Intragastric balloon insertion
Welcome to the North Bristol Weight Loss, Metabolic, and Bariatric Surgery Unit
Our team is here to help you on your journey to achieve long lasting weight loss. We believe this will have huge benefits to your overall health and wellbeing. Having weight loss surgery is a big decision. You will have to think about it carefully because your life will never be the same again.
We offer a weight loss service which may include surgery (often called bariatric surgery). This whole process take several years (follow up after surgery is limited to two years). Weight loss is a lifelong process, so we will help you to maintain this long term and give you ways to contact us in the future if necessary.
We will not operate on people who smoke or vape nicotine due to the surgical complications associated.
Once again well done on getting this far. We appreciate how difficult it is to successfully lose weight and keep it off in a healthy way. We are pleased to be in a position to be able to help you with this. Any suggestions or feedback on how to improve our service are gratefully received.
The Bariatric Surgery Team
Introduction
This information has been developed to help you prepare for your procedure to insert an intragastric balloon. It covers what you can expect before, during, and after your stay in hospital, and helps you with the lifestyle changes you need to make after surgery.
It is important that you give yourself enough time to process all the information and we are happy to answer all questions you might have.
This is the beginning of a challenging journey and it is important that you are well prepared with information and determination to give you the best chances of improving your health and achieving your goals.
How does the intragastric balloon work?

The intragastric balloon is a minimally invasive procedure where a soft deflated balloon is temporarily placed in the stomach. This is done using a thin tube called an endoscope through the mouth and gullet (oesophagus) under a general anaesthetic (you will be asleep).
Once the balloon is in the top of the stomach it is inflated with blue stained liquid (sodium chloride). This fills part of the stomach and makes you feel full.
The aim is to help change your eating pattern, reduce the volume of food you eat, and make you feel full quicker and for longer. The balloon is normally left in for 6-12 months. After this it must be removed as it may start breaking down.
Risks of having an intragastric balloon
Most people will have some short-term complications. These include abdominal discomfort and gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, vomiting, acid reflux, and dehydration. You will be given medication to take home to help relieve these symptoms.
If symptoms don’t go away and you are vomiting, or unable to have any food or drink please go to an Accident and Emergency Department.
Other risks of having an intragastric balloon are:
- Intestinal obstruction by the balloon.
- Bleeding or gastric perforation.
- Balloon rupture and migration.
- Gastric ulcers and oesophagitis.
- Sepsis.
- Pancreatitis.
The chance of these risks happening are very small, but you should be aware of them before agreeing to the procedure.
Preparation for surgery
Once you have a date for your procedure, you will be sent an appointment to attend the pre-assessment clinic. A nurse and anaesthetist will check you are well enough to have surgery. You will be advised at your pre-operative assessment:
- When to stop eating and drinking before your operation.
- What medicines to take/not take on the day of the procedure.
On the day
The procedure is a day case and most people will go home that evening. Someone over the age of 18 years old will need to stay with you overnight as you will be having a general anaesthetic and may feel very sick.
After the procedure you will feel a little groggy but this will soon wear off.
You might feel quite thirsty and like your mouth is dry, but it is important not to drink quickly and gulp. This will make you be sick and might cause pain. Start with drinking some water from a tea spoon. Sip the fluid one spoon at a time and stop if you feel any pain. Slowly increase the amount of fluid that you are able to take.
If you get thirsty at home, make sure you keep sipping little and often and try sucking an ice lolly or ice cube.
When you go home
After having the intragastric balloon inserted you may feel extreme nausea for up to 72 hours. It’s very important to take the following medication which will be given to you before leaving hospital:
- Proton Pump Inhibitor (protects your stomach):
- Lansoprazole.
- Anti-sickness medication:
- Cyclizine.
- Ondansetron.
- Prochlorperazine Buccal.
You will need to buy over the counter chewable A-Z multivitamins and take them twice a day. This will help you get enough vitamins while you are eating and drinking less.
Eating guidelines
Once you have the balloon it is important to eat slowly and keep hydrated. Aim to drink 200mls an hour and avoid drinking 20 minutes either side of eating. Have a sip of water 30 minutes after eating to ‘rinse’ the balloon.
Remember, sip drinks slowly. You might find it helpful to carry a sports bottle around with you. Sips little and often are important to make sure that you stay well hydrated.
You need to follow a liquid and soft diet for the first 2 weeks after the balloon has been inserted. Then you can gradually move towards normal diet.
Days 1-7: runny fluids
- Water.
- Low calorie fruit squash.
- Weak tea or coffee.
- Clear soup or broth.
- Sugar-free jelly.
- Low fat/low sugar yoghurt drinks.
- Skimmed milk.
- Flavoured sugar-free water.
Day 8-10: thick fluids
Try introducing thicker fluids such as:
- Smooth soups such as tomato.
- Yoghurt drinks.
- Sloppy Ready Brek or Weetabix.
- Fruit and yoghurt smoothies.
- Milkshakes.
Day 11-14: soft food
Aim to gradually introduce soft textured food that can be mashed with the back of your fork. You will need to do this slowly. If you feel uncomfortable when you eat, take a break, wait, and then try another mouthful.
Here are some examples:
- Cottage cheese.
- Scrambled eggs.
- Porridge.
- Canned tuna with light mayonnaise.
- Lasagna.
- Bolognese sauce.
- Home made soups.
Day 15: solid food
Start introducing a diet of normal texture food, high in protein with the aim of a healthy balanced eating.
You will not feel like eating as much as before and if you eat fatty foods or sweets, you may feel nauseated.
Aim for 3 small meals a day with 2-3 high protein snacks if you can. Limit or avoid bread, pasta, and rice as these can stick to the balloon and cause bad breath and increase risk of nausea and heartburn.
A helpful technique to use is called ‘20, 20, 20 rule’. This involves:
- Cutting your food to the size of a 20 pence piece.
- Chewing 20 times before swallowing.
- Leaving 20 minutes between bites.
An extra ‘20’ is to stop eating after 20 minutes to give you time to recognise how full you are feeling. You can always add a little more, but you want to avoid feeling overfull or being sick.
Regular overeating, to the point where you feel sick, can be dangerous with a balloon in place. If you are struggling to manage your eating, please reach out for support.
Drinking alcohol in moderation will not affect your balloon but the extra calories will not help your weight loss.
Possible problems
- Vomiting – if you vomit, stop eating for at least 2 hours then drink a small amount of water and proceed with soft foods again when you can. Aim to get back to solid foods. If the vomiting continues, or you are unable to drink fluids, contact your GP or go to A&E. Some people will need the balloon to be removed in the first few weeks because of severe nausea.
- Reflux – avoid eating late at night and wait at least 2 hours after eating before going to bed. The balloon tends to move up when you lie down and could cause reflux. If you have reflux in the evening avoid coffee, tea, and alcohol. Raise your bed at the head end and avoid certain foods which may make these symptoms worse.
- Smelly breath – this can be caused by food becoming trapped around the balloon. Try to drink water 30 minutes after eating to help clear the balloon.
The balloon can work as a tool to help you feel fuller for longer and reduce your overall food intake. If you are not noticing any difference in your hunger or fullness please contact the team for support.
The balloon will not necessarily take away the feeling of ‘head hunger’ or emotion-based urges to eat. These can be difficult to manage, please reach out to the team for support if you are struggling to manage these.
If you feel a craving coming on, you may find it helpful to focus on why you decided to start this journey and to have the balloon.
Think back to what has helped manage urges in the past, common techniques include:
- Identify the feeling: Is this a physical hunger? In which case, have a high-protein snack or meal. Is this a head hunger? Try the below:
- Urge surfing: notice the feeling, rate the craving from 1-10, wait 20 minutes (distract yourself) then rate the feeling once again – usually it will have significantly reduced if not disappeared.
- Distraction: arts and crafts, music, game on your phone, go for a walk, call a friend, taking yourself away from the kitchen/shops can be helpful.
- Create an emotional toolbox: when I feel x (emotion) I will do x/y/z (action).
- Plan your next meal/snack: sometime cravings happen when you are unsure where your next food is coming through – planning can help manage this.
Any questions or concerns please contact:
Bariatric Coordinator:
Bariatric Clinical Nurse Specialist:
© North Bristol NHS Trust. This edition published March 2025. Review due March 2028. NBT003663
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