Food getting stuck, do I need a fill?

[ShelleyCL 0]

:smile::confused:

I need some help or advice. I had my surg. Aug 30th have only lost 27lbs. I haven't lost anything for 2 months! Had my 3rd fill 2weeks ago and still nothing! Am exercising at least 5x a week for 45min. And eating pretty healthy. I think I am able to eat too much but am afraid to get another fill because the food gets stuck sometimes and it hurts. If I do get another fill, is it going to make it even harder to eat anything? Or is it just going to help me not eat as much? Anyone else experiencing anything similar??:eek:

[dlyrical 0]

:smile::confused:

I need some help or advice. I had my surg. Aug 30th have only lost 27lbs. I haven't lost anything for 2 months! Had my 3rd fill 2weeks ago and still nothing! Am exercising at least 5x a week for 45min. And eating pretty healthy. I think I am able to eat too much but am afraid to get another fill because the food gets stuck sometimes and it hurts. If I do get another fill, is it going to make it even harder to eat anything? Or is it just going to help me not eat as much? Anyone else experiencing anything similar??:peep:dl

dlyrical responds:

Something is not right! are you logging your food? you should be taking in under 1000 calories a day and less than 15 grms of fat and at least 60 to 70 grms of protein... I consume 600 to 800 sometimes 900 calories a day...

and I write down on a lil note pad Cal/fat/protein and 0z of everthing I eat

once in a while a Sat or Sun passes and I don't log... But you should be averaging 10 to 17lbs loss a month click on you peers banders from your same month and year... You may have a defective band we had someone like that in our support grp he needed a new band could have slipped ask you Dr.

for a fill w/ Fluroscopy ( Xray so you and he can see the band etc)..

After all is ckd and you have proper restriction you will see better results as long as you know on paper what you putting in your tank believe me when I forget to log and I go back a day later to try and add it up it is always over 800 cals...Plan, Plan Plan.. Band life is by no means easy but you can do it

just ck all out...

[KarenG. 0]

I don't agree with the 10-17lbs a month - it depends on your BMI and how quickly you get restricted. Just because you haven't lost 10-17lbs a month doesnt mean that there is something wrong with your band.

In terms of your restriction level I am afraid I can't be of much help in taht area - are you getting hungry between meals? Are you eating a lot of food? When food gets stuck is it because you are not being careful? Just some thoughts! Good luck!

[Liz1531 3]

I've been having the same problem and asked my nurtitionist. I was eating oatmeal for Bfast, yogurt for snack, a low cal icecream bar for desert. Lean Cuisine for lunch. All on a low cal diet and she brought it to my attention that these (except for the Lean Cuisine) are all liquid calories which tend to go right thru the band. She suggests 3 full meals (full meaning something that will stay with you). I was contemplating a fill as well but also get stuck here and there. Another suggestion she had was that I tend to take in more liquid calories because I am a little too tight and get frustrated at not being able to eat real food and tend to lean towards mushy more junky foods. I am going to try eating the three substantial meals a day and see if that helps.

[thenume 2]

Dlyrical,

10-17 pounds a month weight loss, under 1000 calories a month??? I disagree COMPLETELY. Everything that I have read about LB suggests that weight loss per month should be 5-10 pounds a month. For some people it does not happen. People do stall sometimes.

Also how could you suggest that someone compare themself to another bandster....why would you? Each and EVERY person is different. If everyone compared themselves with someone else's weight loss there would be alot of unhappy people.

ShellyCL,

Have you talked to your nutritionist or doc? They may have educated suggestions that can help. Also is your food getting stuck because your bites are too big? Try to chew your food until it is virtually liquid before swallowing..maybe that will help.

Good Luck to you! The weight will come off.

[Wheetsin 714]

Something is not right! are you logging your food? you should be taking in under 1000 calories a day and less than 15 grms of fat and at least 60 to 70 grms of Protein... I consume 600 to 800 sometimes 900 calories a day... But you should be averaging 10 to 17lbs loss a month click on you peers banders from your same month and year... You may have a defective band we had someone like that in our support grp he needed a new band could have slipped ask you Dr.

Woah woah - so much here, so little time. First, there's no magic number of calories that everyone should be aiming for. The number of calories I need to lose weight, the number you need, and the number OP need are going to be different numbers. We should eah target our individual number of calories based on BMR and AMR.

Second, "less than 15 grms of fat"... based on what? Recommended guidelines (USDA) are 65gm in a 2000 calorie diet, or 80 in 2500, and that about 33% of your calories should come from fat. So if you're telling people to eat under 15gm fat/day, please validate that a bit. Why that number? Are you talking about monounsaturated? Polyunsaturated? Trans?

There is no "you should be averaging..." If she was banded with 500 lbs to lose, her average weightloss will be totally different than if she was banded with 50 lbs to lose.

I can't guarantee it, of course, but you probably don't have a defective band. That shouldn't even be under suspicion at this point. I'm not even sure why someone would bring that up. I mean, for that matter, it could be amassive tumor that's growing at a rate equal to that at which you're losing weight. *sigh*

And umm...telling someone they should compare their weightloss to others' banded around the same time? That has to make my top 10 worst pieces of advice list. This is not a competition. There is no winner for the most pounds lost, what others are losing is a function of their bodies, activity levels, diet, etc. and has nothing to do with anyone else's loss.

See direct responses below in blue.

I need some help or advice. I had my surg. Aug 30th have only lost 27lbs. How much excess fat did you have when you were banded? I haven't lost anything for 2 months! Not necessarily a problem... Had my 3rd fill 2weeks ago and still nothing! The number of fills you've had is COMPLETELY irrelevant. You could have had 100 fills, and still be nowhere near resitrction. Don't focus on number of fills. Am exercising at least 5x a week for 45min. What kind of exercise? Are you monitoring your heartrate? Are you breaking a sweat? Mild, moderate, extreme? And eating pretty healthy. "Pretty healthy" means "not really healthy" :biggrin: If you would like help, post a sample day's food. I think I am able to eat too much but am afraid to get another fill because the food gets stuck sometimes and it hurts. Yeah, welcome to bandinf. If I do get another fill, is it going to make it even harder to eat anything? At times, maybe. Depends on a lot of factors. If you're tight enough now that small bites, well-chewed get stuck, then another fill isn't your best bet. If you're tight enough now that sloppy bites get stuck, then a fill could still be in order. Do you drink with meals, and if so, does it hurt? Are there any types of foods you cannot get down? Are you eating more now than when you first got your fill? Do you need between-meal Snacks to satisfy your hunger? These are just some of the things you might want to consider when contemplating anothe fill, NOT the number of previous fills you've had.

Hope this helps. :eek:

[Laura_MD 5]

I can't tell what is causing your pain when you eat, but I can tell you that I experience the same thing from time to time and I can tell you what has caused mine and what has helped in the past. For me, it was either something got stuck (I took a pill that was too large, or ate sushi rice, or the doughy part of bread), or it was just that I really needed to burp, usually the latter.

You see, I have made the discovery that, for me, there are very few foods that actually get stuck or that I cannot eat. The problem usually occurs when I let myself get too hungry and my stomach gets filled with a lot of air. Then, when I eat, as the food tries to pass through the band the air is being displaced by the food, but it has nowhere to go because the food is blocking its escape at the band site. This is much like the air bubbles you get when you try to sink an empty glass or bottle into Water. Until that bubble breaks and the air escapes, the Water (or food in this case) cannot get in. When this happens, the pressure builds up in your esophagus and presses on your diaphragm and causes the pain in the shoulder. This will sometimes happen, even with my Protein shakes, so it is not that my food pieces are too large or the wrong consistency, it is just the mechanics of the band and our stomachs.

My solution has usually been to ask my husband to burp me. Yeah, I know, it sounds crazy, but I know now why babies cry if you don't burp them properly, it hurts! Sometimes I can make myself burp if it is not too bad, but I have never been very good at that, so I usually ask for his discreet help. I doesn't usually take too much, just a few well placed pats on the back and it dislodges the food or pops the air pocket and I burp like a sailor and go on eating as before. I shared this with someone else on the site today, who was having a terrible time with pain and she tired it. She sent me an e-mail today and said that it worked wonders for her too.

I hope this helps you some, but do follow up with your doctor if it continues. I have read many stories of people waiting it out and making the problem much worse than it needed to be. And if you have a true blockage (say from a pill or something) that is nothing to mess around with.:biggrin:

[Skinny_Jill 36]

Please remember that the band is a tool and does not automatically guarantee weight loss. We must eat healthy foods such as lean Protein, veggies, goods carbs and fruit. Go back to the basics with the band and see if that helps. Chew until your food is almost liquid, Protein first and don't drink for 30 minutes after eating. My bites are now very very small but that is what works for me. It takes me a long time now to eat a small portion. It is hard work but it is worth it. It is our choices that determine how much weight we lose. The band only helps us eat smaller portions.

Any weight loss is a success. Be proud of what you have accomplished and move forward.

Good luck!

[IndioGirl55 32]

:biggrin::confused:

I need some help or advice. I had my surg. Aug 30th have only lost 27lbs. I haven't lost anything for 2 months! Had my 3rd fill 2weeks ago and still nothing! Am exercising at least 5x a week for 45min. And eating pretty healthy. I think I am able to eat too much but am afraid to get another fill because the food gets stuck sometimes and it hurts. If I do get another fill, is it going to make it even harder to eat anything? Or is it just going to help me not eat as much? Anyone else experiencing anything similar??:eek:

Shelley

I get stuck only if I have eaten too fast or not chewed well enough or it I have taken 1 bite too many and I think i am at my sweet spot. - What amount of food are you eating before you feel full.

Eating pretty healthy in fat people language and what is really is eating healthy are 2 totally different things imho - a fat person ya i ate veggies but left out the fact that they were drowning in butter - Oh ya I had fish - left off that it was in a batter and fried. I mean no offense here but our perception on food is a bit off centered – to us a portion size is a whole pint of ice cream not ½ cup..

As Wheestin said - what are you eating - what is your exercise -

For Me i find that keeping a food diary is essiential - I count calories and Protein grms - I keep my calories anywhere between 1000 - 1200 a day I exercise 4 days a week 3 miles a day at 16 minute mile. I eat low fat sugar free - Protein first veggie (with I can't beleive it's not butter spray) then rice - Pasta - tatoes if I am still hungry.

You really need to give us a little more info so that we can help you get back in band mode -

[Whitepants 0]

Hi everyone,

I gauged my nutrition value by getting info from "NurtitionData.com". Answer a few questions and it give you an estimate of nutriton value you shoud take in daily. And always talk to your nutritionist, when in doubt. My nutritionist is very helpful with my food intake and calorie intake. What to eliminate or what food to replace to eat. And she hasn't been wrong yet.

It states that a healthy weight loss per month is 10lbs/2lbs per week. Sometimes more is loss, but not on a steady basis. And we all know the most weight lose is in the first/beginning stages of being banded.

I've also read on some sites people have used diet nutritional site i.e. FitDay.com and SparkPeople.com. There are others of course, but these are the ones I've seen most posted. I myself use the sparkpeople.

You may want to visit them and get an idea of what a days meal/menu will consist of. By all means don't get discouraged. We're all still learning new eating habits.

Everyone have good weekend. Stay the course.