Recovery Time After Gastric Bypass

Gastric bypass surgery is a serious form of weight loss surgery that is designed to help morbidly obese individuals reach and maintain a healthy weight. While gastric bypass is well-known for the huge amount of weight loss patients experience, it also has a reputation of being a procedure that can cause many initial side effects, body trauma, and an overall challenging recovery. It should only be considered when all other weight-loss strategies have failed, and the life and health of the overweight individual is significantly compromised by their size.

Function

Gastric bypass surgery works by surgically removing a portion of the stomach and large intestine and redirecting the digestive tract to go straight from the downsized stomach to the small intestine. The stomach itself is surgically reduced down to the size of a hard-boiled egg. The results is a decrease in the amount of food that can be ingested, the amount of time takes to process food, and a significant alteration in the types of food that can be effectively processed by the body resulting in weight loss.

Recovery Time

The recovery time for gastric bypass surgery technically lasts up to the first six months post operation. While obviously the more intensive recovery happens within the first three months, it can take up to six months for the wounds from surgery to entirely heal and for the individual to be able to eat, function, and move at a normal level. The recovery time for the surgery is also considered to be six months as it is during this time that the majority of weight loss occurs, which causes a host of complications, such as vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and other side effects, which can compromise the patient's functionality.

Nutritional Recovery

Within the first three months after surgery, the emphasis of recovery is mostly on establishing new eating patterns and easing back into solid foods. The patient can't eat for up to three days after the operation, and then for the first three to four weeks after that they are only allowed to ingest liquids. By the end of the first 12 weeks, the patient is re-introduced to solid food and is introduced to a long-term nutrition plan focused on small portion sizes and high nutritional value.

Recovery Side Effects

Individuals who undergo gastric bypass surgery experience several characteristic side effects during the recovery process. One of the most common symptoms of recovery is persistent fatigue due to significant decrease in ingested energy. Other recovery symptoms include moodiness, intolerance to cold, aching muscles, and dry scaly skin. These recovery symptoms are all caused by the abrupt adjustment in nutritional intake and decreases in essential vitamins and minerals, and decrease after long term eating habits are established.

Recovery and Complications

There are also several serious complications that can result from gastric bypass surgery, which can affect the recovery speed and comfort. Things like dumping syndrome, a condition caused by eating high-fat foods that are undigested in the small intestine, infection at the wound site, and lung collapses can occur after the operation and manifest during the recovery period.