Been thinking about this for a long time and am a self pay. Was really going to do the Lap Band until I read all the stuff about Gastric Sleeve. The only worry I have is, will the sleeve left for your stomach eventually stretch and not be as effective? I weigh 330lbs 6'2" @ age 46 and want to lose 140 lbs and want to keep it off. Thanks for any info you may be able to share with me. I have several medications I'm on and looking forward to getting off of them along with the CPAP machine. I only like the Upper GI test and they will be scheduling my surgery in the month of April. Thanks, David

Hi David, and welcome to VST. The stomach tissue that is left is very muscular as the portion that is excised and removed is the stretchy part. If you can imagine wrapping a piece of actual leather (like what they make wallets out of it) around a marksalot marker, it will stretch around it, but there isn't much "give" in the material.

The first couple of months your stomach will hold very small portions. Over time, the stomach doesn't necessarily "stretch" but it relaxes to where you can consume more than 2-3ounces of food per meal. I can eat quite a bit more than I could at the 4-5month post op mark, but I am still highly restricted in my food intake.

We can still suck down 3000 calorie milkshakes because it'll pretty much just slide through. So, we still have to make better food choices than when we did pre-op.

Good luck on your final tests, and keep us posted on your surgery date.

Hi David,

Good choice you made with going with the sleeve. I was done March 16th and I am down 20lbs already!

All the best and be sure to keep us up dated! Russ

Welcome David - all my relatives live out in your neck of the woods (Memphis, Cordova, Mumford). I was also on several meds and a CPAP machine before WLS and now take nothing but my vitamins and acid reducer, which are all OTC. I was able to give the CPAP to my niece to use. Sleep apnea was one of the first things to respond to losing weight for me. You will never regret getting the sleeve. It will add years to your life!