Mck xx

My doctor poked and prodded me looking for tenderness, and there was none.... I think he ruled it out but ill check out the symptoms. It definitely only starts hurting when im eating and feels like a tugging, stretching, clogged mess. I just want the pressure sensation back up in my chest.

I was banded 2 years ago. this past summer I had a slip so the band was emptied, I was put on liquids, and my slip/pouch corrected itself and it moved back into place. since then, the pain/pressure I experience when not chewing well enough, braving bread/chicken, etc is much, much lower. its almost as low as my belly button and radiates through the areas to each side, its hard to pinpoint exactly where. its hard to breathe and very difficult to bring the offending gunk up, whereas the pressure used to be in my chest and I could bring up food pretty easily if I was feeling stuck. my doctor assures me the band is situated in the correct spot and while I know the band itself could not possibly be sitting as low as the area im experiencing the pain, everything feels far too low and I cant figure out why. i get some relief when i force myself to burp so my doctor's inclined to blame gas for my pain but i feel like im just dislodging whatever is stuck. i really don't think its gas. the only thing i can guess is some kind of referred nerve pain or something? has anyone experienced this? overall i don't have much restriction so it doesn't happen every time i eat (usually just in the morning, when ive always been a little tighter), and id like to continue getting fills but not if its going to give me this pain in this area more often. its really unbearable at times. i want the pressure back in my chest where it belongs. please let me know if you have any theories for this! mary

Sounds like you're eating a lot of things that slip right through the band, allowing you to eat more than you should. Stay away anything that's eaten with a spoon and focus more on dense items that'll keep you fuller longer, like a sandwich.

Its been about a month since the fill, my 4th, and my PA would kill me if she knew how bad things are....i freak out big time at fills and the one time they took some out just to check cc's was extra unpleasant...im such a chicken! I keep getting stuck and then trying to eat later when im sure im still swollen...and get stuck again...its a bad cycle that im trying to get out of cuz it cant be healthy...eager to find a scale and see what good its done me there, though. Im gonna go back to liquids for a couple days and see if that helps because boy, nothin will go down!

i'm currently over filled and having stuck episodes daily. Its been my experience that drinking something is unpleasant but a surefire way of getting everything to come up, which is usually preferable to the discomfort of being stuck. If I do want to wait it out, (ie im in public or 'mini stuck' with pressure but not pain), lying down or reclining is a no no, its easier to lean forward or sit straight and try to burp a bit. I guess I should get an unfill, but I cant bring myself to do it...ive become pretty good at bringing food up quickly and discreetly in the mean time....

The black bean soup from these guys saved my life during my liquid phase!

I was on a liquid diet for 7 weeks post op! I never ever want to have soup again! I found a black bean soup that saved my life (Pacific brand, in organics) and ate a ton of fudgsicles. You'll make it through, hang in there!

I was on a liquid diet for 7 weeks -- its hard! I found I wanted to sleep all the time just to make time go faster. Just keep your eyes on the prize and remember that its not forever! Bean soup and sf fudgsicles saved my life...but I never want to eat them again! You'll do great.

I belched like a trucker after my 1st fill...then couldnt at all after my 3rd...thankfully!

Its got a lot to do with genetics and how long youve been overweight, too. Im only 40 lbs down but I really think ill have a problem with excess skin when Ive lost more. Ive heard moisturizing often is a good idea for increased elasticity...not sure how much it can really help but ill keep up with my lotion anyway

Hey Tiffany, Im in Chicago, too. Good luck with the diet...two weeks is a long time pre op especially when you hear about people who have no special diet at all beforehand! Keep your eye on the prize & hang in there, your liver will shrink nicely and you can get a jump start on the weight loss .

The point of avoiding drinking during or around meals is to help the food sit on top of the band where its supposed to for a while. Theres no reason not to drink around 'meals' when on liquids, but getting into the habit now can't hurt anything either.

My PA just gave me a hard time about this...saying im not enabling the band to do what its supposed to. The shake keeps me satisfied just fine until lunch, I dont WANT anything else, so wheres the harm? Weird how that works. Ill keep drinking my calories & protein if they keep me full..

I feel you! I kepr hearing how fills were no big deal...and I lost it at mine, anyway! Hospitals, doctors, needles...they all give me some really bad anxiety, its so embarrassing! I started crying, my stomach muscles started spazzing, then I blacked out. Whew. At my followup a week later, my PA read my file and handed me a script for xanax. LOL. I dont want to scare anyone about fills... it wasnt that it was particularly painful, I just cant control my nerves in medical settings! So anyway, sorry your doc is such a stickler about the lidocaine...give some numbing cream or xanax a try!