Hello!

I have had my lapband for about 4.5 months now. I have NOT been a good bandster for alot of the time, so I know my slow weight loss and gains are my fault and mine alone. I am curious though, is it possible to have stretched my pouch or esophagus at this early stage? I have overeaten many times and have also had stuck episodes on several occasions. Now it feels like I have very little restriction. Do I just need a fill or could I have stretched things out already??? HELP!

Luvs

I would suggest a visit to your surgeon's office. Ask to have him/her to check your band with the flouroscope, and get a fill if needed. Karen

I also just wanted to add that I have had a few fills since November, so its not like I havent had any and just have no restriction. Im afraid I've ruined my band....Im getting on the good foot and doing what I need to do! I hope and pray its not too late.

I had my band put in in January and have lost 30# so far, but like you, I really don't feel any restrictions either. I have had 2 fills, the most recent was 2 days ago. Although for the most part I have done as I should with my portions, last week I was on vacation, which made it very difficult to measure and find places that had good food choices, even then I did not gain weight, I know I over ate a few times and was always in a hurry, so I know I didn't take the proper time to chew and eat, luckily for me, not one stuck episode. Seems kinda strange after hearing all the horror stories on here. Makes me wonder if my fills are just not enough to make a difference. Good luck to you.

I had my band put in in January and have lost 30# so far, but like you, I really don't feel any restrictions either. I have had 2 fills, the most recent was 2 days ago. Although for the most part I have done as I should with my portions, last week I was on vacation, which made it very difficult to measure and find places that had good food choices, even then I did not gain weight, I know I over ate a few times and was always in a hurry, so I know I didn't take the proper time to chew and eat, luckily for me, not one stuck episode. Seems kinda strange after hearing all the horror stories on here. Makes me wonder if my fills are just not enough to make a difference. Good luck to you.

Prior to my 3rd fill which was 2 weeks ago, I too cld eat pretty much everything, and didn't really get full. It was only by pure will power that I didn't overeat and gain weight back. Now after my 3rd fill I can finally feel some restriction. there is NO way that I cld eat fast now b/c when I do, it gets stuck and trust me, sooooo painful. So trust me, once you get the right amount of fluid in your band, you won't be able to over eat without feeling the pain.

You dont really fill any restriction until your about 5 cc's, that is normal.

As for having stretched it out already, the wose is they will check it for you and you will have to go on liquids for a week.

good luck

Thanks LBT for the info. I was starting to wonder if with all their poking to find the port, they had put a hole in it and it just leaks out. I think right now i am at 5cc, because they put 4cc in it when I had surgery. Lets hope next fill your right. Not that i want to be uncomfortable, but I am starting to think that i may fall back into bad habits, especially since i am still pretty new to this.

Yea, I believe it was right after my fill at 5cc's I really felt it. And dont be discouraged if you fall back into bad habits, thats what i did and hit a plateau for about 3 months and just starting to move the needle a little. Going in for another fill in 2 weeks, will put me at 6.5.

Keep up the good work, it will be worth if for both us at the end

It sounds as though you need a fill. I have been banded since February 2010 and learned that I had a dilated band "stretched pouch" back in December of 2011. The signals for this included daily acid reflux, night coughs, and no restriciton among others things. As someone suggested, when in doubt always communicate with your doctor's office. Also, as far as restriction, it is different for everyone. I worked on will power during my first 9 months of being banded. On the day of my surgery, I had 5cc's in...didn't help. I was a hungry monster. I did not get restriction until months later at 7.4 cc's. Even then, I felt like I wasn't in my "green zone". I had a lot of mind conditioning to suffer through.

Im hoping that another fill will do it. What size band do you have? I have a 10cc and Im at 6 now

Do you think that the esophagus or pouch could stretch in 4.5 months? I know I need to talk to my doc, but Im stressing. I have an appt on Monday, so I guess I will have my questions answered then. Thanks everyone!

Luvs.

it usually takes a long time to stretch it out, but worse case senerao if you did, they will just have you do liquids for a little while till it gets back. I also was worried about that and that was what I was told at my drs office by the nurse.

I was told by my NP that it stretches over time. Everytime we eat too much or too quickly, it stretches little by little....but I believe it took several months ....maybe even closer to a year before I stretched mine. I had my first pb/ vomiting episode 11 months after being banded. I had 5 to 6 more episodes after that between January and October. By October, I started noticing acid reflux that worsened weekly. By December, I was having reflex everyday, several times a day even if I drank water or broth....not matter what I ate or drank or how early I ate before lying down for bed at night. I would always wake up coughing and would have bad indigestion every single night. It would happen like clock work....always waking me up as if an internal alarm went off inside of my body. It is hard to deny a slipped band. You would know it, believe me.

My band is also a 10 cc band. They had to completely unfill me in December and put me on liquids for 2 weeks. They began to slowly fill me back, When I was unfilled I had 7.4 taken out. Right now, I am back up to 6.7 and I still have little restriction.

ok great thank you, i fill a whole lot better thanks to you and the other kind people. I know now that I more than likely need a fill and can go up to 6.5. thank you and God Bless

I think that's a good idea to get the pouch size checked out. I think I might need to do that also, but wasn't sure how to actually find out if I've stretched the pouch. I went thru True Results and the surgeon isn't always at the location I go to for my fills. I think I'll check and see what I need to do to see him and find out if insurance will cover it.

I also just wanted to add that I have had a few fills since November, so its not like I havent had any and just have no restriction. Im afraid I've ruined my band....Im getting on the good foot and doing what I need to do! I hope and pray its not too late.