I am curious how quickly you PB after you eat something you haven't chewed that well or that gets stuck. If you go to a restaurant and are at dinner, do you have time to go to the bathroom before you start sliming (and whatever else comes with PBing).

I am getting banded in 3 weeks and eat out all the time socially. I am worried that if I am out with friends and PB it will be humiliating. Does everyone PB? Can you avoid it by chewing or other tricks? My doctor said we aren't supposed to drink while we eat, but if you are eating something more dry (like over cooked chicken, etc) can you take sips to help prevent PBing? or is that really bad?

Also, I have been practicing chewing. What consistency do you want your food to be before you swallow to avoid problems? oatmeal? still chunks? Any tips for someone newly focusing on chewing?

I feel mine getting stuck within a few min after swallowing. be careful of overcooked foods and breads. If you chew your foods till they are liquid that helps. I still get stuck once a day cause I dont chew well enough.

I have been out to eat twice in two months. First time I overdid it and was sore for days. The second time I was scared to order cause of the portions and getting stuck.

I was banded in 08 and didn't even know what a PB was until recently. I had fluid backed out due to moving cross country and losing insurance. I got a my first fill since July 09 on May 29th so it has been several weeks. I had to quickly learn how to eat again, chew, chew, chew etc..

I did liquid then mushy for a couple of days then when I started to eat again felt the restriction in a big way. I ran into the problem in the evening when I made the mistake of taking a pill before I ate, then the next day ate then took the pill! I have found that I need to take the pill about half hour or more prior to eating then I am ok. Prior to the fill I did drink with meals, which I know is not the way to do it. I avoid drinking with meals now and drink some before and then a bit after. The only way I will take a sip here and there is if I have something kinda dry, BUT i make sure I do not take it right with the food I wait a minute or two.

You will learn what you can eat and not to eat with the textures and will find what works for you.

I can eat popcorn, or a few tortilla chips with black beans or refried. If I eat something not so great I try to make sure I eat something heavy protein based with it.

I cannot eat NY steak, or Tbone (not my fav cuts anyway, but I can eat Filet Mignon, Rib Eye cuts (A steak will last a couple of meals and I end up sharing leftovers with hubby. I can eat hamburger but prefer to eat Bison as it is better for you and the nutrition value is Excellent, it is great for a burger or chili. I find I am not as in love with the buns anymore, and usually start with it and remove most of it (I eat a half a burger).

I hear some on here have trouble with eggs yet I am able to get down eggs without a problem. I also have a love affair with Romaine lettuce! I make a salad with black beans in it and keeping some of the juice helps to moisten the lettuce and stretches a little dressing much further. I will crunch up very small a few tortilla chips to give it crunch when I am craving something crunchy. I figure a few tortilla chips is better than half a bag and it is like a taco/tostada salad.

Practice chewing your food to a consistancy of paste and really try to taste your food.

For me a PB episode you can feel it coming on, and suggestion is to wait a minute or so between bites. This will allow you to feel if there is going to be an issue, and not to add more bites onto the mix which will make it worse. If you take it slow, you will most likely be fine and do not try to drink on top of a stuck episode because it has to work its way out. With each fill you get most likely you will see a slight difference and possibly change personal choices during this time. Make sure that you follow the after fill diet that your Doctor tells you. This will help cut down on the swelling after a fill, and I have also found that a hot drink can relax and open you up a bit if your band has not yet woken up. I usually use hot sage tea if I am having problems getting down vitamins etc in the week after my fill. Hope that helps

I've only had one PB episode and it was totally my own fault- it was shortly after my last fill and I didn't chew nearly well enough. So in answer to your question, no, not everyone PB's regularly or even at all. For most it's avoidable simply by eating slow, taking tiny bites, and chewing the food until it's practically liquid.

When I did have my PB, I had plenty of time to go to the bathroom. It's not like vomiting because your stomach doesn't spasm and it's not violent like vomiting. It's exactly what PB stands for, a productive burp. The food just kinda pops back up.

I've only had one PB episode and it was totally my own fault- it was shortly after my last fill and I didn't chew nearly well enough. So in answer to your question, no, not everyone PB's regularly or even at all. For most it's avoidable simply by eating slow, taking tiny bites, and chewing the food until it's practically liquid.

When I did have my PB, I had plenty of time to go to the bathroom. It's not like vomiting because your stomach doesn't spasm and it's not violent like vomiting. It's exactly what PB stands for, a productive burp. The food just kinda pops back up.

ive had this all this afternoon... not nice. i ate a piece of pork and didnt chew it long enough... and away i went. i seem to be slow to learn about chewing but its hard when i take a roast out of the oven and start slicing into it. Ive even forgotten sometimes that i have the band, the habit of eating pieces of roast has been with me for so long. Anyway, ive been off colour this afternoon. No tea for me now. just a hot drink im afraid. i have another fill on wednesday... wouldnt you think i would learn how to chew properly?? just when ''i thought it was safe to go back in the water''...

I like the taste of food. I get stuck s lot still cause of chewing. I get mad at myself.but risk it cause of the taste.

Stupid question ...what is PB?

I like the taste of food. I get stuck s lot still cause of chewing. I get mad at myself.but risk it cause of the taste.

so i haven't been banded, so someone who has might be able to explain better what productive burping is. but from what i gather, it is the same thing as sliming. it is when your body reacts to having a piece of food that won't digest properly or pass properly. a large amount of mucous forms to try and help it down, but with the band it doesn't usually just go down easily. you have to semi burp to let it up and a lot of the mucous comes up, so it is kind of gross too. i have read some posts that people's mouths fill with saliva/mucous too. i think it is something everyone tries to avoid, but with certain foods getting stuck is more common. i hope i'm right. i would love to hear what someone who has the band has to say about it.

deleted- repeat post in my sleepy haze! LOL

For me a PB (productive burp) is far different from being stuck and sliming. But many people use the terms interchangeably.

A productive burp is just that, a burp where unexpectedly I produce something in my mouth. It is a total surprise. I burp and ... oh, here comes a little bit of something! I can spit it into a napkin with none the wiser, unless someone is watching me very closely. But I do NOT have time to make it to the bathroom as there is zero warning. This doesn't have anything to do with failure to chew for me.

Stuck/sliming is a completely different experience. Sometimes caused by failure to chew, sometimes by doughy foods, sometimes by very dry foods, sometimes by taking a swig of liquid while eating, sometimes by I have no idea what. I start with pain just below my sternum. If I stop eating at the first sign of pain, I am often OK. If I press on, I am doomed. Then the slime begins. Since it cannot go down, it must come up. As posted, the slime is mucous made by the body in an attempt to help the food go down.

Eventually the food will either go down on its own, or come up (what many refer to as a PB). To me, that is not a PB. When the food comes back up, there is no burping, it is more working my stomach muscles or coughing it up.

YMMV.

Before my last fill I would here and there get the pain in the chest you feel like something is stuck there, do not try to eat more on top of it. I usually would get up and walk around, the eyes Water and get red, and sometimes you can be a saliva machine and get a bit of extra saliva to help wash it down. I never had to toss any of it up it would go down on its own after 5 minutes or so.

After the fill I had some interesting experiences as i was relearning how to eat. I ate on top of a large pill.. I also took a pill after eating because I used to be able to do that. Post latest fill not anymore!

I take a pill a half hour to an hour before I eat dinner. I make sure to drink plenty of Fluid after the pill to help wash it down and away.

The new stuck episodes did not seem as easy to clear, I guess because I was blocked so something was going to come back up. I had a couple of variations...

I leaned over the toilet and excess fluid kinda fell out of my mouth, think of it like an over filled/blocked funnel it wasn't going down fast enough so with a little lean it just drizzled out.

I actually sort of burped while over the toilet and some of the excess came back up, it is not painful, or forceful but was a relief.

I also had more of a vomit but not. I think because had the burps when i got stuck which seems on me to make more air get stuck which makes the block worse.. but it was not fully involving what is under the band.. much milder not painful, but it felt like something needed to come back up now..

My versions I have time to get to a bathroom and you feel it coming on. I do eat slow, but in these cases I swallowed without chewing properly so it was all my fault or eating and pill taking one after the other. I learned after trial and error in the week post my last fill... I seem to be working into it now and not having any issues.. you will learn

For me a PB (productive burp) is far different from being stuck and sliming. But many people use the terms interchangeably.

A productive burp is just that, a burp where unexpectedly I produce something in my mouth. It is a total surprise. I burp and ... oh, here comes a little bit of something! I can spit it into a napkin with none the wiser, unless someone is watching me very closely. But I do NOT have time to make it to the bathroom as there is zero warning. This doesn't have anything to do with failure to chew for me.

Stuck/sliming is a completely different experience. Sometimes caused by failure to chew, sometimes by doughy foods, sometimes by very dry foods, sometimes by taking a swig of liquid while eating, sometimes by I have no idea what. I start with pain just below my sternum. If I stop eating at the first sign of pain, I am often OK. If I press on, I am doomed. Then the slime begins. Since it cannot go down, it must come up. As posted, the slime is mucous made by the body in an attempt to help the food go down.

Eventually the food will either go down on its own, or come up (what many refer to as a PB). To me, that is not a PB. When the food comes back up, there is no burping, it is more working my stomach muscles or coughing it up.

YMMV.

this is a good description. thanks for sharing.

Before my last fill I would here and there get the pain in the chest you feel like something is stuck there, do not try to eat more on top of it. I usually would get up and walk around, the eyes Water and get red, and sometimes you can be a saliva machine and get a bit of extra saliva to help wash it down. I never had to toss any of it up it would go down on its own after 5 minutes or so.

After the fill I had some interesting experiences as i was relearning how to eat. I ate on top of a large pill.. I also took a pill after eating because I used to be able to do that. Post latest fill not anymore!

I take a pill a half hour to an hour before I eat dinner. I make sure to drink plenty of Fluid after the pill to help wash it down and away.

The new stuck episodes did not seem as easy to clear, I guess because I was blocked so something was going to come back up. I had a couple of variations...

I leaned over the toilet and excess fluid kinda fell out of my mouth, think of it like an over filled/blocked funnel it wasn't going down fast enough so with a little lean it just drizzled out.

I actually sort of burped while over the toilet and some of the excess came back up, it is not painful, or forceful but was a relief.

I also had more of a vomit but not. I think because had the burps when i got stuck which seems on me to make more air get stuck which makes the block worse.. but it was not fully involving what is under the band.. much milder not painful, but it felt like something needed to come back up now..

My versions I have time to get to a bathroom and you feel it coming on. I do eat slow, but in these cases I swallowed without chewing properly so it was all my fault or eating and pill taking one after the other. I learned after trial and error in the week post my last fill... I seem to be working into it now and not having any issues.. you will learn

a really good description as well...

so i haven't been banded, so someone who has might be able to explain better what productive burping is. but from what i gather, it is the same thing as sliming. it is when your body reacts to having a piece of food that won't digest properly or pass properly. a large amount of mucous forms to try and help it down, but with the band it doesn't usually just go down easily. you have to semi burp to let it up and a lot of the mucous comes up, so it is kind of gross too. i have read some posts that people's mouths fill with saliva/mucous too. i think it is something everyone tries to avoid, but with certain foods getting stuck is more common. i hope i'm right. i would love to hear what someone who has the band has to say about it.

A PB and sliming are somewhat connected, but not the same. Sliming can occur when you get stuck but does not mean you will PB. PB is when you've got a stuck bad enough that it's not going down and it causes serious discomfort. I have had both a PB and general stuck, and I knew instantly what was going to happen when the PB started. It was extra hard to breath, painful, and my mouth started to create extra saliva to try and push the food down. I instantly went to the restroom, bent over the toilet, and "coughed" the food out. I use the term "coughed" because it is not regular vomiting, just the regurgitation of whatever is stuck above the band.

To the original poster: you should practice chewing your pieces to the consistency of applesauce and work on taking time between bites. This will be extra important as you reach restriction. Also, I have heard of people choosing to sip drinks if they are out with friends just to prevent the possibility of a stuck or PB. I have not done this and don't plan on it, but it could be useful, esp if you are in a stressful situation.