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Can my stomach stretch?



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Do you know if my stomach will ever stretch as time goes on? I was sleeved 12/22/2016. Also what do you all do about nausea? I used to turn to pretzels and ginger ale. Any suggestions would be great. Zofran doesn't stick well with me. Thank you!

HW 270

SW 253

CW 209

5'1" tall

Sleeved 12/22/2016!

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Your sleeve when you first start holds roughly 4 oz. Over the first year, the swelling goes down and it will settle somewhere between 6-8 oz. The stretchy part called the fundus was cut out. The part your left with isn't really stretchy.

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Depending on the surgery, the stretchy part of of the stomach (the fundus) is removed (sleeve) or bypassed (bypass). Therefore it is not possible to stretch the stomach again.

However! Once the scar tissue has fully healed, the stomach that remains does regain some pliability. I would liken it to a garden hose in the winter versus the same hose in the summer. On a properly performed surgery, when people say that their stomach has stretched, most likely what has happened is that the pylorus (for sleeves) or the created opening to the intestine (bypass) has been weakened and/or stretched and food can move from the stomach or pouch into the intestine quicker allowing for more food to be consumed.

To make the myth worse is the fact that doctors/surgeons will put the above into "laymans terms" for their patients. Thus perpetuating the belief that you can stretch your sleeve by eating poorly or too much or drinking carbonated beverages.

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Funny....I was just watching some of his vids last night. I used to before surgery too, but I like that he has ones you can learn from at different stages both preop and postop



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Matthew Weiner has an interesting youtube video on this issue. Also on some popular WLS myths.

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Thank you for posting these. I watched them last night and again this morning. I really hate the "dumbed down" explanations we get for so many of the rules. This was very useful info and further cements my commitment to a complete lifestyle change as opposed to simply relying on restriction. I will be looking for more of his videos on youtube.

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