I know this topic has been covered but I need support. Never had issues with weight with my jpouch but now with the loop Ileo Im losing! I need to at least stabilize and gain some lbs as I'm down big time from this emergency surgery.
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Hi AllyKat,
I don't really have any sound advice for you but I thought I would let you know I am sending weight gaining wishes your way! Is your doctor worried about your weight? Are you able to see a dietician? What about some sort of supplement like Ensure? Or is it a transition /absorption issue? Does it take a while for your body to adjust to the surgery and start gaining weight? Do you even have an appetite yet? Sorry for all the questions but these are all things I would be pondering if I was unable to gain weight post-surgery. I hope things turn around for you soon b/c you have been through so much!!
Thanks Lori,
Yes I'm adding ensure plus, yuk yuk yuk! Will be seeing my Dr next week.
Im sorry you r facing more surgery. I hope u will do better with recovery than me.
I am in the same boat. Cannot gain weight no matter what I do. I did gain some but lost some too... Again.
I weighed 176 before surgery in October of 13.
By December of 13 I was released for the last time and weighed 129. I looked like a skeleton.
I have been back to 150 once but dropped back to 142 now.
I look terrible. Never have been heavy but never have I yo yo'd like this. I am almost 60 years old.
At my last appointment with my surgeon she didn't say I but I could see in her eyes that she was concerned I lost eight pounds in a month and is pushing me to get rid of the Pouch. I have had it almost two years and it's not working right. It's healthy and all but just does not work the way it should and actually at times its worse than having the UC.
I go in for a CT scan tomorrow and am hoping they find something... Anything that may be a problem.
I wish you luck in your weight gain. It's tough to do.
Alot of people might say they would like this problem and I understand why. But you really don't because it's not healthy.
I don't have an answer on how to gain it if I did I could gain some too.
Again.. Good luck.
Richard.
I weighed 176 before surgery in October of 13.
By December of 13 I was released for the last time and weighed 129. I looked like a skeleton.
I have been back to 150 once but dropped back to 142 now.
I look terrible. Never have been heavy but never have I yo yo'd like this. I am almost 60 years old.
At my last appointment with my surgeon she didn't say I but I could see in her eyes that she was concerned I lost eight pounds in a month and is pushing me to get rid of the Pouch. I have had it almost two years and it's not working right. It's healthy and all but just does not work the way it should and actually at times its worse than having the UC.
I go in for a CT scan tomorrow and am hoping they find something... Anything that may be a problem.
I wish you luck in your weight gain. It's tough to do.
Alot of people might say they would like this problem and I understand why. But you really don't because it's not healthy.
I don't have an answer on how to gain it if I did I could gain some too.
Again.. Good luck.
Richard.
Allykat-I don't know exactly how terrible you are feeling but are you up to reading? I am not much of a reader myself but after my outpatient surgeries for abscesses/fistulas in June I was so depressed b/c I could hardly move b/c my rectal region was so angry. I started reading books like thrillers just to get my head out of my life and into someone else's even if it was fake. This helped kill some time and helped me stop thinking about how miserable I was. I know this has nothing to do with solving your problems but sometimes a mental break from it all will do a person good. Of course, you may feel so crappy that it is even too much effort to try and read. Hang in there...hoping things get better soon!!
Thanks Lori,
I do read but am still so tired that sometimes I can't concentrate or I just fall alseep. Just want my strength back at this point. I envy people who bounced right back but I went into this sick and I'm in my early 60 so I guess for me it will be longer, I hope it gets better.
Susan
I do hope things turn around for you. Time seems to go so slow when you are not feeling well. I am sure it very frustrating to have to endure all the stoma issues and not feel up to doing much of anything right now. Keep us updated on your status....hoping we hear something positive
SOON!
SOON!
Hi Everyone, how are you all doing now with your weight since it's been almost a year since this posting? My daughter went through hell with her Jpouch - she had it for 16 years with CD so basically ran out of time. She had it diverted with loop ileostomy. During all this, she lost a lot of weight. She was 118 and now 85! She was thin to start with and now she looks awful. Surgeon told her it's a high end ileostomy so we know that she's not absorbing all the calories. But she's currently taking in 2300 calories on the average per day and not gaining. Good news, I suppose, is that she is no longer losing any more weight but she's not gaining.
If you all gained weight eventually, can you tell me what you did to gain? She's taking Ensure, I make her nutrient rich shakes and smoothies, she's snacking constantly and no results!
She is also suffering from perianal abscess and cellulitis right now, which the surgeon said will go away after her diversion. NOT!
Anything you can tell me will be really appreciated!!!!!
Thanks
Chronmom
i was in a similar situation with a diverted jpouch and high loop. My GI docs helped me. Surgeons aren't always the best to deal with things like the weight loss, absorption etc. with the high loop primary goal is to slow down transit so stuff can get absorbed. A few things I remember are:
never drink when eating
eat 5-6 small meals every day rather than three normal meals.
Protein at every single meal.
reduce sugar including sugary juices or sugary supplements like carnation, boost
use prescription protein supplement. i used Peptamem. It tasted absolutely horrid but I think I had to down 3 of those a day in addition to my 6 mini-meals a day
eliminate hot liquids... Tea, broth , etc.... As they cause things to move through faster
use all sorts of meds to "slow down transit" so there may be a chance for stuff to get absorbed. I was on 8 Imodium a day, taking two half hour before each meal and before bed. Benefiber. One huge tablespoon on something at three meals a day. Tincture of opium... 3x day before meals.
Try to have slowing foods at every meal: pure peanut butter (no added sugar), rice, potatoes, etc
drink 2.5 liters of WHO solution / day. Sips only no chugging.
also have vitamin and iron levels monitored and adjusted with doc prescribed dosages or infusions.
i started to gain weight about one month after following these rules very diligently. It was hard but it worked.
Hoping she can get some help from this and a GI doc is paying attention to her nutrition and weight.
good luck
The funny thing after I posted this and a few months in the weight started to come back without doing anything too much different. I think the body just needs to adjust to the ostomy. I was able to reconnect and along with Entyvio I'm doing great, thanks for asking. I hope your daughter gets better ASAP (((hugs)))