Hard time swallowing...

[Halo1707 0]

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I was banded Dec 15th and followed all the rules pretty closely, there were a couple of cheats, but they were small. I have been moved up to the 2nd tier of food, which is mashed potatoes and cottage cheese...that sort of thing. A few days ago, by husband made some thin crepes, and I though I would try one, so I put less than a table spoon of chunky Peanut Butter on it and a spoonful of honey ...needless to say two bites in, and I could no longer swallow....it really freaked me out, so I called the nurse she said don't worry, but then the next day I start having problems like what I think must be hemroids, and now when I drink even juice I can feel it all the way down - almost like there is something still there (they haven't done a fill yet). How concerned should I be, or is this just part of the process...

Thanks for your comments

[DeLarla 22]

Your symptoms confuse me a little. Do you have to try gulping several times before stuff goes down? I had that problem, sometimes it would stay in my throat for a minute before moving down. It has to do with the motility of your esophagus, the way your esophagus moves/pushes food down towards your stomach. In my case, I had erosion and my stomach was inflamed, plus I had some erosion on my esophagus.

I could write pages on this topic, but what I'm basically trying to say is that you need to take it very, very easy by sticking exactly to your doctor's orders and staying on liquids till your mushy phase, then sticking with mushy food till the next step. Your band is a delicate tool that requires strict eating. If you force down something to big, too soon, or too fast, it could cause problems in your esophagus.

[Halo1707 0]

It more that I feel it when I swallow, like an aching, and then when it hit where you would think the band is that aches a bit too.. and you almost instantly feel like you have to burp.

[Kryssa 1]

That happens to me almost every time I eat :ermm . I have finally come to realize my band is going to ache with the first bite of every meal for the rest of my life. Once resignation sets in (and panic goes away) you will be fine. The ache does go away, and usually I finish my meal w/ no problem. Sometimes it helps to burp, sometimes you've just got to wait it out. Good Luck finding what works for you.

[lianna 3]

The second tier, mushies, requires everything be the consistency of baby food, nothing you really need to chew up to get down. It sounds like the crepes with Peanut Butter and honey were too thick and solid to be eating at this stage. I am not clear whether they just got stuck and finally forced their way through, or did they come back up? Since you couldnt swallow them easily/at all, it probably irritated the stoma and you may just be dealing with some swelling now. One of the most important bandster rules is that when something like that happens you need to have nothing but liquid at the next meal to let any irritation or swelling go away. Hope you are feeling better now.

[DeLarla 22]

I don't think pain with any bite is normal. Like Lianna said, everything should be a consistency that can pretty much be sipped through a straw. Peanut Butter & crepes certainly can't get through a straw. I've heard people putting Wendy's chili in the blender and calling that a mushy. I don't agree that Chili is something we should eat so soon in the game, regardless of how mushy. The object is to go really easy on your stomach with soft, bland foods till your band is completely healed (that's just my opinion though.)

The band demands you take tiny sips at first, tiny bites, tiny swallows. Everything must be completely mushy before swallowing. If you follow these rules and still feel pain, you should let your doctor know.