Hey guys,

I have notice when im not feeling well and are nauseated (?) I think I have a virus...I can dry heave and gag all day long but nothing except maybe a little saliva comes up. It hurts really badly to do this I have thought it was normal but I want to get your opinions.

Banded 7/31/07 Dr. Marsden in Ft. Worth

3 fills still hungry not an once of restriction but its just not financially reasonalbly to get another just yet.

Thanks

CC

Okay what is the pineapple trick? I have not heard of that.

Thanks

I've never heard of the juices before. Thanks for the insite!

For you newbes....Don't be afraid when you hear us talking about getting sick. It is not like the flu and you have to be in bed all day.

Sometimes it is painful, but for me most of the time it is just annoying.

Your food gets stuck and your saliva has no place to go so you need to spit it out. Sometime I do gag, but 98% of the time it is spitting.

I got a virus not long after banding (or food poisoning). It took more dry heaves till I actually threw up, you can feel vomit trying to get UP through the band.. apparently this is NO easy feat. And it's painful :smile:

You need to take anti-nausea meds, because you don't want to vomit with the band. Emetrol is the best IMO, anytime I get nausea, I take a swig and the nausea goes away instantly. It's liquid, over the counter at any drug store.

Thanks for posting the info about the Emetrol, I am getting some to keep on hand just incase.

pineapple juice was recommended to me through the Dr. that does my fills. It was suggested for use in episodes where you are stuck on something such as bread.

The pineapple juice is acidic enough to help break down the glutens that cause the bread to form a huge dough ball instead of it passing in the same texture you chewed it to.

It can be tried with other foods, in small frequent sips---the idea is to get enough in there for the problem food to mingle with, and yet not to overfill your pouch.

It has worked for me, and if something seems to just be sitting for too long, although not painful, usually a few sips do the trick to get things going again.

With carbonation, anything that makes me want to burp, makes everything want to come up!!!

You can also go to a nutrition store such as GNC and buy Papaya tablets--they do the same thing. I have never resorted to them, but understand they work wonders.

And in worst case scenarios with other foods, including meat, you can drink a Tablespoon of meat tenderizer--it does the same thing, breaks down whatever the stuck item is. I cannot imagine it would taste good, or that it would be good for your stomach if done often though!!!

(hi Dianne!)

Kat

My son has a unique problem in that he swallowed a battery when he was 2 and it got stuck in his esophagus (it was a disk battery, not a barrel battery). Long story short, (he was a very sick little guy and almost didn't pull through) - he had to have a 'colon interposition', where they brought part of his colon up to replace his esophagus. As a result, he would get food stuck quite a bit if he didn't take little bites and chew, chew, chew. He had to learn that since he was 2 years old.

Well, sometimes things would get stuck and he would cry and I would go crazy trying to 'fix' it for him. I was terrified of him throwing up, I was afraid he would damage the repair they did to him internally. Once when he got a little piece of hamburger stuck, someone recommended meat tenderizer to me. I used it and it worked! However, when I mentioned that to the doctor, he told me to use it VERY sparingly (or not at all if I could help it) because meat tenderizer breaks down the Proteins of the meat, basically making it fall apart, which makes it go down easier. It will also have the same effect on your esophagus and thin it out over time and repeated use.

I'm sure using it once in a while is not dangerous, but I'm scared to death of using it at all after hearing that from his surgeon.

Someone may have a different opinion, but I would just recommend if you have a consistent problem getting meat stuck to consider other options before using meat tenderizer.

-Becky

I agree totally! It was a last resort option to try before going for a total unfill. The longer your body fights to try to work something through, the more swelling occurs.

If I were to ever try it, it would be in a worst case scenario---and I would never do it more than once before seeing my Dr.

My DH had an issue due to blood thinners, where he had a bilateral Mallery Wiess tear of the esophagus where it attaches to the stomach---and the Dr. told us he would likely bleed to death in a matter of minutes. They ended up putting a balloon in his stomach, and another in his esophagus and inflating them to apply pressure. He was in ICU for days...he almost died with it too. The esophagus is not indestructable!!! We need to be careful with it obviously!!

Glad your son is ok--how scary that must have been!!!

Kat

hi,

sorry to here you are sick,you can ask your doc to call lin some phenergan gel to apply to your wrist this works well and you don't have to drink it.

ziahmama

hi sunsett

you look nice congrats on your wt loss .i also feel like the band was a god sent to me ,i was having a lot of arthritic pain in my hips and am only 29 with a 13 month old.i am also only 5ft 3 but my concern is i feel like my weight is stalling at a 35 pd loss and a little down . what is your advise ,i am not eating more or doing sweets. also this is for anyone woh wants to reply,has anyone had a stall in wt loss where they did not loss any wt for 2 weeks or more?

Before the band, I was the vomit queen....no I wasn't bulemic. I was able to vomit at will. If something didn't sit right, get it out. That was my motto. I hate to have something in my stomach that makes me nauseas. Also pre-menstrual came with vomiting in the morning ( I know I'm on the verge of TMI); but I have not vomitted since I got the band. I have dry heaved during one of my pre-menstrual episodes and after I ate 2 McDonalds Chicken Mcnuggets ... So...all that to say, You are not alone.

It's really not a trick per se, it is just that sipping tiny bits of pineapple juice sometimes helps--if the problem is not serious, and if it is "stuck" at the band.

Just take a few small sips of room temperature pineapple juice---unsweetened straight pineapple juice. The acidity helps to break down the food.

You might also try a Papaya Enzyme tablet.

Kat

ps---good luck!

Thanks a bunch Kat!! I was going to run out and get some but then I also found that coke works well also...which I had in the house...it was left over from Xmas party or we usually never have pop in the house...but I figure, Yeah if it is suppose to clean your car's battery, then it just might do the trick!! And it did !!!!! OMG I feel so much better! Water is now going down, so I'm going to attempt to have some soup!

Take Care

Lisa

P.S. >

What happened to my P.S. note ????? Anyway as I was going to say....

Kat....Your weight loss is very inspirational! Hope we meet here again!

Lisa

Kat, sorry to hear your hubby joined the ranks of esophigial 'hell'! It's really frightening when things like that happen.

My son is doing great - he has no problems (except for sticky rice, which he just doesn't eat anymore) -- he's 20 now and blowing and going. We thought we were going to lose our little guy, so he's like our miracle kid.

Hope your hubby is doing well and you are so right about the pineapple juice (I could easily get addicted, as I like pineapple juice anyway!)

Ciao!

-Becky

I am all over LBT! I like the support, and the friendships I have made here. When I come here I can obssess about my weight, whether it be gain or loss at the moment, and discuss my band without boring or irritating all the unbanded people in my life to death!!!!

Yeah, the Dr. actually took me to the "little room" and told me my husband was bleeding out, and would likely expire (oh how I hate that word anymore!) in the next 10 to 15 minutes. He had had open heart surgery 2 months prior for a failing valve, and the local cardio Dr's office did not correctly monitor his coumadin---which is a blood thinner, and they had him so thin, that when he vomitted due to a reaction to an antibiotic, he tore it both sides! And his blood simply would not clot!

Following that he had to have 2 endoscopic surgical procedures to cut and remove stuck food, and even the Dr. said they were teeny bites! But they doubled his Nexium for a few months, and eventually proper motility returned....thank God! It has now been over a year and he has been problem free. He is also not on coumadin any longer which was the worst of the problem.

I have been present at many a slaughter being a farm girl, and I had never seen so much blood! They were so surprised he pulled through it, he had Dr.'s & nurses coming in just to see if he really did survive with his faculties in tact! And he did--he is as much of a smart ass as ever!!!

So glad your son is doing well also!!!

And Lisa---glad the coke helped! So much better than an unfill!!! Not to mention likely a lot cheaper!!

Kat

I do get sick & have to vomit when I eat too fast. Also sometimes when I eat bread. Was banded 8/07.