Bariatric Surgery Questions That I’ve Been Asked * Spotlight My Health

This article is about bariatric surgery questions that I’ve been asked by others since my surgery. Because of this, I thought I’d share some of them. I’m going to answer them as best as I can according to my own research in preparation for my surgery and also answers that I got from my doctor.

Is bariatric surgery safe?

Although bariatric surgery is relatively safe, I would have to remind you that there are certain risks in absolutely any type of surgery any of us may have. According to things I’ve read the risk of major complications with this surgery is less than 4.0%.

Even though bariatric surgery is considered safe, there are some complications. These can include: bleeding, leakage from the stomach or bowel, heart attack and blood clots in the legs or lungs.

If this is a surgery that you are thinking about, this is definitely a question to discuss with your doctor as I’m sure each person’s health situation is unique.

Will you ever be able to eat normal food again?

A few weeks before surgery and for six to eight weeks afterwards, I had to follow the diet that was given to me by the nutritionist in my doctor’s office.

Right now, I’m almost four months out from surgery. I’ve had to take it rather easy with the things I tried to eat. In other words, very little spice and lots of bland.

This is because of the trouble I’ve had with my hormones causing me to spend these months throwing up, if I tried eating regular type foods at any time. It’s been bland, soft type foods for me.

From what I understand this is not usual, but makes sense to me as I already know my body doesn’t like my hormones messed with. And baritric surgery does affect your hormones.

I’ve had to take adding foods to my diet again very slowly and it has paid off as I’m beginning to get back to normal eating again, for the most part. I just pay attention to what my body is telling me when I start eating something.

I can usually tell after one or two bites if my system will agree with whatever food I’m trying at the time. For instance, I know it may be a while before I can eat pizza or spaghetti again, even in small amounts.

Eating protein

It’s also hard for me to get meats or chicken down, so for protein I’m sticking with cottage cheese, eggs, chicken salad, etc. for the time being. Yep, I can’t seem to eat chicken, but make chicken salad and I’m ok—go figure.

Anyone that has bariatric surgery will have to pay attention to what foods your body agrees with and stay away from the foods your new stomach can’t handle at first. I imagine it will take me several more months before I can eat more of the foods I used to and with spices! 😊

When will others be able to tell you are losing weight?

Hmmmm, this is a toughie as I’m like everyone else. I want results last week and it’d be nice if people noticed. I’m thinking it’s a way to validate that I am making some progress.

Like most overweight people, I tend to not see the changes and suspect it will take a while for my brain to catch up and not think of myself as still being my old size.

Anyway, as I said earlier, I’m almost four months out from surgery, and I can’t say that anyone has noticed that I’ve lost almost 40 pounds. But I have to qualify that answer a bit.

I no longer work with the people I worked with before surgery and because of covid, I haven’t seen friends or family for months and months. Truthfully, it feels like forever.

That being said, I know I’ve lost weight by the scale and also my clothes. I’m in the last sizes of clothes that I had kept from when I was smaller, so I know I will soon have to start buying new clothes. Fun, fun, right!

Won’t you just gain the weight back? Because your stomach stretches, so why bother?

Yes, I’ve been asked this question. And I can only answer what I feel right now as I’m not far enough out from surgery to actually gain weight back. And if I have my way, I won’t.

At least, that is my plan. I don’t plan on eating so much that my stomach will stretch out. And truthfully, I don’t even know if your stomach stretching out even happens.

I’ll be asking my doctor this question the next time I see him. This is definitely a question you should ask your doctor if you are thinking about bariatric surgery.

Are you going to have a lot of excess skin after you lose your weight?

This is another question I really can’t answer yet as it’s too soon. I think the answer to this question is going to be different for everyone. Genetics might play a factor along with the elasticity of your skin.

I will admit that I have batwings for upper arms. I had them before surgery and I’m hoping they don’t get worse. ☹

How long were you be out of work?

I’m lucky in that I could work from home after I had surgery as I only go into the office three days a week. So even though I had surgery, I was still able to work on my sofa at home. I did this for two weeks and then the doctor gave me permission to drive.

What did you have to do to have the surgery?

Another good question that I answered in more detail in a previous article. Click here.

For now, I’ll say that you have to have tried other diets and exercise to lose weight, but were unable to lose weight or maintain a desired weight after losing.

It also depends on your BMI (body mass index) which is based on a ratio between your height and weight.

In most cases your BMI will need to be over 40. Or you need underlying medical conditions that are related to obesity. Your doctor will help with this determination, you just have to ask.

How much weight do you think you’ll lose?

In four month’s time, I’m just short of 40 pounds lost. I’d love to lose another 40, so that is my goal.

Statistics say that most people lose between 50-80% of their excess body weight, following surgery. And most of the weight loss takes place in the first 6-12 months after surgery. Which tells me, I have time to work on my second round of 40 pounds. It’s 10 pounds more than the goal set by my doctor. Wish me luck!

How long were you in the hospital?

This is an easy question. I was only in the hospital overnight. Which is a good thing since, I had surgery during covid, so my family couldn’t come and see me. Any longer and I don’t think I would have liked it.

These are the main questions I’ve been asked by various people in my small universe during the days of covid. I hope some of them help you in some way, if you are contemplating having bariatric surgery.

And here is my latest pic. I couldn’t decide if I should wear the exact same outfit as my first pic or not, as the shirt is now way too big. I wasn’t sure anyone would be able to see the difference.