I went in for a fill two weeks before Thanksgiving to ensure that I didn't overdue it for the 8-week food fest that was about to begin. I was doing ok until the first of December (holiday treat season) when I noticed that I can't eat links sausage or anything that has casing on it. Where a 'burp' used to signify digestion, it now means that the food is about to 'up back up'. I didn't lose any weight during the holidays as a result of the inability to keep my food down either. I confess that I did drink a lot of carbonated drinks during the holiday season. Most of the time it was 7-up to sooth my stomach from all of the 'upchucking'. I have for the most part changed my eating habit. Where I used to start my meal off with a meat, I now use it as a condiment or as I would a dessert (I sample it). This is particularly had when you have to eat on the go. Sandwiches don't stay down (bread), chicken doesn't either. If I sit down and eat soup and a salad or a potatoes (baked or mashed) I am fine. Everything else seems to get stuck. Dare I go and have some of the fill removed. I am struggling to maintain my weight now. I fear a big increase in weight if I loosen up the band.

GJRay.

Banded 5/30/06

230/198/150 goal

I have had some similar problems. Someone else posted what they do to keep this problem from happening in an earlier post. Here is what I do:

Mornings: Water only and then a protien shake or soft oatmeal

Lunch: soft food only, usally a cottage double and a soup at hand ( I only get half and hour for lunch and have to eat quickly)

Afternoon snack: yogurt or another cottage double

Dinner: Normal (small) dinner usually chicken thigh, chicken breast is too dry and gets stuck, noodles or mashed potatoes, and green beans or corn. If I keep all my foods before dinner soft, I am usually fine.

Today I tried a hamburger without the bun for lunch and it was way too much.

Hope this helps you.

Most of the time it was 7-up to sooth my stomach from all of the 'upchucking'.

I think some clarification might help you out. When you bring up the food that can't pass through the stoma, your stomach isn't involved. It's all happening at an "esophageal" level. Long story short. And drinking a carbonated beverage won't do anything to soothe that. If anything, I'd think the carbonation could make it worse. Carbonation always had a way of "burning" me. You'll have to rely on things that can help as they're on their way down -- lots of people swear by aloe vera gel. For me it's warm liquids.

If you can eat meat, potatoes, and salad when you sit down, but things like sandwiches on the go come back up, then my first reaction is that it's how you're eating and not your fill. I have no idea what your habits are around bite size, how much you swallow at once, etc. -- but when someone is overfilled, it's much more likely that they'll get sick on meat but can (or sometimes can't if it's significantly tight) get liquids down. If meat and potatoes go down for you, but nothing else (which would include liquids) does, then I don't think overfill is your issue.

If your problem is that the band is too tight, you should at the very least contact your doc. If you are having any problems that are troublesome to you, you should always ask your doctor. All the information I have read, always says that you should not drink carbinated drinks because it expands in the stomach and can stretch it.

Good luck to you!