Gastric Bypass Blog

How do the lives of people change who have gastric bypass, before and after surgery?

Before surgery there are have no dietary restrictions. Thus, if you are considering weight loss surgery you must be prepared to replace many unhealthy habits with healthful ones.

Weight loss surgery is usually highly successful, but is not an easy quick-fix for weight loss. It may take several weeks to recover from the surgical procedure itself. Then, a strict diet must be followed for six to eight weeks post-operatively. Then patients must make drastic changes in their diet and nutrition. Thus, the mindset of individuals having gastric bypass, before and after, needs to be vastly different.

One of the hardest things for gastric bypass before and after surgery is the new dietary restrictions, especially if you made poor food choices prior to surgery. Your diet for the first eight to 12 weeks post surgery will consist largely of small volumes of liquid, pureed and soft foods. After this time, you may begin to eat more normal foods but in much smaller portions that you are likely accustomed to eating. Because meals must be small you are consuming fewer calories so your food must be packed with nutrition. Taking vitamin and mineral supplements can be used to augment your diet. Fatty and fried as well as excessively sweet foods will need to be eliminated from your diet as they can cause discomfort, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Avoiding alcohol for the first year post-surgery is important, as is eliminating carbonated beverages. You will need to introduce foods slowly into your diet to eliminate any ones you cannot tolerate.

Initiating an exercise program after gastric bypass surgery contributes greatly to overall weight loss and maintenance of muscle mass during a restrictive diet. Typically obese people are restricted from a rigorous exercise program either physically or emotionally, so beginning one will represent a significant change.

Life after surgery and making the changes necessary to experience weight loss is highly rewarding. Living a healthier life, for many, is worth all the effort.

Individuals having weight loss surgery can lose more than 60% of their excess weight within the first year post-surgery. Weight-related diseases such as type II diabetes and high blood pressure often disappear with the weight. However, while weight loss surgery is generally highly successful and often recommended for obese individuals who have difficulty losing weight otherwise, surgery is not without complications.

First, because the procedure is surgical there are complications that can occur during your hospital stay. Going under general anesthesia always carries risks which include mortality (approximately one percent) as well as a handful of post-operative issues like blood clots in the legs or lungs, infections (both internal and external) and respiratory difficulties.

Once you return home other issues may arise. After eight weeks or so, you will be able to return to a relatively normal diet but must carefully monitor your food intake. Eating large meals may put too much pressure on the stomach and cause discomfort. Ingesting excessively fatty or sweet foods can cause ‘dumping syndrome’ in which the food moves through the digestive system too quickly. This causes discomfort, diarrhea and vomiting.

Many of the side effects of surgery can be avoided if you carefully follow your surgeon’s post operative instructions. Follow up visits are important so your doctor can assess the healing process and a nutritionist can track your weight loss progression.

Because you are consuming fewer calories, the chances of nutritional deficiencies developing are high resulting in lethargy, dizziness and weakness. Eating nutrient-rich foods along with vitamin and mineral supplements can prevent this from occurring.

Make clear to your surgeon your concerns regarding the risks associated with weight loss surgery. Completely understanding these risks beforehand will help you avoid many of them. Regardless of the potential complications, the benefits of weight loss surgery far outweigh the cost of being overweight.