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One of the reasons we have this op is to change our lives to make them better, healthier and happier, so there will be big changes, there will be things that are different and you very well may be a different person. However, I absolutely love the person that I now am. I love how I feel physically and mentally and I love the clothes I can now wear and I can't believe just how unhappy I was before. I am nearly 3 years out, I can eat pretty much anything if I chose to but in small portions - although I love how I am no longer a slave to all the crap I was eating before - I am not a big drinker but I do have the occasional alcoholic drink. I do still find it a bit of a struggle with not being able to drink and eat at the same time but its a very very minor issue. Having the op was the BEST decision I have ever made. Thats not to say there haven't been challenges, you have to work at it you still have to chose the right foods, you still need to exercise, there will be some things you miss and you may encounter stalls, but OMG the rewards from this journey just don't compare to anything you might have to give up or change. You will always find negative people and people for who it has not gone as they hoped. Don't be drawn into the negative or the what ifs, look at this as an exciting journey to an amazing new you, go into it with your head high and your determination strong. Good luck with everything and if you have any questions I'm more than happy to be a support.

Yes, you can eventually have alcohol (in moderation) again. I brought alcohol back in around 3 months post-op. I strictly adhered to the 30 minutes before and after eating no drinking rule for at least a year post-op. I've relaxed that somewhat now, especially if I am eating out, but generally, I can't drink that much while I am eating without feeling bad. So, I more or less adhere to that, but I do have a sip here and a sip there. It is normal to have reservations. This is a big change. But there comes a time when you have to decide what is more important -- your health or these other things (certain foods and drinks, routines, etc.). I just bought a new pair of slim fit jeans in a 31X32 and a beautiful cashmere sweater size small. That means SO MUCH MORE TO ME than any food, drink or routine! Good luck!

I have been scheduled to have the operation on the 29th of this month and saw the sergeant today, he reassured me that it is really safe. On the other hand I have been talking to people and I have been getting mixed feelings, some told me that you will never ever be able drink alcohol, never never be able to drink (any drink) and eat at the same time, some said I am not big enough to have the surgery (by pass). I am 159 cm and 105 kg. I am really scared now and really wondering if I am never going to be enjoying the things I enjoyed before or am I going to become someone else. Has anyone else these kind of mixed emotions like this before the operation???

There's some scary statistics that at least in my group they didn't really highlight. One is the alcoholism or other addiction rates (they mentioned it, but never shared rates). The other is an 85% divorce rate according to one study. Kind of crazy... hoping to not do either of those things myself...

Its funny to find this topic, we just talked about this at the support group tonight!... My team says 18 months to 2 years, and to be at home or somewhere safe when we first try it out. They said that it was because it will affect you differently. And because there's such a risk for transferring addictions, they said if you have one and think "wow that was really good, I want another" that you probably shouldn't. We have 3 people post op in our support groups who attend AA meetings. Apparently 1 in 10 wls patient will end up becoming an alcoholic. (at least that's what they said!) Scary stuff! I'll definitely be staying away from it other than for special occasions , but everyone is different. Just be careful!

I waited 3 months post-op to have any alcohol. Since then, I have had it in moderation (mostly in social situations and only red wine or carb-free liquor drinks). At 16 months post-op, and below goal with a 225 pound total loss, I have no issues with it. In fact, I usually weigh less after drinking because it dehydrates me a bit. While I return to my regular weight the next day, I have never gained an ounce from it. YMMV. But, as folks have said in the thread, be mindful of the calories, and watch out for the sugar and carbs in many of the mixers. And, most of all, listen to your doctor's advice.

I drank some Skinny Girl Margarita and a zero calorie carbonated grapefruit drink as a mixer. I dont know how but I guzzled those things and before I knew it, I drank two 750 ml bottles to myself! (I was the only one drinking them at a party!) What this did was it got me drunk fast but I believe it flushed through me just as quickly so the high never got really bad - does that make sense? Pre surgery I would have been falling all over the place! It also made me crave some bad food carbs so I ended up nibbling the wrong things ALL night long. For me, the moral of the story is I overdrank and overate before WLS and I clearly did the same POST WLS and I can no longer drink alcohol. Big part of why, after two short months, my weight loss has slowed. I wont be doing that again. Plus I got like four different guys phone numbers and woke up with a huge hickey - eh, maybe I will do it again kidding!

Oh, we are so much alike. I was thinking also about trying one last time. I know I would have to really starve, and deep inside I know it's not goint to be sufficient no matter what I do. Also, how much time am I going to spend in this mode, struggling with no real results. It's not magically going to change after turning 35, that's for sure. I feel you on the snowballing. Knowing how much harder dieting gets for each time you have gained weight, it's so not motivating. What about alcohol? Tried any of that yet? Hope you'll have a great trip to Vegas, and that you get some time off to do fun stuff there too

My surgeon told me to wait a year to drink any kind of alcohol. That’s going to be hard for me because I like to have a drink on my birthday and I had my sleeve December 5th 2017 and my birthday is January 28th.

This is the bigger reason so much caution is used in regards to alcohol. I'll have to look up the stats but the rate that people turn into alcoholics after WLS is significant. Lower inhibitions may lead to eating more or eating things that you shouldn't.

How long can you drink alcohol after gastric sleeve surgery ? whiskey vodka tequila beer .

Hi everyone! Here's a new twist on an old subject matter - a bad breakup. I was happy, healthy, losing weight and working out. I had lost a solid 67 lbs since my June 14 surgery, had a great boyfriend and was really doing well. Then, on December 26, my BF and I broke up. It was sudden and I was absolutely blindsided. I moved out of his apartment and moved in with my bestie and her husband in CT, away from my job (which I lost), my neighborhood, everything that I know. The old Diane would be drowning her sorrows in Ben and Jerry's, crying and eating. The new Diane? She can't do that. She can't even eat ice cream because post surgery, she is lactose intolerant. She can't eat chips and dip, or go to McDonalds and get fries and a shake, she can't eat a lot of sweets, she can't drown her sorrows in food, she can't eat her emotions. And, she can't drink alcohol, because she's a freaking lightweight again, like a 14 year old girl at her first kegger. Damn it. But here's the good thing - the new Diane went to the gym and decided to get serious about working out. She is pushing herself harder than ever. She goes for an hour a day and REALLY works out, climbs the Stair Mill, takes a class, does 200 squats in the evening, does a lot of cardio. Why? Because she's in pain and needs to channel that pain somehow and also because SHE CANNOT EAT HER FEELINGS. Why am I telling you this? Because I want you all to know how your relationship with food will change once you have this surgery. You learn to channel your emotions differently, you learn that food is not always the answer, you learn that alcohol won't solve your problems. Food and drink change post surgery. You have to learn to deal with your emotions instead of running to your comfort food or drink. And it sucks. It sucks big time. Instead of gaining the post breakup 10 lbs that I normally do, I've lost 10 pounds. Maybe too much for me to lose in a couple of weeks. I had no appetite and I struggled to eat. But better to lose than to gain, to overeat, to push my stomach to full over and over again. I couldn't do it. So I'm now 20 lbs to goal instead of 30, and I've lost 218 lbs too (that's how much my BF weighed). He was a good guy and I will miss him, but things happen for a reason. And this was a good lesson for me to learn.. how to deal with strong emotions without the comfort of food. I think we all know that food isn't always our friend. We need it, but we don't need to be dependent upon it to get through some tough times. I am still crushed and hurt, and I miss him, but I really don't miss the food hangover that goes along with a bad breakup. Silver linings....

Doesn't sound like fun. I'd also take a look at anything you're eating that could have a laxative effect. For example sugar alcohol is in a bunch of sugar free and bariatric stuff (especially calcium supplements) and that can cause that. Hope you get it figured out, I think some kind of pad or diaper is a good idea until you get it figured out, that way it is just annoying VS a catastrophe if you're at work.

I am with you on this one. Once I get through surgery, my goal is to never touch the trigger foods again. My goal is to make life about not living to eat, but living for life. I don't have self-control either so it's wise for me to treat those trigger foods like an alcoholic abstains from alcohol.

I strictly avoid processed sugars. I have a sweet tooth and that is one of the major causes that contributed to my weight gain over my lifetime. I limit myself to artificial sweeteners (such as Splenda and sugar alcohols), to natural low calorie sweeteners (such as Stevia) and to the natural sugars found in fruits and milk. I had diabetes. That went into remission when I left the hospital two days after surgery and I have not taken any diabetic medicine ever since and my blood sugar levels are good. I am almost 5 years post-op RNY gastric bypass surgery. I test my blood sugar levels periodically. I read the labels of all food that I consume. I look at the grams of sugar per serving. If it is above 5 grams, I look at the ingredients. The ingredients are listed in order by highest percentage, and if the first 5 ingredients contain processed sugar (in any of its many forms), then I avoid this food, like a plague.

Sleeved October 17, 2017. I’m out with friends tonight and I got a fruity drink with barely any alcohol mainly just juice lol but I’ve been holding onto it most of the night cause I’m nervous to drink it. Will one light drink do anything? I know to stay away from it but I’m nervous

I've got around 10-12 close friends, all retired like me (who have all known me since 1985/1990) and who have seen me live through slight overweight all the way to morbid obesity. Two of them know I have had the surgery. About seven or eight of them tell me to my face AND on near daily Facebook posts that I am losing too much weight and that my two to five hours daily exercise 27 days per month will kill me. They implore me to stop. I'm not sure what it is they worry about: (1) that I am now no more obese than two or three of them? (2) that I exist on about a third the food in public that I used to? (3) that I exist on water or only one alcoholic drink per evening when I am out with them? (4) that my priorities have shifted since six months ago? (5) that their wives tell them how much better I am looking? (6) that a few of them are dealing with health issues other than obesity and I am winding my obesity and medications back? I dunno!

Hi! I’m having surgery January 16th too. I am on liquids, Protein Shakes and specific veggies only. Anyone else? I am so glad this was required. I also have been off of all alcohol and on a restricted diet for the last 2 months. Here we go gang! I’m excited!

I read a lot about constipation prior to my surgery. While in the hospital they gave me sugar free jello, which I know has Sugar Alcohol which side effects is a laxative. So I ate one at every meal. It worked when I got home. I've had some form of diarrhea since being home every day. About the gas, oh my, it's horrible and at times very painful. I think I'd rather have a loose bm than constipation that I've read hurts really bad. I just try to keep up with my liquid requirements so that might help you. Also adding Benefiber to my protein shake helped. Today is one month since my surgery and I've lost 18 post op. Got really sick for the last 2+ weeks and I stopped losing even though I didn't eat much. I was dehydrated that entire time and still get my liquids but it's on the lower requirements. Now I'm losing again. As for your hiatal hernia, as much as you didn't know you had one prior to surgery, it won't give you any pain afterwards either. I had one 6 yrs ago and it was repaired when I had lap band surgery. Never felt a thing and my doctor said I wouldn't. With this sleeve surgery he said he did a few stitches with the hernia to help support it (I had a blockage last year which they think stretched it). Be sure to eat and drink slow or else you can backed up or the stomach get full too fast and hurt. I've only had a few times where I can feel it wanting to come up but I slowed down, stood up and it went down. I haven't yet get anything backed up to my throat or throwing up. I have a bad habit of eating too fast so there's been times I have and my new sleeve really hurts and I have to deal with it. Now I've backed off eating some things, went back to softer foods and stopped eating before I feel I'm full. That's helped. I don't think swallowing has to do with the hernia but maybe go back on shakes only and see if that helps.

But that's not really the situation with the OP. The situation was that it was sooooooo soon after surgery. Your surgeon (unless you're in the UK or Europe) probably said at week 2-4 that you're only on puree or soft foods at that point. He says no alcohol for 8weeks-1 year or more post surgery. It isn't a question of moral pulchritude. It's an issue of physical healing. Will you injure your surgery? Will you bleed out in under 4 minutes because you drank alcohol and ate a slice of pizza (or chocolates), or overate?

I hardly ever post but this thread is my favorite. I started at 247 and hit onederland (and then some) earlier in December. I actually screamed and my husband came running. Oh the elation! I then proceeded to fall into the crazy of the holidays - didn’t track and pretty much grazed, drank alcohol and ate sweets. But that’s okay. I didn’t gain (okay the scale went up one pound) and jumped back into tracking the day after New Years. It felt good to eat and drink like crazy (like a normal person would during the holidays) and be able to just jump back into healthy eating and eat within control. That is what I love so much about my sleeve - I feel in control. And yes, I am a bit of a slow loser at 55 pounds lost but I just try to focus on what I can control - tracking, water, vitamins, etc. Sometimes it gets me down but then I remind myself I have NEVER lost 55 pounds in four months. Heck, I don’t think I have ever lost 55 pounds period. And yeah, no one has noticed (no one knows but my husband and sons) but oh well, I didn’t do it for them.

Great advice on the hernia diet! That is what I've been telling people my procedure is on Monday but didn't realize they were on a special diet afterwards too! That will for sure be my story for the times when people are wondering why I am not eating. Perfect!! Regarding the drinking thing, being 10.5 years out from the lap band I know that I'll be able to drink at some point down the road. I didn't drink on new year's even and thought people would say something or notice and guess what, no one cared! I was prepare to say I was driving if anyone brought it up but no one noticed. Granted I'm sure there will be situations where it will come up but my plan is to say that I've been working really hard to lose weight and one of the things i have given up for now is alcohol. I think people will understand that and given the fact that I will have lost weight, it's going to make sense. Personally I am going to try really hard to not drink for the first year. I understand the value of the honeymoon period a lot more than when I got my band. I also know I need to work really hard to create new habits over the first year, and keep those habits moving forward if I want to have long term success. I figure if I could give it up for having my daughter, I can give it up for me.

I don't exercise enough (I think I might hit 3000 steps a day) and I eat dark chocolate every night before bed. My NUT said that the biggest sign that someone is going to succeed at WLS is that they start exercising. Sometimes I think about joining a gym. I don't have any injuries or health reasons why I can't exercise. I am pretty unfit though. Like, if I tried to run a mile I would probably puke and then pass out. I have also had alcohol about 3 or 4 times. The first time I had 2-3 glasses of champagne and got so drunk, it was frightening. More recently at Christmas, I had about 2 sips of wine (and with the meal too). My surgeon said that the gastric sleeve gives you 2 or 3 years to educate yourself and change your eating patterns. If not, you can expect regain and failure. I do hope to follow the rules. As someone here said, they are there for a reason.

There are many reasons for the disparity in alcohol consumption. A surgeon may specialize in patients with exceedingly high BMI. Those patients with so much extra fat will have massive quantities of hormones stored. When the rapid weightloss starts, hormone levels can skyrocket. Add a barbiturate to the mix and you can have extreme mood swings and/or depression. We see it all the time on here with comments laden with attitude or excessive weepiness. Add to that the lay persons understanding of what is happening, it is just easier to say "Don't drink booze because it causes heartburn." or something else that is simple to understand. Better to just avoid alcohol until the major physiological changes are done and hormone levels return to normal.

Hi Engelyn, I understand your fears. I have some of the same especially around alcohol restriction and people knowing. I'm taking this as an opportunity to stop alcohol consumption for good as I know it's one of the main things that gets me to put on weight and I'm better off without it. Once I start socializing again, I'll be drinking water with lemon and graduating to sparkling water with lemon. I've bought different types of citrus essential oils and 1 drop in 1 glass water makes it taste great. I've only told my very best friends that I'm getting a sleeve. Everyone else I've told I'm being operated for a hiatial hernia and that the doctor is putting me on a liquid only diet afterwards (true!) Graduating to smoothies and finally after 1 month, easy solids (true!). I say that I'll most likely lose some weight and that this is an added bonus! So, when people see me eating less and losing they won't be surprised. Then I'll just say that I'm taking the opportunity to continue eating well and losing (true!). As for social life afterwards, I'll still be going out but eating less and mainly proteins and drinking water. The main thing is being out with friends and socializing, enjoying their company. People don't really notice what you drink as long as you have a glass in front of you. I'll also be meeting people more for coffee and teas. I hope my thoughts help you in some way.