After almost 3 yrs figured out...

how to get rid of the pain (sometimes) while eating!
Having the lapband I think most all of us have had a  stuck episode or pain with eating .  This happens to me frequently even though the upper GI shows I am too loose and a chew well and slow.
The one rule they tell you not to do is drink with meals.
Well, I abolished that one!
I discovered if I have that pain I take small sips of water to get the food through.  While waiting I still go through the sweats, seeing stars, and pain but it helps!

Wow...You regularly have pain when eating?  What a giant bummer.  I'm so sorry.  I only hurt one time in my very first week of solid foods.  I ate a piece of turkey luncheon meat and didn't chew well at all (I was rushing) and I felt it stick.   I've never felt pain again.

I'm glad you found something that helps...but are you sure you aren't too tight?

This happens to me frequently even though the upper GI shows I am too loose and a chew well and slow.  This has developed 2 yrs out.

Around the two year mark is when a lot of folks start having some major issues. That was the point where it was "do or die" with me.

I know what you mean... I never actually kept any amount of saline in my band and I was still too tight to ever eat solid foods. When I was desperate and hungry enough to try, I'd spend hours in misery, throwing up and sweating, gagging and in pain. NO FUN. And I really feel for you. I hate that you're going through it, soulsister.

Hi, I was wondering where you've heard or if you know why it is that people start having issues at their two year mark? I ask because I am just over 2 years and I've been starting to have issues with acid reflux...never had it before in my life! :(

I had my banding done in 2002 so I have had 9 years to watch people at the 2 year mark start having problems, unfortunately. It just seems to be about the point where things start to surface. I don't know if it's just the stomach getting irritated by the band or what... anything I'd venture forth would just be a guess since I started with problems the minute I came out of the operating room. But, yeah, around 2 years is when I've noticed people developing problems and I'm really sorry that you're getting acid reflux. Please see your doctor and get medication, if you can. If you can kinda nip in the bud before it gets worse, you'll be much better off. (Says the woman who burps like a trucker! I wish I had taken the acid reflux a little more seriously back when it first started. Live and learn, huh?!)

Good luck, Mel. I hope you have no other issues and the reflux can be fixed up.

thanks for your advice, i made a doctor appt for first thing monday!

Yes, I think after having the band for years really takes a toll on your stomach. It is a way of our bodies telling us this it is not natural to have a band wrapped around your stomach. I prefer to go a more natural way to digest food after years of bandster hell (and I'm not talking about the hell of a few months after surgery)!
I have definitely lived and learned!

That really sucks about all the trouble you've had. Did you have a revision?

I wasn't able to have a revision at the time I had my band removed because I had so much damage to my diaphragm.

I'm just now starting to look into the sleeve, but I have a whole bunch of gut problems and that makes me nervous!