I as well have had extreme itch in the private regions one month following my by-pass surgery. I can only find relief by washing the area following urination. The itch is so bad it keeps me from sleeping especially. I have had tests, prescriptions etc without resolve. No discharge, odor ever present, only rediness from constant itching. I have a RX cream that works but must be applied following each episode which is not always possible as I work! I have never had this symptom prior to gastric by pass and it followed one month after surgery. HELP!

3 years later after the loss of my daughter in March 2019, I fought for custody of her sons. Then I lost my long- term boyfriend, my rock, in February 2021. My son-in- law passed away last year and I was appointed sole legal guardian of my grieving grandsons.

My older brother called me a victim and told me to stop making excuses for everything he considered that I've done wrong (basically not living my life according to HIS rules). He is a toxic bully who I've cut contact with, but he was right about one thing-

Excuses for not following my required calorie, protein, and water intake even for very valid reasons (overwhelmed with grief, childcare, work, pandemic, sports, school issues, probate of the estates, filing for full guardianship, SS benefits, getting the boys caught up on doctors and dental appointments, my surgeries, disability leave, etc., etc.) will not reduce or stop weight from piling on.

I am just now starting to roll out of the breakers to take a breath. I'm proud to have accomplished everything needed, but I've gained about 60-70 lbs from my lowest weight. It is time to take care of myself so I'll be around to take care of my grandsons!

I used to be on here at least 5x/week.

First what happened to you is normal. After weight loss surgery you put your body into a starvation mode. The weight comes off effortlessly, but your body feels like it is being starved and it fights back by learning how to hold on to more of the calories that you do feed it. Most people do great for two years but then gain back 20 or 30 pounds in year three after the surgery.

There is only one way to loss that weight again and it is by eating less calories than you burn. The formula is pretty easy. Decide what you want to weigh and then multiply it by ten. That is the number of calories to eat every day until you are at that weight. When you are back to your goal weight, you may need to add more calories to stop losing.

I have lost about 35 pounds that way but it took me two years. I went to daily online Weigh****cher meetings and got a lot of education and inspiration from that group. It was expensive and took time and work, but it accomplished what I needed to do. Exercise is great and following some diet plans can be healthy but only reducing calories will get that weight off again.

Good morning,

Congrats on making it through surgery. I hope your recovery has gone well.

A few things. You threw your body for a loop when you had surgery, and you're still healing. You've probably seen this advice but don't compare your journey to anyone else's. Your journey will be unique to you. A lot of people say to put the scale away for the first month.

All of that to say, none of your processes are the same, now. I literally asked my clinic the same question because I was losing faster pre-op than I did post-surgery. I lost 12 pounds the first month afterward, which I was happy with but doesn't track against all the 30 pound loss stories you see posted on socials. My clinic told me at that follow up that I was a slow loser...though it didn't end up that way in the long run.

You also have to factor in your starting weight, how much you lost during pre-op, etc. If you lost a significant amount leading in, there might be a slow start. Or you might just be a slow loser. And post surgery, we all lose differently. In previous cycles where I lost 100+ pounds, it was a steady loss. After the initial few months for surgery, it was stop and start until I got sick...few pounds of loss and three week stalls.

If you stay the course and keep on plan, you'll see the results. As you said, going from 4k calories to where you are now...it can't be anything otherwise. It's definitely a marathon rather than a sprint, though. You might have lost the weight without surgery but keeping it off is the difference!

Best wishes.

Good morning,

Don't forget to check out the last episode of our Q&A Section.

You can watch it here: https://youtu.be/UytUPCKG_Do

Regards.

Dr. Alvarez