I've noticed that when I PB, the VAST majority of the time, no food comes up. It's thick discolored (presumably by what I ate) slime, and what I can best describe as "foam". The "foam" will float on the top of the Water, so it's definitely foam-ish, at least -- or it would be heavier than the water and sink.

So am I getting stuck on this "foam", or am I getting stuck on food, but PBing somehow pushes the food down and the foam/saliva is what's left? (which makes no sense... that food would go down but not saliva).

I understand what the foam is, and what causes it, etc. But I don't understand why it's what I bring up, and not food, most of the time.

Any input?

OK, this is the ickiest thread I've read yet! Ha! I am scheduled for surgery on 8/24, and this "slime" thing really scares me! I have a VERY strong gag reflex........won't this "slime" make me toss my cookies??? Ew! Also, WHAT is PB'ing???

Thanks so much for all the informative stuff........pretty or not! I need to know it all!

Spitting out slime makes me PB (bandster version of tossing cookies - search for it, you'll find tons of "dictionary" references)... I have a strong gag reflex too. If I hold something in my mouth (like a PEN, you pervs), and think about it, I'll gag.

Oh,

You guys are scaring me to death. I had my first fill one week ago and I knew when I left there by the way I could drink my cup of water that it was not enough. I'm losing about 1-2 pounds a week or little more but I called today for another fill next week which will be two weeks after the 1.5 fill. I just don't have the restriction. I eat one whole peice of thin crust pizza tonight (my sons 19th b-day) and I eat one chicken nugget for lunch and drank all day. I know it's not good decisions but I was on the go in the car for almost 10 hours today. I need the restriction I know but the pbing makes me t totally panic stricken. I sure dread the first one and I know it's coming. I do thank you all for the explanations because I do want to know what to expect. Pray for me I guess. LOL

mysherrijo, PBs are a lot of the reason why it took me 5 years to go through with lap-band. My aversion to regurgitative activities *ahem* is so strong that I almost didn't have this procedure because of the food having to come back up. So here's what I can say about that...

You'll see a lot of people refer to "food coming back up" as vomit. This is a very inaccurate misuse of the word. Vomitting is horrible. PBing, on the other hand, while not something I'd stand in line to get to do, isn't that bad. It's a very small amount, is over very quickly, and isn't nearly is unpleasant (no stomach acid involved, unlike vomitting -- it's just whatever got stuck + whatever you've swallowed since). PB doesn't leave a taste in your mouth. It's swallowed, but undigested... so really it's no worse than couching something up that you swallowed the wrong way. Except it's slimier. Personally I make the same wretching sound when I PB as when I vomit, and it *sounds* like I'm vomitting, but I can just rinse my mouth and go about my day. Not the case with vomitting.

Also, honestly - PBs truly aren't that bad because they stop the pain of something being stuck. Trust me. You'll only have to get something stuck once before you go from "I hope I don't PB" to "Please hurry up & PB so this quits hurting".

It's amazing how some people can have a PB long after they have eaten. Mine always happens the same way, I am eating and either don't chew enough or develop a spasm and the awful pain in my chest begins. It never gets better and seems to grow from a golf ball to a tennis ball. I walk to the bathroom and up comes the food.

While not the same as vomiting from the flu, what I bring up is definitely not foam or slime but the food I was eating. Since having the last fill and finally feeling restriction, I now know why it's so important to chew thoroughly and eat to the point of satisfaction... NOT fullness.

***warning, this is realllly gross***

When I slime with no food, I drink something.

It seems like the liquid acts as a de-clogging mechanism for me. After a few minutes the liquid along with clogged food will come back up.

My theory:

I cant produce a valid pb on food alone (from the eating with no drinking thing). I must drink the liquid to make the stuck food unclog so it can come back up.

Me, too Paula! Cold Crystal Light doens't taste bad at all when it comes back up...especially when the golf ball feeling in finally! gone...ahhhhhh!

I'm thankful I don't PB often at all. I like NOT being tight!!!!

I can't - and never could - bring stuff up by coughing.

I am always so scared of screwing up my band by coughing/retching, but sometimes you just need to bring that food back up and starts again. I posted this in another thread, but what helps to bring the food up for me is doing the "downward-facing-dog" yoga position...let gravity do the work and you don't have to retch or cough to bring it up. Jackknifing yourself does the work for you!

I've actually never had a PB so long after I eat...it usually happens in the first few bites, with more discomfort than actual pain. It's weird, but after I PB...the food I eat afterward always goes down easier.

Ahhhhhh...life with the Lap Band...always an adventure.

You can buy papaya enzymes at GNC or other healthfood stores. Some grocery stores even carry them. I get good results with them sometimes and sometimes I PB anyway! I at least think they're worth keeping on hand just in case.

I read somewhere that a bandster tried doing the yoga pose "downward dog" and the stuck food moved out of its stuck position. NancyRN

I'm new to this, so please excuse my lack of knowledge-- what does PB stand for?

Spitting out slime makes me PB (bandster version of tossing Cookies - search for it, you'll find tons of "dictionary" references)... I have a strong gag reflex too. If I hold something in my mouth (like a PEN, you pervs), and think about it, I'll gag.

MariecCarmen good luck.

It is amazing that I am reading this thread and eating a sausage mcmuffin for the first time in months. I can usual eat 1/4 then begin the pb thing. I am eating it very slowly, pulling it apart and not eating the yolk. Yolk kills me, I love eggs but they don't always like me. I am getting a lot of gurgling noises and burps, for me that means it is going down. If I drank something now....that would be 5 minutes of sliming, pain and then the lovely pb.

Can you eat a few minutes after a pb....? I can but I really just try to use it as a signal to stop eating.

I agree with Wheetsin, when things get stuck, I actually look forward to the pb because I know I will instantly feel better. And, like she said, it is over very quickly and not like normal vomiting where it seems to go on and on. I never drink soda anymore, except when I am really stuck and need to pb in a major way. Quite a while ago, someone on the board told me that drinking a small swallow of coke will bring the food up quickly, and boy does it work. If I take just a small drink of coke, within a few seconds the stuck food comes back up and I go on about my day. I never go back to eating right after I pb though. Once I have done that, I have lost my appetite. But, usually 3 to 4 hours later I am good to eat again.

This is another one of those great "bandster" moments. I have been banded for 8 months and I have never ever PB'd, nor have I ever felt restriction.

My only only PB like moment came from eating a piece of pizza crust, I didn't chew it well enough and it was clearly not a good thing. I felt the famed "Golf Ball" sensation and wrongly went to the internet for answers. I was told to drink Water. Don't ever drink water to clear clogged bread, it inflates. I finally felt better about 26 hrs later. The weird thing is, no slime, no foam, no PB effect, no regurg effect, just pain.

I just had a fill on monday and I am currently at 80% of a 10cc band, so occassionally I get the idea in my head that the band is not on correctly, or I am doing something wrong. I look forward to PBs and restriction in a weird demented moving forward kind of way.

... I look forward to PBs and restriction in a weird demented moving forward kind of way.

Kind of like a rite of passage?