I was banded in may 2012. I was wondering how do u know or can u tell if u have stretch ur stomach. I gained. I don't feel full I just stop eating cause I think I should be feeling full. I occasionly get food stuck but am sure its cause I didn't chew right. Any advice or help would be great. Thanks

I am by no means an expert as I was also banded in May. But my opinion is, it would be very difficult if not impossible to stretch your pouch. As stated in some of the links that have been posted here, the food passes through your band within minutes. So that being said you would have to be taking huge bites and eating really fast to stretch your pouch.

I was in your shoes just before Christmas and the nurse practitioner convinced me to get .2cc in my band. I was hesitant as it was just before Christmas but I trusted her. She was right! That little tiny bit of Water made a big difference. I have to eat a lot slower and feel the food passing through sometimes but it definately helped me feel full faster.

Again, just my opinion but it sounds like you just need a tiny fill to get you to the sweet spot.

Good luck,

Lisa

Thanks lisa was kinda thinking that. Well call the office n see about getting another fill.

Actually, you can stretch the pouch above your band. Doctors put their Lap Band patients on liquid diets to try to shrink it back down all the time.

food is supposed to pass through the band in less than a minute, however that is if the person is chewing it until mush and pausing between small bites. You can pile food above the band and it's actually pretty easy to do accidentally.

This is why it's so important to stick to a cup or less of food per meal. Not for calories or weight loss but so you don't accidentally and unknowingly stretch your pouch.

Best wishes.

I was banded in may 2012. I was wondering how do u know or can u tell if u have stretch ur stomach. I gained. I don't feel full I just stop eating cause I think I should be feeling full. I occasionly get food stuck but am sure its cause I didn't chew right. Any advice or help would be great. Thanks

I'm no expert, but I've been banded for a while. It seems that out if my 4 yrs of being banded, but I'm now learning so much. Are you drinking with your meals? I use to really struggle in this area, but I'm learning. You can drink up until the the time that I eat and then I don't drink for 15 to 20 minutes after. We are suppose to do 30 minutes, and sometimes I can wait 30 minutes, but its and up and down thing. You can also try to do a couple of days of all liquids. It really helps. We are here to encourage you.

Dialting your pouch is a very real, and potentially dangerous thing to have happen.....

Yesterday in the Dr.'s office I looked over pictures of what it looks like.....

When it happens the first thing the Dr. will prescribe is a fw days ao liquids only to give it a rest and let the pouch constrict back to normal...

If that does not work, then the Dr. will do a complete un-fill....

I will say, if you are recently banded, or do not beleiev in having a tight band...then the risk is very little if at all.....

You have to have a good amount of restriction...and you have to know and LISTEN to your Band...many people do not know how to do this, or are not at that stage yet...

My band is very tight...I can monitor every swallow.....then there will come a time now and then, that I notice I cannot feel my band, monitor what I am swallowing, and that my portion sizes are larger than usual with no feed back to limit myself....

That is when I know my pouch has stretched, and that is when I know to go 2-3 days of liquid to give it a rest....

Many people will say, myself included....that I am more restricted in the morning, and it gets easier as the day goes on...Why? Because at 5 am, I have not eaten anything for 10-12 hours...giving my slightly stretched pouch a slight time to reset itself....

I know may people will say what they have read, or heard from other people...but this is what I can tell you first hand from experience...

You can go on line and there is a plan called the 5 day pouch test. I was concerned that I had also stretched out my pouch. I found out how much more restriction I actually had. After three days on the plan I felt like I had a fill. It really is not difficult to follow. There is a book about it however I found enough information on the internet especially on YouTube about the plan that I did not have to buy the book. Good luck.

I recently did the 5 day pouch test and I feel Much tighter!

The more healthy veggie/fruit smoothies I incorporated the tighter I became. I didn't want a lot of food, and I felt fuller longer. I didn't add protein to my smoothies unless I worked out. I found that my band began to slowly tighten on its own.

Going to try the 5 day pouch. I think I may just need another fill. I drank protein and still hungry thanks everyone u guys were a lot of help

Drinking protein is not going to keep you full. The band is meant to work with solid food. I do recommend trying to 5 day pouch test as I found it really works for me. The test however is really more about your stomach constricting. Protein shakes aren't magical they don't make you not hungry. I think a lot of people think back to their pre op diet when they lost a lot of weight and think that shakes make you lose weight. The reality was pre op a lot of us weighed 300 pounds and lowering calorie consumption to 700 calories a day makes you lose weight.