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i have also not had any support, well my boyfriend is an alcoholic so being said when he;s sober he says hi slim....so yes says a kind word but doesn't lift a finger to help, I thought this week after I bought some liquid eggs perhaps he would make me one... nope just keeps asking when are we going out for lobsta .....sorry for your pain I hear you hun I am also in that right now.....

No, it's not offensive to me at all, even if we don't see eye to eye on it, that's besides the point, one important thing is to know and be able to trust the candidate, regardless of what party is, but that's the thing, it's so hard after you start finding out about their skeletons in their closet, I know you can't believe everything and I don't , from the ads or just in general but there are some things that you just can't ignore and will make you doubt inevitable... but that won't prevent me from voting though.. I thought I agreed with my boss's position and I even believe that there is still honesty to him, but sure it's confilcting when I hear them talking out of both sides of their mouths. I agree that it does matter who the president is for the same reasons that you mentioned, but sure what party dominates congress extremely important, so it's not all just the President. I would never consider not voting, you are right about that too. It must have been kind of a sweet and sour experience to work for your boss who you agreed with politically, but his personal life was affected by alcoholism, he probably could've done a much better job if he was handling it all by himself and sober, so to see that must be conflicting too...ugh!

Hello...I have 8 years clean and sober and I am being banded in Mexico on April 16, 2009...I feel like I am checking back into rehab now that I have a surgery date...I am looking to see if there is anyone local to me who would be interested in correspondence/support. It seems like staying clean is easy-just stay away from it, BUT WE ALL HAVE TO EAT!! UGH...I am taking it second by second.HOLDING ON!!!

Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon, and/or even Overeater's Anonymous would be worth exploring.

See if you can find a therapist in a Bariatric Program. There wouldn't be any way for someone to know you were there because of alcohol. I understand your concern being in the medical field - you seem to know someone wherever you go. For your health and well-being, don't let embarrassment, shame or fear stop you from getting help! Good luck!

07/20/2010 I am enjoying the small changes I have made in my eating just since meeting with the surgeon. My appointment is set for the psychologist in August (11th), and will get the appointment with the nutritionist when I return from Kansas for 2 weeks. I have been making myself eat with a baby spoon, chew everything 15-30 times (gad!)...have you ever tried to chew cottage cheese 30 times? I am not drinking alcohol (usually have wine at dinner) just to shrink the old liver for surgery. I keep visiting the chat rooms on lapbandtalk.com to see what others are or have experienced. I can already visualize myself as thin again.

I don't know if I mentioned before but I have put a lot of stock by the book "Potatoes, not Prozac" by Kathy De Maison - she talks about being MO and addicted to sugar - she originally found out while working with recovering alcoholics, if they stayed away from sugar they could keep up their resistance to alcohol much more efficiently. She then applied this thinking to herself, she was overweight, depressed, having a Jekyll/Hyde personality etc, and realised that she was sugar sensitive. When I read the book I was positive I was too sugar sensitive but did nothing for close to two years as I couldn't bear the thought of not having my sugar every day - when I was out at gatherings/parties/pubs people used to tease me about being tipsy/merry/slightly drunk and I wouldn't have had any alcohol at all - I definitely got a high from my sugar addiction - I was almost manic at times - I had a close friend at the time who is bi-polar, and he used to tell me my "symptoms" were almost exactly like his - swooping manic highs one minute, devastating depressed lows the next. When I was preparing for my surgery for banding, I decided to apply the principles of this book to my future W.O.E. (tm Donali!) and I cannot tell you enough about the difference it has made on my life - forget the weight loss, I feel so great, so in control - I can sleep, I don't feel depressed, I have more confidence, less mood swings etc - Food is definitely an addiction. It is never cured, just managed day by day. I strongly believe I will be managing this addiction forever, with the help of my band.

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

Beer. I don't miss it yet, but I am in mourning for it already. :grouphug: I love beer like a wine afficionado loves wine. I'm a stout/red/amber/black/micro-brew fan, but there's nothing like an ice cold domestic light brew on a hot day at the river... And since it has carbonation, it's on the band no-no list. :puke: My surgeon recommends no alcohol for a year, mostly due to the calories and the potential for addiction transferance. Once I do drink again, it's dirty martinis for me. Good thing I love good vodka too! :hurray:

Thank you so much for that Arthukd. Honestly, I do not see myself giving up alcohol entirely forever either ! Good to know I am normal in thinking so..........phew!! I am excited about the surgery too - I am so tired of being obese - I want to live in the real sense! Can't wait is right!

I love this thread! It's so fun getting to know everyone. I read all the "stats" and can't believe how much in common we all have. I can relate to just about all of the "deciding factors." So since we are all having our surgery in January, when are you starting your pre-op diet? I admit I am a bit of a party girl and purposely chose my surgery date for January 15th because my Dr told me I needed to do a 2 week pre-op diet- NO ALCOHOL. And since I want to enjoy the holidays, I set my date for January 15th. That said... what pre-op diet instructions has your Dr given all of you? Here's the diet I will be following: Protein shake for Breakfast and lunch. Lean Cuisine style meal for dinner. sugar free Jello or sugar free popsicles for a snack. Unlimited raw veggies. No dressing. During these 2 weeks (of hell) I also want to start my exercising. My Dr requires I lose 5% body weight prior to surgery. Plus it will get me off my @ss and start to eat right. I want to start following the "Couch to 5K" program. Anyone heard of it? Wanna do it with me?? We can motivate each other!!! I'll start January 1st! What better way to start out the New Year?!!?!?!

Six months post WLS and you've been put in a position to fail. Not by your doing but by an inconsiderate person. You have only ONE CHANCE to do it right. Only one. You need to give it your best shot and not have an inconsiderate person sabotage your path to better health. I once again bring up the comparison to being an alcoholic . Would you allow anyone to hinder your recovery from alcohol by letting them bring it into your home? NO, so why allow him to sabotage your recovery from poor health and obesity by allowing him to bring in junk food? The choice here is very simple, for you to succeed with weight loss and getting back to good health he cannot be a part of your every day lifestyle. Get rid of the food or pack it up and drop it off to the place he is going to but you need to get it out of your home. Remember you are only six months out and you've already gained weight. I'm out four years and I will tell you it gets harder NOT easier to lose and maintain the weight loss. Your in the best position of your life to lose the weight. Don't let Mr. inconsiderate ruin it for you. Despite what you might hear, insurance companies will not pay for a do over. Make the best of this golden opportunity.

yes and no When I was in high school and thrown off the football team for chewing out the coach I went through a huge weight gain -- coincided with drinking tons of soda and such Normal weight was 180, but shot up to 240, but easily lost it within a few months doing tons of situps, pushups, and eating nothing but a couple Peanut Butter and jelly sandwiches a day. Weight was fine for years until a post-relationship depression went on (when you work hard for years to keep a relationship going then decide fuck it), in my mid-late 20s, a bunch of health issues arised and shot up again but instead of from 180 to 240 in a matter of a year or so, went up to 360 in 5 years. So I'm here in my early-mid 30s with newly diagnosed stage 3 fibrosis and type 2 diabetes. I'm not accustomed to weighing a lot so the changes I went through were all debilitating to me. Apparently after MRI's and such I had fractured my spine as a kid but never knew it until I had this weight gain, then moving to another house caused me serious injury to where I need facet injections in my lower lumbar (soon to be some sort of ablation) as simply taking out the trash caused extreme amounts of pain to my back. In the US, we're not educated enough how utterly useless carbs and especially sugar are in the diet, and how easily we can get into dangerous territory without thinking about it. Given how it's turned into a serious societal issue where kids in their 20s are having fibrotic/cirrhotic livers without even being alcoholics or drug addicts, it really points to an education being necessary. Since being in Canada, I've noticed the education is a little better, but still needs improvement. It's definitely a western problem, where we're taught to be good little excess consumers with little regard for our health. It's up to us to change that. My surgeon decided on a 12 week pre-op liquid diet that I started Feb 1st, far longer than I see anyone else with, already I went from 350 pounds to 314. I'm thinking if I really have to go all 12 weeks (OR date already confirmed April 20) I'm likely gonna be in the 200s before surgery. Some have said why not be on this miserable diet for so and such amount of time to get back down to normal weight, but sometimes for us mechanisms of hunger (satiety) we can't control are required to be corrected. In my case, the surgery should accomplish this. Also, a very important point, that for many of us who "become" this way, it's up to us to recognize where we screwed up and work to change it. Personal responsibility is a must.

Hey everyone! I just wanted to update you on my progress. I had surgery on Dec 20th and have lost 52lbs since Dec 1st when starting my pre-op diet. My starting weight was 296 and I'm now at 244. But I started dieting a couple of years ago on phentermine diet pills and gained half the weight back after I quit taking them. So I've lost 95lbs total so far from my highest weight of 339. I don't know how many inches I've lost but I can really tell the difference in my clothes. I used to wear a 5x in scrub tops and now I wear a 2x. Also I bought my first x-large top last week which is very exciting. I really don't like the flabby skin on my arms so I've been working out a little with some weights and I joined Curves last week so hopefully I can tighten up some of the loose skin. Today is my birthday so I had my first alcoholic beverage last night while celebrating the superbowl game and today I had my first dessert since my surgery which was a chocholate cupcake to celebrate. I wish everyone good luck and hope all is going well!!!

Sugar alcohols will do it, and not in a good way. That being said, I have a confession to make. A few years back while I still was still working, I used to keep a jar of jelly Beans on my desk. This one man that worked in the office was not only a jerk but pretty much cleaned out my jar each week. I enjoyed people helping them selves but most people would take a few but this guy would take huge handfuls and put some in his shirt pocket for later.I let him know one time that he was welcome to bring in a bag every once in a while to fill the kitty. He looked at me and said "why would I do that when you will do it?" Wrong thing to say to me. Next day, I went and bought 3 bags of the sugarfree jelly belly beans. It says on the bag not to eat more than a few because of the of the high content of sugar alcohols in them. He was all over them by 9am. I made sure I got up and left my desk area when I saw him coming. The warning on the bag is true. That's all I'm saying. To add to my delight, I let him know after the fact that those were sugarfree. He never ate another one of my jellybeans.

Slider foods are high calorie high fat item which can still be eaten easily and in quantity after surgery. Some examples are as follows: ice cream, milkshakes, chips, candy bars, cookies, alcoholic drinks, fruit juices, etc. I hope that helps

What kind of doctor recommends alcohol and soda to a post bariatric surgery patient?! I would seriously have concerns. I was warned that it is possible to lose too must weight. Of course, some people never lose as much as they would have liked so it is not across the board. I did have a friend who has Gastric Bypass who lost more than she wanted to and she consistently upped her calorie intake until she got back to where she wanted to be, but she didn't eat crap food. Keep in mind, that it is normal for people to gain 10-15 pounds within five years. My doctor said not to worry if I felt like I got a little too skinny because my sleeve would stretch a little over time and I would gain some weight.

Ever since this story aired on the evening news I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind. For years the National Weight Control Registry has been keeping records and documentation of those who have lost weight and kept it off for years. The term “Super Dieters” tends to turn me off a bit because we all know diets don’t work and no one should be called “Super” as if figuring out how to manage your weight somehow gives you magic powers. I’ve been a member for several years. The questions are extensive… they ask everything you eat, your activity, how much you weigh, did you gain, did you lose, etc. Ok…. so they gave us six tips these people seem to have in common and I’m thinking most people won’t get past the first one. Just like knowing the sky is blue, this first tip will be just like being told it isn’t….but what if this nugget is really spot-on? Truth is it won’t apply to everyone but I’m going to attempt to explain why it might apply to way more than you think. Let’s get the next part over with (the posting of the list) so we can go ahead and get done with the screaming after reading the first rule. Rule No. 1. Don’t ever cheat. They never give themselves a break, not even on holidays or weekends. Rule No. 2. Eat breakfast. The National Weight Control Registry shows that’s one of the most common traits of those who succeed in keeping those pounds off once and for all. Rule No. 3. Get on a scale every day. Rule No. 4. Put in the equivalent of a four-mile walk seven days a week. Rule No. 5. Watch less than half as much TV as the overall population. Rule No. 6. Eat 50 to 300 calories less than most people. So rule 4,5, and 6 deal with the “stuff” we’ve heard forever….calories in/calories out. For years I never ate breakfast because every day for over three decades I woke up with the idea that I would go as long as possible without eating. Too bad no one was around to tell me in the 4th grade that I was destroying my metabolism. So check…Rule 2 is a given. Since finding out there are about approximately 2,000 steps in a mile, most days…Rule 4, check! Rule 5 done. Sometimes I watch TV while I’m walking so I’m not sure exactly how that fits in. Rule 3 is an absolute for me. “Hello scale” every morning…it just gives me feedback and it has no special monster powers. I’ll do a “part two” in order to cover this in another post because this one is for everyone still laying on the floor from a cold faint after reading Rule 1. My surgery was nearly 13 years ago and I’ve learned many, many things. Some beliefs that were absolutes changed and Rule 1 was one of them. I’ve told this before and I’m telling it again. Early on I would allow myself my one guilty pleasure ONLY IF I was able to get 5 pounds below goal. (It was a Quarter Pounder with cheese – insert my self induced shame). I was somehow able to stick to that but what I noticed was on the days I couldn’t have it, I wanted it! Eventually it became harder and nearly impossible to get 5 pounds below goal and after some period of time I also realized that I was beginning to forget how my “crack” meal tasted. Then I totally forgot and I didn’t even crave it anymore. Because I stopped eating it I had successfully rewired my brain to lose the cravings. I was also acutely aware the cravings would come right back if I ate another one…even one bite. Um….duh. That’s sort of like quitting cigarettes and having one just for fun after 3 years. I’ll say this again too. For me, the idea of taking a bite of something to get past the craving equates to giving an alcoholic a sip of beer to stop the craving. SOME of us can take these bites but so many cannot. If I had a quarter for every post-op that told me the M&M story, I could take a trip to Mexico. The M&M story you might ask? Maybe it’s because they are tiny…but the story always starts the same. “I was doing great for 2 years, 4 years, (sometimes even longer) and I ate one M&M. Really what could that hurt? Next it was two then three…then a small bag, a bigger bag.” Some call it testing the waters. They went such a long time without one single M&M and nobody died, they certainly didn’t miss out on anything of nutritional value and they were doing great until they decided they could try just one. In other words they never cheated during that time and most were at the weight they wanted to be or at least smaller than after they started the M&M’s. You CAN be abstinent from sugar and junk food and it is far easier if you have none instead of a little for those that struggle with not being able to stop. Again let me repeat….IF you can “eat just one”, go for it. I’m beyond thrilled for you!!! If you find you are not losing or you are in the process of regain, you could always try stopping any food you don’t wish to crave. Try it for a month but approach it one day at a time. When I’m somewhere and there’s a bowl of M&M’s, I look at it as if it’s a bowl of cyanide. Sugar put me in the prison of an obese body and at the end I would have rather died than spend another day at my heaviest weight. And really….if you were a drug addict would you allow yourself a cheat snort once a week? This is a great quote that applies. 100% is easy, 99% is a b***h. Not eating processed sugar and junk food 100% is so easy but 99% leaves a ton of wiggle room. It has became totally effortless for me to avoid these foods but please don’t misunderstand…..my journey is still something I work on every….single…day. If you still think this is utterly ridiculous, file it away for later. My favorite quote: There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance — that principle is contempt prior to investigation. It means don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. And just in case you might have missed this before… I’ll leave you with an oldie but goodie.. .

My guess would be that since you're generally eating a lot less, the alcohol is getting absorbed into your system faster. I can handle a glass of wine (maybe two on a good day) and that's about it. The upside is it's a lot cheaper to drink! As for beer, I generally stay away from it these days. If I do have a beer (I'm a Pennsylvania girl, so I gotta have my lager once in awhile!), I let it sit for a bit before drinking it, and then I drink it VERY slowly! If I try to drink it too quickly or don't let it sit for a bit then it hurts. It's a good idea to stay away from it for the most part.

Believe it or not all of these have one thing in common! I was banded 7/11 so 23 days ago.. since day 5 post surgery I have been able to burp (thank goodness because when my stomach is empty, I burp, a lot..) I am really not a big fan of hard alcohol or wine. I enjoy a beer or two every once in a blue moon, have read several previous threads with mixed responses and a lot of them warn against beer due to carbonation, but if I am able to burp without any problem does that make it different? Oh only have 5 oz in my band if that makes any difference... dr said ok but expect swelling but surgeons heavily warn against any alcohol due to erosion potential

Wow...where do I start.... I up my workout game this week. Moved from 2.5 miles to 3 miles of walking this week. I am really loving this sleeve knowing that the fruits of my workout will reflect in my body transformation. I walked into my office yesterday and one of the ladies said I looked stunning. It did wonders for my inner self. In fact, a number of people are commenting on my weight loss. I went to a BBQ on Labor Day (dat was torture) and I girl I had not seen in a few months, told me I had lost weight and looked good...Made me feel all giddy..especially since I am still about 50lbs shy of my final goal...I can only imagine what that will look like. But back to the BBQ...There was so much food and drink...I think I missed the alcohol more than I did the food. BBQ is almost a synonym for drinking and all could have was my light pink lemonade...The compliments made it better though...lol... This week also represents the week, I put on a two pair of shorts I could not wear pre-surgery and a pair of jeans...One pair of shorts was actually loose...I have this lil dress that I wore in the day that I absolutely loved. I am not sure if I would wear it again as an outfit as it is dated but I kept it because I wanted to get back into it...The day that happens....I think I am going to hit the floor....(but I also plan on taking pics to mark that day). I told my mom about the surgery this week. I had not told her before because when I tried feeling her out about it, she had so much negative stuff to say so I left her out of one of the most important decisions of my life. I felt bad and underhanded but I needed to mentally prepare for this surgery and so could not deal with her opinions. She still had some stuff to say about it but now that it is done, I do not receive her comments as hard. This Sunday I am able to start soft foods. I am so happy...These last two weeks I have really begun to miss food. I have planned about 30 first meals...lol..My body is over the protein shakes so I need some natural protein. My stomach is upset with the protein shakes. As I begin to eat, I am hoping I can once again tolerate them as they offer a good influx of protein if you are struggling to get it in. I am still not having regular bowel movements without assistance of a stool softner. Driving me crazy as I went everyday so to be only able to go once a week with assistance gets me so out of sorts. But with all that said...where I am today...I think I am beginning to see some changes..I measure next Friday so I am excited to see what those numbers reveal. VSG 08/17/12 HT 5'8 HW 232 (08/13/12) SW 227 CW 208.8 (-23.6lbs) I will take it...I had a goal (one of many) to be 205 by 09/17. I am on target to make it happen...(Sleeve don't fail me now..lol)

Oh you are so sweet. It's just been difficult dealing with that, as well as handling the stress of the upcoming surgery. Sometimes it feels like I'm looking into a mirror and seeing the worst parts of myself being lived out by her. I doubt that makes much sense, but that's how it feels. She called me last night sloppy drunk again. This time wanting to talk about how she's so excited to go to TJ with me so we can go out and have margaritas. Explained to her AGAIN that I won't be drinking...I'll be having surgery, and she's going to make sure that I'm okay. At this point I'm rethinking whether or not I want her to go. She's a wonderful nurse, and great when she isn't drinking; but I don't know if I can trust her to stay sober the entire time we're down there. That's awful. I feel like I've betrayed her just by typing those words onto the screen. I plan on getting into group for adult children of alcoholics, but right now the only time they meet in my city is Monday's, and I have class on Monday night. So I'll have to try and get there once I finish up this course. I'm in an accelerated program at my school (trying to knock out my last 5 classes before grad school!) and this class ends at the end of the month, so hopefully I'll be able to get in there soon! I did call and talk to my dad today. He's been pretty supportive of everything. I told him about being worried for her, and he feels the same way. He's been clean and sober for 15 years, after a particularly frightening incident when my siblings and I were children. I don't know how he does it being around her, but he's still on the wagon and going strong. Said he couldn't stand the thought of taking another drink and hurting the family any more than what he's already done. I'm just hoping he'll talk her into getting help before it gets worse.

I have been banded for 10 years. Had the weight off for 8 years and then BAM, retired and last year of work was a nightmare with the boss from hell. I know, that is not an excuse, but here I am again trying to lose this 35-40 pounds gained from stress eating. Getting back on this website has helped me get my resolve to do this again and I hope that this helped you with knowing that we all slip one time or another and we can do this again. I believe that obesity is a disease like alcoholism, the only difference is that you can quit alcohol but you cannot totally give up food. We need to have control at all times and it is definitely HARD TO DO.

I'm stuck between 192-195. I need to buckle down and exercise. Plus, cut out alcohol on the weekends!

Nope. I can eat anything. I have tried it all. Only thing my surgeon bans is carbonation. Have not tried that and don't intend to. That said, after you are recovered, that is when the real work begins. I am actually a year out as of today! I have not barfed, slimed, dumped or had any adverse reactions whatsoever to anything. Just because I can eat it doesn't mean I should. I eat very healthy 80 % of the time. I eat better 15% of the time and I eat good about 5% and by good its anything goes. Each surgeon has their own idea of what their patients can and can not consume post op. There are lots of folks who are told, no coffee, no bread, no alcohol, no this and no that. For me, it was just carbonation. I can live with that. I am still a work in progress, I have realistically about 13 pounds to go. Even though my goal is 130, I don't think I will look good or feel my best at that weight. Progress has been very slow the last few months but that was to be expected. I know you have heard that the sleeve is a tool and it is. It is a wonderful tool but it still takes a lot of hard work and permanent changes overall. You can do and If you love your sleeve half as much a I do, it will be the best thing for your health you have ever made! Best of luck to you!