2 replies to this topic

[Dan1976]

After battling morbid obesity for over 20 years, I have decided, one year ago, to have gastric sleeve surgery. This surgery makes the stomach a lot smaller so you can't eat a lot, and also eliminates the parts of the stomach which produce ghrelin, the hunger hormone.

 

I have lost a great deal of weight - 50% of the body weight was gone within 1 year.

 

I weighted 326 lbs (148 kg) one year ago, and I now weight 163 lbs (74 kg), so, at a height of 172 cm, I now have a BMI of 25 (normal weight).

 

I'm very happy with this result. I worked very hard for it, been very disciplined with my diet and did everything the doctor told me. I have taken a high quality multivitamin, fish oil and protein shakes every day.

 

However, I have a few problems:

 

• I feel extremely tired, no matter how I eat or how much I rest. I have very low energy. It's hard to get out of bed in the morning and very hard to work for 8 hours every day (I'm a computer programmer). Also, after work I barely have the energy to do anything - I just go home and sit in bed.
  
  The situation improved a bit by taking armodafinil (300 mg) in the morning, but not by much. At least I arrive at work in time, most of the days.
   
• I look a lot older than I used to. Skin quality is bad.
   
• My face skin is very brown / dark yellow, like in old people. Picture included below. I used to have white skin.
   
• Depression. Perhaps due to the lack of energy and due to the fact that all I do is work and stay in bed.

 

Blood test results come out ok, including liver enzymes which are ok.

 

How can I fix the problems above? Will they ever improve? What can I do to fix them?

 

 

Edited by Dan1976, 02 September 2016 - 06:33 AM.

[platypus]

Do you walk outdoors, exercise etc. regularly? 

[ambivalent]

What about gut health?

 

Years of poor diet and antibiotics can take a huge toll on the gut flora. I found this lecture on the role of gut bacteria  on our behaviour quite astonishing. In one experiment mice (without bacteria, from recollection)  were infused with the bacteria from either adventurous or inactive mice and subsequently those mice adopted the same behaviour as the donor. Perhaps we will all be taking, as the lecturer suggests,'crapsules' in the future which may not be that far off.

 

Another suggestion is vitamin D. High dosing needs to be taking with some caution as magnesium, k2, vitamin A, Zinc, Boron need to be supplemented too. Most people are deficient and there seems to be significant correlation if not causation with many conditions. For more information and self-testing got to the vitamin D council

 

There is a link between serotonin and gut health (see lecture) and also posited between vitamin D and serotonin

 

Another area to look in to is your homocysteine levels (this can be checked). A quick search yielded this article on the role of B-vitamins. Low levels of homocysteine correlate with cognitive decline. Also Omega 3 reduces homocysteine.

 

I've introduced these supplements over the past year and I would say they've had a considerable effect, much less lethargic, improved memory and finding there are less psychological barriers to do things. There are have been some other changes which have possibly helped but I would say the supplements have had a very significant effect, though I couldn't isolate one specifically as I adopted them at similar times.

 

Good luck.