Stacey H

I haven't been tested for anything yet.. I let my program coordinator/nurse know what I think about the egg allergy, and she asked a few questions (probably trying to determine band complications or not) but didn't seem concerned. She just told me to stay away from eggs if they're causing me problems, because food allergies can be developed anytime. The gluten intolerance theory is now the top of my list, because now that I've stopped eating eggs I'm feeling better (and lost 3 lbs.. plateau busted?), but had all of my symptoms again last night after eating things like oatmeal during the day. It's just getting frustrating to not know what is making me sick.. and especially frustrating to get my band to agree with me eating it (i.e. not getting stuck) only to be in incredible pain later that lasts for hours. On a brighter note, I have a go-to food blog that has a gluten-free category with a lot of recipes that look really good, in case anyone is looking for some new ideas. http://www.skinnytaste.com/search/label/Gluten%20Free

Wow.. thanks for updating! I had this problem again the last 3 days straight, and I was pleasantly surprised to see everyone's replies that I was never notified about! Well.. I thought maybe it was an egg allergy, and didn't eat any eggs the last two days. Yesterday I was feeling great. Today I had oatmeal for Breakfast and a cheese quesadilla for lunch, and I'm feeling awful with a persistent migraine and all the tummy troubles. I'm brainstorming the idea of gluten intolerance now, but I'm definitely keeping gallstones in the back of my head. I'm choosing not to believe it though, because I don't have the time, patience, or money to go back into surgery! Getting frustrated.. but very thankful that it isn't a band complication. Good luck to you and your recovery!

This pain has happened to me a handful of times since surgery.. it's a pretty severe "dull" pain that feels like it covers my entire abdomen region. The first time it happened was after my first stuck episode, and I told my surgeon about it but he didn't seem concerned, even though he said that it seemed strange to be so spread out. It's tough to explain, as it isn't really a cramping feeling and doesn't come and go. The only thing that seems to help is laying on my side and wrapping my arms around my belly to hold it in. Yesterday it started around the evening-time, and by the time I laid down to go to sleep it was almost enough to make me cry. I woke up this morning and the pain is still here, though it's about half as bad. For the record, I ate chili for lunch and dinner yesterday, and didn't get stuck, however when I took my vitamins before bed I had another bite of chili to get that awful taste out of my mouth, and that did get stuck. Haven't had anything yet this morning. I'm a bit of a worry-wart and I'm FREAKING OUT that this could be a complication with my band. In two weeks I'll have had it for a year. Has anyone experienced anything like this? I'll go to the surgeon or the hospital if absolutely necessary, but I'm leaving town for two months and it'll be a pain in the butt. Any advice/shared stories will be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

I know this post was awhile ago, so I imagine you've tried going gluten free since your last reply. How did it go for you? I've been having a nice list of symptoms that I originally thought may have been anything from gallstones to egg allergies, and now I'm brainstorming the idea of gluten intolerance. A quick google search said not to try going GF without a diagnosis, but I'm sick of having these symptoms and I'm willing to try anything.

Hi! I'll try to help ~ Pill sizes: I don't take anything aside from the occasional swig of liquid tylenol, but my program coordinator has said as long as it's small enough to go through the pouch, there shouldn't be a problem. Seeing as that's the size of a dime, I think zoloft should be fine ~ Soda: I've tried soda twice now since surgery a year ago, and I had no problem with it. I was told horror stories about it exploding in the pouch similar to a baking soda-volcano-science-project, but no problems for me. I just don't miss soda, so I don't tend to drink it. But a swallow every now and then shouldn't be too much of a problem. ~ Surgeon's experience: Heck, I have no idea. When I had my band put in my surgeon had only completed around 25 surgeries. Sorry, I'm no help here ~ This is a mystery to me, too. I think I remember hearing that sugar can irritate the pouch, or some other body part. I think it's all a ruse to get us to go cold-turkey against our sugar/carb/whatever addictions ~ Drinkable yogurt: hmmm. Again, I'm no help. Do you mean to drink it after surgery during the liquids phase? I don't really have yogurt that much, so I'm not sure ~ Insurance: Again, I've got nothing to help. I have Tricare, and with the first letter sent they basically ushered me into the surgery. I didn't have to do anything.. but I think my beginning BMI was 42. Well, looks like my "help" really wasn't helpful at all. Sorry!

Hey everyone! I hope all is well in the lap-band world. I have a quick question, and after searching the forum I figured I'd just ask. I've heard of bandsters sprinkling unflavored protein powder on their food, like eggs in the morning, soups, etc. I was just curious what brand would be best for this? I haven't even seen any of the unflavored powders, but I haven't really been searching either. In another thread, somebody said the GNC brand was decent, but other than that, I'm clueless. Thanks!

I wanted to update my situation because it might help some of you guys as well. I went to see my program coordinator and we figured out that I'm protein deficient. I was getting around 55g a day and I need to aim for 95 to get things back on track. She said that many people don't ask for help when this happens, but that with me we caught it in time before anything serious would happen. Hope that helps a bit.

I'm glad I found this thread.. I've been crying all morning about this! For the last week or two my hair has been falling out like crazy, by handfuls. I'm afraid to brush it because it fills up the brush in one round, and I've been wearing it up because it seems to come out less than when it's down. My hair is like my 'thing'... and I don't mean to sound prissy about that. It's just that I've always taken good care of it, and that's what people seem to notice about me. I'm really upset that it's falling out so rapidly.. I'm 3-4 months post surgery and I don't really see the point in being skinny and bald! Gah.. I'm going to ask my program coordinator about these options and see if she has any other ideas. Thanks for letting me vent on your thread :x

The first reply to your thread was amazing.. I've been having the same problem and I haven't been sure how to address it. At my heaviest, I was probably 300 pounds at 5'8. I never got on the scale after I saw the 290s though, so there's no way to be sure. Looking at pictures is shocking because I always felt like I was just overweight.. not the "morbidly obese" tag they stuck on me. Today I am 234 and the only time I even see a small difference from 300 is when I wear a girdle I bought from walmart... Even my program coordinator said, "Oh look at your waistline!" haha. Not so much without the girdle . So it's super difficult to see what other people see.. I told my mom that even though I'm down about 50 lbs, I feel like people I haven't seen in awhile are just like, "Did you get a haircut?" haha. It's nice to see the pant size going from a 24/26 to a 16/18, but I think body dysmorphia is definitely a contender in all this. The only thing that really helps me, other than monthly pictures.. which are super embarrassing.. is my measurements. I bought some cute ribbon and each month when I tally up my total lost inches, I cut that off the ribbon spool and keep it somewhere I'll see it, like right now it's tied around my rear view mirror in the car. My biggest motivation would my mybodygallery.com ... it's amazing to see the differences in the women that are my height and weight, to the ones that are my goal weight. Whenever I feel really down about my weight loss I click around on there for awhile and it helps a little. The biggest help is the guys that pay attention to me now though, that wouldn't have looked twice 50 lbs ago. Definitely an ego booster! Okay, off for my fill in a little bit.. Good luck to all of you, and congratulations on at least taking the first step, plus any weight loss you've achieved!

Ah! I can help with this! Haha. I'm also 5'8, and I started my journey at 283. You will absolutely be approved with Tricare South.. it took them just over two weeks to approve me. All I did was visit my general practitioner and speak with him about it, then he sent me to a consultation with the surgeon in my area. After talking to the surgeon, the secretaries in his office took care of everything for me. I got the surgery about a month & a half after I visited my general practitioner for the first time. I didn't have any comorbidities either, but my surgeon still had me do a sleep apnea study and a few other things just to be sure. And I'd say Standard is better... with Prime, you have a copay with the office visits, but I've got Standard (free visits!) and all the ladies in my surgeon's office agree that Standard is the better option. I think I've answered all the questions you've asked.. if not, I'll be happy to answer anything else I can! Good luck!!

Hey everyone.. I hope all of your journeys are going just as well as mine is! I just have a question about what in the heck I'm supposed to order tomorrow night. I'm going to an Indian restaurant, and I've never eaten Indian cuisine before.. the guy I'm going with doesn't seem to understand that breads, rice, fried, and spicy things will make me sick. Instead of having him order something for me, I'd like to go in with an idea of a band-friendly meal I could order. Any ideas? Thanks so much in advance!

Thanks so much! I'm feeling much more confident now, haha.. I was worried my date would go off and order me some goat or something, and I have no idea how that would sit. I'll remember tandoori chicken. You don't have any problem with rice? I've been afraid to try Pasta and rice, but I haven't noticed any issues with pita or flatbread. Strange how different it is for every bandster. Thanks again for your suggestions, as well as everyone else who helped answer!

Hey everyone I had surgery on 7/6, so I'm about 1.5 months post-op. I've had one fill so far, with a total of maybe 3cc's in my band. I'm just feeling really guilty about how much I've been eating at each meal. I was fine with small meals until after my first fill. If I go out to eat, I put half away in a box first, don't drink with meals.. follow all those rules. But I still feel like I'm eating way too much for having a band with a fill. I eat maybe 1/2 to 1/3 of what I used to, pre-op, but I look at the serving sizes for lapband recipes and the 1/2 cup, 1/4 cup sizes just make me laugh. I'm worried that I've stretched my pouch or something. I'm still having the 2 lb/week loss, and I haven't started exercising regularly yet. Maybe I'm being paranoid about it but I'm just wondering how much others were eating at this time in their journeys. To give a concrete example, I ate an entire medium-sized plate full of salad yesterday at lunch. And for dinner I had about 1.5 enchiladas. (it was really just one, but the tortillas were pretty big.) Gah.. I'm just not sure what to do here. Start eating only 1/4 cup servings? Talk to my surgeon? Idk.

Hmm.. I agree with the person above. It just feels like pressure to me. It's the feeling of hunger that really gets me. I only get hunger pangs like from pre-surgery when I'm thirsty, so at least I know when to drink. But if I go more than 5 hours without eating, my entire stomach starts cramping and is pretty sensitive to the touch. I'd rate it a pain scale of maybe 5/10, and the only thing I've found that can get rid of the pain quickly at that point is to drink a protein shake. I guess my best advice would be that once you're on normal food, get your body on a schedule Try to eat at the same times every day, because I didn't do that and I've had that hunger pain more times than I'd like to count. Haha.

Hey I hope you decide to get lapband! Once I made up my mind that I wanted it, there was no stopping me. I live off campus with my mom, which made things a lot easier for recovery, but as long as your roomie is a decent one, they should be able to help you. Just try and plan it around a break, or maybe even summer/winter when the semester is over. I took summer classes and still managed to have my surgery done in the 6 week break between then and fall So it's definitely possible. I'd say the hardest thing would probably be getting to classes if you have to walk, but that's only the first week or two after surgery. Now I'm 4 weeks post-op and I'm 100% back to normal. I'm here anytime if you have questions or anything!

Hey I was banded 7/6/11, and I'm 19 years old. I just now realized there was a teen part of the site :x But I'd be glad to share stories or just be able to talk to someone my age! Haha.

I think it's different for everybody, depending on how much weight you need to lose. But if you're really worried about it, call your surgeon and ask them if it's okay.

My program coordinator told me about Bariatric Advantage: VitaBand. I bought a bottle of 180 count "mixed berry" flavor... oh man, they are terrible. I'm about 1/3 through the bottle and not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! However, the Bariatric Advantage: Calcium Citrate Chewy Bites.. those are pretty darn good. I tried the caramel flavor, and it tastes almost like a starburst. I'm buying the lemon and chocolate flavors tonight. So yeah, any suggestions for somewhat tasty multivitamins?

LMAO. All your comments crack me up! The poor guy, I hope he's okay. I was just curious why he doesn't get a fill? If I'd gained back about 75 lbs I'd be calling up my surgeon reeeeal quick.

Haha, i just started the elliptical. First time I got on it, I did 1 minute and had to stop. Today I did 2 minutes straight and about fell over. I'm not feeling like I'll ever build up to a 30 minute interval, but who knows. I'll keep working at it.

Lol wow. I bought a Gold's Gym elliptical from my friend for $60, and the first time on it I did one minute and had to rest before doing another minute. Three days later I got on again and did 2 minutes straight and about died. I'm thinking the elliptical just isn't for me.. maybe we should look into buying a new treadmill or something.

I heard about these dvd's in my support group meeting.. I'll definitely have to buy one and give it a try, because just doing the treadmill is deathly boring for me.