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I started chewing Nicorette Gum about 6 months after my gastric bypass due to a lot of stress going on w/my teenager… Up until recently, the last 3-4 weeks, everything seemed fine; I even swallowed my gum once accidentally not thinking cuz I was getting a ketamine treatment for depression and chewing gum right when the ketamine started kicking in; but that didn’t cause any issues, thank God!!! Then I all of a sudden started really feeling sick when I chew gum after meals w/bloating and gas, nausea, stomach cramps, and diarrhea. I had increased the amount I was chewing; which probably really kicked in my sick feeling. I know most of my fellow responders are referring to non nicotine gum; but if any of you chew Nicorette or take nicotine lozenges I’d love to hear if anyone has had negative side effects after bariatric surgery. I know chewing any gum, and definitely using any sort of nicotine, is most likely frowned upon by our surgeons; but has anyone heard anything specific about why using nicotine gum or lozenges after surgery is particularly a bad idea?

At my surgeon's office, they have one set of guidelines for bypass and another for sleeve. Interestingly, bypass moves out of the liquid phase faster, perhaps because we don't have that long line of staples to worry about? But as far as I can tell, the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery sets certain guidelines for programs to be considered Centers of Excellence, which many insurance programs require in order to cover the procedure. But these do not include a lot of specific dietary guidelines. A lot is left open to personal preference by the doctor or practice, although they are required to stay up to date on medical research.

I found it interesting that a friend of a friend who has surgery with my same dr got the same packet as me since I had sleeve and she had bypass. If I had to guess they keep it simple by going by the stricter guidelines for everyone?? The. Again maybe it truly is same for both surgeries. I agree it’s interesting that different doctors do it differnt though.

Idk because I had the sleeve and that’s what he told me. But then again this was the PA and we discussed a resleeve, bypass and Sadi that day. It’s possible he misspoke?. It sounds like you understand the anatomy a lot better than I do. I didn’t know enough to question it. If I remember I will ask the dr end of this month though cause now I’m curious 🧐

Congratulations! Be careful though. 15 bean soup sounds like a lot coming right off a liquid diet & this soon after surgery. I had my endoscopy today, my gastric bypass surgery was Feb. 2nd, 2024. I have an anastomotic stenosis(stricture) & an ulcer. I hate it but it definitely explains the pain & intolerance when eating & drinking & the abdominal pain.

i have heard/read this reasoning many, many times on this forum. im not sure, but i *think* this may be something relevant only to those with bypass (or any other surgery where the pyloric valve is not is use?). im a sleeve, and the reason i don't drink while i eat is because mixing liquids and solids results in making me feel overly FULL to the point i need to vomit. i've learned that (starting with an empty stomach) i can have liquids immediately followed by solids, with no issue. But under no circumstance can i have solids immediately followed by liquids (or both at same time)...otherwise, the aforementioned barfing results. so for ME, i don't need to adhere to the no-drinking-30-mins-before rule , but i definitely need to follow the no-drinking-(at least!)-30-mins-AFTER rule. YMMV. good luck! ❤️

I've never heard of phases taking that long to get through, so unless you have a very unusual case with special circumstances, I think there's been a misunderstanding. A week or two of liquids, which I assume included protein shakes, is normal. After that, some programs put you on purees and some will say soft protein food that you chew thoroughly, usually once you're doing well with this, after a week or two, but certainly by week 6 or so, you will be told to slowly introduce veg, fruit, and finally starch and grain. I had gastric bypass on Feb 21. I had one week of liquids, which included yogurt, cream soups, and thin cream of wheat. At week 2, I was allowed to have cottage cheese, tuna salad, refried beans, ground turkey, and flaky white fish. At week 3, I was allowed to start including cooked vegetables and fruits and told to slowly start incorporating other foods, but to wait until 3 months for pork and beef. I had a setback with some vomiting, so I had to go back to liquids for weeks 4 and 5, but I had my 6 week appointment today and was told I was clear to resume a normal diet (minus beef and pork) and just needed to be cautious and keep track of/eliminate anything that caused upset. I found this video very helpful, although I will point out this program's way of reintroducing foods is not quite the same as mine, (or most others).

Hello Lorna, I am scheduled on April 9th for Gastric Bypass as well! I think we could all support each other in this journey. I wish us all the luck, we will all do amazing!

Hello, I recently turned 60. I had VGS when I was 50. It served me very well. I maintained several years. But for "reasons" I am now scheduled for a conversion to a Gastric Bypass on April 4. My doctor says I am an "ideal" candidate. Age is just a number! Good luck, Elizabeth

Good Afternoon, This is my firs posting so excuse me if I am a little rusty at this. I had my Gastric Bypass on March 19, and my Surgeon said to drink the Clear Liquids for the next 2 weeks. I go to him tomorrow for follow-up. Yesterday my Nutritionist said I should start today with "Stage 3/4" eating solid foods. My Surgeon had told me before my surgery that I would do the following: 2 weeks before surgery - clear liquids 2 weeks after surgery - clear liquids up to 3 months after surgery - thicker liquids after 3 months - introduce solid foods Now both my Surgeon and Nutritionist have conflicting statements. My Nutritionist states Phases. Does anyone know what phases you consume what? I thought It was - Phase 1 - clear liquid, Phase 2 - thicker liquid, Phase 3 - soft solid foods, Phase 4 - easier to digest full solid foods. Any clarification would be Greatly Appreciated. Yes I will be asking my Surgeon tomorrow also. Thanks, Terri

Hello! I had my surgery March 25th and am only a week post op. Now I understand right now I cannot take normal sized bites and cannot drink with meals but will this be a forever thing? Will I ever be able to take normal bites of food again or be able to drink water with meals? I had a gastric Bypass

Hello everyone, I am looking to use a collagen supplement after I have my RNY Gastric Bypass surgery but would like to know if anyone uses any supplements and if so, which ones would you recommend? Thanks!

My RNY gastric bypass surgery was at the blink of dawn on March 19th, 1 night in hospital afterwards. Two days of clear liquids at home before they approved the full liquid diet. I feel like I'm doing mostly good? Definitely chillier all the time -- I went from being someone who'd wear tank tops around the house in (Canadian) winter to being never without a sweater or throw blanket. The full liquids, I don't hate it. My team gave me instructions to have a minimum of 1 protein shake a day, slowly moving up to 2. Beyond that, as long as I'm getting 60-80 g of protein per day, they don't care if its whey protein added to soup, or greek yogurt, etc. I also caved and bought a couple protein soup mixes / oatmeal from BP. Bacon and cheese instant soup was a life-saver those first few days. I had my first tomato juice today, which I never used to be a fan of but it hits different after being on shakes for so long. (I was on these disgusting Medi Meal shakes for 2 weeks pre-op and haaaated every minute of them) My last bandages came off today. Mildly grossed out but trying not to think about it. 😆

Hello everyone! My name is Lorna and I have my RNY Gastric Bypass surgery scheduled for the 10th of April 2024. I am based is Ireland and looking for a surgery buddy. I also just want to open this thread for any questions we can help each other with.

My surgeon has had me taking Pepcid A/C twice a day since surgery. I don’t have a set time that I take it. I’ve noticed a burning after some foods so I take it then. I had a Nissan wrap before this surgery for my acid reflux and they had to take it down to do my bypass. I do notice problems after I eat some of the harder to digest foods like meats.

I'm so glad you tried the muffins and liked them!! I really enjoyed mine, they kept well in the fridge and warmed up really well with a quick zap in the microwave. Regarding the nutritional needs of a SADI patient. We don't really know, honestly. The SADI is too new to have some of the longer term studies that have been done on the sleeve, bypass, and DS. But it is commonly thought by most surgeons that the dietary needs of a SADI are more than with the bypass because SADI patients are thought to malabsorb more than a bypass patient. And their needs are most likely a little less than a traditional DS. That said, I attended nutrition classes with all the different surgeries in one group, so we had to learn everybody's requirements!! Most good surgeons recommend that SADI patients follow the dietary requirements of a DS patient to be on the safe side. That means 80-120 grams of protein, less than 50 TOTAL carbs while in the active weight loss phase (the dietician said "net carbs" is not an official measurement, but if you want to follow net carbs you'd need to keep under 30 net carbs since they get counted differently, most DS patients introduce a bit more complex carbs into their diets once they reach maintenance weight) and the fat grams recommended by the ASMBS is 60 grams of fat by 1 year post op. However, SADI and DS patients malabsorb a good amount of fat, so veterans of the surgeries will tell you that you need more fat than that. I seem to feel best around 80-100 grams of fat a day, but there are veterans of the DS surgeries that eat closer to 150 grams, or whatever alleviates their constipation and eases their symptoms of low fat like dry eyes and dry skin. According to most studies, a DS patient only absorbs about 20-30% of the fat they consume, around 60% of the protein they consume, 60-80% of the complex carbs, and every single calorie of simple carbs!! That's why simple carbs are so important to restrict post surgery (besides the digestive drama), you can eat your way around any surgery with simple carbs... And this is why counting calories is pretty useless for DS and SADI patients. We don't yet know exactly what the percentage of absorptions is for SADI patients as they haven't done a breakdown study (as far as I know) but it is safe to assume SADI patients absorb a little more fat and protein than a traditional DS patient would. The best way to find your own perfect macros post surgery IMO is to aim for 80-120 grams of protein and then watch your protein labs. They will tell you if you need more protein or if you can back off a little. And for me at least, I find my skin, hair and eyes are highly sensitive to when I have too little fat in my diet.

I had to have a revision to bypass from sleeve because the GERD that developed from the sleeve was SO SO bad it caused me to be on 80mg of Nexium 2x per day and Pepcid 1-2x per day, plus I developed gastritis, esophagitis, and so many polyps because of the high amt of PPIs over a long period of time that it took 4 endoscopies to remove them. Since I had the revision, I haven't had a single issue since. If you're having problems even after the revision to bypass, try a low dose of PPI (Prilosec, Nexium, etc) and speak to your doctor. I haven't heard of "phantom pains" from previous GERD, but I guess it's possible. Maybe get a 2nd opinion??

I'm so sorry you are feeling this way but I can empathize with the anxiety. I suffer from both anxiety & panic disorder. It was pretty well controlled until about 2 weeks before surgery & it slowly progressed. The week after my surgery my anxiety was in a full blown upheaval! I have a question for you, I was on medication for depression & anxiety before surgery & was warned that psych meds specifically can be absorbed less after gastric bypass surgery. They say a lot of these medications are absorbed in the small intestine. The psychiatrist that did my evaluation said if you don't feel quite right after surgery to NOT just write it off as not feeling good because you just had surgery. He said don't panic, just be mindful that if the feelings don't go away your medication doses may need to be adjusted. This is exactly what happened to me. My feelings & mood continued to escalate until I just didn't feel like myself at all. I reached out to my provider & she switched my medication. Thankfully, I can already tell a difference but these medications take a while to fully kick in which is so hard when, mentally, you really just want to feel like yourself again. All of that being said, after surgery it is not uncommon to feel anxious & even depressed due to all of the medications, especially pain meds & anesthesia meds. Feeling overwhelmed or even depressed after bariatric surgery is not uncommon either but I think some, maybe a lot of us, just assume we're going to be in a better head space after surgery because we'll be losing weight & finally be on the path we've been longing for for so long & thus, when we feel anxious or depressed it completely catches us off guard. Personally, I think we should be required to do a certain amount of counseling before we have this surgery with someone who specializes in bariatric counseling. Not just a few appointments to fill out questionnaires & be approved for it. This surgery is SO huge & life altering in so many ways. Just my opinion. I hope you are feeling much better real soon!❤️🙏❤️

Good morning! I'm 10 months and 19 days Post Op (Gastric Bypass) after the 8 Month i started eating more than 8oz per meal to feel satisfied, I'm literally eating almost a normal plate of food and now I'm worried that my pouch stretched. Is this normal? Right now I'm not gaining weight (thankfully) but I'm scared i might mess my surgery up later on. Thanks in advance for your replies!

In people with an intestinal component to their surgery (like gastric bypass, SADI, and DS) sometimes GI symptoms can happen like chronic gas. You might consider exploring a FODMAP diet to see if you can find the foods that are triggering the gas. Odds are something you are eating is causing this... You could also try adding a probiotic, sometimes the gut microbiome can get off kilter. And a reduction in the simple carbs you are eating might help too if you eat a lot of carbs as opposed to a protein heavy diet. As for the burping, it sounds like for some reason you are swallowing a lot of air. You might try drinking fluids a bit differently. If you drink from a bottle or a straw a lot, you might switch to a wide mouthed cup. My dietician said a lot of water bottles and narrow shaped cups (as well as straws) can cause you to swallow a lot more air than normal, causing burping and sometimes nausea. I'm sorry food doesn't feel good right now. I feel the movement of food in my esophagus and stomach a lot, as well as when I drink. Small sips and small bites help. Small is smaller than you think. I hear it gets better as time goes on... Sometimes I can eat relatively normally, other times (like this week) my restriction is super high and I can only eat half of what I normally do, or less. There is an ebb and flow to this. So on my high restriction days I eat less and drink more protein supplements. On my low restriction days I get more veggies in and a hefty dose of meat based proteins. I figure it all averages out in the end! I agree though, a talk with your doctor is in order. You shouldn't be experiencing pain at this point. On rare occasions bypass patients can develop strictures which could cause some of the symptoms you list.

Gastric bypass for GERD developed from a sleeve surgery is considered the gold standard of treatment. However, it is not 100% effective... A number of studies, like this one https://www.nature.com/articles/s41366-022-01072-9 show that up to 30% of people still report post-operative GERD symptoms to some degree after gastric bypass. You are not experiencing the impossible, nor are you imagining it. Unfortunately these occurrences have not been well studied, so it is good you are having an endoscopy to check things out. Hopefully it will show something that can be easily corrected!! In the meantime, elevating the head of your bed when you sleep can make a big difference. You can do this by elevating the actual mattress, or sleeping with a wedge pillow. As an aside, when you developed GERD with the sleeve, did they do studies to prove GERD due to stomach acid reflux? I ask because some people with GERD actually have bile reflux, which can produce the same symptoms but has a very different treatment path. It is worth ensuring they've tested for bile reflux just to be sure they are treating the right condition.

so you went from sleeve to bypass? That will usually cure it - or at minimum, greatly improve it. Hopefully something will show up on your (May) endoscopy so they'll know what's going on.

Hello everyone, 8 months ago, I had a gastric bypass surgery, and I've lost -32 kg since then. However, I take zero pleasure in drinking or eating. I painfully feel the journey of the food I ingest to my stomach. Everything makes me burp, whether it's food or drink, even a small sip of water. I also have flatulence. My appetite is very unstable: one day I eat well, the next I can't swallow more than 3 bites. I experience nausea and random cramps. My stomach frequently gurgles, which makes me uncomfortable in public. I feel very uncomfortable at restaurants. Have other people experienced these symptoms, and do they ease with time? These symptoms appeared rather late for me, which worries me even more. I wonder how I will cope with this for life?

Hello @ms.sss I actually really do appreciate your response. You are pretty accurate in your assessment, lol, I definitely have my moments but for the most part I tend to be pretty agreeable and sometimes that bites me. i have taken A little breather after yesterday’s meeting with my surgeons’ PA and waking up to a stranger taking their time to say I should too makes me realize I’m not just being overly anxious. Thank you!! I did make a call just now to see if the only other surgeon I would consider does this procedure and he does not So I guess the most obvious options at this point are to just go with the bypass instead or to ask ALOT of questions and pose some really uncomfortable ones about the surgein and that team that I may not like the answers too. Regardless I realize I need to slow this bus down a great deal and really think this one through. My thoughts so far are, when the surgeon sits down with me and my list of questions IF I feel better that HE has done his research and both he and I are confident he has this, then I just need to worry about the aftercare. I need to be bold and require that he gives a way to get HIM, post op if I have any urgent concerns. And I need to know who he turns to if he doesn’t know the answer. I know for my first post op appointment I will see him but maybe I can see him ever so often past that. Especially if I am feeling lost. The PA said yesterday that I may get him or the surgeon if I called with questions immediately post op and he claimed he wouldn’t just give me an answer to give me an answer but it sorta felt like what he did for a half hour with my questions. I am just going to have to go out of my comfort zone a bit and bluntly say that I don’t feel like the rest of the team is prepared to handle my care with this particular procedure. I must get the point across that the PA just can’t answer all my questions at this point and I wouldn’t feel confident in his advice about any post op questions. Or, Perhaps he could just make the PA do the research now? I mean he is practically a doctor. They know how to learn things. I just don’t think he has tried with this procedure yet. He did seem to know alot about the DS, Just not this modified version. I can ask to meet with him again after he has had a chance to prepare and see how I feel with him. My gut has gotten me this far?? As far as the dietician goes. I think I just need a list of what macros he wants me to stick to and to know what type of carbs really count and I think I can take it from there at least witb the help of this community. I also think I can shop around for a different dietician once I have the requirements If I feel like I even need one. I’m hoping that the dietician gets the exact requirements from the surgeon in preparation for our meeting in two weeks. If not I will need to ask him that when I meet with him as well. I guess the skinny about the surgeon, though is that I am going to have to pump the brakes a bit and put on my big girl panties. I need to have some awkward conversations and just mentally prepare myself that the result could be that I don’t get exactly what I thought I wanted.