I had my lapband surgery on May 18, 2010. I have only lost 21 lbs and most of that was in the beginning. I am not gaining any weight but also am not losing either. I am struggling with food sticking in my throat when I eat. My Doctor has done two barium swallows and a scope to see if there was any physical reason for this but found nothing. I have to drink water to get the food down or I sometimes have to throw it up. What am I doing wrong and can anyone who has experienced this help me out?

You may have first bite syndrome.

What you may need to do is drink something warm before you start eating to help relax your band/throat. Take a small initial bite of something that you know should go down fine, make sure you chew it really well and then wait a couple of minutes before you carry on eating.

Also make sure the food that you are choosing is moist as dry food often causes problems.

That might help. Also what size of a bite should I be taking?

Small. About the size you would feed to a toddler.

If you want to look up first bite syndrome do a search on this site - I think there are a number of threads/posts.

I've only been banded since 09/02 with only 1 fill and I too seem to have the feeling of something sticking in my throat but usually only the first bite. If I get up and walk for a minute it generally goes away and then I can finish my meal.

The size of bites I was told to take is the size of a pencil eraser or a small pea. I don't always use that small of a bite, but I do when I'm having issues.

I've also heard it suggested to use child or toddler size utensils, or even a cocktail fork to help keep the bites small in size. I've never done that, just put small amounts on my spoon/fork, but it might not hurt to try.

Hope you feel better soon.