Does it get easier?

[Courtney* 10]

I’m about 5 weeks out from surgery and food, while easier than the first two weeks, is still hard. It’s stressful because I’m nauseous all the time. Things I love I can’t have, even if they are healthy. I’m really struggling with if it’s going to be like this forever. I can barely eat more than two bites at a time. I just need to know if this gets better cause I’m really struggling. It’s making me irritable and not fun to be around.

[vsg2410 41]

I’m struggling with this too. I’m 3 weeks post op and my surgeon seems to much more strict with my meal plan than a lot of others, so the food is getting quite monotonous. Not to mention it’s 4 weeks on the pureed diet for me. As for nausea, my Vitamins are the main culprit and my PCP prescribed me Zofran to help mitigate the nausea while I play around with my vitamins to see what works.

[qtdoll 534]

I'm 3 months out. I am finally able to include things like carbs & it brought back A LOT of normalcy for me. I am also able to eat about 3-1/2 to 4 ounces of food which fills up a small bowl & visually it helps me a ton. It took me about 2-1/2 months for me to finally feel like myself again. It will come! It will get easier & having access to your old healthy favorites will bring comfort. I promise!

Edited December 19, 2022 by bbykitty

[Arabesque 6,677]

Yes it does get way better & easier. Because we’re different & we heal & recover in our own time, there’s no real definitive time frame when this will happen for you. Your tummy becomes less sensitive & fussy, the sensitivity you may develop for certain tastes & smells goes, you feel more comfortable & confident about what you can eat, you can eat more & a wider variety of foods. And one day you’ll look back & go yep, I’ve come a long way from those first couple of weeks. In the meantime keep eating small bites slowly.

Remember too the restricted diet & staged return to eating specific foods is to support & not stress your healing tummy.

I wasn’t able or interested in eating much either. I ate from a teaspoon & each bite was barely 1/2 a teaspoon. I wasn’t eating 300 calories those first months & barely ate 900 at 6 months. Started with eating only 1/4 to 1/3 cup from purée. Got to almost a cup at 6 months. You will slowly but surely be able to eat more too.

Try some anti nausea meds to help with your nausea. Most are prescribed them initially. Ask for some or try some over the counter ones & see if they help. I had varying degrees of nausea in the morning for 8 months. It stopped when I stopped taking my Multi Vitamins (didn’t need them) - they’re often the culprit especially Iron.

[BigSue 1,325]

The first few months post-op are the hardest because you’re still healing from surgery and adjusting to a lot of changes, but you’re not yet getting the benefits of the weight loss. It’s very normal at this stage to have feelings of regret and wonder if the surgery was a mistake. As time goes by, though, it gets easier in many ways. You’ll be able to re-introduce more foods into your diet as well as get used to the changes that will become your new “normal.” And in the meantime, you’ll lose a lot of weight and get to experience life as a non-obese person. This rough part of your journey will be a blip in your memory, and if you’re like most of us, eventually your only regret will be that you didn’t do this sooner.

I’m 2.5 years out from gastric bypass and I can eat pretty much normally. I still avoid foods that are high in sugar or fat, and bread, Pasta, and rice, but I tolerate most foods and I eat pretty normal-sized portions. In fact, it scares me sometimes to see how much volume I can eat, and I have to be pretty careful to eat low-calorie foods. Sometimes I kind of miss the early post-op days when I could only eat a few bites at a time and was never hungry. Although it’s not fun, take advantage of this time because it will never be easier to lose weight than it is right now.

[joanie pony 29]

I am 5 months out from surgery.

I had a rough time mentally that first month! Once I was past that, everything about this has been so much easier. When times are tough, think about why you had the surgery and remember that this stage is only temporary.

[Courtney* 10]

Thank you everyone! It’s good to hear that it gets better - I keep forgetting I’m barely a month out.

[Jeanniebug 473]

On 12/18/2022 at 4:04 PM, Courtney* said:

I’m about 5 weeks out from surgery and food, while easier than the first two weeks, is still hard. It’s stressful because I’m nauseous all the time. Things I love I can’t have, even if they are healthy. I’m really struggling with if it’s going to be like this forever. I can barely eat more than two bites at a time. I just need to know if this gets better cause I’m really struggling. It’s making me irritable and not fun to be around.

Hang in there, you're doing great!

This too shall pass. It might pass like a kidney stone, but it WILL pass!

[Wituarmay 0]

Everything will come with time, the main condition is waiting and understanding that nothing is in vain and you can not give up. Everyone goes this way differently, but what is certain is that everything will work out.