Pouch Dilation?

[beversman 0]

Questions:

Stretching your pouch... now is that something that you can do easily? like you over-eat ONE time?

Or is it something that you do over a period of weeks? over eating repeatedly?

Can you stretch it if you drink too much Fluid to fast? or is it only with solids?

Everytime I think I might have had a bite too much i freak out.

Just wanted some clarification that will (hopefully) keep me from worrying so much.

[Rubyjade 2]

Hi Beversman

I believe pouch dilation is something that occurs over a period of time. I have had this twice (both very recently) and it occurred when I was over 2 years out from being banded and had been 'cheating' regularly for at least a year. Cheating as in drinking with my food to eat more, eating too fast and consuming large amounts of liquid at one time very quickly. Also, my band was far too tight which contributed greatly to this problem.

After a few complications and a minor surgery (with my port - NOT related to the dilation issue), it scared me enough to go back to following the rules. The alternative was a slippage which would have been devastating both financially and emotionally for me.

The major symptom I had from my dilation was being able to eat noticeably more, and constant severe reflux.

It certainly pays early on to form good habits and stick to them or you may suffer severe consequences down the road. I took my band for granted and thought I could push it and push it and not look after it and I got a big warning.

Hope this info helps you and good luck on your journey

Suzie

[Alyana 0]

I was banded three months ago and dilaing my pouch is one of my biggest fears...I feel no retriction, but I plan on getting a new fill, if even after that I still feel no restriction I will insist in a fluoro

[babsintx3 0]

HI,

You are worrying way too much. You cannot stretch a pouch by drinking liquids quickly. ONe large meal wont cause pouch dilation either. It takes some time to do this with chronic overeating and pouch packing. In defense of myself (diagnosed with this problem) I was not aware I was eating more than I should since I did not have signs that are commonly associated with pouch dilation such as reflux. I just started to eat a little more every day and my band was not telling me to stop, so now I measure my food. No more than 4 to 5 ounces of meat and less than a cup of veggies per meal.

Babs in TX

334/190 ish

[AngieM 0]

Hi Beversman

I believe pouch dilation is something that occurs over a period of time. I have had this twice (both very recently) and it occurred when I was over 2 years out from being banded and had been 'cheating' regularly for at least a year. Cheating as in drinking with my food to eat more, eating too fast and consuming large amounts of liquid at one time very quickly. Also, my band was far too tight which contributed greatly to this problem.

After a few complications and a minor surgery (with my port - NOT related to the dilation issue), it scared me enough to go back to following the rules. The alternative was a slippage which would have been devastating both financially and emotionally for me.

The major symptom I had from my dilation was being able to eat noticeably more, and constant severe reflux.

It certainly pays early on to form good habits and stick to them or you may suffer severe consequences down the road. I took my band for granted and thought I could push it and push it and not look after it and I got a big warning.

Hope this info helps you and good luck on your journey

Suzie

What did you do to fix the dilation? Did it just go back on its own?

[giveyouthemoon 4]

I too was diagnosed with dialation and my dr called it "a prelude to a slip".

It can't happen from one meal, it's consistently eating too much. I know I do it, and I'm trying to stop.

For me, I was put on tiny, tiny portions. Even tinier than usual. After a couple weeks it resolved itself.

Be careful! Take good care of your band!!!

[AngieM 0]

Thanks for your reply. I worry that I have done this. I don't have the reflux anymore. And I don't think I am too tight (just a little in the mornings) But it seems I have developed this bad habbit of eating too much. I will be full and instead of stopping I will wait a few min till some goes through the band then take another bite wait a few min take another bite. It causes me to have bad hiccups and "burp up" a little and I swallow that back down. I must be crazy. I had this surgery to resolve my weight problems but it seems that even with the band I have the need to overeat. I will even choose foods that I know will go down easy just so I can do this! Seems like that it is really bad during PMS (tmi I know) ~sigh~ guess I am more of I nut job than I knew! Thanks again for your reply. I needed to find this info.

-Angie

[giveyouthemoon 4]

~sigh~ guess I am more of I nut job than I knew! Thanks again for your reply. I needed to find this info.

-Angie

Giiiirl...if you are a nutjob then come sit by me. We have some things to discuss!

I notice you've lost 118 lbs. WOW! How long have you had the band? I couldn't tell from your siggy.

I've had mine for a year and a half. Personally....I think this is a common part of the cycle of having a band that comes along. You get better at knowing what works and what doesn't...so you get better at getting stuff down.

I KNOW that when I get hiccups, I've eaten too much. My diaphragm is struggling to pack all that down.

It's just another startling discovery for me on just HOW loud the demons of food will roar....and how creative they will get to disrupt my progress.

Scary as hell, actually.

[AngieM 0]

I was banded 10/17/05 So about 15 mo for me. Yep those hiccups are real loud!! I did it on the phone once and the person asked me if I was okay I guess I may as well have screamed on the top of my lungs LOL! I think I will come sit by ya! I have been sittin here all alone in my shame! I am kinda new to this board. I have been going to OH and all I get there are judgements and newbies tellin me how to live with the band. Pardon me but a newbie tellin me how to work the band is like a newlywed tellin me what it is to be married! (I don't take well to that either! Been married 12 years LOL) Anyway I will be around here more often. Looks like I will need to improve my sig.! ~Angie

[siyah 0]

Soooo good to hear this news from folks who have lived through it. I'm going to work harder at not overeating so I don't go through what some of you have! Peace all and best wishes!

[giveyouthemoon 4]

Just to chime in....had a visit with my surgeon today and he was NOT happy with me. He lectured about the problem of eating too much. And this pouch dialation is a scary thing.

He told me of a patient who was down to 110lbs (a healthy weight for her size), three years out and doing great. But she chronically overate. And she wore out the muscles in her esophagus. He said "the muscle fatigued" and her band had to come out. He's seen a few cases of this and said once the esophagus wears out, he can revise the surgery (to an RNY or verticle gastrectomy) but that the esophagus doesn't recover.

Now, he said this happens several years out, but if we (I mean if *I*) continue to over eat and pack the pouch, I will lose my band and cause troubles for my pipes.

So I'm pretty darn scared right here right now.

Just passing along the fright I got today at my appt.

The lesson is....eat 1/2 cup of food. Don't pack it in. Take good care of your band, your partner in good health.

[AngieM 0]

OMG Moon! Thank you for sharing your story! I def. don't want to lose my band. I would rather give up one of my kidneys! Okay Okay Okay I am going to hunt up my post op orders and start over. I have been thinking of doing liquids for a while to lose a little quicker. Man! this is hard (I say in a 2 year old's whining voice) How do we control this head hunger? Any ideas? (Besides the obvious:hungry: )

[Pinkylee 7]

Herein lies the problem. Many different surgeons and many different ways to approach how much to eat. My surgeon says weigh the food. Eat 4 - 6 ounces (of course I eat 6) three times a day. Don't drink liquids 30 minutes before eating and wait l.5 hours after a meal before drinking liquids again.

It is amazing. No matter what I eat, if I go beyond 6 ounces, that uh-oh feeling comes on quickly. Wish I could say I haven't at times managed to wait it out and eat a few more bites.

I've also gotten into the nasty habit of TOO BIG OF A BITE.

Thanks Beversman. I've needed the reminder of how important it is to follow all the rules all the time.

AngieM, just read your post. Maybe we should start a rededication thread for the next month. I'd also be interested in hearing other's post-op instructions. Not to follow, but to learn. I think part of my problem is that I stretch the rules by taking a little of every's instructions and forming my own gameplan. The first one given me worked beautifully. Man, have I slowed down in the loss column in the last 3 months!

[Barbara12375 0]

Ok, if I didn't stretch my pouch today it wasn't for lack of trying.

Thanks for the scare. I too need to get back to basics. I had an unfill a few weeks ago and have been on an eating binge ever since. Guess it's time to go for another "smaller" fill. I've gained back almost five pounds. I needed to decompress for awhile but this is getting crazy.

Thanks for the reminders. I don't know what I would do if I had serious trouble with this band that I love so much.

[Poodles 0]

:faint: I am so confused. I thought I had been doing well since my pouch dilation diagnosis on 12/26, but now I don't know.

I can eat a 10 ounce South Beach Frozen dinner at one time (only the ones with meat/green beans) and other meals I can eat a cup of other stuff at a time.

I don't get hiccups, I don't feel pain, and this is less than what I was eating before my unfill (because I was eating mushies all the time).

Is this too much??? I really just feel like throwing my hands up and saying I quit. I want my dilation to go away... but I need to eat something!!!