My 2016 DS Journal

If you are nauseous it may be because you are a week out and trying to take vitamins. personally I wouldn't recommend starting until end of week 3 at the earliest. you have stores and will be fine as stomach heals.
 
Nope, not the dark side. As my best friend said when I woke up from surgery, welcome to the skinny side.
Many of the vets call it the Dark Side since it is the DS. And there was a Star Wars meme going around at some point referencing cookies. (Have to see if I can find it). Mainly cause of all the surgeries out there, the DS was the only one who didn't forbid cookies completely. (not a smart food choice but that didn't mean we could never indulge at some point).
 
Congratulations @trace! I hope you are healing well, staying hydrated and feeling better every day. Lots to which to look forward now!
 
Thanks for all of the well wishes!

I swore I wouldn't be one of "those people," but here I am, Day 10 post-op, and I am so hungry, I keep wondering if things didn't go right with my DS! I did enough research to know that lots of people panic afterwards, and I swore I wouldn't be one of them. However, my surgeon has me on liquids for 4 weeks post-op, but I really don't see how I'm going to manage that. My tummy is growling! And so then I think, wait, nobody else talks about being hungry so soon after surgery! Ack!

Is it weird that I can drink an entire 11 oz Premier RTD with no problems?

At the same time, it sounds like I may be having fewer issues/complications than some others have at this stage. No more nausea, and I can take my vitamins just fine. My husband has been making me homemade chicken and beef broths throughout this whole journey (including the pre-op liquid diet), and I can't help wondering if those have helped heal my gut faster? Or maybe I'm just a lucky one. I always have said I have a "cast-iron stomach."

Anyway, I stepped on the scale today, and I have lost 15 pounds since surgery, so that's pretty exciting.
 
Nah, I had hunger and I could drink. I will say, though, is the experience of the feeling of hunger and feeling full changes a lot and is hard to process. I'm still trying to figure it all out.

Congrats on the 15 pounds!
 
Nah, I had hunger and I could drink. I will say, though, is the experience of the feeling of hunger and feeling full changes a lot and is hard to process. I'm still trying to figure it all out.

Congrats on the 15 pounds!

Thanks. Yeah, I'm anticipating not being able to eat nearly as much real food as I can drink in liquids, right? I'm so freaked out about stretching my stomach.
 
Thanks. Yeah, I'm anticipating not being able to eat nearly as much real food as I can drink in liquids, right? I'm so freaked out about stretching my stomach.

I don't have wisdom about stretching my stomach yet. I do know when I eat to much, I throw up and it happens a lot. And I'm really stuggling with the feeling full, portion control, etc. But, everyone says this is normal and I'll work through it.
 
Thanks. Yeah, I'm anticipating not being able to eat nearly as much real food as I can drink in liquids, right? I'm so freaked out about stretching my stomach.
Your stomach is designed to stretch SOME. Mine is not stretched but now I can manage about 5-6 oz of dense protein when the first year, I was lucky to manage 2-3 oz of dense protein and the first couple of months it was hard because my sleeve was pissy and swollen. Once it is no longer swollen and mad at you, it will "feel" like you are eating a lot but you aren't even then.

But 6 oz of "full stomach" is still MUCH MUCH smaller than pre-op. And most of the really stretchy part of the fundus is removed. Don't get all wound up in worry about stretching it.
 
Your stomach is designed to stretch SOME. Mine is not stretched but now I can manage about 5-6 oz of dense protein when the first year, I was lucky to manage 2-3 oz of dense protein and the first couple of months it was hard because my sleeve was pissy and swollen. Once it is no longer swollen and mad at you, it will "feel" like you are eating a lot but you aren't even then.

But 6 oz of "full stomach" is still MUCH MUCH smaller than pre-op. And most of the really stretchy part of the fundus is removed. Don't get all wound up in worry about stretching it.

I remember when I had gross A&P. If you see a stomach in person it's actually pretty big - it holds 32 oz at most. During my EGD, the doc estimated that mine could maybe hold about 6-8 ounces now 14 months out - and that's if I stuffed it. Food also compresses when it's chewed too, remember. Like @southernlady said the difference is enormous. Headley showed me my pre-op stomach picture and then the sleeve and the part that was removed after they took it out. Yes, I'm a nerd. :p Anyway, if you could see it the difference is startling. Really, a lot is gone that will never be back.

Anatomically, it's more likely food will sit in the esophagus and stretch it than the stomach, which is a problem in and of itself. Even then you would have to overeat repeatedly to the point of discomfort that most of us rarely do.
 
I remember when I had gross A&P. If you see a stomach in person it's actually pretty big - it holds 32 oz at most. During my EGD, the doc estimated that mine could maybe hold about 6-8 ounces now 14 months out - and that's if I stuffed it. Food also compresses when it's chewed too, remember. Like @southernlady said the difference is enormous. Headley showed me my pre-op stomach picture and then the sleeve and the part that was removed after they took it out. Yes, I'm a nerd. :p Anyway, if you could see it the difference is startling. Really, a lot is gone that will never be back.

Anatomically, it's more likely food will sit in the esophagus and stretch it than the stomach, which is a problem in and of itself. Even then you would have to overeat repeatedly to the point of discomfort that most of us rarely do.

I saw my pre and post op tummy. It's little now.

The esophagus part makes sense. I don't feel full in my tummy, just (what I think) is the bottom of my esophagus now.
 
I remember when I had gross A&P. If you see a stomach in person it's actually pretty big - it holds 32 oz at most. During my EGD, the doc estimated that mine could maybe hold about 6-8 ounces now 14 months out - and that's if I stuffed it. Food also compresses when it's chewed too, remember. Like @southernlady said the difference is enormous. Headley showed me my pre-op stomach picture and then the sleeve and the part that was removed after they took it out. Yes, I'm a nerd. :p Anyway, if you could see it the difference is startling. Really, a lot is gone that will never be back.

Anatomically, it's more likely food will sit in the esophagus and stretch it than the stomach, which is a problem in and of itself. Even then you would have to overeat repeatedly to the point of discomfort that most of us rarely do.
Very good post!

I think it is important for people to realize that the portion of stomach we have left with our sleeve just won't stretch a tremendous amount. I am not your average DS'r as I can eat like a freaking horse, but with all my issues the last two years I have seen images of my sleeve and it doesn't any bigger than the 5-7 oz the surgeon estimated it held initially. I think my food flows through my system quickly ..that is the only reason I can think for why I can eat soo much.....that being said I am still scrawny and need to be able to put on 10-15 pounds of muscle.
 

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