pregnancy questions?

hi,
i was hoping you guys could answer a few questions...especially lapbanders....how far out were you when you became pregnant? what do they do....just take out all the saline?  is it completely safe?as your stomache grows with pregnancy...wouldnt it stretch the band (even empty).

Hi Tricia,

I was 6 months out when I got pregnant.  At the time, I had 5 ccs, and my doctor took me back down to 3.  I had virtually no restriction to speak of and could eat just about anything.  I don't think the stomach is stretched during pregnancy, so I don't think the band should be affected.  I'll probably go in for a fill in the next month or so.  Right now, I'm just trying to get adjusted to life with a 4 year old and a newborn!

Cindy 

I was over a year out from surgery, I guess closer to a year and a half when I got pregnant.  I did have 1/2 of my fill taken out when I was having a rough time with morning sickness.  I can eat anything I want at this point.  I will slowly build up to better restriction after the baby comes and I have a chance to get my eating back on track, but I am in no hurry to be tight again.  I plan on trying to do it with alittle less restriction for the health of my band. 
I am pretty sure that your band wont be bothered at all with pregnancy as long as you aren't too tight and having issues with that.  My port does stick out more now, and I did have a few days of port pain but I must have pulled a muscle doing something.  Otherwise, it is like I am not banded at all. 
Good luck,
Chrissy

I was over two years out when I got pregnant.
No, being pregnant won't stretch your band, in reality, nothing stretches the band itself! You can stretch the pouch above your band or even your esophagus by consistently eating too much.

I am finding that, as my abdomen gets more crowded and my stomach is being squished, I am eating smaller amounts of food even with no change in my fill level - it just feels like there's only room for so much in my abdomen, so if I eat pretty normally during the day, I've got no room left in there by dinner time. If you look at a cross section picture of a pregnancy that shows where it shoves your stomach and intestines to, it's a wonder we manage to eat anything at all.

Weight gain wise I am approaching the 15 lb mark, but my gain actually seems to be slowing, I've only added 1 lb in the last 5 weeks.