Is Discomfort While Eating Just Part of the Package?

SB0233 · August 24, 2008

Just looking for some feedback from those banded around the same time as myself.

I experience discomfort at almost every meal. I chew...chew...chew and eat slowly. But anything solid causes me some discomfort and sliming. I have had 3 fills (last one in early June) and it has been this way since the first one. I don't think I am too tight and have had several fluro's to check. I am just beginining to think that this is part of the band experience for me.

My weight loss is on track (although slower this last month). My doctor says I should not feel discomfort as long as I take small bites...but this has not been my experience. Anyone else have similar issues with their band?

MamaJava · August 24, 2008

I have the same exact issue. Almost everything I eat, no matter how little the bites are, feels like it's clogging up in my chest for a little bit. I'm starting to realize through many visits with my doctor that some don't feel this discomfort and some do. My bites have to be the size of a kernel of sweet corn. D'oh! My doc says "mince everything". Well, that doesn't always help either.

I just got done eating oatmeal for lunch and it feels bizarre. Not quite stuck, not quite painful, just uncomfortable tightness in my chest. Then it passes as it falls slowly from the pouch to the big stomach. Sometimes I can actually feel that happening.

So yes, I think you and I are in the same boat. welcome aboard! LOL

fatme · August 24, 2008

I know what you are talking about. It's strange how even smooth food will hurt. The one thing that does help is taking a walk after eating if i'm able to. I can't even say the band makes me feel full it's more of a discomfort, but it keeps me doing what I should do. Without the band my weight would be totally out of control and thats a whole other kind of pain.

B-Man · August 25, 2008

I have asked this same question 10 times on this board, and I always get the same answer "its not supposed to hurt" but I can't remember the last meal I had that did not hurt to some degree or another. I am not to tight, because I can still eat way too much and I can drink Water as fast as I want to. I need to go to the Dr and ask them, but I expect to get the same answer about chewing and smaller bites. I have never felt as if the food sits on top of the band in a small pouch. To me the food enters the band immediately and either goes down smoothly, or gets stuck for a short period of time.

Last week I was getting a little worried that the band had slipped, but I have none of the symptoms of a slip (reflux, vomiting, ect)

I have just learned to live with it. :smile2:

fatme · August 25, 2008

B-Man,I agree,everyone tells me that it's not suppose to hurt. But honestly since my first fill back in Jan 08 I've had on going pain. I'm learning to live with it and it is one of the things that keeps me losing.

Lets face it unless the Dr. had the surgery themselves they really can't tell you that there shouldn't be pain. As for people who had the surgery and don't have pain and are losing- more power to them! Just remember you"re not alone. Good Luck.

Chrisann · August 26, 2008

I barely ate dinner tonight, 4 hours ago, let alone food the rest of the day, just tried to eat a few small pretzel sticks and immediately felt pain. Felt pain all day today when I tried to eat. The first time I have felt this.

Yesterday I went to a party,and this is what I had all day: drank alot of Pina Colada's, probably 8, ate 4 chicken wings, one crab claw, one 4 inch size of sausage off the grill. Then had a mini italian pastry, but just the cream out of it, and small dish of ice cream.

So, I am thinking I ate an awful lot of food yesterday, which is why I could get very, very little down today. I don't see the doctor until September 12th, so I am going to have to ask about this.

SB0233 · August 27, 2008

Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences. I guess it's nice to know that I am not alone...but I really hate hearing that others feel the same discomfort. If anyone finds a "solution" to it (besides a liquid diet), please let me know.

dianegoe · August 27, 2008

Hi Everyone!,

I'm in Barcelona now with my daughter for the next 4 months. I have not had a full since May because this band is tight and I slime and throwup alot. But, my weight loss has not been great, only about 35#. I think I have lost weight now because all my clothes are loose. I walk every where because we don't have a car here. But before I left I saw my doctor and he said the way my tubing is he probably won't be able to draw out the Fluid because it's kind of kinked. So I told him I would live with it until I come back from Spain. I don't feel pain like the rest of you, but there are days that everything sticks. I feel like I can't get it thru the band and I go to the bathroom and kinda just throw it up. I just read an article in Self magazine about Lapband and by pass surgery. One lapband patient said it was like surgical bulimia and there are days I feel like that. My daughter even says are you going to go throw up again Mom. My son says, so was it worth it? But I would have to say I was not able to loose weight before, so I will take the side effects I guess. I hope I am not damaging my esophageous from throwing up, but since there is no stomach acid most of the time, I think I am OK. I am happy that I do not experience pain like you are describing. Just stuck food, sliming and surgical bulimia:) It seems to be worse in the morning and then gets better by the late afternnon. But somedays it's all the time. Maybe once it starts it irritates the band site and then it swells. But you guys have lost way more weight than I have and I know I am not eating a lot. I can't eat bread, red meat. Mostly I have yogurt or Cereal or chicken. I can do salad. Sorry for the long post. I hope things get better for you who are having pain. I will be thankful for the throwing up without the pain. I will tell you throwing up in some restasurants in Spain in not my idea of a good time. I have no scale here, so I will be surprised when I go home and weigh myself. I hope all this barfing will be for a good cause. Adios my fellow banders. Will talk to you soon. Diane:regular_smile:

HeatherO · August 29, 2008

I don't have pain often, but discomfort can be fairly regular. However, since pain tolerances differ . . . what may be discomfort to one might be pain to another.

I feel everything going down, even Water but it is not soo bad. I feel better mid-day and lunch is my biggest meal of the day because I can eat most comfortably then. I also have a cup of hot coffee or tea before eating because it eases the transition, but I will not drink after I start eating. The warmth seems to make everything more comfortable.

It is not comfortable for me to eat Breakfast unless it is a liquid or a mushie. I also can not eat late in the day because I can not sleep comfortably and it seems like food needs the gravity of being upright to move through the band.

This is not so bad, I consider it tolerable for what the band has helped me to achieve. However, I am not far from goal and as soon as I reach goal, I think I am going to go for a very slight unfill. I will try to maintain more by healthy choices than tight restriction but will definitely get more of a fill put in if my weight goes up by more than 5 pounds.

elle · September 3, 2008

I think you might need a slight unfill. I have been struggling with sometimes pain, pbing, vomiting and then not having problems other days.

I often have problems with dinner. I was trying to have a hot beverage before meals. I just had a slight unfill. I think I would rather be a little hungry than to have these issues. My doctor told me from day to day, your esphogus can be different. Once you start PBing, it gets irritated. He told me stress, excitement, your period, PBing can make your esophagus swollen. Also I was told, when your band is too tight, your weight loss is not as good. i guess you might eat the wrong things (easy to eat food) and not enough satisfying Protein.< /p>

Good Luck.

bandfun4me · November 17, 2008

I just ran across this post. Interesting enough I was also banded in Jan. I had this same feeling for avout 5/6 months. I thought I was just not chewing and eating slow enough. So on the next fill my doc uses the syringe to pull out the entire 5cc(most of it) and re -injected with my additional .5 cc for that fill. What I thought was restriction all that time,(discomfort when eating) must have been what I told my doc was "wrinkle" in the silcone the saline goes in. I have not felt the same "restriction/discomfort since then" BUT, I have not had the weight loss as much as then either. last few months anywhere from 0-4 lbs per month. I feel like I have no restriction. Now it feels more like I am FULL, so I have to be careful not to overeat. He thinks I am getting to my "sweet spot" I am also 10-15 from my goal wt. I thought I was eating a little more than I should and started measuring for sure, 1/2 to 3/4 cup. so I guess I,m right in line where I should be. Banded 01/18/08. Anniversary is right arounf the corner, after I make it thorugh the food push time of the year. Good luck to you all Jan bandsters!!:smile2:

HeatherO · November 20, 2008

I don't have pain often, but discomfort can be fairly regular. However, since pain tolerances differ . . . what may be discomfort to one might be pain to another.
I feel everything going down, even Water but it is not soo bad. I feel better mid-day and lunch is my biggest meal of the day because I can eat most comfortably then. I also have a cup of hot coffee or tea before eating because it eases the transition, but I will not drink after I start eating. The warmth seems to make everything more comfortable.

It is not comfortable for me to eat Breakfast unless it is a liquid or a mushie. I also can not eat late in the day because I can not sleep comfortably and it seems like food needs the gravity of being upright to move through the band.

This is not so bad, I consider it tolerable for what the band has helped me to achieve. However, I am not far from goal and as soon as I reach goal, I think I am going to go for a very slight unfill. I will try to maintain more by healthy choices than tight restriction but will definitely get more of a fill put in if my weight goes up by more than 5 pounds.

I am currently pregnant and had to have a partial unfill. Before the unfill, I was living with some discomfort after eating, as indicated above and occasional acid reflux issues. It was tolerable and I could still eat a healthy diet without pb'ing with normal Proteins and veggies. I lived with the occasional discomfort so that I could get to my goals and stayed in contact with my doctor throughout the entire process.

However, since the partial unfill the most amazing thing has happened. I am still drifting closer to my initial goal of normal BMI, currently at 141 - I am only one pound away. Most of the time I am either maintaining my weight or losing at a snails pace. With a little less fill, my acid reflux is gone and I have no discomfort at all when eating. I feel like a normal person again and can even eat limited quantities of bread . . . but I also keep my diet in check by eating healthy foods and maintain my exercise schedule.

I was planning on a small unfill once I reached goal, but pregnancy got me an unfill a little quicker than expected. For now, it has been completely worthwhile. I can keep my eating in check without discomfort and I never feel my band unless I am making a poor choice.

SB0233 · November 22, 2008

Heather-- Congrats on the pregnancy and at being close to your target weight. I have been following your progress and am excited to see one of us almost at goal. It's inspirational. Your lucky, the second I got pregnant with my son, I felt like I gained 10 lbs.

Also, I took your advice, and did get a slight unfill last week. It has helped some with the reflux issues, but I've also started loosing again at a fairly decent rate. Not sure why doing an unfill would lead to more progress, but perhaps I was too tight before. Eating is a lot more comfortable now, so I do have to be careful.

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone. Stay away from the pumpkin pie (that's my weakness).

Banded08 · November 23, 2008

I have the same problem. My problem is either I do not have enough of a fill and I can eat too much, or I'm restricted and things hurt. I just do not feel right about having pain while I eat, so for me, and everyone's different, I basically cannot eat anything solid until afternoon. So I have a shake every morning, Protein Bar in the afternoon and by dinner I can eat solids. It sound horrible but I have actually adjusted. Glad to see I'm not the only one!

Bandana · January 10, 2009

Hi everyone,

I'm so glad I found this thread. I lost 80 pounds from presurgery weight until today. 50 lbs since surgery on 1/28. I've been suffering with pain all along. I have pain in my chest when I eat so I regurgitate it. Someone said it is surgical bulemia and that's what I have too. Never been able to find "the sweet spot" . So I've taken to eating "sliders" like ice cream, creamy Soups, Cookies, choctoalte. they all slide down. But my weight loss is at a plateau for the last 2 months since I am eating more sliders. It started out innocent, some ice cream to soothe my esophogus after regurgitating the food up. Now the ice cream is a full blown addiction. I don't know what to do. I have not reached my goal weight and am very distressed because of what I'm doing. Does anyone have the same problems and what do you think would help me. I hate exercising and have to push myself, if I even do it. Help!!!! Thanks.