I get the terrible sticking pain when I eat dinner. Am I eating too much or too quickly? Or both?

Sounds like possibly both. It's a good idea to chew 30 times on each bite before swallowing. And actually, instead of swallowing the whole lump at once, I've found it's helpful to swallow bits of it at a time. You could be swallowing too big of bites and possibly too quickly. But I get the stuck feeling when I swallow too big of a lump. It may be pureed, but it doesn't feel good hitting like that. This band eating takes some practice!

Sounds like possibly both. It's a good idea to chew 30 times on each bite before swallowing. And actually, instead of swallowing the whole lump at once, I've found it's helpful to swallow bits of it at a time. You could be swallowing too big of bites and possibly too quickly. But I get the stuck feeling when I swallow too big of a lump. It may be pureed, but it doesn't feel good hitting like that. This band eating takes some practice!

that's what i do. i have to admit, i dont take small bites. i take 'normal' (not fat girl normal, regular person normal) bites. chew like crazy, swallow a little bit, chew, swallow, repeating until my mouth is empty. i've only swallowed the wrong part once, wont make that mistake again.

I was eating too much and too fast--and finally learned to TAKE MY TIME! When I go slow and concentrate, I can listen to the band to tell me when I'm full. (If not, I continue eating and then have a wretched pain afterwards!)

I'm fortunate to have a husband who is constantly reminding me to slow down! It definitely IS a learning process! :hungry:

It could be either, and honestly it could be neither.

About 30 mins ago I ate a very, small bite of very well blended refried Beans. It wasn't too big of a bite, nor was it too much food. But here I am, hurting over it. Sometimes, just eating, period, is wrong. For me, anything before evening is questionable as to whether or not it's going to go down easily. I don't often have to bring food back up, but it will often take a good hour or two before I feel normal.

Wheetsin, someone on one of these threads said if you get pain to stand up and walk around with your arms in the air--so I kind of make it a daily aerobic exercise!!

One or two hours sounds like a long time--usually I'm over it in about 20-25 minutes! And I'm surprised that you have issues before evening--that's when I seem to have all of mine. At dinner, I think I'm always expecting that I will eat more, since that was my normal routine before.

Why do you think you have issues before evening?

Like you, sometimes I just don't want to sit down and eat dinner for fear of the pain--hey, maybe that's a good conspiracy theory: the band-makers dreamed this up as a psychological consequence... LOL

I wish I could find a remedy that works for me, but so far - nothing. The only thing that has brought any relief has been hunching over on my kitchen island. Twice, after doing that, my blockage has passed. Maybe coincidence -- it certainly doesn't work all the time. I've tried everything... meat tenderizer, pineapple juice, papaya tablets, holding my breath, doing the "stuck" dance, hopping up and down... I guess I'm just remedy-less.

As for why I'm more open in the evenings... I have no idea why, it's just my version of restriction. Some people have even restriction throughout the day. I'm unfortunately not one of them. But it's a pattern that has been proven for coming up on 2 years now so I don't anticipate it changing anytime soon. There are exceptions, usually tied in to the time of month, whether or not I've flown lately, etc. -- but by and large it's a very consistent pattern.

Well, we all learn to deal with our bodies ourselves, don't we?!

When I was first banded, I naturally assumed that to get something unstuck, you would just drink liquid to flush it down. And then I read that it forces it farther down and can make a bad situation worse! Boy, I LOVE reading these threads!

Your "island" thing works for me too, after my aerobic dance I hunch over my island and just stay there and I feel better!

MBT, I've only been banded a month, so my advice may not be worth as much as some of the people who've been eating solids for a while, but I get stuck some days no matter what I try to eat. Today seems to be one of my bad days. A couple days ago, I was able to eat everything I tried (still eating soft foods), with no problems. I intend to ask my fill doc why this happens. I seem to have a lot of problems with food coming right back up when it gets stuck. This morning I tried to eat an egg, (not scrambled, that's the worst) and after just one bite, it got stuck and hurt for a long time, and then after about 30 minutes, it just came back out. Happened so fast, I'm glad I wasn't in public. I'm not taking big bites, nor eating fast. I just take one little bite at a time and hope for the best. Maybe you just have a lot of inflammation left. I'm going to watch this thread, because I'm very interested to know what works and what doesn't, when it comes to getting "stuck".

Kristine

Texas

Banded on 11/12

Hi all, I'm new to this site, and was hoping someone could offer some help. I was banded on November 7, 2007. I went through the gas, the full feeling and all the same things I"m sure all of you did, but I am now 4 weeks post op. I have no feeling of restriction, have a huge appetite and can eat anyting I've put into my mouth. I've lost 10 pounds since surgery, and I feel like I've either done something wrong or am doing something wrong. I can go for a fill in a couple of weeks, but do to the Christmas Holidays I elected to wait until after the first of January. I'm having to be very, very careful or I can gain back the 10 I've lost. I'm feeling discouraged and expected better weight loss by now. Also, it seems by what I read that most people lose in their 20-30's by the time of their first fill.

Any suggestions? Thanks tons.

Sassy - I'm feeling the exact same way and as frustrating and discouraging as it is, from reading this forum and talking with the clinic where I had my surgery it is perfectly normal. The nurse said we will begin to see a change once we have our first fill. Hang in there! =)

Hi Sassy,

I had my surgery on Sept 7th 2007, Ive lost 20 lbs in total...for a while I was eating anything in front of me, didn't even seem like I was operated on....After my 1st fill, I felt more restricted, it's a better feeling..... be patient, b/c i really thought I was never gonna lose anymore weight since I stayed at the same weight for 3 weeks !

I read on another thread that drinking a little pineapple juice for some reason will unstick you and make food pass. I bought a 6 pack and will carry one with me at all times. Read it also helps when you start to slime as it will stop it.

No problem guys! You have ZERO restriction yet and the band IS NOT WORKING FOR YOU YET. Just because the band gets in place doesn't make the magic work immediately. It may take some MONTHS...i.e., SEVERAL fills, generally spaced at least 30 days apart...before you get to that "AHA!" place. Until then, you do the best you can. Welcome to bandster hell. It will pass, I promise.

I also have papaya enzymes chewable tablets that help just as pineapple juice. I read it here on this site and always carry it in my purse. I will have a fill on Tuesday and haven't had a PB yet. Everybody is different.

I was banded on Sept. 27 of this year. I will be going to get my 3rd fill Friday. Seems like I can eat and eat. I am hoping this gets better. I have been eating everything in the house like a normal person. Will this change. I lost 3o lbs. If I continue will gain instead of loose. I am not understanding , seems I have less restriction than I had when I got the fill...Help !!!