Had my op.two years ago. Prior to op. I weighed thirteen stone five pounds. Now I weigh nine stone twelve and have done so for a few months. I eat very well, more than I did before my cancer. In fact
I used to eat quite healthily, lots of salads ,vegetables etc. My tastes have changed and I eat lots of sweets,chocolates,cakes etc. but I don't put any weight on. I am not worried about my size, in fact I think I am much healthier at this weight. What I really want to know is, should I get rid of my twenty pairs of thirty-six inch waist trousers now my waist measurement is only thirty inches, or should I wait a bit longer.
Written by
Graham39
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13 Replies
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You will really have to strain your system and risk upsetting it all if you try to put weight on in order to regain your previous normal weight. I think you may have reached your new 'normal'. Probably a wardrobe rather than a medical problem and your old trousers will be well out of fashion by the time you ever manage to get to that size again!
Your size may slowly increase. Some people lose as much as 6 stone, and there is a lot of variation in relation to how much weight people regain afterwards.
Your taste buds do change but that is normally a temporary thing. Long term having a balanced diet is just as important for us as for anybody else, but do not risk eating things that upset your system.
I think a trip to the charity shop might be on the cards?
I went down to 7.4 and finally up to 8 stone after a preop weight of around 10 stone. First of all I cleared out the master bedroom wardrobe into the spare room wardrobe a little at a time as the seasons changed, then stuff went into storage boxes under the bed and then into vacuum bags. Finally after 2 years I realised I was never going to be able to wear any of them again so friends and charity shops did quite well! It took ages to go into a shop looking for size 10/12 after years of buying 14/16 sizes and I still wonder at times who the skinny bird is So all I can say is "Happy shopping!"
Two years. 4 months. It all looked to be going well but now I have some serious issues. I have another medical condition which means I have a poor immune system so am much more likely than most of you to run into problems. You guys all gotta to stay well out there!!:-) all the best.
I had my op 5 years ago and my weight has varied from 11 to 7 stone. I finally seemed to have settled at 9.5 stone. I kept all my pre-op clothes until about a year ago, at which point I must accepted my new weight. I then thought that l will treat myself to some new clothes and a few nice suites for work. I wish I had made the decision earlier, I feel so much better having clothes that fit well.
All the best and well done for keeping your weight stable, it's not easy.
It is a real conundrum. I have had weight issues all my life so I thought that a bit of weight loss would be no bad thing. I had the Ivor Lewis done and major problems with chemo and came out of hospital only a stone lighter. Now 18 months on I have put half a stone back on and am verging on the border of obese. This is extra strange as although I can eat almost anything post op I get a lot of dumping so feel I should lose weight if anything. Very strange!
The simple answer to your question is yes, get rid of your old clothes. My story is similar to Jay's. I had my operation 5 years ago. I was 12 stone when I went into hospital, but lost weight steadily for two years, reaching a low of 9.5 stone. I have now stabilised at just over 10 stone. My chest size has gone from 40 to 37 and my waist size from 34 to 31. I eat well (though not as much as before, due to my reduced stomach capacity), but try to follow a healthy diet, and am reconciled to the fact that I will never return to my previous size.
As an aside, I would counsel against eating too many sweets, chocolates, cakes, etc. A diet that is high in sugar is not only bad for you, but is likely to cause problems with acid reflux and dumping in people who have had oesophogastric surgery.
Before my op i would eat sweets and cakes and now nearly 5 years on i still have not eaten any like you my taste has changed to savoury. My weight has remained the same for over two years . I have a good appetite but i do suffer with a lot of burping which i take medication for small price to pay when i have got this far.
My situation seems similar to yours. I am 13 months post op. previously 13.5 stone went down to 10.5 but appear stabilising at 11, especially now I am taking creon. I too, have a craving for chocolate , cakes and biscuits and also clotted cream. I had my stomach removed but am finding that providing I moderate my diet everything is quite normal, however if I eat, say 10 chocolate biscuits at 1 sitting I find that I might get some dumping.
I also note that creon has seemed to normalise me considerably and stopped the weight loss.
I too, have lots and lots of outsize clothes now ! However any negative factors are a small price to pay for a virtually normal life, albeit at lower energy levels and hopefully a long life to look forward too.
Had my op about 31 months ago. Had my stomach removed as well. I didn't have any chemo treatment due to medical complication. I went into hospital around 10st lost about half a stone and now I'm up to 12st. Waist size has dropped a couple of inches.and chest has gained a couple. I do have to be careful when eating sugar - I can no longer eat a whole bag of Jelly Babies in one go I spread it out over 3 days now. Christmas, I'm eating small and often the whole day.
I do not use any form of man made chemical to help with digestion I have been using Manuka Honey, a teaspoon before every meal has really worked for me. My energy levels have gone up, I was scrambling around the Shetland Isles 6 months after my operation without any real problem. The chest cavity access area under my right arm has give me more problems.
Judging by what I've read in this thread everyone seems to be finding their own solutions.
We all have to find a new tune to dance too, I've seem to have found mine and I've no complaints.
I wake up in the morning, I just can't get a better start to the day than that.
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So all I can say is "Happy shopping!"
Keep losing weight 10mo after esophagectomy
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I also having difficulty with maintaining weight, nausea and stomach cramps, I am 18 months post op.
