OK, I know this is the biggest of all no-no's and I certainly didn't mean to do it. I was chewing gum and talking and I inhaled and. . . (no jokes, please). Anyway, I called my doctor's office immediately to ask for advice and guess what? The office closed at one. I called the answering service and the lady said Dr. Spivak will not respond to calls unless it involves bleeding or throwing up. I asked whether a nurse could be paged and she said no.

I don't have a lot of restriction right now - very little, in fact. I don't know whether I should try to drink Water - or not. What should I do? I can feel the gum in my throat (because I have not tried to swallow it), but I don't actually have that stuck feeling or a golfball sensation or anything. I'm not salivating or anything like that.

I will never chew gum again. I don't know how I could have been so dumb. Any responses ASAP will be appreciated. I'm panicking. Thanks.

Nancy

what about trying something warm to drink?

if you have no pain or salivating. it sounds good. if you CAN drink something warm without having any 'backup' issues - you may be in the clear.

let us know! i've got jessie ahroni on messenger. i'll see what she says.

Jessie says it will move on down the digestive tract or it will come up. She rarely has to unfill someone because something is stuck! Then.. she jokes and I quote'.

"jessie ahroni: [just joking] Tell her to drink a quarter cup of K-Y [not really]

LOL .. not to worry. I think you'll be okay. No more gum! lol.

:laugh

The afternoon after my surgery all they allowed me to have was gum and i swallowed it! the nurse said to let her know if I had any trouble. I never did. I think you will be just fine.

Thank you and thanks for checking with Jessie. I am drinking some warm tea now. I can swallow, but the gum feels like it is stuck in my throat. But Jessie's response is reassuring. I just thought I had heard of disasterous results with swallowing gum and I was picturing it creating a sticky web right at the band site.

LOL Jessie and I think alike. I did actually think of going to the cafeteria (I'm at work) and eating some mayo.

She's really a very funny lady. lol. With a nurse's/hospital sense of humor. Since I work in that arena, I usually 'get it'.

something smooth and slippery might help facilitate it's moving on down. got any frozen yogurt handy?

Claraluz, how about some flax oil or vitamin E capsules? I didn't know about gum being a no-no. I swallowed some yesterday, but I haven't noticed any problems YET. What kind of problems can it cause? Well, that's really comforting about "our" dr.!

Peanut butter will dissolve gum - at least from hair. Good excuse to have some peanut butter...

Marie: Yeah, I'm not too happy about that. I may have over-reacted in calling them, but it does seem that someone from the office should be available for such situations - especially since it is not exactly the middle of the night. It's still working hours for most of the world.

As far as gum being a problem, I remember that someone posted something about swallowing gum (it may have been on another board) and the advice seemed to be, "Call your doctor immediately!" Others said they had been warned that one thing you should never do is swallow gum. Naturally, nobody from Dr. Spivak's office cautioned me about that, but that's because I got no instructions from them whatsoever other than to stay on liquids for two weeks and mush for two weeks. I never even got the Inamed booklet. But if you swallowed the gum yesterday, it obviously has not caused a problem for you. I think the concern is that it can get stuck and cause a blockage at the band site.

I was supposed to go for a fill yesterday, but a situation came up at work and I couldn't go. Now I'm glad I didn't because that would only make the gum situation worse.

Donali: OK, I'll try the Peanut Butter when I get home. Thanks for the suggestion.

Nancy

Nancy, I had to cancel my first fill for yesterday also. So since we both cancelled, maybe the patients that did come in only had to wait 2 hours -- instead of 3.

Spivak's rules: "Only contact him if you're bleeding or vomiting." That reminds me of the movie, "Doc Hollywood", w/ Michael J. Fox. Remember, the old retiring dr. had similiar rules.

Does it feel like the gum is moving yet? Sincerely hope it goes south real soon.

My oldest son swallowed four buttons when he was a toddler. They were attached to the button card w/staples. I called the dr. & he said to start checking his diaper. I was worried about the staples getting hung up in his intestine. The next day, he "passed all 4 buttons w/ staples still attached. What a relief!

Ok, well I guess the gum finally went down, though it took a while. I tried the Peanut Butter, Donali, and I really think it helped.

Thanks everyone for their replies. It's so reassuring to be able to come here for rapid-response advice and wisdom.

Nancy

Thank goodness! Thanks for posting about the "no gum" rule. There is a lot to learn about this band!

Glad you're feeling better, Nancy!!

Any excuse to have a little Peanut Butter, eh?

I should have specified the creamy kind, not the chunky kind.

Bumping