Curious

 I am wondering what a 'stuck' episode feels like? What foods are the main culprits?

That can vary from person to person. Most ppl that have trouble with food seem to have trouble with the healthier foods. Especially lean, dense protein. Some have trouble with certain fruits and veggies. Bread, rice, pasta are often "stickers". Potatos can be as well.

Now that being said..........the band is extremely unpredictable! I have eatten streak or chicken (went down fine)........then a couple of hrs. later go to eat yogurt and the yogurt didn't want to go down. Makes no sends at all. Again.......completely unpredictable!!!

To me it feels like a pressure, can be very uncomfortable. After you throw up there is an immediate relief.

 As Maria says.

I have never had anything worse than discomfort and it has never lasted more than a few minutes. I have never had anything serious enough to irritate the tissue and require a day on liquids to heal.

But unlike Maria, my problem foods are predictable. By problem, I just mean need extra care, I can eat all foods.

For me, soft casseroled beef , shrimp, any very dry meat. Thick soft foods like scrambled egg, thick yoghurt, melon, banana. They sound as if they should be sliders but for me they aren't. The thing is they have enough texture to require chewing but trying to chew scrambled egg........! So they get swallowed too easily and the area above the band gets filled too fast.

Kate

 Thanks ladies for the info! I appreciate the feedback 

What is esophageal spasm?

Esophageal spasms are irregular, uncoordinated, and sometimes powerful contractions of the esophagus, the tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach. Normally, contractions of the esophagus are coordinated, moving the food through the esophagus and into the stomach.

There are two main types of esophageal spasm:

• Diffuse esophageal spasm. This type of spasm is an irregular, uncoordinated squeezing of the muscles of the esophagus. This can prevent food from reaching the stomach, leaving it stuck in the esophagus.
• THIS IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND because many banded people think that their food is "stuck" due to not chewing well, what they ate, or they think they ate too fast.
•  
• Nutcracker esophagus. This type of spasm squeezes the esophagus in a coordinated way, the same way food is moved down the esophagus normally. But the squeezing is very strong. These contractions move food through the esophagus but can cause severe pain.
• Again, this is often explained away by band surgeons and banded patients as eating to fast and/or not chewing well enough.

You can have both types of esophageal spasm.

 Hi, Pumpkin! Completely accept what you are saying. But the fact that the oesophagus can spasm does not mean that we cannot get discomfort from swallowing lumps, eating too fast etc.. My (admittedly non medical) understanding is that these things can cause the spasm. But they can also cause discomfort through pressure. 

How's the revision going? All well. I trust.

Kate

Oh I totally agree that swallowing huge lumps of food or eating too fast can cause a " stuck " feeling, but I am seeing more and more issues that are beyond the simple explanation of being " stuck " and need to be addressed when we get threads asking about these " stuck " episodes. I think I'll create something so that it can be referenced quickly in order to allow posters to determine if it is indeed a 'stuck" thing or a more serious issue.

My revision is going swell, but today I am in a **** load of nerve and shoulder pain...

 Pain from the ex- band?

uh huh

~Diffuse esophageal spasm. This type of spasm is an irregular, uncoordinated squeezing of the muscles of the esophagus. This can prevent food from reaching the stomach, leaving it stuck in the esophagus.

• THIS IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND because many banded people think that their food is "stuck" due to not chewing well, what they ate, or they think they ate too fast.~

This reminds me of what Wasabubblebutt wrote quite awhile back. She said when she first started complaining about pain and getting stuck, the other bandsters on this forum attacked her and made her feel like she was too stupid to eat right! So she ended up either deleting her account, or just leaving OH for quite awhile. So sad!!!

I am very glad to see the forum transitioning some so that more bandsters are more comfortable posting about their band problems. Some do still get attacked and told THEY did something wrong, but it is nowhere near as bad as it was even 6 months ago on this forum.

The band CAUSES problems! For many of us! Those that have no problems as a result of the band (YET!) need to appriciate the fact that they have been LUCKY and support those with band issues!

This forum has made great progress in the last few months and I hope to see that continue. The openness and SUPPORT (meaning support to ALL bandsters) will be an asset to this forum and to the many bandsters that in the past, would not have received support on here.

Kudos to those of you that know the meaning of SUPPORT and are there to help those that are banded, and the pre-ops as well with honest, intelligent information..............and SUPPORT! :-)