How can we tell if our pouch is streatched out?
The only way to know if it's stretched is to ask your doc to order an upper GI x-ray or to do an endoscopy. But it would be very unlikely for your pouch to be stretched out at just four months post op. Have you been eating much larger amounts than what your doc or dietician advised? Like, instead of 3/4 cup of food, are you eating three cups of food on a regular basis?
How many gulps of water you can take doesn't tell you anything about the size of your pouch. Water does not stay in your pouch. It goes right through, kinda like a funnel.
How many gulps of water you can take doesn't tell you anything about the size of your pouch. Water does not stay in your pouch. It goes right through, kinda like a funnel.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
Our pouches do not stretch. However, as we progress post-op, you can eventually eat more
food. It is normal that we should do so. The stoma itself may stretch, which is something you
don't want to have happen because it is the only thing keeping your food consumption down.
Please stop trying to make your stoma stretch because once it does, there is nothing that can
be done to return it to it's necessary size.
I was told that we can get a general sense of how large our pouches are by the test of eating
cottage cheese. Measure a cupful, so you know how much you're starting with. Eat as much
as you comfortably can. See how much you have remaining in your dish. The difference is how much you have eaten. Simple math. 8 oz minus 2 oz equals having eaten 6 oz. This is about a normal amount of food for a pouch.
Also watch for your full signal. If your nose starts to run, or you get the hiccups or belch, stop
eating. That means your pouch is full. When you get your signal, quit eating. Simple.
Good luck
food. It is normal that we should do so. The stoma itself may stretch, which is something you
don't want to have happen because it is the only thing keeping your food consumption down.
Please stop trying to make your stoma stretch because once it does, there is nothing that can
be done to return it to it's necessary size.
I was told that we can get a general sense of how large our pouches are by the test of eating
cottage cheese. Measure a cupful, so you know how much you're starting with. Eat as much
as you comfortably can. See how much you have remaining in your dish. The difference is how much you have eaten. Simple math. 8 oz minus 2 oz equals having eaten 6 oz. This is about a normal amount of food for a pouch.
Also watch for your full signal. If your nose starts to run, or you get the hiccups or belch, stop
eating. That means your pouch is full. When you get your signal, quit eating. Simple.
Good luck
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