*SCARED* I have a stretched pouch...

:help: I went in for a fill today and the woman told me that my pouch was stretched...then she told me it was no big deal. I asked if it would go back and she said not without a total unfill...then I would gain. She told me it was not necessary and sent me on my way like everything was ok. I need more information...this can't be as simple as she made it out to be. What did I do to myself (ok I know I overate) but what are the effects?

...Malice...:help:

I am no medical professional. However, I have had slippage and been re-banded and it was speculated my pouch was distended. As it turned out, mine was clearly a slippage instead, but I was told at first that I needed to be totally unfilled to allow the pouch to move back down. In my opinion, SHE SHOULD NOT have put a fill on top of this problem. You have lots of time to lose weight. a few weeks unfilled seems far better than getting a fill on top of a distended pouch. I'd ask the doctor and state your concerns. Remember, this is not a race, there is no hurry. The health of your band and your esophagus is far more important. Just my opinion!

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LAP-BAND® -5-27-2003 Albert Wetter, San Francisco
Rebanded due to slippage - July, 2004 Frank Veninga - Dallas, Texas
Gallbladder removed - August, 2004
Revised to RNY - Dec, 27, 2007 Wade Barker - Dallas, Texas

Beginning - 250
Current - 103
Goal - 120

Is this woman an RN, or a nurse practicioner? I agree that she should not have filled you on top of a dilated pouch/esophagus. Over-eating is the usual cause, but being too tight can cause it, too. Sometimes just a partial unfill will fix the problem. Talk to your doctor.

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Carlene
Banded 11/29/04
-97 pounds

Thread Starter

Yes nurse practiioner, but she is also head of the fills i believe. She told me that my stomach would not go back unless I had an unfill but I had nothing to worry about...i knew this didn't sound right. Anymore thoughts, anyone have this same experience. Just a bit panicked...

A question for all. How much do you have to overeat to have the puch stretched?

I was way to full yesterday and panicked too.

Malice, I hope you get answers, I would go for the unfill rather than risk re-surgery or losing the band.

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Leener,

I don't think there is a specific 'amount' that one would need to stretch the pouch. I think it is something that occurs after a period of time, if you consistently eat more than the initial size of the pouch that was created during your surgery. I believe it is calibrated about around 4 oz.

There was a test that was passed on from some old timers called the 'cottage cheese' test. Originally RNY'ers were encouraged to try to keep in mind the size of their pouch by practicing this test on occasion. I have attached a link to the steps involved.

wehttp://www.geocities.com/sweetartz1975/cottagecheese.html

http://www.geocities.com/sweetartz19...agecheese.html

__________________
JENNA

Surgery date: March 23, 2005, Dr. Ortiz TJ
235 highest/175 now/145 goal
Height: 5'9" Age: 33
Starting size: 18/20 Now size: 12

Thank you ma'am. :)

Thankee very much! Good info.

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I'm gonna try that test -- wouldn't the water dilute through out the cottage cheese though? Oh well, at least it would be a ball park amount. Even though my weight loss is continuing, I feel like I may eat too much at one sitting. I can easily eat 1.5-2 cups of food -- no prob.

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Banded 10/24/2005

I wondered the same thing, but another thing I have done is to just get the small 4 oz serving of cottage cheese and eat it and see if I feel full when it's done or if I think I could still eat more.

Excellent info...thanks ladies!!

In my own experience I don't believe I actually CAN eat enough to 'stretch my pouch'....That process itself sounds uncomfortable, how could it possibly happen without forethought and effort to do so?

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373/258
"Carpe mañana"
*Oldtimers posse: surgery 12/21/04*

My Quest is Victory over the Dragons of Habit, Gluttony, Sloth, Desperation

Jack, I have provided a link to the warnings in Inamed's handbook. I'm not nearly as good at quoting some scientific or statistical things as I am in sharing my own personal experience which I fear may be misconstrued as negative information. Pouch dilatation is a common occurence amongst bandsters, especially after a period of time has passed. Usually, it requires having the band unfilled for a period once it's detected.

Hope this helps to explain.

Quoted from the Patient Handbook at Inamed.com
"

WARNING:

WARNING:

WARNING:

Malice,

Of any problem to have, a "stretched pouch"--if that is the layman's term the nurse is using for "esophageal dilatation," is one of the easier ones to try to cure. Most of the time, all or most of the saline is removed and the esophagus--in the absense of too much food putting pressure there--cures itself. It takes a while...but it happens.

One might want to try to determine WHY the dilatation is occurring--is the patient eating too much or too fast, is there a hernia putting pressure the esophagus from outside, is there esophageal dysmotility keeping the food from moving into the stomach--and resolving the causative problem to prevent a reoccurence.

MILD dilatation is pretty common...and, as long as it stays mild, is not the sign of trouble. Perhaps your doctor has told the nurse to disregard MILD dilatation and make sure he knows about severe cases. I think I'd want him to take the time to tell me what I need to do to prevent doing anything that causes any real damage.