Have you ever heard of anyone who had the sleeve that gained the weight back? I know I have heard of the bypass ones gaining it back but what about the sleeve ones?

I've heard stories of it happening and I'm sure somewhere somehow someone has (wow that's a lot of "some's")

But you'd probably have to do a lot wrong. Even if you really tried I can see slowing down the weightloss but with a tummy capacity of what it is, I can't imagine a scenario that you'd really blow it unless you really and truly purposed to do that.

Great question. I've heard that folks have regained with the gastric bypass because they stretched their pouch. So, is it also possible to stretch the smaller stomach after the sleeve surgery. I'm still pre- op and waiting on insurance approval. Interested in hearing feedback from those that have more insight.

I watched an interview with the comic Ralphie May and he said he'd been sleeved and regained the weight.

Not saying this in a mean way, I swear. When the heck was Ralphie May sleeved? The guy has been super morbidly obese for as long as he's been on the scene, hasn't he? Isn't the sleeve a relatively new procedure?

To add, I dont know if it's so much stretching out your small tummy as just eating the wrong things. After a year or so, I think you can eat probably twice what you can eat as a new post-op. Eating a lot of empty calories and things that don't stick around in your sleeve as opposed to Protein, etc.

I just googled Ralphie May. There is an article about him having wls but it states gastric bypass. I'm not sure how accurate the article is though. You know we can't trust everything on the Internet!

Search the forums for regain posts.

In more than three years here the worst I've seen is about a fifty pound regain (roughly 50% in this particular case) and I've seen a handful of people that only lost about sixty pounds and stopped there.

Let me tell you - it's not that hard to put on ten pounds if you, say, go on a cruise or head to Vegas at two years post op and eat like mad. But it's also not that hard to drop the weight again.

Gaining a serious amount of weight post sleeve means completely dropping any good habits you've learned, intentionally eating around your sleeve and keeping yourself in denial about it as your pants get too tight. You'd see this type of issue in a serious grazer or someone that goes out of their way to consume calorie laden slider foods.

I think regains with bypass are more common because there are more variables at work there. The pouch stretches and we all know that. The sleeve gets bigger in the first year post op, but around that point it's just about as big as it's getting. Stretching it out a serious amount takes real effort and some real pain.

We also don't rely on malabsorption. If we eat junk, we don't see a loss. If a bypass patient consumes junk, they dump. For the first year at least. After that, the only guaranteed malabsorption is of the essential Vitamins and minerals we need to survive.

I have never, not one single time, seen a post about a total regain or a regain of anything beyond 50 pounds or so. And those regain posts are rare. It could mean that people that regain are ashamed and just don't share. But I think it's more common that while most people realistically won't maintain 100% of their goal weight, many stay pretty close for a long time. It's hard to tell with a newer surgery. I think the oldest sleeve I've seen post here was five years old. After a year, it's more common for us to simply maintain our weight loss and move on.

There are no guarantees with any tool. And the sleeve really is just another WLS tool. If you make crummy choices and refuse to confront the underlying cause of your obesity, you won't succeed long term.

~Cheri

My capacity to eat 8 months out is greatly increased from the early stages. Add to that a persons diminished metabolism after losing 100 and some pounds, and it becomes very possible to regain weight. It's true you won't be able to eat as much as before, but it won't take as much as before either...very important point that constantly gets overlooked. After eating 600-800 calories for many months on end and losing weight, your metabolism is much much lower. That's where exercise and making healthy food choices will keep you on the right path. Go back to eating potato chips and sodas all day every day and it will be easy to regain the weight.

When I spoke to my surgeon, the first thing he told me was if I want the Sleeve to work it is all up to me! He said I can mess up my sleeve if I do not follow the rules. So I'm sure as long as we sleevers stay on track and maintian a healthy lifestyle, we will be more then okay. :-)

Personally, I can be on vacation and gain 5 lbs, easy as pie.....and I can come home, cut out a snack or two, just purposely lower my caloric intake, and it comes right back off. It's so much easier since I am really never hungry, not real hunger, just an empty feeling instead.

I am sure we can put on weight if we drink our calories, whether it is milk shakes, alcohol or soft drinks......stupid, stupid, stupid. A social drink once in a blue moon I find ok.....I never, ever drink anything carbonated and although I'll have a little ice cream once in a while....NOT OFTEN.....I haven't had a milk shake. It's just not worth it.

Thanks all for the great feedback! Really appreciate it!

Search the forums for regain posts.

In more than three years here the worst I've seen is about a fifty pound regain (roughly 50% in this particular case) and I've seen a handful of people that only lost about sixty pounds and stopped there.

Let me tell you - it's not that hard to put on ten pounds if you, say, go on a cruise or head to Vegas at two years post op and eat like mad. But it's also not that hard to drop the weight again.

Gaining a serious amount of weight post sleeve means completely dropping any good habits you've learned, intentionally eating around your sleeve and keeping yourself in denial about it as your pants get too tight. You'd see this type of issue in a serious grazer or someone that goes out of their way to consume calorie laden slider foods.

I think regains with bypass are more common because there are more variables at work there. The pouch stretches and we all know that. The sleeve gets bigger in the first year post op, but around that point it's just about as big as it's getting. Stretching it out a serious amount takes real effort and some real pain.

We also don't rely on malabsorption. If we eat junk, we don't see a loss. If a bypass patient consumes junk, they dump. For the first year at least. After that, the only guaranteed malabsorption is of the essential Vitamins and minerals we need to survive.

I have never, not one single time, seen a post about a total regain or a regain of anything beyond 50 pounds or so. And those regain posts are rare. It could mean that people that regain are ashamed and just don't share. But I think it's more common that while most people realistically won't maintain 100% of their goal weight, many stay pretty close for a long time. It's hard to tell with a newer surgery. I think the oldest sleeve I've seen post here was five years old. After a year, it's more common for us to simply maintain our weight loss and move on.

There are no guarantees with any tool. And the sleeve really is just another WLS tool. If you make crummy choices and refuse to confront the underlying cause of your obesity, you won't succeed long term.

~Cheri

Cheri -

This is off topic but I just wanted to say that although I don't post much, I truly think that you add a lot of valuable insight to this forum. I read your posts often and appreciate all of them. Just thought I would let you know that

-Stephanie

I tell you what is funny and that's the fact that the bypass comes with malabsorption! I mean you have to really be going out your way to gain it back.

My surgeon said he has had patients regain weight and said they would eat until they got sick almost every time until eventually their stomach stretched out again. I would imagine this would be easier to do the further out you get. Like Ive heard over & over again, the sleeve is a tool, not a miracle cure. Its all up to you!