I thought I knew, but I don't

[lompocbander 1]

I thought I understood how my band works, but now I am confused...

I thought that the band works by creating a small stomach that fills up when you eat, and so you feel full and satisfied and eat less. And that the food slowly goes through the stoma (the new opening from the band) into the stomach and is digested and passes through the intestines as prior to the band.

That's what I understood.

But, if that's all true, then I don't understand why food gets stuck. When I eat something that doesn't go down, it hurts, and stops right at the stoma. When I asked my doctor why it hurts, he says it is too big to fit through the stoma, so it gets stuck.

It isn't getting stuck later--it's getting stuck now, when I eat it. So, the food isn't sitting in my "little" stomach and then making it's way down slowly, it is going from my mouth, through the stoma, into my stomach.

So, can someone explain to me how the lap band works? I'm confused.

[Texgirly 0]

Completely unscientific opinion here - but I think it is the food sitting at the opening of your new smaller pouch, meaning it is still in your esophagus. Does it end up coming back or PB'ed as it is referred to here?

Some suggestions:

1. take smaller bites.

2. Chew and chew and chew. I count my bites - try for 40!

3. Accept there may be stuff we can no longer eat. For me it is break and Pasta.

Hope that helps.

[gentylwind 1]

Things go through the stoma more slowly. However, you are not particularly restricted yet, so things do indeed pass through right away. You are tighter than without the band, but not yet tight enough to completely create the pouch in the way the band is intended to work. Most people don't get that kind of effectiveness until after the third or fourth fill. So you can get stuck if you take too big of bites, but you are still passing food with relative ease compared to true sweet spot restriction.

[2KpUpwithAvery 0]

Well I must say, I was in the same boat as you. I thought the idea was for the creation of a smaller pouch just above the band would "fill up", and hence give the feeling of being full with a small portion of food.

I have read the posts, and although I have plenty of room for more fills, I don't want to because of the pain that already coincides with eating sometimes.

I think for me personally, its litereally still a BATTLE getting myself to eat the very small portion of food we should be eating. Like 60 grams !

That isn't much, but I'm adjusting!

Good Luck

[Jachut 487]

I'll never understand this, I'm 3 and half years down 2.7 cc in a 4cc band and I agree, food gets stuck when I eat it, not an hour later!

[lompocbander 1]

Well, someone must know how it works--I wish someone would tell me! The doctor hasn't been very helpful.

[HeatherO 7]

It is intended to pass slowly. Episodes of getting stuck is when it stops moving for awhile. Kind of like sand through an hour glass for the most part, but if you have a pebble, everything gets blocked up behind it for a while.

The temporary blockage hurts after eating because that is when the stuck food is in its most whole form. It eventually passes because saliva helps to break things down over time and washes it through. This is true with any food over time. Part of the reason you don't drink when you eat is because liquid has a similar effect, it softens your food and washes it through.

Not a very scientific perspective but this is how I think it works.

[lompocbander 1]

I experience it like this: I take a bite, chew and chew, swallow, pause, seems okay. Take a bite, chew and chew, swallow, pause. Now, at about the third bite, that's when I feel bite one getting "stuck". I wait for what feels like a LOONNNGGG time, but is probably only a few minutes, then it all feels better. I either continue to eat (slowly) or eat something a little less problematic.

But, the thing is, it seems like it goes right through the stoma when eaten, not like it sits in a little pouch created by the band and providing a feeling of fullness as it slowly passes through and to the stomach (as I was told is how it works.) So I just wonder why it is moving through the opening right after I eat it, why isn't it staying in the upper pouch? It just seems like it is was going to get stuck, it would be later.

I'm just having trouble forming a mental picture of the process, and my band didn't come with a user's manual. :ohmy:

[Cleo's Mom 257]

I agree that the band isn't what it has been advertised to be. That is - a small pouch that allows you to eat normal foods but a much smaller quantity that will satisfy you for a longer time so that you won't be hungry. Well, those were the first 2 myths to go. It doesn't make me less hungry and you can't eat normal food. The list of foods I was told to avoid is long. But the way the band works for a lot of us (based on many posts) is that it is just too uncomfortable to eat very much. So you stop. Not because you're satisfied but because it is not pleasant to eat. Many choose to have a very tight fill so that they can eat very little and they are losing and are so happy with this that they will put up with pain/discomfort. Have you read the posts that say "I throw up a lot, slime and PB but I love my band." I didn't have a lot of weight to lose to begin with and was under 35 BMI before surgery so I am not losing a lot of weight. But I do have discomfort when eating. And reflux/heartburn and left shoulder pain. So as I see it, I have the worst of both worlds. I am going to ask for a slight unfill.

[HeatherO 7]

But, the thing is, it seems like it goes right through the stoma when eaten, not like it sits in a little pouch created by the band and providing a feeling of fullness as it slowly passes through and to the stomach (as I was told is how it works.) So I just wonder why it is moving through the opening right after I eat it, why isn't it staying in the upper pouch? It just seems like it is was going to get stuck, it would be later.

I'm just having trouble forming a mental picture of the process, and my band didn't come with a user's manual. :ohmy:

Right now I am unfilled and it is the same for me. It can be stopped for the briefest of times and then falls right through. I think it is becuas eyou are not very tightly restricted yet and havent reached your sweet spot.

I have spent most of my time banded at my sweet spot . . . and I can say it works exactly as described. You eat comfortably, but are full quickly and it doesn't move through the pouch for the longest of times. If you overeat it is uncomfortable and stays that way for a long time. You will certainly feel the difference once you hit your sweet spot.

[lapbandbarb 0]

Things go through the stoma more slowly. However, you are not particularly restricted yet, so things do indeed pass through right away. You are tighter than without the band, but not yet tight enough to completely create the pouch in the way the band is intended to work.

I know this to be true from experience and the smallest amount of fill (or smallest "last bite") can make the difference of it getting stuck or going through. I have learned that it is important to take small bites(I cut my food into tiny bites before I even sit down) and chew, chew chew. When I am was really restricted, at sweet spot ,I had no problem with getting stuck when I did this. I thought I needed another fill because my band had losened from my stomach getting smaller,got a tiny bit put in only to be too full, irritated and have to get a lot taken out and pretty much start from square one. This is no fun!

At different restrictions and in different conditions, like hormones, stress, etc, Different things can happen. I have had food stay in my upper pouch overnight and actually come up in the morning with a sip of coffee even after I had waited three hours before laying down. (and I take meds to prevent acid reflux) I have had different reactions to different foods at different times. It is a funny and sometimes scary dealing with what happens.

So the band is fickle, and I am not sure if it works any particular way. I sometimes think mine has a mind of its own and unfortunately, I can't read it's mind. So, I just try to go slow with everything. I love my band and it has helped me lose a lot of weight but sometimes I can't control it. I have kind of learned to just deal with the way it is working for me at that given time and try to appreciate and baby it.

Edited February 13, 2009 by Barb12590

[HeatherO 7]

I agree that the band isn't what it has been advertised to be. That is - a small pouch that allows you to eat normal foods but a much smaller quantity that will satisfy you for a longer time so that you won't be hungry. Well, those were the first 2 myths to go. It doesn't make me less hungry and you can't eat normal food. The list of foods I was told to avoid is long. But the way the band works for a lot of us (based on many posts) is that it is just too uncomfortable to eat very much. So you stop. Not because you're satisfied but because it is not pleasant to eat. Many choose to have a very tight fill so that they can eat very little and they are losing and are so happy with this that they will put up with pain/discomfort. Have you read the posts that say "I throw up a lot, slime and PB but I love my band." I didn't have a lot of weight to lose to begin with and was under 35 BMI before surgery so I am not losing a lot of weight. But I do have discomfort when eating. And reflux/heartburn and left shoulder pain. So as I see it, I have the worst of both worlds. I am going to ask for a slight unfill.

It sounds from your post that you have a classic case of being overfilled and a small unfill is definitely in order. Left shoulder pain, reflux & heartburn are all clear signs of being too tight.

Lack of weight loss is also a sign in that you can't eat normal foods so there is a tendency to go more towards slider or mushier foods that will pass less painfully but have more calories. They also have a tendency to stay in your pouch for a much shorter time, have more carbs and so you can get hungrier faster . . . and too many carbs have impacts on your blood sugar making you extra hungry.

I found that I actually lose best and most steadily without regular discomfort when I can eat the most foods, such as lean Proteins, comfortably. I can also eat bread, Pasta and rice if I so chose because I have been keeping my band looser. I just know to avoid them in excess because I don't lose as much if I eat them regularly.

The truth about successful banding is that there is a balance, or sweet spot, that allows you to eat the widest variety of foods while feeling satisfied from hunger cravings. Unfortunately, many of us completely skip the sweet spot by being overly tight which causes potential complications and we lose the truest benefits of banding.

These aren't myths . . . but if you are too loose you can eat a lot and stay hungry, or if you are too tight you can't eat the most beneficial foods comfortably and might start eating more of the wrong kinds of foods which causes hunger.

Ask any long-term successful veteran bander how tight they keep their band . . . and you will find that most find a relatively loose band more conducive to success without discomfort and a more normal lifestyle. Banding only does so much . . . you have to be able to eat sensible varieties of foods and recognize and heed your bodily triggers that it is time to stop eating. Keeping your band so tight that it physically prevents you from having to make these choices is not helping in the long run.

Perhaps Jachut can even chime in on this issue as well . . . I believe she keeps her band at comfortable restriction levels as well.

[Cleo's Mom 257]

I agree HeatherO but I have only had two fills and I wasn't losing with one fill but I didn't have reflux/heartburn or pain/discomfort, either. I think I only have 3cc's in a 10cc band. I am going to ask for sure on Monday and discuss an unfill. I have had heartburn since Wednesday morning and it is now Friday afternoon. Nothing I do or don't do helps. And I do tend to eat softer foods because others cause problems. I don't eat Pasta, rice and only toasted diet whole wheat bread maybe once a day at most. Is it possible to be too tight with only two fills and 3cc's?

[HeatherO 7]

It is entirely possible to be too tight with 2 fills and 3 cc's. I reached my sweet spot on the second fill . . . if it would have been any bigger, I couldn't have tolerated it.

Also as far as only having 3 cc's, everyone has a different sized stomach. Some people never even get a fill because they already have restriction after banding and some people have to go over the capacity of the band to reach final restriction. It is so different for everyone. It is not unusual to only need a small amount of Fluid to reach restriction.

Good luck and please let us know what the doctor says.

[JayinMA 1]

this is how I understand the science behind the band. Before we all had the band, the food we ate would pass through our esophagus and fall into our (large) stomachs. We wouldn't feel full until we put a certain amount in it. The part of your stomach that sends a "hey we're full down here" sensation to your brain is at the top of your stomach.

The band keeps the food in your stoma longer. Not for hours, sometimes only a minute or two, just long enough to trigger the stomach to send a message to the brain "hey we're full down here." So the band doesn't keep things in your stoma for long periods of time, which is why food starts passing through the band, or gets stuck, when you eat it, because the band isn't designed to hold it there, just pause it there momentarily to trigger the biological response to having a full stomach.