Stomach Stretching is a Myth

[OperaMom 15]

Hi Weight Loss Community!

I have my gastric sleeve surgery scheduled with Dr. Ortiz in Tijuana on September 5th! So excited. I have been watching and reading everything I can get my hands and eyes on about WLS. This week I found this Bariatric Surgeon in Michigan - Dr. Weiner's - Youtube channel. He's legit - a keynote speaker at the WLSFA and has a thriving practice. You should check out his youtube channel; very informative. Anyway, this particular video caught my attention because he says that we don't need to worry about pouch stretching! (*Gasp!*) have already asked for my post-op diet paperwork and my nutritionist states clearly in the packet that we have to be careful not to stretch out the stomach. What are your doctor's saying about stomach/pouch stretching?

[Introversion 1,876]

Your sleeve's capacity for accommodating food will increase, but not to the degree that your normal-sized stomach could accommodate food prior to bariatric surgery.

Your normal-sized stomach could accommodate anywhere from 32 to 48 ounces of food. A brand-new sleeve usually accommodates 2 to 4 ounces of food during the first few pre-op months.

Most people who have had been sleeved for more than a couple of years (including me) would say their stomachs have 'relaxed' enough to accommodate a larger volume of food.

People hesitate to use the word 'stretch.' Nonetheless, the early pre-op days of getting full from 3 to 5 bites of food do not last forever for the majority of sleeved people.

For instance, I could eat no more than 3 ounces in the first few pre-op months. I'm currently 2.5 years out and can eat 8 to 10 ounces, depending on how soft or rigid the food is. In other words, my capacity has tripled.

However, just because I can doesn't mean that I should. At the end of the day, it is up to me to avoid eating to my sleeve's maximum capacity.....

[dreamingsmall 1,125]

On 26/08/2017 at 3:24 PM, OperaMom said:

Hi Weight Loss Community!

I have my gastric sleeve surgery scheduled with Dr. Ortiz in Tijuana on September 5th! So excited. I have been watching and reading everything I can get my hands and eyes on about WLS. This week I found this Bariatric Surgeon in Michigan - Dr. Weiner's - Youtube channel. He's legit - a keynote speaker at the WLSFA and has a thriving practice. You should check out his youtube channel; very informative. Anyway, this particular video caught my attention because he says that we don't need to worry about pouch stretching! (*Gasp!*) have already asked for my post-op diet paperwork and my nutritionist states clearly in the packet that we have to be careful not to stretch out the stomach. What are your doctor's saying about stomach/pouch stretching?

I have not watched the video, if it is a myth, why am I seeing people saying " I have been resleeved9 which I did not think is possible to have any less stomach) because 5 years down the line after overeating the whole time, I stretched my sleeve and needed to have it re done. ) I can not imagine it is something to lie about..

[OperaMom 15]

@dreamingsmall it does stretch. But it's supposed to. You have to watch the videos for a full answer. They have scoped (camera down the throat into the stomach) WLS patients and found that sleeve size really has no effect on weight regain. Everyone's pouch stretches in time, it's the diet and activity level that will create lasting change. He also has a video on re-sleeving and revision procedures. Research shows that these revision surgeries (including the re-sleeve) end up with minimal results. He calls WLS a "one-time restart button" and emphasizes that we must be ready to make change and do the mental work because we get one shot at this.

[CrissCriss 97]

This is great information I had no idea the pouch would stretch since the stretchy part is cut away.