I was just wondering is it safe to eat pasta or rice with the band? I was told if you eat rice and pasta then it will swell and stretch the band....I ate a little pasta for the first time in almost 6 months and I am really nervous..wonder is it going to stretch my stoma??? HELP any suggestions??

^{I have a very hard time with both. If I try to eat them they come back up, so I haven't eat either of them in a long time.}

People do seem to have issues with rice but I think that's cuz it's difficult to truly chew it. But as for swelling up.... I would think if it's properly cooked not much swelling can happen. Also each bite of food should move past the band in one minute. So if you eat- chewing fully and waiting between each bite, you shouldn't have issues. I've been banded for 7 months and have had stuck episodes but not on rice or pasta. Usually meat I didn't properly chew.

The band can't stretch, however the pouch above it can.

With that said, I've been banded for 18 months and I eat both Pasta and rice regularly. In fact, I had rice for dinner tonight.

Everyone is different. I can tolerate both. I can tell you that after my fourth fill, I have to be very careful to eat salads slowly, and to chew thoroughly. It is a learning curve that we all go through.

I tried rice and a small piece of pasta. I can eat them fine for the very small portion I consumed but I will not eat them again. I do fear that it might get stuck or my pouch might stretch or slip. It truly is up to you and your doctor.

I was just wondering is it safe to eat Pasta or rice with the band? I was told if you eat rice and pasta then it will swell and stretch the band....I ate a little pasta for the first time in almost 6 months and I am really nervous..wonder is it going to stretch my stoma??? HELP any suggestions??

It's not a question of being safe...it is a question of learning how to "Listen" to your band....based upon the band's adjustment....some people, especially those just starting out, have absolutely no problem with these items...

My band will not let me eat those things without difficulty, so I choose not to be bothered with the risk and avoid them all the time, along with other food items....

When you stop and think about it, the band is going restrict my intake, and let me each just so much, and very little of it...so why waste that small portion on Pasta? or Rice? What is the nutritional benefit?

Why would I blow my whole meal on a single slice of pizza?

Like I was taught from day one...start with the Protein first, and if the band allows you to eat more, then move on to the other things...but for me it is never pasta, rice, bread, etc....I make good food choices and eat very little of it....

some eat it and some dont as you can see

i personally have had no issues with eating whatsoever with anything...that being said, i just choose not to eat rice/pasta as they are not very filing to me and i prefer to eat my allotted amount of food on lean protein/veggies/fruit..but that is just me....(i was not ever a big pasta eater anyhow) but i sure did love to chow down on mexican rice and yellow saffron rice.....

I concentrate on protein, veggies' and some fruit .. I have eaten some pasta (very small amt.) and rice but haven't had any issues as far as the band is concerned.. like everything else.. it depends on you and how you tolerate it..

Me personally, I spent the first couple months not eating a single bit of bread or pasta or rice. Now I guess my taste buds have adapted and do not like the taste of them. I do enjoy quinoa and wild rice, but pastas and breads and white rice are just not tasty to me anymore! My wife will make them for herself and the kids, and I always take a bite just out of habit because my old self wants it. New self realizes upon the first bite that they aren't that tasty after all

Thanks you every one for the advice, it will be helpful and useful in my journey :wub:

Dry rice swells, cooked rice doesn't. On occassion I have trouble with rice, but at other times it's fine. Pasta if cooked aldente I have no problem with. In many meals I will replace pasta with spagetti squash- in anything that uses noodle paste. If is very good and easy to cook in the microwave.

The only time I'll eat rice is when I buy the stuffed pepper lunch special at our local restaurant. I take them home, and split them into several meals (one cup portions) and freeze them. I love stuffed peppers, so having them on is a treat.

I have not eaten pasta yet. However, I have eaten rice two or three times and I haven't had any problems. My problem is to make sure that I eat very small pieces of meat or I will have a stuck episode. Good luck.

I am not banded yet, tomorrow is my surgery date. However I do not eat white starches anymore, thus brown rice is the only one I eat and since it takes much longer to cook I rarely think that far ahead! However the diet I was given rice and pasta were on the list. My doctor just said to chew well and wait a minute between bites.

thank you everyone I am really glad for the responses, I haven't eaten any rice yet and if I tried it im sure it would be brown rice, I just had a lean cusine meal that had noodles in it, it was the first time I ate it, but it went down fine, I was just wondering on this journey there will be a lot of people saying different things about what you can and cant eat, that's why I always ask questions to see if any one has faced the same issues, but thanks a bunches guys.. :wub: