I thought that the purpose of the pouch is to hold the food for a few hours while it digests...then slip through the pouch into the lower stomach. The food siting in the upper pouch is what gives us the full feeling and the signal to STOP eating, then takes 2-3 hrs to digest thus giving us the saiety we need. If the food slips through the band with every bite then how is that helping??? I guess I didn't do enough research first and dont understand the physiology of the process.

The stuck feeling , everyone says, is the bite of food taken gets stuck over the top of the band and is not slipping through properly for various reasons. My food gets stuck almost every time and is very very painfull, no matter how well I chew or how small a bite I take. Ice cream is the only thing that does not give me pain, and we know why that is dont we?

Edited October 24, 200817 yr by necerae

You eat, fill up your pouch, feel full and at proper restriction that food will slowly slip through the band over several hours keeping you satisfied during this time...imagine an hourglass except the top part(the pouch) is much smaller than the bottom part.

The stuck feeling and PBing, at least for me, is because the food can not pass from the esophagus into the pouch properly...this is happening above the pouch.(Usually caused by too big a bite, eating too fast, or eating too much). Sliming is more what happens when the food gets stuck trying to pass through the band itself, this happens less often for me; it happens BIG TIME if I take a pill that is too big to pass through the band.

Edited October 24, 200817 yr by Jodi_620

You are right that the band is suppose to work by keeping food in the upper pouch for a period of time slowly passing through to the rest of your stomach.

But if you eat too fast causing the food to back up into your esophagus you will feel some obvious discomfort. Also if you take too large a bite and don't chew it well enough instead of slowly falling through to your "lower" stomach it can completely plug the hole and get stuck, which is also very uncomfortable. Both of these causes increase in discomfort as your body will naturally produce extra Fluid to try to help "wash" the food down but if you are stuck the last thing you need is more fluid in your upper pouch. Hence the "sliming".

necerae...where and by whom did you have your band placed? I had Dr Nimeri who is with the Boone/Higa group, Just had surgery on the 20th in Clovis Community. I am very pleased with the outcome. Still on fluids, so I haven't gotten stuck yet, either on entry, or exit from my pouch. I have watched my daughter take "one bite too many" and have to "productive burp" the offending bite out of her esophogus. She says she's never eaten rice or soft bread that might ball up and plug the exit. I'm sure that's a WHOLE other story!

Good luck!

I thought that the purpose of the pouch is to hold the food for a few hours while it digests...then slip through the pouch into the lower stomach. The food siting in the upper pouch is what gives us the full feeling and the signal to STOP eating, then takes 2-3 hrs to digest thus giving us the saiety we need. If the food slips through the band with every bite then how is that helping??? I guess I didn't do enough research first and dont understand the physiology of the process.

The stuck feeling , everyone says, is the bite of food taken gets stuck over the top of the band and is not slipping through properly for various reasons. My food gets stuck almost every time and is very very painfull, no matter how well I chew or how small a bite I take. Ice cream is the only thing that does not give me pain, and we know why that is dont we? :thumbup:

Oh my gosh.....we must be on the same wavelength. I just posted an almost identical question before I read to see if anyone else had asked it. I just don't understand why any food should be trying to pass the band immediately after taking a bite if the sole purpose of the band is to retain the food in the upper pouch for an extended period....seems to me if its getting stuck then its not sitting in the upper pouch but rather trying to go thru right then while you are eating it.

The band is not a valve that opens and closes it is more like a device that makes your stomach into a funnel. Continuing the analogy you can think of how the band works as similar to the following:

"Water" - Runs straight through a funnel - Similar to foods that are too soft or liquid passing through a band quickly making you hungry again too soon.

"Thick Oatmeal" - Runs slowly through a funnel - Similar to solid foods chewed well. This is the optimal effect as it will help make you feel full the longest.

"Marbles" - Won't budge through the funnel if the marbles are larger than the hole in the funnel - Similar to solid foods not chewed well enough. This is what can cause PB'ing, Sliming, and much discomfort.

And with any of the above you will also feel discomfort if you eat more than can fit in your pouch as to cause the food to back up into your esophagus. The amount you can eat before your pouch will fill up does vary based on which of the above 3 types of food you are eating. The thinner/runnier the food the more you can eat before it fills up as it is falling though at the bottom at the same time. Again this happens with a funnel as well. Even Water can overflow the top of a funnel if you pour it in faster than it is falling out the bottom.

Definitions:

Sliming - A Fluid that your body makes to try to help the food go down but ends up backing up instead if there is no room left in your upper pouch. Annoying as you body will make extra fluid to wash things through if you eat too much thinking it is helpig when it is actually just adding to the problem.

PB'ing - Productive Burp - Varies from person to person both in frequency and in symptoms but for me it is a very rare event. Last one was months ago and my own fault for not having chewed well enough. It feels very uncomfortable for me like something stuck in my throat, almost like I'm choking but I can still breath. Then unlike throwing up where you have a gut wrenching event the food comes up in a move more similar to a cough or a burp. Very uncomfortable until it happens but nothing like a queasy stomach flu like vomit.