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If you don't want to be tempted to drink beer don't read this! Okay, I am in college and as such feel it is my obligation to have an occasional beer. That said I have discovered a band friendly beer (and at the same time come to realize that I am a bona fide alcoholic). First of all, I really enjoy a cold dark beer. The taste is scrumdidlyumptious and the carbination is much less. Step one is to pour your beer into a glass in a manner that causes a large hear to form. Second, allow the head to fall then gently stirr your beer (this can be done conspiculously with a fork or discreetly by swirling your beer casually). Last, if the head fails to fall - touch your finger to the tip of your nose then swirl it in the head. Believe it or not the oil from your skin will cause the head to fall, and viola you have an ice cold band friendly flat beer. Too bad there isn't a method for getting rid of the calories.

Sorry everyone, I haven't checked this forum as often as I should have. Since coming back I have been swamped by people on facebook asking questions lol here are the answers to your questions you asked Robbdtn... I have not heard of anyone have a bad or negative experience at anytime down there in Juarez and I have talked to A LOT of people. I even talked to a lady that went their the week after I cam home and talked her through every experience she had. She had lots of pain (more than I had) but we never could figure out why. The pre-op diet I was on lasted for 2 weeks. I started 3 days early just to give myself a chance to get used to it in case I slipped up. I thought I would totally blow it, but I never did. Come to find out, even if you do mess up on the diet, the Dr. Rod will still go ahead with the surgery. I was told by my facilitator that they have never turned anyone away, pre-op diet or not. The diet is just to help shrink your liver so there is less bleeding, but they are experienced enough to deal with a fatty bleeding liver though. Try to stick to the diet as best as possible though, the pre-op diet is easy peasy anyway, just gotta set your mind to do it. Lots of Water, lots of meat. That's about it lol if you love steak, it's the best diet ever! After surgery, I got nauseous twice in the hospital but as long as you keep a cottonball soaked in rubbing alcohol nearby to sniff when your mouth waters, you'll be fine. As far as pain goes. It was absolutely manageable with pain medicine. Even if you don't feel pain, if the nurses offer it...take it. Better safe than sorry lol as soon as you can stand up and walk, WALK. They want you to walk twice and hour, but I walked once ever few hours because I liked sleeping more. The breathing treatments hurt at first, but you have to keep blowing that damn tiny tuba until your diaphragm resets itself. But honestly, for me....at no point in time was the pain unbearable. Towards the end, the only pain I really complained about was my headache from sleeping too much. I am a full time student and don't work, but I returned to class exactly 5 days after surgery (3 days home) and just took it easy and wore loose fitting clothes and kept a small pillow with me for my back. Today marks 3 weeks after my surgery and I have lost 22 pounds since then. It's not a whole lot, but in the past 3 weeks my double chin is now gone. I have not been doing any exercising other than a few minutes of walking a day. My clothes are more loose and I can see considerable shrinkage all over. Remember, with all the Protein we take in, we are building muscle right now so weight loss might be slow, but we are still losing inches! The only thing I would do differently is packed lighter and not taken a bus across Texas LOL. All you really need to pack is pajamas, toiletries, cell phone/charger. You can go home in the clothes you came in as long as you don't sweat profusely! If you need anything else, feel free to message me directly Lastly, Mattr2...cute profile pic

Yes you can have wine but in moderation. My surgeon said after two months. But keep in mind, alcohol will affect you differently. So when you drink wine for the first time, make sure you have a driver or drink at home to see how it affects you. A little can make you tipsy.

Ur 5 days out of surgery and consuming alcohol mixed with fattening coffee mix?

At one time, I really enjoyed drinking beer. I mean I REALLY ENJOYED IT. It was a weekly, social thing. My life changed in the last few years and I don't do it much at all. Now, I got sleeved 4/12, and asked my dr about drinking alcohol. My birthday is next month and thought I might want a glass of wine. Per my dr, he said that was fine, but only wine. For me, beers are off limits because of the carbonation and empty calories. And I've seen first-hand someone trade food addiction for alcohol addiction, so I don't want to hit any hard liquors. Don't let alcohol questions keep you from making a decision that could really change your life in so any ways. If you have questions, go to seminar in your area to find out more. Good luck!

Several weeks after being banded , we went out for dinner fo the 1st time after surgery. I took 3 tiny bites of the inside of a quesidilla, 3 tiny sips of my hubbys margarita ( I forgot and used the straw ! ) Uh oh !!!!! Half came back up in the bathroom, half in the parking lot ! I dont know if it was the alcohol or the straw, but DON'T try a straw unless you're way out from surgery, and preferably home near a bathroom. Just sayin' .

coffee addict... my only problem with it is I would drink it all day ...hot in the morning... iced in the afternoon..haha. Seriously, heard of addiction transference? I didn't become an alcoholic, but realized last summer that I had become a complete and total coffee junky. doesn't help that I live in the land of coffee stands every 100 feet... It sounds like a joke, but I realize that coffee not only made me "feel good" but also curbed my appetite and so at an unconscious level I started drinking it for those reasons. I have changed that, my appetite is in good control and i have in fact LOST WEIGHT since cutting back on the caffeine. interesting, huh... Anyway, I have cut way back, not because my tummy is bothered but because i was having OTHER ill effects.

My PA told me that you are more tight in the morning because of the stomach being a muscle that has been "idle" all night. One thing that I noticed about the band and myself is that I can eat A WHOLE LOT MORE if I have a drink or two. I think the alcohol relaxes you, and your stomach as well. But like the saying goes, this is my experience, we are all different. Birdee!

I was just wondering, after getting sleeved, can wine or any other alcohol be consumed? I'm in no way an alcoholic but I have a wedding in April to go to and I was wondering what the rules were?

I am planning on getting the Lap Band ((HOPEFULLY)) in December. I just found out that my insurance requires 6 months of physician monitored documentation of a weight loss plan before even considering to pay. UGH! :faint:Had I known that 6 months ago, I would be planning my surgery now or may have even had it. BUT....there may be a reason that the Lord has for me to wait...He always does. I'm very overweight for my height and the Gastric bypass is just not for me - it scares me to death but this is the perfect tool for me. I can't wait until I have my surgery - I have 6 months to prepare my body for my new lifestyle. I plan on starting ((SLOWLY)) to exercise and I've already started chewing ALOT more before swallowing so that I get used to it when I have the band in. I'm in Alabama and my surgeon is Dr. Schmidt. I have not even met with him yet - that's planned for July 11. :clap2: I hear that alot of post surgery patients have "mourning" periods and even turn to other addictions such as alcohol once they have the surgery - I'd love to hear from anyone that has advice for me. And where do I get one of those CUTE counters that keep up with your weight loss? Tickers??? I think .....

I've noticed a lot of low Carb and Atkins friendly items state these things on the labels...what do we think about these concepts?

I do net my carbs. Not sure if it's the right thing to do? I assume so since sugar alcohols are not supposed to mess with blood sugar, which is key.

VerticalSleeveTalk Newsletter Hey, Sleevers!Thanksgiving is behind us and the holiday season is officially underway! Filled with holiday shopping, festivities at work and spending time with friends and family, this time of year is can be the most rewarding. It can be hectic, too, so paying extra attention to your diet and health is even more important than usual. Use this newsletter as a reminder and some motivation to be extra cautious with your choices so that you can keep seeing the results you want from your weight loss journey. Here’s what’s coming up in this newsletter. Member Spotlight: Meet Ms skinniness! Tips for the Season: Thriving at Holiday Parties! Member Challenge: Activate Your Party Action Plan! A Big Thank-You to Our Members as 2012 Ends We know the hustle and bustle of this season make your life busy, but we hope you spend part of your holiday season with us at Alex Brecher Founder VerticalSleeveTalk.com Member Spotlight: Meet Ms skinniness! This month, we’re delighted to feature Ms skinniness in our member spotlight! She decided to get the gastric sleeve after developing diabetes and hitting a high weight of 223 pounds at a high of 5’6.” Her surgery was in October of 2011, and she’s only 4 pounds away from her goal weight of 140! The journey’s been worthwhile for Ms skinniness! Her blood sugar is within normal levels each day, and she’s able to keep her hunger in check. She has tons more energy and is a lot happier now! Ms skinniness loves being able to fit into smaller clothes. She went from a size 1x to a size 8 – and was even forced to return some size 8 Gloria Vanderbilt jeans that were too big! Getting enough Water in each day is still a challenge to Ms skinniness. She’s also working hard on avoiding mindless eating and only eating when she’s hungry. She reminds us that food is an addiction that can take a lot of effort to overcome. Ms skinniness uses VerticalSleeveTalk.com for support and information, and she loves the positive people on the board. She suggests following your surgeon’s instructions, gathering information from VST members and also doing your own research on everything so you can be confident that you are making the right decisions for yourself. An example of something she learned from VerticalSleeveTalk.com is to use a PPI to reduce stomach acid and make her less hungry. Ms skinniness also uses VerticalSleeveTalk.com as a reminder not to slip into bad habits again. With her weight loss and satisfaction, her advice seems to be working for her! Thanks, Ms skinniness, for being in the member spotlight! Congratulations on your success! Please post in the Protein snack or two for yourself and eat it when it’s time for your regular meal or snack. You can also take a healthy dish for the host to serve at the party. Sip water. Carrying a glass of water around gives you something to do without adding any calories to your day. Another benefit of drinking water is that you know you shouldn’t eat solid foods when you’re drinking fluids. Avoid alcohol. Alcohol is a source of calories that you just don’t need. Worse yet is that it lowers your inhibition. That means that you’re less likely to resist unhealthy holiday foods. Member Challenge: Activate Your Holiday Action Plan! This newsletter’s challenge is related to our advice on holiday parties. The challenge is to choose a specific strategy designed to get you through the holidays without interfering with your weight loss goals. You can take one of the suggestions listed above, or choose your own. Some other ideas are to keep healthy Snacks at work so you’re not tempted by unhealthy snacks and to record each treat that you eat in your food record instead of pretending that it doesn’t count. Tell us in the Member Challenge Forum how you complete the challenge! Was it easy or difficult? What tips do you have for other VerticalSleeveTalk.com members? We also want to know anytime you go back and complete an old Newsletter Challenge, which you can find in the archived Newsletter Forum. It’s never too late to try a Newsletter Challenge! A Big Thank-You to Our Members as 2012 Ends As we close out 2012, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank each member. We truly appreciate your support. We value each member, whether you post many times a day and use all of VerticalSleeveTalk.com’s many features, or whether you log in infrequently to read just a few posts. You, the members, are essential to VerticalSleeveTalk.com’s success, so a heartfelt thank-you to each of you! 2012 has seen rapid increases in the number of members, the beginning of regular newsletters and the launch of mobile apps to access all of the forum’s features. Big plans are in the works for the coming year, and it promises to be an exciting ride. We’re glad to have you on board! Of course, we’re always open to member suggestions, so please feel free to contact any board administrator. That’s it for this month’s newsletter. We hope it was inspirational and helpful. Have a safe and peaceful holiday season, and take care of yourself and each other, Alex. ============================================================== If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, you may unsubscribe by going to your Control Panel and clicking on the Newsletters tab, or clicking on the following link: {unsubscribe}

Bandit: Alcohol consumption is still OK while banded but there is the empty calories to consider. The other thing about drinking while banded is it takes less to get you tipsy. The more you drink the less you have sense about you and you could do harm to yourself and the band. THis means that you would not listen to the warning signs of being full and you could overeat. Just use common sense when drinking and have a limit set. When I feel my nose go tingly I stop drinking. That is usually after two drinks now. So I keep my social drinking at a two drink max. Just my guidelines so you do what works for you. I also try to not eat or snack when I am drinking. Doctor choices are a HUGE thing with me now. I won't tell you to not go to Mexico or even outside of the US for your surgery. I will tell you if you chose to do that to make doubly sure you have aftercare set up close to home before you have the surgery. THis is imperative for good weight loss results. You should be followed by someone that is caring and supportive and interested in the whole package not just putting the band in and then telling you to fly be free. Just my two cents here.

Yep that's more than 10lbs a month which is fantastic. I agree with Jessiquoi. We need measurable data. You also should consider curbing any alcohol for awhile. Reason being that it is carby and when your body burns, it will burn the alcohol before it burns any fat. Our rule is always Protein first. If you're sticking to that, you should be fine. Your loss is GREAT. I know it's hard but try not to compare yourself to others, especially because a person losing 70 lbs in 5 months may have started MUCH heavier than you did and therefore they have more to lose. Eventually EVERYONE slows down... there's no race, so do it right, not fast!

You need to ask your doctor to be sure, but I'm guessing no. Alcohol is a blood thinner and they tell you to stop all blood thinners (alcohol, NSAIDS, etc) 2 weeks before surgery.

When I went in for my two week post op visit I was actually instructed NOT to sip anymore. I was told to drink in large quantities at a time. I can get down a 16-20 oz bottle of Water in less than 20 min easy. I usually have 32 oz in the mornings while I'm getting ready for work over about two hours and that is really taking my time with it (sometimes even forgetting to drink for 30-45 min at a time). Yes you will be able to eat fruit and veggies before getting in 60 gm of Protein in first. I haven't been released to eat red meat yet so I'll let someone with more experience than me answer that one. And I was told to stay away from alcohol for at least the first year. I do know that my NUT does not want me eating and drinking at the same time again, ever. So I'm guessing that would be a no to the wine with dinner but you could have one before dinner after you are far enough out

an elevated level of ketone in the blood. Ketone is formed by ketogenesis when the liver glycogen stores are depleted and a process called lipolysis starts. Non medical terms = your body begins to use fat for energy and ketones are formed. Look up ketosis in google for some great in depth article. One way your body gets rid of ketones is through your lungs. It's like the alcohol smell, you can't get rid of it you just have to cover it up. Anyone who is loosing wt is making some and one way to test for them is the urin strips discussed above. Don't be worried its a good sign. It will go away when your wt stabilizes. My wife does not like the smell so I end up chewing a lot of gum.

Sounds like what is called transfer addiction. He used to medicate with food, but he cant use food anymore so he is using alcohol. It is dangerous, and you should encourage him to get help.

WLS puts a strain on every patients' liver - now that he is adding this much alcohol, the situation sounds very self-destructive. He needs an intervention - let us know what happens.

Thank you all so much got on scales today and again havent lost so just busted out on the running machine vibro plate and weights !!! i am determined for it to come of !!! your right i prob need more Protein but not sure how to get it at the min im on puree stage up until weds i lost a stone pre op and a stone and a half (21lb) since the 25th january ... i feel really down with stepping on the scales and not losing weight i guess i shouldnt weigh every day like im doing at the min ?? do you guys weigh once a week or step on the scaled quite frequently ?? I think when your told that you will lose between 5-8 lb a week there is a great expectation from people i dont live with my mum but she is on my back and thinks im doing some thing wrong ??? must admit i do find it hard when my partner is eating all the food i used to love in the house but thats the price i pay i guess - also i ahve had a few glasses of wine with friends on 2 occasions and im sure this is contributing to the lack of weight loss (lesson learnt need to cut out alcohol for a while) You are all doing so great so a big well done from me and thanks so much for the response !! it is very much appreciated xxxx

I would go back to basics: lean Protein and vegetables. Cutting out any empty carbs, alcohol, and anything that slides down easily. Not drinking while eating. It may be that the steroids and depo shot are really messing with your weight, but in that case switching to a bypass wouldn't change that unfortunately. Good luck to you. I wasn't trying to be sarcastic with my last post, I just meant that your sleeve is still there and they don't really stretch out so if it's not working you need to consider whether you are "eating around it" by eating stuff that goes down too easily meaning you don't get full. Another expensive major surgery won't fix your food choices when you already have restriction built in if you use it as intended. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Sugar alcohol is what causes diarrhea in most people. I was told to limit the amount of the sugar alcohol because of that.

We eat out at least once per week. I don't have any trouble. Sometimes I will split with one of my kids or husband & sometimes I order my own and take leftovers home. I can pretty much eat whatever I want - I try to eat "healthy" - I stay away from breads, meats can be difficult depending how they are cooked. This lapband has not stopped me from eating out or having an occasional alcoholic beverage - I just need to think about my choices.

I went to Dr. Oh's seminar the other night - and I was not impressed. He spent the least amount of time discussing the lap band procedure. He spent more time discussing gastric bypass - which I am not interested in. Well, during the discussion he said lapbands are not good for "sweet eaters" because you can't have sugar, milk, or alcohol for the rest of your life. I asked him afterwards if that is true - because to me it doesn't seem like a way to live the rest of your life. He said this is a last resort - and no sugar because then you will have cravings for it. He also said his patients have fills every month for the first year. One question asked by someone at the seminar was regarding the amount of food eatten at each meal - the doctor responded 1-2 ounces! This just doesn't seem reasonable to me.... that's nothing. I am not sure this is the right decision for me... I was so nervous/excited about the seminar and then came home feeling this may not be the best option for me. Also, I posted the above under another thread and heard from someone on this site..the same thing about Dr. Oh. I didn't even mention his name in my post - she asked if I was from WA state...when I told her yes, she asked if it was Dr. Oh. She said Dr. Srikanth was better - but she cannot have hers done for about year either - per her insurance. I was going to look into Dr. Srikanth - but have not called yet.... I wonder what is unethical about him.... curious. Still not sure if this is what I need to do for me..but, I am checkin it out.