Beks18

The only time I had nausea was the day after surgery where I vomited uncontrollably. They kept me an extra night to make sure it passed, which it did pretty quickly. Since then I haven’t had any issues with dumping, nausea or anything like that. I had what I thought was a weird gas pain when I swallowed, but finally realized that it was just swelling and pain from where they fixed my hiatal hernia. Taking tiny sips of water rather than trying to drink like normal helped. So did trying different temperatures of drinks. I also found out very quickly that my stomach cannot handle crystal light…. Way too acidic and once I stopped drinking that it hurt less. Now I’m already able to drink pretty normally. You really just have to listen to your body. Eat/drink slowly so you can feel when you’ve had enough, and that will really help you avoid nausea. If you eat or drink too much it will put pressure on your internal wounds and your body is going to want to relieve that pressure and vomit it up or dump it. Slow and steady is the name of the game with this surgery. Wishing you luck and sending love and healing thoughts your way!

During the first week of surgery, I was absolutely miserable and very much regretting my decision to have the RNY. Now I’m 15 days out from surgery and I have done a complete 180! I feel AMAZING. The support of this forum is wonderful. I appreciate being able to lean on you all and hear from your experiences. If you are on the fence about this procedure, I would highly recommend it. BUT, go into it with the expectation that the first week will be pretty terrible. Maybe you’ll be one of the lucky ones that it won’t have much pain or issue. But if not, just know it DOES GET BETTER. So much better. I’ve never been so excited to the future. ❤️

Wendy, I just want to thank you for this. Seeing your experience and your positivity really helped. They did give me an abdominal binder and I also did the pillow method for coughing. 2 weeks out now and I’m feeling a million times better. I hope your journey is going amazingly!

Nope, I’ve avoided straws like the plague. I know I’m not drinking too fast or gulping. The only other thing that makes sense to me would be a stricture? But it seems to be too early to deal with that.

Thank you for responding! Do you remember how long it took you to stop feeling the surgical pains? Like being able to walk without hunching from pain or cough without it feeling like your abdominal wall is separating? I know everyone heals differently. I’m trying to stay optimistic and I’m sure I sound a bit whiney right now.

Thank you! Does eating ever feel normal/comfortable again? I can’t tell if the gas bubble feelings I have when trying to take sips is from surgical gas still (4 days out) or if that’s just going to be the new normal. I guess that’s the scariest part for me right now…. That it will always be uncomfortable.

I am optimistic for the outcome you’ve had. Thank you for your reply. ❤️

Thank you for replying. It seems like this first week has been dragging on and on.

I finally had my RNY on June 2nd. It was insanely painful right off the bat and I had a 2 day hospital stay because I wasn’t able to keep anything down. Everything looked normal on the barium swallow. I’ve read on here that hunger goes away… mine did not. I’m so hungry and it sucks. I’m trying to maintain my water intake and trying to get as much protein as possible while spacing everything out and taking sips… but I very quickly feel like there are uncomfortable air bubbles in my stomach even with the tiny sips. Tell me it stops sucking. Because right now I feel like I made such a huge mistake. ?

Is the constipation like a lifelong struggle or just in the beginning? I am worried about that. I asked my surgeon about it and he said it shouldn’t be something to deal with forever but I’ve read different things from different people.

Hi roux en y friends! I want to say first and foremost that I’m so glad to have found this forum. Everyone has been so insightful, caring, and helpful. I know I don’t always respond (working full time and 4 kids) but I do see your responses and appreciate them. I’m back with another question. What should I expect during recovery? I’m imagining constant abdominal pain and nausea. How long did it take you to go back to work or resume your normal activities?

For everyone that answered, would you have the surgery again knowing everything you know now? I’ve officially scared the living crap out of myself by browsing Reddit threads and coming across some that are pretty much all about friends and loved ones dying from bypass complications or extremely malnourished people with a poor quality of life post-surgery. ?

Geez, is the insomnia common? I haven’t really researched that part of it or come across it much. Is the bathroom pain like intense abdominal cramping? Or are we talking about the actual exit point here? lol sorry for the tmi questions.

LOL is that a home intruder or my stomach? I laughed out loud at work. ? I didn’t even think about pain while sitting just from less of a cushion.

That’s what I’m nervous about… the constipation. I love that my body keeps things pretty regular these days, but when I have experienced constipation in the past it was the worst!

Interesting! What kind of symptoms go along with your type of dumping episodes? If it feels like reactive hypoglycemia then I’m imagining it makes you pretty tired, weak, sluggish. Have you dealt with the terrible constipation that a lot of others talk about?

Do you have regrets because of the nausea and constipation, or would you still choose the surgery if you could go back and do it all over again? I’ve heard that it can be drastically different from person to person and it so interesting to hear all the different perspectives!

I’ve done a lot of bypass research and found out so much that I didn’t have a clue about prior to research. Things like the foamies, the constipation, medication absorption, etc. I’m curious to hear about things that surprised you after surgery that your clinical team didn’t tell you and that you might not have come across in your own research beforehand. I want to be as prepared as possible for what’s to come. Give me the good, bad, ugly… all of it.

Thank you for responding! I have also worried about not being able to take ibuprofen after surgery, but I think I’m making more of an issue of it in my mind than it would be in reality. After 4 kids, I got used to not being able to take ibuprofen during pregnancy. I’ve wondered a lot about dumping and wish I could know ahead of time what it will be like for me. It seems like such a unique thing to everyone and very different circumstances that seem to bring on dumping. Could you elaborate more on what textures your body can’t tolerate?

Thank you for the insight into your experience. I appreciate your perspective on it all.

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. You made some very good points about the reason someone might be satisfied or dissatisfied after their surgery.

Thank you so much for your reply. I really appreciate your perspective. ❤️

This is my first time posting here, but I’ve scoured forums for so many of my questions. I’ve read lots of your stories and have found encouragement and new fears. One demographic of people I haven’t seen much from are those that are at the lower end of the BMI for bariatric surgery. I am 5’6” and at 35 BMI. I juuuust barely qualified for surgery. I will get my surgery date this Wednesday and my fears are at an all time high. I am relatively healthy and qualified based on one comorbidity which is mild sleep apnea. My question is to those who had similar situations as my own. Do you regret getting the bypass, or are you happy you did it? Did you form more problems after the surgery than you had before? Please give me your insight! I know I want the bypass rather than the sleeve due to GERD issues. Like many of you, I’ve struggled with my weight and portion control my entire life. But I am so scared that I’m going to have regrets and it’ll be too late to turn back. Another question I have is for those on antidepressants/anti-anxiety meds. For the first time in my life, my anxiety is well controlled on Prozac and I’m worried that the surgery will completely mess that up. Can I hear your experiences with meds post-op?