Good evening! I have to share something that I think is going to be horrific to banders. I HAVE to sip water when I eat to prevent getting stuck. Even chewing thoroughly doesn't help. I have to add water to moisten the food. My question is....is this like a really bad thing? Like am I starting a bad habit?? Or is this ok? Does this mean I am too tight? I don't slime or anything, I just really had an awful month where I got stuck horribly and was vomiting, felt like I was dying and so I developed this thing of sipping warmter with my food to moisten it. I want to make sure I get your thoughts before I continue on. I guess I develop a fear of getting stuck because I have a deep fear of vomiting because my body doesn't let me breathe and so I feel like I am suffocating during vomiting. So to avoid that, I may be doing so.ething very wrong aka sipping water.

thanks in advance

I am losing weight. Not as fast as I wish, but these 9 months have been hard on me as far as breaking habits of eating slow, learning full signals, eating small meals more often rather than 3 large meals a day, making better food choices, etc. I have lost about 50 lbs in 9 months and I am hoping now I am at my green zone.

_{I do not eat ice cream or other bad foods that easily slip thru the band, but I eat regular food and most of it needs a bit of moistening, unless I make a soup of course. Just to clarify that I am not only eating slider foods.}

I have a similiar situation except mine is sjograns an other diseases that causes the esophagas muscles are very dry can be rigid or lax an so i have to take sips also to get meat down. Which it doesnt matter if i chew 50 x or 100 x a bite i still have to sip. Surgeon mentioned to me to do what i have to do. Bc my situation isnt going to improve. Im 8 months out an doing great. I eat slow small bites an i do well to get 4 or 5 down but i eat protein rich small meals thru out an so far so good.

When I read your post, the first thing that popped into my head was "What is it that you are trying to eat that's so difficult"

There are foods, because of the band, I will never eat again....just too difficult.

Personally, I see nothing wrong with sipping Water while eating...I see nothing wrong with slider foods, and I have ice cream, with toppings and whipped cream, all the time. Moist, soft foods are good IMO...less chance of band irritation, erosion?

I'm not on any diet...I have a new lifestyle.

I cannot drink water while eating, not because it passes food easier, it is because, since food is sitting there passing slowly through the band, drinking water will add to the volume of what's already there and it will have no where to go except right back up where it came from.

Incidentally, drinking water is a sure fire way to get un-stuck, and is something I have done all the time when I needed to.

Preferably in the bathroom!

Sounds like you might be eating dry meat or possibly re-heated foods. I cannot eat either . I rarely sip Water while eating, like B52 It will always cause sliming for me. I drink up the point of eating, then wait at least 30-45 minutes after. I would try to eat softer foods like meat with sauces or gravy and high Protein foods like cottage cheese and eggs . I also do well with fish. Salmon has to have sauce on it because it tends to be dry.

There is no reason not to drink with meals. In the " olden days" we were told food had to stay above the band for a while; now we know that it should pass through within a minute. So the old rule changed. As long as we allow food time to pass, I.e about a minute after each mouthful, we are not preventing the band dimming hunger. In fact, we know now that food must NOT remain above the band as that puts strain in the oesophagus. Unfortunately there are still a few docs out there putting forward th old, discredited view!

But I am concerned you are finding it difficult to swallow food. Most of us have some foods we find difficult but it should only be a few. Is the meat too dry? Too fibrous? Re-heated? If you can, avoid these foods. And if there are so many of them you find that hard, you are too tight!

It's basically everything that is dry. I can no longer eat cheeseburgers, the outside anyway. That's a good thing.

But, mostly speaking, I can not have veggies, meats, toast, rice, without it causing an issue. I need a sip to moisten those things. I suppose this is an issue likely with my bites being too big. I need to take smaller bites. I am having such a hard time with things, I don't understand why....after 9 months I haven't been able to change this. It is frustrating. Yet, some people get it from day 1.

I have serious issues with food. I have no idea how to feel like food is "enough"

It's almost like my body doesn't get it until its "too much" and then I am miserable. I am setting myself up for failure. Why? I could kick myself.

I was really trying to think as I wrote this post "why am I needing water?" and I realized because I don't take pinky fingernail sized bites like I should. It's my fault. Kind of embarrassing I didn't see that until now.

My suggestion. Work very hard at getting it right, after a time, it becomes second nature,

Put the approriate amount of food on your plate. No more! Don't have a serving dish with more food there!

Start with dense Protein,

Cut a piece the size of a large pea. Put your knife and fork down on the plate. Chew, swallow, cut another piece and so on. Stick to moist foods, not sliders but not dry. Sip if you need to.

When you have eaten what is in front of you, walk away from the table. We don't feel full as we used to pre-op. And the band should NEVER physically prevent us eating. We have to make that decision. But, if properly adjusted, the physical desire for food should go away. It is always possible to eat more! You have to say no!

But if you are eating properly and still having issues, IMO your band is too tight,