MayBandster

I was banded May 3rd, with a 2cc fill at the time of surgery. My first fill was 6/22 when I got an additional 3cc. I've been scheduled for my next fill on 7/27. After the post-op diet wrapped up I was having so many uncomfortable "stuck" episodes that I've basically modified my diet to be primarily soft foods for the last month, or eat so slowly and such small bites that it can pass through without getting stuck. But of course in doing so I've been able to eat almost as much as I did before surgery and my weight loss has plateaued. How many fills did it take you before you could eat normal-consistency foods but not get stuck? I'm ready for this thing to start "working" and get out of this feeling like I have to circumvent the benefits of the band to not end up in the bathroom five minutes later. Thanks!!

Thanks everyone for your input! After my well-deserved smack down I did some experimenting that night and had a solid Protein meal. I ate slowly and listened to what my stomach was telling me and indeed didn't get the stuck feeling even though I was eating the same sort of stuff that was getting me stuck just a few days earlier. In retrospect I realize that my doctor told me two things that I ignored... 1st was that in the first three days after my first fill I should eat soft foods since my stomach was going to have a natural swelling reaction to the first fill. 2nd was that I really should be waiting quite some time before adding liquids on top of the food, and definitely not trying to wash food down if I began to feel stuck. What I realize was happening is that indeed I was too tight in the first days after the fill, but by the time the swelling went away and I loosened up I was eating soft foods so I wouldn't have even known. I did the complete opposite thing of what I was supposed to be doing! :-) So in the days since my first post, I've eaten numerous meals of solid foods and had no problem. I can tell now that I think I'll still be okay with another fill or two, but I'm eating slowly and getting used to the idea that I need to stop and figure out if I'm still eating because I'm not satisfied or because of habit. More often than not I can realize it's because of the latter. Still more work to be done no doubt, but deconstructing the feeling I had in the first few days after my fill definitely helped me understand better what I should/shouldn't be expecting with this band. -Brendan

Everything I've understood previously is that the band is meant to slow the emptying of food from the upper stomach pouch. My problem is that even a single bite of chicken or other non-soft food doesn't get slowed before it enters the restricted part of the stomach -- instead it gets past that point and gets stuck. If I got an unfill, I can't imagine I would ever get a feeling of satisfaction from a smaller volume of food because that same bite would pass quickly out of my upper pouch. (And I'm not using the term satisfaction to mean feeling full -- I chose that term because one of the articles you referred me to said "the band will help you... by allowing you to feel satisfied after the small volume.") Am I completely misinterpreting the purpose of the band and the feeling I should be having?