Hi there, lately I am experiencing a lot of indigestion. Sometimes it feels like something is stuck in the middle of my chest. Has anyone been experiencing these things? How can I try to prevent this? thanks julie

Hi, Julie, are you eating solid foods yet? Are you cutting it into little pieces about the size of a pencil eraser, then chewing it to pieces before you swallow? Do not drink any liquids w/your meal or 1 hour afterwards. Do not eat 2 - 3 hours before you go to bed. This will prevent you from having food in your pouch that can back up your esophagus and cause painful reflux (which can be damaging). Try to take your time and eat calmly. Quit after 20 minutes (or before if you feel restriction). Listen to your body. If something hurts, stop doing it. Have you had any pbing (spitting up of unchewed foods that get caught in the esophagus)? Have you had a recent fill - that could be too tight? A slight unfill should fix that one. It takes some trial and errors to work w/this band. But it's definitely worth it. Best of luck and hope you get feeling better very soon!

marie i am on solids now and have not had my first fell yet this felling is terrlble i think i eat to fast and did not chew enough with the chicken it can i feel this even when i didn,t have a fill yet feels like it is stuck right in the middle of my chest and i have slight nausia

Julie, you're right in the place of learning how to eat with the band! This is restriction you're feeling, and the answer is to eat more slowly and carefully. The hardest thing for me to learn was NOT to take that next bite before I knew the one I'd just taken was well down my esophagus--all my life I'd been eating just as fast as I can, and this is a VERY hard habit to break. It may be that you're just taking one or two bites too many for your pouch to handle at one time.

Take very small bites, chew very carefully, and put your fork down between bites. Let a good 30 seconds AT LEAST go by before taking another bite. Before too long you'll learn what is enough, and what it is too much for your new tummy.

Definitely sounds like restriction to me. Not everyone gets this right out of surgery with no fill. Congratulations! This is what you were banded for. Try putting your fork down between bites. Chew, chew, chew, listen to your body. If you feel pain and find yourself salivating or feeling sort of nauseated, it's because you have either taken too big a bite or not chewed well enough and there is something trying to make it's way through your stoma (small opening where the band is the tightest). It's a natural reaction for your body to begin attacking that offending piece and trying to lubricate it enough to move it on through or reject it completely sending it back upward and out. We call this 'sliming' or 'PB'ing (productive burping). If you get to the point of having it come up, then you need to be done with your meal and you really should limit your foods to liquids the rest of the day due to esophageal irritation. Take your time, slow down, chew better than you've ever chewed, choose foods that you can turn into puree by chewing, ie, hard proteins, not too fibrous foods and small, small portions, bites the size of a pencil eraser or less. Listen to your body between bites, this will all become second nature after awhile. You'll be fine.

Getting use to chewing, I mean really chewing is so difficult to do. We have gulped our food for so many years and now we're eating much slower and you MUST chew. Speaking from personal experience, after two months of being banded, I will still swallow before chewing enough, and boy do I immediately know it....golf ball syndrom I call it.

:eek:Thanks for the comments made. I recently had my 1st fill and thought because I have been practicing chewing and chewing that I was set for the fill. Boy, did I fool myself! Again thanks for the tips!

I too have no fill and am three months out from surgery and I have had this twice since being banded. So I know what you are experiencing. All the advice is here is great....just chew and take very small bites and take your time to eat. These things will help this not happening.

Althought my last experience was at 2:30 am when I was awoken to a horrible feeling of a tennis ball stuck in the back of my throat......it took two hours for this feeling to pass.

I had eaten my dinner at 6pm that evening so I have no idea what caused this too happen. I am seeing my surgeon tomorrow and have all intention of asking him then. I will let you know what he says!