Hi!

I'm just getting started. Will probably get my lap-band in April.

Can you please tell me what you all mean when you say you have a hard time with or can't eat certain foods? Does it cause discomfort? Where? Does it make you throw up? I really want to do well with this and if I know what to expect I think it will help.

Thanks,

Jeannie

I am only a week and a half out, but I am cleared to eat regular food as long as I go slow and chew excessively. I cannot eat breads or doughs of any kind or anything that is not well cooked. It gets stuck, it feel like it is in my espohagus and it causing AWFUL pain in my chest and even swallowing my own saliva makes it worse. It goes away in about a minute once it passes, but it hurts enough to make me push it away and go find some soup!!

yes . . . upper stomach above the band, and yes.

Some foods don't pass through the band well. Breads are bad because they turn to a solid doughy plug in your stomach. You feel pain when that happens, start salivating and the saliva has nowhere to go, and then may get to the point that you need to bring the food back up.

If you have a lot of restriction due to a tight fill, this can be a common occurrence and can happen with many foods. A lot of women have trouble around their period because that seems to make them tighter. I'm past that time of life so I can't speak from personal experience. I also have trouble with fibrous vegetables like celery, broccoli, or asparagus. Some meats also cause problems. The pain these foods can cause is pretty sharp, and is enough to make me want to avoid them in the future.

Yes I agree with the bread and some pasta's like you probably won't be able to eat things like ravioli or perogies, not to mention knognies (sp?). They hit bottom like a huge rock and can be very painful. These types of foods hit bottom hard on the stomach even without the band. For me anyway. But I have been able to eat spaghetti, just use the chew, chew, chew system. Really, it will make the world of a difference. And you will learn this rather quickly. I also can eat bread toasted, really toasted. Everyone is different though. You'll have to take that into consideration too. You may be able to eat a white bread sandwich where someone else would absolutely cringe at the thought of it. Just try things in moderation. Take very small amounts and chew them well, wait after each bite a minute to see how your band is going to react. This helped me immensly. Good luck to you. Dianne

All the foods mentioned so far have a high gluten content, and it changes form as it breaks down, tends to go back to a big old ball of dough----often times bigger than the stoma opening----there in lies the problem. It blocks other food and saliva (slime as well) from going through, and takes a looooong time to break down, without stomach acids to aid in the breakdown---and the stomach acids are below our band.

Snowbird, I must tell you--I have seen several of your posts this morning, and you are on the money!!! Way to GO!!! I love reading smart, well thought out, helpful posts---and yours have been!

Jeannie---bandsters say they have a hard time with things that for one reason or another their band is not agreeing with. Sometimes as in the gluten rich foods above, it can be food related, other times it is our own lack of chewing well----or a food that is difficult to chew to the proper consistency---think shrimp, mushrooms, things that do not break down much beyond what you chew them. chicken for instance is pretty easy to chew to a paste consistency---but a mushroom does not absorb the saliva and break down the same way. Due to that, some foods can be simply too much for the stomach to try to digest and causes pain. Or if the bite is too big, or the pieces swallowed too big, they do not want to pass through the tightened down area of the band.

Often times when you do have things that don't want to pass we "slime" it is our bodies way of trying to help. We produce copius amounts of very thick, sticky saliva. It is intended to help slick things up and pass them. Unfortunately if we have stopped up the stoma opening at the time, nothing moves---it just backs up. And there is too much slime/saliva. So spitting it out is the best bet. If you cannot do that, then it fills our little pouch quite quickly and then into the esophagus, and when it hits the esophagus, it triggers the gag reflex---and you have a sudden need to "throw up" or PB. PB's can vary from a simple hiccup while that bounces things loose in the pouch to a type of projectile vomitting. The biggest difference, is there is nothing but chewed food, and saliva/slime--sometimes looks foamy--but no acids. It can be a nothing like thing, or it can hurt, and take awhile--------there is no predicting, and they should not be common. Small bites, chewed well, and keeping portions small will avoid most PB's or stuck episodes.

One thing about the band, it is a learning tool---a type of aversion therapy, you do it once, and you learn!

It is VERY wise to ask all these questions before making your final decision. Way too many people wait to ask, and are surprised!

Welcome to LBT--ask all your questions, we will try to help~!

So very well put Kat817! What you said is exactly what happens to me if I do not (think) before eating or especially swallowing! Thank you for your very knowledgable imput. Dianne

Ya know Dianne----one would almost think I spoke from experience!!!! Ahhhh we live and learn!!!

Kat

Thanks so much you all. I really feel like I'm going to have an edge when I get my surgery. This site is so full of useful info and helpful people.