Question:
I never did get answers from the Dr. about our new

I am sick alot and some days I can't eat and others I seem to munch all day non stop. When I feel sick to my stomach sometimes I get an acidy taste that comes up, pretty gross! What are the signs and symptoms for a leaky pouch? How do you tell if it's stetching, just by the amount of food we eat? Thank you for the input!    — Sandy M. (posted on April 18, 2003)

April 18, 2003
Hi Sandy - I read your profile and congrats on the great weight loss in such a short period of time. I would think from how quickly you lost that you probably were not eating very much and now that time has gone by, you are starting to eat more, which prompts your question about pouch stretching. You may have heard before that our pouches are designed to stretch naturally and that over time they will do that. We all start out as new post-ops with small pouches, just an ounce or two or three in size. By the end of a year, they are stretched to 6-8 ounces or more and are supposed to be that way. Hence, your ability to eat more. An unnaturally stretched pouch occurs when a person eats non-stop until overly full and does this all the time. Eventually, the pouch stretches beyond what it should be. We all have days when we feel that we have eaten all day and other days when we can't each much, its all part of the journey. I bet if you track what you eat on one of those days when you think you eat all day, its probably not as much as you think..sorry I can't answer the 2nd part of your question on leaks...
   — Cindy R.

April 18, 2003
A leak would include symptoms of severe pain and a high temp. My doctor said a leak will typically be in the first 2 weeks post op.
   — ZZ S.