Prescription weight loss meds for weight gain?

Has anyone here taken prescription meds to help with weight gain after the gastric bypass?

If so, do they work well?

What is name of meds I have an appt tomorrow and would like to discuss with my dr.

Thank You

Patsy

Honestly I haven't heard of anyone having success with prescription weight loss meds after WLS.

What you should be looking at is why did you gain weight. Is there something mechanically wrong with your bypass? Was it because you went off plan?

There is always a small regain after WLS, but most of the time it is unfortunately due to us going off plan and not following the rules long term. I myself had a 30lb regain and as of Monday morning I am down 15lbs just because I started back to weighing/tracking what I eat. I make sure all meals are dense protein forward. I drink 100oz or more of water and I make sure I take all my vitamins daily.

Best of luck to you.

I know of a couple on phentermine and both of them haven't lost a lb long term and one is still actively regaining.

Back to basics as a way of life is the only way to lose regain and maintain long term.

There is no magic pill or surgery that does all the work forever.

Topomax, Alli, phentermine are a few you could discuss with him. I'm sure there are others, but they all have horrible side effects.

Here's the thing about the meds. Or one of the things anyway.

You may lose 30-50 pounds if you can get on the one that works for your body. They aren't long term solutions though. Even if you find a doc who'll put you on the very strongest prescription and agrees to treat you for the rest of your life, you'll build up a tolerance within several months. Certainly within a year. Most providers won't keep refilling for that long though and the expectation as I know it is to be back off the pills within a matter of months.

And either way, then what? You'll likely regain once you either discontinue the drug or (eventually) when you build up a tolerance. In a weird way it's kind of similar to weight loss surgery and the bottom line is definitely the same: it's all just you. You are the one who has to manage your weight. There is no permanent solution other than consuming less calorie than you burn.

Dense protein, maybe a small portion of leafy green veggies, a bite or two of carbs if you have room. Sweets will only slow your loss and may get you a nice dumping episode so limit those to rare until you've lost regain. When you do have them, get used to eating only a few bites. When I say "few", I mean three to five.

It is always, always, ALWAYS going to end up squarely in your own lap. I wish I had some magic answer, but I didn't have one preop and I don't now. Even the DS'rs can end up in the same place. They may be able to get away with some extra calories, especially fatty ones since they malabsorb fats. But they regain too as the years progress if they aren't vigilant with their eating programs.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do or try. My regains overwhelmed me and I got to the point where I'd try anything. The only thing that worked for me is described above. Once I got that down I kept losing. To the point where in my 10th year last year I got down to 40ish pounds under my original lowest weight. Unless you've got some kind of mechanical failure in there, your pouch will work for you when you feed it correctly. For the rest of your life.

disclaimer: There are those on OH who are being treated pharmaceutically for Binge Eating Disorder. In my mind that's a whole different situation but I could very easily be wrong.

Thank you for the information I appreciate you taking the time to respond I would love to have a jumpstart to get started again if only for one month I wanted to try see what I could do but I know the way to do it is to go back to basics

best of luck to you always

patsy

you're welcome. And Patsy if this is something that's going to be rattling around in your mind until you experience it yourself I say go for it. It is after all your body to work with however you see fit. Assuming you're doc clears you for it I would never say a hard "no".

I've been at the point of trying everything myself so I completely understand and I'm betting lots of OHr's can understand too.

Vigilance is definitely required when you transition off. The draw is losing a good sum of weight (that jumpstart you referred to). The possible problem presents when the meds either stop working or the doc refuses to write for anymore. But not everyone gains all of the weight back in these situations and you may be that singular exception to the rule.

Good luck whatever you decide. It would be great to hear from you throughout the time frame that you're medicated and then afterwards because we all learn so much from each other. So I hope you'll share, but you are not obligated to do so.

thank you I will update as I go along see what happens pills don't seem like a good answer to me never worked before for sure

patsy

i took phentermine for a while when i was about 7 yrs out from RNY (which was about 3 yrs ago). it worked short term and then i gained it back. i'm now in the process of losing by logging all my food and going back to basics -- so far so good. as others have said, medication may jump start weight loss but its only a temporary fix. and my understanding is that none of the meds are designed to be taken long term.

thank you best of luck to you on this journey patsy

TPatsy, years ago (before WLS) I tried phen-phen, or something like it. Basically Speed. I lost some weight, but got off the meds because I was a wreck. Couldn't sit still, couldn't sleep, etc. The weight I did lose cake right back on.

I had surgery almost five years ago. I lost 160, but never reached goal because I stopped following plan. I gained about 20 pounds, and could not get myself back on track. Nothing was working and I was thinking about revision...how could I get an RNY. But I knew my sleeve still worked...dense protein fills me up fast.

I finally decided to go to the WLS Center and got on their non-surgical program. Met with surgeon, physician's assistant, and nutritionist. Had blood work done, etc. I'm back on vitamins and meet with nutritionist monthly, and I can call her anytime. It has helped tremendously... makes me accountable again. I'm nearing Onderland and then plan on losing another 25 pounds.

Hope you can get back on track again.