Search the Community

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!!!

But of course it's nothing at all to do with alcohol per se.

Hi I'm going to a big wedding and really want to have a drink there. I am 3 and half weeks post op. Also my social gathering amount all my friends I've had for over 20 years all gather for drinks on weekends and I'm being to feel left out of my social group. Would I harm myself by having just 2 gin and orange every Saturday at this stage? In 2 days it will be 4 weeks post op.

I had my RNY surgery on April 8th and just took a road trip to Florida this past weekend. I packed a small cooler with Premier Protein shakes, water and cheese sticks. I also brought bananas. We only stopped once to go to the restroom. My boyfriend even just ate cheese sticks and bananas with me. I would have my few bites and he would have a whole and then finish mine! It worked well! Also I went to FL for a wedding. My surgeon said it was ok to have small amounts of alcohol to celebrate the toasts etc. Everyone around me drank. I had small sips of drinks but really I had no desire to drink much. Because I can get such small amounts of liquid in I was more thirsty for water in the Florida heat than anything else. Have a great trip and try not to think too much about it.

The surgeon and team I had said no more alcohol ever. I'm 7 months out no alcohol at all and don't plan on starting. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G925A using the BariatricPal App

they wouldn't send me home with a precription for the dex, so I'm still in the "test" phase. I can only hope they got the numbers that I need. Yesterday I had another one of those frantic freaker/tweeker episodes. Heh, I'm sure I'd be arrested for being intoxicated in public! I ended up walking in a circle in my kitchen for over an hour... When my brain started to work again, I taught my spud boy how to make a drink for me. He's not wild about giving me booze, but alcohol and cortisol "eat" each other, so I can only hope that one or more stiff drinks will bring me out of it. I'm so tired of this. I went to bed lastnight at about 3 am, was wired until about 4:30, up again at 6am and then at 8 am again. I am pretty sure this UFC will be really high, but I don't "need" any more high UFCs.... And I'm rambling again.

Wow! I'm so excited to find you all! I've been struggling and yo-yoing for years. Almost every time I meet a new doctor, one of the first things they ask is if I want to consider WLS. I've always said NO. I really thought I could do it on my own, and I have, several times, but always gain it back and more. Now my knees are bone-on-bone and I am in constant pain. My quality of life stinks and I hate not being able to do even the most "normal" things, like clean my apartment, walk up stairs, etc. I now work at a hospital and have good benefits and noticed on our website that they are offering a virtual info session on their weight loss surgery options. So, I signed up! I found this website by searching about alcohol after WLS! lol . I have a goal for 2023, to do a Mediterranean cruise. I went on one in 2016 when I was about 30 pounds lighter. I was able to walk and get around, but I know it would have been so much better if I wasn't so heavy/morbidly obese. I want to go back and see the places we missed (I travel with my daughters) and I know if I don't get this weight off, I won't be able to do it.

I see a couple of questions here so I will answer them as I understand them, and if I've not answered the right questions, let me know. I can eat whatever I want as long as I'm careful and listed to my body. I read this in a few ways, and I'm not sure which you're asking, so I'll answer both. Can you drink alcohol? Yes, you can drink alcohol. Can you drink with meals? I CAN, as long as the food is passing through the stoma. I used to sip with meals, but I don't so much anymore. If I have food that has not cleared the stoma, drinking hurts and can make me have to yak. Tough to know how to answer this because overeating and my social life were never the same thing... so ability or inability to overeat is a "not applicable" when it comes to my social life out at a restaurant, for example. Can you overeat? Umm... yeah, unless you're tight and have consistent restriction. If you don't have restriction, the band can't do its job. If you do have restriction, you could still have irregular restriction patterns (for example you're very tight in the morning and not at all tight in the evening). But if you have restriction AND have it consistently, overeating is fairly limited to grazing because you're only able to physically hold so much until the food begins to clear the stoma. If you overeat with good restriction, this could most definitely impact your social life! :laugh

Also, be careful with alcohol after surgery. Since you no longer have food as an escape lots of Bariatric patients end up turning to alcohol and end up in AA... I've seen it happen to myself as we'll as 2 of my friends who had the surgery. Since you can't eat and drink at the same time you end up drinking on an empty stomach and we all know how fast alcohol hits on an empty stomach.

I started w/ bmi of 36.3 and I'm now 23.9. (I'm 14 months post surgery). For me, when I'm out w/ friends I still have eyes that are bigger than my stomach. I have fun and occasionally have some alcohol or a treat, but I try to stay within my daily calorie allotment. Just remember to order the appetizer and not the entree (unless you want to take home a doggy bag)!

I had originally gone to my surgeon to repair a symptomatic ventral hernia. I had not even considered surgery for weight loss before I spoke to him. I just did not realize it was an option for me. Over the last year I had a number of things go wrong, aside from losing my job due to covid, my husband died of alcoholism. He was a cruel drunk and I spent the last two years with him wearing a headset to block out his raging and hiding in video games from his cruelty. I gained a lot of weight quickly. My labs were growing increasingly bad, my liver enzymes elevated, and then I was diagnosed with parathyroid disorder and prediabetic. Finally it dawned on me after I was given the option for weight loss surgery, it was time to reclaim my life and move forward and find my happiness. I was told the surgery would likely correct the things that had been popping up as long as I follow the program and lose the weight. That is what I am doing and my life is slowly being reshaped as I take each step towards a healthier lifestyle.

Even caffeinated beverages count to your fluid intake. It's outdated thinking that caffeine dehydrates you more than the fluid hydrates you. They've done new research on this. So, if you drink coffee or tea, include this. The only drinks that would NOT count would be alcohol. Have you considered taking lactaid pills with your dairy? For some people that completely solves the problem (you have to take it each time you have dairy). Or drinking lactose free milk? It depends on the person, because some people have a slightly different lactose-related problem. One of my friends can eat dairy just fine as long as she has lactaid pills with it, or uses lactose-free milk, but my neighbor can't have dairy at all. I agree with adding beans if you can digest them, and foods like farro, quinoa, chia seeds, vegan protein powder (it doesn't have dairy - only if you decide to increase protein again), etc. There is also a snack I've found called Bada Bean (I don't think that's the exact name), which is toasted fava beans in different seasonings, and I think they're great. They are high in fiber and have some protein and fat. I agree with others who say to find a different nutritionist, but I would suggest finding one who specializes in bariatric needs. I'm so sorry you had this experience.

I was my mother's caregiver. She had Parkinson's Disease - the type that causes not only the involuntary movements of the upper body, but the type that also results in dementia, paranoia, etc. And she had severe Osteoporosis - so bad that her spine was crumbling with stress fractures and she couldn't wear her dentures because the bone in her lower jaw was just gone. Obviously, she could only walk very short distances, with the aid of a walker. When my mom got so bad she couldn't be left alone at all, I hired people to stay with her while I was at work, and for several nights each week. The rest of the time, I took care of her. I did her laundry, and my own. I cooked for my family, plus whatever my mother wanted to eat at that particular moment in time. I changed the litter box for her 2 cats, did all her shopping, and ran all her errands. My family and I did all her yard work, as well. I had a job, a husband, and 4 children, but no life of my own. I could not go on a vacation, or even a weekend trip. I thought I was going to have to miss my son's wedding rehearsal because it was on Friday night and I didn't have a sitter for my mom. I treasure the things I have that were my mother's. Every time I open her recipe box, I see all those little index cards covered with her handwriting. I couldn't have cared less about the money, but I would have fought for that recipe box. Now my mother-in-law lives with me. She is almost 87 and I take care of her, although she's in great shape for a woman her age (but almost deaf as a post). I know a little bit about caring for the elderly. It's not a lot of fun, I agree. But I can close my eyes and feel my mother's hand on my forehead when I was sick. She was a single mom - divorced from my alcoholic father when I was 5 years old. She raised us by herself. She was a teacher, but she worked two jobs most of my childhood, and she took in ironing to pay for my dancing lessons. My brother, who did absolutely nothing as far as caring for our mother, got the same inheritance as I did, by the way.

I didn't drink before surgery, I gave it up because of my diabetes. I have enjoyed alcohol a few times since surgery. My tolerance is the same. I don't get tipsy any faster. I don't really enjoy alcohol so I don't have it often. It is a non issue for me, but I think it is worth it to be cautious about it. Especially if you miss food, are unhappy or lived a life prior to surgery where you were not very social and being social is new to you. I partied enough in college and my 20s enough for 4 lifetimes.

My plan allows alcohol after 3 months but no beer, not even small batch craft beer.... I probably have 3-4 drinks a year but the food holidays are coming. ....I think your doctor pulled that "statistic" out of his bum.

It's not THE food, it's THE TYPE of foods. You can be addicted to sugars, starches (carbs) etc. Don't you think? Basically, all that metabolizes about the same as alcohol in your system. Then, we have the whole 'endorphin' process - which is very much linked to addiction. Makes alot of sense to me.

You must of missed my previous post where I stated that I no longer smoke and can't stand the smell of it due to pregnancy. You must of also missed the posts where I stated that I do agree with venue's either being totally smoke free or allowing smoke, that way the public is allowed to choose and no one has to be subjected to smoke if they don't want it. The last I checked I lived in a free country, so smokers should not be made to feel like the outcasts of society when there doing something that is totally legal. What got the fire going in my belly is years of comments such as "Don't you know it's bad for you" and "battery acid and ammonia" just to name a few. I will say it again, smokers are not dumb or stupid they know that it's not good for them, but like any addiction, smoking, over eating, drugs or alcohol it's an addiction.

Our town has a similar ban. The difference is that any establishment that makes more than 50% of its profit off of alcohol can have smoking. That leaves every public place, except bars, smoke free.

I too bought the glogg. I have been adding a splash to my hot tea in the mornings. I love the fact that one of the ingredients in non-alcoholic wine. WTF??? wouldn't that be rotten juice then? Wine has alcohol....or so I thought. I was also told that the glogg is great added to a pork roast in the crock pot, I don't eat pork so I have no intention of trying it, but the lady at Ikea that was buying 2 cases of it swears by it. ~Mandy

There is an entire history from my hubby's mother/grandmother of the year mom. His parents divorced when he was 13, and his brother was 16. His brother lived with mom and my hubby chose dad. Mom was an alcoholic (brother is too), a chain smoker and very abusive to my hubby but his brother could do no wrong. Now that has transfered to the grandkids. The brothers kids are great, she spends time with them, attends soccer games and school programs. My daughter gets overlooked every year. I prefer it that way, she is not loving and kind like a grandma should be. She is overbearing and short tempered. She threatned to spank Abi a few years ago and I told her if she ever spanked my child I would press charges. We are her parents and should handle the punishments. We don't spank her, she gets her hands slapped or she gets timeout. Spanking simply doesn't work with an ADHD child. She says that is a cop out for us not wanting to be more firm with her. We have the pleasure of seeing her 4 times a year, the 3 kids b-day and the week before Christmas we all get togehter at my house and exchange gifts. I have the holidays in my home, I hated being taken to family's house after opening our gifts as a kid so I don't make Abi do that, we spend days before the holidays with extended family and friends. Then Christmas afternoon is open house around here. I make enough desssert for about 75 people and there is usually one a few small things left over. I tried to make a relationship wih DH's family. (they have never been a close family) and it worked for a while. Then 3 years ago Abi was getting old enough to understand what the gifts were, and what home means. So I put my foot down and said that holidays would be in our home, we could do other days with family. My wonderful DH's grandma tod everyone I was a black sheep and she disowned me and hubby. I was told that unless I planned to spend the entire day at her house I wasn't welcomed there anymore. She actually told me that I could not see my family on Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Easter. I told her she was being unreasonable and that is when she disowned us. Fastforward about a year, I was working in a very busy tattoo studio that was being put on the market for sale. She and her roommate decided to buy the place and allow me to run it, they were going to be there only to collect money and handle paying the utility bills. I worked for them for 8 months. I was expected to stay at the same salary, and commission rate but now work extra hours, do all the supply shopping, and clean the shop twice a month on my days off. When I asked for a raise or some help with the cleaning and shopping (these were never my job before) I was called moneyhungry and accused of trying to run them into the poor house. I worked 3 nights a week, 5pm to 10pm and sat from noon to midnight. I got $200 a week plus commission. My job was to manage the artist, order all shop supplies, help customers, do light cleaning and work the front counter. I made 50% of my piercings (industry standard is between 35% and 60%). I tried to talk to my MIL and her partner and explain that I was having to drive to my mom's house to care for Abi, and that was also taking serious time, and gas money and the shopping was also costing me gas money and time. I also had to pay for everything and wait for the end of the week to get reimbursed. I was totally stressing out, losing my hair, and my blood pressure was going through the roof. I started hating my job, a job that I had for 10 years and loved every day that I worked. One day my home phone rang and it was the busines partner, screaming about the price of papertowels, saying I was spending too much. I told her the comfort of the customers was very important to me and she said that the money was more important. I told her I quit and have never been back. The relationship with MIL has never been the same. She stood there crying while I packed my things in the shop. The partner called the police to make sure I didn't steal anything from them. It was such an ugly situation, I have never forgiven her for allowing the partner to treat me the way she did. She never defended me and never tried to make the situation better. Things are always tense now, and I suspect they always will be. I love my husband and can't understand how such a cold hearted woman could have raised such a wonderful man. I am gald to have him in my life and my mother loves him like a son. He says that he is the luckiest man in the world. He has a great MIL, and he always says I got the short end of the stick with his mom. Now that you know the story, you can see why her behavior is not surprising at all. It just sucks for Abi has to suffer. I have a girlfriend that is older and she treats Abi like a grandchild, and also a neighbor that loves her too. She is lucky, she has several people in her life that make up for the lack of a real grandparent on that side of the family. Sorry to ramble, but I feel much better now. ~Mandy

I am very much in the way of a libertarian when it comes to the issues of sexual practices between consenting adults and this includes prostitution, the use of soft drugs, and the use of tobacco and alcohol. Nevertheless, I am all for certain curbs. In France it is illegal for prostitutes to solicit near schools or hospitals. This seems like a good idea to me. The current legislation which bans indoor smoking in public places also makes sense. While I am a libertarian when it comes to the use of alcohol, I do believe that the penalty when caught driving under the influence should be severe, and the penalty for killing someone while driving under the influence should be very severe. It should be noted that using a cell phone while driving is also an unsafe practice, some say that this is almost as risky as driving under the influence. Nevertheless, I do not believe that suffering a whiff of second hand tobacco or marijuana smoke while you are on the street and not in an enclosed space is anymore lethal than sucking in a load of vehicle fumes. While you may disapprove of the practice of smoking this really is an ill-advised witch hunt. Open air smoking fumes do not equal car exhaust. I live in Toronto, which is a large city in southern Ontario. As soon as the mercury begins to rise during the summer months we find ourselves subjected to a number of days when there are smog advisories. These are warnings that the air in southern Ontario and northern New York state just isn't moving and that it is so polluted that we should avoid outdoor activities. Now, this toxic air is blamed upon excessive vehicle use and on industry; no one has blamed the cigarette and ganja smokers as of this time of writing. Each summer we citizens are asked to car pool/use public transit and to avoid turning on our air conditioners as much as possible. We have never yet been asked to butt out. Smokers in Ontario have long been accustomed to being forbidden to smoke indoors in public places. As for ganja, this has never, ever been legal in Ontario. It is certain that the above poster is not clear on her facts. Canada's previous government was considering decriminalizing the simple possession of pot. This change would have meant that the guy caught with a joint or two would never end up clogging up our legal system; dealers would still be on the hook. This is, as you can see, entirely different from legalising the drug. I will also mention that Ontario is only one of ten Canadian provinces and as such simply cannot set its own policies on the legalisation of those drugs which are deemed to be illegal by the federal government of Canada. I will mention that I do, however, have friends who smoke even though I don't. I sure don't have anything against pot, it is just that this is a drug which reacts very badly with my own brain chemistry. I don't enjoy the drug. This is why I don't use it. I have never become stoned from smelling pot fumes. I will also confess that I found the above posts very irritating because the writer showed no grasp of the facts concerning either Ontario or Canada's stand on soft drug use.

It's just an alien alcohol drink........

I am 3 months post op and for the past couple of weeks would have a glass of wine a few times. I did not notice that I was more or less buzzed than I would get before surgery. But that is me and my metabolizm... someone else could be totally different. You are only a week out and no way would I have alochol of any kind, you should talk to your doctor and also remember that alcohol is high in calories and no nuritional value what so ever.

@@Queen of Crop I had a seroma. It should be just Fluid, not blood. The layers of your stomach that were peeled apart, didn't stick together correctly, so now your body thinks that it's injured and it's producing all of that extra fluid to try to heal you, which your body doesn't realize isn't helping much. I had a seroma for about a month, it was annoying, it required a second drain be put in, and then multiple times being drained, and then finally my doctor filled the seroma with alcohol, which did the trick, dried it all up, and I was good within two weeks. The trick to healing the seroma quickly is to avoid twisting...you want those two layers to stick back together. I caused mine because I just had to walk miles and miles everyday too soon after surgery and the twisting of my torso resulted in a seroma. Wear your binder and your compression, and think of it this way....it has to heal and it probably isn't getting any worse, so you only have improvement to look forward to!

Sunday morning I woke up got aout of bed and noticed one of my feet was a bit puffy at the ball. Figured it was because I wore tennis shoes the day before. Through out the day my foot started hurting more and more. By the late afternoon I was in terrible pain. Monday morning I woke up and the pain was very intense. On a scale of 1 to 10 it was at a 9. I have a high tolerance for pain compared to most. Ended up calling in sick to work because I neede crutches to get around and went to the doc. Turned out I have gout which I have never had before. The cure for gout is heavy duty anti inflamitories which I was told I could never have again after having my sleeve. Turns out that is not true, but you want to limit it as much as possible. There are many possible reason for the gout. 1) high protien diet, 2) rapid weight loss, 3) alcohol ( which I have given up). Has anyone else experience gout after surgery? If so, what coarse of action did you take. Did you try reducing your protien intake? I find it hard to beleive its a protien issue. Sure, we are on a high Protein diet, but in my case even with protein being the goal I am still eating much less protein than before surgery. I have to conclude that the main cause is rapid weight loss. What are your thoughts? I hope this does not come and go once I get to maintanance. It fricking hurts a lot.