i think i officially had my first real PB...yuck!

[Me3 0]

Hi Erin,

To me, my definition is a bit different. A PB is just that, a BURP that produces something.

My personal methods for getting unstuck once it is clear that it will not be going down:

Drink down about 4 oz of Water, I mean chug it--this almost always immediately comes back up, and usually brings the offending item with it. Do be over a sink when you try this, because you will have no response time.

Leaning over at the waist over a toilet and working my stomach muscles will often bring it up.

Last but not least is a finger down the throat. If you do this over a public toilet, beware of splash back! I got hit in the eye twice by the plop. Best defense is to place a seat protector in the Water before letting loose. That stops the splash.

WOW! I am SHOCKED at reading these suggestions! :confused: Yeah, it might work to get unstuck but over time you are begging for a slippage to occur. Chugging water all the time can stretch your pouch, cause a stich to pop...Leaning over the toilet and intentionally urping can lead to esophageal dilation... Sticking your finger down your throat to vomit is bulimic behavior and that realm is a scary one I wouldn't touch! :cursing:

If your REALLY stuck, stuck, your body is going to expel it rather violently aka involuntary throwing up. If it just hurts like hell that is your stomach muscles grinding it through the stoma... and yes it does hurt, but will ease up; sometimes it can take an hour.

All I can say is listen to your body. It will deal with the issue without us having to "help" it along.

[slowry 0]

I think it's tricky because sometimes it's eating too fast or the wrong type of food, drinking with eating, but sometimes it can be "safe" food. I wonder if hormones play a part. I do usually have to keep sliming until something substantial is unlodged. One time I had grapes and those skins were a pain for like 8 hours until my throat was soooo sore. I just kept drinking Water and nothing else. That was probably the worst and I had to go for an unfill to let my throat recover.

[bmooney364 30]

I find I always have a problem with this when traveling and I don't drink enough Water. Thanks goodness for clean bathrooms. I try to remember and carry plastic grocery bags in the car just in case.

[Cocoabean 430]

WOW! I am SHOCKED at reading these suggestions! :thumbup: Yeah, it might work to get unstuck but over time you are begging for a slippage to occur. Chugging Water all the time can stretch your pouch, cause a stich to pop...Leaning over the toilet and intentionally urping can lead to esophageal dilation... Sticking your finger down your throat to vomit is bulimic behavior and that realm is a scary one I wouldn't touch! :thumbup:

If your REALLY stuck, stuck, your body is going to expel it rather violently aka involuntary throwing up. If it just hurts like hell that is your stomach muscles grinding it through the stoma... and yes it does hurt, but will ease up; sometimes it can take an hour.

All I can say is listen to your body. It will deal with the issue without us having to "help" it along.

Ok, no where did I say I do this ALL the time. 4 oz of Water will hardly stretch my pouch. If I can eat a cup to a cup and a half of food, do you think half a cup of water is going to stretch my stomach? After the stomach heals over the band, do you really think it is only the stitches holding it in place? Scar tissue forms.

By drinking the water, it brings the stuck item up without retching. Much less trauma than letting my stomach grind and slime on the item for hours.

As for a finger down the throat to urge removal of a stuck item equating to bulimia...I hardly think so, I am not doing it to lose weight or control my eating habits.

I have been really, really stuck and let it ride. To the point of vomiting for 5 hours. This is better? This is less traumatic?

I try to let the stuck episode reslove before resorting to these measures, when it becomes clear that it will not be going down is when I step in. Whether the vomiting is caused by the natural event of my body bringing it up or me helping it along, it has the same effect....

[Me3 0]

Ok, no where did I say I do this ALL the time. 4 oz of Water will hardly stretch my pouch. If I can eat a cup to a cup and a half of food, do you think half a cup of Water is going to stretch my stomach? After the stomach heals over the band, do you really think it is only the stitches holding it in place? Scar tissue forms.

By drinking the water, it brings the stuck item up without retching. Much less trauma than letting my stomach grind and slime on the item for hours.

As for a finger down the throat to urge removal of a stuck item equating to bulimia...I hardly think so, I am not doing it to lose weight or control my eating habits.

I have been really, really stuck and let it ride. To the point of vomiting for 5 hours. This is better? This is less traumatic?

I try to let the stuck episode reslove before resorting to these measures, when it becomes clear that it will not be going down is when I step in. Whether the vomiting is caused by the natural event of my body bringing it up or me helping it along, it has the same effect....

OK This is the last I'm going to say on this thread because I'm not interested in a pissing match. I stand by my OPINION, and it's just that, MY opinion.

For the record I never said you did it all the time.

In reply to your question about the water, yeah if you gulp and force it down and then violently hack it out you bet you could damage the pouch.

The stomach doesn't heal over the band... there is always a pocket formed around the band. The stomach isn't cut. It is looped around and one or two stitches hold it over the band. So... if you have two stitches, that's 4 microscopic holes that heal over... hardly scar tissue worth mentioning, so no I don't think it is a great anchor to prevent slippage when your hacking your guts out. Intentionally or not... that's why all our post op paperwork stresses the importance of not PBing and how to prevent it.

You said sticking a finger down your throat when your stuck doesn't equate to "controlling my eating habits"... uhh yeah it is... one gets stuck, one chooses to toss their Cookies, that's them actively controlling the eating behavior...

If one gets stuck for hours... then one ought to call their surgeon as specified in the paperwork given post op... that is the definition of a LAP-BAND® emergency that needs to be dealt with professionally instead of fingers down ones throat.

Finally, all in all, I stated MY OPINION and that's the beauty of the boards and what they are for. We are all in a common journey going down our own separate roads. You could probably get 12 answers to the same question and all of them might be right....

that said.... I will never keep my OPINION to myself when it comes to advise given that could hurt someone or cause them to think it's ok to do something that could hurt themselves in the long term. We have all fought WAY too hard in our journey's to sabotage it with new bad behaviors. Call me crazy but working in the medical field for ohh... almost two decades has me opinionated.

I do wish you all the luck in the world in your journey and if our paths cross in postings in the future I hope that they are more amicable.

Take care.

[Cocoabean 430]

Me3,

Not a pissing contest, just a discussion.

I never meant to suggest my methods as applicable to all.

When I was stuck for 5 hours, I did call the surgeon. It was the middle of the night, my options were the ER or wait it out. I waited it out. Checked in with my surgeon the next day.

I did not mean to come across as cavalier, if I did, I apologize to the OP. Being stuck is not to be taken lightly, but it is a fact.

My band is fairly loose, so I rarely get stuck. But after 2 1/2 years, it has happened more than once.

Best wishes in your journey.

[LeighaMason 19]

Bending at the waist and going "bleach" and expelling a mucus plug is not the same as "tossing their cookies". No food is expelled, which would be necessary for it to be a bulimic behavior.

When I slime, I get a mucus plug that covers the top of my pouch and puts me in distress. It can last as much as a day if left alone.

BTW-- I have worked in the car business for 10 years but that doesn't make me a mechanic.