sometimes when I eat I get pain in my chest and have to make myself vomit to feel better. Does anyone else do this sometime? It happens like twice a week or so.

I was banded May 26, and in mid-august got a fill to 5.2cc on a 10 cc band. All was without restriction until my b-day end of August. We had guests over who wanted to bbq steaks, but they ended up very well done, I prefer Med rare. Immediately caused problems, lots of pain, had to go throw up. Ever since this time I have been having lots of pain with the need to throw up about 2 times a week. It wouldn't bother me except for the pain is pretty intense. I am presently visiting Santiago Chile and my first lunch with friends I had to excuse myself - twice- pretty embarassing since it is considered very bad manners to not eat what they serve you!

My question is: Will this get better? Most of the time I am chewing thoroughly, although there have been some times when I know that was the problem. I am on meds for a slow thyroid and am losing slowly, about 3 lbs a month. Prior to getting the lap band I lost 50 lbs in 5 months. But I prefer the slower pace as I am very sad to notice that I have hanging skin in my lower abdomen. Overall I am not very pleased with the band.

I don't think that everybody who says they "vomit" actually vomits. Some of your descriptions are specificallly "productive burping" rather than vomiting. Vomiting involved severe contractions of your stomach muscles and bringing up the entire contents of your stomach, including stomach acids. Productive burp is what often happens when you get stuck. The stuck bite and any other food you swallow after that bite gets stuck can and often does come back up.

Productive burps are pretty much entirely in your scope of control. A well done steak? I wouldn't even attempt to eat it because I KNOW that would get stuck and then PB. The biscuit? I know I have a problem with soft bread items (including pasta) so I don't eat them ... again, because 9 times out of 10, they stick and then PB.

Like DantheMan, my doc anchors the band in place so slipping is pretty unlikely.

If you have food come back up in the middle of a meal, you are (1) eating too fast, (2) taking bites that are too big, or (3) not chewing well enough -- or a combination of all three. I know; I've been there.

And I saw Trinity's comment ... After I had a really bad cold, I had a lot of stuck episodes. I talked to my doc and found out that post nasal drip mucous can accumulate in your pouch and actually kind of block the stoma (the opening the band creates) and cause you to get stuck. I was told that as long as I had a sinus infection/cold/leftover PND, to drink a hot beverage before I ate my meal.

Hope some of this helps! It all sounded so easy when we were researching the band, but so many "little" details come into play once it's you and your band. We have to keep asking our questions and hoping that another poster has an experience to share. And never, ever, hesitate to call your doc's office to ask questions!

I just want to thank you all for the posts,, i read them all and feel better about a few things i am going through - i have been sick with a cold, sinus drainage,, yuckky and my throat feels swollen and raw i thought it was pbing and food gettin stuck and a few instances of vomiting the past few days, but reading about post nasal drip tells me maybe that is causing problems for me - also it seem what i am calling vomiting really isnt - its pbing makes me feel tons better - also the going back to liquids aafter something being stuck, i was just saying before reading this that since i have had quite a few stuck issues the last few days i was going to go to liquids incase there was irratation from everything..

im babbling,, but thanks.. very good info here in the post.

I know the pain you are in .. When it happens to me -- I walk around with arms swinging as much as possible .. trying to NOT pray to the porcelain goddess.

I can eat chips and crackers , but no bread, tortillas or anything soft.. This includeds shredded pork, pot roast

and hamburger -- FORGET IT !! It makes me sick -sick -sick..

Also I will NEVER eat in a car again- because if food gets stuck, I need to get out and walk or open the door and let it go ..

What you're describing doesn't sound like vomiting, but then I (and my doctor) make a distinction between 'vomiting' and PBing with sliming. This past week has tested my patience in regard to the latter because I've been pretty tight since my fill a week ago (temporary swelling) and eating anything was like playing Russian roulette. I never knew what was going to go down hard and need to come back up.

When I vomit, my entire stomach heaves and I feel like I'm going to throw up my toenails. With Pbing and sliming, it's simply a matter of taking a big gulp of Water. It goes down and comes right back up, many times with the offending item...or at least moves things around so I'm not stuck and in pain anymore. No stomach heaves.

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Thanks for all the great responses . They all gave me great insight and aswered all my questions. I also learned that PBing, which is what is happening to me 3x a week is not vomiting. This is due to too big bites and too fast eating. I pretty much just stay on liquids becasue it's just so much easier. Hot organic soups are delish. But Carr's wheat crackers are great too, hummus, yogurt, mega protein drinks like myplex dark chocolate. But what is a real nice treat are cocktail weiners. They are so hot out of the oven you have to eat them slowly and then they are only 2-3 bites! Only eat 2 max though. Fun for a special occasion!

:w00t:

Thanks for all the great responses . They all gave me great insight and aswered all my questions. I also learned that PBing, which is what is happening to me 3x a week is not vomiting. This is due to too big bites and too fast eating. I pretty much just stay on liquids becasue it's just so much easier. Hot organic soups are delish. But Carr's wheat crackers are great too, hummus, yogurt, mega protein drinks like myplex dark chocolate. But what is a real nice treat are cocktail weiners. They are so hot out of the oven you have to eat them slowly and then they are only 2-3 bites! Only eat 2 max though. Fun for a special occasion!

You mentioned you had a sinus infection and post nasal drip. I am so glad to hear someone else has experienced that. I had that about 1 week ago and seemed to vomitt up everything. It was the post nasal drip irritating my pouch. I am vomitting at least 3 times/week. I think my problem is eating too fast. It is really hard for me to slow down. I was thinking I was too tight but since I am not vomitting consistentily i don't think that is it. I rarely vomit food. It is usually thick clear/white mucous. Does this happen to anyone too?

I am 1 year and 3 months post-op, and I've been challenged with making correct food choices, eating slowly, and chewing well. I PB'd daily (sometimes multiple times a day - many forced and some involuntary) early on, and I think my band may have slipped a little, as I am only at 6.2 cc's and had to have a small unfill a few months ago, 'cause my band seemed to be self-tightening. Now I am at (what I feel) is perfect restriction. I still PB about once a week, and oftentimes it is just a ball of mucous and gives me great relief. When I have had sinus problems (like others in this thread have mentioned), I would be very tight, and PB mucous. I also 'slime' (I hate that term - but it is what it is) where I spit stringy mucous for about 5-10 minutes following most meals. My Doctor agrees that my band may have slipped some, but unless I want to pursue it, and as long as I can keep in enough nutrients, then there is nothing that has to be done. I'm fine with that for now, and even with these issues, I LOVE my band and all that it is helping me to achieve!!! I would strongly encourage anyone with a band to learn what nutritious foods work best for you, practice proper eating (slow, small bites, chew well, no drinking 30 minutes before/after meals) and work with their Doctors to get to optimal restriction without being too tight. This should reduce or eliminate PB'ing (which can lead to slippage) and sliming.

Edited August 20, 201016 yr by Mamadot

I vomit twice a week and this is my 2nd fill, sometimes I can eat and other times I cannot. I hope that I am not causing damage to my band, but when i have to make myself vomit, it means it is stuck for good. I feel like a bulemic when i do this, it is weird.

didn't know after you vomit you had to be on liquids for 24 hours. Did anyone else know this? Thanks for your reply's and help, really appreciate it.:huh2:

You don't "HAVE TO", but it's not a bad idea. It all depends really on how severe the episode was, IMO. I've had little ones that are like "ok, that piece of broccoli that I didn't chew very well is gone.. let's finish lunch" and I did eat the rest of my food and did fine.

Then there are the times when it's "oh my god, where is the phenergan cause I can't stop heaving". THOSE I definitely do not try to keep eating regular food.

As time goes on and you live with your band longer, you will learn how to handle each event. No harm in being cautious.

Just wanted to share what my nut told me at my last fill appointment. First of all, she is a fellow bandster and has lost well over 100 pounds. She asked me if I was PBing at all. I told her that sometimes I get a little stuck, stop eating and wait a bit and it relieves itself. Other times, however, if the "sliming" starts, I just hurry up the inevitable, gag myself, the offending food that is stuck in my pouch comes up and it is instant relief. I asked her if that was still PBiing, or if that was actually vomiting. She said you want to avoid anything close to "wretching" at all costs. Wretching is when your stomach contracts and forces the contents upward. Problem is that the muscles you are using to acheive this action are located below the band. So think about it...force coming from below the band in an upward direction can lead to a slip.:huh2: Getting up and moving is the best thing to do to get the food to move through. I'm still not sure I completly know the difference between PBing and vomiting, but I do know that I chew my food a lot better now :huh2:

sometimes when I eat I get pain in my chest and have to make myself vomit to feel better. Does anyone else do this sometime? It happens like twice a week or so.

Yes, I have the same thing happen.

Thank you everyone - I was starting to freak a bit. I am just about exactly 2 months post op and have been PBing and sliming for 2 days now. It is random. Some food is fine then all of a sudden - pain - no more. I felt like I had heartburn. This may sound ridiculous but I wanted the food out so bad a few minutes ago I found that crouching on all fours and lowering my head helped bring it up so I could hurl, kinda like a ddownward dog yoga position. Totally worked. No heaving. Some came up my nose and burned though. This is such a lovely conversation. I am just glad I am not alone and it is fairly normal, which I figured - I just have managed to avoid this until the last two days. Got to slow down and chew, chew, chew. First time was a bit of banana bread, tonight it was a bit of corn bread. I'm done with both of those foods. No more bread. Thought I was getting brave and could eat whatever as long as I chewed it up - NOT! I've managed to get 55 lbs off - 30 pre sx and 25 more since 6/29. Pretty happy for the most part. I hate throwing up and got to get this under control. Too gross. Not to mention painful. So glad to have this forum to communicate this you all.

sometimes when I eat I get pain in my chest and have to make myself vomit to feel better. Does anyone else do this sometime? It happens like twice a week or so.

I haven't experienced stuck or pb yet, but i heard papaya enzyme helps.