My surgery is scheduled for april. i am already a skinny guy, 5'8 145lbs. it has always been a struggle to put on weight. my last colitis flare i lost about 15 lbs. and maybe put 10 back on after a long while. i am really worried that after my surgery i am going to waste away. any help or suggestions would be appreciated. i eat like crap too, alot of fast food and high protein food and i still have problems gaining it.

I think most people find they gain weight after surgeries (probably more likely after the takedown) simply becuase they are healthy and can eat anything they want again. Most of us restrict our diets when in a flare and that combined with the illness causes the weight loss. I think once you recover from the surgeries you'll find it easier to put on weight and keep it. That said, post surgeries I stayed about 10lbs lighter than I ever was pre-surgery, but luckily that still keeps me at a healthy weight (but on the low side for sure)

You may want to drink Ensure or Boost. While my goal for doing so post surgery was for the nutrition, they are both high in calories.

Sounds to me like you just have a high metabolism. I was on Prednisone for a while before my surgery so I was about 50 lbs overweight, however, during the 11 months I went through my surgeries, I lost about 70 lbs, which put me 20lbs underweight. I did look a little too skinny but after takedown, your diet and appetite will improve and you will gain some weight back easily. I am barely 3 months post takedown and I have already gained back 20lbs, so I am at a healthy weight now. There is not much you can do about losing weight because your digestive system will be inactive for a few days after each surgery and during recovery you probably won't have much of an appetite, but after surgery it will get better. My surgeon recommended ensure or boost drinks and high calorie foods. Hope this helps!

This is a good question/concern. I found that I gained more weight easier when I had an ostomy than with my j-pouch. I have finally (after a year and a half) gotten back to my pre-UC/colectomy weight.

However, with the j-pouch I wasn't wasting away either. I maintained pretty well around 170. I'm now at 180 and am pretty happy with it. For me, less BMs and slower transit has meant more weight gain. So, and this will be tough, do what you can when your doctors say it's okay to slow things down using meds, fiber, probiotics, and food.

You may lose more at first, but then you should level out and slowly gain back.