Weight Gain And Loss

[TomD]

For those who experience a huge weight gain I wanted to share my experience.

I weighed about 215 before going in and when they first weighed me in the hospital with just the gown I was 243, a whopping 27 lbs higher. It freaked me out a bit but now this morning on my 23rd day since surgery I weighed in at 214.6 so I have lost an average of 1.3 lbs per day. I can now wear my normal clothes and it feels great.

Update as of 3/19/08: My low appetite and loss of taste has enabled me to continue to drop in weight. I was 202 this morning and my goal is 185. This is turning out to be the easiest diet I ever had. Taste buds are slowly returning so I will probably plateau for now.

 

[KathyM]

Why is there so much weight fluctuations? I am not getting it.



Just
Kathy M

 

[kfay]

I'm with Kathy on this one. When I had my first OHS, all I remember is how much weight I lost, about 20 pounds. I know that I was very swollen with fluid while I was in ICU but that was gone a long time before I left the hospital. I wonder if age is a factor? I was only 17 then. I have been thinking all along that I would lose weight with my surgery next month, but maybe not.

Kim

 

[JimL]

I had similar weight fluctuations, but it was all fluid, easy come, easy go.

 

[Nancy]

After all of Joe's surgeries, he gained a ton of weight, all fluid. He was a normally slim and trim man. When in the hospital, they pump you full of sodium solution via that IV in your arm. For Joe that was a problem because he had congestive heart failure and his body couldn't get rid of the fluid like it should have. And the hospital food was laden with salt, something that I find pretty amazing, especially in the heart units. Eventually it did come off, but it took a while, and diuretics plus getting more active, which helps.

 

[CHDDoug]

Very similar...

Very similar...

I had very similar weight gain during/right after surgery. I weighed 213 lbs going into the surgery, and right after surgery I weighed 240 lbs. But, I lost 4-5 lbs of fluid every day in the hospital and was almost back to my pre-surgery weight before I was discharged. After getting home, I dropped down to 197 lbs and have stayed there for 3 weeks now. I've not been overdoing my eating since I've been home (especially since nothing tastes right), but I've also been conscious about keeping my weight down. I hope to lose about another 5 lbs once I'm back to exercising again and stay at that weight. We'll see how that goes.

 

[starrman]

I had the same big weight gain +20 lbs. in the hospital followed by a big weight loss. I ended up about the same as when I went in.

 

[DeWayne]

When I went in for surgery I weighed 168# the day after surgery I weighed 190#
In the coming couple months there after I dropped down to as low as 154#

I went back up and was pretty stable at some point for almost a year at about 164# Last summer I started putting on weight and am now at 180.
Seems like and I will have to confim this later in the week when I get my prescription filled, but I think the gain has cooincided with a switch from Toprol XL to metoprolol. Not sure about that, but it just seems like I got switched last summer and that is when I started adding weight.

 

[DeWayne]

I just renewed my prescription and interestingly enough the switch took place last August from Toprol XL to Metoprolol. Pharmacist says that should not account for the gains..... But that is right about the time I started gaining weight. I find that interesting enough.

 

[South Sound Sailor]

I'm 5 weeks post-surgery. At about 10 days post-surgery, I had ballooned up to 162 (I usually weigh between 140-145). Took me approximately 10 days to lose it but I'm now happily back in the low 140s.

 

[Jkm7]

At pre-op I weighed, let's say, 140 pounds. My surgery the next day, I gained 17 pounds. The bed on Cardiac Surgery floor in Mass General are scales and they weigh patients right in the bed. They started lasix and I passed 5 liters of urine on day 2 from my surgery for a total of 11 pounds. The next day I lost 6 pounds more. They would not let me go home until I lost most of that fluid. An 11 pounds fluid loss in one day is more than they like or anticipated but, luckily for me, I suffered no ill effects. I have heard it possibly can lead to afib to lose that much fluid that fast.

My surgery was on Thursday, I came home on Tuesday and weighed 5 pounds less than I weighted when I entered the hospital. I am now home six days and have maintained that loss.

 

[Cooker]

Man!!!!.....I looked like PoppinFresh on steroids ....counld hardly get into my sweat pants.....It came off pretty quick......I was expecting to come out of the hospital weighing less....NOT