Question:
Stretched pouch or what?
Hello all, I could sure use your opinions on this. I had open RNY 4/10 and have lost 55 lbs for which I am very thankful. But, I seem to be able to eat way, way more than I ever thought possible. It's nowhere near what I used to eat of course, but I'm wondering if it is possible to have stretched my pouch alot already or if the opening from the pouch to the intestine has stretched? Yesterday a.m. I had a Lenders raisin bagel with 1 T. cream cheese. Lunch was 1/2 a patty melt (1 slice bread and 3-4 oz hamburger) and 1/2 c. fruit. Supper we grilled - had about 7 oz steak, 3 inch corn on the cob, 1/2 c. potatoe and 3/4 c. salad. I don't usually drink with meals, maybe 2 - 3 oz milk or water. I often read about folks that can't eat more than a cup of food at a time, if that much. And as you can see, this is more than 1 cup. Can I have ruined my chances of success with this surgery already? Is my eating out of wack big time? Is there anyone else out there that can eat this much? Any help would be greatly appreciated. — Diane S. (posted on July 18, 2000)
July 18, 2000
Hi. I had my surgery 12/9/99 and I know that I could never put down a 7 oz
steak - much less the rest of what you had at dinner. Have you tried
stopping before you are full? That might be a good start. I do find that
I can eat more than I used to. Probably 4 - 5 oz at a time.
— Marjie W.
July 18, 2000
Sounds like a little too much at dinner. I know personally I can only hold
1 oz cheese and maybe 2 crackers, or maybe 5 bites of salad and 2 bites of
meat. But all of us are different. Great job on the weight loss!
— laucol
July 18, 2000
Diane, I'm from the old school where we were taught to "clean our
plate" and I still have a hard time dealing with that and still feel
that I have to eat everything that is set before me. I had my surgery a
little more than a month before you and am just now beginning to appreciate
that "satisfied" sensation and allow it to help me to push the
still full plate away. I now use a much smaller plate to put my food on (I
got several at a local thrift store)and it does help to measure out the
individual portions. Limit your actual eating time too. I can eat a few
bites at a time for an hour or so and end up consuming much more than I
should. But by only allowing myself to eat for only 1/2 hour and then
stopping, I do eat less. Don't wait until the last minute when you're
extremely hungry to prepare your meals...then your eyes really are bigger
than your stomach and you tend to put more on your plate than you should.
Your meals seem to be quite balanced and that's good. The suggestion to
eat only until you're "satisfied" but not "full" is a
good one. Hope these suggestions help. Good luck and God bless. cj
— cj T.
July 18, 2000
Hi - it's me again. Thanks for all your responses. I almost hate to say
this - but I was not uncomfortable after eating all that steak an other
stuff last night. Not even one little bit. I called my surgeon's gastric
bypass coordinator and she said to re-read the info on portion size that
the dietician had given me - which I knew I should do tonight. She also
said it may be that I stretched the stoma a bit (my Dr. uses some of our
own grissle for that) and that it should shrink down to the normal size
after a few days of watching it. Anyone heard of stretching the stoma?
— Diane S.
July 18, 2000
I had open RNY on 4/26 and have lost 63 lbs, but can hardly eat a bite.
Personally, I would consider myself lucky to be able to eat that kind of
quantity with so much variety and still have nearly the same weight loss as
you. I guess our challenges are very personal and unique to each
individual, just as each wls varies with each surgeon. I believe my stoma
has narrowed and will be having endoscopy tomorrow to determine just that.
As long as you are steadily losing weight, I think you should be just fine.
However, discuss all your concerns with your surgeon. If there is a
problem, nip it in the bud early. Since the coordinator mentioned
stretching of the stoma (I've never heard of that except through surgical
dilation), perhaps an endoscopy isn't out of line for you either. Best
wishes!
— [Deactivated Member]
July 18, 2000
— Victoria B.
July 18, 2000
I don't know if my response will do you any good, but I can eat much more
than you can, and regularly do. I am a little farther out than you are,
right at 6 months, but I wanted to let you know that the sooner you can get
a handle on over-eating the better. I have lost/gained the same 10 pounds
over and over and over for the past 6 weeks. I am down 78 pounds, but I
had 220 to lose. When you first have the surgery, it seems that you have
all the time in the world and that eating just a little over what you
should this time won't really hurt. But it does. I know without a doubt
that I have stretched out my pouch and I have self-defeated the
"dumping" syndrome by eating small amounts of sugar very
frequently. Result: I can eat about 2500 calories a day, no sweat, and
can eat sweets everyday (a little at a time) without severe dumping. My
doctor is the best and he's done miracles with other patients. It's not
him or the surgery that is failing. It's me. I had to have this surgery
or die, but it looks like I may never be at goal. If you can, do something
to get a handle on your eating. Don't wait! If I can help at all (but how
could I seeing that I'm a compulsive eater and can't stop myself) just let
me know.
— Anne C.
July 18, 2000
Diane: When I read your post down this page where you said your surgeon
uses a little bit of your "grissle" to wrap around the stoma, I
KNEW you had the same surgeon and me. I clicked on your name and verified
it - Dr. Howell! Isn't it funny that he says that?! I too can eat more
than other people eat and I think he made our pouches bigger. But, that
steak meal you described is much more than I could get in! By the way,
you've got me beat, I had surgery 4/4 and have lost 45 pounds and am down
to 230. What do you weigh today?
— Cindy H.
July 19, 2000
Just another thing to look into while you're at it, have them check your
staple line, you may have a disruption. When I was in for my 3 week
check-up, a woman was waiting to see my doctor to get an opinion on a
revision. She was only 6 months post-op and described she could eat large
amounts of food as you can. Just a suggestion, good luck...
— DOROTHY A.
July 24, 2000
I had the RNY in '96, and I still can't eat very much at one time. I can
eat a regular cheeseburger, and a few fries from McDonalds, or PART of an 8
oz steak, & a bite or two of a baked potatoe... then I feel like I'm
gonna explode! Even though I can't eat that much at one time, I have still
managed to gain 50lbs in the last year or so. I should be having a
revision done sometime next month...RNY to the DS. Right after my surgery
in '96, there is NO way I could eat what you can now, BUT my surgeon
probably made my pouch smaller. Like someone else said, we're all
different. My pouch has stretched out some, but just last week I had an
Upper GI, and the doc told me that my stomach is still much smaller than
the "average" person. Your weight loss is great, so maybe you'll
be one of the lucky ones who gets to eat, and still lose weight! :)
— Shelly T.
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