I initially maintained a reasonable weight with the help of steroids to increase appetite, but decided to try and stop them, since then I have lost about 2 stones in weight. I eat relatively well, but am not one for eating lots of "fattening" foods, but I do try, but I still struggle to gain weight or even maintain it.Tests show everything is fine, and that there is no sign of any cancer recurring, although it is a relief,I would still like to be a little more robust! My wife has noticed that it seems to be milk products that cause me the most symptoms, does anyone else have any similar problems and any tips?
Thanks Stan
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Stan
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there are a lot of issues there. You definitely should be discussing the situation with the dietician on your specialist support team.
It is always worrying when you aren't able to maintain your weight and it seems that you have lost a lot.
Your wifes observation would point to the possibility that you are lactose intolerant. It is probably worth experimenting and seeing if removing dairy based products from your diet has a positive effect.
The stomach cramps could be a symptom of dumping syndrome which is another complication that is associated with this type of surgery.
What you need to do is work through the problems systematcially with a dietician and see if you can find the right balance.
Keep in touch and we'll try and help more if we can.
You do need to have a chat with your dietician about this.
Everyone is different in how we recovery from surgery and in how long we settle down weight wise.
Refined sugar was something which caused no end of trouble for me at the start, it took a good year to realise what was doing it by eliminating different things month by month.
Weight loss was a problem for me for the first 1 year or so, then it slowly levelled out and was stable from 24 months onwards, then in year 3 I started to gain and keep it on.
Dairy products are known to be a problem for a few months after surgery with other patients in our group, not all and sometimes not for long but there is no medical basis or support to this.
Your cramps do sound like a form of dumping syndrome, I still get them now if I over eat or have too much sugar, I am five years out of surgery.
Have a chat with your dietician and see if you can set up a plan to eliminate certain foods for a trial period but it does need to be monitored and controlled by your hospital team specialists.
Hi, I'm 18 mths post op as well, it took me until August this year to start putting on weight. I haven't been on any sort of diet, I eat what I've always eaten, I just eat smaller portion and more often. Did you just stop taking the steroids or wean yourself off them over time? My newest grandson (8wks old) managed to get stomach flu - got over that and started being sick after his milk. The doctors put it down to the stomach lining being damaged by the flu. He's now on a soya based diet until his stomach heals. You do need to get professional advise as anything that works for one person could be wrong for you.
I'm sure it's only a glitch that you will over come shortly.
Thanks for all your advice and support, I am waiting for an appt to come through for the dietician so will discuss more with them. It is nice in a way to know you are not on your own, it is a bit daunting at times when things go wrong and it's good to be able to talk to others in a similar position.
Your body may not be processing fats. If your stools are are very runy and or foul smelling it may be that the fat in your diet is passing stright through you, therefore Creon may be able to help. I have now stopped taking this drug becuase my stomach has nornalized. All I needed was the lowest dose of 10,000 four times a day taken with the first mouthful of food. I must say the drug made a marked improvment to my quality of life especially as I no longer stress to find the location of the nearest toilet when I go out.
Have a word with your doctor or whoever is looking after you at the hospital, below is the label information and a link to the scource.
Creon micro gastro-resistant granules contain the active ingredient pancreatin, which is a mixture of digestive enzymes normally released by the pancreas to digest food.
Pancreatin contains the pancreatic enzymes lipase, amylase and protease. These assist the digestion of fat, carbohydrates and proteins. The enzymes in Creon micro are extracted from pig pancreas glands.
Pancreatin supplements are given by mouth in conditions where the natural secretion of these enzymes by the pancreas is reduced or absent. These conditions include chronic inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis) and cystic fibrosis. Pancreatin may also be necessary if a tumour (eg pancreatic cancer) obstructs the outflow of enzymes from the pancreas. The supplements are also needed following surgical removal of the pancreas or stomach.
The enzymes in pancreatin work by digesting food as it passes through the intestines. The medicine must be taken at the same time as a meal or snack to allow the enzymes to mix with the food.
Creon micro granules have a special coating that helps protect the pancreatin from stomach acid. This allows more of the medicine to pass into the intestines with the food, which is where the enzymes would normally be released as part of digestion. The granules should be swallowed without chewing to avoid damaging the protective coating.
thanks for that I have got an appt at the hospital this week so will discuss it with the team then, you never know it might work!! I will keep you posted .
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