Since bariatric surgery on 8th July 2025, I’ve been on something of a rollercoaster journey towards gastric bypass recovery. I thought it was a good time to reflect on my experience so far, share some learnings, and celebrate my progress.
While there has been good positive progress, it’s certainly not been plain sailing. I’m very much still in a difficult recovery stage. I have good days and bad days and often feel like I’m taking several steps backwards.
Important note: the following is based on my experience only. It’s well accepted that bariatric surgery recovery journeys can vary significantly from person to person. Nothing here constitutes medical advice and you should always follow the advice of your medical professionals.
Week One Post-Op – Initial Gastric Bypass Recovery
The first few days after surgery were some of the hardest of my life. The pain caused by the surgical gas used to inflate the area for the procedure was like nothing I’d ever dealt with. The first few hours after surgery were by far the hardest.
What I did right
- Oodles of reading and preparation for weeks in advance. You can’t prepare fully for pain and discomfort, but you can make sure you have everything you need stocked up, a support network in place, and an understanding of what to expect.
- I joined and engaged on a brilliant Reddit group for the post gastric bypass community, where I learned about other real world experiences and could seek reassurance or ideas for my own challenges.
- Established a brilliant support network. I didn’t let pride or embarrassment stop me from allowing my loved ones and medical professionals to support me however needed. This also included ensuring I had the right time off work (two weeks) and extended phased return and remote working arrangements (a further six weeks) in place with my workplace.
- Had a schedule for liquids and medications prepared and printed in advance. My partner found this a major help in keeping me on track throughout the first few weeks.
What I did wrong
- I didn’t move around enough. I did try, but I know I could and should have tried harder. Every time I pushed myself against my will to go for a short walk, I felt better for it both physically and mentally. I just didn’t do this as much as I should have done in the first week.
- Grossly underestimated the difficulty of early recovery. This was both in terms of physical pain and discomfort, but also with the mental and emotional challenges it would bring.
My essential tips for the first few days and weeks after bariatric surgery
- They’ll tell you to walk around, and that it’s the best thing for the gas pain – listen to them. You won’t want to move, much less walk, but it really is the only thing that helps to dislodge the gas.
- Have a written, time-scheduled plan for your fluids and medication ready in advance. It will be really hard to stick to as it is, so try to be organised and don’t get behind on any of your recommended intake.
- Don’t try to do it alone unless absolutely necessary. I couldn’t even use the bathroom without assistance for much of the first week.
- Follow the advice of your medical professionals to the letter. Although the advice given varies greatly, it comes from experience and expertise. Don’t be tempted to switch things up based on something you’ve read on the internet (even here!). In particular, don’t try to move ahead through the phased diet too quickly. Difficult and frustrating as it is, it really isn’t worth knocking yourself backwards on your recovery journey through impatience.
- Find a community you can join for others going through or having been through bariatric surgery. Many healthcare providers will have their own closed user groups of other patients you can connect with. Otherwise you’ll find groups across pretty much any social platform of your choice, from Facebook to Reddit. As mentioned, I highly recommend the /gastricbypass subreddit if you’ve had or are considering bypass surgery, or /bariatricsurgery if you’re undecided on a specific weight loss surgery procedure.
- Be kind to yourself and be patient. Remember that you’ve taken a massive step to improve your health and quality of life in the long run. It is not an easy journey and it’s difficult to remember or even care in the short-term that it will be worth it in the end. Allow yourself to grieve for your pre-bypass life and to do your recovery your way. Embrace any feelings of regret that are very common in the early stages. But know, even if very deep-down, that this is a temporary state. This is the hard bit, with all the negatives and none of the positives. Only time can allow that balance to shift.
Week Ten Post-Op – The Rollercoaster of Gastric Bypass Recovery
Let’s fast forward to this week, as I approach three months since surgery. The most important thing is, despite many challenges on this rollercoaster journey, I can at least now begin to celebrate some successes. While there are still many negatives to battle with on a daily basis, there are at least a number of positives to balance things out on even the toughest of days.
Benefits of Gastric Bypass Surgery I’m already starting to experience
- The obvious one is weight loss! At my last weigh-in before the pre-op liver reduction diet I weighed 167kg (368lb or nearly 26.5 stone). On Tuesday 16th September, ten weeks post surgery and just over 12 weeks since starting the pre-op diet, I weigh less than 138kg (304lb or less than 22 stone). That’s a loss of around 28kg / 62lb / 4.5 stone. It’s also over 29% of my excess weight lost, making me almost a third of the way towards my goal weight. While there’s still a long way to go and weight loss naturally gets slower and more difficult as time goes on, that’s clearly brilliant progress worth celebrating and being proud of.
- Losing such a good chunk of weight in a short time has resulted in an incredible improvement in my mobility. Before surgery I was walking with a stick and unable to walk more than around 50 meters without needing to sit and rest in severe pain and breathlessness. I haven’t used my stick in weeks and have even been able to take staircases over multiple floors with virtually no pain or panting.
- With all of the above comes improved confidence and self-esteem. There’s nothing better than feeling clothes hang off you and being able to wear clothes that haven’t come close to fitting in years!
- Some of my favourite wins are the NSVs – Non Scale Victories. Benefits you realise from rapid weight loss that go beyond the number on the scale. These are often small every day things such as fitting more comfortably in chairs – or simply fitting in some chairs at all!
Challenges on my continuing Gastric Bypass Recovery journey
- A few weeks ago, my recovery journey and food tolerance seemed to take a gradual but significant step backwards. This resulted in hospital admission for a couple of nights and various tests. One of these tests revealed an ulcer, a relatively common complication as the internal wounds heal. After a couple of days on IV fluids and nil-by-mouth, this healed and I regained my ability to eat without pain and the feeling of blockage in the pouch. Unfortunately, this regression has returned in the last few weeks. I now await a repeat gastroscopy and x-ray to see if I have another ulcer or otherwise some issue with food progressing through my pouch and system.
- The significant change to the digestive system causes some variable and somewhat predictable problems with digestion. I’ll save you all the details on this one! But please do reach out if you have any concerns in this space and want to discuss tactics for managing it.
- Another drawback that typically starts to kick in around the 3-4 month period after surgery is hair loss. This occurs through a temporary condition known as “telogen effluvium”. This occurs due to the body’s stress response to major surgery, rapid weight loss, and changes in nutrient absorption, which shifts the body to prioritise essential functions over hair growth. I’m starting to notice increasing hair loss in the shower and so am braced for potentially visible hair losses and bald patches. However, I remain safe in the confidence that this condition is nearly always temporary!
My Gastric Bypass recovery journey continues…
So what’s next? First is the x-ray and gastroscopy to see if my variable tolerance has any treatable route cause or is just a part of my recovery journey for now. My specialist advised that in his experience, around one in ten patients have idiopathic setbacks at this stage. Unfortunately, this rocky patch which can last around three months. So, perhaps I have another ulcer, or perhaps this is just something I have to get on board with for now.
Either way, the journey continues! Progress with my health and weight loss journey goes on. I’m losing around 1-1.5kg a week (2-3lb) which is steady and healthy progress. With the benefits like reduced pain and increased mobility, I can at least focus more on positives despite the challenges.