didn't have time to mentally prepare as my pregnancy was very stressful with the father. We are fine now, but wow was it rough ha.  I know that I'm depressed and this just adds to it, I don't drive either (anxiety issues) and I absolutely plan on walking a lot when it gets warmer, just because I'm so stuck in the house right now. I posted once on this board when I was about to give birth, and you might have responded. I was stuck at 7cm for 2 weeks then at 9 for a few days..and she was 5 weeks premature. Man that seems like forever ago...I'm a really bad rambler, but I have tried to make friends here with kids, most are too busy or married and feel weird around me cause I'm not.

Please be sure and talk to your dr about the depression and the anxiety.  Call him and make an appointment...don't just wait until you happen to be there and say 'Oh by the way....' Your mental health is just as - if not more - important as your physical health.  If you are depressed, you are less likely to eat and/or exercise like you should, directly effecting your physical health...which then turns around and makes you more depressed.  Nip it in the bud and talk to your dr.  There are medicines to help.  They probably have something to help with the anxiety that's keeping you from driving.

Ask your pedi if there are any 'mommy groups' out there and join them.  It may take several times going before you start feeling like people are warming up to you...but it will happen.  Don't go one time with the mind set that if you don't make a friend that day, you're never coming back.  Friendships take time to build.  Hopefully, since you don't have a car, you're on public transportation lines and would be able to get there. 

I know it's hard right now if you're anywhere where all those storms have been hitting...but make as much effort as you reasonably can - without risking trudging through feet of snow with Israel - to get  out of the house as often as possible.  Don't let your house become a prison. 

On the days you can't get out...pop in here and chat with us.  Someone's almost always online...and I'm sure you have some advice and information that others can use...whether it's new mommie advice, advice to someone who just gave birth to a premie -or is facing that risk...whatever...you have experiences that someone else could use your input on. 

Hey I also have PCOS and I have gained some weight back and had a hell of a time getting back on track. I decided to take a different route. But if I were you I would really consider doing what Shari said and do the low G.I. gluten free way of eating. Here soon I will plan on eating gluten and sugar free to see if it will help me also. Good luck to you!
Julia