Only 2 ounces forever???

Hello everyone, I have a question about the 2 oz pouch. Everyone i talked to that has had gastric bypass tells me that they end up eating more than 2 oz over time and its a short time, but my surgeon has me scared to death about eating more than that, he says only 2 ounces forever. Now the actual question is... is he just trying to scare me so i wont over eat or does everybody end up being able to eat more than 2 ounces of food over time, with out risking death?

Just physiologically, the pouch will stretch a certain amount. You have to be careful of what you eat, and how much, but by 18 months, the pouch should hold 6-10 ounces (depending on how careful you are). If you were never again able to eat more than 2 oz at a time, you'd eventually starve to death!

"He says only 2 ounces forever" - No offense to your doc... but, I find that to be one of the most irresponsible things that I've ever heard from a bariatric surgeon. (Just my opinion) Be Well, A.J.

Hi, I think you need to speak with your surgeon and have him explain to you what he means. You have a high BMI, what kind of surgery are you having. I had a 69 BMI which is also high. I live in Philadelphia (right by the Betsy Ross so we are almost neighbors) and was operated on at Pennsylvania Hospital. My surgery was in June and I eat more than 2 oz. at a time. Do you have a nutrionist to talk to? The first few months are very important in getting your needs and relearning eating habits. If you don't get the answers you need, I would look into going to a nutrionist in the area. I can't stress the importance of a good understanding of your needs after surgery. Hope this helps and best of luck to you. Jeanne

Hi TT greetings from the NJ board. TT.. my inital BMI was high.. very high... like 83? I was over 600 pounds when I had my surgery two years ago.. December 2004. You sound like you are dealing with a lot of fear and worry... I want to try to re-assure you that it will be okay and not to worry. YES it might be that your surgeon is trying to impress upon you the seriousness... MY surgeon told me to take "bites the size of 1/2 of a postage stamp and chew 50 times for the rest of your life." I knew he meant well and he WAS trying to **throw the fear of God into me**... but I soon realized he was exaggerating. Maybe that was what your surgeon was trying? I dont know. But as for the tiny tiny bites forever... Well. I dont do that.. but I have still lost 250 pounds and losing slow. And I DID do that for the first six months... fearful. But you can take a deep breath and breathe out now. Seriously. Just work on the steps preparing .. step by step.. for the surgery? DONT discard what your surgeon says... but realize that SOME people are not vested... not serious about the surgery. And surgeons get too emotionally vested that sometimes they worry and... well exaggerate? Thats a theory. What you want to focus on is ... relaxing? : ) At first you can only eat 2 ounces, that is true...and the *BEST* thing is.. you dont WANT to eat any more than that. After surgery...You will be thrilled to discover that your WHOLE frame of reference and relationship to food will be different. The way it is at first... its that way for everyone. You will eat liquid diet at first.. then pureed diet... then slowly switch to real food... if you are like most folks and what their surgeon has them do? As always work with your surgeon and follow your surgeons instructions. Over time, slowly ... you will slowly progress. Now, at two years out, I still am not able to eat a huge amount... but because I focused on Protein, Water intake, Vitamins... and to greater or lesser extent...exercise.... I am still losing about 5 pounds a month at two years out. I dont try to see how MUCH I can eat... and so I still have a low capacity with is just great. And best thing is I dont have any desire to test the limit? Sure I have days where I may eat more than I should... but it is still in terms of small amounts instead of like ... 4 and 5th helpings (like it was pre surgery). The AMOUNT is not a super critical thing.... before surgery I worried a lot about it.. but literally... TT.. it takes care of itself if you focus on learning the important things to do.. before the surgery? My relationship with food was long standing... I ate when tired... I ate when upset.. I ate when I was happy.... I was nearly 800 pounds.. then diagnosed with sleep apnea and lost 200 pounds over about five years. Then... at about 650 pounds I stayed from 1994 or so until my surgery ten years later. TT.. this surgery is serious business... but it also is surgery that will drastically change your life. If you do your homework.... ie.... LEARN all you can.. get all the information you can... take all the steps (pre op testing... working with surgeon... working with insurance...verifying diets... documentation..etc)... I would not say the process is HARD.. but it is CHALLENGING.. and something you have to be committed to.. and work at. If you do that.. you will be fine. If you take all the steps... step by step... when surgery comes ... after surgery the hardest part is OVER. You will initally lose weight no matter what you do.. there is a saying... "" you could eat bailing wire and still lose weight""... Now.. that is a SAYING.. and not factual.. especially since we dont eat bailing wire : P BUT... as many many people here on the site will tell you... the more you learn and prepare.... and the more focused you are on doing the proper steps for the first six months and first year... The more successful you will be : ) Dont fret about the AMOUNT you will be able to eat. Especially at first..you will only want small amounts...and that is that best thing... the most important thing is to learn all the steps to be healthy NOW.. and to realize its a tried and true formula. LOOK at people here on the board... AJ is a great example... you never met a guy more earnest about getting protein vitamins and exercise in your life. (I dont know about his water intake lol). His success is pretty amazing... but that success will be YOURS... but it will sneak up on you. At first you will feel like time passes so slow then BOOM!. You will get your own personal *a-ha... or WOW moment... moments like ... (well these were mine)... -being able to drive a car... like a compact car with a narrow drive space -being able to leave the wheelchair behind... and stand for lengths of time -Not having diabetes anymore... -not having high blood pressure anymore... -being able to walk around without great pain.. -being able to fly on a plane and lock the seat belt -being able to use a seatbelt in any car I ride in.... without lugging an extender... The results... the positive effects are many. So dont get scared... get INFORMED. Your not alone. Be ENCOURAGED.... we are here for you... (*well we are except I take Thursdays off... -just kidding :PP DO ...Ask lots of questions (this question for example about 2 ounces is a EXCELLENT one btw : )))... find out all you can. Learn... talk to people.. and I highly recommend plugging into a real life.. in person support group if you can BEFORE surgery... I didnt until after surgery but I was a member of the Obesity help community and that is sort of the same thing.. kinda sorta maybe. But in PERSON support groups are awesome and really *really* helped me. Later on slowly things progress and you can relax... and the amount and such literally takes care of itself. I (like most of the people on here) took the surgery seriously... I saw it as my one and only chance to change my life forever. It DID.. and I am a happy camper about my health... Success is contagious TT. Once you start to feel and realize the success of the surgery... the RUSH.. the Thrill you get really REALLY gives you encouragement more than anything you can imagine )) Let us know if we can help with anything else... I hope this helped you. Take care God Bless Timmy Ray

First i would like to thank everybody that has responded to my post, its very much appreciated. But i didnt really explain it right i dont believe. I have already had surgery, i had it on Dec 20th, today i am 6 weeks post op and my Dr appointment is tomorrow, and thats when i start on solid foods. And basically i was concerned about me seeing others that are now eating more than 2 ozs at a time after having surgery when my surgeon was basically saying that i will only be eating 2 ozs at a time. And that day i did the post i was really thinking about that so i decided to get more advice from people who have already been through this . And yes like you said Timmy i think he was just trying to put the fear into me so i wouldnt over eat, which i still do. And i didnt want to ask him because i already know what his answer is and i didnt want him thinking i wasnt serious, because i am very serious about this surgery and following it. So basically i was just wanting opinions about that, like maybe the people i talked to didnt really follow like they were suppose to or what and thats why they are eating more than 2 ozs now. But again thank you all for responding it really helped me. And sorry i didnt explain fully about my situation.