Hello all!

I am 3 years post op and I have lost about 200 pounds after having the gastric sleeve. I was maintaining my weight well, I always followed the rules besides not drinking enough Water. I got all my Protein from food eating no more than 1 cup or obviously stopping when I was full. I don't exceed more than 800-1000 calories a day. I basically played it by the book.

Well recently I had gained around 30 pounds in like 4 months...I did fall off the wagon for a bit but once again I never over ate, it was more my choice of food that was the problem. I quickly got back on track and have lost a few pounds. I have always been in contact with my dietitian. Recently I decided to contact my surgeon to make sure all was well. This morning I had an upper GI done and the radiologist said my sleeve has stretched...i am so upset and sick to my stomach...I dont understand how it stretched...I know my doctor wont believe me when I tell him that I never over ate...What do you guys think?

Haha! Some people crack me up.

So defensive and indignant.

"I know I'm eating like sh*t and grazing, but it's my SLEEVE!!"

Comedy gold.

YOU'RE A F*CKING TROLL...GET ON SOMEWHERE...YOU MUST HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE TO DO BESIDES STAY ON THIS FORUM ALL F×CKING DAY LONG...WHAT A LIFE.

I also think some folks just never understood the power of "Eat protein, and eat it first." Protein stays in our stomachs a lot longer than a slice of doughy pizza does.

It takes longer to digest protein. If we eat "slider foods" frequently we WILL get hungry faster and have to battle the old demons.

I also think some folks never believed the warning that a sleeve is only one tool that we need to use to be successful long-term. They think that short-term restriction is all they have to rely on.

Those of us who understand the other rules for long-term WLA success and follow them most of the time are having an easier time than those who don't.

I don't say that to be snarky or sound superior. I really just think many folks aren't making the connection between WHAT they are eating and how it affects their appetites.

Yayyyy! Now shut the f up

Yayyyy!! Now shut the f up

You REALLY need to stop this behavior, don't you think @@Alex Brecher?

I wish you the best or luck and ignore the bariatric police, these group of hags are too perfect to be on such a humanly site lol

Hey! That's QUEEN hag to you!

Girl. I'm the queen and don't you forget it.

I'm just going to throw this out there and then I'm done with this thread....

To the OP, I'm sorry you're having to deal with sleeve issues. I can imagine how frustrating it would be trying to do this as if you still have a regular sized stomach, as I've tried a hundred times before my surgery. If it were me, I would move heaven and earth in pursuit of a revision. It sounds to me like it was surgeon error, not yours. I wish you well, and keep us posted!

To others in this thread, just because someone may call you out in your BS or disagree with you, doesn't mean they are a "troll" a "bully" " 9th grade girls" "hags" and so on. I find it funny the ones who complain how mean and nasty some people can be are the same ones who resort to name calling.

I thought we were all adults here, but obviously not. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, the "ignore" option is a glorious thing. Don't like my posts? Instead of throwing a hissy fit every time I post about how mean and unsupportive I am, just put me on ignore so you don't have to see my posts anymore. I've done it, too! No tantrums, no name calling, no flouncing, just "ignore".

See how easy that is?

Have a great day everyone!

@babbs- I think it's clear to many people on here - it's not always what you say, it's HOW you say it.

Or perhaps it's how YOU choose to read it.

(YOU being the general/plural variety.)

I've noticed many times that I can say something, Babbs can say the same exact thing, and a third person can as well. Two of the three will be bitches, hags and meanies and the third will be thanked. Funny stuff, right there...

I aldo think some folks just never understood the power of "Eat Protein, and eat it first." Protein stays in our stomachs a lot longer than a slice of doughy pizza does.

It takes longer to digest protein. If we eat "slider foods" frequently we WILL get hungry faster and have to battle the old demons.

I also think some folks never believed the warning that a sleeve is only one tool that we need to use to be successful long-term. They think that short-term restriction is all they have to rely on.

Those of us who understand the other rules for long-term WLA success and follow them most of the time are having an easier time than those who don't.

I don't say that to be snarky or sound superior. I really just think many folks aren't making the connection between WHAT they are eating and how it affects their appetites.

I agree that the protein first thing is probably the most important rule for success.Even when I do eat some crap once in a while, I still ALWAYS make sure I will meet my protein goal for the day as well. I never have junk at my meal time or my scheduled Snacks. If I'm going to eat it, I have to fit it in between my scheduled eating. That may be a form of grazing, essentially, but since I don't do it every day or even every week, I'm not to concerned. I'm fully aware that it is a way of eating around my restriction, so I think as long as I stay conscious of that, I'll be okay.

Back on topic though, the OP has a verified, actual, physically stretched sleeve and we are all very curious to know how that possibly could have happened. It's sounding more and more to me like perhaps the sleeve wasn't formed properly in the first place?

I've seen numerous posts here that run something like this:

"I've gained XX pounds. I don't understand why I've gained weight. I never overeat. I eat healthy food that's good for me. I don't binge. I estimate I'm eating XXXX calories a day, no more. Help!"

What this really means is:

"I've gained XX pounds. I have no clue how this happened, because I don't measure or weigh my food, I don't track or log my food, and I don't know how many calories or micronutrients I'm eating on a daily basis, much less over the long haul. Bottom line is I eat what I want when I want it. I'm astonished, because I expected my sleeve would stop me from gaining weight. I thought I was just supposed to eat less than I used to eat and to stop eating when I felt full and then eat more later when I didn't feel full. Oh, and since I don't weigh myself regularly, I had no idea until recently that I'd actually gained XX pounds. Help!"

Other than the info I've thrown out here.. you don't know jack else...but go on...you're stupid know it all rant is entertaining

Ahhh....going the mature name calling route, are we?

HP is just another blow-hard, internet "tough-guy" behind a keyboard.

Some people feel if they yell at someone or curse them out, then somehow their opinion is correct, your opinion is worthless and they are superior.

I could have easily replied back with curse words too (I know them all). I'll just think of someone as that as "an eraser".

Can you stretch it by over drinking?

No. Not drinking, not carbonation, not carbs. A correctly done sleeve will not stretch.

So, my surgeon and his office lied to me?

To the OP:

First and foremost, I'm sorry you are struggling but I'm glad you are seeking solutions. You can and will succeed at your weight loss goals with hard work, guidance and support. You received a lot of good thoughts and advice here and it's a shame that some people needed to turn this thread into a schoolyard with name calling and profanity. That reflects completely on them and nothing on your struggles.

I do wonder about how your sleeve was done originally. Can you ask your surgeon for X-rays of your initial procedure? I would take those to another surgeon to verify that it was done correctly in the first place. It sounds to me like a lot of fundus was left along your stomach as that is all that can really stretch. If that is the case, I would definitely pursue a revision.

If you are confident in your nutritional choices, your portion control and your physical exertion, you know what to do. I assume you are logging, measuring, and being completely honest with yourself about every nibble, lick and chew. Those add up without us even realizing it pretty darn quickly. liquid calories are deadly, right?

I look forward to hearing the results of your doctor visits and I wish you the best.

Can you stretch it by over drinking?

No. Not drinking, not carbonation, not carbs. A correctly done sleeve will not stretch.

So, my surgeon and his office lied to me?

I'm not big on the word "lied". I drink a 24 oz coffee every morning in a very short period of time and carbonation every day. No stretching here. I have many sleeved friends who can chug 36oz of Water in minutes with no stretching.

Fluids flow through, they don't sit in your sleeve. We don't drink when we eat so food isn't pushed through too fast causing faster digestion. It's not because of possible stretching.

So I met with my surgeon today and asked if it is possible to stretch the sleeve. Her response was "absolutely, you can stretch your sleeve." She went on to say that is how patients gain weight back along with outeating the sleeve. She stated that is why it is important to eat only specified amounts and that some doesn't think 3oz of food will fill you up when in reality it will.

But that people are so use to eating more and have a hard time believing that they will be full with such a minimum amount. However, I didn't ask how much it can stretch. It appears that doctors/people take on this topic varies. So since I trust my surgeon, I will take heed to what she says and try to follow the guidelines as closely as possible to insure that I am able to get to my goal weight and successfully maintain. Last thing I want to hear a few years down the line is "I told you so!"

*WARNING: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME*

I did an experiment yesterday partly inspired by this thread and partly inspired by my half marathon training. I was curious to see how much food I *could* eat in a day if I truly tried. I set my goal at 3000 calories. I wanted to see how easy it would be to eat around my sleeve and also wanted to know how many calories I could get in if I forced the issue, since I've really been worrying about how to eat ENOUGH calories before my long runs and my half marathon.

I almost made it to 3000 calories. I finished the day at 2918. Close enough! Now, in order to get in that many calories, I had to eat 10 separate times and eat some truly outrageous stuff. Here is a list of everything I ate:

Three Protein Bars (breakfast and two snacks), Pork Queso Chowder for lunch (so much fat!), pizza (one whole small slice and the cheese and toppings from two other slices), a Milky Way bar, two Pop Tarts, half a piece of cake, two servings of BBQ potato chips, and two oz. of reduced fat cheese.

So, it can be done. You can definitely eat enough to gain weight. Yesterday was my rest day for my half marathon training, so I had about a 1200 calorie surplus for the day. That's certainly plenty to gain weight if I kept it up every day. But I will tell you this, I felt like ABSOLUTE CRAP. I mean really really terrible. I had a horrible headache from all the sugar. The inside of my mouth had this gross coating around it (I think from the sugar and carbs?). I had no energy. I felt like a big fat slug. And I was up two pounds on the scale (I assume the sugar is causing Water retention) this morning. I definitely do NOT recommend this to anyone ever. Just don't do it. You would think it sounds great getting to eat all this junk you hardly ever eat anymore, but it was not pleasurable.

I didn't risk eating and drinking at the same time or drinking my calories, but those would have been a couple of ways for me to potentially get more calories in. Eating 10 times in one day was truly ridiculous. Still not sure what I am going to do to "load up" on fuel for my long training runs or the half marathon itself, but it won't be this again. I don't think I need to be going into a long run feeling that crappy!

*WARNING: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME*

I did an experiment yesterday partly inspired by this thread and partly inspired by my half marathon training. I was curious to see how much food I *could* eat in a day if I truly tried. I set my goal at 3000 calories. I wanted to see how easy it would be to eat around my sleeve and also wanted to know how many calories I could get in if I forced the issue, since I've really been worrying about how to eat ENOUGH calories before my long runs and my half marathon.

I almost made it to 3000 calories. I finished the day at 2918. Close enough! Now, in order to get in that many calories, I had to eat 10 separate times and eat some truly outrageous stuff. Here is a list of everything I ate:

Three Protein bars (breakfast and two snacks), Pork Queso Chowder for lunch (so much fat!), pizza (one whole small slice and the cheese and toppings from two other slices), a Milky Way bar, two Pop Tarts, half a piece of cake, two servings of BBQ potato chips, and two oz. of reduced fat cheese.

So, it can be done. You can definitely eat enough to gain weight. Yesterday was my rest day for my half marathon training, so I had about a 1200 calorie surplus for the day. That's certainly plenty to gain weight if I kept it up every day. But I will tell you this, I felt like ABSOLUTE CRAP. I mean really really terrible. I had a horrible headache from all the sugar. The inside of my mouth had this gross coating around it (I think from the sugar and carbs?). I had no energy. I felt like a big fat slug. And I was up two pounds on the scale (I assume the sugar is causing Water retention) this morning. I definitely do NOT recommend this to anyone ever. Just don't do it. You would think it sounds great getting to eat all this junk you hardly ever eat anymore, but it was not pleasurable.

I didn't risk eating and drinking at the same time or drinking my calories, but those would have been a couple of ways for me to potentially get more calories in. Eating 10 times in one day was truly ridiculous. Still not sure what I am going to do to "load up" on fuel for my long training runs or the half marathon itself, but it won't be this again. I don't think I need to be going into a long run feeling that crappy!

And there it is, ladies and gentlemen. This is the reason people gain weight after repeating what Jamie did day after day when we get further out, NOT stretching the sleeve. I have a sneaky suspicion people get grazing all day and sleeve stretching confused. The further out we are, the more tolerant we are to most foods, get a bit hungrier, a bit more comfortable, and that coupled with crappy eating causing even more hunger leads to grazing with us thinking we are eating more because of a stretched sleeve. I guarantee most people, even years out, can still only eat at the most 2 cups of food in a sitting. 6-8 cups of food a day will not cause weight gain. As a matter of fact, it's still less than what a person who hasn't had surgery eats when they're on a diet!

So thank you Jamie, for being the guinea pig and proving that yes, even without a 'stretched sleeve', you can in fact eat a large amount of calories if we really want to.

All right...I've just spent the last I-don't-know-how-long getting all caught up on this thread, and (ignoring the squabbling - what the HECK?) I keep having the same question.

What's the big deal with carbonation, anyway?

As a lifetime lover extraordinaire of fuzzy liquids, I went through the whole 5 stages of grief on the lifetime carbonation ban, eventually making my peace with it. But I'm wondering, if liquids won't do diddly squat to stretch out my sleeve, WHY is there a lifetime ban on them? Does the gas itself not get moved into the intestines along with the liquid? Does the carbonation somehow manage to expand itself like grains in Water once it's in your tummy? How on earth would that even happen? How would it "stress" the staple line if you're more than a month or two out from surgery? It's not like the total volume would actually change, so if you're drinking it at the same pace you'd drink other liquids, why would the carbonation be problematic?

I get that the good folks at my center don't want us drinking sugary sodas, or non-sugary diet sodas (something something fake sugars seem to affect weight loss so don't drink diet soda, but have all the fake sweeteners you want in sugar-free Jello, pudding, popsicles, or Protein shakes HUH?) BUT: I like plain carbonated water. Used to make it myself with my beloved Sodastream. Wha??? What gives?

Edited February 4, 201610 yr by jeaniebobeanie

@@jeaniebobeanie

Actually, I was told to stay away from carbonated beverages for just the first 6 months.

I have a soda stream also, and plan on getting it out again in a couple months.

Not really sure why the ban.