Pouch expansion fact or fiction??

[everpositive]

OK, apols because I have come on about this before but am reading and hearing so much conflicting information about this matter

So, I know that for banders they can have the restriction taken in and out to allow for more less food consumption. For us bypassers, the pouch has been made as a permanent feature where it does not change. I have however been told by my Doc and also read in a variety of places, that anytime from around 6 months post op, it is common to notice that our capacity for food intake increases due to some 'give' in the pouch. Don't get me wrong here, I'm not doing anything silly to force that into happening, and even if I wanted to, couldnt and wouldnt for all the obvious reasons. Just wondered what other individuals experiences have been on this?

Thanks guys x

 

[thinkbethin]

Sorry Claire I'm a bander but did'nt want to read and run. Hope you get some replys from the other bypassers.

 

[hopelesscase]

claire im 8 months post op and find the amount i can eat varies day to day meal to meal depending on consistancy, how much fluid i have had and also how im sitting. i Tend to eat less if sat in a nice comfy position on the couch watching TV than what i do sat at the table just focasing on the food on the plate. psycho;ogically i know when i have had my fill as opposed to having to feel restriction and as a few on here would tell shortly after my mind saying thats enough i get hiccups as if my pouch is also confirming that.
For me that is fantastic as i dont have to experiance that uncomfortable feeling to know ive had enough.
HTH
carole

 

[shelbell]

There is a way you can check restriction with cottage cheese, can't remember where I saw it though! I don't believe my pouch is any bigger than it was before 6 months, and today I'm a year out. The 5 day pouch test is another good one for reaffirming restriction. I think it's more the case that many people get in to bad habits which allow them to eat more such as drinking with meals.

 

[tendersage]

i was told that the pouch very slowly grows of it own accord so that by the end of 2 years you are able to eat a small childs portion. This was told to me by my surgeon.

 

[everpositive]

Thats really interesting Hopelesscase, what you say about knowing psychologically when you are full without having to get the discomfort of the restriction. Can you explain a little bit more about what you mean? I'm 2 months behind you and if I'm honest know when I'm done through restriction only?!?!?

Ta

 

[Silversurfer]

i Tend to eat less if sat in a nice comfy position on the couch watching TV than what i do sat at the table just focasing on the food on the plate.

Strange i'm exactly the same, at weekends we tend to lounge in from of the tele and eat, and like you Carole i seem to get restriction a lot quicker than if i'm sitting up at the table.

 

[j.u.s.t.l.i.z.]

Strange i'm exactly the same, at weekends we tend to lounge in from of the tele and eat, and like you Carole i seem to get restriction a lot quicker than if i'm sitting up at the table.

its the same for me as a bander, if i slouch im gagging after a couple of mouthfulls so i always sit at the table now in the correct position x

 

[Silversurfer]

There is a way you can check restriction with cottage cheese, can't remember where I saw it though! I don't believe my pouch is any bigger than it was before 6 months, and today I'm a year out. The 5 day pouch test is another good one for reaffirming restriction. I think it's more the case that many people get in to bad habits which allow them to eat more such as drinking with meals.

The cottage cheese test is the first test for the 5 day pouch plan, theory is that you test and measure the size of the pouch pre 5 day plan and then after you've completed the plan, do the cottage cheese test again, and there should be a noticable difference in the size and amount the pouch can hold comfortably.

I've read that drinking and eating slidder ( liquid sloppy foods) allows the pouch to hold more food without the discomfort or pain caused by restriction, and causes the pouch to stretch. Eating liquid or sloppy foods also leads to rapid emptying of the pouch thus leading to food grazing between meals, which stops or in some cases introduces weight re gain, therefore it's especially important that you understand the need to eat until you feel restriction, and understand that the slightly uncomfortable feeling is not your pouch stretching but the pouch reaching its full level and in turn doing its job !

 

[Silversurfer]

if i slouch im gagging after a couple of mouthfulls

PMSL - :8855::8855:

 

[j.u.s.t.l.i.z.]

PMSL - :8855::8855:

spit not swallow lol

 

[Silversurfer]

spit not swallow lol

:8855:You supprise me, i'd have thought you'd have been the other way round Liz after all isn't it a waste of protein ? :8855:

 

[j.u.s.t.l.i.z.]

now now lol, theres only so much protien a girl can manage each day lol

 

[Silversurfer]

now now lol, theres only so much protien a girl can manage each day lol

It puts a new meaning on the term "Protein shot" :8855:

 

[j.u.s.t.l.i.z.]

It puts a new meaning on the term "Protein shot" :8855:

:giggle:LOL ! trust you to turn a nice honest clean thread to smut lmao

 

[Silversurfer]

:giggle:LOL ! trust you to turn a nice honest clean thread to smut lmao

It was you that started it with the gagging quote ! - i'm mearly stating what everyone else is thinking :8855:

 

[hopelesscase]

Thats really interesting Hopelesscase, what you say about knowing psychologically when you are full without having to get the discomfort of the restriction. Can you explain a little bit more about what you mean? I'm 2 months behind you and if I'm honest know when I'm done through restriction only?!?!?

Ta

Its difficult really i can be munching away at my meal putting my fork down between each mouthful and suddenly as i go to pick my fork up again i think no i dont want any more. Knowing that if i did i would be uncomfortable. Ive only experiances real discomfort 4 times since my op and on 2 occasions was sick and really dont want to experiance that again. so that is why i say psycologically i know as i stop before i get to that point.
hth carole

 

[tesmaralda]

ss there are much more pleasant ways a girl can get her protein for the day ;o)

 

[j.u.s.t.l.i.z.]

It was you that started it with the gagging quote ! - i'm mearly stating what everyone else is thinking :8855:

hey i was talkin gaggin on fud lol

 

[phatgirl]

I would agree that I have the same restriction I had at 6 months post-op. I have some days where more seems to fit in tha other days, sometimes I only get started with a meal and I know that I am full. Other times I will get through the portion I have served my self and the have to consider if I want more (almost always the answer is no, lol). I feel physically the same now as I did months ago, the only real thing I am dealing with now is the return of hunger which can motivate me to make poor food choices. But that is a head issue not a pouch issue. I rarely get the intense 'full' feeling (pressure in chest) that I got early on, I seem to be more in tune with my body now and know when my pouch is nearing full. It is a bit like knowing that you need to yawn/sneeze/cough right before you actually need to do so. It is just a slight mental hesitation that your brain gives when you check 'am I full yet' and the answer is yes.

HTH,
Nic