Pouch Stretching

[allheart 0]

Hi everyone. I started mushies this past Saturday. My family took my mother out yesterday to Steak and Ale for her birthday. I had one beet from the salad bar, about 4 tbs of french onion Soup (just the broth) and a 1/2 of a small baked potato - I mashed all food up with my fork. We went back to my sister's for dessert and I had a paper thin piece of cake and about 8 cheese doodles. Last night, I had the other 1/2 of the baked potato. In between I drank, drank, drank. Not a great day but nothing like it would have been pre-band.

My question is...what are the signs that your pouch is stretching?

[juliegeraci 7]

Your pouch is fine. I was scared too when I was initially banded. 1/2 of a baked potato is very good then you waited to eat more. You are okay. I wouldn't worry.

[allheart 0]

Thanks. I think I'm going to start making a list of the foods that make me feel hungry or think that I'm hungry so I can steer clear of them. What a learning process this is.

[julieh 1]

How would I know if my pouch is stretched? I too would like to know what the signs are?

[steph_co 9]

I don't think you need to worry too terribly much about your pouch stretching before you start getting fills. But I think if you eat to uncomfortably full or past that point, you could cause damage. Before you're all healed up, I'd say you're more in danger of causing a slip.

[Ms.Toya 0]

Oh my gosh..... I am so happy I found this post. I was banded January 16 and I was feeling great and I lost 10 pounds on the 9 day liquid diet that I thought would kill me.... But after surgery I was tryin to press my luck a couple days after surgery and ate some stuff I shouldn't have.. Oh my gosh my stomach was hurting soo sooo sooo soo bad.. I'm like my pouch has strecthed, they going to have to remove it, I failed.. My mom like no just calmed down. needless to say I been sticking to Soup and shakes...

[allheart 0]

I guess it's a good thing that we are concerned with pouch stretching - it will keep us cautious and aware.

[Bridget 1]

Seriously though what are signs or symptoms of stretching? Does anyone know? I know a couple of time I tried eating some bread and only ate a tiny bit but it hurt really bad. I would like to know what the signs are.

[Fanny Adams 7]

Me too :tongue: I find that I am regularly eating to the point of absolute fullness and discomfort (although I still don't know what people mean by "stuck") and I have a horrible feeling that if anyone stretches their pouch, it will be me. I get the feeling of fullness on 1 cup of food and then will often eat another 1/4 - 1/2 cup any way, even when I know it will cause pain. It is stupid to push the limits like this, I know, but I find I actually miss that pain of eating till I'm stuffed, as it was a standard way of eating to me.

How long does it take for this sort of behaviour to cause actual stretching? Can one recover from stretching the pouch in the same way as one's stomach will shrink if you could just lay off stuffing your face for a while?

[hastalabyebye 0]

I've been eating for one month now (had surgery 2 months ago)... i have had one fill... and i can still eat so much!! and I HAVE BEEN!! EEEEEEK!!! I'm really worried that I'm stretching the pouch or doing some damage... i haven't felt any pain or anything... and I haven't felt sick full. But my doctor specifically said drink your 3 Protein Shakes a day and eat your 3-5 2 oz. meals a day... and you should be fine.... but I got this surgery so I couldn't eat this much and I still can! wah wah. :tongue: I have another fill in a week and half... I just wanna say filler up doc! do they just give you little tiny bits so they can make more money each fill... or what?! i feel kind of jipped right now man. haha. Not too mention I now am paranoid of having a flipped port because i'm getting pain and hardness in a higher place (higher than where he said my port was with the first fill). I sound like a paranoid freak.... but I'm just worried I paid all this money and it's not gonna be effective... ya know?

any words of encouragement!?! :smile:

thanks,

Kayla

[nanaof5 0]

My doctor told me that if your port is flipped you can still lose weight. Does anyone out their have a flipped port and is it true you can still lose weight like my doctor said. He told me that the port being flipped just makes it harder to fill and that is why i have to have mine done under xray. But I have not lost weight in 51/2 months even with 4 fills.

[catieislas813 0]

hastalabyebye..hey girl I read anothr of your posts under general..and OMG you sound just like me from the same ??'s to our date..I freak out too b/c I can and trust me DO eat til I am full and I can eat normal..have had two fills..I was thinking was this a waiste? but I think that once we get a "good" fill we will be fine and start to really be successful like others on here...i started exercising this week.i worried about stretching but your stomach naturally stretches and shrinks anyway so maybe (just a guess here) it could shrink as you eat less the pouch I mean?

[aubrie 6]

regarding stretching the pouch..... I don't feel "full" or uncomfortable until about an hour after I eat. So it's hard to tell when I've eaten to much. It's very frustrating.

[Coco 0]

Hi All

A few thing here....... Pouch stretching.... Why do you risk it. There is no shortage of food, eat a little, wait, if you are still hungry after 20mins have a little more. Do not drink with your food, and for at least an hour after. You have paid a huge amount of money not to mention taking the major decision to have the op done. It takes time for your head to catch up with what you have done to your stomach. Be patient, it will get easier but for now you all really need to use your common sense. As for a flipped port, unless its been stitched into place your port will flip around some, it can be easily manipulated right side up by your healthcare professional, so you can relax on that one. Finally, you can eat loads and you've had a couple of fills......... yeah, that happens too, it varies from person to person but until you reach your sweet spot with the fills you will have varying degrees of restriction, again, relax, we all want to be thin yesterday but it took you a while to gain the weight so it will take time to lose it. Good luck to all of you, I wish you comfortable restriction and shed loads of weight loss.:rolleyes2:

[short1 2]

I talked to my Dr. today about pouch streching. He said I would throw up before I would strech the pouch. He said gastric bypass patients strech their pouches, but we have little chance of doing so. However, he said over eating and throwing up can cause the band to slip. He warned me to not over eat saying sometimes slips can be fixed with an unfill, but often require surgery. :rolleyes2: He also said if I do get sick to stick to fluids for 24 hours due to swelling and irritation. I hope this helps.

JP