I notice my first bite of a meal is the hardest, It takes awhile to go down and I am practicing to chew to "baby food" routine more and more. I have these epsiodes of gas trying to come up and food trying to go down... only burped (threw) it all up once, Found out it is a BIG no-no for me to talk and eat..... specially with first BITE. I did get a fill to 4cc and I think I am staying here for along time... It defenitely has put the brakes on my eating. lost 4 lbs in little over 2 weeks... I am happy, - Is it the gas from not eating? and then the hiccups - just wondering if this is my right spot,, green spot,,, not hungry between meals anymore, and have to stop eating before finish some of my plate.

A lot of people get what is known as first bite syndrome. The best way to handle it is to have a warm drink before you eat to help relax the oesophagus and then take extra care with that initial bite. Wait a few minutes before you try to eat the rest of the meal and hopefully it will then go down OK.

It is something that tends to happen more in the early stages of being banded and it improves the longer you have had your band.

^{THANKS... i JUST GOT FILLED LAST WEEK, AND ITS DIFFERENT for sure this time.}

I have noticed many people say they cannot talk while eating....I wonder why.

I take so much time between bites and swallows, that If I did not have something to do between swallows, I would go nuts! I drive my wife crazy. She's trying to eat and I keep putting my fork down and talking all the time.

Whats does everybody else do between bites/swallows, stare out the window? Read a newspaper?

I find talking is the best way to slow down my eating, so not to eat too fast and pay the consequences.

I think my talking problems are mostly at work..- I should leave my desk and go eat so nobody bothers me. but I work through lunch and leave out 1hr earlier,,, so i can hit the gym. I am trying to answer folks while I am eating over cubicles..and guess they need to come around my cubicle and see why I did not respond. Habits to be broken!

Yea the first bite is always the hardest, I suggest chopping your food and chewing your fooding into really fine pieces, so it goes down easier.

my first bite is always the hardest too! I hate it. It's like a little reminder, courtesy of my band! Eat slowly, and chew chew chew, like a train! after that I'm good.

Hiccups usually mean STOP! do not pass go, do not collect $100.00! lol. It means your body has had enough, and there are going to be problems if you keep eating.

I find talking when eating makes me eat slower, take breaks between bites - so it definitely helps.

As a fellow sufferer of this first bite syndrome, I learned to put the fork down for a few minutes for the first 3 bites, and chew chew chew. I wait till they are each completely all the way down before taking another bite. At home I even get up and do something else, then come back and complete my meal. I'm considering using baby sized forks to eat smaller bites. I use teaspoons now, never tablespoons except with Soups.

I am a slow eater from birth - always last to finish, and now it takes even longer - who cares - eating is joy, it's nice to make it last longer especially with the dismal portions we (are trying to) eat

If you watch TV while you eat like me, you can make it a point to start and end the meal with the 40 minute episodes like Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy etc....