Stomach Capacity

[Hudson Patriot 0]

My surgery was on December 11th and I have noticed that I am able to take in quite a bit of Fluid. Within a day of discharge, I had no problem putting down 60-80 ounces of liquid. I am well above that now. I went to a Center of Excellence surgeon and am on full liquids for two weeks post op. After my surgery, my surgeon informed my wife and me that my stomach was very large. So large, in fact, that it took several more staples than the average stomach to create my sleeve. As of today, I am down 23 pounds since surgery, so I am very pleased. However, I am wondering if I have greater capacity than the average patient, post op. It seems my sleeve my be a couple/few inches longer - I can put down 10+ ounces of broth with no effort at all. I guess I will be able to tell once I begin to eat foods with more substance. Anyone else heard of this? If so, did it hinder weight loss?

[Matthew Evans 1]

I had m. Surgery same day. Congrats. I started 405 and today Sunday 22 376. I feel I can put down more too. Had a can of tuna last night and a couple bites of a tamale insides after my protien shake. I am on puree diet. Don't want to cause damage inside so trying to take it easy. I am going to call nutricianist tomorrow for a structured diet so i know what to eat. Good luck.

[Bufflehead 6,358]

You may have a larger than normal sleeved stomach due to the size of your stomach pre-op, but the amount of Fluid you can take in right now isn't determinative of that. Fluid pretty much goes right through the pyloric valve and won't fill you up much no matter how large or small your stomach is. The reason some people struggle to get fluids in early is because their stomachs are swollen after surgery. It sounds like your stomach is doing fine (your surgeon probably did very meticulous work) and you don't have that issue.

If you do have more capacity, whether it hinders your weight loss is up to you -- you should stick to measuring and weighing foods and not eating more than the allotted portion, or eating until you are satisfied, whichever comes first. Good luck!

[follmerpa 35]

Keep us posted, I for one worry about the same issue your having. great question...

[Sunnyg30 1]

This was my question too!!! My surgery date was 12/5. All of the sudden today I can take in so many more liquids...I was nervous my sleeve is stretching and was wondering if I screwed myself up!!

[Jerzygurl 372]

Doctor told me to expect to be able to drink quite a bit more as my stomach heals. I'm almost 3 weeks post op and can now exceed 80 ounces of Fluid in a day, plus Decaf tea and diet iced tea too. It's all about the stomach and its healing. The further out you get from the trauma of surgery the more you'll be able to consume (at least that is how it was explained to me).

But it is quite different with food. I noticed that immediately. Even on pureed stage, no way I can eat as much as I drink.

[Koofka 59]

My doctor used an interesting analogy to explain my questions on the amount fluids I was getting down in the first week post op (100+ oz daily - I also had surgery 12/11). He said to think of your new stomach as a funnel, in that fluids will flow nearly straight through while food (and I am only on pre-select pureed / soft at the moment) will take much longer to pass through.