FunkyMunky64

I have dry mouth from meds too, but I haven't really been able to drink with my meals. I find that drinking before I eat and eating wet foods (like fruits and veggies, stews, etc) works just fine.

I am further out than you, but I went to a fancy, 7 course meal recently with my family. I just ate a little bit of each course. The Soup I didn't care for at all so I just didn't eat it. I ate more of the things I really like and less of the thigs that weren't great (before I would have eaten every bite!). I didn't finish anything, even dessert, and that was fine. I was more full than I would have been after a normal meal, but I didn't get sick.

I miss being able to eat a huge meal if I wanted. We are going on a cruise soon and I'm a little sad I won't be able to really enjoy the 4+ course meal at dinner. However, I am never really hungry or have cravings so this is totally a mental thing! I love that food isn't a constant thought for me anymore, but I wonder if I will ever mentally not be addicted to food.

I feel like I have given up a lot since starting this journey. I don't mind most of them. Mostly because I feel better and down 103 pounds. However I really really miss drinking while I eat.
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As @catwoman7 said some of those changes you mentioned are just temporary. Like Hair loss usually persists for about 3 months & your hormones settle once you’ve lost most of your weight (oestrogen is stored in fat so as you lose all the excess oestrogen is released into blood stream).
Large weight regain can occur because of complacency & people slipping back into old eating habits. It can occur because how they were eating wasn’t sustainable &/or was too restrictive. It didn’t allow them to live their life as they wanted & hindered them doing what they enjoyed. Or they didn’t do the head work to understand & learn to manage their old eating behaviours & what drove them to eat. All things the surgery doesn’t do anything about. But it does give you the time to explore these factors.
Also remember the average weight loss at about the three year mark is 60% of the weight that had to be lost. This can include the bounce back ‘resettling’ weight gain, complacency & adjusting to a more flexible eating plan. Or it could just be the weight your body is happier at.
Sure there is always a chance to develop an issue that has to be monitored but it’s rare. Comparatively, there are very few complications from weight loss surgery. Some of the issues may not have anything to do with the surgery. I have a Protein malabsorption issue. Not from my 3 yr old sleeve but from my gall being removed last year. (Malabsorption issues are very rare with sleeve.) I have low BP. I had a genetic predisposition before surgery now it’s all the time because of my lower weight not the surgery. Gerd is probably the highest risk after sleeve - about 15-20% I believe. But it can be managed or treated by a revision to bypass. Some issues may be revealed because you likely are being monitored medically more closely now then before or your weight & associated comorbidities may have been masking what were pre existing conditions.
You’ll likely read & hear about people with problems because they they post to seek help & support. They don’t often post about what the cause was or the remedy. In comparison, people tend not to post or talk about their successes. I know many people who’ve had the surgery. No one has experienced long term or developed new issues because of the surgery. A couple regained most of their weight because they went back to their old eating habits.
Certainly the benefits far outweigh any temporary side effects or the very rare problem.

the people who gain it back are those who let bad eating habits slip back into their lives.
most people do experience a 10-20 lb rebound gain after hitting their lowest weight. It's not inevitable, but it does seem to happen to most of us. As far as gaining it all back, though, yes, it happens to some - but not most. If you monitor yourself, though, and keep up with the good habits, then you're not going to gain it all back.
serious health changes? That would be super rare. You're much more likely to experience serious health issues by staying obese. Most people see vast improvements in their health after surgery.
Fatigue is common the first couple of months after surgery - surgery is a major stress on your body (any surgery - not just this one), and you're taking in very few calories to boot. After that, though, you'll probably have more energy than you do now.
hormonal changes are temporary. That should all stabilize sometime within the first year. Permanent Hair loss would be extremely rare.
no weight loss at all would only happen if you don't follow the program.

Dumping is random for me. Sometimes I can have a small bowl of Cereal with almond milk & sometimes I can’t 😞
I never know what it is going to be.

A surgeon told me that eating small amounts of sugar trains the part of your intestines to accept the sugar over time & after years of this the sugar won’t bother you anymore & you can go right back to eating how you did before.

I’m 4 years out & the almond mike made me dump just the other night.

The 1st couple of weeks can be really hard. Your body just went through a great big shock! It will be easier I promise!
Between prescriptions & supplements I take an lot of pills. I use the PatchMD Vitamins. They might cost a little but for me not having to swallow one more big pill pie worth or & my labs have always been great.
I take a multil, B12 & a D. I think it’s the bypass set.
Things will get better I promise!