c/p from RNY Forum, metabolic disorder 6 years out

I have no right to post here, I have not been a support person on this forum for years. I am ashamed and embarrassed that I am turing to the community that I least deserve.

Here goes.

I was a successful RNY patient, I lost close to 175lbs in the first year after surgery. I was still far from my goal, but I was losing and I was happy. I had my first bio child in 2004, gained 62lbs, lost most of it right after birth, and didn't think much about the couple extra pounds that didn't come off. I started working out in 2005, but I was not losing weight at all. In 6 months time, I had not lost one single pound, and that's working out 1-2 hours per day, 6 days per week with a trainer.

I had another baby in 2007. I didn't gain much weight at all and I didn't lose any having him. I simply could NOT lose weight. I went back to the gym, injured myself a couple times, ignored my injuries and tried very hard to lose weight. Nothing came off. I finally decided to go back to my surgeon for help. She referred me to an internist. He ran a ton of tests on me--my bloodwork came back fine, my stomach seemed to be fine so the only other option was to have metabolic testing. Guess what? I have a metabolic disorder. I do not burn my calories like I should. I burn a maximum of 1700 calories per day, that's working out and breastfeeding included! I should be burning a lot more than that according to my doctor. He prescriped ephedrine but I can't take it now, and there is nothing else I can take until my baby weens. I won't ween him just so I can take medication.

I don't know what to do. I've gained 50lbs over the past 4 years and I'm furious with myself. I hate looking in the mirror--all I see is a big, fat failure.

I'm here for pity, I'm here for healthy suggestions. Anyone have any??? Should I consider another type of surgery???

Thank you so much for reading this.

First, here's a hug ((((()))))

Why is he putting you on uppers?  Isn't there something herbal that can up your metabolism?

Yes, you've put on weight.  So have I.  Don't get into the "Hate myself" mode again;  that's probably what contributed to your original weight gain.

Stay the course, get the baby weened, then get back into your routine of protein firs****er, supplements, and exercise.  I know that 2 little ones can make a real dent in your time, so try to find things that you can do with them.  They'll love spending the time with you and you'll get the fun of them and the exercise at the same time.

I have read of other moms here on OH with the same problem.  Try posting on the Pregnancy forum;  I'll bet there are some moms there that will have some great advice.

Good luck!

Jenn, I'm sorry you are dealing with this.  Please don't look at yourself as a failure because you aren't.  Your still around 125 lbs down from WLS that's something to be proud of.  What you are dealing with is an unfortunate situation, I cannot imagine the fear you must be experiencing with all the hard work to lose the weight, exercising so much to lose and still nothing happening.

As for another surgery, this is something you would need to talk to your doctor about, IF a revision would hel*****t.   I wish you the best.

Well i have to say me too i put on about 65lbs with my baby he is now 1 year and i still cant get it off i lost about the same amount of lbs as u and have put back on about the same amount. my body will not let go of this extra weight. I stay the same weight no matter what. I my need to have that same test done. I can eat everything or nothing and still nothing happens. So i just wanted to drop you a note and let you know that you are not alone. I have to stop breastfeeding at about 4 months out because he was not gaining any thing. doc told me he was not getting enough milk from me. I thought i was feeding him enough because he was sleeping and not crying all the time as if he were hungry. But i guess not. anyway i am in the same boat and i wanted you to know that you are not alone. Let me know if you find anything out that could help us get this off i hate being this heavy. i was in a size 16 and that was a great size for me. i did not make it to goal i was about 60 lbs from it and then my little one came along. thanks for listing.

faith

Hi Jenn :)

Most of us have metabolic disorders. Its one of the reasons we are able to be obese. Diabetes is a metabolic disorder. There are many metabolic disorders with varying forms of treatment/management. Firstly you have to know what metabolic disorder you have and what treatment options are available. Treating the weight gain by itself is not good enough, Treat the illness, weight loss will follow. From what I've read most metabolic disorders are treated by special dietary restrictions.

I would guess you have a carbohydrate metabolic disorder whereby your body does not burn carbs. Its is common in obese people. Rarely will you meet an obese person who lives on meat and carb free foods. Many eat more protein/fat than carbs but the overall consumption of carbs is still too high for their metabolic abilities.

If I had your issue I think I would switch to a restricted carb diet. I would experiment to see how much carbs I could or could not eat to lose weight. The diet one needs to lose weight and maintain weight are not always the same. I needed a low carb ultra low calorie diet to lose all of my weight but to maintain it I need a balanced diet, higher in protein and fat than normal people as well as higher in calories.

There is no point in going to the self hate mantra we all know so well. You have an illness, you are doing your best (which from the sounds of things is far better than most people who are actually losing weight) and you know what is wrong now.

Work the medical side of this and see where you can go.

Good luck :)
HUGS
PK