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Pouch stretching or band stretching?



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How would you know yourself if you stretched your band or your pouch...is there some sort of feeling you get?

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I would say that IF you once had really good restriction and suddenly no longer do or if fills are really not working then maybe you should talk to your dr about the possibility. Believe me, this scares me too because even with 5cc's I can eat more than 4oz and I'm always concerned that I'm stretching out my pouch if I eat more than that. Sometimes, well no....all the time, it's hard to sit and measure food. I don't always do it, try to eye it, but I don't know how accurate my eyes are when it comes to hunger. Are you always hungry? That would be another question.

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I was just wondering about the stretching...it hasn't been three months since my surgery yet...not always hungry but not sure what the restriction feeling is...not sure if I have had that yet...have had some stuck issues or my body tells me if I am eating too fast with certain things.

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I was banded on Feb 26 so I too am under that 3 month mark and there are still lots of is this normal questions. I'm at 5cc and I get good restriction sometimes, but then other times I could eat and eat but I cut myself off. I worry about the band not working or slipping or like you, my pouch stretching. We didn't go through all the hoops and post op pain to continue being over weight, if your like me you are dying to see results asap! I have been stuck before and that is aweful. The pain is not fun. I've also had food not stay down once, again NO fun. How much saline is in your band and what has your weight loss been?

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Problems like that are usually diagnosed with an upper GI or, if your doctor uses fluoroscopy, during an adjustment.

But I really think that these are worries you don't really need to have at this point.The band won't stretch---but the tissue underneath may shrink, making the band looser. This happens to all of us---and the solution is an adjustment (fill). Your doctor will definitely take this into account when choosing how much to give you each time.

The stomach is a pretty elastic organ--it has far greater capacity to stretch and rebound than most of us would like--that's how we got to the point of needing bands! The little pouch created by the surgery isn't quite as elastic as the big stomach---but it also doesn't stretch as easily as some fear.

I would venture to guess that what you're feeling is a result of not yet being quite at the sweet spot. I'm in the same boat. I get stuck from time to time---so I know that there's some restriction. But I'm still plenty hungry plenty of the time. It's just part of the waiting game.

My doctor uses fluoroscopy with each fill, so I know my band and stomach look just fine. It's just a matter of getting to the right level of restriction.

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My weight loss so far...day of surgery I was 290...weight as of today 248...so I think the weight loss is going good...but I am agreeing with the post after mine...just worried about hitting that sweet spot...I have 6.5 cc's so far...I think I am almost there... not sure...this is a whole different process for me and all of us...taking it one day at a time.

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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      1. summerseeker

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        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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