Anyone Need to Gain Weight?

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ltldog15

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Apr 10, 2014
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Hi I am new here and the wife of a DS'er. For the first 6 months she threw up everything but mashed or really soft steamed potatoes. Her surgery with Dr Rabkin was in Dec of 2012. She is eating better, only throwing up once in a while (taking that one extra bite she shouldn't or trying something new since surgery). She starting at 360#, presurgery weight 330# and now is down to 115#. Her yearly labs (which were late, around 14 mons) showed low in protein, "A", zinc and iron. She looked very drawn in the face and was weighting 139 at this point. 10 days ago, she weighted in at 121 but since taking action on her labs, she looks much better and most importantly feels much better. Dr Rabkin said if she falls to 217 to call him immediately and he would redo the common channel. She does not want another surgery!! He started her on Creon but she continues to lose weight as she is down to 215# and holding for a week now. On the facebook page for DS'ers, they said lots of protein drinks and carbs but since I am the cook, I need more info. Are these protein drinks healthy or ice cream based? What type of carbs? Pasta? Breads fill her up too much and she doesn't want to eat them. She drinks 2-3 Premier Protein from Costco a day, plus what she eats, she gets 80-100 grams of protein a day.
Any suggestions would be most appreciated. Thank you in advance.
 
Hello, and welcome. I'll just try to get you to clarify some things so you can get some good advice.
1- I'm assuming you mean 117 and 115 pounds, not 217 and 215, correct?
2- is she getting 80-100 grams of protein from food BEFORE the shakes or in total AFTER the shakes? If that's the total including shakes, it's too low, especially if she's protein deficient.
3- did she start the creon a week ago or longer? I don't know how long it would take to slow the weight loss, but some others might.
 
The key is that she needs to stop losing and the only real way to do that is to add carbs. DSers absorb 100% of sugar so any carbs (whether simply or complex) will be absorbed 100%. Most DSers do better with complex carbs (veggies) than simple carbs (sugar/wheat). The hard part is living with the end result of eating carbs after the DS - gas and bloating. Its finding the balance of what you can handle.

I really don't know much about protein supplements, so maybe someone else will chime in to offer advice on that.

Nothing wrong with her eating some ice cream or pasta or anything else. But she also needs to be able to continuing getting 120+ grams of protein a day.

Do you know the length of her common channel? That's where we absorb, which is why Rabkin said he wants to lengthen it. The longer the common channel, the more chance of absorbing nutrients.
 
brooklyngirl, yes my mistake on her weight. You are correct. The 80-100 grams of protein are including the protein shakes...30 grams each. She started the Creon about a week ago and the weight continued to drop for about 4 days then leveled at 115#.

southernlady, She is 5'7" and weights 115#.

BTW, Dr Rabkin said,"eat anything and everything". Since she is not eating a lot, I want her to get the very most out of what she is eating. She says she's not hungry so she doesn't want to eat...that's the problem.

jpcello, neither of us know the length of her common channel.

She is eating things, like ice cream and rice krispe treats, that she hasn't in a very long time because she has always tried to lose weight, so she's stayed away from the "bad" stuff. So she is also dealing with having to eat stuff that she has always know to be bad for her.
 
Looking at her BMI, she needs to regain about 5 lbs to get out of underweight.

I would suggest getting about 150-200 grams of protein (including the shakes). I know it's hard but she needs to be eating as often as she can.

She is still early out and it's very possible in the next year or so, she bounces back up.

I am gonna tag a friend who dealt with this issue and has managed to solve it for herself: @Ladytaz
 
More more more protein! I agree with Liz that she should be in the 150-200 gram area until she can raise her levels. She needs to eat protein every time she eats- the ice cream and treats might add weight but they won't help getting her protein levels up. Feed her meat, cheese, and as many protein shakes as you can. Poor thing -- I know y'all are scared, but in the long run you can manage this!
 
I've been PMing with you on Facey Space. I'm glad you found this site. I agree with everyone else about increasing her protein intake. I'd do it with protein powders, though, because that's what was easiest for me when my weight dipped down to 100 pounds. I finally started eating Reese's Peanut Butter cups, 2 double packs a day while at work. I also ate Nutella and Jif by the spoonful, in addition to my string cheese (watch the brands, some are higher in protein than others) and Greek Yogurt. Read all the labels for protein content. Athenos Greek Yogurt is WAY low in protein versus the Chobani or Fage brands. I don't know why, but it is.

I slowly regained up to my current 121-124, but I do not own a scale, so I can't tell you my progress. I only weighed at the doctor's office.

I also said to only get on the scale once a week, not daily. I don't know if others would agree with that statement or not. The scale has never been my friend.
 
ltldog15 said:
brooklyngirl, yes my mistake on her weight. You are correct. The 80-100 grams of protein are including the protein shakes...30 grams each. She started the Creon about a week ago and the weight continued to drop for about 4 days then leveled at 115#.

southernlady, She is 5'7" and weights 115#.

BTW, Dr Rabkin said,"eat anything and everything". Since she is not eating a lot, I want her to get the very most out of what she is eating. She says she's not hungry so she doesn't want to eat...that's the problem.

jpcello, neither of us know the length of her common channel.

She is eating things, like ice cream and rice krispe treats, that she hasn't in a very long time because she has always tried to lose weight, so she's stayed away from the "bad" stuff. So she is also dealing with having to eat stuff that she has always know to be bad for her.
Click to expand...
I know, firsthand, that it can be hard to feel like you're forcing yourself to eat protein when you're not hungry and you don't want it. It's not very fun, but my protein levels were low on my last bloodwork so I upped mine to aim for 160 a day for the past 2 months. It's not easy, but I look at it like medicine, it has to get done if I don't want to be sick. It seems she tolerates the whey protein shakes well, so it shouldn't be too much of an issue to have 3 a day instead of 2 or switch to a shake that has a higher protein count (it's only harder for me because the shakes upset my tummy). Maybe you can look into protein bars as well, the kind that body builders use, not the kind that we try to eat that are low in carbs. I've seen lots in the vitamin stores and Costco that have a good amount of protein and carbs. Maybe some smoothies with protein powder and fruit so she can get good protein & carbs at once.
 
The people I know of who had to het out of protein deficiency and low weight did so with 6 protein shakes a day in addition to food.
 
southernlady, shann, brooklyngirl,Elixabeth N and Munchkin; thank you all for your help. Sheanie, thanks so much for pointing me to this site and spending so much time talking to me the other night. I really appreciate you all.
 

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