I just had my first stuck experience and OH MY GOD.. PAINFUL!!!! Please remember to take small bites and chew well! I just had my 3rd fill last Thursday which put me at 6 cc's in my 10cc band. My PA always asked if chicken goes down well for me, which it always has. She has also said that most people are happy with their restriction at 6 or 7 cc's so I knew this might be it for me for a while as I have not had ANY restriction since the first days of my surgery.

So I was making white chili today for the football game and I must have taken too big of a bite of chicken and didn't chew it well enough and I knew instantly I was in trouble. UGHH..... felt a horrible pain in my chest and I was pounding on my chest and jumping up and down to help it go down and this lasted several minutes which felt like forever!!!! It was hard to breathe and I was pacing back and forth.. anything to take my mind off the pain. I tried to take a drink to help it pass which didn't seem to help. I was wondering if it would come back up which it didn't. Finally it passed on its own but reminded me to chew better!!!

Has anyone else gotten anything stuck like that? Ohh it was horrible, I was nearly in tears.

You describe your experience so well that it reminded me of my first!!!!! Glad you survived it and learned from it!!!

Mimi

Not that you ever want to come close to that experience again, but if you don't have them, buy papaya enzyme chewables. I rarely have problem with meat, but by far my worse experience was with some very tough restaurant chicken (thank goodness it was takeout). Being that I was inexperienced with getting I stuck, I swallowed the chicken bite rather than spitting it out. Big mistake. Thankfully, I had the papaya. I chewed a couple of them - I was grasping at straws - and they worked like a charm. I've had a couple of other times when meat has just felt too tight, and rather than soldier on (learned my lesson) I took a papaya enzyme and it worked to break down the meat.

I have papaya/pineapple enzyme chewables from Trader Joes, but I think most Vitamin shops, possibly Walmart, and several places on the internet sells them. They're very inexpensive, so if they don't work, you haven't spent a lot money for them. I probably haven't used one for six months, but I still carry them in my purse...just in case.

I've tried the Papaya and they don't seem to help me at all. I normally only find relief after i have managed to bring whatever is stuck up. Sometimes this can happen relatively quickly others it has taken a lot longer.

And yes it is the most horrible feeling - extremely painful. I don't remember being told that before surgery!

I still want to know why after taking a bite that is too big the stuck feeling is almost instantaneous.The band is supposedly designed to hold food in the pouch for a while so why can you feel it straight away?

I got a piece of chicken stuck last night! I didnt know what to do! It felt like forever untill it came up.

Does it come up on its own or do you make yourself throw up? I was kinda waiting for it to come up but never did. It would have been better if it did. All I could do was sit and moan in pain my kid was wondering what the hell was going on and was starting to freak out lol, poor kid. And then, just when you think the pain is gone it comes back!! What the hell!! Such a weird horrible feeling.

I don't know about other people but I have to make it come up. I wish it would come up by itself but this hasn't happened yet. Its not like vomiting - nowhere near as unpleasant.Lots and lots of slime.

My first time being stuck was just as you described. I, too, was banging my chest and jumping up and down. Scared my kids! I have not been stuck like that again, though I have had one or two instances of sliming. That's not overly painful but it is an inconvenience that reminds me to take small bites and chew well.

Live and learn, huh?

After last fill even the smallest bites get stuck. Chicken has been my nightmare. They always tell me to eat my protein first, but I found that trying the veggies first seems to settle better and keep that painful sticking from happening:drool:

Thanks everyone for posting this information. I am going to be especially careful from now on. I'm sorry that Mrs Berggan got stuck and hope she is better now. Lesson learned the hard way.

I'm sitting here waiting for a whole wheat pretzel I just ate to get unstuck. Fortunately, the pain is not to bad this time, but I have had some bad experiences that have lastes 4-5 hours. I must say, since then I have been eating slower and chewing more. I never thought a pretzel would get stuck. I wish the papaya or pineapple would work for me, but they don't. sigh...

Believe it or not my first stuck expierience was with rice of all the stupid things. I had my second fill the day before, my husband insisted on chinese food. I figured brocoli and beef and some fried rice would be ok. I chewed the broccoli and even spit some of the beef out, but when I ate a spoonfull of rice I thought I was goung to die. I drank water I gaged finally I went to the bathroom and threw it up. I had this industrial strength slime all over my plate. It was crazy. I can eat chicken thighs but not breast, I can have a sandwich if I use a good thick bread. They make a protein bread now and its pretty good. after my third fill I can have half a sandwich and some dorrittos. My problem is not being able to stop drinking when I eat.

Must have been the full moon - I got stuck for the first time last evening -- ON CHICKEN!!!

What a nasty experience!

Must be the moon - because I just had my first "Stuck" food - I grabbed some left-over Popeye's chicken and after a few big (normal for me) bites - felt like I was having a heart attack. I tried to throw it up - but no luck.. mind-numbing chest pain - lasted about 10 minutes.

So much for gulping down lunch!

I am also having a problem with not drinking when I eat. It just seems I have to have something to wash it down with. any suggestions?

I am also having a problem with not drinking when I eat. It just seems I have to have something to wash it down with. any suggestions?

Staying VERY well hydrated between meals is probably the biggest help for me in not needing to drink during eating. The second is the knowledge that I'll have longer satiety by waiting to drink. Not feeling like I'm starving between meals is such a freeing feeling, that I really don't have a desire to drink. Positive reinforcement is a good thing.

When I'm home I make sure I drink a large glass of Water before meals. When I'm out, and the water is on the table, I drink small sips, but altogether, not more than maybe 1/4 cup in total. The doctors have said in our support group meeting that if you must drink during a meal, drink small sips and not more that 1/4 cup, and that works for me.