Question:
was wondering about eating more 7 months post op?

Hi I am now almost 7 mths. post op from having lap rny, I was wondering if any of you have ever had problems with being able to eat too much and had to have a revision at all? I was transected but now I find my self eating more often, I heard that usually is normal at this stage and your pouch will eventually stretch out alittle, but I am worried that my pouch will stretch out too much from eating! Just wondering if any of you have had this problem and ever had to have a revision done cuz your pouch got to big. And, also about the not drinking when eating meals, I sometimes wait to drink anything but sometimes I have to have a sip or too after my meals cuz my mouth gets so dry especially with the medicine I take! Is this okay! thanks so much for your answers!    — Melodee S. (posted on August 19, 2003)

August 19, 2003
Melodee, it is normal for the pouch to stretch from our original few ounces or less to 6-10 oz by a year or more out. I'm not sure what you consider eatng too much since you haven't described a meal to us. Your pouch can abnormally stretch if you overstuff yourself all the time, but you have to work at it-eating normally until comfortably full will not stretch your pouch beyond where it is supposed to stretch to. A doctor will not do a revision just because your pouch stretches. Revisions are done when there is a mechanical problem or changing from one type of surgery, like a lapband to an RNY, or sometimes taking someone from a proximal to a distal. As for drinking with meals, a sip or two on occasion when your mouth is dry is OK. Drinking while eating or right after until the food washes out of the pouch is not OK.
   — Cindy R.

August 19, 2003
Hi, I am nearly seven months out also and I was transected. I don't know what size pouch i started with but I could only eat three tablespoons in the beginning. My surgeons group told us that in about a year, our pouches will stretch to about 4 oz. I sometimes eat more on some days than others. It really depends on the denseness of the food but i could never in a million years eat a cup of anything. As far as your mouth getting dry and feeling like you just have to have a sip of water, I rely heavily on sugar-free popcicles for this feeling. Sometimes right after eating my meals but you have to save a little room. I know it melts and goes on down but it still will make you uncomfortable if you don't specifically save room for it. Hope this helps.
   — Delores S.

August 19, 2003
I am 10 months out and began noticing I could eat more around 7 months also. I was eating 800-1000 calories a day and now it is 1100-1500. Yes the weight loss has slowed down as a result. I don't know if I am through losing or not, but I am pretty content at 165. If I was younger I would want to be smaller but at 54 I feel great and I think I would look gaunt if I lost much more. As for the dry mouth after eating, sugar free gum works for me, just be careful not to swallow it.
   — Tawnda C.

August 20, 2003
I understand that it is very hard to really stretch your pouch beyond what it will naturally do (you have to really work at stuffing it constantly to stretch it beyond what it's supposed to), so I wouldn't worry about that. Eat a healthy diet, balanced to protein, and watch your portions, and you should have no problems there. As for drinking with, or right after, meals: be very cautious here. As a previous poster noted, you shouldn't drink liquid soon after eating because it turns your food into soup that is washed out of the pouch more quickly than the dense food would be on its own, thereby causing hunger much sooner than if you had not drunk. It doesn't matter whether the liquid started out as liquid (water) or started out as a solid that melts into liquid (popsicle). Having a popsicle right after a meal is the equivalent of drinking the same amount of liquid: not a good idea. I would think that a sip or two (literally SIPS) would not be enough to liquify a meal, but it's a dangerous habit to get into: one or two sips become three or four gulps before you know it. Try gum or a piece of S/F hard candy instead.
   — Vespa R.

August 20, 2003
Like a previous poster said...what is 'eating too much'? I had surgery four days after you and started out struggling to get in 2T. of just about anything! Now at almost 7 months out, I, too, have recently noticed I could eat more. A few weeks ago I took some left over chicken out and put it on a plate and thought it was kind of a lot. I decided to get out the good old measuring cups and sure enough, it all fit (when packed) into the 1/3 cup! I also know that there are some things that I can eat around 1/2 cup of...it can really vary, meal to meal, day to day. Also, at my six month check up, the nurse said that by 1 year, they like to see us eating 1 to 11/2 cups of food per meal! That just seems like SO much to me. Of course, every surgeon's program is going to be different. At this point, it is not only natural for you to be able to eat more but, also for the weight loss to start slowing down. So, unless your weight loss has come to a screeching halt, I would keep on keeping on and not worry about the 'natural expansion' of your pouch too much. Best of luck!
   — eaamc