What if your surgeon left an almost non-existant pouch?

Hello everyone, I am taking my pre-op tests to the doctor's tomorrow (for a possible revision) and today I got the actual results of the upper GI...turns out my pouch has  4cc/ml capacity, which means it is REALLY tiny...and I feel like such a failure! How can I have gained 50% of the weight I lost if I basically have no stomach??...what are the implications of having a pouch with 10% of the capacity it should have? I feel lost. Any help I'd really appreciate. Thanks!

The micro-pouch was common when I had surgery in 2007.  I have a tiny pouch but can easily over eat soft foods or gain weight from drinking liquid calories.  One problem with the micro pouch is that over eating can cause food to remain in the esophagus and cause problems with stretching out the esophagus.

Having pretty much no stomach makes it easier for me to fill up on a tiny amount of dense protein. 

Having a small stomach does not prevent regain.  Only eating fewer calories does that, 

I have a small pouch, too.  Like WD said, if you follow the rules of dense protein first it really does help.  But things like crackers, chips and other refined carbs can be crunched down to nothing and take little room.

You can regain weight with any surgery.  You kept off 50%, which is considered successful in WLS terms.  So even though you didn't maintain a smaller size just think where you would be now without having WLS.

For example, I had WLS in 2002 and within 2 years I lost 120 lbs.  And proceeded to regain 100 lbs by 2010.  A failure, right?  But, I was 20 lbs thinner after 8 years, which never happened before in my life.  I was always heavier over a period of time.

Plus, had I never had WLS I probably would have been at least 50 lbs heavier by then.  So even though my first surgery was a failure by anyone's standards, I was still better off having it than I would have been without it.

And I figured if I could manage to be smaller after 8 years having completely gone off the rails, if I followed the rules I could really be a success.  And I have been, at least to this point keeping 100% of the weight off for 5+ years.

 

Thanks Ladytazz.  I do think that way, but still, I messed up back then because I was so immature...having been BIG my whole life, as soon as I saw myself kinda 'slim' and I could wear regular size clothes (in the higher numbers, but at least I could buy it in regular stores) I started doing all the things I hadn't done in my life, and I became, basically, a party animal.  I was in my early 30s and I would party, and drink every single day...and now I am regreting it.

I will go to the doctor's today...we'll see.

Thanks for the support :)

What are you eating?

Basically, I went back to my old crappy habits after a few years, specially after my pregnancies...I eat A LOT OF CRAP.  I know it, I jsut hate myself for going back to the vicious circle...the eating when everyone is asleep so no one can see me, the binging on chocolate that will just easily slide down to my stomach...the whole damn thing.  I know I am wrong, I just do't know how to stop, where to start...doctor will send me to a Psychologist today too...we'll see.

Thanks for takingt he time to answer :)

Well.. that's your answer about how you could have gained the weight back.  

And boy do I empathize and understand.  I don't want to copy/paste the whole thing here, but here's a link to what I wrote about my own struggles and the outcome -- https://www.myvsg.net/2-uncategorised/778-7-24-2016

That must have been a big shock, I'm sure.  

I'm a relative newbie, so I can't give much advice, but I can say that it's probably a good time to look at your food intake and readjust.  Since you've put on a considerable amount of weight, it's likely that you haven't been eating on plan.  So start right now.  Limit your food to dense protein, cut out the soft carby food, weigh and track everything.  

You can do it.  Your pouch is still good, if anything you have a wonderful tool to help you get where you need to be.  We're all here to support you, and honestly, we all understand at least a little. 

Stick around and track your food with us on the menu thread.  Be accountable for what you put in your body.