What is a stretched pouch?

How does it happen?

How can you find out if you have one?

A stretched pouch can happen if your band is too tight. The symptoms you would experience are vomiting, reflux and difficulty keeping food down. If this should happen, and you are essentially following the lapband rules and the symptoms cannot be attributed to eating too fast or eating the wrong foods, you should ask your surgeon for an x-ray. A barium swallow test will show exactly what is happening and the surgeon can see if the issue is a stretched pouch. If this is the case, the surgeon will usually remove all fill from the pouch and you will essentially begin the process all over again.

At a meeting last night, I spoke to a woman who experienced a stretched pouch, and she was in the process of waiting for her first fill all over again. She said it was frustrating, but she encouraged anyone with any concern that this might be happening to them to ask for a barium swallow.

Thank you Kinley,

I, at the instruction of my nutritionist, eat a little bit more than most on LBT. Healthy foods. And someone mentioned that I might have a stretched pouch.

I've been unfilled for 4 years, so I'm not too tight. And I don't experience the symptoms you described, so I guess I don't have a stretched pouch.

Thanks anyway!

Actually the only way to know with 100% certainty if your pouch is stretched is with a barium swallow. You can have a stretched pouch with no symptoms, especially if the band hasn't slipped (yet, because it can lead to it eventually).

If you're regularly eating more than 1 cup of food per meal, I would ask your surgeon to have it checked, especially if you don't have any symptoms. A stretched pouch is a lot easier to deal with than a full blown slip.

Missy makes a great point. I wasn't aware that you could have a stretched pouch and be asymptomatic, but given that, I agree it is even more important that you request the barium swallow. Good luck, and please keep us posted!

I'm still not sure how a pouch can stretch or where the 1 cup per meal comes from. The current theory with the band is that the food passes through within a minute. If this is true then I do not see how it is possible to stretch a pouch even if 2 or 3 or even 4 cups of food were eaten................

I'm still not sure how a pouch can stretch or where the 1 cup per meal comes from. The current theory with the band is that the food passes through within a minute. If this is true then I do not see how it is possible to stretch a pouch even if 2 or 3 or even 4 cups of food were eaten................

As my doctor explained and I've read, it's because there is still a pause above the band, the passing isn't immediate. The idea food will pass in a minute or so is true, however if someone isn't taking 1 minute pauses between every single bite, you can have food pile up. If you have say 2 or 3 bites now waiting to pass through, those 2 or 3 bites are now considerably bigger combined will take even longer to pass through.

If someone is eating more than a cup of food, especially if they're not pausing between bites, it can stretch the pouch.

Thanks Missy for that explination, it makes since. I never really knew the answer to this either.

My original stomach before band was a stretched pouch!

Dr Oz had a great show on yesterday about binge eating and you would not believe how much you can stretch your stomach. He showed xrays & biopsy pictures.

My thought is the pouch or lower stomach are still stretchable. The upper pouch can stretch by eating to fast and to much. If your eating in that way it gets backed up and then starts stretching.

Not biopsy, autopsy.

I don't believe that I could tolerate eating more than a cup sized meal. Eating slow is what makes the difference for me. I feel full before I reach the 1 cup volume.

Even before having my band, I never liked the feeling of being "over stuffed"...and I wouldn't want to consider the negative consequences of attempting to over eat now.

I am aware of the "soft signs" I'm full, and that's the end of the meal.

Thank you all. I'll definitely be talking about this with my WLC.