Question:
5 years post-op have gained about 7 lbs. I really am concerned

about gaining more. Can your pouch stretch: and if it does can you shrink it back?    — liviar57atyahoo.com (posted on March 22, 2010)

March 22, 2010
In my experience, I started losing restiction at 5yrs out. Turned out my stoma had stretched and food was just passing right through from stoma to intestines. Gained 30lbs in two years. Just had a lap band fixed yesterday to act as new stoma. My surgeon says the pouch can stretch and the stoma can fail too usually at about post 5yrs. Please go see your surgeon for investigations of your pouch. In the meatime try the cottage cheese test. Some people recommend startig the pouch rules for beginners to try and make pouch shrink back but that did not work for me. It is worth try though. On the other hand it could be that your stressed and eating more/no exercising as much as usual? It gets harder to maintain when we get this far out. Mine lasted 8yrs until my revision yesterday.I wish you the best and hope you sort it out soon.
   — akal

March 23, 2010
I am 6 + yrs post op,lost 265 lbs and am maintainng.this is how I do It.Every day i weigh(the scale has become my Frend)I have what i call a 10 lb float if i weigh in the first half of the float i allow myself a serving of a carb with my 3 meals that day .If the weight is in the top 5 of the float i do not eat any carb until it goes back to the first half of the float.Sometimes it will take one day ,sometimes several.A few times it has really been stubborn and taken a week.I always drink at least 64 oz of water ,most gays more.Excerise 3 times a week.The closer u get to goal the harder it is to keep it off.Iknow that i will have to do this the rest of my life but honestly this is the easiest way i have ever lived now that the massive extra weight is off.it was not easy to make the decision and the first 6 months post op were hell but the rewards so outway the efforts .I love my new health ,how i can breath and move around and i have gone from 13 RX's to 2.YEs i have to taken a lot of supplements but thts is so necessary.I consider that a more than fair exchange for all the prescriptions.One thing I know for sure .For me, i don't want to go back to weighing 463 lbs so what ever it takes to keep it off thats what i choose to do.Another thing that is very helpful is i still attend a local support group.it helps to keep me accountable to be surronded by others who are walking the same path and share the struggles and joys together.i like the saying "If I talk it I better walk IT"good luck on u'r journey,please catch it now i have seen the misery and angst that some others have experienced and i hurt for them.
   — Bette Drecktrah