I’m getting close to 8 months post op, and I’m not at maintenance yet but getting closer. I drink on occasion, maybe once every few weeks. I’ll have a glass of wine, or part of a beer. I was never a big drinker pre op but I feel like 5 ounces of wine every 2 weeks isn’t going to derail my efforts much.
I have to admit I am I am very cautious about drinking too much because of my family history. My parents were one or two glass a night drinkers into their 50s/60s and then after they retired it spiraled out of control. They ended up becoming alcoholics and my mother had multiple strokes as a result of this. She is now wheelchair bound and cannot bathe herself, remember how to eat, etc. My dad has dementia in addition but it’s hard to tell what was caused by the drinking and what is caused by the natural cognitive decline. Their entire life is defined by when they can have their next drink, and they have lost all interest in living outside of it. They will likely die soon, and the last decade of their life has been a miserable existence, for them and honestly for me and my siblings as well.
I’m not going to advocate teetotal lifestyle because that is not how I live my life. I just want to entreaty people to please be very careful, especially if you already know you have an addictive personality. I’ve witnessed firsthand smart, caring, highly educated people destroy their lives and relationships with this. My parents will still some days deny that they are alcoholics, as I have to search their house from top to bottom looking for hidden stashes of vodka in water bottles. This isn’t how you want to live your life, trust me.