The one thing that I was warned about over and over (and told myself would never happen to me because I was going to be so careful) finally happened. I had my first and hopefully last stuck episode. I was out having lunch with a friend who knows nothing about my WLS and in a hurry to respond to something she had said I completely forgot about that golden rule of chew chew chew and swallowed a piece of meat almost whole. Pretty much the second I did it I knew I was in trouble. Apparently the look of panic on my face got the attention of not only my friend but pretty much half the restaurant waite staff as well. It wasn't enough that I was sweating terribly, in an incredible amount of pain and had no idea what to do but this all had to play out in front of a lot of people. Needless to say the projectile vomiting that soon began did nothing to lessen the amount of onlookers. Talk about embarrassing, I could not get out of there fast enough!

I will talk to my doctor about this at my next appointment and not that I am planning to do this again anytime soon but what exactly are you supposed to do when you have a stuck episode? I now know all the wrong things to do like drinking Water to help the food go down only makes things worse, but what is the correct thing to do?

Oh I'm so sorry it went so badly!

It happens to me in a restaurant if I get careless. What I do is excuse myself quickly, say my stomach is a little upset, I'll be right back.I go to the ladies' room, and spit it out. It usually comes up gently without any problems. The food is not actually in your stomach, it is in your esophagus. Therefore a little light burping will bring it up. Just spit it in the toilet, rinse your mouth at the sink, and go back to your seat. The most important thing now is do not, do not, do not try to eat any more. Tell your companions that you think you might be getting a stomach bug. When they ask if you were okay, say oh yeah the feeling passed, but I'm just going to take the rest of this food home and eat it later.

My closest friends know that I've been banded. But I never told them when I spit up in a restaurant. I always let them know that it was a close call, but I'm okay. No point in embarrassing myself and making everybody uncomfortable.

Again, do not try to eat anything for several hours after that. Your band area is inflamed and it will get worse. Not only that, trying to eat when your band area is inflamed can create serious problems down the road.

And I hate to tell you this, but it is not the last stuck episode that you will ever have. Don't worry though, now that you know the signs right before you got stuck, you will recognize what it feels like to be getting stuck rather than got stuck.

Lesson learned. One of many!

For me, drinking Water forces everything back up and out....if I am truly stuck, then the water has no where else to go.

If it washes it down, then I was not stuck, least not very much and it would pass on it's own anyway.

When it happens to me, I go to the bathroom and sip some water...get it over with and return to the table as though nothing happened.

As far as getting stuck being a major issue, it's common.....as we get the band adjusted, more restriction...the more restriction, the more we need to change how and what we eat...

The more we learn to eat differently in terms of What we eat and how, well then that is the beginning of true weight loss IMO...a lifestyle change for the rest of our lives.

Of course, we can always get Fluid taken out of our bands, then eat what we want and how much with no fear of getting stuck....go back to good old fashioned dieting as though we never had surgery...

I have never had an episode as bad as that but if I do feel something is not going to go down, I get somewhere private and then I do have a drink. As there is nowhere for the Water to go, it will come back up, bringing the food with it. If I don't have access to a drink I suck my cheeks to build up saliva, hold it in my mouth until I can hold no more and then swallow that in one gulp!

After an episode as dramatic as yours, liquids for the rest of the day might e a good idea.

I almost never bring food back and have never had anything which made me actually vomit in public! But even now, after almost nine years, social eating is when I can get careless. As you say, you swallow quickly to join in the conversation!

Adding (can't add by editing in my Ioad) Like B52, I wouid then return to the table as if nothing had happened. But I wouldn't eat any more meat, but wouid eat any soft, slider foods.

yep have had a few interesting moments in restaurants . My husband always knows by the look on my face if I eat too fast or don't chew. I have learned to stop eating and rest a little, if I feel uncomfortable I excuse myself and go to the restroom. Most of the time I can just bring it up. Even with that occasionally happening, I would still do my surgery any day . I am getting better at eating the right food and chewing and eating slowly. drinking Water or soda will bring it up quicker.

So the trick is to drink something?

I would say the trick is to get to the bathroom asap. If it's not a bad episode, the act of standing and walking can alleviate minor discomfort. If not you'll be in the bathroom to bring it up. For me, if it's a bad episode, it comes right up (like the projectile vomiting the OP mentions). If it needs some help, I put my fingers to the back of my throat. It sounds aweful, and it somewhat is, but, like one of the other posters mentioned, for me the whole thing is very gentle. The food has backed up into my esophagus and is happy to quickly and easily come right back out.

I started to keep a journal about my experience after WLS, and on one of the pages I track my stuck episodes. For some time it was happening to me once a day. In talking to my dr, they advised it shouldn't happen more than once a week, so that is my goal. For now I'm up to about 4 days at a time. I'm working to get to monthly, and less, eventually. This band definitely is making me learn the hard way. But no regrets! I need something like this to keep me on track. And I have faith in myself that I will get there.

Good luck!

i go to the bathroom and sometimes just the bending over and the slime will bring up the item. but it generally takes a drink of water. this brings it up fast and the discomfort goes away immediately. just don't overdue that day. soups and fluids yogurt you know the drill. just don't sit there until the unthinkable happens. I know in a second if I am stuck and go straight to the restroom. when I first got banded and was learning to eat I pb'd a lot, so it got to the point that my dogs left the room. to hear me burp and waiting to long to go to the bathroom so I had to use the trash can next to my chair. my dogs hated it.

Thanks for all the advice guys, certainly appreciate it!