MIL has VSG and eats more than I do Pre-OP!!

My MIL is bigger now than she was before her VSG 5 years ago. When I told her I was planning to have it she told me how her doctor used a larger bougie and didn't pull her stomach tight around it either. I know they don't pull your stomach tight around it, it's just a guide. My point is, even if they only removed 65-70% of her stomach instead of 85%, how can she eat more than I can? She shouldn't even get close, right? Maybe they didn't remove enough. Maybe they left too much of the part that is able to stretch? IDK, but it scares me.

There are loads of foods that just "slide through", thus why they are called slider foods!  Most of the high calorie, low nutrition stuff, like ice cream, potato chips -- anything that gets naturally chewed into a liquid is going to keep going.  

She is big because she chooses food that not protein dense and nutritious.  And that's the warning to us all.  We can all "outeat" the sleeve, regardless of its size.

Have you watched exactly what she eats?  What's your take?

I think the procedure has changed some since 5 years ago...but that is only part of it. The Drs have perfected it and probably are making the stomach smaller now and adjusting the shape. But really it is more about what you do with your new tool that is VSG. The stomach will probably stretch out a little but it sounds like your MIL did not embrace the lifestyle change. If you are not ready to take on all of the changes that come with this surgery, you can eat around it and gain the weight back. VSG is not the magic bullet. It will not do the work for you. If you eat the wrong foods or too much of certain foods, don't do protein first, don't exercise, don't take your vitamins, you will regain the weight.

Learn all you can now so you can make the most of your VSG tool and embrace a new lifestyle that you can take with you the rest of your life.

This is something that Frisco and I get attacked about all the time.  We keep telling newbies about this very phenomena with larger stomachs but we get major pushback.  The reason we keep telling people anyway is that they really need this information before surgery.  Choosing a doctor that is committed to giving you a small stomach is really a huge deal.  Much larger deal than most people will willingly acknowledge.  The truth is that the fundus that is left behind does stretch and it stretches quite a bit and many people can eat almost as much as they could pre-op.  Well, not as much, but so much more than those of us with  a smaller stomach.  Over the years, it really makes a huge difference.  Of course your restriction should always be your last result, but it still helps having a larger safety net.

 

I am sorry for your MIL but her story is not unique, unfortunately.

The 1st question on my list for my doctor appointment tomorrow is what size. This is a big deal to me. I think people CAN do just fine with a larger stomach, but I am terrified that I can't. I don't want to have surgery, get a bigger stomach and need a revision later. No!! I refuse!

I agree with you completely. You 2 are like my idols

Size of the stomach is very important, but bougie size is not the only indicator of that. Surgeon technique is important and some of that is tightness to the bougie. Another part is how close to the top and bottom of the stomach they start. One poster on here saw a scan of her stomach and described it as "barbell" shaped - the surgeon had started a good distance from the top and bottom valves, leaving lots of fundus behind.

We have folks here with 32f stomachs that can eat more at 3 months than my 40f stomach can hold at 18 months.

Is there a support group where you can talk to your surgeon's other patients?

Elina....what do you think about a size 36 Bougie? My doctor who is pretty respected in the field says he and his colleagues use the 36 because it is a balance between good weightless and less complications than a smaller size. I get my surgery next Tuesday.

From the amount she's eating, my guess is that they didn't remove the entire stretchy part of the stomach.  It's very elastic, and she's probably stretched it back out.  Either surgeon error or the way they were doing it back then.  And it's hard to follow the rules when your tool isn't providing any restriction - she's back to life before surgery.

Even 5 years ago, I would have expected them to have removed at least 85% of her stomach. I had my DS almost 9 years ago, and that's how much they took of mine---I would assume any competent surgeon would have taken even more for a stand-alone Sleeve.

It has a lot to do with WHAT you eat---I can eat way more salad than I can steak.

You would be surprised.  I run into this all the time with even modern surgeries.  People go back and ask for their report and find out for the first time that the surgeon only took about 60-65% of the fundus.  It  doesn't seem to have much difference in the early stages of weight loss when the stomach is still quite swollen, but later, it has a great deal of difference.