Being stuck?

[txflea 63]

I keep reading all these horror stories about what it feels like for your food to ''get stuck'' and I am terrified. I know everyone goes through it at least once with the band, and so far I am extremely lucky and have not had this distinct pleasure yet. (I was banded June 6th)

So my questions are.......

How long does the food stay stuck?? (I know its different for everyone, but just a general guideline is what I am looking for)

Is it an hour? 30 minutes? All day? A few minutes?

What do you do to get ''un-stuck?"

Drink Water? Eat ice? Walk? Sit in a corner and cry?

After you had an episode of ''stuck'' what should you do?

Back to a liquid diet? liquid tylenol for pain and swelling? Ice to soothe the swelling?

I can truly say this is something that is beginning to stress me out a little bit.

TIA

[drehn88 251]

I want to hear the answers too! I definitely have anxiety about my first stuck episode that I'm sure will eventually happen.

[sp70 193]

I was banded 6 weeks ago, received my first fill yesterday. Had my first stuck episode today. I was told I could have soft foods today from 2 different stages of my post op diet progression. I had a bite of deli turkey meat. My first mistake was I that I was eating on the go. Took too big of a bite and obviously didn't chew it as long as I needed to. OMG....the pain the center of my chest! I had asked my nutritionist yesterday what to do if I get stuck she said I could try a drink to see if that would help push it through. Big mistake. Once I took a sip, I then started foaming. I walked around, I leaned on the counter and tried going about my business. Things started to feel a little better so about 30 minutes later I took a sip of tea and the pain came back along with the PBs. I dealt with it for over an hour and a half before it finally subsided. I debated on whether to call for an unfill, which I really didn't want, but it finally settled on its own. Back to liquids for me the rest of the day. Too scared to try anything else right now. I took for granted how well I could handle things prior to my first fill. I will do whatever I can to prevent that again.

[Kate S 2]

you'll know if its stuck - strong feeling of lump that won't move, panic sets in etc

some people have instant projectile vomiting reaction - scary - but I don't, thank goodness.

I've been banded 4 & half years & seldom experience it , usually when hungry, eat too fast & don't chew enough. Some foods are best avoided e.g. fresh bread.< /p>

Dietician told me at start that best solution is always to have can of cold fizzy drink - any brand - in fridge, take a mouthful & it will move lump in a hurry. This definitely works but recommend being by yourself over the kitchen or bathroom sink as it is quick.

[txflea 63]

Projectile vomiting?

Is it Ok if you do?

Fizzy drink, like carbonated Water or sprite?

Sorry, I'm now just stressing about this. I'm a big whimp when it comes to pain and I'm afraid I will have a panic attack and try to force myself to throw up.

[Kate S 2]

re the fizzy drink - Diet Coke is a good one.

For projectile vomiting read PB, I'm in Aussie & we don't use that term. It's not really vomiting because the food has not reached the stomach, just a rejection of lumpy stuff accompanied by heaps of gross mucus. Some people don't get enough warning to remove themselves from company before it happens while others, like me, firstly get extreme discomfort, walk around, and eventually have to deal with it because the lump just will not go down.

I still lose the odd meal when in a hurry - its depressing - but calming down , having a warm drink slowly, dunking a plain biscuit if you can handle it and just resolving to start all over again is the best cure. Unfortunately It's not good to resort to icecream and cheesecake just because they go down easily!

My surgeon always says that after a fill I should have 2 days of fluids - Soups etc, nothing lumpy. His 6-monthly checkups always involve removing the band contents, measuring to make sure nothing's leaking, & putting back again. So if you're off to a fill appointment have that yummy morning tea first as it's veggie juice & Soup for a couple of days after.

[B-52 7,113]

People call it "Horror Stories"....It's NOT....it's all part of the learning curve...your old eating habits versus the band's restriction....

Sooner or later you learn (Hopefully) and seldom get stuck again...

Some people fear it so much they get a un-fill, instead of changing their lifestyle...then are always complaining of gaining weight and being hungry all the time...

I have not been stuck in over 2 years....my band is adjusted to where I can go all day (24 hr) and NEVER be hungry or have cravings....

It's because I changed myself to adapt to what the band can do....I let the band be in charge, not the other way around.

If I try to eat a T-Bone steak, I KNOW I WILL get stuck...so I don't eat red meat anymore.....I Could get a slight un-fil, then eat all the steak want....and go back to traditional measuring portion sizes just as I did before banding....and fight the hunger cravings all over again..........but then, what was the point of WLS?

[☠carolinagirl☠ 18,722]

i am a year post op and never been stuck once. i eat slow, take wee bites and as B52 pointed out, its a learning experience...i also do not have fills but when i ever do start to get them, i want to be on the (looser side) but that is just me..

[koolkel 80]

I've been having PBs quite a bit since my third fill. Lettuce will cause it for me as well as eating on the go and not concentrating. I haven't had extreme pain but I feel like I'm gagging. My mouth gets watery and slimy. I sort of burp up what's stuck. The other night I drank Water without thinking and it was a BIG mistake! Everything flew out of my mouth, right in a restaurant. Sometimes it's only one expulsion and other times it "spit up" several times. I have had no lasting pain after these episodes and I can eat again shortly after.

It's definitely a learning period for me--- it's like aversion therapy. I have become super aware of what and how I'm eating. It now takes me 20 minutes to eat a container of yogurt, especially in the morning.

[downysoft 51]

Boy I sure hope I don't forget and have this happen to me. So drinking the fizzy stuff will bring the stuck food back up?

[dawalsh 919]

I've been there only once in the 6 months I've been banded. It's a horrible feeling.

I don't eat white rice for several years now because of that stuck feeling and it hurts my chest. I've only had PB episode and I don't want it to happen again.

My problem is I'm not eating enough calories but it's more out of fear of PBing than anything else.

My PCP feels I'm not losing fast enough but I'm still losing.

I have not hit the green zone yet and hopefully I will with my next fill will be in August. I'm still counting calories and although a slow loser I'm still proud of my accomplishments.

[B-52 7,113]

First, it is not vomiting...it is regurgitation...if you re vomiting then thereis something else going on, not band related....

Also, projectile vomiting? Really? Not even close...

Regurgitation....think about a newborn, after just eating will burp and spit up on your shoulder....that's because babies don't know any better yet and they eat too much too fast....

It is the exact same thing with banded people....that's why it is called a PB- productive burp....

Only it is a lot more than a babies and chewed food, not milk or formula......

[jaye282 79]

Get used to mucus! When you get stuck (not if, but when) do not swallow the saliva your mouth is forming. Spit it out. Your mouth instinctively makes mucus to help the "stuck food"slide down your esophagus. For bandsters, it makes it worse. Have you ever been so thirsty that you took too big of a drink and when you swallowed that big drink it hurt real bad. That's what being stuck feels like. It hurts, but its manageable. Small small small bites. And chew!!!!!!

[tracie71 11]

Just had my 1 st stuck have been pacing the house all evening trying to get it to move no luck so thank you for the diet coke idea it Worked omg this need to be done right beside the toilet it worked soooo fast. Chew chew what was I thinking never again