Stickin' Chicken

[BeBe]

I was banded 3/19/08... and hadn't had any fills. I was pretty much able to eat whatever I wanted, and had no restriction. The mantra of "chew, chew, chew" was quickly forgotten, and the lifelong habit of bite/swallow was reverted to very quickly. I never had any problems - and eating was second nature to me, so no reason to change until I had restriction, right? Heh.

A few weeks ago, I had made some chicken breasts for dinner and there were leftovers. I had eaten 1 1/2 breasts with no problem. The next day, I heated up half of a breast right before I had to be somewhere. I was hungry and ate quickly... big mistake! Half-way through the breast, I felt a lump in my chest. OW! I had felt this feeling a couple of times before, but it had always passed within a few minutes. Not this time. After 30 or 40 minutes of pain and spitting, the chicken re-emerged. My first PB. Hooray?

Last week, I had a fill. 2 ccs in a 4 cc band. From the moment he pulled the needle out, I knew I wasn't feeling any different. *sigh* I did liquids for 2 days though, and as soon as I was back on solids I knew for sure there was no difference. I could eat just as much as before. *double sigh* I had no physical reminders about the need to chew thoroughly, so of course I was eating just as I had before - just trying to eat less. Saturday morning I ate a handfull of Sun Chips and 2 bites of a sandwich and that was it. I'm going to Vegas soon, and don't want to scare small children when I put on a bathing suit - so I've been trying to be good. By dinner time though, I was ravenous. It was mine and my son's birthday and he wanted pizza, so I called Pizza Hut - ordering the buffalo wings for myself (I hate pizza, and just wanted some protein). As soon as they came through the door I practically inhaled 2 of them. Did I chew? I don't recall...

And then the pain hit.

I told the kids to fight over the remaining chicken wings, I no longer wanted them, and headed to the bathroom - where I stayed for over an hour until what appeared to be about half of the chicken came up. The pain was gone. After about 10 minutes, I thought it was safe to drink some water. Wrong! That came up too.

2 hours later, a few sips of water... that came up within minutes.

The next day, I made some hot tea and it took me about 2 hours to sip about 1/4 cup of it... and each sip was excruciating. I knew I had a piece of chicken stuck in my band for sure. I waited a couple of hours and tried a couple of sips of yogurt drink. Very painful, and I couldn't manage more than 2 sips. I ran errands for the rest of the day, and wasn't about to attempt ingesting sustinance of ANY kind. I was hoping that chicken would work itself through soon. On the way home, I picked up some Gatorade. Normally, I don't drink anything (other than protein shakes and yogurts) that have calories - but I knew I needed something in me so I wouldn't get dehydrated. I got home and poured a glass. An hour and about 2 tablespoons later, I felt like I was going to PB. I sat with a bucket in front of me just waiting for it - but I continued to sip. I was desperate to either PB up that chicken or drink enough to wash it down.

Then I had a very weird feeling. It felt like my stomach flipped over. It was slightly painful, but less so than swallowing had been the previous 24 hours. And the feeling that I had to PB went away. Did it pass? I could only hope! I kept sipping - and the pain was gone. I was too scared to take more than the tiniest sip, but I was taking them every couple of seconds, and within 5 minutes, I had finished the glass.

The chicken had passed. I waited a few hours, and made myself dinner. I ate a whole Lean Cuisine (chewing thoroughly!) and a cupcake for dessert. Still no restriction. But I am glad that I waited it out and didn't freak out thinking I was too tight and go for an unfill. I plan on getting another fill this week as soon as Aunt Flo leaves - and we'll see how much restriction I have then.

I just wanted to stress the importance of chewing properly - even BEFORE your fill. I have no restriction, and I'm PBing and getting things stuck when I eat too fast and don't chew properly. It's a habit that's hard to break (much like no longer drinking with meals) - but you must. You do NOT want to go through the same thing I went through. It was 24 hours of HELL. Seriously.

On the bright side though - I tried on that goal dress and can finally get the zipper all the way up! Yay!

[yoyodieter]

I hear ya sister!!! That is the worst pain.... I have done that lets see now um 6 times since

my fill.. You would think I would learn!! Chew Chew Chew and chew some more'

congratulations on your goal dress, and I'm glad your able to get your fills now.

I wish I was going back to Vegas, I went twice this year Jan. and June and my husband

says no more this year. (I don't even gamble I like the lights and sounds) anyway have fun

and don't forget to CHEW

[Kittycat]

Lesson learned, thanks BeBe for sharing that with us.

I hope the fill kicks in for you!

[tlag]

PBing is aweful. I never had PBing until after my second fill. I had my 2nd fill 2 weeks ago and I think I may need just alittle more, maybe .3cc or something like that. Is there a certain amount of time a person has to wait inbetween fills?

How much are the fills in Las Vegas. I hear alot of people say they go there.

[MamaMichelle]

Sorry to hear about your bad PB- dry chicken is a bandster's enemy!

So microwaving chicken is a big no-no because microwaves work by boiling out the water in food, so any mositure in the chicken will be gone making it harder to chew and more likely to get stuck!

[sufina]

Michelle, thanks for the tip on microwaving taking out the moisture. I had no idea so that is good to know. Since I just got my first fill, I'm PBing on about everything I eat- most likely cuz I have not yet got into the practice of small size and chewing behavior. any particular foods you reccomend to rely on or a resource for food ideas? I tend to find a few basic things I like and repeat them but the ones I'm repeating are from my "old life" eating style and I need to update...thanks, sufina

[BeBe]

I posted this because of all the instances I've read about people getting things "stuck", I got the impression that it was a very temporary situation. Painful, but over within perhaps an hour. I had no idea that it could last 24 hours and I wouldn't be able to even drink water without it coming back up.

If I hadn't figured out what was going on myself, I'd have thought my band was too tight and rushed in for an unfill - which would have been a waste of money (paying for the unfill, and then paying to put that saline back in to get right back to where I was in the first place).

I realize my post was long and boring, but y'all seem to have overlooked a couple things... it was my BIRTHDAY Saturday (another year older - UGH), and more importantly, I can now get that goal dress zipped all the way up (it's still tight though). Hooray for me! Sing with me now... "Go BeBe, it's your birthday. Even though it's no longer your birthday. We're still gonna party like it's your birthday..."

Hello people! Congratulations are in order!!!! Hehe.

[yoyodieter]

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY , And I did read about goal dress and congratulated you on getting it zipped.

it's things like that, that make the band so worth it!

[Dontondan]

I think I am going out to buy some Papaya enzyme just to have on hand for those type of situations....thanks for the info.

[BeBe]

Thanks guys! I plan on taking some updated pics as soon as I'm in the 170's... just 2 lb. to go. :-)

I'll have to look into papaya enzymes - I've never heard of that! Thanks!