Wondering when the Restriction kicks in?

I haven't got there yet. I am on liquids still and can pretty much drink 16 oz water in less than half hour. Do the liquids ever restrict you or is it just the pureed or solid stages and does it just feel like you are really full. Before the surgery I cannot remember the last time I ate enough food to feel that way. I always made myself stop.

You won't feel restriction on liquids, they pass right through your sleeve.

Even during the puree or early solid stages you may not feel full; this is because the nerves in your stomach have been cut, and it takes a while to regain feeling in there. I don't think I felt any sort of full sensation until maybe 6 weeks out.

The coolest thing about my surgery was on the last day, they did a leak test. It was comprised of drinking a horrible tasting liquid while standing in front of a fluoroscope. It was pretty cool watching the liquid go down my throat, into the stomach and out. It did not take very long. So, no, liquids are not restricted unless you have first eaten something dense to cause the pyloric valve to close. Search for Frisco's thread on Pyloric Valve 101 for a much better explanation.

I'm 5 weeks out and haven't had the same "full" sensation I experienced before surgery. I've been on soft foods for 3 weeks now, and my doc had me start with 1/4c of food, and I'll build up to 1/2c by the 3 month mark. I will say that I've had odd sensations on soft foods. I chew really well, and wait between bites, but I get burpy (new technical term!) and my stomach grumbles. I feel like I am relearning how to swallow food, making sure there is no air. I imagine that as I get closer to 1/2c of food I'll experience the "full" sensation.

I have never understood people preoccupation with the restriction. Early on you won't feel it which is why they say to measure each portion. If you eat a measured portion you probably won't feel it until a couple months out when you're healed and your portion starts to increase slightly. You cannot and should not expect the sleeve to be your portion control, you have to do that. The old full feeling is gone and won't return. If you get full now, you will most likely be sick, not the old full feeling.

Not preoccupied at all, just curious to what that feels like. I now weigh and measure everything which I have never done. I bet to many folks it is a real help mentally even if they measure portions.

So you never feel full like a normal persons stomach does...that is interesting. By sick I assume you mean throwing up or nausea...that does not sound like it'd be fun. Everybody makes mistakes, which I think is a totally different than cheating. Mistakes happen unintentionally you do not do them on purpose. Example... I was cooking a beef broth and making the brisket for my parents and without thinking I put a piece in my mouth...I was chewing it and all of a sudden remembered I can't eat that...spit it out. I wasn't hungry just did it from habit. I bet my mistakes will be drinking without thinking, after eating. I practised and practised that before the surgery, sometimes the best thing for the brain is to make that mistake and the consequences "train" your subconscious to never do that again. My brain trained me to never ever walk in puddles, in early 90's I was walking in rain and walked into a puddle that sucked me into a drainage pipe and threw me onto a barbed wire fence stomach first and almost gutted me like a fish. Some mistakes you can only make once. Now I'm scared to even drive over a puddle. Thanks for the info.

"I bet my mistakes will be drinking without thinking, after eating."

You'll only make that mistake once. Your sleeve, filled with good food, simple won't allow you to get any liquids in. If, somehow, you manage it, you will hurl.

Thanks for the info about puddles. I can't help wishing for your sake that avoiding puddles could have been learned more easily, like simply tripping and falling, instead of what happened to you. Your punishment for careless puddle-walking was way out of proportion. I'm glad you made it through to tell the tale. No more puddles for me!

psychoticparrot

Double post. Sorry!

psychoticparrot

I just reread my response and it came off harsh, I'm sorry for that. I'm a little over a year out. The mental stuff it toughest. I still over serve myself which is why I have to measure. Stressed, I look for food. Its a process and I have had to retrain myself to have discipline I didn't have before. The sleeve is an important part of it, but just a tool, like the mental discipline I find myself working on everyday.

An hour and 10 minutes ago I was having massive head hunger....just took a 50 minute walk and now its dinner time. NEVER would have done that before. Good Luck!

No problem...just noticed that you and I have the same goal weight and almost the same starting weight. I assume you are in your 50's by your user ID name and so am I. I do wish I was younger when I did this. I hope to do as well as you have. Thanks Dan!