Three months after my gastric bypass

Last updated on Wed, 14th Sep 2022

It’s 3 months since I had my gastric bypass surgery and, although it’s been hard work, I have zero regrets!

Negatives

It’s been a tough 3 months to go through. In the first days after surgery I was in a lot of pain, but that passed relatively quickly. And since then it’s all been about getting to grips with the new reality of what and how I can eat.

It’s quite a journey to go on. First of all there’s the issues with portion control. I was used to piling the food onto the plate and finishing every last morsel. And so it’s been difficult getting my head around how little I can now eat. Even now, after 3 months, I will often put too much on the plate, and then have anxiety about having to leave some of the food uneaten.

I’m also still trying to get used to a change my food tastes. I don’t get cravings for sweet things so much any more, which is good but slightly unnerving. I seem to much prefer savory foods.

There are also some food that I just can’t seem to tolerate any more. For example, I used to eat a lot of eggs – particularly omelets and scrambled eggs – but I can’t stomach them any more. They’ve been the biggest cause of me needing to vomit my food back up. So for now I’m avoiding them.

Positives

However, it’s not all bad news. I did say that I have zero regrets, and there’s a reason for that!

I’ve made fantastic progress in losing weight over the last 3 months. In total I’ve lost 25.3 kg – or 4 stones (56 lbs) in weight. That’s such huge weight loss in a short period, and I’m really thankful for it. But beyond the numbers, the weight loss has improved my quality of life by so much.

I’m in a lot less pain overall, and simple things like getting dressed on a morning, or standing up, are so much easier.

I can fit into a whole range of clothes that were previously too small. I’ve been picking brand new shirts (with their tags still on them) out of the wardrobe and finding that they now fit. So it’s like getting free new clothes!

And I just feel a lot healthier overall. My blood pressure has gone down, as well as my resting heart rate. And I’ve also been able to reduce the amount of medication I take.

Next steps

Next week I am due to see the dietician again as part of the regular follow-up appointments with my bariatric team. I had blood tests taken a couple of weeks ago, and hopefully they show that all the levels are within normal ranges.