I had my surgery April 29th. Initially I was able to eat maybe up to a 1/4 cup. Now all of a sudden I can eat alot more and not have any issues like I used to have where I would overeat by 1 mouthfull and have to throw up. What's the deal. Did I somehow stretch something out? I haven't eaten that much to do that but I'm getting concerned. I had to have the surgery due to acid reflux. I have Scleroderma and my digestive system doesn't work due to the disease. So food would sit in my stomach and turn to bile; then it would back up my esophagus and burn me alive inside affecting my heart, lungs, voice box and entire insides. So they did this new surgery as a solution and I was one of the first to have it. After a week after the surgery I no longer had any attacks. It has been an answer to prayer and so exciting. Well now I'm able to eat so much more and have no issues so I'm getting worried. I think tomorrow I'll give the dr's. office a call and see what they say. Could something have happened inside. What they did was basically re-arrnage my insides. They seperated 98% of my stomach and attached it to my lower intestines. The stomach that they created is very small and they made a huge opening from the esophagus into this new stomach. Could I have somehow stretched this out????? I was losing 3 lbs a week and now 2 weeks ago I gained 2 lbs and this last week didn't gain or lose. I hope someone can help me here!!!
Had Surgery April and all of sudden can eat more with no issues
- Thread starter Knute
- Start date
Knute I'm glad you found the site. There is a lot of support here. It sounds like yours was a specialized surgery so not sure if anyone here has had the exact same experience. Let us know what the doctor says about your ability to eat more and you know, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say just because you can eat more doesn't mean you have to. That was an incredibly stupid thing to say, sorry, I must be tired!
Pat99
Member
Knute-I'm glad to hear the surgery has helped you so much 
Unless you have been eating large amounts of food you have not stretched out your pouch. You are probably able to eat more now and not feel discomfort because your surgery has finished healing. The weight loss slows down after a certain time period. Eventually you lose 1 to 1 1/2 lbs. a week, possibly less. Exercise will increase your weight loss but don't expect to lose large amounts of weight like you did in the beginning. You might have had a slight weight gain due to fluid retention or if you are exercising you may be building muscle which weighs more than the fat it replaces Let us know what the Dr. tells you.
Unless you have been eating large amounts of food you have not stretched out your pouch. You are probably able to eat more now and not feel discomfort because your surgery has finished healing. The weight loss slows down after a certain time period. Eventually you lose 1 to 1 1/2 lbs. a week, possibly less. Exercise will increase your weight loss but don't expect to lose large amounts of weight like you did in the beginning. You might have had a slight weight gain due to fluid retention or if you are exercising you may be building muscle which weighs more than the fat it replaces Let us know what the Dr. tells you.
TwoMas
Member
Hi Knute, Welcome. Your surgery sounds like the Rouxe N Y for a medical condition you have and they did it to see if it would help you to eat again without the acid reflux and other ill sideaffects from Scleroderma, if I understand you correctly?
For the RnY it sounds like things are right on track, now it all depends on what you mean by "eat so much more" but I will get back to that. Plateuas are very common among us WLS patients and they usually happen after a sustained period of weight loss much like yours and to gain 2 lbs that may be a matter of water weight. We plateua because our bodies are trying to catch up with what is going on inside us, we also start to gain muscle at this point while we lose fat creating the apperance of no weight loss yet we can still keep losing inches, so it helps to take regular measurments of yourself. So that may be what's going on with that.
Now back to your pouch (stomach) size and being able to eat so much more. That is a general statement and not very quantifiable but I will relay some things I found out in my support group meetings. It would take a lot of uncomfortable eating to start to stretch your pouch out and you would literally have to eat yourself sick for months on end to accomplish this, the only wild card in this would be the Scleroderma. Eating so much more if you are eating 2 or more cups worth of food at one sitting with no discomfort then I would wonder what is going on but if it is between 1/2 and 1 cup then I woulden't be concerned, a meal that size would consist of 2 to 3 oz meat, 1/4 cup beans 1/4 to 1/8 cup cooked veggies and/or rice or mixture of the two, that would be an example, but again the wild card is the Scleroderma.
You will have to let us know what the doctor says. Tom
For the RnY it sounds like things are right on track, now it all depends on what you mean by "eat so much more" but I will get back to that. Plateuas are very common among us WLS patients and they usually happen after a sustained period of weight loss much like yours and to gain 2 lbs that may be a matter of water weight. We plateua because our bodies are trying to catch up with what is going on inside us, we also start to gain muscle at this point while we lose fat creating the apperance of no weight loss yet we can still keep losing inches, so it helps to take regular measurments of yourself. So that may be what's going on with that.
Now back to your pouch (stomach) size and being able to eat so much more. That is a general statement and not very quantifiable but I will relay some things I found out in my support group meetings. It would take a lot of uncomfortable eating to start to stretch your pouch out and you would literally have to eat yourself sick for months on end to accomplish this, the only wild card in this would be the Scleroderma. Eating so much more
if you are eating 2 or more cups worth of food at one sitting with no discomfort then I would wonder what is going on but if it is between 1/2 and 1 cup then I woulden't be concerned, a meal that size would consist of 2 to 3 oz meat, 1/4 cup beans 1/4 to 1/8 cup cooked veggies and/or rice or mixture of the two, that would be an example, but again the wild card is the Scleroderma.You will have to let us know what the doctor says.
TomHi Knute,
I had my surgery April 19th and I have noticed the same thing lately. I am starting to have the same concerns. I can eat about 1 cup of food without discomfort, which is about twice what I was eating. I also worry that something is getting stretched out. My support group told me the same thing as TwoMas' did - it is too soon to have really stretched out the stomach and I would have had a lot of discomfort if I ate enough to do it. But why does it seem like I can eat more that I did? I was considering asking my dr to do an endoscopy to check if things look right, but I don't think he will do it just because i want to know if my pouch is still nice and small.
One thing I do notice is that while I can eat more than I did, I don't have to eat that much to feel full. If I measure my food and only eat the 1/2 cup, I am satisfied and don't feel hungry. So I measure out my food to control the amount I eat. It really helps. I don't weigh the protein, but I keep the portions very small. I eat almost exclusively protein and veggies, and stay away from carbs because they are so addictive. I started eating the pita chips plain because they are tasty, low fat and pretty healthy. But If I eat them I keep going back for more like potato chips. I find this is true with all starches. So I avoid them.
Anyway, enough rambling from me. Please come back and tell us what your dr says. I am very curious.
I had my surgery April 19th and I have noticed the same thing lately. I am starting to have the same concerns. I can eat about 1 cup of food without discomfort, which is about twice what I was eating. I also worry that something is getting stretched out. My support group told me the same thing as TwoMas' did - it is too soon to have really stretched out the stomach and I would have had a lot of discomfort if I ate enough to do it. But why does it seem like I can eat more that I did? I was considering asking my dr to do an endoscopy to check if things look right, but I don't think he will do it just because i want to know if my pouch is still nice and small.
One thing I do notice is that while I can eat more than I did, I don't have to eat that much to feel full. If I measure my food and only eat the 1/2 cup, I am satisfied and don't feel hungry. So I measure out my food to control the amount I eat. It really helps. I don't weigh the protein, but I keep the portions very small. I eat almost exclusively protein and veggies, and stay away from carbs because they are so addictive. I started eating the pita chips plain because they are tasty, low fat and pretty healthy. But If I eat them I keep going back for more like potato chips. I find this is true with all starches. So I avoid them.
Anyway, enough rambling from me. Please come back and tell us what your dr says. I am very curious.
Bigtallsis
Member
hi Knute WELCOME TO THIS SITE:
I hope you get answers from the dr and soon, glad you got relief from the painful relfux situation. Do you have a local support group ? this room has been very helpful to me with advice and helpful hints. As others have said please come back and let us know what doctor tells you.You've had to go through alot to get healthy and I too would be concerned at this point. I pray everything is going well for you henceforth.
Donna
I hope you get answers from the dr and soon, glad you got relief from the painful relfux situation. Do you have a local support group ? this room has been very helpful to me with advice and helpful hints. As others have said please come back and let us know what doctor tells you.You've had to go through alot to get healthy and I too would be concerned at this point. I pray everything is going well for you henceforth.
Donna