ANA Discussion Forum
General Category => AN Issues => Topic started by: Clifton on August 29, 2007, 10:07:54 am
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hey,
im about to have my surgery on sept. 14th.
i am 6'1 and 240 lbs. i am trying to lose as much weight as i can before surgery but i want to know, has anyone experienced any dramatic weight loss or weight gain AFTER surgery?
some dramatic weight loss would be nice :P
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hi clifton, i had my surgery in april,i was 237 going in,during surgery
i had gained 30 lbs in a 17 1/2 surgery,after i woke up from a 3 day comma and after 15 days in hospital[post-op] i was moved
by ambulance to a rehab center for about a month.when i escaped i was at 211 lbs.
know i am back up to 220.
depending on how long your surgery is and the amount of swelling from fluids,you will probably
go up and down.
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After surgery , I did lose about 15 pounds .. mainly from lack of eating for a week .. but did gain it back quickly ... >:(
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I had surgical complications and lost 40 pounds after my surgery. I have since gained about 15 back.
Jeff
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Yeah, I would say that the weight loss after surgery thing is pretty temporary for most people. I didn't have surgery, but that's just my general opinion. Anyway..my only comment, Clifton, is to encourage you to eat healthy after your surgery. Well...we're supposed to be eating healthy ALL the time, right? ;) Anyway, make sure you eat your good grains, fruit and veggies and lay off the junk food. It will just help your system better and won't gum up the works...so to speak. You might not even feel like eating much...so maybe get some of those healthy milk shakes to have on hand because maybe that will be all you'll feel like eating. Or make your own healthy smoothies. Just a thought!!
Good luck Clifton! I'll be thinking about you.
Sue in Vancouver USA
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Clifton. Did you ever hear that people who are in love, gain weight at first?
Seriously,
You will probably not want a lot of chewing food for a while post op. You should not try to go without food though (as in dieting) To heal, a person needs quality proteins (go lean on the red meat), lots of clear fluids, and fresh air each day. The body needs to throw off the by products from anesthesia and drugs for post op swelling.
Sorry to bring this up now but heck, when does one get to say the bad stuff?...
A tip for posters who have surgery: Take every stool softener the nurses present to you. Take the envelope of these meds home and use them up daily until you know you don't need any more. Mom says so! ;D
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Clifton. Did you ever hear that people who are in love, gain weight at first?
thanks Boppie... can I use this excuse with my newlywed spouse? :)
Phyl
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Hi, Clifton:
I lost over 30 pounds in the six months prior to my surgery, mostly due to the steady loss of 'taste' (from the AN pressing on the 7th nerve - that controls taste) and subsequent loss of appetite. Fortunately, although not a large person, I was able to shed the pounds safely, although I was probably at the bottom end of my 'normal' weight range. 14 months later and I've only gained about 5 pounds back...and I eat whatever I want, to my dieting wife's chagrin. My PCP said this sometimes happens after major surgery...something about hormones being 're-arranged' and affecting the metabolic rate. Because I was relatively slender all my life and only started gaining weight - and a 'gut' - after I was in my 50's, my newfound flat stomach is much welcomed and I'm determined to keep it!
Unfortunately, I can't claim any of my experience will apply to you. You'll probably lose some weight while in the hospital, but not that much. However, you asked about 'dramatic' weight gain/loss before or after AN surgery , so I thought I would offer my experience, even if it may not have a lot of relevance for you. Losing weight isn't usually easy but if you lose any in the hospital, use that as motivation to keep going until you reach your healthy, desired weight. Cut out junk food and definitely eat smaller portions. I do, and this has helped to keep the weight off.
You have our prayers for your upcoming surgery on September 14th. :)
Jim
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Sorry to bring this up now but heck, when does one get to say the bad stuff?...
A tip for posters who have surgery: Take every stool softener the nurses present to you. Take the envelope of these meds home and use them up daily until you know you don't need any more. Mom says so! ;D
No kidding! The constipation from the narcotics was a killer for me, despite doing everything right (the right foods, stool softeners, etc.). Do whatever you can to minimize that discomfort!
Katie
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if i can lose 30 lbs i'd be ECSTATIC! ;D
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I put on 15-20 lbs post op over a period of about a year from lack of exercise due to post-op headache complications. 4 1/2 years LATER, it's finally gone. Every last ounce. Back down to fighting weight again. 120 and still losing!
Capt Deb 8)
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120 and still losing!
Capt Deb 8)
...and to think, I use to love you... 120 lbs.... oy. :'( I wish....
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Captain Deb, how did you do it?? I lost about ten pounds during my week in the hospital, but then I went on the "I just had major surgery and can eat anything I want" diet. I do not recommend it. I'm running two miles a day most days and still am having trouble losing weight.
Clifton, good luck with your surgery. Concentrate on eating healthy foods both before and after surgery.
Jean
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Unfortunately, I gained a lot of weight from the decadron and all the hormone issues. Have been trying to lose but not a pound has left since surgery. >:(
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I yo-yo'd...lost 10 after surgery then gained 20 with the fine cuisine my mom was feeding me to "make it all better". Lived with that for 6 months, then went on Weight Watchers and lost it. It's tough, there's a lot of more important issues to deal with at first, just know that either way it probably won't be earth shattering, and you can deal with whatever it is when you get to it. And if you lose and keep it off...if that's what you need then all the better! Good luck!!!
Kathleen
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Clifton. This is a reply I had made at an earlier time under a post that it really didn't belong under. Your subject of "weight loss, weight gain" is more appropriate for this.
Check it out........
Yes,
I can relate to Mr. Moloney's situation somewhat. I too, am a musician yet have miraculously survived the AN debacle I was hit with. I'm deaf as a post in my left ear with rip-roaring tinnitus, double vision, facial numbness, equilibrium issues, a borg-like shunt permanently installed on the top of my cranium with subtle, yet gradually improving left-side difficulties, i.e.: impaired handwriting. Yet, I'm still playing music and playing it well. I'm back to jogging 5 miles every day with weight training and generally feel so good that I feel naturally high. I have boundless energy. I haven't taken so much as an aspirin in months! I sleep soundly at night.
All my life I've been lean and well-toned with a high metabolism. I've never had to work at staying thin yet I always have exercised religiously.
I'm now 50 years old.
I remember, in 1983 when I was 26, getting a physical at a company I was working at. I was in great shape. The doctor looked at me and asked, "You a track man?" To which I answered, "No,"( I didn't start jogging until I was 42 in 1999)I'm just naturally like this". He quipped, "Well, that will all change in about another 15 years when your metabolism starts to slow down". Well, I got some extra mileage out of it because I stayed pretty much the same size and weight up until my AN surgeries in 2005, age 48. While in the hospital, I lost a lot of weight - mostly muscle mass. During my recovery, my girlfriend and I went out to eat constantly. I never frequented more restaurants in my life as I did since my release from the hospital. In horror, I began to realize that I was gaining weight around my mid-section, developing a gut for the first time in my life. I no longer could fit into my 31" waist pants. My waist size went up to as much as 34". I was running and working out the whole time! I stopped eating out as much but still couldn't lose the weight. My weight increased from 155 to 182 or so; my blood pressure and cholesterol also went up but not to the point of having to take medication. Having long since established an exercise regimen and having a proclivity toward enjoying truly good and nutritious food, I knew that I could get things back under control without prescription medication.
This year, we spent the entire winter down in Florida. I went running every night through January, February and March, drenched in sweat at 1-2am with a tank top and shorts on( too hot during the mid-day). I'd weigh myself every day. Still, no change.
It wasn't until I came back home in April and simply cut out sugar for the first time. I lost 15 pounds in less than two weeks!! Even though I knew of the evils of sugar and listened to people lecture me about it, I would still cheat here and there: a little in my coffee mixed with the Splendor or a Mounds bar at night before jogging. It took an entire year for me to implement
a real dietary change in my lifestyle. Old habits die hard. I've learned that sugar, in certain respects, is actually worse than fat!
Avoid everything that has "high fructose corn syrup" or anything "hydrogenated". That stuff is virtually poisonous and contains transfat which
is the worst. Avoid the poison elixers that they pass off to us as "soft drinks" and flavored juices. This stuff is loaded with chemicals and sugar.
Drink spring water, vegetable and tomato juice; orange juice or any "real" juice without that high fructose crap in it. When you're hungry, eat, but eat the right stuff : fruits, veggies and whole grains. Avoid sugar as if it was the plague. If you do this and exercise in conjunction with it all, you cannot lose anything but weight!!
I'm very fortunate to live down the street from a chocolatier that has invented the first dark chocolate to taste good with a natural, non sugar sweetener. The sweetener is "stevia", a natural sweetener from the stevia plant. The chocolate is good for cholesterol health, high in antioxidants and promotes blood flow. His product costs a little more but so what? I just have a little every day and that's all I need. Besides, there's no sugar.
I haven't been contributing much lately because I've been feeling really good - even in spite of the AN related hindrances that we all experience. I realized though that this being a support group, it is my obligation to report any development I may experience on to my fellow AN patients, to advise, help or even inspire in any way I can. I've been reading the posts and threads here and my heart goes out to everyone.
After reading that link to Mr Moloney's situation, I realized how fortunate I am to have come through this as well as I did. I got hit just about as bad as you can from an Acoustic Neuroma with a huge tumor and hydrocephalus. How I got through that surgery without facial paralysis or any of the other more serious, customary maladies I don't know. I had some of the most experienced and skilled doctors in the business for one thing at Mass General; I know that certainly helped! I also know that I had a lot of people praying for me!
Take care, Paul
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yeah dude, I went from like 243 to 214....I don't think its all that great, its like all water weight. I was gaining about a pound a day there for awhile.
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Hello Clifton,
Like mamy people, I lost about 10 pounds after surgery (although I can't recommend it as a weight lose method :D), mostly not feeling like eating much for a few days-- not that hospital food is that appetizing anyway. The steroid (decadron), to prevent swelling, usually prescribed after surgery and then tapered off, will make you VERY hungry for a while.
Regards,
Rob