"Golf Ball" uncomfortable to "Bottomless Pit"

[Gail 0]

I was banded June 28, 2004. I received my first fill of 1.5cc on Aug. 9. My band holds 4 cc. I am very confused about the way my band is working. Sometimes I take my very first bite of food, chew exceptionally well as always, and I feel like I have a golf ball in my chest that won't go down. It takes me forever to eat a very small amount. Because I have been restricting myself to 4 oz. to 6 oz. of food at a time and counting calories, as my dietician recommends, I am finding this past week that when I come home from work and eat dinner I am suddenly shamefully famished and would binge all at once. The food seems to slide right down into a "bottomless pit" without that "golf ball" feeling in my chest. I can eat endless amounts of food if I don't force myself to stop. I don't know if I need more restriction or what is going on. I am guessing that if I eat faster and stuff myself that maybe the band is forced open by the volume of food and therefore bypasses restriction??? I had been losing about 2 1/2 lbs. a week. I have gained back 2 to 3 lbs. this week. I am having a real hard time maintaining a strict diet. I have been doing so well for two months and never was able to find this type of willpower before. I can not seem to deny myself anymore. The willpower is disappearing quickly. I don't like feeling that constant growling in my stomach. I seem to be feeling painfully hungry every 2 to 2 1/2 hrs. now. A hard sugar free sucking candy seems to help extend my hunger by 1/2 hr. I am drowning in Water. Water doesn't seem to help fill me up when I am really hungry. It just makes me feel uncomfortable. I also don't know what a full pouch is supposed to feel like. Is it that "golf ball" feeling???

Has anyone ever experienced the same phenomenon? Does anyone know the answer to this mystery?

Gail

[leatha_g 4]

Hi Gail!

It's good to see you posting here.

Sounds like you have joined the land of the fickle bands! Do you know if the times it causes you pain is any particular time of the day? Often, we can't get a thing down in the morning but feel wide open at night. That is very common among bandsters.

I suppose it could also have to do with what you are eating at the time. Some things will stop you in your tracks for certain. For me, it is breads, rice, Pasta, green peas, lobster, scallops, scrambled eggs, fibrous foods like fresh pineapple.

It may be that this being your first fill, it just may not be where it provides the best restriction. I would give it a few days and see if there is any pattern to the restriction/lack of restriction. It may be that your doc needs to tweak it just a bit more. ??

Most importantly, if you begin having any sort of reflux problems or cant' get liquids down, you would definitely want to have it adjusted.

Try not to overstuff your pouch as this what causes pouch dilation/stretching. I know it's hard when you're wide open.

[Gail 0]

Hi Leatha,

The "Golf Ball" feeling usually happens more in the daytime. But last night I started with 1/2 grilled cheese sandwich on rye and then ate 1/2 a peach (minus the skin) and then some buttered brown rice and topped it off with potato chips. I was way out of control and everything went down without any trouble. Tonight I became hungry 3 hrs. after I last ate very reasonably, and after I drank 10 oz. Water 1 hr. ago. I took one bite of grilled cheese on rye, chewed very well, and it is stuck in my chest. Last night I had no trouble with the same food. I do avoid extremely fibrous foods. I don't know what the answer is. I also still do not know what a full pouch feels like.

Gail

[leatha_g 4]

Originally posted by Gail

Hi Leatha,

.

Gail

The full pouch thing is hard. The reason why is that if you are eating hard Proteins (fish, chicken, beef, etc) you will never again feel that 'Thanksgiving' full again. If you feel that 'full' feeling that we used to feel when we gorged ourselves into oblivion, you have probably eaten around the band with softer foods that made it past the band.

This was one of my first NSVs: going to bed without feeling like an awful person because I had eaten everything that didn't move. I can't relate to you in words the relief I have felt not going to bed stuffed and miserable at night. It's what I love about the band the most.

With the hard Proteins, they fill the pouch ABOVE the band quicker and don't allow much of anything else to go through. This is when you get your sign to stop or you have things coming back up. Signs are subtle but serious. If I ever get that one big hiccup or start sneezing or feel myself sort of burp inside, that's my clue it's time to stop. It's not a sign that I can get by with two or three more bites, it's generally a serious warning that if I go any further I'm going to be sorry.

Could this hunger possibly have more to do with 'head hunger' than real tummy hunger?

I think you'll find that if you replace the grilled cheese on Rye with a tuna salad kit or a chicken breast or piece of Schwans Baked Scrod that it will stick with you longer.

Just so you know, though. I fully understand your hunger monster. It seems when the evening comes and I'm alone here that mine starts stalking too. They say we have to replace it with something. Exercise perhaps? Reading a good book? More sleep? A movie?

[New Hope 37]

It seems to be that most of us having these problems are relatively new bandsters. Hopefully, we will learn from our senior bandsters and then take our turn and be able to share our knowledge with other bandsters. In my particular instance, I'm ashamed to say that I've been binge eating big time. I don't eat a lot, but I eat several times a day. I'm afraid that I'm getting back into my old "grazing" habits that got me in this shape in the first place. I never feel full. I seem like I could eat one more thing. But I don't want to stretch my pouch or cause slippage. I've got to pull my self up by my boot straps and have a good talking to. I fought too hard to get this tool, for me to mess it up now! Now, there's my confession -- out in the open for everyone to see. Now, I need to "get over it"and move forward in a positive situation. Monday, I'm going to resolve to eat proper foods, proper portions, and get some more outside activities going to keep me from obsessing about food so much!

[New Hope 37]

Leatha, how long did it take for you to realize that you're satisfied with the amount of food that you're eating? That you don't need any more? I think that is a huge positive step forward. I'm still ignorantly looking for the "Thanksgiving Feast" fullness. Gee, it was a lot more fun gaining than it has been losing weight!

[New Hope 37]

Gail, I swear that we were siamese twins seperated at birth! You have the same trials that I do! We'll get through this, by encouraging each other. But first, we just need to isolate the fat gene that's caused all this stress and worry to fellow bandsters everywhere! That would make us instant millionaires and solve a lot of the world's problems with obesity. Hey, hang in there. We'll order a balmy, calm, soothing week to lull us all into a sense of security.

[Alexandra 55]

Marie and Gail, you are definitely climbing that bandster learning curve! I think the best thing you can do for yourselves at this time is really to try hard to eat sloooooowwwwly. Take each bite mindfully and thoughtfully, and let it settle for a full 30 seconds or so before taking another. This will give your pouch/tummy time to catch up and send the full signal to your head before you've taken that one bite too many.

Gail, the phenomenon of the very first bite causing the "golf ball" is more about esophageal smasm than any kind of fullness. Many people report having to take the first bite and then wait two or three minutes for the "clenching" feeling to subside before taking another bite.

Learning when you're full definitely takes practice, and for a while you may be making that decision for your stomach rather than waiting for it to tell you. Know that if you really are hungry there is more food there if you need it. And the day will come when you sit back in surprise after having eaten some small amount of food and realize, suddenly, "I'm really done!"

[Gail 0]

Leatha, Marie, Alex,

Thank you for all your suggestions. Alex, you always know just what to say to get me through the obstacles. I didn't know about esophageal spasms. Leatha you are wonderful support and a great troubleshooter. I have been waiting to feel that Thankgsgiving dinner fullness, or at least some version of fullness. Marie, are you sure we weren't separated at birth? LOL! I'm glad we have each other for support. Hopefully Marie and I will soon figure out how to efficiently use the wonderful tool we were given. I honestly thought that it would be easier after the surgery. I guess, until I become more in tune to my body's signals, I will still feel like I am dieting. It's so easy to make the wrong choices. After all, we are only human!

Love to all,

Gail

:guess :laugh:banana

[leatha_g 4]

Originally posted by New Hope

Leatha, how long did it take for you to realize that you're satisfied with the amount of food that you're eating? That you don't need any more? !

Actually, I'm unfilled at this point and I'm moving into more solid foods but I think it's more a gradual training thing. I still obsess about food. I still eat the wrong things. I'm struggling terribly with my sweet/carb addictions. But, after a year, I think I have resigned to the fact that my body still has plenty of storage on board. It's okay if I only eat a chicken breast or part of one. It's okay if my lunch is a chicken breast and some applesauce.

In my family of origin, my mother/grandmother/aunts were all cooks. We had family restaurants for years and I grew up thinking you had to have certain portions and mix certain vegetables with certain meat/entrees. I've had to re-learn that thinking. It's NOT imperative that I have mashed potatoes with meatloaf. lol. I don't even have to have green Beans or black eyed peas with meatloaf. I can have the meatloaf all by itself and be fine. Since I'm supposed to be focusing on Protein, that's what I've been trying to do.

At home, I contact the Schwan's man and have him bring to my house, baked scrod - which is wonderful! chicken breasts, turkey fillets, Breakfast sausages on occasion, pre-cooked shrimp and instead of thinking I have to have some big meal, I walk into the house after work, turn the oven on and throw in one portion of baked scrod or turkey fillet. These things taste great. I haven't destroyed the kitchen and I got in my Protein.

If I go out to eat, (which is certain sabotage with my co-workers). I try to only order an appetizer - crabcakes has become one of my stand-bys. shrimp cocktail is good. If there is bread, I usually pull off one teeny bite, so that I can see that it's JUST bread and not worth plugging up my stoma. If I've eaten my protein and I still feel like I HAVE to have a bite of the mashed potaoes, I will have it. It's the dessert ritual that kills me. However, since I haven't done too much damage with my entree, it's still better than what I would have done pre-band. I'm getting better.

It's conditioning. A year ago was much worse than it is today. Once you've been restricted awhile and you've had a few incidences of your band rebelling against your brain, it sorta sticks. We're hardheaded, however, it seems to take us a few tries before we become resolved. Even though I still make impulsive choices regarding sweets, I think I have finally reached some resolution about portion sizes.

Progress, not perfection.. it's the only way I know how to live.

[New Hope 37]

I think my biggest problem is I'm a "show me" kind of person. I need to see concrete proof why to do something. Reading the experienced bandsters' posts has been the absolute, best medicine for me.

I'm really ashamed of myself for already "falling off the wagon". But, I'm not going to beat myself up over it and go into a full fledged binge -- like I would have done in the past.

Gail, we're already succeeding! We just need to lean on our Bandster support system when we hit the rough spots. What's that saying, "United, we stand. Divided, we fall." ? Thanks for posting such a great thread!

Leatha and Alex, your wisdom and straight facts have helped me so much more than you'll ever know! Thanks!

[pam 0]

I was banded on 6/25/04 and have been eating solids for about 3 weeks now. As I have gotten more adventuresome with my food choices I too have experienced the golf ball of pain in my chest. It seems to come for me on the 4th or 5th bite sometimes. Then once it passes I can continue eating, but I do feel a bit like dying until it passes!

Last week I was on a business trip and almost every meal was with coworkers with lots of chatting. The distraction of all of the conversation was really hard for me. I don't think I took small enought bites nor chewed well enough while I was trying to talk with my friends.

On Friday I took the kids shopping at costco and we had lunch there when we were done. Pre-band, I would have eaten one of their giant slices of pizza and whatever Ben didn't eat from his (3 year old!). The banded me bought the chicken cesear salad. I pulled all the chicken out of the salad and cut it into tiny little pieces. One of the cashiers who I chat with occasionally came by to say hi and asked me why I was cutting up my food so small! I told her that I had a stomach problem and could only eat small bites. That seemed to satisfy her! The cutting, some dressing and really staying focused on chewing seemed to help and I had a fairly pain free lunch. I ate half of the leftover veggies for Saturday's lunch with half a can of tuna and still have salad left for tonight. It is fun to be full with smaller portions. I am realizing all the things I used to do to justify eating huge portions pre-band....

Here's to no more golf balls in my chest! Pam

[CandyB 0]

Dear Gail,

Believe it or not, your posting this problem, which seems to be the norm, is so far the most helpful thread I've read since I've been banded!

My sister and I were banded almost 6 months ago, and we're continuing to have the "stuck" feeling at all sorts of unpredictable times. She is more restricted than I am, has had three fills, and usually cannot eat anything solid for Breakfast or lunch, and seems to be totally open at dinner time, where she makes up for lost time, eats too much, and is not losing any weight. So, her "stuck" times are more predictable than mine are. But she is so miserable that she is seriously considering having her band unfilled. She is ready to give up on the whole thing.

I have had two fills. I never know when my band will restrict me. Some mornings I can eat a bagel(!) Other mornings I can eat only yogurt. lunch and dinner are much the same. I never know when I will be able to eat unrestricted and when I will be stopped (uncomfortably) by my band. I never feel full. I experience two extremes, and it's driving me crazy. I can either eat 2 or 3 bites and feel "stuck" or I can eat without end, never feeling full. The placement of the band is supposed to help with hunger, but so far that has not happened with either of us.

I think if the restriction was more consistent, I would learn to change my eating behavior, but since I never know when it will happen, my old behavior and psyche have me testing all the time. I have lost a total of 29 lbs., but since my last fill, 11 weeks ago, I have lost only 4 lbs. I realize I have not made a successful adjustment to banded life, and I'm wondering if I even have it in me to do so. I know I need another fill to get the restriction I need to lose weight, but I don't know if I can handle it. I don't know if I want to handle it. The feeling in the chest happens so often, it has made mealtimes tenuous for my family and me. My children are quite aware that I am running off to the bathroom several times each week. It's not good for my seven year old daughter to be aware that I often can't keep my food down. I feel like I'm teaching her how to be a bulemic.

The result for each of us seems to be discouragement. Neither of us expected this factor of banded life, and it seems to be common. We have been fearing that "stuck" equals full. The more experienced bandsters seem to have mastered when to stop eating. That seems to be the key, but I'm nowhere near even approaching it. And I have no idea how the band helps with hunger. From reading this website, I realize that some people are very successful at controlling how they eat, and they seem to feel full on less food. This idea is still a mystery to me.

I actually made a phone call to the surgeon's office to arrange to have my band emptied. I needed a break. But I know I need more saline. This is probably the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I know that with a fill, I will be forcing more discomfort on myself. It will be worse than it is now.

I guess what disappointments us most is that we expected, with proper restriction, to eat less food and feel full. That's not the way it works, we fear. Will we ever get to the point where our food is sitting in the pouch, making us feel comfortably full? That's the way it's supposed to work. Not feeling food "stuck" or feeling it pass right on through into the lower part of the stomach.

If I didn't have my sister going through the exact same scenario as I am, I would be convinced that I must be mentally ill!

[La_madam 20]

Leatha is so right on with what she said about the hard Proteins.

I know for me when I eat soft Proteins like scrambled eggs and sausage it goes through the band quicker then when I eat the hard Protein like a hamburger patty or chicken breast. This just was verified today when I changed my Breakfast routine to 1 scrambled egg and a hamburger patty from my norm of 2 scrambled eggs and 2 sausage links. The hamburger patty lasted so much longer in my pouch.

I do have the occassional esophogas spasm on my firtst bite at times and experience the golf ball feeling but I wait about 3-5 minutes for it to pass and then continue eating. I was also told for those of who are very restricted in the morning to drink a cup of hot tea and it will help open you up so you can eat a little earlier and a little more and won't gorge so much at dinner time when your band seems wide open.

The full feeling that we used to experience pre band is now gone, I have yet to ever fill that feeling since being banded, that in itself takes a little getting used to and trying to figure it out in your head. Since you do not get that full feeling anymore you do not know when you are really full..I now eat when my tummy growls and it is true hunger not mental and I eat until I'm satisfied and the growling has stopped..for dinner tonight I had a can of tuna I was satisfied. for breakfast I had a hamburger patty and 1 scrambled egg, for lunch I had 1/2 of a chicken fried steak & a scoop of cottage cheese and was satisfied. doesnt sound like much but I was satisfied. with my 1.1cc's of Fluid in my band. Alot of this is mental for me, I ask myself all the time am I truly hungry or do I think I'm hungry? When my stomach is growling then I know I'm truly hungry!

Good Luck Gail and dont get discouraged..you will figure this band thing out..I'm still learning after 4 months. This board is very helpful!

[leatha_g 4]

candy,

Please don't give up. I know it's a tough transition, but believe me a year from now you will feel so much better. You WILL get it mastered. It's good that you have your sister, but would it help if you talked with a counselor about the 'head' hunger and old habits?

We all have days like yours. We all have days when we wonder how crazy we were to put this thing in our bodies. I've done it twice!! How nuts is that? lol.

Short of dissecting our insides, what hope do we have?

Maybe backing your fill off for a week or two and coming back at it a little slower would help? Some people swear by 'sneaking' up on the perfect fill.

I hope it gets better for you and your sister.

Leatha