Question:
After about 6 months to a year.. how large should your pouch be?

In a support group a gal said her Dr. told her never to eat more than 1 cup of food total at any one sitting. But my Spouse said, "NO WAY" Because he has heard that the pouch should never stretch beyond about a half a cup size. What has anyone heard about this?    — Dee G. (posted on October 17, 2002)

October 16, 2002
I read a great article on pouch size. It is not the resting size of the pouch that matters but the size it stretches to when accommodating food. The article said that the average pouch size is 6-9 ounces (think a standard frozen meal). If your pouch size is 9-12 oz, you still have to watch your intake. I did the cottage cheese test and found that my pouch size is just under one cup. That was a great relief to me. Now that does not mean that I can't eat MORE than that depending on the type of food, but that as an average with the pouch filled in a certain amount of time with dense food, it will hold 8 oz. The goal is for us to eat like "normal skinny" people. I don't know about you, but I could have eaten two or three frozen meals before. Now I eat most of one and am satisfied. Just like the skinnies!
   — ctyst

October 17, 2002
At 8 months post-op I had an upper GI series done and the radiologist said that my pouch was 4 ounces and that was perfect. My surgeon also came down and looked at the film with me and he commented that it was ideal also. I can eat about 6 ounces of cottage cheese at a time but con only tolerate about 3 ounces of denser foods like meat.
   — Patty_Butler

October 17, 2002
just to add a quick comment...many surgeons tell their patients to take 30 minutes to eat their meal. While you are eating towards the end, some has already passed out of the stomach into the intestine. Measuring your food to no more than a cup ensures you don't eat too much.
   — [Deactivated Member]