Does anyone know what makes the band tighter during pregnancy? I am 5 weeks pregnant and during the past week my band has felt tight at different times of the day. It's not that I can't get food down, it just physically feels extremely tight, giving me a backache and such. I've been trying to pin point why I would be feeling like this and I was thinking it might be because I am hungry?? I'm not sure. Thanks!

The band will feel tighter or looser depending on the tissue surrounding it. I felt totally bloated the first trimester, and as a result, my band felt tighter as the tissues underneath the band swelled. I ended up with a total unfill for other reasons, but would have needed slow unfills throughout to keep up with the swelling.

I think it can be good to keep the band a little looser to help weather those fluctuations, especially when pregnant. Things can slam shut pretty quickly and you really don't want to mess with dehydration when pregnant.

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

I've had 3 gradual unfils during my pregnancy. I had my first at 8 weeks which really helped, and then i had another one about halfway through. I was so scared by how wide open i felt and i literally thought i was going to start gaining uncontrollably, but eventually that fill started to get tighter and i settled back in. Then in the 3rd trimester i was too tight again, and back i went for my third unfil and that seems to have done the trick too.

I've had very good success with this gradual unfil method. My weight gain has been very reasonable. I'm 35 weeks and have gained around 15 lbs which my doctor has been just fine with (my BMI before pregnancy was just a tick over the healthy range).

This gradual unfil method has also worked for me because all my adjustments are 100% covered by my insurance so i have no pressure to limit the number of visits i have. I know others have to pay quite a bit or travel long distances so that effects their decisions.

Anyway, i'm not exactly sure why my band has gotten tighter throughout, but i have assumed that in the beginning it had to do with the hormones, and now it's just the baby slamming my organs around and messing with my band.

I'm curious to see what happens when i deliver. Part of me thinks that once the hormones die down a bit i might just be wide open! But i'm not worried, b/c i'll just go get a slight fill. My doctor and i are happy as long as i'm able to eat enough to nourish myself and my baby.

Just wanted to share my experience with everyone. I've had a fantastic pregnancy with no morning sickness (if i had been throwing up i would have had to revise my unfil strategy for sure!) I'm just about in my final month and now everything is harder, but i feel like having controlled my weight gain has really helped me to feel good during this pregnancy (but maybe it's just been luck, who knows!)

Good luck ladies!