If you’ve been enjoying life after gastric bypass surgery you will know exactly what I’m talking about. That rumbly-tumbly stomach growl that’s more bark than bite. It’s the inactive tummy talking, the lower part of the stomach that was bypassed. And it growls at the oddest moments seldom accompanied by hunger pains. My inactive tummy is particularly talkative at bedtime, I think it remembers the refrigerator front bedtime binges from my previously life.
Remember the surgical diagrams you studied before surgery: a tiny stomach portion we call the pouch was separated from a larger portion, which is the inactive or bypassed stomach. In the gastric bypass procedure the stomach is left in place with blood supply – it is still and active organ yet no longer a reservoir for food. In some cases it may shrink slightly and the muscles may atrophy, but for the most part it remains unchanged. In fact, the „inactive” tummy is quite active. The inactive tummy is an around-the-clock chemical factory keeping your body in balance.
And for all it’s hard work what do we do? We don’t feed it. No wonder it’s talking!
The lower stomach still contributes to the function of the intestines even though it does not receive or process food – it makes intrinsic factor, necessary to absorb Vitamin B12 and contributes to hormone balance and motility of the intestines in ways that are not entirely known. So when you hear that rumbly-tumbly stomach growl you can smile happily knowing your body is hard at work keeping you chemically healthy and well.
Kaye Bailey © 2005 – All Rights Reserved
Kaye Bailey is a weight loss surgery success story having maintained her health and goal weight for 5+ years. An award winning journalist, she is the author and webmaster of and
LivingAfterWLS is a no-nonsense resource for people Living After Weight Loss Surgery. Our community is growing in numbers even as we are shrinking in pounds. Together we support one another in this lifestyle, that it turns out, is NOT the easy way out.
Fresh & insightful content is added daily, check in often. To subscribe to the LivingAfterWLS monthly newsletter „You Have Arrived” click on and enter your details in the subscription box.
Related posts:
- Body Dysmorphia – Mind Games After Gastric Bypass Surgery Maybe you've heard about body dysmorphia - it's a mental image many victims of anorexia nervosa have that tells them they look fat, even when they are emaciated. Bariatric patients can suffer from body dysmorphia as well.When we were morbidly...
- Lost Weight with Gastric Bypass & Now You’re Regaining – Fix It Fast! I've talked to quite a few fellow gastric bypass patients recently and we all have one thing in common: About the third year after gastric bypass we get hungry. And we eat more. And weight starts to creep back on....
- Children of Gastric Bypass Patients at Risk for Eating Disorders As parents who've had gastric bypass we face many challenges raising a family. Perhaps an unexpected challenge is when a child develops an eating disorder that may be exacerbated by the parents dieting habits. It turns out as our children...
