Frisco-Pyloric Valve 101 Basics (re-post) for Noobs and Pre-Ops

 

Seems every few months a new crop has arrived here to camp VSG.......

 

The Pyloric Valve.....the most not talked about function that will answer a lot of questions.

If you understand the Pyloric Valve function......things will be a lot easier and explain why we need to do certain things.......


Post Date: 10/5/11 5:58 pm 
 

 

First, I’m not a doctor nor have I ever played one on TV.

This is a level one explanation.....there is more to it....but if you understand this....it will make some sense.

 

 

This may be old news to some..... But I’ve noticed a lot of people who have had VSG do not have any idea how the Pyloric Valve works.

 

This is my understanding how the Pyloric Valve works.

 

The Pyloric Valve function and how it pertains to your VSG.

 

The function of your Pyloric valve is the single most not talked about important part of understanding how and when you should eat and drink.

 

The Pyloric Valve is just that....It is a valve that is located at the bottom of your stomach/sleeve. This valve is in between your sleeve and the small intestine. The basic definition of a valve is an apparatus that opens and closes.

 

When open this valve it is about the diameter of a dime. When closed it’s opening is closed down to the diameter of the head of a ballpoint pen.

 

Dense proteins and harder to digest foods will cause the Pyloric valve to close to hold the food in your stomach for pre-digestion...... stomach acids breaking down this “Rough” food. 

 

That’s why we are told to eat dense proteins first.....To close the Pyloric Valve so food stays in your stomach/sleeve longer so we have a sense of satisfaction.

 

It takes about 30-60 minutes for the food to clear the Pyloric Valve...... Than it’s OK to drink.

 

That is also where the term slider food  comes into play. A slider food does not close the Pyloric Valve and as the term is intended.....food slides right past an open Pyloric Valve.

 

 

 

So now the other half of the Pyloric Valve function..... You eat a dense protein like chicken that causes your Pyloric Valve to close. Say for example your sleeve has a 4oz. capacity.....and you eat 4oz. of chicken.....your sleeve is full and holding all 4 oz. of chicken for pre-digestion because your Pyloric Valve is closed. 

 

So now try and drink something....where is it gonna go? Up.....Up until it hits another valve of sorts..... the Esophageal Sphincter (valve) and above that is a flapper valve. The function of these two valves is to hold food, bile and stomach acids in your stomach and not backing up into your air way. This is a very high pressure system. Thats why when you eat to much or drink after eating a hard to digest food and your Pyloric is closed.....It hurts cause you pressurized your intake track. Vomiting would be a natural pressure release.
 

So you can see how learning and understanding how the Pyloric Valve works is important as it pertains to eating and drinking with a Gastric Sleeve.

 

So that was kinda like VSG and the Pyloric Valve 101

 

As you get further a long you will want to use the Pyloric Valve in other ways to keep food in your sleeve longer to stay satisfied longer. 

 

A sleeve empties faster than a stock un altered full size stomach so sometimes it’s beneficial for you to learn what foods stay in your sleeve longer to extend satisfaction.

 

Dense proteins are #1 in closing the Pyloric Valve. Chicken, steak, pork, fish.....in that order seems to be the way it goes for me.

 

Other foods that are hard to digest and help close the Pyloric Valve are foods like:

 

• Broccoli Stalk
• Asparagus
• Celery
• Cucumber with Skin
• Radish
• Cabbage (I’m testing this right now)
• Bell Pepper

 

So I hope you understand my 5 cent tour of the Pyloric Valve and how it effects the way we eat with a VSG and how important it is to work the Pyloric Valve to your benefit.

frisco

 

If you are new, or this is the first time you are reading this, take notes, glue it to your refrigerator, your cupboard, even your forehead.  Whatever it takes to learn and then follow this; it is the Rosetta Stone of VSG.

Thank you so much for this post.   It is great information!

Thank you for that. You made alot of jargon very simple and easy to understand. And you describe it in a way that is easier to "see" in the mind.  

Thank you so much for such a practical, easy to understand description!

Excellent post Frisco...and not just for noobs and pre-ops! It's a great reminder for vets like me who've forgotten some of the basics! I am just getting back to basics after starting to gain so I needed the reminder! It's good timing too because I was just trying to remember the reason we are not supposed to drink when we eat! So thanks for posting! ;-)

Frisco, as always this is a great post. However, here is a confusing thing, to me at least. When I went to a Dr. C support group in Concord a couple of months ago, he said that, as you have mentioned, sleeved stomachs empty more quickly than the stomachs of normies. BUT then he said was that our feeling of satiety is NOT caused by the food in our stomachs but by dense proteins in the intestine. CeCe and Elina were there too--so, ladies, do I have that right? Anyway, I didn't really process it until just now, but that seems a bit at odds with the whole pyloric valve thing. I will have to bring it up again sometime.

Lizanne

Hey Lizanne,

This post is about level 1 understanding on the pyloric valve function as I know it as a "general" overview.
I'm of the belief that satiety is multi level. I have mentioned in another post, I think on VSGMG that I am in study on extended satiety by recognizing satisfaction after food passes the pyloric valve. I tend to eat 4-6 hours apart most days and can pretty well identify satiety way into hour 3 to 4.
This concept is for the further out I would think and worth the study. I have some questions I plan on asking Dr.C on this subject.
I'm gonna need your help as well as some others that are well into maintenance to see if there is something to this and how to control it.
Maybe at the next meeting!

frisco

I have quite a bit to say on this too, but I think it needs to be reserved for our support group meeting for now.  I want to get a few things clarified before I bring it up here.  Frisco, if you remember, please remind me about this at the meeting, I tend to get so carried away by the topic and the support that I forget about the "science" stuff until after the meeting.  But like Dr. C mentioned, I know that the feeling of satiety is really caused much lover in our digestive system, not in our stomach. 

Thank you Frisco. I'm right at six weeks out. And haven't been here in awhile, this is exactly what I needed to see