HezTri-s

Hi all, I am recently becoming aware of the affect that wheat products have on my GI system. I notice bloating, excess gas, and general swelling to my abdomen. I am suspecting I may have a gluten allergy but do not have an official diagnosis. I searched the forums here but did not see a thread specifically devoted to this topic. If there is one and I haven't found it, please point me that way. Otherwise, if you have a band AND have or suspect you have a Gluten Sensitivity; post here and let me know your story!

Great! I am not sure how much support I can provide as I am sort of a novice on this topic, but I am thinking that there might be others out there as well. Before being banded, I suspected I either had a sensitivity or allergy. When I brought it up with my doctor she seemed incredulous that someone could have a food allergy AND be overweight. Her model in her head was that you had to be malnourished if you were intolerant of gluten. She said that I must be eating too much broccoli which was causing gas and bloating. I then gave up on the idea and went back to eating regular foods again. Now that I have lost half of my goal weight, all of my excesses are in my abdomen. I notice that if I abstain from Gluten for awhile my stomach size goes down. I'm going to give GF another try now that I am banded, and see if it helps me break through my current plateau.

Ok, folks, this is a very strange request. I found out I have been accepted to start Med School in August. The school is a Caribbean med school and I will be living on an Island for periods of 4 months at a time. Students who are down there say that food is expensive on the island and so they often have friends / family ship food down to them. My question is, if I were to do this, what might be some light weight, non perishable, band friendly foods? I am thinking to college days when Ramen Noodles were the craze. Obviously Ramen will not be band friendly. What might be some ramen-type foods that I could ship? Has anyone gone on a mission trip or cruise and could recommend something like this? What do people who pack lunches bring?

Thanks all! I am also sort of worried about the possibility of getting "stuck" while down there. I am assuming there are no band docs on the island. I haven't gotten permanently stuck *knock on wood* so far, but it seems to happen to most everyone at some point. I will have to talk about this with my doc, and come up with a contingency plan. In a worst case scenario, I would have to get a flight off the island and then back to INDY? at the cost of 2k dollars. That would be an expensive meal...

Thanks! Med school has always been a dream of mine. I started the application process prior to getting the band, but I think that getting it has helped me increase my confidence. Also, it will be easier to go through the stress of all of it without an extra 80 lbs stuck to my body! I have considered doing bariatric medicine, but I really do not want to go through the general surgery residency.

Since writing this, I have come up with: Muscle Milk Light protein powder, oatmeal packets, grits packets, dried pinto beans, cereal?, powdered milk. I can prob get fruit cheap on the island because they grow some there. Bananas are supposed to be cheap.

Hi All, I haven't been tracking my food intake for several months and decided to do so again by using the same site I had been using before, which is the lap band allergan website. This site can be found at this link, https://www.lapband.com/en/mylapband/dashboard/ I went to the food tracker portion but was unable to log a new food. When I type in the name of the food it now has this handy search thing where it automatically searches the database for a food of the same name. When the food I was entering in did not come up, it asks for the units. I tried typing in 10 and then selecting unit (oz). The drop down for units was not functional and so I was unable to add a new food. Can anyone else who uses this site direct me to the best way to add a new food ?

HI All! I'm at about halfway to my goal. I went back to the doc for my 6 month appointment yesterday and as I expected I had gained a little (2lbs) and got my third fill. I am up to 2 CCs now. After a day of being on only liquids I feel really tired. Is this a common feeling? I've had the runs all day today too. I am thinking that is due to my lack of substantial food. I know it is only temporary, but I want to be more active and all I want to do is sleep. Anyway, just wondered if anyone else had this problem.

Hi All, I haven't posted on here in quite some time, mostly because I have had smooth sailing for the past couple of months. I have been loosing weight steadily at my last two doc appointments and haven't gotten a fill. However, the past few days things have been different. I noticed this morning that my eyes have big dark circles even up to my nose. This is unusual for me. I have been feeling tired and fatigued as well. Eating dinner with some friends tonight I felt like I couldn't even follow the conversation. I sort of felt like I was in between two worlds. I have been more tired than usual. I typically wake up at 7 or 8 on a Sunday and today my husband woke me up at 10. This is not typical behaviour for me. More troubling, I got on the scale and had gained 3 lbs. Outside of band stuff, I am in the process of moving, and am packing and lifting a lot of stuff. Packing today I would have to work for an hour or so and then lie down, and repeat. Does anyone out there in the community have any insight on what this could be?

I was banded on October 26, and haven't done any great amount of exercise since then but have lost 30 lbs! Yeah! Anyway on Jan. 1 I registered for the Flying Pig Marathon and have been trying to train for this event. I will preface this with I am eating about 1000 to 1200 calories per day. After running about 2 miles, or 30 minutes I just seem to run out of fuel. Fellow runners will know this as hitting the wall. Can any other banded runners out there let me know what their fueling strategy is for longer runs? I am following a Hal Higdon plan which calls for 6 mile plus run long runs at this phase in training. I will also say that prior to the 30 lb weight loss, I could only run for a minute or two before having to stop to walk. Now I can run a half a mile or so before a brief walk break and then back on. Clearly my body must be adjusting to the weight loss but I also want to be able to follow this training plan in order to be prepared for 26.2 miles in May!!!!! PS any others out there registered for the PIG? PPS I don't want to ruin my weight loss by eating too many calories before running either. I'm not sure what the balancing game should be with respect to calorie balance and fueling for running.

I was banded on October 28, 2010 and I recently told my husband that I had slipped up and eaten a Suzie-Q and some Chex Mix. When I told him this it was more of a, "Hey, I slipped up, but I'm now going back on the wagon." Since then, he has been watching what I am eating or preparing to eat and make comments like, "you're not going to eat all of that are you? " I have read on some other people's posts that they have problem with spouses and this need to control. Can you give some advice on the best way to tell your partner to buzz off while not sounding snotty/crabby? I know that he does have other controlling tenancies so this is just another manifestation of this, however I would like to see how some other people have dealt with this. PS my weight has been steadily decreasing, more slowly since transitioning to more solid foods. I have not eaten any of these 'bad' foods since. I don't want to have to keep watching over my shoulder or feel like I have to sneak away to eat. I had a fill last Monday. I also want to be able to feel like I can tell him when I have mistakes to have someone to confide in, but it seems like he might not be a safe venue for this.

Hi all, Thanks for the great advice. I did walk prior to my surgery, and was walking a mini marathon each year. I would like to think that some of that conditioning would stay with me post surgery. Clearly, walking is not the same as running. First, I tried to make sure to breathe deeply while running and that did help. I remembered when I swim that if I feel out of breath, it is usually because I am not breathing OUT enough rather than not breathing IN. I also got some of those small bottles of the Gatorade Perform. They are 80 calories and have electrolytes like sodium and potassium. While I was sipping on these, I was able to complete a 3 mile run. I saw it as "investing" 80 calories to get a 350 calorie return. I'm not sure if that is flawed logic or not. My scale is still going in the downward direction. I did read where it said that I should be able to run 3 miles comfortably. I chose *not* to pay attention to that. I am reading the book "Ultimate Training Guide". I do have a Jeff Galloway 5-k 10-k training book. Maybe I should look up a JG marathon plan. I have been able to run 3 the past two days and have run about 75% of it. That's great progress for me! L12 - Congrats on your MINI!

Started my first workout today. Has anyone started a lap band specific EASA 2 workout group? If not, I might start one where we could share workouts online.

HI, I'm very new in the lap band process so I'm not even close to deciding whether or not I need a Tummy Tuck. But, I was curious of those who have had one. How many more inches do you typically loose from your waist? Is it a significant amount or is it more just removing the skin?

I have used a Tanita Ironman scale since late 2006. It recently stopped functioning, and I went to wal mart and bought a 25 dollar Weight Watchers scale. I have had the same - down to the .1 of a lb- for the past week. Now, I could see if I was staying about the same, but I would expect to see some fluctuation, either plus or minus a tenth or something, but I have seen no movement. It seems that I need to buy yet another scale. Can anyone out there recommend a scale that they find useful?

That's a good idea using the wii fit. Automatic recording. Do you find it to be accurate? I guess so, otherwise you wouldn't be using it for that purpose. Regarding the WW scale, I did an experiment, put on jeans, tennis shoes, heavy sweater, hopped on and same number. Then, took it all off, and same number. Then I got a 20# weight and put on it and it measured 19.7, then stood on there with the weight and it gave me about 15 more lbs than what it was giving me previously. I might take it back to wally world, but I don't think I have the receipt any more!!! Thanks for the input!

Before I was banded about a month and a half ago... I was indifferent to fish, would take it or leave it. (preferred fried though (of course)) Now, it is just about the only type of Protein that I want. Several days I have woken up and put fish fillets in the oven for Breakfast. Clearly, fish is a healthy protein source. I have also heard of others having changing food likes. Is there anyone else out there with this newly found love for our finned friends?

Thanks! I'll look into those.

Hello, I was banded in Indianapolis, and it seems that I might be moving back to the Lexington area. Is anyone located in that area, and if so, can you recommend a good doctor? -Heather

Thanks all for the replies. He hasn't made any comments since I posted this originally. I think if he makes any other comments I will try to talk with him.

I was banded on 10-28-10 and have lost 21 lbs total. I am very thankful for this weight loss.

I have asked for it for Christmas. I really liked the EASA #1!!

I made egg drop Soup at this point: recipe is on this website but here is a summary Low sodium veg broth warm up to almost boiling drop in egg white while stirring, don't let the yolk get in there add garlic powder, onion powder, and / or ginger powder to taste lots of Protein and still liquid!

try muscle milk light 100 cals

According to the info given my my Dr. Office, it should be .5 to 2 oz of liquids every 30-40 minutes. Some people tolerate more or less. Did your Dr. Office give you instructions regarding this?