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Ask about an endoscopy maybe? Th upper GI is the area between your throat and stomach (upper part). In an endoscopy the put a camera down your throat to see what may be going on. Ulcers, acid reflux and things like that can cause these symptoms, I think. I am in a somewhat similar situation, removing Fluid down to 2 cc now. I have lost a lot of weight so I dont mind this so much. One thing I do is go to a day or 2 of liquids when I start getting stuck to give it a rest. I think that the constant getting stuck does irritate the banded area. Possibly make it have swelling and scarring which could mean increased restriction without adding fluid... I am by no means a doctor so I would look to professional advise but an Endoscopy sounds warranted.

Great job!

I think sometimes the acid makes me tighter and sometimes being tight makes my heartburn worse. It is a vicious cycle. I used to think that I should not take antacids long term but my doctor has convinced me otherwise. I think being consistent with my antacids will also take some of the unpredictability out of the band tightness. That is one reason I am not completely sold on the fluoro fill. All it shows is that the Fluid can pass through at the moment and you are not too tight. Drinking a glass of Water does that for me. I am fine the day of the fill and the next week or so but I get tighter later, which brings me back to smaller, more frequent fills.

I am in a similar situation Going between too tight and too loose. I am currently too loose but I needed that break I believe, to give my esophagus a rest and to focus on eating solids again. I have put on 12 lbs since I was loosened but a lot of that is Water weight lost due to dehydration. I have decided that I would prefer frequent small fills (say 0.2-0.4 cc every 4 weeks). This will allow my eating habits to adjust to my new band situation, I will get to green zone when I get to it. I am also ensuring I remember to take the daily antacid prescription as I believe that was a contributing cause of being too tight as well. My endocrinologist reminded me that the extra acid is bad for me anyways as it puts more stress on the banded area of my stomach and he also wants me to stay on it long term. I am also focusing on getting more exercise in. I am bicycling frequently and playing some tennis and making sure I make the best of this coming summer. That is my goal for the next six months. Do the things that are right for you and the weight loss will happen as it happens. Best of luck.

I have decided that I will only do small fills as a larger fill usually causes problems. I suspect it is too big an adjustment of habits and it is a vicious cycle. Too much change causes discomfort, discomfort makes me tighter and the cycle continues.

So I have heard this mentioned a few times and I have wondered how to use it. Is this a powder, capsule or a tablet? Do you chew it? DO you take it before food or if you get stuck? Anyone who has used it or knows of it please chime in. I appreciate your thoughts.

So got stuck on some lamb this Memorial day weekend. Had one tablet of the Papaya enzyme and 30 minutes later I PB'd the lamb. It works! It works!

Inspired by you guys. Did 12.5 miles in one hour on the local trails today. Haven't had this much fun biking in 7 years!

Great job! I've recently started biking again as well, did 6 miles this last weekend, felt great. Cant wait to put your kind of numbers up!

If it has been only a few hours, you could wait and give your band a rest by going to clear liquids. I have had a similar problem when I had heartburn so if you do not take heartburn medication regularly then you could take some of that as well. As the other posters recommend do call your doctor for more information. You definitely do not want to wait a week and get dehydrated before you go see them.

Try using fat free Fage Greek yogurt by itself or in a smoothie instead. I see you are well past surgery from your profile so you do not need to use the shakes if they don't work for you.

The when question is based on your doctor's instructions. How long are you supposed to stay on liquids? Is the next stage soft or mushy foods and for how long? When are you supposed to go on solids? If you are ready for mushy foods per your doctor's instructions then Jackie's suggestions work. You can also puree most foods and eat that. So pureed chicken etc will be fine as well.

Agreed, I am on my third wardrobe in 9 months. My wedding suits (14 years now!) are starting to fit. Wear that suit more often, you will have to give it away in a few months.

Ok, hard for me to relate but I find higher fiber protein shakes and soups more filling and satisfying. See if that helps. best of luck!

So I have been struggling with the fill amount in my band for almost four months now. I have had two small un-fills and I am now at less Fluid in my band than I have had since mid December. December was when I got my last addition of fluid to the band as I was close but still a little too loose. In the past week I have finally figured out that it is my acid reflux that was irritating my band area and was causing me to be still too tight even with un-fills. I have upped my acid reflux medicine and it has done wonders for my ability to eat consistently. I think I will need to spend the next 2-3 weeks getting back into the groove of eating solid food consistently and not only during the day time (on the days my band permitted). At that point I will probably be ready for another fill. I have discussed acid reflux with my doctor in the past but he never mentioned that it may feel like a too tight band so I never suspected it as a root cause for my band being tight.

Yes, it takes me a few days to adjust to a fill as well. If after that you have problems with fluids or food that is well chewed and eaten slowly, you are probably too tight. One thing I would suggest is that you don't eat or drink for 1-2 hours before bed time. If you are too tight or still adjusting to the new fill, food and drink may reflux back when you are sleeping. That used to make me wake up coughing when that happened.

Congratulations! This is truly inspiring.

Congratulations, I am eagerly awaiting that milestone myself.

One of my twin boy's belly was blue yesterday and other's was red... .. They got into markers while my wife was on the phone

So you guys convinced me to order the papaya enzyme, thanks. I picked it up at GNC online. Buy one get one free + 20% off + free 1 year gold membership... I sound like a GNC salesman :-) Seriously, I picked up the 180 chewable tablet bottle as that was the highest potency (400000 IU vs 60000 IU) so less tablets to chew. Lets see if it is good, the reviews were very good.