Hi all,

I know this post is a little longer than some and involves more reading, but I have a rather complicated scenario that has me absolutely desperate for any advice at all. I had a Mini (Sleeve) Bypass in July of 2008. By July of 2009, I'd lost 130 lbs. and all was well. I lost weight fairly slowly, but consistently.

Then, due to a bizarre constellation of symptoms leading me to many docs and many tests, in November 2009 I learned I had a very rare, debilitating, and totally incurable autoimmune disease called Neuromyelitis Optica. It has since left me blind, crippled, and unable to care for myself. It also causes severe tremors, brain and spinal cord lesions, and muscle weakness. I have undergone a very aggressive chemotherapy regimen in an attempt to buy myself some time. Obviously, chemo coupled with a bypass has its own massively inconvenient nutritional and dietary challenges. I was put on Fentanyl (opiate) patches to deal with the pain in early 2010 and so I'm sure you can probably guess that my normal meds now include massive amounts of laxatives (MiraLax and Senekot mostly) to deal with the opiate-related constipation. I was diligent, and I continued to steadily lose weight. Finally, by the end of 2013, I had reached my goal weight. I felt fairly good (at least as much as could be expected for an NMO patient.) Suddenly, I started bloating and having a lot of "backup" in my throat whenever eating or drinking. I finally had a very violent amount of pain one morning after waking up, and was rushed to the ER. I had a massive quantity of stones literally tearing my gallbladder apart, so the doc had to try to pull it out laparascopically due to the danger of post-op infection with my medical condition. 

I pulled through, but I had a really slow recovery. Pulling that massive gallbladder through such a tiny opening left me with an EXCRUCIATING degree of pain, and having no immune system didn't help my healing, but I finally bounced back. I discovered literally immediately after getting back up and around 2 weeks later that I was gaining weight really quickly. I changed absolutely nothing in my exercise routine, diet, or medications, but by the Summer of 2014, I'd gained almost 30 lbs!

I have not gained any weight since then and have been plateaued for a year now, but I cannot bear carrying this extra weight. I have seen many different doctors, but no one can discover the cause of this issue. My body is a miserable enough prison as it is, but the weight gain is more than I can bear. The constipation is exponentially worse than it was before the gallbladder removal, despite the fact that I'm now on prescription laxatives on top of the ones I was taking already! I heard that perhaps taking bile supplements would help, but I didn't notice much difference and I'm not sure how long it's supposed to take to start working. I am positively desperate -- I will try anything. I gotta tell ya, I never thought I'd miss old "Agent Orange" but I'd kill for it these days... 

I was just wondering if anyone has had a gallbladder removal and has experienced similar problems -- and if so, have you found a remedy?

I am almost 5 years out and have started the creep.  I've put on about 10lbs a year over the past 2 years.  Not a scary amount yet, but enough where my clothes are pulling a bit.  I used to come here several times a day, but to be honest I haven't even thought about this website in probably 3 years or so.  I'm really happy I came back today.  Thanks for the info you folks post.  Simple things, but its helpful to see it posted in front of you.  Gets you focused again and helps to remember I'm not in this alone.

All I know is this. When I was 257 lbs, something hurt every day. Every single day I was in pain. My blood pressure was up. My blood sugar was off. I didn't sleep well. My joints ached. And on and on and on.m

And and as for lifting, if we think for a moment that excessive weight doesn't throw off the natural points of balance and center of gravity, we are just plain wrong. When my son worked for Home Depot, they had constant safety trainings on topics such as how to lift things without injury, built around the slogan "Keep it Close." Well, when our bodies are carrying a lot of extra weight, we can't keep anything close for safety when lifting. And injuries do indeed happen. That's not fat shaming - it's physics. 

Jill, it is very hard to see our children go through difficult times but I commend you for understanding that ANY decision about weight loss is your daughter's. 

My daughter has mentioned it, but does not seem interested.  I think she is just not ready, and she has seen my struggles as well as my successes. 

Love to hear stories like this. I am only 3 years out and like to hear of longer successes