Stomach pain is not uncommon if you’ve recently had bariatric surgery. In fact, stomach pain is often related to the way your body and stomach adjusts to weight-loss surgery following the procedure, and can occur as a result of eating too much food. While stomach pain doesn’t affect every weight-loss surgery patient, it’s important to learn more about the symptoms so you know which red flags to look out for if you begin to experience stomach pain following surgery.
Why is stomach pain common after bariatric surgery?
Most types of bariatric surgery, including gastric bypass surgery, offer some type of restriction in regards to portion sizes, which means that after surgery, you’ll only be able to eat small portions before experiencing a feeling of fullness. However, the feeling of fullness you experienced prior to surgery will feel different from the feeling of fullness you’ll experience after surgery, which is often associated with feelings of discomfort and nausea as a result of eating too much and stretching your stomach pouch.
As your body adjusts to bariatric surgery, you’ll become more familiar with your own limits, meaning you’ll know when it’s time to stop eating before feelings of nausea and discomfort are triggered. As long as you adhere to your bariatric surgeon’s post-op instructions and consume small portions of highly-nutritious foods, you may be able to reduce or avoid instances of stomach pain completely.
When it’s time to contact your bariatric surgeon
Considering you may be more susceptible to stomach pain as a bariatric patient, there are certain red flags and warning signs to look out for that could indicate a larger health problem at bay.
If you experience any of the following symptoms based on the type of weight-loss surgery you had, contact your bariatric surgeon immediately for further treatment.
- Sleeve gastrectomy (gastric sleeve surgery): Excessive vomiting, heartburn, severe gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), the inability to keep down liquids, severe abdominal pain, left shoulder pain.
- Adjustable gastric banding (REALIZE Band, LAP-BAND): Excessive vomiting, heartburn, severe gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), the inability to keep down liquids.
- Roux-en-Y gastric bypass: Excessive vomiting, heartburn, severe gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), the inability to keep down liquids, severe abdominal pain, left shoulder pain, nausea, cramps, bloating, sharp burning pain below the breast bone.
If you are interested in weight loss surgery, check out MBL’s Ultimate Guide To Weight Loss surgery.
