Search the Community

Hi, I’m new here. I had a gastric bypass (RNY) on Tuesday. I was back home Wednesday and doing ok. I’m living and working abroad in a country where I am not completely fluent in the local language so I wasn’t put into a support group with locals, but hoping I can find that here. ☺️ So far, it certainly hasn’t been a pleasant experience but it’s also nowhere near the nightmare I expected. (I know it’s still early days!)

How did you decide? My doctor said I have no issues/conditions that would make him recommend one over the other and it’s completely up to me. I’m doing lots of research on both and am really unsure - thought I would ask here. Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts and experiences!

Hey, I have had a rxy bypass 2 weeks ago and I was on liquids for one week and puree now. I have felt no restriction even with water I am gulping a glass down easily and having puree very easy with no pain or restriction. I have tried eggs and a few other little things because I freaked out with no restriction. Can I have people please help with their own story about this… does the restriction comeback?? Has anyone spoken to their surgeon as to why they lost it??? Any information and support would be appreciated I have been really low and upset about this worrying I’ll never feel full again

I had my two month anniversary, and second post op exam/meeting. Bloods good, I lost 35 lbs so far, but one of the drivers for me was Barrett's and the GERD I was experiencing is largely gone. I still take an H2 blocker as a precaution and got cleared for real exercise, not just walking. (Had a hiatal hernia that got repaired). I gotta say, having done this, I couldn't be happier. Yes, I'm still trying to draw lines but the surgeon said to measure portions, even though his dietitian does not address portion size. I think it is important to have resources as you go through this, not just for support, but for info. I consider this such a place. I'm far more mobile and agile, can do stuff I couldn't before because of oversize/bloat/weight. I'm fitting into clothes that I couldn't. Not that this should be a reason, it's just a benefit.

How bad REALLY is the gas right after gastric bypass surgery? Did you just let it rip in front of all the doctors/nurses or did you try to hide it?? 🤣🤣🤣 What helped it and how long until you felt better? I appreciate the input so much as always!! TIA 😊

Had my surgery today and not feeling to bad. Back pain sucks but that's due to back issues and nit surgery.

Hello everyone, I have an surgery date for Gastric Bypass on Aug 16th, and I have couple questions: Anyone have regrets? Were you scared before surgery?

I'm completely shocked to say it's been a MILLION times better this time around than it was with my sleeve!!! I was able to take all my pills, at once, by day 4 post op. I've been able to get my water in from day 1. I was able to handle cold stuff. And other than incision/stomach muscle pain, there has been NO PAIN at all. I've been able to walk for 20 minutes 3x per day since day 6 post op. The bad thing is that there isn't a reduction in hunger at all and i haven't noticed any restriction or full feeling or anything. Yesterday was my first day eating mushy foods, and when I had my sleeve, I was IMMEDIATELY full before I even finished my allotted amount. This time? Nope. I fully expected restriction or a hard stop, but nope. That's really disappointing, actually. By day 30 with the sleeve, I had zero restriction and I never lost my hunger. I thought I would have some restriction with the bypass, but nope. Not since day 1. Nothing at all.

My doctor is recommended I have a bypass revision done (currently 5 years put on my sleeve) as I have severe GERD and weight gain. For those that have had this done….. which bypass did they do? Full ? Mini? Or? and did it help? Thanks in advance.

Going on 3, maybe 4 yrs post-op. Wow, never thought there'd come a day when I didn't remember. For past 2 yrs I've endured right sided pain. At first I thought it was ovarian but got that checked (was fine) and was a bit high for ovarian. During scans of ovaries/abdomen, it was consistently noted my gallbladder was 'distended'. Sometimes I'd have attacks of pain that would last for hours. I was always stunned when scans would say no 'sludge, no stones, nada' so I thought great, another medical mystery. Finally when I ended up in ER over Christmas 'sludge' and stones were finally noted so they decided to remove it. I was in so much pain that even getting to ER is a blur (husband drove). I do know surgeon said that while gallbladder removal surgery was technically not a big surgery, the fact that I had gastric bypass did mean surgery may take a bit longer as they had less room to maneuver since abdominal area was 'segmented'. That I remember. I came to, according to my husband, hours later and I wondered wow, why did it take so long? Has anyone had gallbladder removal post weight loss surgery and experience same thing (procedure took longer, etc.) MAIN reason I'm back here after few yrs of absence is there are no other people I can go to that can give me at least comparative experiences (i.e. they've not had weight loss surgery so we are anatomically "different"). Honestly, my gastric bypass was a CAKEWALK compared to getting gallbladder out. Is this normal or have I become a weenie in 3 yrs? It literally still HURTS. I am now roughly 21 days post op and I still have right sided pain almost like my gallbladder was never removed. I mean, I know it has been but WHY does it feel like something is still just 'not right'? I figured I was just having a slow recovery and going to hospital/ER is never fun, especially during holidays. Maybe I should have gone back by now as no urgent care place will see me on this. Primary dr not available until tomorrow but what is he going to do besides refer me? Kind of kicking myself for not going back to ER but am always dreading that 'we don't see anything wrong' type conversations...although about 70% of the times I've gone to an ER, there has literally been a legit issue. My right side hurts...and honestly one area feels like it is burning/on fire. I have no fever. No yellowing of the eyes or skin...so I'm just sitting here in wait mode trying to decide what makes the most sense. Symptoms I am having besides ongoing pain and the burning sensation, is hot flashes/heat waves like NO TOMORROW! (is that from the anesthesia??)...clammy all the time...cold sweats throughout the day, nausea...sometimes brief chills..when I walk I'm having to do the same compression/pain compensation that I had after bypass surgery (although honestly I don't recall constantly feeling like I had to hold my abdomen after bypass surgery. I've done cold packs, heating pads, etc. trying to find some home remedies. I've used up the entire prescription of the muscle relaxer which was the one thing, more than the Tramadol which seemed to give some very very brief relief. Sometimes I feel like my insides are tying themselves in a knot. Only thing I can think of is I'm having abdominal spasming and that..it will abate at some point? I can't keep having this interfere with work which is another whole issue. When you tell your workplace you are having issues after gallbladder surgery...well, you know how you get that feeling especially from others who have had something like gallbladder removed where it truly was no big deal and they are wondering...why are you struggling? Some know I had gastric bypass surgery but I really don't want to have to spell it out for others..ya know? Curious to know if anyone else had similar struggles, did it go away...what did you do? Am I an idiot for not already going back to ER to get checked out instead of just continuing to be in pain or does it indeed just take us longer to recover. Interesting side note, if you ever get online access to your medical records from a hospital/doctor, sign up as I was able to read my freaking surgical notes!! Oooh, another sore point - they noted in my surgical notes my gallbladder or some part of it had grown into/adhered to something else it shouldn't have so they had to 'cut it away'...and they also noted a bile leakage they wanted to fix but could not do the preferred 'solution' as they could not maneuver so they went with a Plan 'B' (my wording). I mean...how about you tell me this stuff after the surgery so I don't have to read about it? My husband said I was gone for literal hours - longer than my bypass surgery by far. Any input even if you sailed through your gallbladder removal is welcome.

Haii!! I just found this site again after having left years ago once I completed my first two years of my sleeve. Now I'm back due to regain. YAY! 🙄 I know its more common for patients due to reflux, but I've thankfully never had that issue before nor after my sleeve. But due to this fact, it's equally as hard to find threads on people who are getting a revision solely due or in addition to weight regain! So those of you who went from sleeve to bypass: What was the weight loss like the second time around? I'm hearing its slower and you don't lose as much. Would you say that's true in your experience? Anything you've done differently this time? Lessons learned? Sleeve: 162cm (5ft 3in), I was 134kgs (296lbs), and got down to 77kgs (170lbs) Currently: | 119kg (~260lbs, regained 40kg (90lbs)

I was wondering if any of you would be able to share some information with me regarding getting pregnant/pregnancy after a bypass (mgb or regular). I am so mentally ready to have a baby but all the unknowns are stressing me out! 1. Did you have to get cleared by your surgeon to start trying and if so, what did they check? 2. Did you work with a dietician to get the right nutrients/calories for yourself & your baby or did you figure it out yourself? 3. How much weight did you gain and did you lose it after? 4. Did you get followed up as a high risk pregnancy because of your bypass? 5. Did you have a caesarean because of your bypass? 6. Did you have complications related to your bypass? 7. Were there any effects on your baby related to your bypass? Thanks already for answering any questions, I appreciate it so much 😊

Hey all, I have a small hernia and GERD from sleeve surgery. My insurance is FEP Blue of MD. My doctor submitted a pre cert and FEP Blue said I needed behavioral health and nutrition visits to approve even though it’s a revision due to complications. My doctor then canceled the pre authorization and Re enrolled me to start the whole program over with again. Does this seem right ? I feel like I’ve seen other people have a very seamless process when having a complication based revision. I feel like the insurance and the doctors office is not properly communicating with me or each other. Any advice ?

Had my first visit with the surgeon last week about getting the sleeve. Did heaps of research and checked out forums prior to appt. Surgeon suggested getting the bypass. Said research shows it is more successful long term and as I am in my 50s I wouldn’t want to be doing another op in my mid 60s. Bypass is also reversible. I agreed to a bypass on the spot as the surgeon should know what’s best for me. He said he has even reduced the cost of a bypass to match the sleeve so patients would not be deciding on a procedure based solely on cost. Surgery next month. Very worried about ever being able to go to a restaurant in the future due to lack of suitable menu choices and ending up with dumping in a public setting. Not sure how I would cope when travelling as will be relying on others to prepare my meals. Any advice on these scenarios would be much appreciated. I just spent the weekend donating many of my gorgeous cookbooks as I can’t see myself ever using them again. I have another three bookcases to go through. Next step will be digging out the smaller clothes I never donated as I really liked them. I have a feeling I won’t be interested in many of my old clothes anymore and will want to celebrate my new figure with some new items. I know my smallest clothes are going to end up too big in the near future. Can’t wait. Would love to hear from others about their journey and any tips or tricks you can offer.

Hello All, I had my bypass on Valentines Day this year. So, I'm roughly 4 months post op. Prior to my surgery I was taking Wellbutrin 100mg 3 times a day. I haven't had any weight gaining issues with this medication. It actually had been helping me not want to overeat a bunch. Recently my Dr decided to add Zoloft 50mg daily in addition to my Wellbutrin. I haven't started taking it yet because I am having mixed feelings about it. I know I need something to help with the irritability I've had an increase within addition to what I am taking now. I do trust my Dr and him saying that he thinks that I am a good candidate for the medication, and he hasn't seen any weight issues ect, I am though however terrified if I start taking this medicine, I will start gaining weight back. So, my question is those who have been on this medication, did you have any side effects and or weight gain with this medication? And if so, how much weight did it cause you to gain back?

While the decreased vitamin and mineral absorption after gastric bypass is very well known and researched, not very much can be found about various drugs absorption or antibiotics absorption. I did a bit of research on this topic since I know UTIs are a concern especially for women. It is interesting to see that some antibiotics absorb as low as 37% while others absorb at 100%. Please see below some articles on this subject. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/754391 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32314257/ https://www.jabfm.org/content/jabfp/20/3/310.full.pdf https://www.drugs.com/article/antibiotics-for-uti.html

So I'm looking at my medical records online and I see that I had a "gastrojejunostomy and resection of the distal part of stomach for gastric polyposis and refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease". I was like HUH?? Now I'm confused. I went online to look up the differences between this and the bypass, and some sites say they are basically the same, some say they are different because a different area is bypassed with the gastrojejunostomy, some say the gastrojejunostomy is part of the bypass, and I have no clue what to think. At no time did my surgeon ever mention anything other than bypass. No other words, procedures, names of procedures, etc. Just a bypass and removing my lower stomach. So now...what the actual heck????

Here's a weird one. I often heard after getting WLS, that alcohol can be this really slippery slope and transfer addiction is real. It's funny because I was simultaneously worried and not worried at the same time because alcoholism runs in my family and I've seen it ugly, up close and personal which has made me incredibly reflective on my alcohol use, always checking it and monitoring to make sure it wasn't something I was doing out of habit and only in moderation. Basically, I've never been really into alcohol but don't get me wrong, I had my party days in college and I remember being able to drink soooooo much for a long time when I was partying with friends. Fast forward to today, I'm a year and like 5 months post op from bypass and I've found a couple things with alcohol and want to know if anyone is having the same experience: Getting drunk now is horrible, a surefire way straight to my head in the toilet, and not because I'm too drunk but because alcohol makes me incredibly nauseous if I have more than 2 drinks. I also don't drink sugary drinks either - I do usually a hard liquor like vodka and soda water. I find now though that I don't even feel drunk like I used to. I'm incredibly cognizant of everything, don't feel "silly" or "loose" like I used to, then I just get sleepy, and then I just hit a wall and get really nauseous and want to puke. If I have a drink then I eat later, like I've been in a situation where I am going to a dinner, have a cocktail like a couple hours before my meal, then I eat and the food makes me so nauseous and almost dumping. It could be that I'm just older now and drinking is different but I barely drink now since getting my bypass because it just makes me feel like crap. I don't miss it, I think drinking is really bad but I will admit it has taken a toll on my social life (but ultimately it's good to know who wants to actually be friends and who just wants a drinking buddy) But I've always heard that drinking can be a problem after, but now that I have had WLS, drinking is not fun like it used to be and I just don't want to do it at all. Anyone else experiences this? I think it's an interesting topic.

Hello all, I'm new here. I had gastric bypass on Halloween of 2022 and the past 2 days I have pain on and off on my left side under my rib. Mostly when bending a certain way, laughing or sometimes just randomly. Sometimes it's a burning sensation and sometimes it's a sharp pain. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this? Or what it might be. I've been googling my symptoms but so many different things come up. I was thinking ulcer in my unused stomach portion?? Not really sure.

So here we are again lol My revision from sleeve to bypass is on the 28th, and my pre-op diet (all liquids) starts on the 22nd. The first 3 days are ALWAYS the worst. Day 4 isn't too bad, and days 5-7 aren't bad at all. Those are actually pretty easy. But getting through the first 3 days...omg. That's the really hard part lol Not excited in the least about that. BUT...I'm beyond excited to get the revision and get back to my life. I miss being pain free. I miss working out (weight training, cardio, strength/core training). I miss bike riding and taking long walks. I'm so ready to get my GERD, gastritis, and esophagitis under control (GONE!! ) so I can finally hit my goal weight and move on with my life. At least this time I know what I do and don't like and am stocked up on the drinks and shakes and broths that I enjoy. Trying to figure it out the first time around really sucked lol

It's 6 months since my mini gastric bypass. I have lost total of 55 Kg or 121.25 lbs. My weight loss trend is still hovering around 6 Kg (13.2 lbs) loss/month. But from last 3 months, I have seen increase in my hunger. In terms of percentage, the increase would be 20 % as compared to the 3 months back. Is this normal? I am also spending a lot of time for workout - around 6 hours of cardio and 12 hours for strength training + HIIT + weights every week. Not sure if that along with muscle i am developing is causing this hunger? or maybe its normal? Also, lost my job to layoffs recently but finances are not an issue. So just trying to maintain calm and avoid any emotional eating. My current weight is 92.5 Kg or 203.5 lbs. Should I get my metabolism evaluated to see my calorie requirement or wait upto 1 year for weight to stabilize? I had my surgery outside country of residence due to surgery wait times. I do teleconference with bariatric surgeon every 3 months, but no in person visit option available. Please suggest. Thank you

I had the roux-en-y gastric bypass surgery in 2018. My beginning weight was 290 and in less than a year I was down 100 lbs. I got pregnant at the end of 2019. I gained 30 lbs during that time and lost it all after 2 months of breast feeding. I breast fed until my son was 11 months and he was ON DEMAND. I had to increase my intake to produce more milk. I now have gained over 70 lbs since I stopped and tried intermittent fasting, Golo, high protein low carbs and nothing has worked. I go to my bariatric surgeon tomorrow and hope to get a green light on a revision as I know my pouch has increased in size as I can eat more than I used to. My energy level is at a 2 and I'm burnt out with my soon to be 3 yr old who is full of energy. I was on no medication after my surgery and now I'm taking 6 different prescriptions daily and its wearing me down mentally as well. My PCP and Psychiatrist are supportive as long as my bariatric surgeon is as well. I pray this goes well tomorrow. I hope to return with good news.

I had a mini gastric bypass surgery exactly 3 months back. Since there didn't seem much activity on specific forum for mini gastric bypass (as it isn't common in US), so I thought i would put it in regular bypass forum. Starting weight: 326 lbs Current weight (exactly 3 months post Op): 252 lbs making total weight loss of around 74 lbs. Diet: Currently taking 1000 (or maybe 1100 at times) calories. Protein rich diet with around 70 to 80g of daily protein and low carb. 3 meals and in-between I take protein shake, pure coconut water (around 500 ml a day) and sometimes raw Tofu once or twice in day if I feel hungry. I use weighing scale to make sure I know how much I eat. Workout: 4 to 5 miles of walk daily. Gym of 7 to 8 hours total every week. Main focus on HIIT and weights, and includes 2.5 hour of cardio. I have felt since I started gym, my body feels more leaner and in shape but appetite has slightly gone up. Like maybe 3 extra tablespoon of Quinoa. But what do you guys think of my progress? Any red flags or caution? As now is the time to correct things if something is wrong. Do you think a weight of 180 lbs is something achievable for me? Thanks a lot.