A question to those who lost too much...

I've been there Carolyn.  It's a little scary.  I weighed  about your same weight pre-op and I lost down to 113 pounds...my surgeon's goal was 134 which I attained in 6 months. *;m 5'5 1/2")  I questioned my surgeon at my 1 yr checkup and he advised me to cut back to exercising 4 days a week instead of 7, to add a good carb snack every day and continue to monitor my weight (which I did).  He said I could even lose a few more pounds since I had not reached the 18 month post op date, then I would gain a few pounds and hopefully stabilize.  Thankfully, I used his suggestion and maintained my weight at 115 for a year.  Now,nearly 4 yrs. post, I'm pretty stable maintaning 123 pounds.  I'm still thin....but at least I don't look anorexic.  A TT would help. Blessings and best wishes.... luvitsunnyv

Thank you,  it's good to hear from those who have made it through.  My surgeon had me cut back on my exercise routine back in January after I hit goal.  I'm hoping after I hit 18 months things will bounce back a bit, but I'm just worried about the 3 months between now and then.  In the past 2.5 months I've lost 15lbs while trying to maintain.

Hey Carolyn, I am sorry you are dealing with this. In my opinion, I think the surgery (TT) may have done it.  I know that I had to have exploratory surgery at ~7 months post-op and I could not eat the same afterwards.  I don't know if it was the anesthesia, or being on liquids, or what, but, I know that my stomach would sieze up after a few bites.  Gradually (after 2 months) I was able to resume normal portions. Now, on a sorta related topic.  I want to drop 10 more pounds and my NUT suggested PS to me.  Well, I started reading the PS board and actually got flamed for even suggesting trying PS to lose the last 10 pounds.  I think the PS'ers thought that was my only motivation.  Yeah, right, I'm not that vain to go through that much pain.  It really irks me to this day that I got those responses. My observation though, after lurking and reading other PS post-op stories is that you do indeed kick start your weight loss and lose another  few pounds.  I am factoring this in to my PS decision.  I'm still slowly losing, currently 136.  So, yeah, I could probably do 126 at 5'5", but not much lower. (How do you find clothes at this size????) I too am hypothyroid, however, for unknown reasons, my TSH has been elevated both in January and May of this year.  I am on 300 mcg of synthroid.  I am overdue to get retested.  I must malabsorb the synthroid or something...my PCP is baffled...says I'm at a dose for a 350 pound person. Anyway, I'm rambling, but, I hope you get things stabilized.  The weight gain is sooo scary.  I think if you could just get stabilized at ~120 and maintain, you's be a happy camper. You've done so well, I hope you get a handle on this and find a good maintanance regimen.  Many people  just don't realize the difficulties in the beginning of this journey and at the end (maintaining).  The losing weight window is the least difficult part, in my opinion. Again, good luck and keep us all posted. Karen

Thank you Karen.  I agree on a couple of levels.  The TT definitely has made my pouch feel smaller, but also having the surgery seems to have changed my need for thyroid meds again.  I had another surgery since the RNY - I had a lesion removed from my nose (can you believe 3 surgeries in one yr?) and that time my thyroid went bonkers too.  Before I had the RNY I was SEVERELY hypothyroid and my body was "eating" the synthroid.  From the time I was diagnosed at 18, my dose never stayed level for more than a year.  I'd put on 20-30 lbs, go to the doctor to get the level checked, they'd up the dose, I'd lose 5lbs and a year or sometimes 6 months later we'd do it all over again.  I was at 375mcg at one point so I know what you're going through too.  You need to see an endocrinologist!  Now I'm hyperthyroid on 117mcg.  Our bodies are weird... You're right if I could stabilize at 120 or 125, I'd be thrilled. I think you are at a perfect point to have your PS.  I'm sorry that you got flamed on the PS board.  You notice I didn't post this there.  I love those ladies, but....  there are some topics that you don't talk about on some boards. Thank you for all of your thoughts and well wishes.

I had a similar issue.  I had a LBL and I lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks which left me weighing 113 pounds at 5'5". My bones on my chest stick out and my face is extremely thin.  I wish I could decide where I want to gain the weight. I called my surgeon and he suggested drinking 3 protein shakes a day, eat foods like eggs, whole wheat breads.  The carbs don't agree with me either.  Since doing this I have gained 3-4 pounds depending on the day.  Good Luck!

I'm with you, if I could gain some weight back in my chest I'd be a happy lady!!  I'm going out to get protein shakes today.  Thank you to everyone for all your suggestions!!!

I had the same problem. My thyroid got too high from the weight loss and that made me lose MORE weight than I wanted. I'm at 120 now, my original doctor's goal was 140. I hit 140 for about a month and all of a sudden the weight was melting off. I had my thyroid checked again. My dr lowered it from 225mcg down to 150mcg, I originally before WLS was taking 300mcg. After 6 months or so, he lowered it to 225mcg. I recently had a lbl and breast lift. going into the surgery, my weight was 133, so lost 5-7 pounds of skin, and the rest of the weight was lost from not having much of an appetite. my appetite is coming back, but no weight gain. I look a little too skinny, my face is really drawn in and my neck is very thin. I agree, I wish i could tell my body where to distribute the weight. I'm trying to eat more often, since you can't really eat MORE food at one sitting. I too will try protein drinks. I don't want to snack on bad foods cuz I'm scared of going back to old eating habits. My advice to you is monitor your thyroid often. Eat more often, and cut back  a little on exercise. Try not to get discouraged. Things always work out!! Good luck.