Metal Mouth Message Board

My surgery is in a month and I am only 96lbs at 5'2". I know that the most I'll be able to put on before my surgery is 1-2lbs because that's just how my body works. So I am just curious as to how much weight I can expect to lose post surgery and any recommendations on how to prevent weight loss would be highly appreciated!

I'm around your weight and height. I tried but wasn't able to put on any weight before my surgery. After surgery I think I lost about 10 pounds, which put me under 90. The low body weight contributed to my low energy, plus I wasn't getting enough nutrients. My doctor recommended I take a multivitamin with iron to help with my energy levels. I was able to gain a few pounds back in the weeks following surgery because I tried to get as much nutrients as I could, but even now (2 months post-op) I'm about 4 or 5 pounds under my normal weight.

I would try to gain as much as you can, but even if you can't, just make sure you try to get a lot of nutrients post-op. Make sure not to skip any meals, and have some snacks between meals. There are protein powders you can buy to mix into shakes that are supposed to help you gain (or maintain) weight and muscle mass.

Good luck!

At 3 weeks post-op, I've already lost 21 pounds. However I lost 5 of those pounds before surgery because of stress. I'm 5.11 and from 170 I'm down to 149 pounds and still counting.
I'm also experiencing low energy levels because of the poor diet. However I found out that if I have my meals every two hours, my energy level is more even throughout the day although rather low.

Davide

Ok I am really worried now.. I don't think I can afford to lost any more weight (I've lost 15lbs just this past year due to severe stress).
I e-mailed my OS about the weight situation and he told me that most people only lose between 3-5lbs -- that does not seem to coinside with what people on this forum are saying...
He told me that I shouldnt worry and that I'll be fine.. But I feel like he is bluffing because people on this board say otherwise about weight loss.

There is no reason to worry. Calculate your daily calorie intakes for the next few days, and try to maintain that number during your recovery.

There are too many variables that play a role in weight loss after surgery to accurately predict how anyone will fare.

However, it cannot be overstated how important it is to try and maintain a dietary intake that matches not only your metabolism and body weight for calories, but your nutrient requirements for health and recovery as well.

I started off at 5'8" and 115 lbs (already pretty thin).... At two weeks post-op I am 110 lbs... I have two more weeks of liquid diet to go, I can't affod to lose any more weight either. Starting to look like a Holocause victim :-/

Most people who are really thin and do not have much to lose only lose a small amount of weight, then their metabolism slows down and they don't lose anymore. You will also gain it back fairly quickly when you begin to eat again.

People who carry excess weight tend to lose more.

I was 9st 12 before surgery 3 weeks prior I hit my lowest at 8st 2 but have steadily put it back on now. I had my surgery 25th January and now Im 9st 7 so the weight loss didnt last long lol xxx

sorry that should have been 3 weeks post surgery xxx

I didn't lose any bloody weight

Damn my surgeon not wiring my mouth shut!

I've been working like crazy to exercise and lose weight for months, so in a perverse way, I'm looking forward to my SARPE surgery to lose some weight (involuntarily, of course!)

DrBlur wrote:I've been working like crazy to exercise and lose weight for months, so in a perverse way, I'm looking forward to my SARPE surgery to lose some weight (involuntarily, of course!)

Frankly, I don't think SARPE is the best surgery to help out with this. It's not as inhibiting as you might think. Certainly some people are told not to eat, but in my case I found I was eating normally at about day 2 or 3

^really? My OS told me I'd be on a liquid diet for a week and then nothing but soft foods (scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, soup) for at least 4-5 weeks...

what's the typical diet when recovering from SARPE?

DrBlur wrote:^really? My OS told me I'd be on a liquid diet for a week and then nothing but soft foods (scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, soup) for at least 4-5 weeks...

what's the typical diet when recovering from SARPE?

I'd say that's a conservative approach. The jaw isn't 'broken' or moved outside of the protection of the expander, so what you chew is (or should be) more a matter of comfort rather than precaution I think. For the first couple of days I ate soft foods, then went back to eating pretty normally. Obviously nothing very hard, but certainly I didn't need a liquid diet.

But this is not to say people haven't had to be on a liquid diet, and you should always go by what your surgeon tells you, but I'd say don't be scared to eat normally, just take care.