How much is everyone eating at each sitting and how much have your eating habits changed? Can we stretch our stomachs by eating more?

[Cornfed]

[phil]

Over time it gets much better and your stomach does hold more with less discomfort.

I can eat a normal size dinner without any problem but I have to wait some 20 to 30 mins before I have a second course..

Phil

[spike3]

Hi Phil, phew i thought i must be the only one but it's nice to know that there is another!!! after my op 7yrs ago i have gradually put on weight and increased my eating so that i am back to just eating 3 times a day instead of 5 snacks. i have also managed to put on a 1.5 stone , cant afford to let it run away though having giving all my old clothes away and bought new wardrobe. Best wishes to all.

Brian

[SteveJ]

Hi Brian

I too am 7 years post op and can also manage a normal size meal but not a second course though--lol. I'm not too far off my pre op weight and as Phil say's it does get better over time.

Kind Regards

Steve

[Cornfed]

Thanks all. I'm about 4.5 months from surgery. I'm pretty much eating 3 meals a day with a snack at night. I have been maintaining weight for the most part. The toughest part was being on a j-tube the first four weeks. No food or drink allowed. That's what the surgeon wants all his patients to do. I lost the most weight then. 225 down to 210. Weight now is about 205.

I've been back to work for the last two months. Construction work usually out of town so that messes with eating schedules. Sometimes last big meal may be at 9 pm. I'm have been eating most everything I want. Sometimes after eating I feel backed up for a while. If I drink water it helps the feeling go away. Not sure why sometimes (about half) that happens.

[Hidden]

I do eat small amounts from what I use to do before the op but over a period of time my stomach has stretched enough to get more in but still cant eat a full size meal

[Hidden]

Depending on the details of your surgery, yes, the stomach can gradually increase in size, but it will take its own time to do this and you will suffer if you try and hurry it!

There is a very wide variation in how much / how often people eat, the time of the first meal of the day, and so on. There is a summary of people's answers in

opa.org.uk/edit/files/londo...

but there were only 40 people involved at the meeting.

[Rsw1fe]

My husband (27 months post-op) also eats pretty much a normal main meal 1st course, but sits quietly for about 45 minutes before pudding. That seems to work well for him.

[Cornfed]

Alan, I'm a little stubborn with some things and I have been suffering because of it. I'm still learning the new full sensation. I'd keep eating until it was too late then suffer for a bit. Tonight for instance on my road trip home (350 miles) I picked up some convenience store junk. 6 hot wings, a small burrito and a large sandwich with a drink. Couldn't finish the sandwich (big-640 calories) until about 30 minutes later. Total was over 1300 calories with drink. Still not close to what I used to eat. But working on it

[hilr]

Hi all, I am almost 12months post op and still can't eat more than a child's meal. Due to the delay in knowing whether you've eaten too much I still regularly suffer from early dumping symptoms and food like Macdonalds or KFC is a total no-no.

I agree that working and driving long distances make eating more challenging and reactions more embarrassing.

For driving I try to take snacks to keep my blood sugar up.

I think that's why they say to take small meals and graze rather than big meals, because much less risk of dumping syndromes.

But one things for sure, we're all different.

Good luck to you all, hilary