chew, chew, chew and binders

[pheonix 21]

Hi everyone,

My surgery date is December 2nd and I have a couple of questions for the more experienced sleevers.

1/ Do we chew, chew, chew for ever or is this just important in the first 12 months or so?

2/ Is it better to wear a binder after surgery or not?

[Nevermind 117]

It's always a good idea to chew food. For me, I eat normally now (6 months post-op). Chewing helps with digestion. The enzymes in your mouth start to break down the food.

Regarding an abdominal binder, I found it to be a God-send after surgery. Especially since my surgeon did an extra deep muscle stitch. I would definitely recommend the abdominal binder. Good luck and best wishes.

[Elode 8,093]

@@pheonix Yes on binder! Lovely! And if you don't like it you can just take it off

[Tjo1982 12]

What kind of binders would you all suggest? I'm trying to get things in order so I'll be as prepared as possible next week.

Thanks in advance!

[JerzyTomato74 91]

I am 10 days post-op and I still wear the binder. It also happens to be my surgeon's recommendation to continue to wear it but it makes me feel more secure with it on. There are times during the day I take it off for a little bit and you can sleep without it but when you're up and about, I definitely recommend wearing it.

[JerzyTomato74 91]

What kind of binders would you all suggest? I'm trying to get things in order so I'll be as prepared as possible next week.

Thanks in advance!

I woke up in the hospital with mine on and it went with me when I left. Have you asked your surgeon if you will be getting one in the hospital?

[Nevermind 117]

I went to a local medical supply store for mine. Also, the hospital pharmacy where I had my surgery had them. If I remember correctly, it was $30ish or so, maybe little more. My memory is fuzzy. Check with surgeon's office or call around. Good luck.

[Nevermind 117]

PS: Mine was just a white velcro binder you wrap around your tummy to keep everything from moving as much.

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

This never came up in my conversations with my surgeon pre-op (I had surgery 12 weeks ago). I didn't use one.

I had an easy-peasy recovery.

[pheonix 21]

Thanks for all the feed back on the binders ladies. I think I'll get one just to be sure.

[alwaysvegas 702]

I am a fast eater. It was hard for me to understand how my post-surgery tummy would feel and fill up with food. So, if you think of your post-surgery tummy being tube-shaped (like a funnel spout or narrow pipe), then imagine trying to get large chunks of food down that narrow tube vs. well-chewed food. For me, that is exactly how it feels. You can also imagine how very dry food vs very wet food would go down that narrow pipe.

If I don't chew well, the tummy will fill up sort of awkardly and faster than if I chewed. Without chewing it's also much easier to eat too much and end up with the slimes, which I still do about once a week. Overeating doesn't feel like choking or feel painful, it just feels like my stomach is full (which it is) and pushing up into my throat a bit...like I can't quite make it go back down. It's not horrible or painful, but unpleasant.

If your surgeon requires you to start off post-op with liquids and then transition to mushies and then transition again to solids, you'll see the difference very quickly.

Edited November 9, 2014 by AlwaysVegas

[pheonix 21]

I am a fast eater. It was hard for me to understand how my post-surgery tummy would feel and fill up with food. So, if you think of your post-surgery tummy being tube-shaped (like a funnel spout or narrow pipe), then imagine trying to get large chunks of food down that narrow tube vs. well-chewed food. For me, that is exactly how it feels. You can also imagine how very dry food vs very wet food would go down that narrow pipe.

If I don't chew well, the tummy will fill up sort of awkardly and faster than if I chewed. Without chewing it's also much easier to eat too much and end up with the slimes, which I still do about once a week. Overeating doesn't feel like choking or feel painful, it just feels like my stomach is full (which it is) and pushing up into my throat a bit...like I can't quite make it go back down. It's not horrible or painful, but unpleasant.

If your surgeon requires you to start off post-op with liquids and then transition to mushies and then transition again to solids, you'll see the difference very quickly.

Wow, thanks for this! You've explained it so well!

So, having the slimes is caused by overeating? I thought it was caused by a chunk of food being stuck but you can chew really well and still get them if you over eat apparently.

You've really helped me understand.

[alwaysvegas 702]

Hi there! Thanks so much for the compliments!

Wow, thanks for this! You've explained it so well!

So, having the slimes is caused by overeating? I thought it was caused by a chunk of food being stuck but you can chew really well and still get them if you over eat apparently.

You've really helped me understand.

The slimes. Whether the food is 'stuck' or just ate too much...if the tummy is full to the top, it seems to cause the slimes. Again, think of the narrow pipe that's full to the top. Main things: 1. Eat slowly, 2. Chew to mushy consistency, 3. Eat foods that are moist (at least early post-op).

This is going to be a bit graphic...

The slimes were a hard one to understand until I experienced it. So what happens is the tummy gets overly-full (especially from eating too fast or not chewing enough) to the point where the food is sorta pushing up the throat just a smidge. Sometimes that over full feeling doesn't happen until 5-10 after eating, but it never happens when I eat slowly. It feels like light pressure against the bottom of the throat. The mouth starts generating a bunch of saliva (medical reason I dunno, but I guess the body thinks there's still food that needs washing down). So then you start swallowing the extra saliva, then you feel even fuller...more saliva, more full...you can see where this is headed.

I've had a couple times where I literally just hung over the sink and let the saliva drain. It's sorta comical in my head. A few times I did make myself vomit, which was not like a pre-surgery vomit. It's like a huge glob of spit comes spilling out. but there's no sick feeling at least. Lovely, I know. I really try to avoid that. I've done that maybe four times since surgery. For the most part when I've over-eaten I just sit back and the pressure subsides and the food goes through fine.

Some foods just fill me up faster than others. For example, ground turkey fills me up much faster than ground chicken. But it only happens when I don't chew well and swallow quickly. Foods like cottage cheese I never seem to have a problem with. I always measure my food now. 4 oz is generally my maximum, but I keep it around 3.5 oz to ensure I don't overfill.

It's nothing to be afraid of it. It doesn't hurt or anything, it's just a learning process and for me it's like negative reinforcement. I actually haven't had a sliming incident in a month. I think the expansion of the sleeve as part of healing helps. Knowing your limit will help too of course.

Edited November 9, 2014 by AlwaysVegas

[pheonix 21]

Thank you for explaining. My mother has had a lap band for ten years. She has described a similar thing but I didn't know this was "the slimes". This forum is amazing thanks to people like you that take the time to explain even the most unpleasant aspects of WLS.