I was just banded and read about the stuck problem. How many of you have had this problem that you needed the band to be unfilled?

Edited April 26, 200818 yr by asenft

Being stuck USUALLY doesn't require a doctors intervention.

Stuck means 2 things (well my experience) you have eaten something too fast or taken too big of a bite &/or haven't chewed well enough. You get a feeling of a golf ball in your chest - sometimes it goes down by itself you will have the pain for a few minutes and then other times your body will produce saliva to try to work the stuck object down your tummy -ie sliming and if that doesn't work then your body is going to expel the food ie pbing..

There are pple here who have more medical technical language for this - but this is the best that I can explain it

You can chew papaya enzymes too to help meat that is stuck to help it soften so that it will go down too.. I haven't ever used them but have Friend who does - my sticking episode only last a few minutes... But I have read were ppl are in pain for a hour...

I'm not sure what you mean by "having the band to be open back up". They usually can do an unfill if you're having stuck food issues. They follow this with liquids, then mushies, and then small fills back up to where you were. I've never heard of anyone having their band opened back up. I think that would require surgery as the buckle that closes the band isn't accessible from the outside of your body.

Welcome to band land. Best wishes for your success. Please follow your doctors orders for the post banding diet to be safe and successful.

Take care.

Sue

Edited April 26, 200818 yr by Sue Magoo
typo

I had my band too tight and couldn't drink and vomited up my own saliva but not actually had food stuck.

I've mostly had my band too tight and wasn't able to eat the healthy foods so now that I've been opened up even more I am doing much better and starting to lose weight for the first time since 8/07! Everyone is different on the band as to their restriction level it's kind of something that you end up having to tinker with sometimes and the more you learn and work with your surgeon the better! Good luck to you, brandyII.

Yes, I'm talking about a unfill to unlock the stuck food. I have heard of one incidence in my area that this has occured with dry white chicken.

Edited April 27, 200818 yr by asenft

asenft,

I don't know how common that is and actually have never heard of that prior to you bringing it up. There are probably lots of freaky things that can happen and also things like erosion and leakage but those are probably more rare than anything else.

Talk to you surgeon about the things that you are worried about and bring it all out in the open and see if he/she makes you feel better about it afterwards. It's good to be informed ahead of time but we all knew there were risks but our longing for weight loss always outweighed any of the risks to most of us. Good luck and stay informed and remember you are your own advocate! brandyII

I have heard of this happening but I think it is very rare. Has never happened to me.

I've needed one unfill but it wasn't to relieve a single stick. It rarely is. In my case, I was overfilled (about two days prior to getting the unfill) and got stuck on a chewable Vitamin. It wasn't the vitamin, but the subsequent swelling, that sent my resetriction over the edge and to the point that I was closed off.

Your question reads like - you eat a bite of something, and as a result need an unfill. THAT has never happened to me. So I wanted to clarify so as not to skew your results.

BTW, just read your clarification: Yes, I'm talking about a unfill to unlock the stuck food.

Wish I could erase my vote because I didn't see that clarification first, but I cannot. I've never needed an unfill to clear stuck food. By the time I needed the unfill, I was yakking up saliva, just from swallowing. And actually, while waiting at the surgeon's office, the yakking stopped. I would have been fine to turn around and go home, but I figured the next time something got stuck I would start all over again, so may as well relieve some of the restriction.

I know several banded people IRL, most of whom have been banded longer than I have. I know one person who once needed an unfill because food would not clear.

I ate a 1 oz bag of beef jerky this was the first day of regular food after my 2nd fill I now have 7.5 cc's .... after my bag of been jerky I heated up a half of a wheat tortilla and some cheese / wrapped it up and took a bite right after that bite, I may not have chewed it to mush stage and all of a sudden it felt like something huge was in my chest it was the worst pain i've ever experienced, I actually hacked up some saliva , but what is going on, did my food get stuck it feels a bit better but it still feels like something is stuck....... it's been like 2 hours..... I want to drink something, is this ok???? and does this go away

I have had this experience of having an obstruction (food stuck) it started out as the normal pain in the chest and proceeded to be vomiting for 5 days prior to me seeing the doctor. The doctor removed all the fluid from my band,while he kept the needle in, had me sit up and drink a glass of water very fast then put the fluid back into my band. The relief was immediate and I havenot had a problem since.

yes, i drank a strawberry slush from sonic after a fill. i was good until i had that slush. apparantely the strawberry seeds gunk together and block the stoma. i was unable to keep my own spit down. i was unfilled to allow the strawberries to pass through, the filled back up with a slightly lower fill level.

it really was no big deal.

how do you add the ticker factory to your post?

100 lbs - that is wonderful.

I am just a week post-op - can't even think about losing 100 lbs.

way to go girl!!!!!

Yes, I have gotten food stuck and had to have my band completely unfilled. It just happened this week! I have had my band 2 1/2 years with very few sliming/PB episodes and now this. I ate popcorn at the movies on Saturday and by Monday I was in so much pain I was convinced my band had actually slipped. I went in and under flouro my doc discovered that the popcorn had lodged into the band and was "stuck". He unfilled me completely (I had 2.1cc in a 4cc band) and I am on mushies while my esophagus heals from the severe dilation. It was weird though that I never PB'd or had sliming. It was gradual. Popcorn is now on my "never-eat-again-its-not-worth-it" list. Take it easy, follow band rules and you should be just fine!!!:party:

:confused2: I have been having alot of trouble the last few days with just drinks feeling stuck. I decided to do liguids only for the last couple of days to see if whatever is causing the problem will pass, but in the meantime I have this gurgeling in my throat. (some say it's little burps) The last 2 nights I was doing that even at bedtime. I believe I have a stuck b-complex caplet and hope it desolves soon.

I've been drinking alot of hot tea and added lemon juice to my iced tea thinking the acid would help. Getting tired of it. I am in the process of switching drs. (one closer to home) so I hope to have an appt soon.

If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears. Thanx! Joanie

I have had my band for 2 1/2 years and had lost 85 pounds and felt really great. Then I began to throw up alot and found out that my band had slipped. My doc took care of that. I had been going for fills and was at the max and gaining weight. I had an espophogram and was told that my stomach pouch is enlarged. The doc took out some fill and told me to sit tight for a month-that the stomach would reduce in size. I went back to him after the month was over and he added a bit of fill. I feel very little restriction and,because I am not watching what I am eating, have gained alot of weight. Has anyone heard of this happening and can it be fixed? I have to call my doctor on Monday....I don't want this to happen and am really very upset.:woot::sad_smile: