Looking for the hard facts on stretching your stomach

[dandeegan 21]

I've read a couple posts on this forum that say "stretching your stomach is almost impossible, the part of your stomach that is left is the toughest part". I've read online from other doctors that your stomach will stretch if you overeat. Other doctors say that it's very hard to stretch your stomach and you'll vomit before you get to the point of stretching it. My doctor makes it sound like it's very easy to stretch it, and to be careful to not overeat, and chew your food well etc.

I really wish I knew with 100% certainty what the deal is with stretching. I don't want to live my life worrying about my stomach being stretched every time I feel "full".

Any thoughts?

Edited October 21, 2013 by dandeegan

[aquitenonnymouse 206]

What I've been told is that you can't ruin it by stretching it out ONCE. What stretches out your stomach is repetitive overeating, which causes the stomach to gradually get larger and larger from the ongoing stress on it.

[aquitenonnymouse 206]

I don't have a medical article on this, though.

[dandeegan 21]

I've heard that too - overeating "over time", "repetitive overeating" and it makes me wonder how much time is "over time"? Weeks? months? years? overeating once a day? here and there? How repetitive? Let's say I've overeaten 10 times in 2 months (hypothetical). Does that mean it's stretched?

[bigsleeve56 266]

Quit worrying and enjoy life.

[7 Bites_Jen 479]

The stretchy part of the stomach is what is removed along with a portion of the gland that causes hunger. While it's not IMPOSSIBLE to stretch what we have, it is highly unlikely as it is the muscular portion of the stomach. What will happen, like most doctors will tell you, is that the food will go upward rather than outward and will cause you to vomit. Depending on the doctor and the size of the bougie (the sleeve guide), you might have some part of the looser portion of the stomach remaining. If this is the case, then it makes it more possible to stretch.

That being said, why would you WANT to overeat to begin with? The entire point of the surgery is to prevent that entirely. Purposefully putting yourself into a potentially harmful or at least uncomfortable situation is kind of silly IMHO.

[RJ'S/beginning 5,358]

The stretchy part of the stomach is what is removed along with a portion of the gland that causes hunger. While it's not IMPOSSIBLE to stretch what we have, it is highly unlikely as it is the muscular portion of the stomach. What will happen, like most doctors will tell you, is that the food will go upward rather than outward and will cause you to vomit. Depending on the doctor and the size of the bougie (the sleeve guide), you might have some part of the looser portion of the stomach remaining. If this is the case, then it makes it more possible to stretch.

That being said, why would you WANT to overeat to begin with? The entire point of the surgery is to prevent that entirely. Purposefully putting yourself into a potentially harmful or at least uncomfortable situation is kind of silly IMHO.

Seems to me that you already knew the answer..You probably should have said the real facts about stretching you sleeve!

[dandeegan 21]

That wasn't me that posted the explanation above haha.

PS - I never said I wanted to overeat. I thought I was pretty clear in my original post that I've heard so many opinions about stretching (including the one in the detailed explanation) that I wanted to know what the real deal actually was. The way my doctor explains it is any time you feel full, your stomach is stretching. Having your surgeon make it appear to be such an easy thing to do makes one want to ask around about it.

[Madam Reverie 2,958]

I was told by my nutritionist.. 'you would really have to go some to stretch your stomach to its original size and regain all your weight'. As for my surgeon - he said 'yes, there is flexibility in the organ (that is what the stomach is designed to do) so if you overeat every day, you will, over time, stretch it out a bit. Conversely, if you eat little, it will shrink.'

Consequently.. and my advice? Listen to your pouch and when it says stop - stop.

Asking for absolutes on the 'average stretch of a pouch', is, although i'm sure that this is not your intention, like asking 'how much to the millimeter of alcohol can I consume before i can't drive a car'. There are guidelines provided us, based on average consumption levels and associated performance. Some people can drink more and process it more quickly, like some people can eat more and process it more effectively.

Asking for any further specificity than that, is pretty futile. Only you know what your stomach tells you in comparison to the guidelines offered you. None of us know exactly the amount we can eat - because each food type has a different effect on us and this also changes day by day. For example, some days I can eat bread and some days, I'd rather gouge my eyes out with a rusty spoon than put bread in my belly. I just eat what I fancy and stop when I feel a fullness below my sternum. That feeling that if I ate another mouthful, it'd be up into my esophagus.

That's the only gauge I know and that's all I have to go by.

Best of luck in finding yours and being comfortable with it. More importantly; try not to freak out. You're not going to put all your weight back on overnight and if the scales do start going the other way, you know what you have to do.

[marleamay 11]

I've read a couple posts on this forum that say "stretching your stomach is almost impossible' date=' the part of your stomach that is left is the toughest part". I've read online from other doctors that your stomach will stretch if you overeat. Other doctors say that it's very hard to stretch your stomach and you'll vomit before you get to the point of stretching it. My doctor makes it sound like it's very easy to stretch it, and to be careful to not overeat, and chew your food well etc.

I really wish I knew with 100% certainty what the deal is with stretching. I don't want to live my life worrying about my stomach being stretched every time I feel "full".

Any thoughts?[/quote']

Well, I had my surgery 15 months ago, and then had my gall bladder removed two months ago by the same surgeon, so he was able to take a look at my sleeve over a year later. He said it looked great, like he had just done it! And all I do is follow my rule of listening to my sleeve. When it tells me I've had enough, I quit eating!