I was banded on 12/01/05 and have been losing weight at a pretty decent rate. My problem is I have been having a really hard time "learning" how to eat. Tonight I ate way too fast and ended up wretching cause I'm sure I had a blockage. I've had 3 PBs previously and they were like a baby spitting up, open mouth and material shot up. Tonight was my 4th and it was hell. Constant feeling of needing to burp, crushing pain in my chest and the inevitable wretching. I wretched 4-5 times and now I'm terrified I'm causing damage to my band. Doesn't help that I have been sick for a week so I've been draining down my throat but I know that dinner seems to be a meal that I eat quickly and have problems with. Today I had oatmeal for Breakfast, a Protein bar around 10:00am, a small salad for lunch and I did fine until dinner then I inhaled it like I hadn't eaten in days. Within 15 minutes I was in my own personal hell. That triggered a panic episode that just compounded the situation. I'm at the point where i'm afraid to eat any real meal. Breakfast and lunch is always small and the large meal is problematic. I know if I keep doing this to myself I'm going to have complications. I don't know what to do now other then eating small meals and deal with the hunger. Rather be hungry then PB.

I think all of the above suggestions are great, and most of them certainly have more experience than me! I had an idea for you though, in additon to getting a smaller fork to eat with, make yourself a deal that you cn only have 1 forkful every 30 seconds!!! I don't mean that you should watch the clock the whole time, I just mean that you should do 1 fork full, chew chew chew chew chew, swallow, then another forkful! My eating before was heaping fork full chew chew another heaping fork full, chew chew, than swallow the whole big gulp!!!

I find the same problem with my evening meal - real, hot food goes down way too fast!! I get stuck quite frequently (which, by the way, definitely slows down your eating for the rest of that meal!!) Another thing I have noticed - if you are eating with your hands, you probably shouldn't be eating it!! (fruit excluded, of course)

You are doing great - don't give up!

~cheri

a friend of mine that had the surgery said she keeps a sign she made in front of her that says "slow down or suffer" to remind her that eating too fast will be painful.

Amy

One thing I noticed in your post is that you have a salad at lunch. Do you put much Protein in that salad? Protein helps you to feel full for longer. Chuck in an egg or even have a protein shake instead and have a salad between lunch and dinner...That might help to stop the hunger too. You shouldn't really feel hungry, but I know I suffered from head hunger for awhile.

My salad is usually romaine lettuce, chicken breast (chopped), cheese and a hard biled egg that is sliced.

Guile,

I just noticed you had your first fill less than a week ago, could this be part of the problem? Did you transition to a lighter load of food, or habits since then? I know my doc (who I do think is a little strict, but I digress) had me do liquids for a whole week after my first fill, which was a few weeks ago. That, though tough, really helped me to transition back into "trying" things, like I did after the liquid and mush phase post-surgery. I think, in my limited knowledge, it sounds like you're adjusting to your fill and that (from my research and a bit of personal experience) can take a little bit to figure out. I hope you are feeling better!

Dr. Maese had me do liquid for 2 days then I was back to solids. I was told to avoid dryer meats.

It's all about slowing down and chewing your food. Every single surgeon says the same thing, which is chew, chew, chew. Chew every single bite till it's mush before swallowing. You went through the pain and expense of surgery because you wanted to lose weight, so you HAVE to change your lifestyle or you'll hurt yourself. You can cause your band to slip - or worse.

My band eroded, so it had to come out. The one thing I did learn from being banded 1.5 years is to eat slow, small bites. You must take at least 20 minutes to eat your meals.

Stop using big forks. Even without my band I eat with tiny spoons and dinner plates. Eat slow, please. Chew chew chew!

Guile, How are you feeling today? Been thinking about you!

~cheri

Guile, How are you feeling today? Been thinking about you!

~cheri

Cheri,

Doing alot better. Last night it took me 45 minutes to eat 1.5 oz Tuna Steak, 1/2 cup of mixed veggies and a String cheese. I felt full and was unable to finish the cheese. I'm using one of my 4 yo daughters forks. Talk about a small fork! The peas kept rolling off of it. In between meals I'm doing a Protein bar or shake. I definitely have a much better attitude now. Thanks for all of the replies, I appreciate the support!

Glad you are getting the hang of it! I had a piece of steak that I thought I chewed last night but it did not agree with me. This was the second time I have tried steak so I am gonna leave it alone and go back to my good ole chicken, lol. There were 2 foods that I never thought I could live without and they are the two foods that I can't tolerate anymore Steak and Rice. I am a southern country gurl and this is hard. I know you will suceed at this and this site is so great with the support! Peace and Blessings!!

DeeDee:hippie:

I hear you about the rice, Dee! I LOVE chinese food, but rice does not like me anymore! I will have to settle for Egg Drop Soup and entree without rice. I haven't even attempted steak yet, guess I'm a little scared (rice causes me to get sick, I can only imagine what steak will do!!!)

Guile, I am glad to hear you're feeling better. That's what I love about this site - for the most part we are all in this together. We have stories to share, complications, victories, tissy fits, crappy days - we got it all, and we love each other anyway!!!

Keep me posted!!

~cheri

I'm new to this site and keep seeing pbing? Is this vomitting or something else I'm not thinking of.

Thanks for the Info

Guile, good to see you getting the hang of it. I had my band removed, but one thing I still do is actually chew my food and eat slower. I need to remind myself daily to slow down.

I made myself miserable once by not chewing enough and I will never do it again because I felt so awful. You have gotten great advice here so good luck.

Will someone please tell me what "PB" is?

Check out this link for all the abbreviations and what they mean:

http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=7959

Hello, I'm curious why you had the erosion problem? Is that something that comes along with banding? I am still researching! Thanks, megret

I just had my banding done 1 week ago; on liquids for 2 weeks, but starving, sick of soups, isn't there more to life than soups for 2 weeks; i also have a very sore stomach, not where the stitches are but right down the middle of the stomach; is this just swollen stomach or is something wrong? I find it hard to turn while sleeping; whoever thought they could go back to work in 3 to 5 days forget it;