How do I tell my surgeon he screwed up?

[Icantbelieveit 955]

If it is a normal size, YOU have to do the controlling of portion sizes. Nobody else. YOU have yo take responsibility and weigh portion sizes.

Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.

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[LipstickLady 25,682]

Why do you want to feel stuffed? That concerns me.

Have you considered having a second opinion on the size of your sleeve?

[ButterflySeoul 98]

No it's not "normal" to be able to consume large amounts of Protein after a sleeve and not feel stuffed.. I think that was pretty apparent from the reactions that you got from your original post. Now that we know your sleeve surgery was not botched, and that it must be your eating habits... have you changed those habits? Or are you still pushing the limits? Have you been having any success with your sleeve?

[thomas1984 11]

I eat only protine and have for some time. Should I change to all carbs? Cakes and pies? Maybe that will control my hungar!?

Are you not listnig me? It takes 5 or 6 times more protine (chicken, steak, etc) to satisfy my hunger than what absolutely stuffs abnormal sleeve patient. I DO NOT eat to the point I'm stuffed, just to satisfatication. This does not sound like a "perfectly sized sleeve"

But my oppagies for thinking the sleeve would reduce the amount of food it takes to satisfy some one. I can't believe j was stupid enough to think that.

BTW I also saw the dietitian 2 weeks ago, the only criticism she had to my food log was to try and get more fruit and was In disbelief of the volume it took to satisfy me and stated it points to the sleeve being overly large. But maybe she to is under the missconseptiln that the sleeve reduces the amount it takes to satisfy some one.

[LipstickLady 25,682]

If you are going to get ugly, I'm out. I get enough of that around here already.

Good luck to you!

[Icantbelieveit 955]

Didnt you post your brother ate 2 hotdogs with bun shortly after him being sleeved?

It sounds like to me [i'm no expert] that perhaps there are eating disorders that are going on. No surgery will fix that. That needs to be addressed asap.

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[jenjenp 63]

In all honesty. I got the sleeve so my stomach would be smaller and at least in the beginning. First 6 months maybe ? a small amount of food would make me full. That's why we all got the sleeve right? Cause we couldn't control small portions on our own. No he shouldn't have put. A 20 oz steak on the plate. But something is wrong if 20 oz of steak can be eaten and not make you throw up sick. I just ate 2 oz ground beef and 1/4 cup of black Beans. I'm 6 weeks out. I am super full.

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[Clementine Sky 708]

Update: after several reschedules for verrious reason (death in family, work, dr vacation, and so on) I had an upper GI today so the surgeon could look in my stomach.

He came in the recovery room and basically said the sleeve was normal and it must be my eating habbets. I then pointed to my mother who was sitting beside me and said the. Why can I eat comfortably 6X what stuffs her and her sleeve is 2 years old.

His reply was "well your a bigger person" then got frustrated and said listen I can make it smaller if the insurance allows it, but you won't be happy with the side effects. Then turns to the nurse and said 2 weeks and walked away.

So what is your all take on all this? I guess it's normal to be able to consume LARGE amounts of dince protine after a sleeve and not feel stuffed?

Thomas

I don't think there's a "normal" that's applicable to all of us, because we're different ages, sizes, genders, and have unique metabolisms, appetites, eating habits, and overall health conditions. What your surgeon said about your mom being satisfied eating so much less makes sense to me. My mom has never had WLS and is actually underweight, and can get full eating less than I have post-VSG, but she's 32 years older than I am. Your caloric needs and appetite are probably much greater than hers.

I can feel a sensation of fullness from drinking a tall glass of Water, and yet have to be really diligent about Portion Control with many foods. I never cared for dense Proteins, so the mental aversion to eating that much would prevent me as much as the physical restriction. My husband could probably eat an entire cow if it was butchered and put on his plate, and he's never been heavy. My main suggestion is to keep everything you tend to overindulge in out of your kitchen and off your plate as much as possible, and use a lot of care with portion control. This is what I do: I weigh my Protein and measure out whatever else I'm eating alongside it, put it on the plate, and go ahead and wrap up all remaining food before we sit down. When I'm through eating, I find a way to occupy myself. Thirty minutes later I have Water. If after an hour post-meal I'm still hungry, I have another portion, but a smaller one. If I'm still hungry an hour after that, I'll have a snack, but that's rare. On the weekends I don't keep track of everything as diligently, but during the week I use MyFitnessPal, my scale, and the measuring cups religiously. It takes very little time to do, and is a way of staying on track.

If you're still unhappy with your sleeve it sounds like your surgeon is willing to work with you, though I'd be sure to find out what the unpleasant side effects of making it smaller would be, and what insurance would cover.

[Daisee68 2,493]

I would go get a 2nd opinion. Regardless of all the other stuff, sounds like your Dr is an ass.

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[jess9395 5,449]

Your sleeve could be perfectly well formed and still have a higher capacity if your initial stomach was significantly LONGER. Think of the banana they always refer to when describing what a post op sleeve is like. Some bananas are small (5") some medium (7") and there are some are large (I've seen some up to 10" or so!).

Everyone's initial existing anatomy is unique. Surgeons use different sides bougies to guide them (ranging in size again from like a #2 pencil to a sharpie to a thick marker/highlighter). Then their surgical techniques (over sew staples, pull tight or loose against the bougie) results in variation as well.

So if your stomach was 4-5" longer than say mine, your surgeon used a larger bougie than mine and mine pulled tighter and oversewed my stapes. In that case your sleeve could easily hold several ounces more than mine.

Studies have shown that smaller bougies/sleeves result in more side effects and increased risk of strictures and don't usually result in greater/quicker weight loss so that's probably what your surgeon was referring to.

I hope this info is helpful to you and perhaps explains part of your issue.

[jess9395 5,449]

Question-- I know you can eat a lot... but is a reduced from what you could eat before?

[thomas1984 11]

Thank you, some helpful reply's came in :-)

I do plan on meeting with him for my follow upon the 12th and if I'm not completely satisfied with that he says I will visit another surgeon for a second opinion, Ive read stories of people going to get a second opinion only to find out that the original surgeon only took 50% of what they were suppose to and from what I'm feeling when I eat, this seems to be my case.

I do know he used a size 40 bougie on me (he says thats all he uses), which if made tight should only be a couple bites more than even the smallest of bougies, not 4-6x more. I feel he was to quick to blame my eating habits even after telling him "hey, If i want to I can hold 20+ oz of solid protein" which he said was impossible before he done the scope yesterday.

Even before leaving the hospital, the other patients were struggling to slip Water and I was drinking a 16 oz bottle like nothing was different.

Yes, my volume has been reduced from pre surgery by probably 10-15%, for example pre sleeve I could eat meal XYZ and still eat desert, now if I eat that same meal, eating desert would make me to uncomfortable.

[LipstickLady 25,682]

Bougie size matters very little.



My bougie was a 36, the pen. Yours was a 40, the cap.

[Cluelesswinner 32]

First I like to say I wish you all the best on you weight loss journey. I too notice my sleeve seem to be larger than most. While others could only take a tiny bite I could already eat a cup of yogurt. Others would eat a half a teaspoon of cottage cheese, while I ate a half a cup. My surgeon said he uses the same size instrument on all his patients. Some stomachs are larger than others. I'm barely at stage 4 (soft food with the transition to solid food). I'm afraid to eat too much for the fear of throwing up. If my stomach is larger than most, I hope it will shrink (especially since I'm barely eating around 900 calories). If when I'm 7 months sleeved (as you are) I will go back to my surgeon and request the Roux-En-Y Gastric Bypass. My good friend suggested I get that surgery, instead, I choose the Sleeve. Thomas, again I wish you all the luck and God's speed in your journey.