pouch ??

[Mandie37]

Hi all

Can anybody help me :/


I was at a good manageable restriction of 7.5mls. Suddenly i started being unable to tolerate anything including liquids. I left it for nearly ten days as this has happened to me before and sometimes it returns to normal.

Anyway, after ten days of hardly anything to eat and being sick even with liquids i went for an xray and they said i had a pouch!

They said nothing was getting through the band at that there was only a pin hole and said they were surprised i had managed ten days.

They took .5mls out and sent me on my way.

Felt lots better and managed to eat. I then received a phone call from my nurse saying she didnt want me to eat anyting but pureed food and liquids. My consultant was in America and isnt due back until thursday.

They told me not to worry but to be very cautious as if i tried to eat it could stretch the pouch and stomach could rupture.

Does anyone know waht this could mean and how they rectify it? How did it happen. I think maybe to be honest it may have been there a while but because i usually have blind fills they hadnt realised.

Any info anyone could give me i would be very grateful. i have had my band since June 2012.

Thanks

Mandie

 

[Val]

This is an interesting thread I wish a long termer would answer so us newbies all know how to prevent this happening :/

 

[FuturePerfect]

Mandie - I have exactly the same symptoms and have an emergency X-Ray barium swallow arranged for Friday to see what the problem is (my last fill was 10 months ago) I'll update this thread with any relevant advice if I have developed a similar problem.

 

[FuturePerfect]

OK. Had a barium swallow under X-ray today, and they took 1ml out of my band leaving me with 6½mls. The relief was instantaneous.
There is no 'pouch' or any other distortion - just restricted space down my oesophagus within the confines of the band.
I asked the consultant if it was a common problem and if they had a reason for it, so far down the line after a fill.
Apparently it (an unexplained increased restriction) is a medical mystery that usually rights itself within a couple of days, but which needs to be addressed if it goes on longer than 2-3 days because of the risk of dehydration.

One theory is that I ate something rough or particularly spicy that wasn't chewed quite well enough that then 'scraped' the lining of my oesophagus, irritating it causing inflammation. This causes the tissues to swell thus restricting the access downwards. The band itself doesn't change of course.

Because I am at the end of my weight loss journey, and now just maintaining, he thinks I may not need any further tweaks once the inflammation settles down, but I can go back to them (thank you NHS!) if I feel I do.

So at last I can swallow drinks without them coming back up, and I can progress back to solids over the next couple of days.

So Mandie I haven't any advice regarding your 'pouch' although I thought we all had a 'pouch' about the size of a golf ball which is created when the band is first applied?

I hope your surgeon has an answer on his return to the UK.