Can you stretch your stomach

I've had the same concerns about stretching my sleeve over Xmas. Another forum member (thankyou Lin) posted this link that I found very helpful
http://obesitycoverage.com/weight-loss-surgeries/gastric-sleeve/gastric-sleeve-will-my-stomach-stretch

Jarrah wrote:

I'm having a much better weekend now that I've read this thread !

I'm 11 days post-op and was worried that I am able to do my 200mls of thin food in 15-20mins with no discomfort.
Was worried that I might have stretched or damaged my new stomach from an inappropriate first dinner that was served to me in hospital (day 2) which caused a lot of discomfort for a few hours after - but no vomiting.

Not really sure what my capacity is at the moment - and way to chicken to push it to find out !!  I kind of wish I was one of those people that struggle to get things down ...  I know I am feeling a bit paranoid at the moment. Really don't want to fail. Am super keen to start living properly again :)

Meanwhile, I'll keep reading through these great threads - thanks so much to everyone who contributes - it helps loads !!
Viv
       

Hi Jarrah 

I had my surgery 11 days ago and have been wondering the same thing - did you end up with any concerns - can you still only eat small meals now ? I am worrying myself sick that I have overstretched too!

My doctor said you can but he told me it would take a while, so to eat until I was full and stop.....the people that I know that have had the surgery tell me it is really hard to over eat and that just a small amount of food feels like you have just eaten a massive Christmas dinner....so I am not too concerned....good luck with your decision xx. Sara xx

I'm having a much better weekend now that I've read this thread !

I'm 11 days post-op and was worried that I am able to do my 200mls of thin food in 15-20mins with no discomfort.
Was worried that I might have stretched or damaged my new stomach from an inappropriate first dinner that was served to me in hospital (day 2) which caused a lot of discomfort for a few hours after - but no vomiting.

Not really sure what my capacity is at the moment - and way to chicken to push it to find out !! I kind of wish I was one of those people that struggle to get things down ... I know I am feeling a bit paranoid at the moment. Really don't want to fail. Am super keen to start living properly again :)

Meanwhile, I'll keep reading through these great threads - thanks so much to everyone who contributes - it helps loads !!
Viv

My 2 cents worth, i was 140kg 2 year ago, a year after sleeve was down to 88kg,not long after i had a bad accident at work had severe depression took up alcohol (beer) and drank and still do every day.I am now 110kg i can eat a subway footlong and basicaly anything put before me, WORD OF CAUTION personal experience tells me alcohol will make big and stretch again. I was slim fit taught and terrific, now am bloated fat and miserable. Do not think sleeve is the answer for everything

Just the topic I was looking for. I haven't read through all the post, but my biggest fear is stretching my stomach.

I'll be 7 weeks post op tomorrow and still learning how to manage my new stomach.

There's been a few times where I feel as though I have overeaten, but not to the point where I want to throw up, I just feel very uncomfortable.

I know it's impossible to stretch the stomach at this early stage, but deep down that I what I feel is happening.

Hi Suzie

I'm only three weeks out and by no means an expert, but from what I've read it is very hard to stretch the sleeve. It will occur if you consistently over eat. I'm guessing this means overeating to the point of vomiting or pain. Most of us worry at some stage that we've stretched the sleeve (eg: I can seemingly eat more than someone else who had the sleeve at the same time) but more often that not we haven't stretched it at all. As swelling goes down we can consume more. I think six months is the mark when we know the volume of our new tummy - I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.
Cheers

For me one of the biggest victories I have had since getting sleeved is NOT eating everything on the plate. My Mum was raised in an orphanage where she was often hungry so she drilled into us that everything must be eaten, whether you are hungry or not. We eat out a fair bit and I always thought about how much the meal cost me and that not eating everything was an expensive waste. Since getting sleeved I have left many bowls of soup that were still half full. My mindset is now that the food has done its job and if I cannot finish it that that is also quite ok.

Tomorrow I start soft foods so that will open up lots of new choices on the menu. An entree should do the trick now so in the long run I will be saving heaps of dollars. I estimate I will be saving $1000+ year in not having old medications.

Too much..................

Hi everyone,
How much can u eat?

Hi there

An old thread but a perennially interesting topic for us.

My surgeon says that the stomach we're left with can stretch. Only a little but it will still make a difference to weight loss if you're cramming it full. His point is just ensure you don't overeat.

I'm about 8.5 months post surgery and I've not been trying very hard at this stuff. But if anything I find I can eat less now that in the first few months after surgery. I get discomfort after two or three mouthfuls and have to stop and wait 5-10 mins before I can eat anything more. I can't drink at the same time as eat as I'll get discomfort straight away. To an extent some foods are easier than others to consume - i.e. tinned spaghetti and yogurt are the easier things for me to eat and won't give me the discomfort as quickly but anything that requires the slightest chewing is more difficult.

I also had a hiatus hernia repair at same time as my sleeve and the surgeon said I may notice some restriction from the hernia. So I have no idea which is the culprit. I just know the discomfort makes it impossible for me to get through anything more than about half to a third cup of food.

But I figure that so long as I listen to the discomfort and stop the stomach should stay intact:)

Hi all, I havent been on here for ages. I had my surgery in Oct 2010 and fell pregnant in Feb 2011. I put on 3 kilos during my pregnancy. I did worry as I did not have much of an appetite and having a little one in there put pressure on ensuring I was getting enough in. It was only in the last trimester that I began to eat a little more and started to develop some pretty bad habits, diet wise. I began to relax about what I was eating, because I kept telling myself that it would all go away once baby was born. Immediately post pregnancy I lost another 10 kilos (I weighed myself as soon as I got home). Since then, the eating habits (late night tv watching, snacking, lack of sleep, eating whatever is available) has sunk in. I am extremely worried that my pouch has stretched!!! I can eat a lot more now, probably an entree size meal still. But why is it, that I can get a lot more junk food down than nutrious food, its like an evil joke. But like a fellow member said, this is only a tool and I guess I need to revaluate my weightloss goals and get focussed again. I have read somewhere that to get your pouch to shrink back, go back on the shakes for a while :0) good luck to everyone..I hope to be on here a lot more. Goodness knows I need the support!

Opening up an old thread here, I know, but I'm kind of in the state of mind where I think the stories I've read indicate that you can actually stretch the stomach again. However, I'm also thinking if this happens to me, I will simply go for another chop. Lol.

Hi smileysoon
I was thinking about your comment relating to eating the plate full until it is empty, and not wanting to "waste" food. I remember also doing this, I think it is about our upbringing, and if I think hard about this I can hear my mother's voice in my ear, "must clean up the plate", and "it's good food going to waste" and " your Father and I work very hard to put food on your plate, now eat it all up".

SO .........

I simply stopped listening to my mother (I'm allowed to .... I'm 61). Since the sleeve I have made an art out of NOT cleaning my plate and being comfortable with leaving food behind. It's easier to do when I slooooooowww down the eating .... If it is something really really yummy, I put the remains on a plate in the fridge and go back to it later, or have it for dinner. That way, still achieve smaller meals, clean plate.

It is an emotional eating issue, and you do have to deal with it ... but you do have a powerful friend and tool in the the sleeve.
cheers for your journey
sassysmum

In the last couple of years the bougie size has dropped to 32 as a standard. I made sure I didnt go to a surgeon with 36. A few years ago it was up around 50 as standard, and a study shows that was the cause of late regain. (link on the forum here somewhere)

Not saying stretching cant happen, but there can be other factors involved. :D

This is exactly what i am affraid of!!!.....I've always been an emotional eater, when sad, happy, angry, bored, as a reward. I keep on eating and eating regardless of the full feelings and sometimes i think i punish myself with food for eating food! Like filling up a plate full of desert and making myself eat it when i feel physically sick but becuase i dished it up i should eat it otherwise it's a "waste"......pfft!

Do/did others do this and have you still had success with with the sleeve?

I do have a friend who's sister had the sleeve done a few years ago (at a guess) and she has stretched her tummy. She now eats 'normal' plate fulls, hence the weight loss stopped and she has gained. She can even do a full 3 course meal as normal! so that keeps me in check, remembering to stop and wait before spooning up again!
So yes, I do believe it is possible to stretch your tummy.

The stretchy part is the fundus & its removed. You have to make it a life goal to stretch the bit thats left. BUT:
- 6-12 months peristaltic (massage) action returns to your tummy. Shovel it in, massaged thru. Rinse & repeat. You wont stretch it but you will put on weight.
- There was a guy who left hospital under strict instructions to take fluids only for a few weeks. Standard post op. He stopped off at McDonalds for TWO burgers. Another guy returned home went straight to the fridge & downed 1.5 litre of coke. Anyone who is post op knows that is SOME dedication. Both ended up back in hospital for a long time. Hence psych evals.

A little "oh dear, I ate a spoonful too much" is normal, and I hope if you are tempted to extreme eating as those two men above, that you get help. PS i dont believe its a coincidence that both cases were men - women seek help (usually) quicker. Eg instructions & directions :P

I asked my surgeon this (several times).

He told me the only way you can stretch the sleeve is if you over eat to the point of vomiting at every meal.

Kate I asked my surgeon this question when i went and seen him pre-op. He said that the only way it will stretch is if you over eat again. That's why it's important to stop eating when you are full. But because the sleeve has been around for only a short period of time, no-one knows what will happen with the stomach in the long run.

I am new to all this and still asking lots of questions and doing lots of reading. I hope you don't mind me asking but if you can gradually eat more as time goes by is there a possibility that the portion of stomach that is left will stretch. This is something that is a concern of mine as I have read that it can stretch and then weight gain follows.

Regards
Kate

Yeh, great chat Mel, felt so much happier after we talked like, we will beat this thing!!!

I don't think I have stretched my tummy because in the morning, it is a tight little ball, and i can drink a glass of water almost straight away, if not I only have to wait 30 seconds and down she goes, so my tummy has been able to have heaps of fluid in it for quite a while now. I don't think it corresponds with how much food it can take, for instance 80g of steak and I am FULL, but cruskits seem to fit in easily and don't fill me at all, i think for me it's the density of the food. Heavier is better for me!

It's all good!!

Jane xx

i had a good chat with janelou today (thanks janey) and i don't think we are stretching our stomach when we drink that much water
more so, that the water moves quickly through the stomach

i still have 1 dieticians app up my sleeve so will make a massive list and go in and find out all

and
stalk me all you like LOL

I am following Mel here (sorry Mel, not stalking you), I have the same concern and a similar situation with drinking. I can drink about 400-500 mls in 10 minutes (water, cordial) but with milk it is less than 250 mls. The larger amount really does concern me.

Is there something bad about drinking so much in a short period of time? As in - is my belly stretched?

I can't answer the question but I have the same worry - seriously!

Like you a good part of the time I feel okay but I am still learning to stop taking "just one more spoonful" ...