Banded and somehow confused

Ginger_ · January 14, 2008

I was banded in September last year. I thought I understood it all, but I'm a bit confused now. I have had three fill, 8ccs in a 10cc MidBand. I don't think I am at a good restriction yet, because it feels like food slides down into my "lower" stomach. Occasionally I do get something stuck that ends in a PB, but rarely.

Confusion one: Food is supposed to stay in the upper pouch and slowly release down to the lower stomach. How should this feel? Do you feel the food resting up top?? Or do you feel it more like a regular swallow? I don't feel anything stay up top, and if it does, it's a PB for sure.

Confusion two: If food sits up top like it's supposed to, why the PB? Food fills the pouch, nothing is supposed to slide through quickly, so how exactly does a PB happen? I thought something is stuck, and the body needs to get rid of it. But how can something get stuck at the top of the pouch if you've got food below it?

Am I making any sense?

234/215/140

Arley · January 14, 2008

I totally agree with you...it makes no sense at all. If the pouch has food in it, then the food that you eat after that should just sit there. If the food is all falling on through and then you forget to chew a bite well enough, then I can understand that it might get stuck or if you eat beyond your full point, then it might come back up. It is all just too strange.

After my first fill I forgot about the swelling and that my stoma was smaller than usual. I tried to swallow a Tylenol PM and it got stuck. I slimed for about five minutes and then it went down. I have never PB'd yet, but my first fill is not giving me restriction now and I will get another one tomorrow. Maybe then I will know what everyone is talking about, but I sure hope not...chew, chew, chew!!