Hi,

I have seen several references to "pouch stretching". Because I have not had success with the band, I am very curious as to what this is, how it happens, how can you tell if you have it, and what can be done? Why would food not come UP rather than one's pouch stretch? Thanks for any info.

Sultana

Hi Sultana. I am pretty new to all of this myself. I am curious why you dont think you have been succesful ? I am concerned about streching my esophagus after a support meeting I went to last night. I never have had any productive burping. I have been banded for only 7 weeks. But it seems to me that pouch streching might be a slow process as pbing would be more a quick response. Juat my thoughts,,,Sorry I am not so much help. Best wishes...Janie

Sorry I have no answers either. I responded so that I'll be notified when others reply with answers because this is something I always wondered. Thanks.

"POUCH STRETCHING" The entire stomach is made up of cells that stretch easily. So when you eat the muscle wall of the stomach will stretch to meet what is placed inside of it. The top pouch that is made when we are banded can stretch over time to allow more food to be ingested or held in the pouch. This is a normal process and people that have NOT been banded can have a stretched stomach as well. IT is not a medical emergency to be treated. Over time and with less consumption the stomach will decrease in size. The stoma created from the banding will not change unless you have a fill or unfill. Does this all make sense?

If you overfill your pouch it will result in PB. And this also can result in stretching the esophagus as well. So the importance of overeating to the point of PB is not a good thing over time. The esophagus pain when overfull is like an elephant sitting on your chest which is the same description that someone having a heart attack would say. Personally I have experienced this twice and realized the second time what I was doing.

Follow the rules of being banded:

Eat slow

Chew Chew Chew

Small bites

Chew Chew Chew

NO drinking during eating

Chew Chew Chew

Learn what does not go down easily with you. (me = NO BREADS)

Chew Chew Chew

Take your time and enjoy your meal

Concentrate on the food and try to not talk while eating a meal (This is a personal observation that works for me)

Chew Chew Chew

OK Other bandsters did I forget anything? I probably did.

Excellent, Penni -

I add just one clarification - "stoma" is the passage way between the pouch and the rest of the stomach - that's why the stoma size changes with the amount of fill.

Thanks. I always thought the stoma was the pouch itself. Like stomach, only baby size so they left of the end of the word. Ya learn something new every day!

Donali: Thanks for clarifying the stoma term. I sometimes forget that not everyone knows what those medical terms mean.

Hi All,

Thanks for the replies about pouch stretching. I am still (alas) at the stage of trying to get proper restriction so I can lose weight faster than an ounce a day (it has been 6 long months), and I when I read about pouch stretching, I was worried that maybe I was doing that. It was reassuring to know that such stretching results in PBing. I have NEVER PBed or even felt remotely like doing so, and I can still eat a LOT. I am going for fill number 4 tomorrow; I'm hoping this will be the one!

Donali, I know you are busy for a while, but when you come back and read this, I wanted to say again that my thoughts and prayers are with you.

Sultana

Sultana: The pouch stretching is not exclusively caused by PB. If you eat and ingest more than can go through the opening easily but don't PB then you are still stretchng the pouch. It is a matter of keeping what and how much you eat in check at every meal, snack or whatever. You don't have to PB to stretch your pouch. Just wanted to clarify that.

Excellent post, Penni! Thanks for the very clear explanation.

I wanted to reiterate that our stomachs are MADE to stretch, as we fill them with food. Our pouches are made of stomach, and are soft and can accommodate more than the 2 or 3 ozs some of you have been told is all you can eat at a time. So the very word "stretching" is not a bad thing, it's a normal process and our pouches stretch and rebound in size several times a day.

It's OVERstuffing until the food has nowhere to go but up that is bad. We can damage the opening from the esophagus to the pouch, which can lead to reflux as well as compromised weight loss. So that's what must be avoided. I really don't think it's possible to stretch one's pouch permanently without a HELL of a lot of abuse.

Okay, call me lame, but I have to throw this out there. We all know who Al Rouker is, right? He's the host of one of those morning shows who had a gastric bypass (or some similar procedure.) I read or heard or saw somewhere that his stomach before the operation looked like a deflated football.

Now I realize our stomachs stretch and shrink, but is there any truth to a stomach stretching out then being all flabby inside our belly with all that skin? If our outside skin does it, is that the same with the stomach? So even when we lose weight, the lower stomach shrinks small but still looks all flappy?

Thanks for the info ladies

I was curious about pouch stretching as well but let me get this straight...if I don't PB the chances of my pouch stretching are less? I just wantto make sure I understand this whole pouch stretching thing. Or can I eat too much without PBing and stretch my pouch? My brain is reeling from pouch stretching to port infection to band erosion. All this new info I have learned in a week is amazing. I have orderd Jessi Ahroni's new book on amazon.com "Laproscopic adjustable gastric banding, Achieving permanent weight loss with minimal invasive surgery" hopefully this will help me also to understand everything.

Michelle, your book report is due in 2 weeks, 1000 words, typed, and double-spaced. Hurry, I want to know it all! Thanks.

Sure thing Lisa ..I will get right on it!

Originally posted by Alexandra

It's OVERstuffing until the food has nowhere to go but up that is bad.

Thanks Alex. If I ever....WHEN I get to a workable restriction I will be sure to learn the warning signals soon. Not that I have ever had the experience, but aside from being not good for one, PBing does NOT sound like much fun.

I was worried that at the stage I am at that I might be stretching my pouch too much because I eat too much....because I CAN. I have managed to not gain weight, and I have lost between 23 and 26 pounds.

I don't know how I would have survived all this without all of you!

Sultana

Sorry to keep dragging on with this topic... but would you then say that with proper restriction there is more of a chance you might stretch your pouch than say someone like me who has little to no restriction and food seems to slide through the stoma wish ease?

This sounds logical to me, but I guess I still worry that while I am struggling to reach a good restriction level, I have trouble restricting my diet. I can eat about 3 cups of food at each major meal and get hungry every 2-3 hours plus most days I have a snack. I can no longer bindge on huge amounts of food, it is just too uncomfortable (although I have never PB'd) and I also cannot graze all day which was also something I did quite often.

I would hate to think that when I finally get some restriction it will be too late because my pouch is stretched... but then if it eventually can return to its original size then maybe I would be OK in the end... I am going to order that book Michelle mentioned... right now!

Thanks,