I hear so many people talking about all these foods getting stuck. Well I have been banded 23 days and have not had anything get stuck yet. I have been wondering if the band is right?? I have lost 21 pounds but I can seem to eat anything but just not as much. Maybe when I get a 1st fill this will change but I hope not. I have 3 ccs now.

I really wish there was a better way to explain it, but you'll just know when it happens. That's what they told me and BELIEVE ME, I realized what they were talking about shortly thereafter. lol

getting stuck is more likely to happen after you have had a couple of fills.prior to this most foods will go down without a problem.

I am so grateful for this post. I am in the SAME BOAT. I was banded on May 24. I had my first fill on July 6. I have had nothing get stuck. There are times that I am eating and I can feel my food but it does not get stuck. I called my doctor thinking I need another fill but they were in no rush and just encouraged mbr to monitor my food on my own. hmmmm....if I could do that I would not need the band. but I have beeny trying. I have not cheated in the sense that I am sticking to around one cup of food. I have not had one grain of rice, one morsel of bread, no Pasta, and no soda. I am still stuck at 22 lbs and have made sure my house does not have sweets, juice, kool aid, chips....I have fruit, veggies, lean meat. I do eat alot less but I want to eat even less. Glad to here that you get stuck with a few more fills. I am soooo ready for this weight to come off.

However I was just cleared for exercise a week ago so I know that might be a factor too. I have been walking about 4 days a week. And I always realize I could be better about my good choices. I am trying though!!!

Glad to here that you get stuck with a few more fills. I am soooo ready for this weight to come off.

Lets just clarify something. Getting stuck is not something you aim for , it hurts like hell and is very unpleasant. You should aim never to get stuck although once you are banded it is hard to avoid altogether. It usually happens because you have taken too big a bite, not chewed properley, eaten too fast or maybe eaten a food that on that particular day does not agree with you. It in no way speeds up your weight loss.In fact people that are too tight often resort to eating high cal slider foods that make them gain weight.

Just wait for it its comeing..........as you venture out you'll discover what food go down well and which for you create the great "STUCK".......just sayin

I didn't get anything stuck until 5 months out when I finally felt real restriction!

acutally I am looking forward to getting stuck! The band is a tool.....tool that if you eat too much or the wrong kind of food has a consequence. That consequence is getting stuck or vomitting. I need a negative consequence like that. Obviously the consequence of weight gain when I eat certain foods is not enough. So although I do not aim for always getting stuck 'I do aim to feel something. You have to see if from my point of view. I had this surgery, put this foreign object in my body, paid this money, and I feel nothing. It was like I never had it. That is alot to go through for nothing. So I am ready to feel the stuck feeling. At least I know it is in there and I will have a consequence for my action if it hurts that much.

I am not saying that it will solve or speed up my weight loss but let's call a spade a spade. I am feelling no restriction what so ever right now. Although I am sticking to no bread, no rice, no Pasta, no soda... I know myself...that will get old. If I could keep doing it I would not have needed the band in the first place. So down the road, when I am craving that bread, and I actually eat it, and it gets stuck and feels horrible...guess what I will think twice about eating the bread.

It is the same principle for having an alcoholic take antabuse. You take it, you drink, you vomit. Now obviously the person taking it does not think...man I can not wait to take the medication, drink, and vomit. But obsiously they needed more consequences for their drinking than what they were experiencing.

And just like anything I know there is a way around the band. I am not looking for it. I hope that clarified everything for you.

pearlgirl. I understand your fear, when we are food-aholics(which I am) it is scary, you don't trust yourself!! I don't feel restriction much either and that scares me. I havent had a fill yet and will not get one until Aug 12, so I feel your fear. Although I hope I don't feel the pain of food stuck. I do wish I felt more dispiline!!!! We will get past this and be skinny-minnies one day soon!!! Keep your eye on the prize!!

I was 5-6 months out before my first stuck food hit, and believe me you WILL know. Not to be gross but hey this is the place to tell u what to expect. When you get something stuck and u will, when you throw it up, it is not like throwing up when your sick, it is way different , what you throw up will look like a slime ball.This is something I wish i would have been told cause it is nasty.And not what you expect when you throw up.Ok I am done being gross, also when you throw it up and it is gone it is done, not when you are sick and want to get sick again. hope this helps.

I understand you wanting feedback from the tool to know that it is working.But you need to be aware that being stuck doesn't happen because you ate too much or the wrong thing. Sometimes it can happen on the very first bite. And the worst thing when you get stuck is that you are normally still hungry. You just can't eat anything.

You may also find that what you consider to be the wrong foods eg bread may not get stuck at all. Often it is the healthy ones that cause problems, chicken, lean meat even ground beef,some kinds of veggies etc. Generally the foods which are really "wrong" go down best of all!

Also be aware that there is a difference between being stuck and having eaten enough. That is probably what you are or should be aiming for. The feeling that you get that if you eat another bite then it is all going to come back up.

maybe we are missing eachother....let me explain further. I get that getting stuck is not a good thing. It is not that I am looking forward to it or that I want to. To quote you:

"It usually happens because you have taken too big a bite, not chewed properley, eaten too fast or maybe eaten a food that on that particular day does not agree with you."

I want to learn to not take too big of a bite, or to eat slower, and to chew my food properly. I have had the band for almost two months and last week I was able to eat solid food. I have eaten chicken and steak and while eating those my old eating habits have kicked in and I have done all the above mentioned things and nothing happened....just like before the band. That scares me!!! I went through alot and I am not feeling anything. What scares me more is when I go into my surgeons office or on here and you have people that are still the same size and are at their max fill and say they have no restriction and have lost nothing. So when I got my first fill and I am not feeling anything I have panicked!!! What if that is me...what if it does not work. I know that the lapband is not a cure all, fix all.

However, from what I have read the people that do feel restriction have been able to have the lapband work in their lives. I also want to recognize their hard work too. I know it is prob way easier to get a milkshake or chocolate or cheetos down than anything else. So I recognize that it is their good health choices.

I need a consequence more than what I have had in the past. Something more intense. If I did not feel this way I would not have gotten the band. Am I actually looking forward to the stuck feeling? NO!!!!! I have heard horror stories on here and I continue to every day practice chewing and eating slower and less. However, I did not get this band expecting to never get stuck or never vomit. What would be the point then? I would still do my eating habits.

When I said that I was glad to hear that you get stuck when you get more fills, I did not mean...Yippeee can not wait to vomit. I just meant that it calmed my fears that I am not going to one of these people that get their band all the way as tight as they can and feel more restriction. It made me feel better that maybe what I am experiencing is normal. That on my first fill I have not felt anything and not to give up hope. To keep going and get more fills, and make good health choices, and work out and everything will be okay. That is what I meant.

Getting stuck isn't fun. It hurts soooooo bad. You have no idea. Sometimes it'll come up. I had orange juice shoot out of my nose a couple of weeks ago. I couldn't eat right 3 days after it.

I really can't stand when people refer to a productive burp as vomit. It's not vomit. Vomiting requires you're whole abdominal muscles to move the food upward. Vomiting is violent. Whenever someone knows I have a lap band they'll say "don't you vomit, get sick, throw up, feel bad, etc." It's not vomit, and if it is you better get your butt to the doctor because that's serious.

acutally I am looking forward to getting stuck! The band is a tool.....tool that if you eat too much or the wrong kind of food has a consequence. That consequence is getting stuck or vomitting.

Not exactly. Getting stuck is the consequence of taking too big of a bite or not chewing thoroughly.

Vomiting may occur from overeating--but I guarantee that once you reach restriction, this is something you will AVOID.

Neither is really a natural consequence that promotes loss. Having proper restriction, and eating within its bounds is what promotes loss---not vomiting.

I get what you are saying, Pearlgirl! Wait for that first fill. It will come probably. I paid for my band myself and darn well wanted the physical block promised! It has been a fantastic deterent for overeating. I LOVE bread, but can only eat two bites of ANY bread now or it will come up. You learn very quickly what is going to work and what is not. My best friend is at the point you are right now after getting her band 28 days ago. She is getting her first fill tomorrow and is apprehensive about the "stuck" thing, but she is more afraid of never getting stuck and eating anything she wants! Which I totally understand. That's the whole point of this band--to physically have a way of managing overeating in a healthier way. There would be no point in getting it if there weren't a mechanical way of forcing you not to overeat!

Good luck!

Hey Pearlgirl,

If I've read everything correctly, you've gotten one fill so far. After my first fill, I felt a tiny bit of restriction, but not too much. I could still eat pretty much anything I wanted (although I didn't allow myself to try bread until a few months after surgery). I've had about 5-6 fills, am around 6-7 ccs, and I haven't had a "stuck" episode, or even PBd. I can definitely feel when I've had enough. Sometimes though, it isn't until about 10-15 minutes after I've quit eating, then I realize I probably shouldn't have had the last couple of bites.

Getting the band and living with the band is a learning process. Each person's band and body will react differently. Some will feel restriction from the moment the band is placed in them, others will feel it after a certain amount of liquid has been added, and still others may never feel restriction.

The important thing is to give yourself time to listen to your body, get your adjustments, and see how it goes. It's been almost 11 weeks since my last fill, and I'm going in Monday August 2 for my next fill. I'm averaging 1.58 pounds lost per week since my surgery on Dec. 17. In the beginning it was more than recently. I have about 134 pounds total to lose, and as you can see, I'm now on the down side of the hill.

Good luck with your journey!