Has this happened to anyone?

I've been reading everyone's posts since I had surgery, but have never posted. I now need some advice. A couple of weeks ago I started being able to eat a lot more than normal literally overnight. I called my doc and had an upper GI. I saw the doc today and he told me that where my stomach and small intestines are attached has stretched so that food is not staying in my pouch and making me feel full. He says a staple could have come out and could be fixed with surgery, but he feels that since I have already lost 100+ pounds (60% of my excess body weight) that I don't need to have it fixed. I am crushed because I still have 90 lbs to lose. Has anyone had anything like this happen?

HI Amy, I haven't had it happen to me. Or at least not that I know of....My thought when I read your post was. ( I hope I don't sound harsh because I don't mean to be) Just because you CAN doesn't mean you should. At 8 months out we should be figuring out what we can and can't eat and what does and doesn't work. You know how much you need to eat to loose weight. Continue to weigh and measure your food and you should still loose weight. If you are eating larger portions then make sure they are the right foods, high protein...low carbs, fat and sugar Best of luck Becky

OK so basically what your surgeon is saying is that since you've achieved loss of over 60% of your excess weight you are technically considered a success and he doesn't think it's necessary to fix - but it is fixable. What can you do? Well, I would suggest that you keep on following the rules like you have been. Maybe go back to basics and start over on your stages - if it's just stretched some, maybe it will shrink back up with a little TLC. If you popped a staple, then shrinking it won't work - but it's worth a try. Remember too that you still have some malabsorption going on so it's not just the small pouch that has lead to your success. I would be really cautious about the foods you're eating - ALWAYS go with dense protein first then you can fill in with some softer protein, veggies, or other good carbs. Try to avoid the "slider foods" like cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, chili, pudding, etc. because they don't stay in the pouch very long and you'll feel hungry too soon after eating them. About a month ago I noticed I was able to eat more too, but that seems to come and go on a daily basis. Some days I have trouble getting in 700 calories and other days I have to be careful to not let it go over 1200. It seems to average out though so I've gotten pretty good at listening to my body (and not my head). I would just try a few of these suggestions and see how it goes. If you start to re-gain then maybe going back in to tighten up the stoma would be the right thing to do... Bekah

amy there are a lot of posts on the revision boards about the stoma stretching. i can't believe it would have happened so soon though! if a staple has come loose that should be fixed! maybe you should have another talk with him about fear of regain and desire to lose more and make him show you the pictures (so you can possibly get a 2nd opinion)? if this can be fixed I'd want it fixed. let us know how it goes! judi