Hi.

I am 2 months out from the sleeve. The last followup I had with the surgeon/dietitian, the dietitian told me that the risk of having a leak is with me for the rest of my life, so I should never overeat. My surgeon had told me otherwise.

Is this true? She has told me other things in the past that I had later determined to be bull.

Thanks

Joe

I am like 99% sure your dietitian is wrong. My surgeon said leaks will happen rarely and if they do, it will be in the following weeks after having the surgery. He made no mention of it being something to worry over for the rest of your life.

And the idea that you could actually stuff enough food into your stomach to cause a leak let alone stretch the stomach (another one I see frequently on here) is pretty much impossible unless you like forcing food to the point of feeling like you're going to explode. You'd feel horrible way before you got to the bursting point, and you'd be vomiting up quite a bit of food so yeah, not likely to happen.

Seriously, this is so small a likelihood, I'd actually discuss what the dietitian is telling you with your surgeon ASAP so they can reassure you, and also correct the dietitian from spreading this kind of false information.

My surgeon and NUT said 99% of leaks occur in first 90 days. I was cash pay and my payment included a supplementary insurance policy to cover complications including leaks. The insurance was for only 90 days because that's when leaks occur. That being said, I'm not saying you should overeat, but I'm pretty sure a leak after the first few months isn't really the issue with overeating.

My guess is your dietician is just trying to scare you to keep you from over eating.

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I agree with everyone. You can't spring a leak years out from overindulging. At that point, the only real risk you have of getting a hole in your stomach will come in the case of an emergency if medical staff use a blind NG tube.

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As your stomach heals, the scar tissue literally grows around the staple line. The staples become part of your stomach. By all means, don't over eat, but I'm about 110% sure that the risk of a leak does NOT stay with you "the rest of your life." Other complications? Maybe. But not a leak.

Edited March 16, 201610 yr by dashofsunshine