Okay, so my wife and I are new to the band. I'm 8 days in and she's 5. Yeah, three days apart. That was mainly so I could be at the hospital with her as opposed to our annoying parents...

We're curious. When you have a PB or rather, need to PB, how soon after eating does it happen? Is it an immediate, I just swallowed and now I need to PB? Or is it something that could happen minutes after eating?

Thanks!

You won't have to worry about a PB until you begin to feel restriction. For a small percentage of people, that's without a fill but for the rest, it's after one or more fills (depending on the size band and the amount of the fill).

When you do get that feeling, it's usually while you're eating or right afterwards. Sometimes, you take too big a piece of meat and don't chew it thoroughly and are stopped in the middle of eating by discomfort. This is often described as a golfball in the center of the chest but can present as back pain, shoulder pain, or pain along the digestive tract.

Sometimes, you get "all the food in" and then start to feel crampy discomfort. The esophagus tries to move the food down the digestive tract and begins mass producing secretions to accomplish this. If there is no way the food will budge, you have a PB followed by bringing up what won't go down.

I hope that helps you out. Good luck to you and your wife for a smooth recovery.

Thanks a ton for the response. This site rocks!

I usually know it's probably going to happen and at that point I get up and walk around with my arms up over my head and that sometimes helps and then the sliming starts and after 15 min if I'm still hurting I just go ahead and throw up and get it over with. It's nothing like when you use to throw up, it's not nearly as bad as there are no acids and stuff in there.

For me, it's within 5 minutes of eating the offensive piece of food, but I've never had an experience where I couldn't control when it came up. Meaning, I always have time to get to a bathroom, even if I have to wait in line. It's almost muscular at that point -- kind of like how you can hold it even when you really, really have to go to the bathroom.

Pre-band, I worried that I would somehow spontaneously PB so quickly that I wouldn't have time to get somewhere private, or would have to run to a sink, etc. For me, it's never been like that.

I assume you are still on liquids? Your swelling from surgery should be about gone down by now, so wouldn't think you are experiencing a true PB.

When I have one it's sometimes hours after I eat.....usually in the middle of the night, sometimes just as I doze off (I guess when my esophagus relaxes?) I guess that it must happen when the food won't go thru the stoma into the "other"stomach.

JulieNYC, you brought back memories. Shortly after one of my fills I was in a restaurant and the fish dish was dry resulting in me needing to "get rid" of it. I had to wait in line for the bathroom and the pain just got worse and worse. Like you, I can control when the "losing it" happens but the longer I wait, the worse the pain becomes.

Tom328...I used to PB almost as soon as I ate 'offensive' food...hehehe usually meat or something that doesn't break down easily...However, the good news is that I am 17months post surgery and I haven't PB in an awfully long time probably 6months or more.

becky

For me, it can be within two minutes of eating...or even 10 minutes.

We're curious. When you have a PB or rather, need to PB, how soon after eating does it happen? Is it an immediate, I just swallowed and now I need to PB? Or is it something that could happen minutes after eating?

I've always known because 99% of the time it has been a gradual thing. Slight discomfort, something not feeling quite right... pain setting into the lower abdomen... pain setting into the hips... (start thinking uh oh, this may not just go away)... pain setting into the back... (start thinking uh oh, this probably isn't going to just go away)... salivating starts...(pretty sure this isn't going to just go away)... starts getting hard to swallow, etc. When my throat kicks in, and it gets hard to swallow, it's PB time. All of this happens in the course of about 15 - 30 minutes, depending on how much of the saliva I swallow, and how quickly I start spitting into a toilet, whether or not I have to try and hold it back or I can let 'er rip, etc.

The closest I've come to an unexpected PB - was not unexpected, all of the above happened, it just happened in a greatly abbreviated timeline of about 2 minutes. That's because I stupidly added fluids onto a stick. I knoew the minute the liquid hit that I was in for trouble. BTW, don't do that, it magnifies the pain factor about 6x.

I've always known because 99% of the time it has been a gradual thing. Slight discomfort, something not feeling quite right... pain setting into the lower abdomen... pain setting into the hips... (start thinking uh oh, this may not just go away)... pain setting into the back... (start thinking uh oh, this probably isn't going to just go away)... salivating starts...(pretty sure this isn't going to just go away)... starts getting hard to swallow, etc. When my throat kicks in, and it gets hard to swallow, it's PB time. All of this happens in the course of about 15 - 30 minutes, depending on how much of the saliva I swallow, and how quickly I start spitting into a toilet, whether or not I have to try and hold it back or I can let 'er rip, etc.

The closest I've come to an unexpected PB - was not unexpected, all of the above happened, it just happened in a greatly abbreviated timeline of about 2 minutes. That's because I stupidly added fluids onto a stick. I knoew the minute the liquid hit that I was in for trouble. BTW, don't do that, it magnifies the pain factor about 6x.

Wheetsin, you hit the nail right on the head. I had an issue where I was at a party and trying to hold it in and suddenly had to run because the band wouldn't wait anymore, but it's not like I didn't know it was coming. I was being stupid and trying to ignore it.

Wheetsin, you hit the nail right on the head. I had an issue where I was at a party and trying to hold it in and suddenly had to run because the band wouldn't wait anymore, but it's not like I didn't know it was coming. I was being stupid and trying to ignore it.

I did have a close call last week - my own doing. Got wonky at a restaurant with co-workers, so I excused myself and yakked in the bathroom. Didn't have that instant relief so I knew chances were that I need another yak, so I stalled, asked for a box, etc... yakked again, and still didn't have that instant relief but one of the ladies I was with needed to get to the airport (a third lady drove all of us) and I felt bad for possibly making her late. And there was no way I was going to yak in the car, so I sat there trying to convince myself I could wait one more minute... one more minute... and it just kept hurting more and more.

*sigh*

It's not like vomitting when you better run or else. I just got to the point where there was no where else for my saliva to go. Fortunately my co-worker knew what was up & dropped me off at the door, and I made it, but I'm glad she had a lead foot because I would have had to ask her to pull off the interstate if we had been going any farther or slower.

Which I've had to do three other times, btw -- ask someone to pull over so I can PB, that is. One was with my parents/husband after dinner on our way to a store, one was with a limo driver on the way to O'Hare (with a co-worker in the car), and one (unfortunately more like 13) with a co-worker who was driving me in for an emergency unfill. :tired

Man, it's a good thing we can pull our dignity off the ground, brush it off, and start over!

Tom, I generally know if I am going to PB within a couple minutes of eating. I would say I PB within 2-3 minutes. Good luck.