Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Weight Loss and Surgery

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Weight Loss and Surgery

    For those of you who've had the surgery, did you lose weight? Gain weight? The only person I know who've had it said that she had trouble maintaining normal weight. I, on the other hand, could lose about twenty pounds and be absolutely fine. I've lost about 12 pounds in the last six months, partly in preparation for the surgery, and I wouldn't mind losing more. So I'm hoping. But I'm also afraid that I will gain with the lack of activity. I gained 25 pounds in the last two years while I was getting my masters and our schedule was hectic and I had to spend a lot of time sitting so I could study.
    Diagnosed at age 13
    Milwaukee brace ages 73-74
    Pre surgery 58 degree curve and lordosis
    Surgery June 7&9, 2011 Fused L-4 -T-4 Age 52
    Post surgery 26 degrees
    Surgeon Yu-po Lee

  • #2
    Paula

    I lost 40# in 40 days. When I was on meds, I couldn’t eat, or eat much. The body uses quite a bit of energy healing itself. I guess this proves that weight control is mostly about diet, and not exercise....

    I also was told to lose weight for my surgeries, no breads, no pasta, that kind of thing.
    After I quit meds, I started eating and regained all my weight back and then started having gall bladder attacks. I then went on a gall bladder diet scared that the fat was triggering the attacks. I lost 18# in 2 months and wasn’t trying to lose weight. I finally lost my gall bladder, a rare scoli complication from heavy meds.

    Here is a BMI calculator
    http://www.bmi-calculator.net/

    You want to be as healthy as you can going into surgery, not starving yourself for the last few days.....(smiley face)

    Some here maintain their weight after surgery and some have gained weight. It would be nice to have a poll on this subject. The majority probably lose weight.
    Ed
    49 yr old male, now 63, the new 64...
    Pre surgery curves T70,L70
    ALIF/PSA T2-Pelvis 01/29/08, 01/31/08 7" pelvic anchors BMP
    Dr Brett Menmuir St Marys Hospital Reno,Nevada

    Bending and twisting pics after full fusion
    http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...on.&highlight=

    My x-rays
    http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...2&d=1228779214

    http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...3&d=1228779258

    Comment


    • #3
      I lost 10 lbs in a week (leading up to and then post-op) and looked awful - I was already at a healthy weight when I went in. I purposely gained back about 5 lbs since, quite honestly, I missed my rack.

      I'm just shy of 5'6" now and weigh between 138-140.
      Pre-op I was 5'4"ish and about 145.

      And I got my rack back.
      Female, age 38
      4 years of bracing, concluded at 42*upper/38*lower
      currently 64*upper/40*lower
      Fused T3-L4 on Feb 23 2011
      now 32*upper/18* lower

      Comment


      • #4
        Hi...

        I think it's very rare that patients don't lose at least a little, or even gain, weight after scoliosis surgery.

        After my recent surgery, I had an issue with retaining water from lymphedema, but there were a lot of days in the first 2 months that I didn't eat. I don't own a scale, so can't tell you how much I lost, but I'm certain it was relatively significant.

        --Linda
        Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
        ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
        Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

        Comment


        • #5
          I'm one of the few who didn't lose weight. But post-surgery, with added height, I looked like I'd lost weight because I was no longer scrunched down. People told me I looked skinny though I hadn't lost a gram.
          Surgery March 3, 2009 at almost 58, now 63.
          Dr. Askin, Brisbane, Australia
          T4-Pelvis, Posterior only
          Osteotomies and Laminectomies
          Was 68 degrees, now 22 and pain free

          Comment


          • #6
            I lost 12 pounds in less than 2 weeks post-op. I completely lost my appetite and I was also vomiting a lot once I was home from the hospital (I think that was from taking Miralax). I, unfortunately, managed to gain all the weight back in about 3 months.
            Chemist, 30

            1998- 18 degrees
            2003- 33 degrees
            2005- 37 degrees
            2006- 44 degrees
            May 2007- 47 degrees
            December 2007 - 50 degrees X-ray

            Surgery May 27, 2008
            Fused T1 to L2
            Curve corrected to 15 degrees X-ray

            Comment


            • #7
              Almost everyone loses weight from the surgery. I am one of the strange ones who gained weight. First let me say I have a low metabolism and gain weight easily. I had an ileus (stomach didn't wake up) and wasn't allowed to eat or drink for the first 5 days... it was ok, but they had me on an IV solution that must have been pretty high maintenance! I gained 8 lbs. in the hospital during my 11 day stay and it never came off. Again, this usually doesn't happen.
              71 and plugging along... but having some problems
              2007 52° w/ severe lumbar stenosis & L2L3 lateral listhesis (side shift)
              5/4/07 posterior fusion T2-L4 w/ laminectomies and osteotomies @L2L3, L3L4
              Dr. Kim Hammerberg, Rush Univ. Medical Center in Chicago

              Corrected to 15°
              CMT (type 2) DX in 2014, progressing
              10/2018 x-rays - spondylolisthesis at L4/L5 - Dr. DeWald is monitoring

              Click to view my pics: pics of scoli x-rays digital x-rays, and pics of me

              Comment


              • #8
                I think most of us look thinner due to being stretched up instead of scrunched. I had developed a roll on the right side but now look so much better. I lost about 8 pounds and wouldn't look good if I lost any more than that. So far, the walking has enabled me to maintain the new weight.
                Karen

                Surgery-Jan. 5, 2011-Dr. Lenke
                Fusion T-4-sacrum-2 cages/5 osteotomies
                70 degree thoracolumbar corrected to 25
                Rib Hump-GONE!
                Age-60 at the time of surgery
                Now 66
                Avid Golfer & Tap Dancer
                Retired Kdgn. Teacher

                See photobucket link for:
                Video of my 1st Day of Golf Post-Op-3/02/12-Bradenton, FL
                Before and After Picture of back 1/7/11
                tap dancing picture at 10 mos. post op 11/11/11-I'm the one on the right.
                http://s1119.photobucket.com/albums/k630/pottoff2/

                Comment


                • #9
                  I was a healthy weight going in to surgery and lost about 10 pounds....eventually I gained back 5 but it took awhile. The body really does burn a lot of calories trying to heal in the beginning.
                  Chris
                  A/P fusion on June 19, 2007 at age 52; T10-L5
                  Pre-op thoracolumbar curve: 70 degrees
                  Post-op curve: 12 degrees
                  Dr. Boachie-adjei, HSS, New York

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I was very swollen when I came home so I looked very thin from the back with a huge belly. I looked thinner just from the surgery because before I was so squished up. My doctor said to me that after 8 weeks you start gaining the weight back and that i CANNOT gain weight. So of course Im eating out of boredom and frustration but I dont think I've gained anything back. Im about 5 pounds down on the scale but scales dont always tell you the real story because this is so physical. I am going to try now and stop the b.s. and get busy with good eating and more walking. I lost 20 pounds before the surgery so I was decent before I went in. It really just depends on the person. I was just so happy to be alive and straight that I dont stress much about anything else!
                    Sarahcant
                    Surgery March 15
                    Dr. Errico NYU
                    Fused T-3 to S-1
                    an inch and change taller
                    nice and straight
                    49 years old (yikes)

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      I lost 30 lbs in the 1st month after my 1st surgery. I loved that! No real difference after the 2nd. . .but then the real pain started about a month later, and I was quite inactive and shoved chocolate in my mouth all day (prep'ing food for myself was an impossibility) so I gained around 15 lbs back. No real weight difference after the 3rd, but I'm considerably more swollen (at least it seems so) throughout my waistline. I have just started back to the gym recently, and am doing the treadmill, then water aerobics. . .tomorrow, I'm adding the elliptical to my routine. . .I'll see if that helps.

                      From reading everyone's experiences, it's obvious that we all are different. . .and I can attest that even the same person can have very different experiences with each surgery.
                      Fused T-3 to L-3, Aug 25
                      Hardware removal surgery, Nov 2, 2010
                      Fused T-10 to L-2, osteotomy, Feb 22, 2011

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I weighed more when I came home from the hospital, but I think that was fluid retention. My friend who picked us up from the hospital took one look at me and said I looked thinner.

                        Over the next few months, I ended up down about 10 or 12 lbs, but then once I got back to normal eating, it didn't take more than 6-9 months to gain it back.
                        __________________________________________
                        Debbe - 50 yrs old

                        Milwalkee Brace 1976 - 79
                        Told by Dr. my curve would never progress

                        Surgery 10/15/08 in NYC by Dr. Michael Neuwirth
                        Pre-Surgury Thorasic: 66 degrees
                        Pre-Surgery Lumbar: 66 degrees

                        Post-Surgery Thorasic: 34 degrees
                        Post-Surgery Lumbar: 22 degrees

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          I lost about 10 pounds after surgery and have kept off about 8 pounds of it. I think the walking helps to keep it off.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            I have lost 20 lbs since I came home from my surgery. My body has gone through a lot of changes since then and the weight loss is a bonus. After what all of us have to go through, it's nice to get a reward!
                            Laurie
                            Age 57
                            Posterior fusion w/thoracoplasty T2-L3 Oct 1, 2010
                            Thoracic curve corrected from 61* to 16*
                            Lumbar curve, unknown measurement
                            Disfiguring back hump GONE!!
                            Dr Munish Gupta
                            UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              I must sound so vain

                              Thanks again to everyone. Right now, I'm about 15 pounds over the weight that I consider good for me. I was at the weight when I started grad school two years ago. (I should probably say on this thread too, that I'm 52, not as young as you'd expect from the grad school bit.) My dad died right before I started my MA and between taking care of my mom, classes and clinic, my eating was very unscheduled, and not so good. Also, my back was feeling awful and I had to sit a lot for school, so no good exercise. In January of this year, I got serious about getting back in shape, and I've lost about 12 pounds right now. I also have a lot more muscle, and I have a lot more stamina. I did a "Weight Loss Team Challenge" at our local Y, so got a lot of exercise, and didn't starve myself. I think that what I'll need to do is keep a close eye on my weight after the surgery, and just try not to go back up when I'm feeling well enough to eat. I know I'll be doing PT, but I'm not sure that will be enough to keep me from gaining weight, since I've become a very efficient weight gainer in the last ten years.
                              Diagnosed at age 13
                              Milwaukee brace ages 73-74
                              Pre surgery 58 degree curve and lordosis
                              Surgery June 7&9, 2011 Fused L-4 -T-4 Age 52
                              Post surgery 26 degrees
                              Surgeon Yu-po Lee

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X