VSGAnn2014

This is a hotly, hotly debated issue. Recommendations from surgeons and counselors are all over the place on this one and range from: (1) avoid all alcohol post-op forever (complete abstinence) to (2) avoid drinking for [3-6-12-18] months post-op (time varies greatly, depending on the surgeon) to (3) educate yourself about the dangers of transfer addictions, the potential for ulcers, how alcohol could (?) reduce nutrient absorption, and (because of faster absorption of ethanol) expose you to dangers from dis-inhibition, accidents, and even alcoholic poisoning. My own experience with alcohol was that I didn't waste empty calories on any alcohol until after 6 months post-op. At that point, my surgeon's practice recommended I raise my average daily calories to 1,200 and I felt I could "afford" an extra 100 cals/day on a glass of wine. I've 19.5 months post-op now, have lost 100 pounds and am maintaining easily at 135 pounds. I am a "social drinker" -- defined (for women) as having no more than 1.5 ounces of spirits or 5 ounces of wine per day and no more than seven drinks a week. It's working for me, at least so far. I do keep an eye on it, though, and would be willing to change what I'm doing (drink less or not at all) if alcohol were to cause me any problems. If you feel like your need / desire to drink is growing, you may want to take a step back and consider (with or without the help of a therapist) what's going on and whether you're developing a pattern you don't want to continue. You would know that better than anyone else.

@@Cowgirl Jane ... I like to think I'm doing #3, mindful moderation And I really am, pretty much. That's a great mode for me to learn more about weight maintenance -- and we all know that maintenance is the greatest challenge of WLS. However, I suspect there will be times in the coming years when I switch back and forth among all of these models. (FTR, I'm a relative newbie -- only 19.5 months out and still in the early, easy days of maintenance.) For instance, over the 2015-16 holidays hubby and I went on a long, luscious cruise, and I definitely was doing the "no diet, portion control" approach. Happily, I didn't gain an ounce in 3 weeks. But I sure don't trust myself to go that route long-term. At least not now. Obviously, when I was still losing weight a lot of things were on my abstinence list, but that's not the topic of this thread. I still abstain from soda, beer and a few other things. Six to eight weeks ago I realized it was "Danger, Will Robinson!" time with respect to dark chocolate with sea salt, so I abstained from that until it released me from its claws. If I were to regain 10 or more pounds, I would definitely go into major abstinence mode and abstain from a lot of foods until I lost the regain. But I suppose that's just another way of being mindful and recalibrating appropriately. The changes that would drive me much farther into the abstinence camp would be if my metabolism lowered or my activity level declined and I couldn't maintain my weight eating as much as I do right now (1,800 calories/day) or if I lost my ability to control my portions of "treats." But for now, mindful moderation is working well for me. EDIT: P.S. I'm a pretty consistent menu planner and tracker using My Fitness Pal.

Aaahhh ... thought you meant closer to 1,200/day. Never mind.

I'm still pretty much a "straight and narrow" kind of WLS patient (am only 19.5 months post-op). But several months ago, over a period of several months, I did let my deep affection for dark chocolate with sea salt gradually get the better of me. My portion progressed slowly from 1 square after dinner to 6 squares. Erk! I had to go cold turkey on chocolate for about 6 weeks. Now I don't crave it anymore. I do eat a square every once in a while, but not every day. I figure that won't be the last time dark chocolate tries to make me her bitch. I figure this is real life now -- eat what's healthy, don't get over-hungry, stay hydrated, be mindful and observe what's happening and adjust as needed. BTW, I once said that I thought it ought to be "required" of all WLS patients after they reached goal to regain 10 pounds and then successfully re-lose it. I still think that's not a bad idea -- re-losing skills seem consonant with and necessary for weight maintenance.

Welcome. Just saw your thread. I'm 19.5 months post-op. Have lost 100 pounds and maintaining at 135 pounds for a long time now. This sleeve thing is just amazing. Follow your surgeon's instructions. Know WHY you want to get healthy and lose weight. Commit yourself to changing your lifestyle for the rest of your life. You'll do just fine.

Weeeelll ... if you're eating 100 grams of Protein, that's only 400 calories. What else are you eating right now (only a few months post-op) that adds up to the other 800 calories? I do realize that protein doesn't come in protein-only packages: chicken contains protein and fat; dairy products contain protein, carbs and fat, etc. But are you eating breads, potatoes, rice now? If so, I would so not be eating that stuff. FYI, I ate about 800 cals/day for the first 4 months, then 1,000 cals the next 2 months, then raised it to 1,200 cals for Months 7 and 8. I just don't think I could've eaten 1,200 calories two months post-op.

I can't say why your husband is acting like an a**. Mine didn't act like that. Sorry. But don't just sit there and sulk. Communicate. Clearly.

I like your approach, @@Cape Crooner . It's not mine, but it seems quite sensible. And more importantly, it's working for you.

Fascinating meta-analysis, @@OKCPirate . Thank you.

You are awesome to ask this question. I agree with all advice proffered above. But with this caveat: This is HIS journey. So "helpful advice and support" has to take this into account. As my shrink so often suggests to me about how I should support my husband in his fight to conquer his own health challenges (btw, those don't include WLS): "When you're on the [HUBBY'S NAME] bus, sit down and let him drive." BTW, my hubby was my main man during my WLS recovery and still is there for me. Mostly, he offers compliments and listens to my incessant yapping about all things WLS without telling me to STFU. And given how much I talk about WLS, that takes a lot of patience.

So ... why do you think your sisters wasted their own WLS opportunities? What did they do that made them not lose weight and/or regain their weight?

Congrats to you, @@AvaFern . I know how happy you are and enjoy your company here. I'm coming up on my annual maintenance-versary in mid-April. My feelings of normalcy are similar to yours. I never thought I would be here -- normal-sized and not sweating it ... well, not very much.

All the above horrific stories of how inconsistently many patients' qualifications for WLS are considered by PCPs and GPs illustrate how antiquated the treatment of obesity still is. In @@BCs 1000 case, she presented the identical weight and weight-loss history and actual facts to two different GPs and got two radically different levels of support -- one failed to support her at all (and also seemed incompetent to observe information and analyze it) while the other GP, after being lobbied heavily by an RN, offered the support the patient needed and deserved all along. This situation doesn't describe a scientifically-based medical practice at all. I look forward to the improvements "big data" can and will make to medical decision trees. Medicine is still such a hit-or-miss affair and dependent on doctors' personal opinions that are shockingly ungrounded in actual medical science.

Lovely piece. Several years ago I was engaged in some pretty terrible conflict within my "family of origin" as the phrase goes. In other words, my stupid f*ck**g siblings were all acting like total assholes to me. I won't go into details. But the situation was so terrible that it precipitated a brilliant epiphany for me: "No matter how badly everyone is behaving, they're all doing the very best they can right now. In the future, they may be able to do better." I have no idea how this bit of brilliance occurred to me. But it truly gave me tremendous peace and eliminated my compulsion to try to fix them or their opinions or their behaviors or anything about them. And obviously, this same epiphany applies to me and my own very entertaining and obviously superior versions of insanity. I'm probably doing the very best I can right now. In the future, I may be able to do better. It also seems to be true.

Well, Probiotics isn't about "a pill" -- because different brands have greatly varying numbers of cultures in them. I've taken probiotic pills that have 1 billion cultures, and some that have 30 billion cultures. I currently take the one I listed in my earlier post. It's a single capsule, and I take it with Breakfast most days. I'm betting others here know more about probiotics than I do ... maybe someone else will pipe up here. And, as always, Google will be your friend ... or confuse you.

I'm 19.5 months post-op, and I can and do eat everything. Just not all at the same time. But to use words like "everything" and "normal" and "regular person" would probably give the wrong impression. Viewed more realistically, I eat NOTHING like I used to eat! For one thing, I am completely aware of what I'm planning to eat and what I eat. I eat more nutritious foods, fewer empty calorie foods, and a lot less food. Successful maintenance, which I've been doing for nearly a year, is dependent on my understanding the macronutrients of what I'm about to buy, cook, put on my plate, and put in my mouth. Happily, I don't have a grazing problem, even at night. I eat 3 meals a day and 2-3 Snacks, which keeps my motor humming. I do have treats, but I know in the morning what they're going to be and when I'm going to eat them. Every day I thank the gods, the angels, the fairy godmothers, my surgeon, my PCP, and whoever the dude or dudette was who thunk up this sleeve thang for giving me a chance to get this obesity monster off my back. Finally, this is a fair fight! And I'm beating obesity's ass. *happydance*

Some folks swear by Benefiber. Others (including me -- if I can remember that long ago) have found Miralax helpful. There's always plain old stool softeners. Finally, I swear that the supplement that helped me the most was a really good probiotic. I like Spring Valley (10 billion active cultures), which is available at Walmart.

You could always have a glass of wine. (Just trying to make you smile a little.)

@@getch888 ... I like the cut of your jib. Go for it.

There's a "governing body of WLS"? A governing body? Really? You do realize, don't you, that bariatric surgeons don't even agree about whether a sleeve stretches post-op. This business about "alcohol is a toxin" is such a broad-brush assertion -- since toxicity of a substance (including drugs) is dependent on dosage.

What @@FrankiesGirl said. Yes, some people regain some weight 2-3-4 years down the road. But it ain't because their sleeve has stretched.

Good on you! Glad it's going so well.

Love that! All of it.

Wishing you both have a great recovery from thyroid cancer. So good to hear from others who've been there that the recovery great is high and (compared to other cancers) relatively easy.

What pisses me off is not so much the size of the patient -- some folks really do get that big. It's the bizarre co-dependent enabler relationships that make recovery so very, very hard that I resent being showcased as typical of WLS patients' situations. Ugh.