Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi everyone,

I decided to have surgery to correct my class III bite in December. I had my braces put on 12/2/09 and as of my appointment on 2/2/10, my ortho thinks that I will be ready for surgery in 8-10 weeks.

In any event, I have a second consultation with the surgeon on 2/25. My main concern is regarding weight loss after the surgery. I will be wired shut for six weeks, old school style, per the recommendation of my surgeon to avoid any nerve damage. I definitely want to avoid nerve damage, so I'm going this route. However, I'm a very active 23 year old male and run 4+ miles almost everyday. I am 5'11" 160lb and have a slim frame and rapid metabolism to begin with.

What kinds of weight loss are people experiencing after this surgery? I have visions of being 30 lbs lighter, and it isn't pretty. Do people have any particular practices to avoid really significant weight loss?

ztm134- I'm 14 weeks post op from double jaw, I had my mouth rubber-banded shut full time for 10 weeks...which meant liquids only. I put on 20-25lbs in the months prior to surgery because I have a high metabolism. I lost 10lbs in my first week and at 8 weeks I had lost all of the weight i had gained. I have been able to maintain my weight since then. I'm 5'11, female and like you my metabolism is very high! if I haddn't put on weight i would have been in trouble...I would suggest trying to pack on some weight in the time before your surgery. Good luck with your surgery!

i agree i was told to put on 10 pounds prior to surgery and have lost 25 pounds!!!!
i was able to eat soft foods about 4 weeks after but you certaintly cant eat like normal even after i am now 11 weeks post op and havent gained anything back yet

you need to pack on some fat or you will get sick

Really depends on your body type as to how much you'll lose. Generally, the more extra you have, the more you will lose. It's just the way the body works. In my case I really didn't have any extra to lose, and tried to gain weight before surgery but wasn't able to. Over the course of 6.5 weeks when I was wired I lost a little over 10lbs. I was taking in as many calories as I could during the time as well. In the end though I wouldn't be to worried about the loss because our bodies have a natural weight that they usually return to.

I'm slim built with fast metabolism, 21 years old 6'3" and was 170 pounds and am a pretty serious cyclist who ate 5000 calories on resting days.
Despite trying my best, and drinking weight-gain powder from a gnc, I bottomed out at around 140 and basically lost all my definition. It's been rough coming back, even the first day walking around exhausted my ankles, but at the same time i'm getting back to normal incredibly quickly, and will probably be a better cyclist for it anyway as I used to have a bunch of unused muscles lying around since I just switched bikes.


buy mass gain powder from gnc or you'll die.

Thanks for the input guys. That was kind of what I didn't want to hear, except Esoteric it sounds like you did pretty well. Did you use any supplements, powders, etc?

Anyway, I'm thinking that I'm going to invest in some serious mass gain powder like you suggest shutdown. When did you have your surgery? How long was it until you were able to be back on your full exercise program again?

I had my surgery december 16th and I was probably healthy enough to push myself like I used to at about 5 weeks but I was having trouble getting my diet to match up with my ambition, considering. I'm 2 months post op now and am probably at 80% of my original performance but that last 20 is always the hardest.

Well like shutitdown, I to cycle quite a bit. I can take in about 5 thousand cals daily and just burn it off. I'm 6ft 160 give or take some lbs. Before the surgery I went through one big jug of 2200 calorie whey weight gainer and it didn't really do much. I'd say I probably gained a couple lbs at best. I got another jug to use during my recovery to mix in with all the shakes that I had to drink. High calorie shakes are probably your best bet, I practically lived on them.

I'm barely five feet and have never weighed 100 pounds... until about two weeks ago. My doctor put me on two medications to stimulate my appetite because he would not clear me for surgery until I gained at least 15 pounds. None of my clothes fit and I feel really uncomfortable. This Thursday I'm scheduled for surgery so I'm oinking it up until then!

I'm only(!) having the upper jaw done and a genio so I won't be wired or banded shut and may not even need a splint afterward. I'll be on soft chew, not restricted to liquids, and they still think I'll drop at least ten pounds. I met a guy at my ortho who had lost 20 pounds within three weeks of his operation.

It seems the best thing to do is pack it on while you can! Good luck!!

Ugh... This is not good.

I am 11 days post-op and I've already lost about 10 pounds. Which wouldn't be a problem if I hadn't been underweight to begin with. I started at 5'8/115 lbs. Now I'm at about 105 and wondering how much more I'll have to lose considering I still have 3-4 more weeks of being banded...

My OS actually discouraged me from trying to pack on weight, saying that weight loss was inevitable. But I didn't think it would be this bad.