8 days post op

[E.S 62]

Hey y’all. Today marks the 8th day since I had my surgery.

There are a few things that I want to talk about.

So far , it has been a relatively a positive experience.
I don’t regret having the surgery. BUT I do wish I was more informed about certain things...

First, I thought by having the gastric bypass surgery, I wouldn’t experience the hunger sensation that makes me feel like I’m with drawing from drugs, but unfortunately I’m still having the hunger sensations and withdrawing symptoms of food.
Which I just have to go through I guess until it gets better.

Second, I’m experiencing a full blown head hunger at the moment. My stomach is satisfied but my head is craving food. And it’s a weird sensation , almost feels like a severe Headache. I know it’s nothing serious, it’s just uncomfortable.

Third, the Constipation for me was a bit pet peeve since I didn’t feel any bowel movement in the first couple of days until I stopped taken pain meds. Then I feel more bowel movement.

Fourth, I thought by having the gastric bypass , the calorie intake would be minor but I have read several sources where it says, we will take in all our calories eventually. Maybe not in the first months but we will end up taking all the calories.

Fifth, the restriction that I felt with taking food was good in the beginning , but I feel a difference in the restriction now then in the first few days. I don’t know how that works but I hope that I didn’t stretched out my stomach this early. Even though I literally eat baby spoons of food. I’m confused with the whole restriction feeling, I’m still on liquids tho.

Sixth, the pain wasn’t at all what I expected. I had no gas pain, the pain that I felt around my belly was that like having just a sore pain. It was really not that big of deal pain wise, and it’s super super manageable with pain meds.
Is it uncomfortable? Yes! But painful?? Meh.. not so much. IN MY CASE.

BUT the nausea and the constant gagging was the hardest part of me. I was afraid I would bust up my internal stitches at one point, that’s how sick I felt. And the worst part, I couldn’t even vomit anything, my stomach is empty. So it was just very aggressive gag reflux’s

Seventh: the itching of the incisions is annoying.

This is the points I have so far. I’m still trying to figure this new way of life out. Even though I thought I did enough research beforehand , the experience is totally different.

I’m excited for the future and what it holds.

Witch much love ,

E.S

[rosie6 10]

Love the honesty in your post and after reading about all the pain it is refreshing to hear from someone who is not in awful pain . I am assuming that it will get better as you adjust and you continue your journey . Good luck and keep posting as this is great for someone like me who is getting ready for surgery and after what I have read here , a bit nervous

[James Marusek 5,244]

After surgery I completely lost my hunger. It was not difficult to lose weight when constant hunger was held at bay. This condition does not last forever but for about the first year. This loss of hunger does not kick in until you reach the solid food stage at about 8 weeks post-op.

Many people complain about head hunger. Your body is accustomed to a habit of eating. We chew our foods and chewing releases chemicals in our body that help with the digestive process. Generally after surgery when we are on liquid phase or pureed phase we do not chew. So our body misses this natural process. And this need to chew may be responsible for head hunger.

Headaches??? I suffered severe headaches and body aches for a week when I went off all caffeine. Luckily I kicked my caffeine habit long prior to surgery so they would not conflict with the recovery from surgery. That is my only thoughts on this one.

The three most important elements after RNY gastric bypass surgery are to meet your daily Protein, Fluid and Vitamin requirements. food is secondary because your body is converting your stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight.

Weight loss is achieved after surgery through meal volume control. You begin at 2 ounces (1/4 cup) per meal and gradually over the next year and a half increase the volume to 1 cup per meal. With this minuscule amount of food, it is next to impossible to meet your protein daily requirements by food alone, so therefore you need to rely on supplements such as Protein Shakes.

Fourth, I thought by having the gastric bypass , the calorie intake would be minor but I have read several sources where it says, we will take in all our calories eventually. Maybe not in the first months but we will end up taking all the calories. I am 5 years post-op and what you are saying makes no sense to me AT ALL.

The itching of the incisions are a good sign that your wounds are healing. But it will take several weeks. The knots inside your body will take longer to disappear. The big one where most of the surgery took place will take around a year before you can no longer fell it.

[AEdoesRnY 531]

The itching of the skin around my incisions was THE WORST. For #5 my doctor told me that as the swelling goes down/as things heal, the opening into the stomach gets bigger. So immediately after surgery it’s teeny and won’t let anything bigger than like a pea or grape through, but eventually the opening is like maybe ping pong ball size in diameter...

[AEdoesRnY 531]

Btw I no longer have the itchiness around my incisions, that probably got better around the 2 week point, maybe 2.5.

[Manwithkids 50]

I’m two weeks out after plication revision to bypass. I feel great! I’m walking 3-4 miles a day and can eat anything. Obviously keeping it Protein first and drinking plenty of Water. No dumping, lots of energy!

surgery date: 8/10

Heaviest weight: 298

surgery weight: 271

Cw: 258