I got a 4ml fill (my first) into a 7ml Midband last Tuesday and initially had good restriction but could eat.

Last night I got some white fish stuck after eating only about 2 ounces. OMG the pain! It went on for 2 hours before I was able to burp away the pain. If I could have PBed I would have but I don't know how! I have always been able to burp at will but last night I couldn't at all.

Talk about aversion therapy - today I am scared to eat anything at all, and even fluids need to be sipped so slowly, but at least they are going through.

Am I too tight, or should I wait a bit longer to see if it settles down?

I don't want to go through that again, believe me it was extremely unpleasant.

Any words of wisdom?

Try very small sips of pineapple juice to help dissolve food if it gets stuck.

I dearly LOVE fish, but get stuck on it more often than almost anything else. I have to take SUPER small bites (think like the size of a pencil eraser!) and lengthy pauses between bites.

Take your time! (preaching to myself as well!!!)

I would not rush off for an unfill just yet. Drinking and all is a little slow this morning, as you are likely swollen from the stuck episode with the fish.

If it were me (has been from time to time!) I'd stick to liquids for the day, and when I went back to eating, I would stick to soft food until you see how it is going to go. If there is still pain, I'd go back to liquids and contact my Dr. to discuss it.

As babygrl mentioned you can try small sips of pineapple juice when something soft such as your fish is stuck---the acidity in it helps break down the offending food.

You can also buy Papaya Enzyme, in chewable tablet form from GNC or most health food or Vitamin shops, and it too aids in the digestion and breakdown of the food.

The last one is the most harsh, but is better than sitting in pain, while your stomach inflames---and that is meat tenderizer. I was told a tablespoon full of liquid meat tenderizer will help in most cases. I understand it is very salty, and to increase Fluid intake after the food passes.

Very likely the cause for your episode was either too big of a bite, or lack of chewing properly. That is what gets me everytime it has happened--and it happens very infrequently these days--I have learned a different way of eating! Usually now it hits if I am talking or doing something else while eating, and I fall into old habits, where I only pretended to chew!!

Another possibility is that your fill kicked in, and you simply ate a bite or 2 too many. Sometimes it takes a fill a few days to a week to really settle in for some unknown reason. With your system a little tender from the fill, it might have just been too much food for the band to handle.

When I got my second fill, I was reduced to eating a few bites at a time, for about 3 days! I had gone to get my fill--I have to travel 6 hours away--and went on from there to my SIL's. I stayed on liquid for a day and then tried to eat. OMG every time I ate 3-4 bites was IT! I was convinced I needed to go back by and have some removed--even thoughhe only added .50cc. But given a few more days everything relaxed, and I was able then to eat more normally...and have progressed well, never needing another fill since then.

Hang in there, baby yourself for a day or so, and see if it doesn't feel better. If you push it too soon, while your stomach is still irritated, it will only swell again, causing the same problem to recur. It is a terrible cycle to begin.

Good Luck, hope you feel better soon!!

Kat

Thanks for your replies, they all make sense. I will get some pineapple juice and stay on liquids until tomorrow to give it a chance to recover.

You guys are great!

"OMG every time I ate 3-4 bites was IT!"

Were you full after those 3-4 bites or were you still hungry? The reason why I ask is I'm about to be filled for the second time, and I have asked the doctor to be as restrictive as he deems safe for me. However, if restriction just means being unable to eat and staying hungry, that is not optimal. My doctor uses three ways to describe the fill. Yellow: big meals and hungry. Green: small meals and satisfied. Red: can barely get anything down and hungry all the time. I'm a yellow right now and have been stuck at the same weight for a little over three weeks. Time to change something else, as my exercise program is getting changed all of the time.

I'm not eating nearly as much as I used to, but I am eating way more than what some people here are describing as a satisfying meal.

I might get some bad replies to this but when I get something stuck and need to get it out but the PB just won't come I bend all the way over the toilet, like I am trying to touch my toes. Works everytime!! I guess it helps the offensive item to move back up a little bit and then the pressure on my stomach helps me PB. While I bend over I try to cough, like coughing up phlem and it usually kicks in my gag reflex.

hello

wow it seems like a lot of cc's for a band done in October...I was banede 6 months ago and only at 6ccs now.i would stick with the liquid for at least a day...

I had a fill a month ago and have had some of the same problems. Most of the time I am ok, but sometimes of the day I have the flem like problem. How often has this happened to you? I has been so rendom lately....

A lot of times on a recent fill, I am stuffed after a few bites, but after about a month, that leaves and I can eat the 2 to 3 oz of protein as suggested.

Sorry was not ignoring your question---been gone all day.

When I got the fill, and was so full after only a few bites, I did not feel hungry EVER! The only hunger I really experience now is head hunger, I think I am hungry, I seldom if ever really feel the gut gnawing hunger anymore. I would imagine the band is placing enough pressure on the nerves to make that happen.

I just know that a person needs more than that to survive and be healthy! I can now eat a reasonable amount, and do my best to make it nutritious, and healthy food, but I am human, and eat the not so good for me stuff too!!! I do not want to be skinny and sickly, I want healthy and fit! So---I opt not to be super tight, and I really try to make my food choices healthy ones.

To answer your question exactly--when I was that tight, those few bites, filled me up and I was NOT hungry. I just felt like I could not maintain health at that level of intake. It did not last long like that, and has been fine since.

Kat

I have not experienced the feeling that you all describe as fullness yet. I eat a small amount and then I get stuck, most times.

Thanks Kat!! I'll be looking forward to my next fill. I know what it feels like to eat incorrectly, but only sometimes. I think I need the fill to get that kick in the pants a bit more often.

I have not experienced the feeling that you all describe as fullness yet. I eat a small amount and then I get stuck, most times.

Try and really watch your bite sizes. Are they bigger than a dime? One thing you might do is cut your food up in really small pieces and wait a minute between every bite.

If you still are getting stuck, then you might be too tight. Also, it could be the type of food you are eating. Try different types of food/protein. Some people can't eat chicken/fish, some can. The band is such a learing tool and everyone is so different with it.