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?

I had relatively little pain and no nausea. For the first few days I was very tired. I think that was the anesthesia working its way out of my system. The pain was manageable with just liquid Tylenol. I had a couple times I moved wrong and got a sharp pain in my lower right incision area, which they say is the largest one. I found having a heating pad was so helpful. I put it on my belly when I went to sleep and it helped a lot. I took it really easy the first 3 days. After that, I was mostly up and about but not mentally sharp enough to trust myself with too much work unless it was pretty mindless. By the end of the first week I was mostly back to normal but weak from so few daily calories. If you can, taking two weeks off or being able to work very minimally is the way to go.

I also had no nausea.

I think the pain I had was mild compared to many other surgeries I've had. Probably the worst thing was the surgical gas pain. This is not pain in your intestines like some people think. It's from the CO2 or Nitrogen that they inject into your abdomen during the surgery. This will slowly be absorbed, but in the meantime, it puts pressure on your diaphragm and this irritates the phrenic nerve. This can cause referred pain into your shoulder that can be pretty painful. They'll tell you this, but the best thing to do is move!

Forgot to add that the constipation was probably worse than any surgical pain. If your surgical team hasn't already communicated a plan to you for dealing with the constipation, talk to them ASAP. It's not nearly as bad if you stay ahead of it, but God forbid you wait until it's really bad!

Just to reiterate what everyone else has said really! Little to no nausea, gas pain was the worst but that soon wears off with some light walking, and constipation is a b***h! ? Deal with that before it gets bad, take it from me!

7 hours ago, Bypass2Freedom said:

Just to reiterate what everyone else has said really! Little to no nausea, gas pain was the worst but that soon wears off with some light walking, and Constipation is a b***h! ? Deal with that before it gets bad, take it from me!

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.

16 hours ago, Beks18 said:

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.

I can't comment for everyone, but my experience wasn't the best in the first few months, but I do put this down to a lack of fibre & water intake. Since I have been drinking 2.5L of water a day, and eating more things that have fibre 7 eating kiwis etc, it hasn't been a problem really!

Everyone is different - some people find that they don't even need to poop quite as often as they aren't eating as much (I am still a regular once a day gal ?) but your body will be guided by what suits it!

Just keep up with your fluids, and if you notice you haven't had a bowel movement in a few days (and if this is abnormal for you) maybe get something to help it move along!

Edited March 7, 20251 yr by Bypass2Freedom

No nausea.. and the pain was manageable enough with Tylenol. I was given a script for oxycodone for 5 days. But I never filled it. I was tired though, partially from coming off the anesthesia and the doctor told me at my 2 week followup, not drinking enough water. There were gas pains. And I was instructed to use Miralax to use the bathroom if I didn't go on my own. It wasn't that bad though. I was up and about by week 3 without feeling drained.

Hi, I'm new to the forums and a new member of the RNY club. I had my surgery on Tuesday 4th March so I very very recently joined. The day of my surgery sucked. After I woke up I had epic nausea but couldn't vomit as there was literally nothing to throw up. Thank goodness for the hospital and it's good anti nausea stuff! The second day was much better. I still felt weak as heck and was super shaky and my chest felt tight like someone was sitting on it which was odd. My doc approved me for clear broth but they forgot about me so I didn't get anything at all ? so I just had ice chips. One thing that surprised me was when I had to do the CT scan they brought me two cups of that yucky tasting fluids and it was a massive struggle to get though 1.5 cups of it and I felt so overly full and awfully uncomfortable all day as a result. Totally not used to being able to drink small amounts.

I got released on day 3 with Panadol and so far so good. I'm still on the fluids part of my diet and have not experienced dumping syndrome YET but once I start eating I'm sure that'll happen fairly soon. One thing that surprises me is my total lack of appetite. I just don't feel hungry. Will that eventually change?

My journey so far has been weird. My doctor referred me in December, I had an initial appointment with my surgeon in Jan who told me to email him a bunch of questions I may have had but I was not allowed to bring anyone with me. He then dropped off the radar for 6 weeks or so and I had to chase and bug him to answer me and what happens next. The receptionist called and answered all my questions and booked me in for surgery two weeks later. I then saw him on The Friday prior to the surgery then had my procedure. I didn't have to do any kind of shakes, I didn't get any blood tests or any referrals to dieticians or anything. Ive now been out of hospital for several days and I'm guessing there won't be any communication with me unless I reach out until I'm booked to see him on the 21st. I don't know if that's normal it just seems very... Hands off. I was kinda expecting to have to do more

Edited March 12, 20251 yr by Kiryu

It varies. The most common issues are constipation and gas/bloating. For me, I was extremely gassy for the first week; my stomach looked like a balloon about to explode. That passed pretty quickly but then bloating started and that was more long-lasting. It took several months before it didn't feel like my stomach had expanded and just felt normal again.

The pain is also variable. Some people have none at all. I had mild pain for the first few days, and then a sharp twinge after every bowel movement for about two weeks or so. That was annoying but nothing to write home about.

For me, the biggest issue was fatigue. I didn't eat much at all for the first week because food just made me want to throw up. And even when I could eat again, my stomach could only handle small portions for several months (and it had to be bland foods). So I basically lived on chicken broth with noodles and saltines for a few weeks. That plus not being able to exercise left me so tired. It was hard to get through the day sometimes.

Good news is that you should start feeling better within 2–3 weeks, although some people take longer than this. And it just keeps getting better from there!