What to do when STUCK?

[SecretBander 79]

I am only a week post op and still on liquids but am fearing the day when something gets stuck and want to be prepared.

Do you just wait it out ? Are there any exercises that help? Does sipping warm tea help 'break it up' ? How long has it taken to resolve ?

Does getting stuck just mean lots of discomfort ? Does vomiting occur or not ? What do you do god forbid this happens in public !?

[RockinGal 15]

I haven't had this experience yet either, thanks for asking the question. I'll be watching the replies.

[cheryl2586 3,053]

Yes it hurts like hell, no liquids will only make it worse because it cant pass through the stoma. Sometimes it can be up to 30 minutes and yes sometimes you throw up. Don't worry about it now. You may never have it happen.

[Ladybandito 516]

Wait it out; walk, walk, and walk some more. Don't drink anything.

Like Cheryl said, it may never happen. Above all, be very, very careful with your first bite of food ... Especially if you are very hungry. That's what got me early on .. Even when I thought I had chewed well. Ugh! I am still very careful with my first bites of something when I am very, very hungry.

Oh, and after it happens, go back to liquids for the rest of the day (believe me, you won't be hungry anyway) as your stoma may be irritated.

[Jim1967 3,569]

I made the mistake of drinking once when I was stuck and man did that just intensify the pain. First reaction is drink to clear the blockage but trust me that is a recipe for more pain. Like the other have stated just need to let it pass. I also find walking around helps but in the end it either has to pass or come up but you need to be careful because forceful vomiting excessively can lead to other complications.

Only way I can describe the pain is how I would imagine a heart attack feels. Pain does not feel like it is in your stomach it actually feels like it is in the esophagus and you get sharp pain in the chest.

Take it slow and introduce all new foods slowly and treat your stomach as if it were a babies stomach.

[2muchfun 8,928]

Look at your band site(stoma) as if it's a funnel. Large and even small chunks of food can plug it up. For me, it's usually just too much food eaten too fast that impacts and overwhelms the pouch area in front of the stoma. For example: Triscuits with all their little crisp threads, even chewed to mush, seem to behave like a dam in front of my stoma and no food can pass till the esophageal peristalsis contractions force the bolus of food to pass the stoma.

Dry foods like chicken, roast pork and beef seem to struggle getting through my stoma. It rarely is painful for me but it is quite uncomfortable. It happened Saturday night at a restaurant. I had to wait about 30 minutes for it to pass. Sometimes, it can take an hour to pass.

I've never been one who can PB(productive burp) these up. I do slime a lot though. Sliming is when your esophagus creates a lot of saliva/phlegm to lubricate the path through to the stomach. If you're home, you can spit it up. I've spent several minutes in restaurant bathrooms spitting up gobs of slime. It seems to reduce the pressure and discomfort.

Ask me anything? I've probably been stuck 300 times in the last 2 years.

[Short and Chunky 230]

Stuck...Well, good luck. I would say you can't prepare for it to happen. It will happen at home and it will happen while you are out on the town. Stuck is an equal opportunity issue. It is bad. Chest pains like a heart attack. DON"T DRINK..it only makes matters worse. I walk and twist and use a heating pad, but mostly - throw up will be the only way to actually get relief. The slim is gross and sometimes you throw up so much you can't catch your breath. Like others have said, you should not eat once this passes and you won't want to anyway. It usually happens to me when I allow myself to get too hungry. Then I eat too fast, too much and too big..Don't get too hungry even it you have to suck on a piece of hard candy until you can eat the way you are suppose to eat. I will go months with no problem then POW ! I do something stupid and I get stuck. Take care and use your brain...it will be fine. You will get stuck and you will survive so hang in there and enjoy the weight loss.....

[5.0junkie 770]

I've been stuck. Ever wonder what drowning is like? That's how I felt. Couldn't breathe and couldn't swallow. I learned a very hard lesson that day. Shoveling groceries down my neck like I did pre op is a no no post op. I wouldn't be as concerned with what to do when it happens as much as I would be concerned with how to prevent it. Small bites, lots of chewing and time is what it takes to prevent in most cases. Take your time and enjoy your meals. Chew chew chew and you shouldn't have any issues. You do not want to be stuck but if it happens the best thing to do is remain calm and just understand what your body is going through during an episode. Had I not read up enough on the postings from the members here I would have been freaking out when I got stuck. Don't freak out if you get stuck and don't be hard on yourself if you get stuck. Just move forward and use it as an experience to learn from.

[lisacaron 5,075]

If your a female, one who's had a baby....for me it felt like a horrible contraction in the middle of my chest right under my rib cage where the esophagus was trying to squeeze squeeze squeeze that bit of food through where it just didn't fit.

Only way I can describe the pain is how I would imagine a heart attack feels. Pain does not feel like it is in your stomach it actually feels like it is in the esophagus and you get sharp pain in the chest.

[kimk1999 450]

For me... I've been stuck a few times and I've only been banded about 2 months. It feels almost like you're choking but can breathe. It hurts to breathe and lost of pressure in the back of the throat / chest feeling.

My doc recommends warm Water and meat tenderizer. I have a container at work, at home and in my purse. I have a difficult time swallowing anything when I'm stuck. I'm learning as to what I can solve with liquids vs what just has to come out. Sometimes just waiting and walking it'll move on its own. It's a crappy feeling but it's not the end of the world.

[Bandista 7,466]

I was determined never to get stuck but it has happened three times. The first was wolfing down steamed beets early on in my newly-banded life. Had just moved on to "real" food and thought that was such an excellent food to make. They were even organic! But, alas, I ate them too quickly and lo and behold there's that feeling of whoops, something is going on. For me it lasts 20-30 minutes and it seems like it has to complete the process, as in I need to throw-up. At that point the pain -- which for me is in that solar plexus area but perhaps not as intense as some are describing it above -- dissipates completely. The second time I got stuck was on mushrooms -- a rubbery food that I had not chewed well enough. Same with the third -- cold fish right out of the fridge. I had waited too long to eat, was really hungry and just ate the fish without even heating it up. Big mistake. For this stuck episode I hurried along the inevitable conclusion by drinking on top of it. That got me to throw up and finish the ordeal. Hopefully I have learned for myself -- don't eat too fast, don't keep going if I feel early indications of that pain blooming in my chest, and don't eat cold Protein from the fridge or rubbery foods that can't be really, really chewed up well. Good luck and don't worry too much but do chew, chew, chew!

[KAATNS 1,473]

It does happen occasionally and if I'm lucky, it will pass. If not, no biggie. I've gotten stuck while driving, in restaurants, on the side of the road (thanks CF!) on an airplane, etc. It takes some trial and error to find the foods that won't go down. Just be patient and chew, chew, chew.

[Pepper28 82]

First thing I do when im stuck is unbutton my bra and my pants! So i really dont eat out anymore until I learn those foods that gives me problems.

I try to do the can Soups that u heat up and drink or a Protein shake during work hours and home is where i introduce new foods

But the pain is normally dead center of my chest. Sometimes I slime for an hour sometimes not.

But it does take my breath away its not anything u can get use to.

[SecretBander 79]

Thanks for the replies , keep em coming!

I am a female but no kids so have no idea what a contraction is like !

[LI Lady 64]

I've seen on some youtube videos that people recommend papaya enzymes. I believe that the papaya breaks down Protein, so they recommend it if you are stuck on a Protein. I do not know if this is true or not, or if people have tried it.