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I'm 16 months post-op, met goal of 180 at 1 year and 4 days post-op (October 2, 2017) and have been at 173 for several months now. I am incredibly particular about what I eat and drink, and, in my opinion, that has been the key to my success. I've worked my way up to around 1900-2000 calories per day, but I never go over 2000. I keep my carbs below 25 grams per day. I follow a keto way of eating. This is sustainable for me, and it's how I am going to live. I haven't had any sugar, bread, starch, etc. in almost 2 years. It's no thing now. Food is fuel to me, and nothing else. It's quite freeing, and provides for a much better quality of life for me. I'm treating carbs like an alcoholic treats booze. I feel like they are a slippery slope for me, so I eradicated them from my life, and I have no plan or desire to bring them back. Being this size, being healthy, and having a happy life is SO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT TO ME than any food or drink. I'm technically not a vet in the eyes of BP for another couple of months, but I have been doing this for a long time, been successful, and been on and off of these boards for 2 years. I've seen a lot, and lived a lot, and accepted a very long time ago that this journey is for the rest of my life. I'll be damned if I gain anything back after I permanently changed my body and put it through all of that trauma...

So I l l did they get you all fixed up? Pancreatitis is no fun, I've been there. No gall bladder, no abuse or even ingestion of alcohol, but I had it anyway. Sent from my VS880PP using BariatricPal mobile app

I have had pancreatitis myself, not a fun disease. I had my gallbladder removed in 1983, in the bad old days it was An open procedure. General surgeon walks in my room, announces We'll have to remove your gallbladder-haha,its been gone for 30+ years, then asks how long I've abused alcohol. Wrong Bozo, I don't drink. He further says But that's what usually causes it. Can you tell at at that point he is not,my favorite person? I had been laying there in a state of peace when he barreled in. Well Sherlock, I told him, you'd better,put, on your thinking cap cause you just struck out. They never did find out what caused my case so it went into the records as idiopathic, a fancy doctor word for Duhh I don't know what caused it either. You can get gallstones in your pancreatic duct as well as the biliary one.The two duct systems kinda go together and empty,their,products into the small intestine. My surgeon in 1983 said he put gallstones on a charm bracelet for his wife. Don't know how long they lasted before they disintergrated. Sent from my VS880PP using BariatricPal mobile app

Sleeved: October 17th 2017 I’ve heard gallbladder problems are common after gastric surgery and a lot of people get their gallbladder out when they get surgery. I’m in the hospital right now and I just found out I have gallstones! Then to further testing mild pancreatitis I’m assuming that was caused from the gallstones because I do not drink alcohol. I have never had problems pre or post op (until now) wondering if anyone else has had experience like this?

I can sympathize with you somewhat. I'm allergic to alcohol so it's like having a built-in two drink limit. I HATE parties and events where people go primarily to get smashed. I've skipped my best friend's birthday party most years because they're all centered around drinking. There is nothing worse than being the only sober person in the room so I find I'll go to some events like that and leave early before I'm surrounded by incoherent morons. As far as handling things when things are centered around food, I'll be OK since I can at least still carry a conversation while others are eating. I'm already the last one to finish eating, not because I eat too much, but because I like to talk during meals to make them last longer.

I was just thinking about this. I am celebrating a birthday and super bowl this weekend. No alcohol and no pigging out. I am getting through it by going to one of my safe resturants for my Birthday and cooking a healthy meal for tonight. For a cake I got the smallest carvel cake for my family to split.

I realize on nights like tonight, for the US people, its the superbowl. Centered around food and usually alcohol. I feel out of place in these situations. I am staying home tonight (smooth move tea and I are fighting! Bad day!) Even going to restaurants, parties, get togethers, even game night. They all center around food. I have been avoiding restaurants because in early January we went to Applebees, which was fine. They let me order off the kids menu (4 oz sirloin? $6 and came with salad!) I ended up being in pain the rest of the night. I had an ounce of steak, 2 forkfulls of salad. The issue, I drank water while eating. Holy moly! It is sheer habit. Does it get easier? How do I break those habits? SW 350 (11/15) BSW 260 (10/17/17) CW 216.1 (2/4/18) RGW 199 GW 175

If you're able to maintain that kind of starvation lifestyle for 2 or 3 years and beyond - kudos to you! I'm terrified of having to eat 1000-1200 cals a day while needing to exercise 4-5 days 45 min a day. Find a sustainable lifestyle early on. Like a really sustainable lifestyle. One that fits your needs and not that of somebody else or a lifestyle that blows to pieces the very moment "life hits you". I know a lot of users on here throw a fit the very moment there is talk about "moderation" - however, I think our whole life is about "moderation", not only this eating stuff. Or maybe I should rather use the word "regulation" instead? You need to learn how to regulate yourself, the amount you eat, drink, use alcohol or caffeine, have sex, exercise, express your emotions etc. Too little of these things and life might be miserable, too much of these things and life might be miserable, too.

I cannot drop coffee! I did drop wine/alcohol but I'm on my way to get coffee now. I just can't give that up right now. I am ordering my bariatric vitamins this week, along with something to keep my hair from falling out. I drink water all day every day....you sound really focused. Happy for you. I am hoping to get OFF of the CPAP, i hate that thing and I've been on it for over 5 years. Pleased to meet you!

I was sleeved on 1/3. I am 5’7, was 255 at surgery and I’m down to 226 in 4 weeks. I had a rough 2 week recovery, but feeling fine now. I had a slew of health problems for the last 8 years after gaining 90lbs very quickly. I am happy to say ALL traces of the edema I had are completely gone, I’m off lasix and all my blood pressure meds. I don’t have reflux anymore either. I have 4 more weeks on the mushies stage until I can eat regularly, but I don’t feel restricted on my food choices right now anyway except for anything seeded and raw veggies. I am only able to eat 2oz at a time, but I supplement with two protein shakes a day. I have a few expensive bags of bariatric advantage left that I can’t stand anymore, but I really like the muscle milk with the 32g of protein in it. I tried Isopure drinks 🤢. Still on the hunt for a protein source I can add to my water that isn’t whey and has a milky taste. I have the flu, so I haven’t been exercising but still able to drink and eat “normally” I had a craving for something sweet, and i found a bunch of keto recipes on Pinterest that were sugar free and low carb obviously, my favorite are no bake energy balls made with almond flour and peanut butter. Crystal light is my drink of choice. No alcohol yet, no desire which is weird because I used to drink often. Not in large quantities but often.

Many people will die without liver transplants. But there are conditions for getting a transplant. You have to remain alcohol free for a set period of time to qualify for a liver transplant to save your life. If you screw up and have drink...you don't get a transplant. And you die. And that's on you. YOU have responsibility in the process. Many people do elect to die. Just like weight loss surgery. You can elect to comply, or you can elect to die. It's up to you. To qualify, you have to be accountable and prove that you're serious about changing the behavior that contributed to the damage. Without behavior changes, weight loss surgery is not only a waste of resources, it also can cause more harm. Particularly, if a patient cannot get hold of their eating habits enough to keep themselves safe. Yes, you have to lose weight before surgery and prove you can break your addiction JUST EXACTLY like liver transplant patients must give up alcohol. Liver transplant patients get their blood alcohol tested....weight loss patients get weighed. If you screw it up, the next step is therapy, not surgery. If the fact that "you're going to die" without surgery is not enough to inspire you to comply with a few months of pre-surgical requirements....you will very likely get a referral to a psychologist to help you work on these issues first. Not being unkind, just telling you the truth.

Hi there. Just hitting on a few topics you mentioned: First, I'm jealous you don't have that waiting period. I used to have Anthem BC but the company switched to CIGNA in Jan '17, so now I'm stuck with the three month supervised diet. Next, as far as what to tell co-workers and clients without lying: Tell them you've had some health issues and you're now on a very strict medically-supervised diet. Even post-op, that's the absolute truth. If they inquire more just use the schmoozing skills you've likely picked up in sales to change the topic, like saying you'd rather talk about your product or the client's needs instead of some medical condition you're tired of talking about. If you need an excuse for not drinking, then go ahead and lie and tell them you can't mix alcohol with your medications. Or if you're OK drinking but need to lower expectations about how much you can consume and you want to stick with some truthiness, tell them since you have limited food intake your alcohol tolerance is very low and the doctor has limited you to one small glass of wine or whatever your drink of choice is.

I had some flushing,my Dr said too many carbs and if you drink any alcohol can cause this.

To be honest this is the wake-up call you probably need. The surgery is just a tool. You're seeing already how easy it can be to still get a lot of calories in without a lot of food. The cravings and head hunger aren't things that just go away with surgery. We're always going to have those battles. Things like nuts aren't bad for you (maybe not so much now because it's not on your plan) but as with everything moderation is key. You're going to find that certain foods are going to fill you up and others won't. Slider foods being the biggest culprit. Soups and soft foods (like yogurt) are easier to pass through the system. Denser proteins are going to be harder to break down. Like you said it's easy to break down nuts into a very fine paste of sorts. With something like chicken you're going to break it down but not to the extent of the nuts. Most of us are going to stumble from time to time. Get back up on your feet and stay on track. Hopefully you can find some healthy rewards of sorts as you can bring more foods back into your diet. I mean for me a Greek Yogurt with a little bit of Cool Wip is a nice dessert like treat for me. I'm a big love of mixed nuts as well and I allow myself to have them from time to time, but I have to do it as a treat now and then. Again...moderation. Another thing is treating it like alcoholism. Don't put yourself in situations that you feel you can't handle yet. I mean seriously, if you're trying to stop drinking you don't go hang out in a bar a week after you quit. If you're going to go out pick something where you have no choice but to eat something healthy. The sooner/better you get at controling your urges now the better you'll set yourself up for the long term.

I was sleeved 10/5 and am only down about 35 lbs. I was doing well in October and November but did not do well in December or January. My husband was admitted for impatient alcohol treatment on November 27 and was there for 30 days. This was obviously very stressful and having to deal with all of that stress without my go too stress reliever (aka Food) was very difficult. I also was using alcohol myself to try to cope with the situation. Well good news is he is back home and doing great! He has been sober for 2 months and i'm going on a month and a half. I've never felt so good. I'm back on track now and hit a new low today on the scale and only have 4 more pounds to lose to get to my wedding day weight. I'm excited to keep working on this and excited to see the change it has in my life and my family's life!!!! I love this forum for the support everyone has for one another it's great!

Jeez, y'all. This thread won't die! Can we all just agree that increased dependence on alcohol is a risk after surgery due to various factors, that encouraging others to go against their surgeon's guidelines is unwise, and that some people will still go their own way, with or without complications, and it's not possible to argue them out of it?

I read this article, and then did some reading of the studies she seems to draw her conclusions from. IMO, she comes to conclusions that are not entirely supported by the research. The idea of transfer addiction sounds good, and seems logical, but the data is not so clear. From my own perspective, I find it difficult to believe that someone like myself who has had unrestricted access to alcohol for the last twenty years, and no addiction problems, will suddenly develop one post WLS. Also not everyone needs WLS due to food addiction. I know for myself, and many other overweight people I know, it is about poor food choices and inactivity, and nothing to do with compulsion or addiction. For me, the biggest deterrent to alcohol post surgery will be the empty calories. I know I can easily drink 1000+ calories a night. But I also know that will undermine all the work of having WLS and keep me from my goal.

There are a lot of issues that can contribute....transfer additions are a huge one. Where people who used to use food to cope turn to alcohol or other substances and end up damaging their relationships/careers/etc.

Thank you! Yea, sadly they won’t lol My calorie intake eating as I would say like a beast protein after protein yesterday was about 600. Thankfully, I realized where I was gaining all the weight gain, it was from alcohol, I could drink a bottle of wine like it’s no ones business as I cleaned my home. So I quit the fun drinking and now am just focusing on fueling my body with what it needs

I was told no alcohol for 6 months

Hi kakatalady612 thank you for responding! I have not given up coffee but I have given up alcohol and sugary carbs and potato chips...pretty much most of the things that got me to this point. I just had a "Boost" protein drink for lunch. I hope you get your date soon, I feel like the only weirdo getting sleeved in March. I work for a University so I had to shoot for spring break to take two weeks off. I hope to lose a little weight before surgery as well, that would be nice. My husband takes all of that Omeprazole stuff, if he doesn't his stomach goes CRAZY. I hope to have us both eating much healthier after my surgery.

Yes non alcoholic fatty liver. My enzymes had been slightly elevated but it didn’t raise a flag. I went in for the surgery in Jan 2017 and my liver was too enlarged to do the surgery. Got clearance from a liver doc that it was fatty liver and nothing else. Had to lose 30# to try again very pleased so far. Lost a total of 70# since last Jan. 40# since surgery. My diabetes is gone and I was a pump user. Also bp was 120/58. I had my 6 week check up yesterday. Hope this helps! So glad I did this. All the positives of the sleeve and bypass without the bad from them. Good luck!

Hey! Getting SIPS in March(previous vsg)! Jus wondering, i said u had fatty liver initially...was it non-alcoholic?, and how did they find out u had it? And how are u doing now? Are u losing much with the SIPS?

It's sort of like I took the fabric and pattern instructions given to me, and then tailored them to fit myself. I have done things my own way, with success, but have followed the basic guidelines. The first couple of months out I was far more militant about adhering to the "rules" while I was healing. After that I would give myself more liberties, but within reason. I had alcohol for the first time four months post-op, at a Christmas event. It wasn't painful, but my tolerance was definitely much lower. I've only had a few sips of wine ever since. One of the reasons I avoid alcohol is because it's liquid calories that offer little in the form of nutrition. I also only have Coke, frappes, and other calorie-laden drinks on very rare occasion. It's easy to consume more than intended, and sabotage yourself.

Hello … I’ve just been approved to be sleeved. I’ve been reading here for months, so wanted to introduce myself. 41, female, single, no kids, located in Los Angeles. I’ve been curvy my whole life, but really heavy the last 10 yrs or so. I had never considered WLS until now because of all of the negative side effects from the Lap Band or Bypass. But last fall my neighbor told me she was getting sleeved. So I started to research, and was excited by so few “cons” to the procedure. I went for my initial consultation in October, was told I was a good candidate. But I couldn’t have the surgery before the end of 2017 because of my work travel schedule. So I held off proceeding until January, so I wouldn’t have to pay more out of pocket than necessary. On January 9th I went back to my surgeons office and had nutritional counseling, psych eval, EKG, and then went to the hospital to get my blood work, chest X-ray & echocardiogram done. On January 9th I went to a PCP who works with my surgeon to review the results. I had one blood result she didn’t like, so I went back to get blood drawn again. Once that was all back and she signed off, it was submitted to my insurance. Approval came back in about a week! Surgery date is set for February 12th. Random thoughts: I’m really happy my insurance (Anthem BSBC) and my surgeon didn’t have a lot of requirements, or waiting periods, like nutritional counseling etc., or required preop diets or weight loss. I just want this done with, and have a skinnier me, sooner rather than later. My surgeon office was also really efficient about me getting all my tests, counseling, evals done within one week. I’m also glad my surgeon and my hospital are located about 3 miles away from my home. My job and this process is my biggest concern. I’m in sales and travel for work extensively. I have my first business trip 3 weeks after my surgery. It is a long flight and a weeklong trip, so I’m worried about my energy level, and eating (I’ll be in the pureed stage). I’ll also be with my boss (who won’t know about my WLS) from 7am-10pm, 3 meals a day, and also with a lot of customer and associates throughout the week. I’d love to have more time to recover, but traveling is a big part of my job so it’s unavoidable. On the job topic, because of the fact I’m in sales, entertainment, meals & drinking, is a big part of what I do. The difference in my eating habits & drinking will definitely be noticed and commented on. Also, I see a large number of business contacts & coworkers throughout the year. But everyone I see is infrequent, from less than monthly, to annually, so my weight loss is going to be very noticeable (hopefully!). I’m not sure how I’m going to answer well meaning questions about my eating or weight loss. I’m naturally an open book, but I don’t want to be open about my WLS. So I’ll need to come up with an answer that is truthful enough I won’t appear to be lying, but not the whole truth. I’m curious to find out what it will be like to drink post op (but once healed). I don’t intend to give up drinking, and my surgeon doesn’t require that I do. I have a reputation of being able to hold my liquor (considered an asset in my career). I know my tolerance will get lower as I lose weight. But I wonder how the sleeve will change the alcohol absorption and effects for me. I’ve told my mom and a few friends about my upcoming WLS, everyone is supportive (I obviously only told people who I knew would be). Last night I told the guy I’m dating, so that felt a little awkward. We didn’t have a big discussion about it, so I’d love to mind read and see how he really feels about it. Does he like my figure now and not looking forward to it changing? Is he just ok w my figure now, but looks forward to a thinner me? I’m obviously doing this for myself, so it doesn’t matter in the end, but I am curious. Definitely planning on plastic surgery when I get at or near my goal weight. Very fearful of the pain of a mommy makeover (even though I don’t have kids), but looking forward to the end result of being happy with my body. Any SoCal plastic surgeon recs appreciated!