Attack of the Killer PB

HarleyNana · 02-03-2005, 08:40 PM

I didn't have my first slime until after my first fill. I get about 1 every other day now, just when I've started to think the band's not working very well. It really sucks when you're in a restaurant, I've had to haul tail to the restroom twice now. It just keeps sliming until the culprit that caused the slime comes back. Usually in my case it's because I've not chewed well enough or something just didn't settle. Once it was coleslaw and today it was just the "last bite", one bite too many, not knowing when to stop.

**Jack** · 02-03-2005, 09:24 PM

HarleyNana:

Are you saying there isn't a predromal warning, or that you are mistakenly ignoring the warning?

I'm perhaps headed for first fill in a few weeks....I still pretty well get the "soft stop" signs and haven't had PB---yet....nor do I want one....

I still avoid the hard chewy veggies, salads, etc....I still can get 'the Warning" on about the 8th spoonful of yoghurt if I go too fast....

On the other hand, I have been able to eat some steak, cooked veggies, a wonderful canful of pea soup (ok, it took 2 meals and a snack to get it all down)....

I managed to get down pureed turkey breast and yoghurt/sour cream/mustard....sounds bad but it was pretty tasty....

I'm still on protein shakes half the time because I remain cautious...

hagerteresa · 02-04-2005, 01:18 PM

Hi Jack,
I don't feel like I get any real warning signs. I also experienced PB's pre-filled though. I can go for weeks without having any PB experiences and then have a few in a weeks time. Most recently I got a bad head cold and had a terrible time getting commonly eaten foods down. When I sit down to a meal, I will hesitantly take a few bites and try to chew well and see how it settles. If it settles fine then I can safely continue with my meal eating slowly and chewing well. There are times I have to wonder if I chewed something well enough and those are probably times when I am starving and just dig in without thinking and occur in those first few tentative bites. I don't know. My band can be a little fickle. Ussually I can safely make it to a bathroom to spit up the offending item but once in awhile it has caught me off guard and I've had to make embarrassing decisions. Last time that happened at Costco from a bite of cracker. I love to get samples at Costco but can't just pop them in my mouth like I used to. I have to slowly collect them and take several bites. I actually consider this a meal when I get the costco samples. Anyway I forgot to chew a cracker with a dip on it. I igored the subtle warning signs. By the time I was done at the cash register I litorally had to run for the NEAREST garbage bin. I was trying not to gag while waiting for my purchase to complete. Fortunately my PB's are more of a spit up normally and nobody even noticed me spitting in the bin. The warning signs for me include a discomfort between my shoulder blades, sometimes the sliming but not always, just a general something is not right discomfort. It is often subtle and I can accidently ignore it and other times it can be excruciatingly discomforting. I had to pull my car over three times in a 20 minute period last week when I had that cold and couldn't eat very well. I never actually PB'd but I had the most painful cramping in my upper back, hot and cold spells, a horrible dryness in my mouth. It was startling and I couldn't decide if I should call an ambulance or not it was that bad. I was all by myself too. Ends up by the end of that 20 minutes whatever it was cleared and I felt as right as rain. Never happened again either. Like I said though normally I don't PB at all and then will have a few minor incidences for a week or two and then none for awhile. It is only very occassional ones that are so startling for me.
On another note though, recall that car accident and my port discomfort. I finally was able to get my primary doctor to refer me to get checked out by the band doctor and I was able to get an okay from my car insurance so next tuesday I am getting it checked out under flouro. It doesn't hurt anymore but strangely enough I was never able to lay on my stomach for long before the accident and now I can for much longer periods of time. My port had been tipped up on its side when I got my first fill under flouro. I am wondering if I didn't pull a stitch or something and maybe it has flattened out some. I don't know but will definitely feel better having it checked out. I may try to get a second fill at the same time. I only got 1 cc back in early November and really could eat pretty well until this cold kicked in but now it is getting better and eating is a bit easier. I haven't really lost much since that initial fill either. I don't know if I will yet or not but will see what the doc thinks too. Teresa

DeLarla · 02-04-2005, 02:01 PM

Teresa, I've never heard of shoulder blade pain associated with a PB. Are you sure there's not something else going on?

I always get clear warning signs. Sometimes my Band doesn't want me to eat, even though I haven't eaten all day. I get warnings almost immediately, even after a bite or two. Food feels trapped somewhere between my throat or chest. I have to keep swallowing and gulping. My warning sign is to stop eating - if I take one more bite I'm in big trouble. Usually, if I've only had a few bites, this horrible feeling will pass after 5 minutes, then I can finish my meal slower

I've been able to produce my own PB with just sucking in air and forcing out a deep belch from my throat (I've only done this when the pain was bad and I wanted the object out of me.) Kinda like animals who have the ability to intentionally regurgitate.

Mine always happen as I'm eating. And always from swallowing too fast or swallowing too big of a chunk. I haven't had one in public, although I've had to stop eating at restaurants because I started my meal eating fast and got the horrible warning signs.

nightingale2u · 02-04-2005, 02:46 PM

Jack... I got very clear warnings prior to my first fill... and the warnings just became a lot more subtle after my fills. Now... if I ignore that warning... I have pain in the chest and between the shoulder blades like Teresa... sliming... and a whole lotta belching! I usually have to walk it off... and I can't continue with my meal once that happens... zip... nada... nil. I don't know why I ignore the warning sometimes... I guess my head is hungrier than my good sense! I am always very cautious after a fill until I can gauge the restriction level. You are going to do just fine with your band and it sounds like you are really taking the time to experiment carefully with different foods.

Tracie D · 02-04-2005, 02:57 PM

Can someone please tell me what is slime and PB? I guess this hasn't happened to me yet!

La_madam · 02-04-2005, 03:42 PM

shoulder pain with a PB is very common
had it happen yesterday as a matter of fact with my son and his friend in the car. i never eat while driving but my son was eating something and asked me to taste it so i did like a dummy and took too big of a bite and did not chew it preoperely and it was the worst pb i have ever ever experienced, so far i have pbed 4 times in 10 months and yesterdays was the one from hell. i got a bite stuck for a good 30 minutes and had the slime, saliva and horrible pain in my chest and shoulder. finally asked my son to dump his coke out the window so i could use his cup to pb in, it was not a pretty sight while drving , he and his friend were a little grossed out. been on liquids all day cuz i know im swollen something fierce, my esophagus had a major work out with that bite. i have heard from many and read posts from many that the shoulder pain is common more so when you have a nice tight fill and daily restriction

DeLarla · 02-05-2005, 12:29 PM

Wow, I learn something every day. Never had any shoulder pain, but I totally understand the horror of the chest pain and having to spit up.

When I'm trying to have a bad PB, I walk in circles around my house like a crazy lady pounding my chest. Sometimes my husband stands in my way so I just shove him and keep walking. You would think he'd learn by now, but at least he knows the warning signs so he always runs and grabs me a handful of paper towels.

HarleyNana · 02-05-2005, 12:57 PM

Jack, no warning here and it's so aggravating. I can eat one thing one day, a day later eat the same thing and slimeville. Then I may go a couple of days without. BUT, it's amazing, chili and refried beans I never have a problem with. I have paid much more attention and it's definately happens more often with solids, like a small bite of soft taco shell or bite of a pancake, this am even soft mushy egg did it, (right after a bite of a pancake, lol). I sure wanted that dang egg this morning too, darn it.

Some days I don't feel any restriction, then I'll maybe take a bigger bite and/or swallow too quickly and it will not stay down. So from now on at restaurants if it's not chili I'm not ordering it. It's so embrsn to have to rush to restroom to spit and spit and spit and well you get the picture.

Good luck with the fill.

02-05-2005, 11:09 PM

What exactly is a PB- Is this vomiting?

Sorry I'm researching the LAP-BAND^®, and I read alot about "PB"

DeLarla · 02-06-2005, 09:15 PM

Labuttr, a PB is kind of hard to explain until you actually have one. I had a band for several months without a PB, so I thought something was wrong with me. Then out of the blue, I had my first one, and it was awful. We probably all have different ways of describing it, but for me it starts somewhere between my throat and chest, as if you try to swallow something but it won't go downt. It's not like choking though, but like a painful pressure in your chest. When you first feel it, you have to stop eating. I always have a hard time catching my breath, and I keep gulping hoping the thing will pass. I think it's because the food gets trapped in the esophagus. Sometimes, the lump will finally pass, but other times you suddenly spit up thick slime. I usually spit up thick slime a couple times, then on the third kind of hurl the offending stuck food will come back up with the slime. I have always had warning signs, but some people don't get warnings. I can personally avoid all PB's by taking small bites, chewing very slow, and stopping when I'm full. All my PBs have happened after gulping something too big and too fast. It's not a good idea to let yourself get too hungry with the band, and all my PB episodes have been when I let myself get too hungry then try to make up for lost time by wolfing some food.

HarleyNana · 02-06-2005, 10:09 PM

Lisa I agree my sliming experiences have been when I was hungry too and woffin food down. The slime is more of an aggrivation, whereas the golfball stuck in the chest is down right painful. I have to walk it off too. As I mentioned in another post it seems if you suck air in it makes it worse, so I try not to breath, I even do a little jumping up and down trying to get it to pass. I rarely get the golf ball anymore, and I haven't slimed today either.

I mentioned in another thread a few minutes ago, I actually was full today, for the first time since my surgery. It was a good feeling, but it almost made me feel like I had over done it, but no slime or golf ball.

Hope you're feeling well Lisa.

banded 11/4/04 · 02-06-2005, 11:06 PM

LOL My boyfriend tries to talk to me when Im having an attack, I want to scream at him but Im to busy gasping for air, I keep motioning him to go away and he still keeps standing there talking to me uuugggghhha

New Hope · 02-06-2005, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by banded 11/4/04

LOL My boyfriend tries to talk to me when Im having an attack, I want to scream at him but Im to busy gasping for air, I keep motioning him to go away and he still keeps standing there talking to me uuugggghhha

Like you can really chit-chat right then! LOL

paula · 03-04-2005, 02:53 PM

bumping for Carey :)