stretching pouch

I had lap RNY on 12/05. I really seem to be able to eat alot of food. Some days I feel like I can't fill up.  How much food should I be able to eat now, without stretching my pouch?

Ann-- I am exactly where you are, had my surgery on 12-7-05.  I basically stopped losing at 9 months and now pretty much maintain- about 18lbs from goal.  I feel the exact same way.  I know that I need to be more in tune to what goes in my mouth but I seem to stay hungry.  I read this site often but have never responded or joined in.  It would be great to hear about your progress and be able to keep in touch with somebody that is at the same road as i am.  Looking forward to hearing from you.  Dana

I had surgery on 11/21/05 so just around the time you did.  My surgeon believes that we can not stretch out our pouches but can stretch out our entrance and exit from our pouches by not chewing our food well enough.  I am with you with some days not able to eat much and then other days it feels I could eat everything in sight.  I find now it takes me longer to realize that I am full.

I feel for everyone as I'm going through this same problem  I am 13 months post op and it's so frustrating and scary  I so much of the time am feeling like I can eat soooo much food  I asked my doctor about it and she said that I could have but since I'm either losing or maintaing she's not worried about it but I worry about it all the time.  I have not felt full one day since my surgery but about 10 minutes after I eat I feel so sick so I know I've overeaten and it's frustrating. Good Luck!

It is refreshing to hear of someone with the same issues. Although, i am not as far out as you guys (10/06) i am still scared and anxious about what i am able to eat. I think most of my problems are emotional and scared to death that i won't be able to use my tool effectively unless i can change my habits. I have had success so far. 268/264/195 but i want to be able to continue losing and stay healthy. No real question here just wanted to say thanks for writing a "REAL" note.

I am so glad to know I'm not the only one worried about this problem.  I know it isn't possible, but seemed like I went from eating small amounts and feeling full to being able to eat what I consider to be quite a bit and sometimes still not feel full.  My main concern is stretching my pouch.  I have friends who had the surgery done, lost a tremendous amount of weight and gained it all back.  I can't seem to get below the 157 lb mark.  Hit a size 12 just before Christmas and seem to be staying there.  Had my surgery on 10/10/05.  Thanks to all of you for your postings. 

I also worry - and I am only 9 months out!  I have dropped 96 pounds and only have 23 left to go - but at times I feel like I can eat more than I should, but others I can barely eat.  It is scary.  Exercise and eating healthy and using our past "diet" knowledge of how much you should eat to begin with is the way to continue.  Don't just eat - be consious of everything you do put into your mouth, when you aren't that is when you can eat too many calories.  I know people who have put weight back on - I do not want to be one of them.  I feel too good now.

I had lap RNY 1/4/05. I have lost 130ish lbs and had about 5lbs regain from lowest-I work out ALOT-could be some muscle who knows. Anyway I am >2yrs out and here to say you can eat TONS of food post-op. I am scared by how much I can eat. And I'm hungry again quickly after. It's almost as much as before. There is definately stretching of the pouch-just as the original stomach can stretch. I imagine everyone will stretch a different amount. I can certainly see how people regain tremendous amounts of weight. All I can say is it's back to being like being on a diet--but I make much better choices now. No sugar since surgery-except fruit, no fast food, very limited white carbs, 6-12 servings of fruit and vegs/day, and lots of protein. Exercise is crucial. I work out about 10-12 hours a week. Unfortunately the early joy of food not being in control of you anymore is only temporary :(

Hi, Ann.  I agree with you, it's scary when we realize we can eat a lot more food now.  And it is pretty normal for most of the post-ops I know to be able to eat more on some days and very little on others.  I have no idea why this would be so, but it definitely is true.  I have my days where I can't "fill up" either.  I think part of it is hormonal - right before my period I can really eat a lot, just as I've always been able to. I try to look at it this way - I think my stomach is now at the point of being what a normal person's is.  By normal, I mean someone who is a normal-weight, with a normal appetite.  This, of course, varies for everyone (non-WLS and WLS alike).  Before WLS, when my appetite was huge, I could eat 4 or 5 pieces of pizza at a time.  Now, I can usually eat only 2, and that's thin crust without the ends.  Pre-op, I could 2 burgers plus fries, now I can only eat part of one burger with only part of the bun, and a couple of fries with it.  As pre-op, if I would eat a Lean Cuisine lunch entree for example, it was like I ate nothing, and I had to add a lot of extras to it in order to feel satisfied.  Now that same Lean Cuisine entree pretty much fills me up, and I might just add a few grapes or a little applesauce to it. My understanding of our pouches is that yes, they do increase in size over time, and that's normal.  However, if you find that you are consistently able to overeat, then perhaps there is a "mechanical" problem that your surgeon needs to check out.  Otherwise, once we've lost our weight, it's pretty much up to us to find the way to maintain it, through proper food choices, exercise, and continuing to follow the rules (not drinking with meals, for example), minimizing sugar/carbs.  Not that we always do these things, of course, but that is the way it's supposed to work.  I sometimes wish they could have operated on my brain, too, to change the way I think about food! Carlita

Hi! I had wls on 2/17/2004.  so I am 3 years out. WOW! That  seems really strange to say. I originally weighed 266 and lost 77 pounds. Then one year out I had hernia repair surgery and for some reason started gaining back slowly. Two years out I had triple bypass surgery on my heart. Guess what? That surgery seemed to trigger more weight gain....FAST!!  Three more stays in the hospital, a broken wrist,elbow,foot and ribs (no exercising for 3 months it took to heal broken bones)and I gained even more. The thing is I really didn't THINK I was eating badly.I tried Atkins with my daughter when I reached 240 again. After 2 weeks on that I realized jut how much I had been eating the past year or so. Lots more than I used to be capable of. And quite easily most of the time. An occcasional episode of dumping if I ate too fast or ate fast food or too much sugar.  I also lost my best friend, my mother, just 6 weeks after the heart surgery and went spinning into a cycle of depression and sleeplessness. Ended up on Xanax, Zoloft, and Wellbutrin and back on insulin(I'm diabetic) amd feeling like the walking dead most of the time. My family got tired of hearing me complain and I feel they thought I was imagining most of the symptoms that were bothering me.THEN  had a pregnancy scare (I'm 50 but doctors have told me my ovaries and eggs are still able to reproduce). Just found out 3 days ago that my thyroid levels are really low so that explains about 99% of my symptoms for the past year. What a relief to finally have a name for my condition and there is medicine for it. My question is , have any of you gained nearly all of your weight back and been diagnosed with hypothyroidism?  If so, how have you been doing and is it possible to lose those 50 pounds again? I swore I would not be one of those who gained back the weight after going through so much to lose it. Oh, by the way , an underactive thyroid causes weight gain and my doctor, not wls doctor, says that is why I have gained this weight. Hypothyroidism can be brought on by surgery, stress, illness.....all of which I went through in 2006. Well, I almost embarassed to post this because it is so long. Can anyone relate or give me some feedback?  Thanks so much.