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It could be your heart but the more likely explanation is that it is just a muscle in your chest. I have had similar sensations previously. You should get it checked out for peace of mind but I am sure it is nothing to worry about.

It sounds as though you maybe too tight. If you cannot eat are you resorting to high cal easy to eat slider foods? The answer may be that you need some fill removed. That should allow you to eat healthy foods that fill you up for longer and are lower in calories. i would make an appointment and discuss it with your dr. Sometimes just the tiniest amount out can make a huge difference.

OMG, that is awful. Feel so sorry for you, you must have wanted the earth to open up and swallow you!

Try sucking crushed ice. It helps to relieve the swelling.

I would be careful. Skin on tomatos can cause problems and unless they are really really soft I wouldn't regard onions as mushy.

Confused. How does a sleeve insert another foreign object into your system?

Be very careful with cold meats such as ham. if you eat them too quickly or don't chew properly they can cause issues. because they are thin anyway they can be difficult to eat correctly. I have had issues with cold meats a number of times!

That particular drug is generally only used short term anyway. It is a steroid and can cause all sorts of problems if taken long term. It is however invaluable sometimes. my son had it a number of times when he was younger for chronic asthma. So if your Dr prescribes it again know that it is probably for a really good reason and don't stress too much as you won't be on it for long.

Reminds me of watching mystery diagnosis on TV the other day. Have they checked out your copper levels/ One woman had what appeared to be unconnected sympttoms and weird rashes and it turned out to be an excess of copper in the system. Hope you get an answer soon. It must be very frustrating.

Congratulations on your success and thankyou for an extremely inspiring post.

I could never eat like that. That is not "normal" eating , in fact I think it is really dysfunctional. I eat normal food in whatever order I want. Casseroles with vegies in, stirfry's with meat and vegies mixed up, rissotos, Pasta dishes such as lasagne etc etc. I got banded so that I could stop dieting and eat food the same way that a "normal" person does.So far it's working for me. If I had to eat like that i would have given up long ago. I do sometimes eat strange things at strange times e.g lunch today was homemade muesli with greek yogurt. Full of unprocessed oats,pepitas, sultanas,linseeds etc. No added sugar like in the commercial varieties. Yum.

It is possible that you have some kind of autoimmune disease. This may have nothing to do with the band and is something that may have developed whether you were banded or not. Be very careful if you decide to get debanded that you do not end up disappointed.Imagine how you will feel if you do get the band removed and you still have the symptoms.

There was a member on here that no longer posts that had her first surgery aborted because of her liver. Her name is restlessmonkey - look up some of her older posts.

I'm so cold that I think my wood fire blows out cold air.

I am wondering if this is partly psychological? I am not saying that you aren't feeling real pain I believe you are. What I am saying is that maybe it is part of a vicious cycle that started when you got the pain for the first time. It sounds as though the initial ptroblem was caused by your band being prefilled at surgery - this often causes problems. Now you are tense when you eat or drink and expecting to feel pain so you do. Your oesopagus is probably tensing up in anticipation which is probably not helping. I am wondering if something like a muscle relaxant and cognitive behavious therapy might help you to get past this.

That doesn't make sense. Why would they try to take fluid out after having only just put it in? If it is in the right place then if you are too tight they should be able to draw it out the same way it went in.I have never heard of this before but they do say that you learn something new every day.

I don't think any of the replies that you received indicated that anyone had their nose out of place. I think that what the responses did was get you to open up about what your actual problems are and that is a good thing. People can help, advise, sympathise , whatever if they know what you are dealing with - they can't if they don't. Remember you are not alone we are here to help. But in order to do that we need to know what the problem is. Hoping that you are already starting to feel more positive about your band.

I agree. I assume you are talking about ozband? I get the digests but have never posted. Lately all they seem to do on the forum is band bash, promote the sleeve, fight with each other etc. It is also not set up in user friendly way like this site is. Here it is easy to get updates on the threads you are subscribed to which doesn't happen on the yahoo groups. But you do have to remember that the info on this site is American and that in Aus we do things differently. Most of our Dr's do not recommend high Protein or low carb, they do not tell us to eat only 1/2 cup of food and our insurance is completely different. Enjoy the site and hopefully you will get the help here that you are looking for. And if you feel the need to talk to a fellow Aussie feel free to PM me.

At my Dr's they recommend that you stay away from these forums are there are so many horror stories that it can scare the @@@@@ out of you. But I like being contrary and I like being informed. I have found this site to be very helpful. I do not find that most of the posts are horror stories but you have to remember the old adage " no news is good news". What I am getting at is that people who are happy do not keep posting. How many times can they start a thread saying the band is wonderful, it's the best thing I have ever done etc etc. You would soon get bored. Most people that are banded and successful do not spend time on these groups. they go off and happilly live their lives. So you have to remember that you will see what seems like a high proportion of problems. I found the info on this site invaluable and I always read the complications thread! It meant that I was informed and knew what to expect. I learnt about PBing and slimming and how it feels to get stuck etc so when it happened to me I was prepared and did not feel an overwhelming panic. Yes there are complications and if you have a responsible Dr you should have been told about them. The book that my Dr gave me has a whole section on complications. You do have to remember though that every surgery has the potential for complications. Hell my father nearly died from MRSA caught when they did his hip replacement. Also not every bandster is successful. That can be because they expect the band to be a magic fix which it is not, it is a tool. You still have to watch what you eat, exercise etc. But it is an invaluable tool that makes a huge difference. A bit like the difference between trying to handsew a dress or use a sewing machine. if you are committed to the process and prepared to make a lifestyle change then there is no reason why in 18 months time you won't be a successful bandster.

The new Dr's advice does seem rather strange.There is nothing wrong with fruit or oatmeal. Lots of bandsters struggle with bread , rice and pasta so they can be a no no. It could be that your new Dr has a low carb philosophy which your old Dr didn't, but even with low carb i can see nothing wrong with eating oats.

Or when you are hungry.

I see nothing wrong with what you are eating. You shouldn't have to eat Protein then veg then carbs. Eating things seperately is not normal - most people eat things together.I got banded because I wanted to be normal! I agree that being on a diet is hard. Making healthy choices is easier (even if it is the same thing). Maybe try what your Dr has suggested and see if it helps. I know lots of people swear by journalling.

You do sound as though you are too tight. You are relying mainly on slider foods and these leave you hungry and often cause weight goin. I think you should go and get a small unfill so you can start eating proper food. You will probably find that once you do that the weight will start dropping again. reasons for bands getting tighter include stress,hormones, dehydration etc.

I still don't know where the notional 1/2 cup of food per meal comes from. It is not something they use here in Australia. Our Dr's focus more on making healthy choices and eating less, perhaps using a side plate instead of a dinner plate, than they do on measuring exact quantities. There are not many people that will be satisfied with 1/2 cup 3 times per day unless they are too tight and being too tight leads to all sorts of problems. A lot of bandsters actually eat 5 times a day rather than 3 as they find that they cannot go 7 hours or more between meals. So long as you are choosing healthy Snacks this is also fine. As you get further along in the process you will find what works for you.