I need an experienced bandster to explain about the anatomy of the band to me please!

[Losing_It_In_Texas 0]

Ok, here's my problem....I have been getting stuck a lot the past 2 evenings after my first fill on Monday (surgery 9-22-08). My question is this....if the band is between my upper and lower stomach pouch, and the sole purpose of the band is to keep food in the upper pouch for long periods before emptying into the lower stomach, and food should not be going directly thru the opening, then why does food get stuck there? I'm not sure if I am forming my question correctly, let me try again.... shouldn't food be sitting in the upper pouch for awhile before it empties and if so then why when swallowing does certain food attemp to pass thru the band and instead get stuck? Shouldn't EVERYTHING be sitting in the upper pouch then slowly pass thru to the lower stomach much later? Hopefully someone will understand what I am trying to say and be able to explain this to me....thank you!!

[Ruby124 0]

I'm real new to this. I just got banded on 10/20/08. I look at my upper stomach & lower stomach like an hour glass. Maybe this will keep me out of trouble. The sand flows smoothly through the hourglass with no obstruction. If you do not chew your food well enough to flow through the hourglass of your stomach you can get into trouble.

Like I said. I have no real experience. This is just my idea of it.

[RestlessMonkey 7]

Maybe someone who knows for sure will post, but this is what I "think"...

When you overeat, once you have restriction, food stimulates your esophagus and comes back up, because once the pouch is full (as food trickles on through) it doesn't go on in to your stomach (above or below the stoma) but lurks around where it doesn't belong. You aren't really "stuck", in that instance, just over full. And you PB or productive burp (with or without lots of slime) to get it to come up or "go on down".

The other instance is when you have a bite of something (like steak, let's say) that is too big and won't go through the stoma. It sits and the stomach TRIES to contract and get it to "go on" and it doesn't. That is "stuck". You also have slime etc as your stomach TRIES to process it but it can't.

So overfull is above the stomach, and you PB and/or slime. Stuck is a bite (or bites) that are TOO big (wadded up white bread, steak, something that isn't well chewed and small) and your stomach tries to mash it through but can't.

I THINK that's what's happening.

[rodriguezequal 3]

Getting "stuck" refers to the feeling you get when you eat something that you shouldn't have or that you didn't chew enough. It lays over the opening between your upper and lower stomach and prevents anything from going through...lets say you have a funnel...you can pour in Water and it will go through...now lets say you get a piece of limp lettuce and lay it over the hole...how will the water go through now? The water will either just pile up and go no where or slowly leak out...Anyways, I hope that helped :thumbup: Good luck.

[Losing_It_In_Texas 0]

Ok, here's my problem....I have been getting stuck a lot the past 2 evenings after my first fill on Monday (surgery 9-22-08). My question is this....if the band is between my upper and lower stomach pouch, and the sole purpose of the band is to keep food in the upper pouch for long periods before emptying into the lower stomach, and food should not be going directly thru the opening, then why does food get stuck there? I'm not sure if I am forming my question correctly, let me try again.... shouldn't food be sitting in the upper pouch for awhile before it empties and if so then why when swallowing does certain food attemp to pass thru the band and instead get stuck? Shouldn't EVERYTHING be sitting in the upper pouch then slowly pass thru to the lower stomach much later? Hopefully someone will understand what I am trying to say and be able to explain this to me....thank you!!

I just don't understand why any food should be trying to pass the band immediately after taking a bite if the sole purpose of the band is to retain the food in the upper pouch for an extended period....seems to me if its getting stuck then its not sitting in the upper pouch but rather trying to go thru right then while you are eating it. When I have gotten stuck its after only 2 or 3 bites that are chewed to oblivion, so its not that I am overfull, and my bites are tiny.....I just don't get it...whine whine whine....lol

__________________

[RestlessMonkey 7]

I think you need to ask your surgeon.

[Losing_It_In_Texas 0]

Yes, I will check with my surgeon on Monday. I just hoped I wouldn't have to wait till then for an answer. I figured people who had experienced the same thing would be better equipped to answer it than my doctor who has never gone thru the ordeal himself. I appreciate everyones replies though...thanks for y'alls help!!! :thumbup:

[RestlessMonkey 7]

Would you post what you find out? I'd like to know, too! :thumbup:

[Maribelle 0]

I know exactly what you mean and I had been wondering the same thing. I mentioned once to my nurse at the dr's office that I could feel each bite plopping past some sort of restriction, and she looked at me like I was crazy. I think I have figured it out. We are feeling the food dropping from the end of the esophagus into the stomach. When it drops, it must displace the gas that naturally exists in the pouch. (I saw this occur when I had my first fill via flouroscopy). If the bite is too big or too gooey, it meets the pressure of the gas and cannot drop through. It is painful because the food is sitting there, and the gas is trying to escape. When the mass finally shifts, I can feel it slide in, and I usually burp or feel bubbles. So I think in this case, the food is not stuck in the band at all, but only having problems passing into the upper stomach due to the new design.

[Jachut 487]

I know exactly what you mean and I had been wondering the same thing. I mentioned once to my nurse at the dr's office that I could feel each bite plopping past some sort of restriction, and she looked at me like I was crazy. I think I have figured it out. We are feeling the food dropping from the end of the esophagus into the stomach. When it drops, it must displace the gas that naturally exists in the pouch. (I saw this occur when I had my first fill via flouroscopy). If the bite is too big or too gooey, it meets the pressure of the gas and cannot drop through. It is painful because the food is sitting there, and the gas is trying to escape. When the mass finally shifts, I can feel it slide in, and I usually burp or feel bubbles. So I think in this case, the food is not stuck in the band at all, but only having problems passing into the upper stomach due to the new design.

This makes PERFECT sense. All my real stuck episodes which result in PB do occur some minutes after the bite. But the minor discomforts - they do feel exactly like a huge burp needing to happen and then you feel it just "shift" all of a sudden.

However, I dont believe food sits in my pouch for more than a few minutes. A stuffed full feeling doesnt last long for me on the occasions that I've eaten that much. If I get stuck, the problem always happens a few minutes later, not instantly, probably for the reason above. I think the band has worked for me more by appetite restriction through contact on the outside of the stomach, food sitting in the pouch for *just* long enough for the full message to get to my brain, probably due to the much slower pace at which I eat now. But food sitting there for hours. I'd definitey say that doesnt happen for me. And that's why i just dont get this drinking/eating thing. Drinking with food does NOT make me any hungrier and never ever has.

Its probably just a matter of restriction, I've never been one for having great restriction. I did after surgery, it took a long time for the swelling to go down and it was like how people describe restriction. I'd eat half a cup and stay full for HOURS. Once I'd healed, I've never ever approached anything like that again.

Edited October 25, 2008 by Jachut

[nanaislosingit 0]

Good question. It will be interesting to see all the responses to this one. I have tried to figure this out myself. Good luck.

[workinamy 0]

You're only two days from your first fill, right? You will be very tight and should probably have been told to go from full liquids to mushies for a few days. At least that's what I've been told with a fill. Try not to think of the band as "retaining" food for a period of time and then letting it pass; think of it like a tight hourglass like a previous poster mentioned. I'm sure it will loosen up a bit and you won't feel "stuck" with the first few bites.

[rodriguezequal 3]

I have only had one fill so far (5ccs total) and I am not tight at all! Everyone is different and we are all going to have a different "sweet spot". I have no restrictions on eating before or after my fills. I have to wait to get my next fill until I am better, but hopefully I'll have some kind of restriction then Good luck everyone.

[LonghornGirl 0]

my doctor (who teaches and trains other doctors to do lapband) said most ppl go right back to eating after a fill and that it can cause quite a bit of pain. he said that once a fill is done that patients should go back to fluids for one day, then soft or mushy foods for a day then gradually get back to where you were eating prior to the fill. he said most ppl rush back in to eating and this can cause the "stuck" feeling. just remember to eat tiny bites, chew chew chew and then chew a little longer. he also mentioned you shouldn't drink while eating as this forces the food thru the band not allowing your pouch to get full or to send the msg to your brain to stop eating. the more you drink the more you can eat which also stretches the pouch out (and it can't retract to its original size), so it doesn't do what its supposed to.

just some helpful info (i hope)