After surgery am I doomed to a life of throwing up???

[Jersey Girl in Tampa 4]

I have my surgery scheduled for 3/2... The anxiousness is keeping me up at night wondering if I am making the right decision.. or am I setting myself up to get sick for the rest of my life. I have been doing my research and reading posts from many different support groups all over the internet and there are some horrific stories out there are people that can't get food down.. or they throw up every time they eat meat ETC.. for me I could deal with it coming out the other end not to be graphic but the thought of vomiting for the rest of my life has me absolutely petrified and questioning should I take the chance.. Please share your experience from having gastric bypass... I understand the first couple weeks will be rough.. And I can imagine that others have struggled because they possibly didn't follow what their doctor recommends.. But to think you do all the right things and you still get sick has me worried... Whatever insight you can share and tips you can share to possibly avoid this with a greatly appreciated.. thanks in advance God bless!

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[BigSue 1,434]

Everyone is different, so there's always a chance you'll be one of the unfortunate ones to have complications (which are pretty rare for weight loss surgery), and you have to weigh that risk against the benefits of the surgery. I will say, though, that this was one of my biggest fears that made me hold off on WLS for years, but I am a year and a half out from gastric bypass and have not vomited even once since surgery.

[GradyCat 3,697]

No, you don't end up throwing up for life. Definitely for the first 36 hours post-surgery due to anesthesia. Possibly once or twice throwing up the "foamies" (mucus, bile, not food) if you eat something your stomach doesn't agree with. I eat meat all the time. No problem. But I still can't eat soft tortillas. That's okay with me.

[Wahinebythesea 49]

This has not been my experience.

At first (say the first three months) I had to be quite careful about how much I ate. I only vomited once or twice, and it was entirely due to my eating too much, too fast. Now weighing out food and eating more slowly has become second nature, and I simply don't have that issue.

Edited February 11, 2022 by Wahinebythesea

[Guest]

I'm 17 days post op. Haven't thrown up. Haven't felt like nearly throwing up. Didn't know that was a thing

[lizonaplane 1,613]

I had sleeve, but I think the issues are similar.

1) Throwing up after surgery isn't nearly as unpleasant as before surgery.

2) I have been nauseous a lot and have thrown up a number of times after taking my Multivitamin, so I take it at night and then have a snack, like a Protein Bar or cheese.

3) When I eat too much or too fast or the food is really dry I might throw up but very rarely, like right after surgery I had some chicken from a take out place and the first time it was fine, but then I tried to heat up the leftovers and it was not so good.

4) I am more nauseous and vomit more than most people I know who have had surgery. I'm five months out and it's getting better.

[Queen ApisM 427]

I'm six months out. I have spit up food once in all that time. Something just did NOT agree with me, but I figured it out fast and stopped eating so while I was miserable for a bit, it passed and then I felt fine. After that, I avoided the culprit and haven't fun into another situation like that. No other vomiting or spitting up.

Of course it varies from person to person and you can't predict how your body will react, but it isn't guaranteed that you'll have a lot of problems.

[catwoman7 11,285]

it's not that uncommon the first few weeks after surgery when you're healing and your stomach is pretty sensitive. You'll learn through trial & error that there are some things it won't tolerate - but in most cases, it'll eventually tolerate those things again - it's just the initial sensitivity.

but beyond that, no - throwing up a lot is pretty unusual. I probably throw up maybe three or four times a year - really not that much more often than I did pre-surgery. And mine is usually due to the fact I overate. So...you learn...

also, like someone else said, throwing up after surgery is different than before. First of all, your stomach is so small that there's not much in there to throw up - and also, there's not nearly as much acid in there, so you don't get that awful taste in your mouth. Let's just say it's a lot less "unpleasant" now. I don't dread it as much as I used to.

btw - almost seven years out here - and after the first month or so, I rarely throw up.

Edited February 11, 2022 by catwoman7

[ShoppGirl 5,076]

I am 11 months out and have only thrown up once and that was cause I took my multivitamin on a partially empty stomach.

[Toshab 4]

I had RNY surgery in 2005. Once I was able to eat soft foods, I threw up a few times. 1st was getting used to eating eggs. The next few times was my brain, mouth and stomach not adhering to the fact that my stomach was small (eating too much) and eating too fast. Once I retrained my brain, it has been fine. I might get the dumps every once in awhile but that's because I ate some ice cream or something very sweet. Don't take too much heed on people who have the horror stories. They are usually the ones not following the rules and have not accepted the reason they gained weight in the 1st place. You will do great, make the right food choices and decide how to proceed with your weight loss journey.

[Jersey Girl in Tampa 4]

I'm six months out. I have spit up food once in all that time. Something just did NOT agree with me, but I figured it out fast and stopped eating so while I was miserable for a bit, it passed and then I felt fine. After that, I avoided the culprit and haven't fun into another situation like that. No other vomiting or spitting up.
Of course it varies from person to person and you can't predict how your body will react, but it isn't guaranteed that you'll have a lot of problems.

Thank you for sharing

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[Jersey Girl in Tampa 4]

I had RNY surgery in 2005. Once I was able to eat soft foods, I threw up a few times. 1st was getting used to eating eggs. The next few times was my brain, mouth and stomach not adhering to the fact that my stomach was small (eating too much) and eating too fast. Once I retrained my brain, it has been fine. I might get the dumps every once in awhile but that's because I ate some ice cream or something very sweet. Don't take too much heed on people who have the horror stories. They are usually the ones not following the rules and have not accepted the reason they gained weight in the 1st place. You will do great, make the right food choices and decide how to proceed with your weight loss journey.

Thank you for your time and insight [emoji3590]

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[DaisyAndSunshine 303]

2 months post-Op and except for the day of the surgery, I haven't thrown up even once. Fortunately for me, it hasn't been a turbulent recovery, can't same it's same for all.

But personally speaking, I haven't thrown up and have tolerated most of the food group. I don't do grains as much since they feel heavy. Only once when I had tried a small size of pizza, I have had some discomfort in my chest. That's about it. So for the time being I don't do much grains. I'll incorporate them beyond month 3.

Good luck with your journey 😊

[Jersey Girl in Tampa 4]

2 months post-Op and except for the day of the surgery, I haven't thrown up even once. Fortunately for me, it hasn't been a turbulent recovery, can't same it's same for all.
But personally speaking, I haven't thrown up and have tolerated most of the food group. I don't do grains as much since they feel heavy. Only once when I had tried a small size of pizza, I have had some discomfort in my chest. That's about it. So for the time being I don't do much grains. I'll incorporate them beyond month 3.
Good luck with your journey [emoji4]

It's just so scary... That's my only fear

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[DaisyAndSunshine 303]

12 minutes ago, Jersey Girl in Tampa said:

It's just so scary... That's my only fear

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I totally get that. It's a major surgery and you're bound to be scared. I was most scared of dying on the table and I had mentioned this out here how I had even written post dated emails to my very close friends and family. Rest I didn't even think about much.

I just went in with the mindset no side effects would be as bad as my pre-Op condition (debilitating depression that took away years of my life). Hence nothing else seemed as scary and just thought to deal with whatever was written in my post-Op journey.

My suggestion would be to imagine how life would be post-Op than your current one. Is it worth the risk. Are you satisfied and happy with your life now? If no, then take the chance. Side effects can happen to anyone but go with a positive mindset and you just may have a similar graph as a lot of us out here. 🤗

Edited February 11, 2022 by DaisyAndSunshine