Dr. Cirangle stated in the live VSG that 32 bougie should be used...

 Amen Happy!

I loved LOVED loved what Carmelita said.
oh and by the way, gastric bypass patients have smaller stomachs than sleevers (pretty sure) and they also lose weight poorly and gain weight back when they put the unhealthy items in their stomachs repeatedly, all day long.

Dr. Cirangle is not God and there are many other COE Board Certified bariatric surgeons who do a great job. Michale Bilof, MD my surgeon is one of them. He consistently scores as the best or one of the best bariatric surgeons in the NY metropolitan area. No small feat and he uses a 40 bougie.

It's all about what we put in our mouth post surgery: the items and the amount.

Yes, this is true, but it was true before surgery as well.  I think it is a combination of our tool and our determination that determines our success in the end. 

Elina yes you are 100% correct and I left out the most important thing :our tool!! i could not be satisfied with 2 oz dense protein before my procedure, that's for sure!

I will agree with Elina - there's much more to the size of the stomach than just the bougie size. My surgeon and his partner have had great success with 40f sleeves. I've seen some very loose 32f sleeves from some surgeons.

Size matters, but to me surgeon technique means as much in that regard as bougie size.

Education and decision to make a change also matter. It's so much easier to change your eating habits post-sleeve than it was before, but it's not a free ride. Folks who expect a free ride ("I'll just have the surgery and the weight will fall off") generally have trouble down the road regardless of sleeve size, or in fact regardless of which surgery they have.

I have a 40f. At 13 months I can some days eat 2 oz of dense meat and some days not that much. With soft foods like yogurt it's more like 4 oz. That's at the small end of the range of folks I see as far out as me. In fact, I've had a little trouble getting enough healthy food in to stop losing (I don't want to go to sliders and junk).

I would inquire on how your surgeon's patients do. Is there a support group or something you could attend?

Yes Mom, I have a friend who "expected a free ride" with this surgery and was sadly, sadly mistaken.  I have had many meals with this woman and she sure as heck has plenty of restriction with her 38f tummy but she shows no restraint in what she chooses to put in that little tummy.  She is going on 4 years now and probably weighs the same as when she started.  She refuses to even see me any more because she's so ashamed and I feel so bad for her.  Too bad they can't fix our brains.

Laura

The bougie size is only a guide. It is as good as your surgeon, some cut it stretched others dont, some oversew some dont there are other methods they may or not do its their technique.

so if you feel you had a good or great surgeon then relax, but remember even with the best surgeon out there the defining factor if you reach your goal will be you

we all have different length stomachs too that we need to put this into consideration, so person with 38fb with a short stomach v's person with a 32 long stomach may hold the same amount of food or a person with 32fb not oversewen v's vs 38 oversewen person , the person with the larger bougie oversewen may indeed have a smaller stomach so many factors, find a surgeon that you feel competent in and ask as many questions you can ask to get the big picture