Chest pressure after a couple of bites...?

[Zannie 6]

I had my last fill July 5th – and my next (if needed) is supposed to be on the 16th of August. But I’m going in on Thursday (Aug 2nd) for a fluro look-see because something just isn’t right...

:help: Have any of you gotten tighter as time went on…without a fill? I’m now not able to eat even 1.5 oz of straight-up soft tuna salad without getting that “oops, shouldn’t have had that last bite” feeling in the center of my chest. Two weeks ago (July 15th, in fact) I was able to eat a full 3oz of tuna salad served on soy-puff chip thingies. It’s not just tuna salad (a mushy for Pete’s sake) that’s filling me much faster in the last week-to-week-&-a-half, either. Nothing comes back up at all, but the pressure is just at that border of discomfort... Not that I MIND having restriction, but why is my band getting tighter without the aid of a fill?

I’m sitting here, having just tried a spoonful of smooth Peanut Butter for dinner (has never caused me a problem before) and I have that pressure in the center of my chest – it’s peanut butter!!!!! I had a Wendy’s Jr. Frosty (treat, not normally part of my diet) last night & it, too, gave me this same chest pressure feeling. Are we or are we not supposed to be able to actually cheat the band with junk like milkshakes?!? Not that I want to cheat it, but what the frig is up if I can’t even have a milkshake without pressure!?!?

I have never PBed (yet – knock on wood), and have only slimed 3 or 4 times since my banding 5-1/2 months ago. So I keep trying to rationalize the chest pressure away...can’t be a slip because I haven’t had actual issues with food!! I’m not even having PROBLEMS now – no slime, no PB, & I can drink Water just fine... And I’ve got great restriction even! But things are tighter now than they were just after the last fill………and so I’m starting to fret a bit.

Opinions? :help: (Pardon the cross-post, BTW!)

[crazyace 0]

Ok i am new and I don't understand what is slime? or sliming?

[TerriDoodle 6]

Any issues with reflux?? I'm just thinking some kind of irritation in your esophagus? Is it TOM? Have you tried going on fluids for 24-48 hours to see if that helps?

[ChiefPig 0]

I get that way sometimes if I have had a slightly acidic food (i.e. orange juice). My doc says that non-banded people will get a touch of gastritis occasionally from these kinds of foods and experience swelling in the stomach, but don't think anything of it, but banded folks can have the tiniest bit of swelling and not be able to eat a thing. Also, some people say that their adjustments don't "kick in" for 2-3 weeks. Something to think about.

[Zannie 6]

:update: The fluoroscopy went well… Talk about fretting over nothing! Whew – I really was thinking slip or something bad! My band is just fine! In fact, it’s looking great and I’m (apparently) doing great!

It appears I’ve attained great restriction! (A lot of exclamation points…can you tell I’m excited?!?) I’ve lost 12 pounds since my last fill on July 5th! And I’ve hit that 33% mark – I’ve lost 1/3 of my excess weight!! My surgeon said that with bypass, patients loose 1/3 of their excess weight in the first 3-4 months, but that with LapBand the target is to loose 1/3 of the excess weight by 7-8 months. I’m 5-1/2 months out, and my doc is very pleased with the progress I’ve made. It seems to me that, compared with many of y’all here at LBT, I’m keeping a fine pace but could certainly be loosing faster. He said I needed to stop doubting my ability to do this and be proud because I’m “ahead of the game” – and I quote! Um, I’ve never been ahead of the game with anything diet-wise before this, so it’s hard to believe I am now!!!! Especially in light of the progress some of y’all are making! There are the tortoises & the hares among us, and I’m somewhere in the middle, ya know? But that’s not pro-Zannie thinking & I guess I need to start doing some of that.

For the record, my surgeon did have a few reasons that I might feel tighter now than just after the fill. His vote was for stress combined with my head & stomach catching up with one another. He said that a lot of people eat from “head hunger” (um, hello!) and that when you’re at the right fill level it takes a while to change your perception that eating so little is okay. My doc also said gastritis can make the band seem tighter, and that some women feel their tightness changes with their cycles. But that the stomach is sensitive to stress in general (gave ulcers as an example), and given my sudden increased stress level over the last 3 days plus my growing anxiety about the tightness of my Band…well, he thought that was enough to explain the “very tight” state I’ve got going on. He asked if I wanted a bit removed (though he thought it looked perfect especially if I wasn’t also having any symptoms of an over-fill), but I said no. I’m glad for the restriction, more so now with my life falling to pieces, as it appears to be doing. I’d be heading for the pantry for sure if I thought I could get away with it!! Maybe I’ll actually make it out of this without gaining anything thanks to the stress-induced tightness!!!

I really want to thank all of you for your support as my fretting increased! (And, again, sorry for the cross-post & that this is so long!)

Suzanne

[Zannie 6]

Ok i am new and I don't understand what is slime? or sliming?

Slime -- it's the body's natural reaction when you've eaten something you shouldn't (bread, for me) or didn't chew something well enough & it gets "stuck" above your band. Your body tries to help you "pass" the stuff food by producing "sinus drainage-like" saliva at a rapid rate! It doesn't actually help Bandsters though, since the pouch is already full with the stuck item, so you have to spit it out!

Sliming is often a precursor to a PB - a productive burp, which is not a vomit as if you had the flu, but more like "gaging up" or "throwing up" the stuck food. Or so I've heard. I've slimed on a few occasions but have yet to PB myself.

[TerriDoodle 6]

Suzanne - That's GREAT news! I always discount stress as a factor in restriction....so that's very interesting that the doctor put such an emphasis on that as a possibility. I'll have to remember that.

I did make the observation eating with my DH the other night* that I seem to slime/get stuck only when I eat with him! Now isn't THAT interesting!? (*We don't eat together very often, believe it or not!....we both have fulltime jobs, then he goes to one gym and I go to another after work...and only have dinner together on our nights 'off' from the gym and on wknds.) I've always hated cooking....maybe cooking is stressing me out!! Hey! That's it!! Cooking = hazardous to my health!! YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest Band4EJ]

I have had a similar experience with my band. I was banded in 2/07 and have only had one fill of 1cc. Yet....I feel lots of restriction during the daytime (less at night). Sometimes I have a hard time getting even soy milk down. I have to drink it slowly and then it is a mental battle to keep it from coming back up. I feel what seems to be spasms at my stoma and immediately feel nauseous. If I stay calm and wait for awhile though, the Fluid goes down and I can drink more.

I think what your doctor told you is very interesting! When I think about it I can definitely tell that the band tightens up when I am stressed AND I totally see what he means about the mental connection and getting to that point where the very small portions seem normal. I definitely feel your struggle. It doesn't seem to make sense that I can get down grilled chicken one day and struggle with watermelon or salmon the next day.

Reading your post makes me determined to get back on track. I have been thinking that I am "starving" and have been eating some soft stuff I shouldn't eat. If I let the band do its job I can probably lose faster than I have been!

Good luck to you!

[smilliegal 0]

I also have the same experience with pressure and things getting stuck and actually have trouble eating with my family. I really noticed more difficulty when my kids came home from college for the summer.

When I talked about this with my doctor he said when I start feeling pressure I should stop eating and not return to the table. Usually once the pressure eases I just return and keep eating very slowly - by this time I'm eating by myself, and it's easier. But he said to just let it go - I guess like the rest of you have said - it's a matter of learning to eat alot less and being OK with that. Head hunger is such a huge issue to get over.

Smilliegal

[MissyC 0]

Could be what my doctor calls "1st bite syndrome". I have noticed with my band that it is much tighter when I first wake up and gets looser as the day goes on.

And sometimes, even when I am very careful, sometimes early in the day, I will take just one lil bite, and it will feel stuck for awhile. It feels like a combo, throat tightness, chest tightness and a feeling of wanting to throw up. Taking a sip of Water makes it much much worse. I have found I just have to stop and let it pass. Sometimes it will take as much as 30 minutes.

I was having it so much for a while, I thought my band was messed up. My doctor did a barium swallow and found everything was fine.

He is the one who called my problem 1st bite syndrome. He said just try to be very careful, take a few sips of something warm 1st thing before eating. (warm, not hot). And then try a small bite chewed very thouroughly. It doesnt happen often, but this helps a little.

ps...its not just "regular food", that does it, it can happen with mushy foods too.