Hello all,

I've always been sort of on the small side (130lbs or less). I had an immensely bad flareup of UC late last year/early this year, and they decided it was time for my colon to go. I have a J-pouch now, and I'm doing OK, but still going to the bathroom frequently and can't seem to gain any weight. I'm presently down to about 98 lbs. and sometimes it seems like I'm still losing. I'm taking Lomotil to control diarrhea (though probably not as often as I should.) Does anyone have any advice on how I can gain weight?

whey powder shakes and metamucile (wafers since calories aren't a problem right now) to slow things down and allow for better absorption.

Good luck. I HATED being sooo thin!

You should try for some protein supplements and increase the consumption of high nutrition food and dairy products. This may provide some help.

I'm having a similar problem to you, I've always been slim but am now down to 98lbs. I barely put any weight on since surgery number 1 and am beginning to lose the weight that I did gain. I don't have any advice for you as nothing seems to work for me either, but thank you for posting and I hope you too gain weight soon

Peanut butter helped for me. It has lots of calories with fat and protien. It helped thicken things up for me as well. But some people have noted that peanut butter causes diarrhea in them.

Donuts! But seriously, you've had your surgeries recently and it may take a year for things to normalize. With UC I had a hard time staying over 130. Now 3 years post colectomy and 2 post takedown, I am holding at 148. Slowing things down is part of the trick. I use immodium before each meal and metamucil after. Tylenol#3 (has codeine) also helps slow things down for me. It especially helps at bedtime so I may only get up once, or not at all. It also help ease the arthritic pains that seem to go along with UC.
PS, welcome to the forum snowpeck!

It's doubtful your frequency is causing your weight loss. More likely you are not getting enough calories. If you find eating a lot is a problem, try adding Benecalorie to your meals. It's a one ounce liquid that is odorless and tasteless that adds an additional 350 calories to your meal. It won't cause bulk or increase your frequency. It's often given to cancer patients to help them keep weight on. You can find it online.

Sue

The number one thing is to take it slowly, and be patient. I was down to 86 pounds at one point and was assigned a hospital dietician. Part of my problem was that I had been sick for so long and completely off solid food, I had basically completely lost my appetite and had to "re-learn" how to eat again. I was instructed to eat frequently--4-6 smaller meals a day as opposed to 3 larger ones. Foods high in protein were recommended, and cottage cheese was one of my staples. One 1/2 cup serving has 15g of protein. It's easy to eat and didn't leave a full or heavy feeling in my stomach. I also ate a lot of cheese, pasta and eggs. Bulking foods are also important, including rice, oatmeal, and peanut butter, for example. I was also instructed to drink Ensure during the day as well. I tried many flavours but unfortunately I just didn't enjoy the consistency of it, and found it difficult to get down. However, I did find that I preferred the Boost chocolate, which is available in both increased calories and increased protein varieties, both of which should help you. And, it was butter, mayo and gravy on everything! You might also want to temporarily switch to whole milk products to give an extra boost and help you get over the hump.

If you are still losing despite intaking more calories, you may have an absorption problem that needs to be ruled out. A series of blood tests can help determine this. Also, you should see if you can get access to a dietician through the hospital. That really helped me get over the hump.

Thanks for the advice so far... have been drinking Carnation Instant Breakfast for some extra calories... and will look into Benecalorie.

I eat like a horse most of the time, but some days don't seem to have much appetite at all. Peanut butter and dairy have always been huge staples of my diet, even since I was a small child. I have recently started drinking Carnation Instant Breakfast inbetween or with meals. (It doesn't fill me up like it claims to, so that's good I guess.) So maybe that will help, since it is high calorie--- about 250 with a glass of 2% milk. It's now been 10 months since my first surgery (total colectomy). I was gaining quickly during the three months I had an ileostomy, but I haven't been able to keep it on since the takedown.

Snow,
its a 3fold problem...the faster the food runs through you the less time it has to absorb...next, without a colon and for quite a while until the small intestine takes up the slack you will absorb less or everything anyway and then you are also loosing liquids so you are less plumped...so you need to slow things down, bulk them up and then increase healthy calories that will build up muscle while you avoid the fat (you do prefer muscle to fat I assume)...so you need some physical activity to help your muscles to grow too...high protien diets with sufficient whole grain carbs like hole grain breads with peanut butter and some good quality jams, chocolate etc will help...Best advice? Eat like a girl with PMS
Sharon

Spooky

Do you know what kind of blood test people can take to be able to tell if they have an absorption problem? I too am having problems gaining weight despite what I eat.

If one is healthy, and their terminal ileum isn't compromised, it doesn't matter how quickly food passes through, the system is very efficient at grabbing calories, even with a speedy digestion. I think what the poster agreed with is that she is not eating as much as normal and her calorie intake is reduced.

Sue

I lost 25 pounds with the first operation. By eating a least one meal of fast food a day and alot of fatting cheese I managed to gain the weight back in 2 1/2 months. My takedown was October 5, 2011 and now I have to watch my calories because I began gaining too much.

Good luck/

It took a good 6 months or so to gain my weight back that I needed to. I am a year post takedown and I am back at my normal healthy weight. I can eat what ever I want now and I don't gain anymore. So if it has only been a short while since your takedown, be patient....you will gain it back. Make sure you are eating enough calories to gain weight.

Try eating 5 or 6 small meals a day. Made a huge difference for me in gaining some weight. Also make sure that what you are eating is high protein and stay away from sugar filled things. Probably that carnation instant breakfast.. isn't real good for you. Eat real food... just more often. It was the only thing that finally got me out of the underweight BMI category of "seek medical attention"