Finally, they know how the band works!

We've had this discussion many times, how can you get stuck immediately you swallow a bite if food is sitting in the pouch for hours, not going through the stoma immediately and causing you to be stuck!

DH went to the doc yesterday and was given a video. We both attend Prof. Paul O'Brien's practice so its always at the forefront of any research into the band, Prof. O'Brien being one of the band's pioneers. Anyway, their latest discovery is that food does not sit in the pouch for hours and slowly plass through as previously thought but as all those of us actually WITH a band know is probably not the case. What the band actually does is exactly like a blocked sink - you know how the plug hole chugs and glugs and spits it back up and then sucks it down, spits it up, sucks it down and gradually clears? Well, that's what the band does too. Food passes through, some goes right through, most is spat back up by the muscular contractions of the stomach, then its sucked back, some goes through, more comes up etc. In that way, each bite takes about a minute to pass through the stoma. What the band does is slow down your eating (or should) to such an extent that there is time for the food you eat to stimulate the nerves at the top of the stomach to indicate fullness - merely a exention of that old, eat slowly becuase it takes your stomach 20 minutes to tell your brain its full theory. Its the slowness of eating with a band that allows such a small portion of food to satisfy.

that being the case, the doctor advised DH that its quite important not only to chew, but to WAIT between bites to allow this process to take place, even to the point of a minute between each bite of food.

The DVD also went on to reinforce this clinic's believe in 3 meals a day, no Snacks based on the fact that hunger hormones are way better controlled with a long period between meals, that the body is not designed to constantly be coping with new input, but rather is designed to have long periods of fasting. I know for a fact this works for me, but I think differnet people cope better with different ways of eating.

Interesting, hey?

Yep! I reay try to eat 3 meals and 1 larger snack. It works for me. If I get really hungry between meals I might have a small piece of fruit or a spoonfulof trail mix-but I look at the clock and say I can wait until __ time. On the weekends I try to delay my breakfast as much as possible. I enjoy reading the paper and having coffee.

Thanks, NJgirl. Breaking the grazing habit is just one more thing for me to work on so the 3 meals and 3 snacks is how I got this way inthe first place !

Thanks, NJgirl. Breaking the grazing habit is just one more thing for me to work on so the 3 meals and 3 snacks is how I got this way inthe first place !

DaveNW - you mention a dense protein. Can you please give me an example or two? Thanks !

Given how much my stomach growls and roils and rumbles throughout the day since banding, Jacqui's comments about food passing up and down through the band all day makes sense. I don't remember my system ever being this loud before, and since I'm eating way less than before, I couldn't figure out why there was so much going on. Must be a quantity of food thing.

And the incredible, long, loud, deep belches? OMG!!! Jeez, sometimes I feel like I should be a trucker or something. LOL!

Yes, Dave that was so embarrassing to get used to this! I still have to hold my stomach to get it to quiet down, especially it wants to do this in church. Karen

Well, spare a thought for me with an ileostomy too! Not only do I have large, loud lapband rumbles, but also my stoma works noisily too. Naturally, I dont fart - not becuase I'm a lady but because the air exits my stoma and doesnt make it to the rear end. The disadvantage of this is a stoma has no muscles, so when it comes out, it just comes out - sometimes VERY loudly and people think I've farted. Naturally too, since what I eat exits my digestive system only half way though, its very liquid - so sometimes it sounds like someone's turned the garden hose on! Sometimes i can pass off the noises as tummy rumbles and other times, I have to try to explain what it is. Its hideously embarrassing and happens anywhere quiet - getting an eyebrow wax, having a massage, in the cinema, in the bank queue, sigh. A little over three weeks to go now before its closed though, lol.

I did read on a nutrition website newsletter that I get that the food bounces three or four times before going through which sounds the same as what Prof o Brien explained to your DH. Interesting that I did not get a more educated answer from Allergan when they called me after I put the same question to them.

I don't think that most people thought the food was sitting in"the pouch " for hours but did believe that the process was fairly slow. Which was one of the reasons given for not drinking for 30 - 60 minutes after a meal. It would be interesting to know how long this process does take and what effect if any drinking soon after eating has.

Thanks for this! I jut got banded last week and this helps me understand better. I also was wondering about what Elcee brought up. Is the 30/30 rule really practical, or at least the post meal aspect if the food is transiting back and forth?

OP.. can you provide literature for this? I'd like to see how they set up the study. Thanks!