My surgery is Tuesday the 3rd, and I was scrolling through the forum and saw a few posts from some women who felt like they lost their restriction from sleeve surgery after 6-8 months. I had no idea this was a thing!!! Is this a thing??? I'm excited to learn how to have healthy, balanced meals and watch my portions, but I'm not gonna lie, I'm looking forward to the restriction, too. Does it really go away? Can you get it back? Or is a revision needed once it goes away?

Edited May 2, 20224 yr by Future Sleeve Diva

you'll have swelling the first few weeks which really limits how much you can eat. After that all goes down, from what I understand, it does loosen up a bit over time, but not THAT much, unless you're chronically overstuffing it.

What Catwoman says - I'm almost 3 years out and the restriction is definitely still there. What you will learn over time is that some foods will fill you up MUCH quicker than others. Some will sit heavier than others. These will vary from person to person (I know, it makes no sense). Example, my buddy who had the same surgery at about the same time and with the same surgeon can eat a whopping 2 chicken wings before he's done. I can easily eat 3-4 of the same wings. Meanwhile, lobster - That guy can tear through a lobster like it's nothing. Me; I can maybe eat half of it. The only thing I can think of is the speed of which we eat because AFTER he eats that lobster he's pacing the floor and walking it off for an hour!

I think what a lot of people figure out (I know I have) is you CAN out eat the sleeve if you try. This can be by grazing constantly, eating slider foods (anything that goes right through or you chew into nothing - think soft foods like ice cream or hard foods like potato chips), or contantly overeating. For me, I found that around 8 months or so that's where I found my new normal as far as how much I could eat at a normal meal and even today if I put more than 6-8ox of food total (protein and vegetables) on my plate I can't even consider eating all of it. Usually it's more in the 4-5 oz range total and I'm full and not uncomfortable at 3 years out.

https://mexicobariatriccenter.com/will-my-stomach-stretch-after-gastric-sleeve-surgery/

Good luck for tomorrow! I found the above page useful. I've read a study recently that showed that on average gastric sleeve pouches increase gradually in size after surgery to an average of 240ml (about 8 oz) at 2 years. That is necessary to allow you to get enough nutrition for the long term. I can try to find it again if you want to read it?

I totally agree with the above posters that you can eat around your sleeve - people who eat slider foods and who graze all day, and who drink when they're eating (look for the youtube video with applesauce - it's hilarious but such a good demonstration of why you shouldn't do that) can get a LOT of calories in. If you stick to nutrient dense foods and stick to your dietetic program you should be fine!

Thank you so so much!!! I never even thought of this until I read those posts, and then I got worried. You guys helped A LOT. Appreciate it

I am about 8.5 months out past bypass surgery.

At the beginning, you really can barely eat without feeling full. Five saltines would fill me up. I remember that once of my first trips out to eat after I was cleared to eat solid foods was to Cracker Barrel for breakfast with my wife. I ordered a small bowl of grits and two scrambled eggs and did not finish either one.

As you heal, you begin to be able to handle more food. Right now, if I go out to eat, I'll find grilled chicken or fish on the menu and order it with veggie sides. I can usually finish the chicken/fish, unless the entree is huge. But I don't finish the sides. The restriction hasn't gone away by any means, but I could never eat the same amount of food in one sitting that I did pre-surgery.

For the first six months after surgery, I don't think I felt hunger, which was a nice change of pace. At this point, I occasionally feel hunger, but it doesn't feel nearly as strong as it did pre-surgery. To give an example... I drink protein shakes as my lunch/snack at work (drink one on the way to work, one for lunch, one on my way home from work). One day about a month ago, I forgot my shakes at home and had only water/tea to drink at work all day. Pre-surgery, I would have either ordered a massive lunch off DoorDash or hit a drive-thru hard on the way home. I probably would have had a massive headache too. On that day, I drank my water/tea, felt fine all day, drove home and had some tuna fish and saltines when I got home. It really is life-changing.

6 hours ago, Splenda said:

I am about 8.5 months out past bypass surgery.

At the beginning, you really can barely eat without feeling full. Five saltines would fill me up. I remember that once of my first trips out to eat after I was cleared to eat solid foods was to Cracker Barrel for Breakfast with my wife. I ordered a small bowl of grits and two scrambled eggs and did not finish either one.

As you heal, you begin to be able to handle more food. Right now, if I go out to eat, I'll find grilled chicken or fish on the menu and order it with veggie sides. I can usually finish the chicken/fish, unless the entree is huge. But I don't finish the sides. The restriction hasn't gone away by any means, but I could never eat the same amount of food in one sitting that I did pre-surgery.

For the first six months after surgery, I don't think I felt hunger, which was a nice change of pace. At this point, I occasionally feel hunger, but it doesn't feel nearly as strong as it did pre-surgery. To give an example... I drink Protein Shakes as my lunch/snack at work (drink one on the way to work, one for lunch, one on my way home from work). One day about a month ago, I forgot my shakes at home and had only water/tea to drink at work all day. Pre-surgery, I would have either ordered a massive lunch off DoorDash or hit a drive-thru hard on the way home. I probably would have had a massive headache too. On that day, I drank my water/tea, felt fine all day, drove home and had some tuna fish and saltines when I got home. It really is life-changing.

Thank you for this. I feel a lot better

You won’t feel the restriction until you start solid foods. Liquids & purées to a point go through you too quickly. My restriction is still there & I’m almost 3 years. It kicks in if I eat too much, too fast, if what I eat is too dry or too coarse or if I drink too much at a time. But because I’m aware of those things it doesn’t happen very often now. Maybe people say they think it’s gone because they are consciously or subconsciously eating in a way that avoids it occurring.

The goal really is not to feel the restriction especially if it’s tied to you eating too much or too quickly. Better to stop eating when you’ve had enough. Not until you are full and not until you feel the restriction. If it kicks in because what you’ve eaten is too dry or coarse or similar think of that as a warning & a protection. And you really don’t want to feel it. It’s very uncomfortable. The tightness can be quite painful because it feels like something is stuck. I often find myself thumping my chest trying to dislodge the blockage.

I had the sleeve for many years, before my recent revision (gerd). Even in the end, I still had great restriction IF I followed the protein first rule. If I ate Mac and cheese, for example, instead of steak, there was still restriction about 1 to 1.5 cups but not even close to my pre surgery amount.