Vomiting post gastric bypass surgery

[Jalapeño 6]

Hi, sorry if this question has already been posted. I'm now 2 months post op following a revision from mini gastric bypass to RNY. The surgeon kept the original pouch from the mini. When I eat, despite chewing well, I often vomit up the food. From those who have had RNY, did the restriction of food get any easier over time? I'm hoping I'll be able to eat a normal sized meal at some point without running to the bathroom.

[NickelChip 933]

The issues I have with foods aren't so much about quantity as texture or bite size and/or speed of eating. I'm 4 months post-op and have averaged one vomiting incident a week, usually from a new culprit each time. Often, the same food will be something I've been fine with in the past and will have again in the future without problems. Reheating is a big issue as it dries out food, but so is swallowing too much at one time, even when well-chewed. A normal portion size for me right now might be 4 oz meat or fish and a small serving of vegetables, or a small hamburger without the bun. Today I ordered a bowl of short rib chili at a restaurant and ate about half of it, plus a bite of the cornbread. From what I hear, yes, the restriction will be less over time. But don't expect that for the first year or two.

[toodlerue 436]

I’m 6 years out & if I tried to eat a “normal” meal I would throw up. I can only eat about 3 1/2oz at a time. This means I have to eat 5 times a day. My surgeon even made my pouch a little bigger because I didn’t need a by pass for weight loss but because my esophagus was in an L shape & this was the best way to correct it.

Try eating smaller portions.

[catwoman7 11,011]

I eat fairly normal-sized meals and have for a long time. And by "normal" I don't mean the gargantuan amounts I ate before surgery - I mean the size of your average woman who eats more on the light side. No one could tell by what I eat that I've had RNY (like they could have my first few months post-op). If they even notice at all, they'd assume I'm just a light eater. I really don't eat any differently than most of my never-been-obese women friends who are watching their weight.

example - if I go out for pizza, I can only handle 1-2 pieces (as opposed to the half a large pizza that I used to eat). At restaurants I'll often order something like Soup and salad or an appetizer, but if I get an entree, I'll eat half of it and have them box the rest up. Pretty much the same as a lot of my women friends.

Edited Tuesday at 12:22 AM by catwoman7

[JennyBeez 131]

At 3 months out, I'm still between 1/2 cup to a cup per meal, depending on what it is. Thinner and wetter dishes are better tolerated for me; if I have a 2oz turkey burger patty, I can eat one or two bites of cooked vegetables -- but if I have that same amount of patty with gravy or ground up in a stew/chili/etc, I can stomach a bit more veg.

At 2 months -- and even now at 3 -- the texture of food seems to affect me more than the quantity. Anything too dry (including both white and dark poultry for some reason) induces vomiting and/or dumping syndrome. Egg whites. Even when I think it's moist, often my body argues back and proves me wrong.

I've heard from so many people -- on this forum, in my program support group, from my care team -- and it will get easier and better as time goes by, both in terms of portions and foods becoming less irritating, usually around the 1 to 2 year mark. Some people can never go back to a few certain foods, others can eat pretty normally.

Bear through it. Cater to your tummy's tantrums when you need to -- move into soft food as slowly as you need to. Make your meal half puree and half soft if it helps (pureed sweet potato or really well mashed cauliflower/potato is a great side dish to help your Protein get down).

[summerseeker 1,930]

2 hours ago, JennyBeez said:

I've heard from so many people -- on this forum, in my program support group, from my care team -- and it will get easier and better as time goes by, both in terms of portions and foods becoming less irritating, usually around the 1 to 2 year mark

Yes thats so true. I could not eat chicken for 2 years. My stomach says cooked salmon is still off my menu. Pork is ok if its lean. I am 2 and a half years out now.

[Jalapeño 6]

It’s a learning curve. I could eat like a pig while I had the mini gastric bypass. With the RNY, the mental hunger is always lurking in the background, so I naturally tilt towards large portions, but then struggle to eat the majority of it. Restriction is definitely there, and the vomiting episodes are a bugbear but hopefully settles with time. Thank you for all your responses.

[GreenTealael 24,983]

On 6/24/2024 at 4:12 PM, Jalapeño said:

Hi, sorry if this question has already been posted. I'm now 2 months post op following a revision from mini gastric bypass to RNY. The surgeon kept the original pouch from the mini. When I eat, despite chewing well, I often vomit up the food. From those who have had RNY, did the restriction of food get any easier over time? I'm hoping I'll be able to eat a normal sized meal at some point without running to the bathroom.

The only time I vomited post revision was when I had a stricture. It was after every meal and I wasn’t over eating so that was a big clue that something was not right.

Are you over capacity when this happens, just certain foods or every time?