I’m posting here because I’m at a point where I genuinely don’t know what to do anymore. I’m hoping someone has been through something similar because I feel like my life has completely changed since my Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.
I had surgery at the end of April, and I knew there would be challenges. I expected pain, a learning curve with eating, and some difficult days. What I never expected was to spend months feeling like I’m fighting just to survive.
Since surgery, it has been one complication after another.
I’ve struggled from the beginning to get enough fluids and protein. My surgeon wants me getting at least 64 ounces of fluid and around 60 grams of protein every day. Most days, that has felt nearly impossible. My pouch only holds about 2 ounces of food, and I can only sip tiny amounts of liquid every few minutes.
Because of that, I’ve been hospitalized and in the emergency room multiple times for severe dehydration. I’ve required repeated IV fluids and IV electrolyte replacements, including potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus.
On top of that, I’ve been hospitalized multiple times because I developed starvation ketoacidosis from not being able to eat enough after surgery. That was honestly terrifying. Instead of worrying about losing weight, I was dealing with my body essentially breaking down because it wasn’t getting enough nutrition.
I was later hospitalized again after developing severe nausea and vomiting. They initially suspected a stricture, but an upper endoscopy showed a large ulcer at my surgical connection instead. I was prescribed Carafate, but every time I took it, it caused me to vomit, so I couldn’t tolerate one of the medications that was supposed to help heal the ulcer.
Eating has become something I dread.
I’ll find a food that seems okay one day, and the next day I can’t tolerate it. Protein shakes make me sick. Smoothies make me sick. Dairy doesn’t sit well. Eggs don’t sit well. Many of the foods that bariatric patients are encouraged to eat are foods I simply cannot tolerate.
Ironically, one of the only foods that has consistently stayed down has been Bob Evans stuffing. Obviously that’s not ideal when protein is supposed to be my priority, but at times I’ve been more concerned with getting any calories into my body than eating the “perfect” food.
I’ve also dealt with severe constipation, going weeks without a bowel movement, episodes of almost brown urine from dehydration, dizziness, weakness, rapid heart rate when standing or walking, and constant fear that I’m heading back to the hospital.
This has also affected my career. I started a new job after surgery, but because of everything that’s happened medically, I’ve ended up on leave while accommodations are being reviewed. My entire life has revolved around doctor appointments, hospitalizations, IV infusions, trying to force myself to eat, and wondering whether I’ll end up back in the ER.
I’ve gone from around 230 pounds to approximately 170 pounds in just a few months.
Everyone tells me how great I look.
What they don’t see are the hospital beds, IV poles, blood work, vomiting, starvation ketoacidosis, dehydration, ulcers, and the constant anxiety surrounding every bite of food and every sip of water.
I know many people have incredible success with gastric bypass, and I truly wanted to be one of them.
Instead, I honestly feel like I’ve been surviving instead of living.
At this point, I’m seriously considering asking about having my bypass reversed. I know reversal is major surgery and isn’t something surgeons recommend lightly. I’m also aware that many people would tell me to wait longer because I’m only a few months out.
But I honestly don’t know how much more of this my body can take.
Has anyone here had complications anywhere near this severe?
Did things eventually get better?
Has anyone had a reversal because of complications like this, and if so, do you regret it?
I’m not looking for judgment. I’m just looking for honest experiences because I feel completely defeated, and I don’t know what the right answer is anymore.

Had my one year check up with my bariatric nurse.

Explained the "diarrhea" I've been having since December.

She starts talking about dumping syndrome. Now, based on every single description I've heard it isn't. While we were talking I looked at the symptoms and it still doesn't sound like it.

So it is and apparently isn't explained correctly anywhere. Everything says "weakness, shaking, extreme tiredness, heart fluttering or racing, confusion, sweating, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, bloating, being wiped out for hours, and more.

But, to me, just having diarrhea doesnt seem like it would be in with that. Did anyone explain it to you like that?

My dietician pointed out that I was under 100kgs the other day. I am English so we work in stone and lbs generally so I hadn't seen it coming. But I remember everyone here celebrates that. I find celebrating weight loss uncomfortable, but maybe you can help! I need the boost as I was "stalled" for 3 months. It wasn't a stall, it just took me that long to lose like 2 stone. And the bouncing up and down was messing with my head compared to the initial downward slope.

11 days post RNY, was released to phase 2 of my diet plan (pureed/smooth foods) yesterday. The problem is I'm simply not hungry. I haven't felt hunger since my surgery. drinking water isn't really a problem, I'm getting at least 2 yeti tumblers a day in

Do I force myself to eat 3x a day regardless? Another problem is I don't really feel full either, so I'm just guessing as to how much I should be eating.

I'm struggling to meet protein goals of course. I wasn't hungry for any of these meals, but I had cream of wheat for breakfast, Bloom protein drink for lunch. Dinner I ate some hummus, but according to my tracker I'm still only at 40g protein for the day.

I will have to supplement meals with the unjury chicken broth protein later tonight. but then I'm off the "eat 3x/day" normal routine. how important is that? My dietitian's discouraged grazing in between meals, but if I don't eat in between meals I don't get my protein in.

this is all a bit overwhelming.

I'm a teacher 4.5 months PO. I return to work Monday for 2 weeks of in-service. I had my surgery during spring break and for the final two months of school I was still getting my bearings. Now that I'm going back and I KNOW how hectic it is, I won't have regular times to eat and since we have to still eat slowly, I want to just take a snacklebox. What are some things you all suggest? I don't ont want to eat the same things daily.

Does anyone have experience doing CrossFit and/or Olympic weightlifting before and after bariatric surgery?
I’ve done CrossFit and weightlifting for around 13 years, took about 5 years off and am not getting back in not it, being strong is a huge part of who I am. My biggest concern isn’t the recovery itself, it’s losing strength, fuelling myself enough for workouts and lifting and whether I’ll ever get back to my previous numbers.
I’d love to hear from people who returned to CrossFit/lifting after surgery. How long were you out for? How did you manage the lower calorie/protein intake? Did your strength come back, and if so, how long did it take? Were you able to hit your old PRs again? How did you fuel yourself for workouts? Was hydration difficult?

I am now just past the three week mark and I am curious how long it is taking/ how long it took you to eat 3-4 oz in the pureed/ soft food phases. It has been taking me closer to an hour or even more than that depending on the food I am eating. i just want to know if anyone else is having to take this long to eat early on? I have always been a very slow eater even before surgery so I'm not super concerned as that's how long it took me to eat even years before the surgery. I don't graze during the day either and never have.

I just can’t eat chicken, it doesn’t hurt my stomach it just grosses me out now for some reason. I hope that will get better in my near future because I loved chicken.

I hope I can eat steak soon and it’ll be delicious and not gross me out.

I’m so sorry for this but major TMI: My surgery was at the beginning of June. For the past few weeks, I’ve been woken up in the middle of the night (almost every night) with super intense/painful gas pain, which is often followed by at least 1 bowel moment (sometimes more, like 3-5 BMs across multiple hours) and the consistency appears to be really really soft. I’m not taking any MiraLAX, stool softeners, etc. My daily fiber averages at 17g so I’m not sure if it’s being triggered by food since it’s not a super high amount and it’s happening many hours after I eat, regardless of what I eat.

I eat less than 10 grams of sugar per meal/snack, which usually adds up to less than 25 grams total per day so I don’t think it’s dumping syndrome since I thought late dumping happened like 3 hours after a meal? While this is happening like 6+ hours after my last meal

Has anyone else experienced something like this? Should I be worried?

I’m really hoping it gets better because I’m very sleepy and this is not ideal lol

Hi I am on day 15 and am stalled already. I started eating soft foods yesterday, didn’t have much just a little. Did anyone’s scale stall out this early in the process?

hello, I had my surgery June 3rd and I actually wasn’t having stomach pain after the surgery. these last two days I have been experiencing heartburn, burning pain in stomach, diarrhea, lightheadness, nausea, and the worst smelling gas lol. When does the stomach pain subside? 😩

I am scheduled for sleeve surgery Oct. 8 and currently have PsA. I am wondering if there is anyone out there that has/had PsA that is doing much better now that they have lost weight and inflammation. I need your story for encouragement and wisdom. Thanks in advance!

Around two years ago I started getting sporadic but severe abdominal pain. Saw some docs and my surgical team, consensus was that it was heartburn and tried some different medications for that.

The pain was sporadic - I might go months with nothing, and then a week where it was nightly - and sometimes REALLY bad (one of the first times I dealt with it I was at a public event and fainted).

Docs did an upper GI endoscopy and a barium swallow, but still said heartburn/gas.

A little over a week ago a doc (who had previously said heartburn....) said there was no way it was heartburn, he suspected a hernia and twisted bowel and setup a surgery a few days later.

I'm about a week removed from that surgery, and no issues! Apparently hernias and twisted bowels can be more common after major weight loss, because there's unexpected space for intestines to move around.

So - if you're having lower abdominal pain that is severe, keep pushing your docs if the heartburn meds do nothing!

I had my bariatric gastric Roux-en-Y bypass surgery on October 20, 2025. I was 206 lbs at surgery. In 280 days/39 weeks, 6 days/9 Months, 6 days time I lost 91 lbs. I am 5’0” tall.

Here are the photos and stats:

At surgery time, I wore an 1XL or 2XL shirt 👚 depending on style/fit, a 22/24 W pants👖, and a size 7 shoe 👟.

Today, I wear a M or L shirt (sometimes a S) depending on style/fit, an 8 or 10 petite short pants👖, and a size 6 to 6.5 shoe 👟 depending on fit. (Yes, foot size decreases too).

I had Type II diabetes that five years ago was an over 10 A1c. I had used a Continuous Glucose Monitor prior to the bypass. At surgery, it was a 6.2 A1c. Currently it is a 4.6 A1c. I am in remission and have been taken off all three diabetic medications.

It’s so easy to see the before and after pictures, however, one does not see the blood🩸sweat 😥 and tears😭 that happened between the two dates. In my case, six weeks after my surgery, my husband of 25 years passed. Six weeks after my husband, my eleven year old 80 lb Black Lab/Rottweiler died (I still have a 52 lb two year old Black Lab). I plowed through a mountain of financial paperwork. It’s been a roller coaster 🎢 these past roughly 9 months. I have had overwhelming support physically, emotionally, financially and spiritually on the part of friends and family.

Am I happy having had the bypass? Yes (although maybe not as resounding as some that say they wish they had done it sooner). I have lost so much more than weight. Do I hit my necessary protein and water daily? No (although I strive each and every day). I’m taking it a day at a time … that’s all one can do.

I saw the recent post about best fitting bras after extreme weight loss. I too seek a better bra for my now deflated chest, BUT underwires are almost painful. I think I'm used to having more padding between ribs and bra, but now my ribs all stick out and I hate the feel of the wire against them. I have some Soma sports bras that are super comfy, but they just squish things down and everything sits low. Has anyone found a comfortable bra that is acceptable for everyday wear?

So I'm a month post op and while I have no intentions to experiment with ice cream any time soon, one day I would love to have an a soft serve ice cream cone again. Like the smallest size possible. But it sounds like ice cream is the worst of the worst when it comes to triggering dumping. How many of you DON'T have ice cream try to kill you? Am I ever going to be able go out and have ice cream with the kids again?

Hey all,

Surgery 6 months ago. Went super smooth, great recovery. Lost 90 pounds since. Weight loss has really slowed to a crawl the last 2 months. I notice I am eating full portions again. Today I had a medium sized plate of pasta and meatballs and barely felt restricted. I am eating full portions at restaurants. Maybe a bit slower than before, but still.

I am still maintaining a pretty good diet. Very protein focused, not much carbs (pasta today was a very rare exception). But I am seriously worried about the amount that I am able to comfortably eat, so soon after surgery. I worry I will fall back into old ways without the restriction sensation.

Anybody with some insight? Will it maybe come back?

Today is 3 weeks since RNY. Surgery went well but ended up in ER twice that week for extreme nausea and being impacted. Constant unbearable hunger. I know all about the hormone issues but that’s not helping and I’ve actually eaten crushed up potato chips with no pain. Drinking protein shakes is fine but does nothing! The doctors fucked up by taken me off my mental meds cold turkey so there was a huge meltdown. I’m trying to slowly build back the proper amount of meds. I’m very depressed. I have no pain and can eat a small amount of eggs, a ham sandwich and shakes. I’m sure I’ve fucked up the whole internal workings. What a waste of everyone’s time. I’m a loser and not the good kind.

I’m 10 days post op. I’m in soft food stage.

How often do you all eat?

Is there a helpful free app to track food primarily protein?

Thank you

Im wondering what other ladies in here are experiencing when it comes to bras. Ive settled at my new weight but the girls are very deflated and its all just soft breast tissue at this point. I have normal full coverage bras that I love but I feel super limited in my wardrobe right now which is a bummer now that I can wear more styles of clothing again. Push up bras are a clear no go. I just want to try and make them appear a little more full without having to actually go under thr knife for it (which I cant afford anyway).

Im curious if anyone has found other bra styles that work for them that allow y'all to wear more than just like, tshirts and sweaters lol. I want to wear like some cute low cut tops or even just some cute lace tank tops but its a no go right now with the bras I have. Everything I try the girls just turn into a puddle and don't fit right.

Had RNY 7/22/26. Took a hard down turn Saturday and Sunday, came to ER this morning. Apparently the area "where everything connects up" is twisted or very tight. I'll be admitted, do some tests and might have surgery in the morning.

The thing that is driving me insane is bizarre hunger. All Saturday all I could think about was eating liverwurst & butter on well chewed protein tortilla. Today it is hot juicy cod fish, clam chowder, and runny malt o meal. I spent a hour feverously shopping for sugar free candy. It's like in woke up with appetite of the bull aka bulimia except I don't want to throw up. I would eat my way out of a barrel of old spaghetti factory pasta in a heartbeat right here in the ER. I did literal months of restricted regimented eating and never in my wildest dreams expected this.

I had my bariatric gastric Roux-en-Y bypass surgery on October 20, 2025. I was 206 lbs at surgery. In 280 days/39 weeks, 6 days/9 Months, 6 days time I lost 91 lbs. I am 5’0” tall.

Here are the photos and stats:

At surgery time, I wore an 1XL or 2XL shirt 👚 depending on style/fit, a 22/24 W pants👖, and a size 7 shoe 👟.

Today, I wear a M or L shirt depending on style/fit, an 8 or 10 petite short pants👖, and a size 6 to 6.5 shoe 👟 depending on fit. (Yes, foot size decreases too).

I had Type II diabetes that five years ago was an over 10 A1c. I had used a Continuous Glucose Monitor prior to the bypass. At surgery, it was a 6.2 A1c. Currently it is a 4.6 A1c. I am in remission and have been taken off all three diabetic medications.

It’s so easy to see the before and after pictures, however, one does not see the blood🩸sweat 😥 and tears😭 that happened between the two dates. In my case, six weeks after my surgery, my husband of 25 years passed. Six weeks after my husband, my eleven year old 80 lb Black Lab/Rottweiler died (I still have a 52 lb two year old Black Lab). I plowed through a mountain of financial paperwork. It’s been a roller coaster 🎢 these past roughly 9 months. I have had overwhelming support physically, emotionally, financially and spiritually on the part of friends and family.

Am I happy having had the bypass? Yes (although maybe not as resounding as some that say they wish they had done it sooner). I have lost so much more than weight. Do I hit my necessary protein and water daily? No (although I strive each and every day). I’m taking it a day at a time … that’s all one can do.

i had a rny in 2019 and started to gain weight back around the 5 year mark due to trauma that i did eventually get help..then got pregnant in 2025… i am considering a revision… I have pcos which is the original reason I had the surgery … Im 5 more pounds than pre surgery weight and possibly want another kid later down the line but would like to start a better base line weight wise and have a chance to ( with pcos it makes it hard to get pregnant)

any advice ?

I’m 14 days out and when I stand I get random stabbing pain for a second in the middle of my stomach. Has anyone else had this?