second fill and cant eat.

[Guest Lenna Hoffman]

hello this is the first time i have asked anyone anything but your help would be appreciated. i have had the lap band for 8 weeks now and got my first fill a few weeks ago. it wasnt enough so i got another fill 4 days ago. now nothing goes down good and i do chew. it feels like my food is hung in my throat with bad pain and i have to go to bathroom and get it out. what do you think? am i to tight and if so will the hurting feeling, when i eat go away soon? thanks for your advise..

[Mita 2]

Just curious how much was your original fill and then what did you increase too? Can you drink Water with no problem? Does that hurt?

[Guest Lenna Hoffman]

i can drink Water. but what i have eaten hurts as soon as i swollow.i get the feeliong like the food is hung. it hurts and brings tears to my eyes. yesterday morning i had a scrambled egg. but i only got one bite down and stopped. i am sorta afraid to eat..

[Alexandra 55]

Lenna, you may be too tight or it may just be that you're trying to do too much. After fills, many doctors recommend a day or two of liquids. Did you do that? Then, too, scrambled eggs are problematic for many people--I haven't been able to eat them at all since banding.

How are you with truly mushy foods? Things like pudding, thick Soups, chili? Many people find it takes some time for a fill to "settle" and that as long as you can drink it's OK to give it that time.

If you find yourself having trouble with liquids that's when it's time to call the doctor and get your fill adjusted. But if you're OK with mushies and eating very slowly, you may be able to live with the fill until you lose some weight and it will loosen up on its own.

[kellymoos 4]

In the morning I am unable to drink without PBing, much less eat. If you are unable to get solid foods down in the afternoon, then I would say yes you are too tight. You can't live on liquids. Did you do liquids after you got your fill? How long in between the fills did you wait? Sometimes it takes my fills 2 or 3 weeks to "tighten". Hope all goes well for you...

[La_madam 20]

Lenna

If the problem persists..I would call your doctor. Having as little as .2 cc's removed can make a huge difference. PBing too often can result in slippage of the band and I do not think you want that. Also everytime you PB you should be on liquids for atleast 24hrs or the exact same thing will happen next time you eat. You esophagus needs a rest. So if you have PBed and then continued to eat, that could be part of your problem also...Like Alex says..many docs require liquids for 2-3 days after a fill. When was your fill and how much do you have?

[leatha_g 4]

Don't get in the rut of only eating soft foods, however. Could it be that this is just a new sensation to you and the band is working exactly how it is meant to? Are you chewing until your solids are basically liquid? If you have good restriction, you should be able to eat solid foods, but you have to chew, chew, chew until they are basically pureed and you have to eat slowly. If you can eat 4 oz of food and you are not having problems with liquids, you may simply have restriction. If there is any sign of reflux in the night, you definitely DO NOT want to leave it this tight.

The sensation you will get, going forward, with restriction is exactly what you are describing. Once the band is full it will give you what we call a 'hard stop' that feels like a golf ball in your chest/throat and if you continue to eat it will become painful. There are other more subtle signs such as one large hiccup or wretching of the diaphragm, some people's nose starts to run, some have a sudden bout of itchy throat and coughing. This is your band giving you the 'yellow light' telling you IT is full, even though you may not think you are full or have had enough food in your MIND.

Definitely do not allow yourself to PB at every meal. You may want to try something like cottage cheese. Give yourself a test. Take about 4 oz of cottage cheese and eat it slowly, chewing thoroughly and swallow, lay down your utensils between bites, then take another bite until you begin to get some the signs I explained above. If you can only get one bite in, or two bites in, you may certainly be tighter than you want. If you can continue to eat until you've eaten the 4 oz, it's likely you're not really too tight for the band to do its job.

You do not want to get into the habit of only eating soft foods too much either, as these are higher in calories and don't sit as long in your pouch. The object is to eat hard Proteins - fish, chicken, tuna, etc, so that they will fill your pouch quicker and stay in there longer.

Truly, we all have plenty of food/energy storage on board. The whole idea of the band is to minimize our intake. But, whatever you do, you do not want to become dehydrated, so if you have ANY problem with liquids or reflux, this is your clue that you are far too tight.

Welcome to the board!! Keep us posted on how you are doing!

[Guest Lenna Hoffman]

i really appreciate all your replys. my dr. did not tell me to do the liquid thing after i got a fill. but thanks to you all now i know. i will go on liquid and soft food for a bit to see how i do. hope you all are doing well with your bands and thanks for everything.

[New Hope 37]

Lenna, please keep an eye on this. If the problem continues, then see your dr. A slight unfill may be all you need. If you'r too tight, you're going to resort to soft, high-calorie foods and defeat the way your band is supposed to work. Best of luck to you and please let us know how you are doing.

[Guest Lenna Hoffman]

i do not know how much fill i have. they never said my first time or my second. i need to ask them when i go back in a few months.maybe i will call and ask now just so i know how much i have. thanks again all. i ate tuna for lunch today and so far im doing ok. i only ate a few bites and started to fell like i was gonna hurt so im taking it slow and see if i can get it all down and keep it down..

[New Hope 37]

Lenna, there are 3 fill levels...too little, too much, and just right (the sweet spot). I'll be glad when I hit that "just right" one!

[HarleyNana 10]

I got my first fill today, .75, on 24 hours of liquids, I sure hope its the sweet spot.

[leatha_g 4]

Glad to hear you're doing okay, Lenna, but just remember - you DO NOT have to eat it all. Eat what you can until you get that feeling (15-20 minutes only) then put it away. It's OK now. You do not have to clean your plate. Hopefully, soon you'll see the results of this in your weightloss. That is why we had this done, right?

[claraluz 2]

I'm glad you were able to eat the tuna. Let us know how it goes. Tonight I spent about an hour cooking a new recipe. Then I sat down to eat and could only eat two bites. That's how the band is sometimes. BTW my mother's maiden name was Hoffman .

Nancy

[Jammin & Losin 1]

I haven't been banded yet but I just wanted to say welcome to the board. I hope you get feeling better about eating soon.