Thought I need a fill and she checked me and I have a stretched pouch. Needless to say, I did not get the fill and i get to do a week of liquids. I am overly worried about it and I plan to add a few days onto my liquids stage and ease back into solids nice and slow. I was told that I should have my previous restriction level back and if I dont, I should come back in to get it checked out to make sure it went back down. She did not seem overly concerned and she told me she has seen pouches much much more stretced out than mine. I had my fun and learned my lesson. No more playing around for me. I really hope several days of liquids will be enough.

What an interesting, informative, helpful thread this is! Thanks to everyone who contributed.

I agree, I think Pizza has stretched my pouch. I am going back to the 5 Day Pouch Test.

right after i got banded, i went through a couple of months where i was over-filled and didn't say anything to my surgeon. yes, i was throwing up and had horrible acid reflux but i was losing weight so i kept quiet. after a few months, i couldn't take the nightly acid reflux anymore. i was scared i'd actually choke to death so i went in for a flouro exam.

here is a picture of my band, you can see where the top of my barium filled stomach pushes outward almost over my band... not a good thing to have happen. i'm one of the lucky ones... my band didn't slip. i got unfilled and then over a few months slowly had my band refilled and things have been fine since then.

Thanks, K, for the info and picture. I wasn't as fortunate as you and my stomach slipped my band 3 places and I may lose it, Since my unfill I have gained 25 pounds and am devastated. Don't stay overfilled, ppl.

Mimi

i'm sorry to hear that, Mimi! i readily admit... i was VERY lucky. and you're right... it's not good to be over-filled for too long!

Have read all the input here about the streatched pouch. I so far have most of the symptoms you all have mentioned, such as being able to just about eat like I used to. I have had a few problems of throwing up lately. This has come on kind of gradually, but one main concern I have is a severe pain that seems to reoccure more and more often. This pain is located on my left side in upper part of Ab. It is a rather sharp pain and hurts when I sit very long, and when I sleep on my left side. I have lost most of my weight, have gained back 5 lbs and do not want to gain this back... Does anyone have any idea ab out this pain. I know I should call my dr, but he is in another town, therefore, I am going to try the liquid for a few days or a week and see if the pain goes away, etc.

Stress also will cause your band to tighten. I was very stressed out at one point and didn't know this. I had other important issues to deal with at the time and didn't pay attention to the fact that I was throwing up all the time. I stretched my pouch and had to let it out for 6 months. During that time I gained back about 60 lbs of the 100 I had lost. I finally got to have my fill and then found out I had to have surgery so I had to unfill. I have had a fill since my surgery but not very much. I gained another 10 lbs and can't seem to lose anything. My doctor says that once you stretch your pouch that the pouch is easily stretched again making it hard to know if you have stretched it or if you need a fill. I am so discouraged and am thinking about having the sleeve done.

So can u stretch the pouch before getting a fill? I just got my band on 5/19 and I can eat anything...

I actually have to go back in and have my band repositioned because my pouch has stretched, it's stretched so much that it won't reverse on it's own. I'd always thought that if it had stretched I could go on liquids and it would go back, my Dr. said it won't, so it's interesting to see what other Dr's have said!

This is an email from my Dr. Just wanted to share.

I shared your email with Dr. Clark and this was his response...I hope it makes sense...it really isn't anything to worry about...<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

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"The pouch dilates when the band is too tight and goes back to normal when the band is deflated. It isn't like the gastric bypass where the pouch can permanently increase in size."<o:p></o:p>