Today I learnt two BIG lessons about pain & PB/PC

[Goannabanda]

I was enjoying my bandster lunch today, being very good and following all the rules. I was eating tiny bites, going very slow, chewing to goo, waiting until I could feel it go down before taking another bite and not drinking. Within one or two bites towards the end of the meal I went from still hungry to severe back pain in lower left chest.:yell: No PB or slime, just intense pain that lasted about 1/2 hour.

At dinner time, silly me thought I'd be able to eat a small meal. How wrong. I had about 6 tiny bites (again, following all the rules) before wham! Severe pain in the same place. This time it was more intense, I also had pain in my sternum area, and my stomach was rock hard as well. :yell: :yell: No sliming this time either. Eventually after about 1/2 hour trying to get some relief by pacing the house, lifting arms up, massaging and patting ribs I PC'd (productive coughed - a cross between a PB and a vomit) several times and was able to finally clear my pouch and ease the pain.:)

Since then, I have sipped a long drink of warm water (aaah! sweet relief!), and at supper time sucked on a mini icy pole (more aaah! sweet relief!).

As for the lessons I learnt:
1. Sometimes, even if you follow all the rules, s**t happens.
2. If s**t happens again, don't be an idiot and think you can eat the next meal like nothing happened - go to liquids then mushies for a day or two!


....so, anyone for soup?

[Mrs Sabre]

Thanks for sharing the experience! I'm sorry that you went through this, but maybe the rest of us can benefit from your learning.

P.S. I'd love some soup! :)

[kebsa]

THanks for the reminder, I remember having a similar learning experience in the past too!!

[JudyBellyBand]

Oh my this sounds s-o-o-o bad. I have never heard of such pain and I know I would have gone into the same cycle the next meal by not knowing. I hope other's here respond and say they have had this happen. But if not, please get it checked out. You are doing wonderful lossing and I know you are on track. So maybe this is an exceptional situation brought-on by something else. . . yet unknown.

But here is my favorite soup. It has "Winter Squash" that I hope you can get down-under even though it's summer for you. Anyway here it is:

Judybellyband's - BUTTER SQUASH, Kale and Chicken SOUP
INGREDIENTS
3-4 cup boiled, cubed **Chicken breast (about 3 whole breasts)
(boiled in salt/pepper/season and save the chicken broth)
1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 butternut or winter squash (score the raw, hard squash first and microwave 4 minutes to remove skin and enable you to easily chop/dice the squash)
6 cup (lots of) uncooked kale; cut in small pieces with center stalk removed
1 large stalk celery thinly diced
1 cup broccoli tops
1 cup diced onion or just add ½ cup of dried onions
1 package (2 cups) of finely sliced carrots
6-10 cups chicken broth (see above and/or add 1 can chicken broth for added richness if desired)

- Boil chicken until completely cooked and cut into 1/2" cubes
- Place the squash in microwave to pre-cook and then slice and dice into ½” inch cubes.
- Add ½ the squash, and all the kale, carrots, broccoli, onions and cubed chicken to the soup pot and cook over low heat.
- Meanwhile put half of squash cubes in a food processor or blender, puree and add to soup.
- Salt, pepper, and season to taste
- Cook about 1.5 to 2 hours allow to cool off some before serving

This makes a great meal served with a piece of fish and a salad.

**Chicken - to make taste better and TENDER for our bands, I have learned to soak any chicken in saltwater for 20 minites and then drain before cooking. Also, deboned thighs are always the most tender parts of chicken. Try it and you SHALL thank-me.

[cathy]

Yipes! I'm thinking staying on clear liquids the rest of my life is sounding pretty good!

Sorry you had such a bad experience. Hopefully it won't happen again!

[kelliebelly]

Ewwww, I hate that pain. It hasnt lasted as long as yours did..
Its terrible and I really find no relief until the food passes through the stoma. Maybe it was a little inflammed at dinner still and the food going down flared it again.
Hope it doest happen again :)

[cathy]

Question - when the food gets "stuck" like that, does it help (or are you even able to) drink water? I thought the whole reason of NOT drinking water during a meal is that it would flush the food thru. Or at that point, it is just stuck and nothing is going to help except time, PB'ing or something like that?

[wavydaby]

For me, sometimes it helps. Sometimes it makes it MUCH WORSE. One thing that does help me (meaning... dont know if it helps others) is swallowing the spit and not spitting it out. Lubes it all up for me.
I've not yet PB'd, but I have got that stuck feeling a few times. Especially lately after this last fill.
Man, I have GOT TO CHEW!!!!

[HeatherGurl]

I have never been in pain for a long time with a PB or eating to much. If I feel something get stuck and I can tell by now if it isn't going to go thru, I drink some water.
One of 2 things will happen, it will either wash it thru (which is better than pain for me) or it will PB up (which is better than pain for me) Either way is fine, I will not suffer, nor do I have time to suffer for hours on something stuck.
I hope you NEVER have to experience that again!!! :)

[Jachut]

My episodes are long and painfull too. I'm not a vomiter, everyone else around me can be barfing up a lung from gastro and I will not be sick. And I'm the same with PB's, I just dont do it. So I get huge pain that can easily last half an hour and nothing relieves it.

Drinkign water for me intensifies the pain, doesnt cause a PB unfortunately.

[Goannabanda]

Thanks to everyone for your hugs - and the awesome recipe Judy - I'm coming to your place for dinner! I'll try your tips about chicken too.

It was 38 dec C here today (HOT!) so cool liquids went down really well. After yesterday's incidents, I wasn't hungry until mid-afternoon (I must have some swelling...). I had a Boost smoothie as a treat while we were out shopping). I ended up trying a small mushie dinner at about 8pm tonight - I was HUNGRY by then!

Tomorrow I'm going to have liquids / mushies until dinner time, and then see how I'm feeling as to what I have for dinner. But I'm betting that I won't try to eat any steak for a few days yet. LOL!

It's crazy - just a few days ago my band felt wide open, and I could eat without problem. Now this week, I have this. Doh! And I'm kicking myself for not knowing better (after all the b2g/LBT posts I've read!) - but I suppose that sometimes we need to learn a lesson by experiencing a situation for ourselves. And trust me, THIS lesson won't be unlearned in a hurry!

[Stitchy]

I know that your instinct is to drink water to wash it through like before you were banded. Now, your stoma is very small. When you are stuck, nothing is going to go through. Whatever you swallow just piles up on top, making it worse and possibly more painful. Then you are spitting up water and saliva. When I slime and swallow it, it just somes back with more. Eventually you will need to spit it out. That's why experienced bandsters always always always carry a ziploc baggie.

So, what to do? Jump up and down. Raise your arms over your head and do a dance. Lean over the arm of a sofa. Sometimes taking a really big breath and holding will put some pressure on the stomach. Lay down and roll around. I think Yoga has a move called Backwards Facing Dog (or something like that). Basically it's sort of leaning over so your stomach is upside down. When it finally breaks loose, I can feel and hear it moving down into the *main* stomach.

Sometimes you just have to wait it out but try to sip some water. The last really bad one I had lasted 24 hours. Then I just drank tomato soup for a day.

[BobbiJoy]

:yell:I too have had that pain, Mine is between my shoulder .It is a bad pain,but walking around and drinking a little water helps me a lot. I was banded on 11-30-06.Have lost about 45 pounds so far.The only thing I don't like about the whole thing is not drinking with meals,and not two hours after earing.:magneta:http://band2gether.net/images/icons/icon14.gifhttp://band2gether.net/images/icons/icon14.gifbut I will put up with it,to lose this weight.

[Goannabanda]

OMG Stitchy - 24 hours of it!!! How terrible! Thanks for the extra tips - I'll pack some zip lock bags in my purse form now on! And I am familiar with the yoga move you mentioned - I'll try that if / when it happens again.

Bobbijoy - you are doing so well with your loss to date! That is awesome! Sorry you had the pain too though. It is rotten.

As for me - I took it easy all weekend with the diet, and now feel back to normal, so I guess that I am back on track. We had a really hot weekend, over 38 C (100 F) every day. We're all tired from the sleepless hot nights, which have been about 25 C (76 F). Tonight is 24 C, with 65% humidity - there is a slight breeze bringing some relief, so it feels like we might be able to sleep a little. 'nighty night - I'm going to see if I can catch some zzzzzzzzzzz's.