# If you have bariatric surgery & try to eat a huge meal will your stomach explode? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 8, 2004, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-bariatric-surgery-try-to-eat-a-huge-meal-will-your-stomach-explode/273563 "2004-11-08T00:25:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-bariatric-surgery-try-to-eat-a-huge-meal-will-your-stomach-explode/273563/1 "2004-11-08T00:25:45Z")
What happens if you have the surgery, and then afterwards go nuts one day with emotionally (not physically) driven hunger, and try to eat a huge amount of food. Will your stomach explode… or what? ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-bariatric-surgery-try-to-eat-a-huge-meal-will-your-stomach-explode/273563/2 "2004-11-08T00:31:27Z")
…you would barf after you went about 3 bites over what your stomach could hold. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-bariatric-surgery-try-to-eat-a-huge-meal-will-your-stomach-explode/273563/3 "2004-11-08T06:45:56Z")
I know it’s terribly insensitive of me, but your question made me think of the “just one mint” scene from _The Meaning of Life_. ---
**Author:** ![micky33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@micky33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/micky33)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-bariatric-surgery-try-to-eat-a-huge-meal-will-your-stomach-explode/273563/4 "2004-11-08T15:00:37Z")
Having had bariatric surgery (a Gastric-Bypass) I can answer this question. Number one…you would be very, very sorry if you did that. After you were full, the food would start to back up into your esophagus and you start feeling like you are going to throw up. It gets worse and worse and you start feeling hot and sweaty and weak. Finally you do throw up and its usually not any of the food you overate, its just little bits this foamy spit stuff, basically all the spit you couldnt swallow because food is stuck in your pouch (term for the stomach the surgery leaves you with). This keeps happening until all of the food you overate works its way through your pouch and out into your intestines. Nasty huh? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Joe\_Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Random)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-bariatric-surgery-try-to-eat-a-huge-meal-will-your-stomach-explode/273563/5 "2004-11-08T16:30:08Z")
> [@Northern Piper](#): > > I know it’s terribly insensitive of me, but your question made me think of the “just one mint” scene from _The Meaning of Life_. “But sir, It’s only _wafer_ thin!” ---
**Author:** ![micky33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@micky33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/micky33)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-bariatric-surgery-try-to-eat-a-huge-meal-will-your-stomach-explode/273563/6 "2004-11-08T17:45:21Z")
Also, you state that this huge meal would be a result of emotional hunger. Just to clarify… When I get hungry, I still feel hunger just as strongly as before, and feel like I could eat a whole lot. Its just satisfied with a smaller amount of food. For example: Its 12:50 pm. I’m starving for lunch. Before I had surgery I would order a Subway sub and eat the whole thing. Now, I still feel like I could eat a whole sub, hunger is hunger. I’ll order a whole one. I’ll eat 1/2 of it, less most of the bread, feel full, and then save the rest for tomorrows lunch.