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I was told 5 months to 1 year before alcohol and no beer because the carbonated drinks stretch your pouch.

Ah, I miss the 4 am Denny's runs after those "19-year-old male with profuse vomiting, alcohol ingestion" 911 calls! These days, when I'm away at school all day, I pack hardboiled eggs, small yogurt containers, Protein shakes, and a couple of wheels of Babybel cheese - Gouda is my favorite, it's quite soft. I don't know if you are doing a low-carb thing, but I also like fruit. Right now, I've got plums and persimmons in the fridge.

Is alcohol something you shouldnt really ever drink again after your surgery? I know you cant have it for A WHILE after, but Im talking like a year down the road

I'm not on Lovenox, but I am on a blood thinner shot called Arixtra. I just finally started it tonight because the pharmacy had to order it for me. No one had it because I'm on the max dose. I am the biggest chicken in the entire world, and in the end I could not give myself the shot. I had to ask my mom to give it in my arm for me. Thankfully, it did not hurt, and it didn't burn at all. I am no expert, and I've never had Lovenox, but is possibly burning because you don't let the alcohol dry on the swabbed spot before injecting? I have had shots that do burn going in, and I hate them. At least yours is only seven days. I have to do mine for a month. x[

Thank you @Amburmist for bringing this up. I did a bit of digging, and essentially it boils down to this. During the first year postop, the entire body is working hard to lose weight. The liver has often been stressed prior to surgery because of fatty liver. It continues being stressed during the weight loss period (and maybe longer if it had significant damage). Alcohol doesn't appear to be more dangerous to the liver postop than it would be in another person whose liver is in the same condition. What does happen is the alcohol is metabolized differently... we get drunk sooner and stay that way longer. We may be at risk of drinking excessively due to addiction transfer... and excessive alcohol is a problem for anyone. Our blood alcohol level goes up more on a given quantity of alcohol than that of a non-patient. More alcohol in the blood means more work for the liver. So, my recommendation is that we shouldn't drink for 6 months postop AT ALL. From 6 months until maintenance, limit alcohol to maybe once a month, and only 1 serving. During maintenance, 1 serving 2-3 times a week at most. And of course, this is assuming the doc has said its ok for the individual. Tylenol affects the liver and should be carefully controlled as well. Smoking is strongly associated with ulcers. Smoking and drinking and NSAIDS, combined, are worse for ulcers. I didn't see where alcohol by itself causes ulcers. Just as our meals need to shrink, the size of our alcohol servings should too. In the study, participants drank 5oz of wine. The non-bariatric patients had a blood alcohol level of .02. The patients' was .05-.08! Do NOT drink a 5oz glass of wine or a 12oz can of beer and think you can drive less than 2 hours later. And when I was recommending servings... you might want to consider a serving to be 1/2 of a normal one. 6oz beer or 2.5oz table wine... especially if you want to indulge more than once a week.

Thx@berry78. Good info. In my research, i also saw that alcohol can cause hypoglycemia and failure to absorb the critical vitamins we now need. Of course, this is from lots of drinking, but ppl be aware. Heres the info i read with that data http://bariatrictimes.com/alcohol-and-the-gastric-bypass-patient/

I was terrified right before my first fill and almost cancelled and rescheduled since I had worked myslef up into such a state of panic... Then after the Dr. Swabbed the area with an alcohol pad, I actually reached down and put my hand on the spot and said "wait... I'm not ready" and he was peeved and had to swab me again... After that he made me put my hands under the back of my head... LOL... Turns out it wasn't that bad after all.... He does not numb since that would require two shots and I'm glad of it... Once is enough... He also does not do Floro... It takes about 30 seconds and I'm outta there... Very easy with minimal discomfort... Afterwards, the nurse makes us drink a 4 oz cup of water to make sure we can swallow... This gives us about 15-30 minutes to sit and chat with Prospective and current LB patients in the waiting room and answer questions and just share our story or advice.... It's like an unofficial therapy group, which I like since I have only told 4 people whom I don't even see often... It's my opportunity to talk talk talk about it....

The directions I received state 1. After surgery day 1 & 2 clear liquids, 2. 2 days - 2 weeks full liquids protein supplements skin milk or 1% milk low fat or light yogurts without fruit nuts or seeds strained cream soup broth, water fruit juice (limit to 8oz per day) sugar free jello sugar free popsicles AVOID REGULAR AND DIET SODA AND ALCOHOLIC BEVGS, & chewing Gum and regular solid foods.... 3. week 2-3-4 blended foods cut your food into very small pieces about the size of a nickel, put into a blender or food processor add enough liquid to cover the blender blades mix until there are no lumps Hope this helps...

I was cleared for alcohol at my 6 month appt. Acidic foods were still bothering me so I opted for sweeter drinks instead of my former fav - a margarita. I started with port, which you probably won't like if you don't care for wine. Next I tried Cointreau and cranberry juice. Then on to Mai Tais. Also had Kahlua straight and Baileys straight. Also, I really noticed my drinks at first, I think because it had been so long since I had one. But I'm back to my former habits. Feeling good after 2-3. But I still rarely drink a Margarita. If I want sour, I have a vodka cranberry these days. Lynda

Maybe values was the wrong word. What I was trying to say is if you are an alcoholic you don't surround yourself with alcoholics. If you are a former drug user you don't surround yourself with drug users. If you are a binge eater, you don't surround yourself with binge eaters. Not that you wouldn't try to help others or that you would feel superior to others. That's not what I meant. I meant that in order to be healthy (from the addiction) you have to change your behavior and that can mean the people you associate with.

My surgeon said no caffeine, period, as sleeve patients are now at a greater risk of a GI bleed. I drink decaffeinated coffee, and did that before surgery. (He also said no alcohol, period -- not an issue for me as I don't drink anyway).

Like you, I'm at goal, and I tend to find myself being a little obsessive about what I can and can't eat. Outside of drinking my butt off in college, I'm not much of a drinker, so I don't really have a hard time not having alcohol. I could, however, happily eat an entire bakery in one day. I only each chocolate around Christmas, or I will end up eating it way too often otherwise and I generally don't eat sweet stuff on a regular basis. I don't see a problem though with having something sweet and a glass of wine on special occasions. I had cake pops the first few days after my last plastics procedure, I have a few bites of cake when it is ordered at dinner events (a few times a year) and sometimes when I feel like it, I get myself a blueberry muffin from Starbucks. If anything my sleeve has helped limit my all or nothing mindset because I know that in theory I can eat whatever I want but I can only have a little bit of it so I'm no longer in danger of eating the entire pan of brownies. One piece and I am quite content. I think you should enjoy a piece of cake and a glass of adult beverage today. Life is about living and the few extra calories won't hurt you. Maybe add an extra workout into your day today as a way to offset the calories and to assuage any guilt you might feel.

Learn new habits & keep your follow up appts with your own surgeon. Follow their advice but rememeber to: Eat slowly/chew well and Protein first (try to get in 70 grams of protein a day) Hydrate often during the day - no soda/alcohol, limit caffeine such as ice tea, coffee - drink minimum of 64oz a day Take your supplements daily Seriously limit your carbs while trying to reach goal - I followed Tiffykins advice of under 30 a day and met my surgeons weight loss goal in a little over 5 months - my goal in 6 months Don't slip back into old patterns - slider foods can sabotage your weight loss (chips, bread, Cookies, potatoes) Do you see my weakness here? Exercise daily! If all else fails take a 20 minute walk after dinner before you sit down to "relax." Walking is relaxing. Use light weights to tone up those arms - you will be happier Enjoy the journey of change. I was a good lady before but now, I am improved version. Good luck ... no regrets!

If you don't mind me asking , has anyone had or has had a stomach ulcer ? staple line ulcer ? marginal ulcer ? and if you did have an ulcer at some point. Can you shed some insight and truth on preventive measures, and how to deal with them? You can be honest with me and direct message me about drugs , or alcohol, or weed, or cigarettes or whatever, you took, that caused the ulcers, if you do not want to make it public you can Direct message me , and explain . I would really appreciate any real world facts on this please . thanks so much So far I found out from my dietitian and surgeon : 1, they can heal themselves. 2. there is medication someone can take to heal the ulcer. 3. dying from sepsis is the worst case scenario which is extremely rare according to my doctor and dietitian ?!! thanks so much

CNN REPORTS THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE PROOF THAT Gastric Bypass Lowers Risk of Death TIME MAGAZINE AUGUST 22, 2007 By Sora Song Whether one regards bariatric surgery — last-resort weight-loss operations such as gastric bypass and stomach stapling — as an essential treatment for obesity or as a failure of the fat person's will, the fact is, it works. Studies have shown that after surgery, patients often lose 50% or more of their excess weight — and keep it off — and symptoms of obesity-related conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and sleep apnea are improved or eliminated altogether. Now, two new studies in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) show another long-term benefit: a lower risk of death. The larger of the two studies — the largest of its kind — led by researchers at the University of Utah School of Medicine, looked specifically at gastric bypass surgery, also known as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, which accounts for 80% of all bariatric surgeries in the U.S. The operation involves creating a small walnut-size pouch at the top of the stomach, which is then stapled off and connected to the small intestine lower down than usual; the result is that patients can eat only an ounce of food at a time, and the food bypasses most of the stomach and the top part of the intestine, limiting the number of calories the body absorbs. In the Utah study, researchers compiled data on 15,850 severely obese people, half of whom had undergone gastric bypass surgery between 1984 and 2002, and half who were from the general population and had had no surgical intervention for obesity. Overall, researchers found, the surgery patients were 40% less likely to die from any cause during a mean 7 years of follow-up, compared with the obese controls. What's more, the mortality rate attributable to obesity-related disease was 52% lower on the whole in the surgery group: after gastric bypass, patients were 92% less likely to die from diabetes, 59% less likely to die from coronary artery disease, and 60% less likely to be killed by cancer. Results like these have got some doctors intrigued enough to start thinking about bariatric surgery as a treatment for conditions other than obesity —especially diabetes. A growing body of research suggests that the surgery may reverse the disease, a potential solution that could help some 20 million American diabetics. Though the current NEJM study did not specifically study the impact of bariatric surgery on diabetes, it did reveal a 92% reduced risk of death from the disease in surgery patients —findings that support what has been emerging in other experiments. "In more than 80% of patients who are severely obese and have diabetes and then have gastric bypass surgery, the diabetes is cured," says Ted Adams, professor of cardiovascular genetics at the University of Utah School of Medicine and lead author of the new study. "The interesting thing is that the resolution of diabetes happens within a few weeks following surgery, long before patients have lost their weight." Like some other researchers in the field, Adams believes that the surgery triggers other biological mechanisms, separate from weight loss — perhaps an interruption of a crucial biochemical pathway or a change in the release of certain hormones in the stomach or small intestine — that may have powerful effects on diabetes. "The gastric-bypass patient is really providing a source of intriguing research related to all kinds of disease treatment as well as weight gain and weight loss," says Adams. The second study, led by researchers at Gothenburg University in Sweden, involved 4,047 obese volunteers, 2,010 who underwent some form of bariatric surgery and 2,037 who received conventional obesity treatment, including lifestyle intervention, behavior modification or no treatment at all. Ten years after surgery, researchers report, the bariatric surgery patients had lost more weight and had a 24% lower risk of death than the comparison group. Though the overall number of subjects in this study is much smaller than the first, the results confirm general benefits of bariatric surgery, and gastric bypass in particular: after 10 years, bypass patients had maintained a 25% weight loss, compared to a 16% loss in patients who had stomach stapling, and 14% in those who underwent a banding procedure. In both studies, surgery patients had an overall lowered risk of death, but an interesting finding in the Utah study shows that these patients were 58% more likely to die from other causes, such as suicide and accidents. The authors speculate that as people lose weight and become more active, they also become more prone to accidents, which may up their risk of death. Surgery patients may also have pre-existing psychological problems — a history of abuse, perhaps — that can't be resolved by losing weight. "There have been some studies reporting that following bariatric surgery, some individuals may be more prone to chemical dependency, such as increased alcohol use," says Adams. "There's some speculation that certain addictive behaviors that are in place before the surgery — with food, for example — are transferred to alcohol or another addictive behavior." "Hopefully this research will stimulate additional evaluation of what the optimal approach is for evaluating candidates for this surgery," says Adams. "I think we should never lose track of the importance of individual evaluation of benefits and risks." Last year, an estimated 177,600 patients underwent bariatric surgery, a figure that's likely to grow as Americans get fatter and fatter. Though modern surgery techniques have become more sophisticated, less invasive and safer than in the past, the bariatric procedure still carries all the risks of any other operation. Patients have a .5% to 1% chance of death. The risk of gallstones goes up. Sometimes a second surgery is necessary. And all patients must be careful to make up for Vitamin and mineral deficiencies. The surgery isn't for everyone; current guidelines recommend it as a last resort, only for the morbidly obese who have a BMI of 40 and higher, or for the obese with a BMI of 35 and higher plus a serious weight-related illness like diabetes or hypertension. This should help. Gary Viscio Viscio Law and The Obesity Law Center - Welcome

My surgeon says none for six weeks and then to take it slow until you know how you will be effected. Apparently some people get flat drunk on one drink and others don't notice a difference. Of course, alcohol is empty calories so he cautions to save it for special occasions. I'm not a huge drinker but it is nice to know I will be able to have an occasional glass of wine.

My surgeon said no alcohol until a year after surgery, as well. Interesting.

i personally think the whole alcoholic thing is 2 fold, one if you have food issues i think its easier to swoop one addiction for another using booze as the thing you now use. Say if you were an emotional eater food is no longer the pick me up booze is and becomes a issue. Also my second theory on this is if you are a very social person going out to eat has issues its hard to deal with, costly for what you can eat, you might puke, there may be pain etc etc etc so you have drinks instead. which can become a hell of alot if its always drinking. thats my take on it anyway

@@saphfyre14, As the others said, be sure to eat what your surgeon and nutritionist tell you to eat. If they haven’t told you anything yet, ask them. They should be able to give you as much information as you want. That said, your diet will probably have a lot of healthy foods and not many unhealthy ones! You will not be able to eat much volume at first, so you will need to start with the Protein foods at each meal and snack (if your surgeon and nutritionist tell you to include snacks). That might include eggs, chicken, tuna, beef, turkey, Beans, cottage cheese, yogurt, cheese, and other lean and nutritious sources of protein. You might not be able to tolerate all of those foods at first; you’ll have to see how it goes. Eventually, you can also add peanuts and nuts, but those can take longer. Vegetables come next to your meals and Snacks, since veggies are low calorie and filling. You’ll eat cooked ones first since they’re easier to tolerate. Examples include cooked carrots and green beans. It’ll probably take you a really long time to be able to eat salad. Other healthy foods to include will probably be fruit, whole grains like oatmeal, and starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes in small servings. And what won’t you be eating? Well, probably anything that’s high-calorie and low-nutrient: think sugary, processed, fatty, fried, and starchy foods. Cake, white Pasta, pizza, chips, fried chicken, and ice cream are a few examples. Alcohol is also forbidden. Many sleeve patients are able to tolerate almost everything, although you might have trouble with certain foods. Some patients include small amounts of junk food because they know they can satisfy their cravings and stay in control, while others avoid all trigger foods. Hope that gives you some idea!

3 years ago today I had the VSG! So much has happened in the last 3 years in regards to my attitudes, abilities and awareness surrounding my body, what I eat, and how I exercise. I will do my best to keep this short! First and foremost, I am one of those people who had a surgical procedure to help me lose weight. And I hit a "low" weight and then, in the space of about 10 months, regained about 20ish pounds. Nothing is more humbling than being a "statistic" in this way. I had always heard that this regularly happens to WLS patients and a part of my brain said "oh that won't be me!" Haha. Lessons learned the hard way are sometimes the ones that stick with us the most. So if any of you have the question "is it possible to regain weight with the sleeve?" ...the answer is YES it is possible. The regain is actually quite easy. You quit tracking your food, you eat a few more calories than you need to, extra "treats" find there way back into your life, and you slack off on the exercising. Losing the extra regain...well notsoeasy. I have lost -12lbs of my regain and will continue to fight until the regain is gone. Here are just a few quick things that are true for ME, personally. 1. We can live on a lot less food than we think we can live on. If you take nothing else away from this post, please remember that statement. During the time that I had regained some weight, I found myself wanting to eat more and the truth of the matter remains that my daily caloric intake needs to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,400 calories or less for me to maintain or lose weight, regardless of how much I exercise. This is completely reasonable, doable and normal for me. And I am finally OK with this. (Yours may be completely different!!) 2. Don't underestimate the importance of exercise!! It's taken me a while to finally push myself out of my comfort zone when it comes to exercise, but I've found out what a really challenging workout does to me mentally and physically and I know when things get to easy that I need to push myself farther. If you have never exercised before in your life, then your goal is to GET UP OFF the couch and DO SOMETHING. And if exercise is not completely foreign to you, then you need to set some goals to push yourself harder. 3. Plastic surgery. I have not had any...yet. I went for an initial consult this past May. It was really hard to see how much damage being morbidly obese has done to my body and how much it would cost to get a nice "perfect" body. I've had a lot of time and space to think about what I learned at that consult and what I realize now, is that I'm not sure I can afford perfection. Or that it necessarily exists. I just know I could put one of my kids through college for what I was quoted for plastics. So I'm currently on the fence and in the mode of trying to be happy with where I am and not worry about chasing a down a body that might not exist for me. 4. I constantly drink Water. I drink (half-caf) coffee (usally 2 cups a day), I rarely drink alcohol and I never drink anything carbonated. I've been carbonation free for over 3 years now. I also rarely use any type of crystal lite, or flavor enhancers etc. Sometimes I drink plain (unsweet) tea. My net loss is somewhere around -90lbs. My husband is also sleeved and did NOT regain any weight. He is 2.5 years post-op and seems to maintain his more modest loss (-70lbs) more effortlessly than I do. He also can eat more calories than I do, so right there are complete differences among sleevers! I just don't think we can ever "give up" ...and there is no "finish" line! There might be a GOAL WEIGHT, but once you are there, it's still a journey to keep the weight off. And for that reason I'm eternally grateful to my VST 'family' for always being here! BEFORE VSG 2010 AFTER VSG 2013 (all of these photos have been taken in the last 2 months) SIDE BY SIDE

No desire for alcohol what so ever. No rant here, but I'm sure it was part of the constellation of compulsive consumption of all things caloric that lead to my morbid obesity.

Thanks, @ ... but admittedly, that menu was a little more than I normally eat, which is 1700 - 1800 cals/day with around 100 grams of Protein. Just be aware that I weigh every morning, measure everything and track my food in My Fitness Pal. I'm still maintaining right on the button -- 135 pounds. But if that were to change, I'd have to change my menus, too. The main thing to remember is that you have to find out what works for YOU. Please know I didn't eat ANY chocolate or drink ANY alcohol for at least 6 months post-op. Or for 2.5 months pre-op. I've added these and other treats back in very gradually and very carefully. Sometimes chocolate does get the better of me and I have to let it go for a while. In other words, I'm just trying now to live like a normal person who's perhaps a bit hyper-attentive to what she's doing. I'm trying to be "mindful" and care for myself better than I ever have before. Good luck to us both!

I've had a cold/cough this week and it's really slowing me down. I went to a movie marathon Saturday and I didn't want to ruin the movies for everyone, so I bought a bag of Ricola Sugar Free cough drops. Over the course of about 6 movies, I ate about twenty of them. Thing is, those are sugar free, but they have a bunch of sugar alcohol in them it turns out. I realized this the hard way, way too late. Sugar alcohol, as you may know, is pretty much a laxative. I will spare you the details but it was a rough 24 hours there.

Everyone is different and swelling can last for months but it did go away over time for me. If you are not already try and drink warm liquids at least once or twice a day. I had to do that with the lapband and it eases up the swelling. I mean your stomach can be fine one day but then you could maybe eat to much etc. and the next day swelling again. I have been drinking warm bone broth the last few weeks and I think it is why I am getting less heartburn now. I am not currently taking my protonix everyday. I just chew gaviscon when I need it. I went years with the lapband without it. And then the last 2 years I have gotten heartburn even with the lapband out. I pretty much think mine is only triggered by carbonation, alcohol and bending a lot after eating.

I know I'm a foodaholic too. I fall off the wagon...I lie to myself about what evil foods have crept in to my diet....I can look in the mirror and not see myself accurately. I figure I will always address issues, the rest of my life. But without the band, a slip up would mean rapidly regaining all my wieght and then some. With the band, I can get it together before all of that happens. It is more forgiving. Alcoholics strive to fall off the wagon with less intensity and for shorter periods of time each time. Me too. And I've made peace with "dieting". I am on a strict "diet" of healthy food and porportions at home, and order whatever I want when I'm out, allowing the band to assist with just portion control. So I have my cake and eat it too, sort of. I also know that when I have good restriction per fluoroscope, but can eat too much, I've stretched my pouch. The time I did it, I was lucky that a few days of liquids resolved it. I'm always restricted in the morning, so I needed to stop gulping breakfast too. But if that hadn't worked and I needed a slight or complete unfill to take care of it, I'd gladly do it to re-start the restriction of the band. And finally, once a month, I go down the list of rules for the bandster life and keep a 3 day food long so I can honestly see what I've allowed to creep in. I'm making peace with the work involved...Heck, befor ethe band I was a total failure at weight stuff. Now it's just hard work. I can live with that.