Can your sleeve be stretched?

[Valentina 2,642]

I can say personally that a sleeve does not stretch much if any because of incorrect eating.

I was sleeved and then immediately refused to acknowledge the surgery. Now after 4 years, I reweigh and find that I am still 30lbs less than my surgery date weight.

I am now back on track and running with it and am sooo excited to be myself again. My point being that if a sleeve was able to be stretched, mine certainly would have. Nope, "Sleevey" is alive and "holding his own".

[Babbs 14,681]

@@JamieLogical

i totally agree with that, but people claim they have no restriction and that isn't the case. No one is going to have the restriction they have at 2 months, for the duration of their life. The stomach don't stretch back to the size of a football. The average capacity of a human stomach is 3 cups, with the maximum capacity being 8-16 cups Even if a sleever goes from one cup capacity to 2 cup capacity, that isn't a normal stomach and it isn't even close to the stomach size of a long term binge eater.

That is also eating to CAPACITY, not eating until satisfied or until goals are met, which we should all be learning to eat to goals not till stuffed. WLS is supposed to be more than just physical restrictions, it is supposed to change how people relate to and view food. If people that don't get to that point, the whole thing is useless, because you can eat around any sleeve/pouch/band if you want to. If people don't make that connection, they don't remain long term successful. My doctor made this point very clear to me before surgery, that the sleeve is just a tool not a magic bullet.

It is like bypass patients that depend on malabsorption to control their calories for them, but then when their body adjust to it, they start gaining.

This is so perfectly stated.

[LipstickLady 25,682]

I'm not necessarily willing to believe that story on face value, nothing against the OP. If the Dr did the surgery incorrectly the radiologist could be covering for the surgeon and the hospital. It is easier to blame the patient for over eating than to admit to a botched surgery. Without pictures of the new sleeve and the current side by side that we can all see there is no proof the sleeve is stretched.

And some people really don't understand the sleeve VS. bypass. Think of all the NUTs who tell you that sleevers do/do not dump, that we can/cannot use straws, that we do/do not have pouches... There are so many misconceptions about the sleeve, mostly coming from other types of WLS procedures.

[LipstickLady 25,682]

The reason I ask is because I've noticed I can fit more in than I used to.

I'm 8 months out and used to get full really fast. I still do! However, I know I can stick a few more things inside before it gets incredibly uncomfortable. I don't put more in as I'm aware of when I need to stop, but that's just why I'm afraid my sleeve has stretched.

I think I may need to go to a support group. I don't know anyone else that has had VSG in my area. I'm 20 and in Manhattan but it seems like the people who have gotten it don't really like to speak on it lol

My NP said that whatever I could eat at 9-12 months out would probably be my max. I am going to be three years out in May, and she, so far, has been correct.

[cuchas 51]

The reason I ask is because I've noticed I can fit more in than I used to.

I'm 8 months out and used to get full really fast. I still do! However, I know I can stick a few more things inside before it gets incredibly uncomfortable. I don't put more in as I'm aware of when I need to stop, but that's just why I'm afraid my sleeve has stretched.

I think I may need to go to a support group. I don't know anyone else that has had VSG in my area. I'm 20 and in Manhattan but it seems like the people who have gotten it don't really like to speak on it lol

My NP said that whatever I could eat at 9-12 months out would probably be my max. I am going to be three years out in May, and she, so far, has been correct.

About how much is that?

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

@@LipstickLady

I had my teeth professionally whitened recently so I have been drinking everything (coffee, tea) out a straw . Straw drinking is the life!!! I missed it, I love it. It is the best.

[LipstickLady 25,682]

The reason I ask is because I've noticed I can fit more in than I used to.

I'm 8 months out and used to get full really fast. I still do! However, I know I can stick a few more things inside before it gets incredibly uncomfortable. I don't put more in as I'm aware of when I need to stop, but that's just why I'm afraid my sleeve has stretched.

I think I may need to go to a support group. I don't know anyone else that has had VSG in my area. I'm 20 and in Manhattan but it seems like the people who have gotten it don't really like to speak on it lol

My NP said that whatever I could eat at 9-12 months out would probably be my max. I am going to be three years out in May, and she, so far, has been correct.

About how much is that?

About 1/2 - 3/4 cup at a sitting. I can eat about 3-4 oz Protein max and a few bites of something else, maybe.

If I eat my Protein first, I can't eat much else after.

[JamieLogical 8,727]

I'm at 17 months post-op and I can eat 3-4 oz. of most Proteins, a little more if it's shredded, ground, or saucy. Something with more liquid content, like chili, I can get in about 6 oz. now.

[Smallbites2015 21]

My surgeon told me no and said he removed all f the stretchy part of my stomach. He reminded me that is why I here up if I overeat. No place for it to settle.

[rking 484]

@@VSGAnn2014 how long did it take you to reach your goal weight? i see that you are beyond your goal weight. just curious.

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

@@VSGAnn2014 how long did it take you to reach your goal weight? i see that you are beyond your goal weight. just curious.

I reached my goal weight of 150 pounds at 8.5 months after surgery. Surgery day I weighed 216 pounds. But my highest weight (2 months pre-op) was 235. During that pre-op period I lost 11 pounds on my own diet and another 8 pounds on my surgeon's pre-op liver-shrinking diet.

I was SO ready to get that wagon rolling! I'd had enough of being fat, immobile, agoraphobic, yuck! I wanted my health and my life back more than it is possible for me to communicate -- even to others who understand what that's like.

Since I reached 150 pounds in mid-April 2015 I've very slowly lost another 15 pounds and am now at 135 pounds. I eat so well -- healthy and tasty food and also have some treats. My calorie goal in maintenance has been 1700 calories on the average. I recently just determined I need to raise that to 1800 calories/day to stop losing weight.

I don't need or want to lose anymore. If I looked any hotter (at 70 years old) it would be a felony!

[buzzly36 16]

Haha VSGAnn2014, that's awesome! Your response just gave me a big smile!

[rking 484]

@@VSGAnn2014 that is awesome! and i am sure you do look hot woman!!!!!!! i love it! i started out similarly to you, 224, and am now 185. i am more than half way to goal, which is 150. it sounds great when i think of being a little more than half way to goal 12 weeks out!!!!!! thanks for the response!!!

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

It goes so fast! Especially now -- nearly a year and a half after surgery, looking back -- it seems like a dream.

And, honestly, the weight loss time wasn't a hard passage for me at all. I just did every day what I was supposed to do that day. Sounds a little saccharine, I suppose, but I knew that if I did what I was supposed to do I would get back the life I had longed for for so long.

And yes, the dream came true.