Hello I was wondering when everybody started eating again when I say that I mean eating somewhat normal again I had surgery September 26, 2016. So I'm at about six months here and I am able to eat almost everything I have had a difficult time with meats from surgery till now I was not able to eat meat at all yesterday I ate half a chicken finger and that was OK in a couple days before I ate half a tuna sandwich. So slowly I'm getting back to eating meats but I am eating and sometimes it makes me nervous how do you know if you're stretching your stomach back out ??? I still can't eat a lot at once but I am eating frequently throughout the day little things. Also I still haven't had any caffeine everything I get is decaf does anybody know if we need to do this for life a lot of different people around the world on here have said different things about the caffeine some patients we're having caffeine in the hospital so I am just a little confused what it be OK if I had a regular ice coffee like once a week?

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My doc said acidity and dehydrating characteristics of coffee are issues. He said no coffee forever! I'm thinking the PH is more of an issue for the fresh wounds of the new stomach-it will cause nausea and who knows what else. I have a long stomach, I'm hoping I can try coffee 6 months post op and offset the dehydrating effects with a water chaser. Ask your doctor.

I'm 9 weeks out and have been drinking coffee off and on for the past few weeks. I was a coffee junkie prior to surgery. Post surgery I've noticed that I am much more sensitive to caffeine now. When I make my to-go mug it's 75% decaf and 25% regular. There's a lot of debate on here about the warnings doctors give on the acidity and dehydration issues. My doc gave me the same spiel. Personally I think a lot of things my doc told me to stay away from was out of fear that they'd become a gateway to other bad foods/habits. It's one thing to have a regular coffee with some cream versus a calorie laden specialty drink from Starbucks. Since so many people get into the trap of drinking calories it's an easy way to slow down your progress or eventually gain weight back.

Unless you are cramming as much food down as you can every day you aren't going to stretch your sleeve. Even if you eat too much in a single meal it's not going to do anything. If you were overdoing it on a regular basis there might be cause for concern. And remember you are supposed to be able to eat a little bit more as time goes on. That's normal. I eat a lot of chicken but I do have to pace myself with it. The denser meats like chicken, pork, and steak sit heavy so I can't eat a lot of it in a single sitting.

Every surgeon is going to be different, but mine said no coffee for the first few weeks (maybe months), until I'm constantly reaching and exceeding my fluid goals. The issue with coffee is the dehydration properties of it.

I'm 3 months out and I'm able to eat pretty normally. I still have to eat slowly but I can eat about 3-5 ounces depending on what Im eating.

As for caffeine my doc said in moderation its okay. I drink Iced Tea and he had no issue with that. I do not drink decafe, after being a former soda addict who doesn't drink coffee, I need a little bit of caffeine to get me going.

I had caffeine within a few months with no issues. I didn't start to eat more until at least a year or longer and I still can't handle dry meats. What you are describing is normal. Embrace it. This is your chance to get your weight down.