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For me personally, I have a hard time with sugar free foods because of the sugar alcohols. Everyone is different though. The key is moderation!

What do you mean what alcoholic drinks to try when weaning back into alcohol? Are you looking for recommendations on low alcohol or low sugar or low carbonation drinks? My favorite drink is champagne but it's quite sweet and bubbly so that might not be the best choice. I'm thinking maybe some Rose or Chardonnay might be a better. I do like vodka drinks but some of the mixers might be hard on the stomach. I don't tend to drink hard alcohol straight; however, some pineapple infused vodka with lots of ice might make a nice drink. I'm only 6 weeks post-op and am not sure when I might try a drink. I may wait 3 months, 6 months, a year, never, who knows. I definitely don't want to cause an ulcer but an occasional drink might be fine. TBD

My doctor said no alcoholic drinks for a year! I'm 3 months post. I have had a couple very small sips of red wine maybe 3 times now. I did feel the alcohol quickly since I had not had any for 2-3 months. I will continue to be very sparse with this. Too much sugar will hinder the weight loss. And I'm loving my results MORE than I love drinks. [emoji12]

To help your body reset its set point weight make sure you are exercising daily and cut out wheat.... no bread, crackers... and keep sugar low and you'll lose. Make sure you're getting your 2 protein shakes in day. And the longer you can stay off alcohol the better. The weight lose doesn't stall that much it stalls cause people start eating everything if you stick to no wheat and little sugar you'll keep losing.

I personally won't drink a drop of alcohol until I know my liver issues are completely resolved first. Another criteria I'm imposing is to be my bottomed-out weight, so I don't have to worry about stalls that will result. Like others here have shown with their planning, it makes 100% sense to go at it from a logical perspective.. just be careful if you're doing any sort of exercise or prolonged standing. Keep hydrated and fed.

I either have red wine or whiskey and water (depending on whether I want to have the carbs in the wine or not). On those days I do have drinks, I have to maximize protein and minimize calories through protein shakes. Basically, I have to reserve calories for the alcohol, and since I'd rather be able to eat real food rather than drink, it has become just an every-once-in-a-while thing for me now. (No beer for me, though, since I won't do any carbonation...) Good luck!

Hello folks! I just had my 2-week follow up with my surgeon today. I am excited to be moving onto stage 4 (out of 5, being solids food and forever based on my surgical center's directions)... I am able to take in soft foods and thicker purees. My surgeon told me that I can resume drinking alcohol again at the 2 month mark. I know this might be a contraversal topic and I know many have different opinions and experiences. But if all goes as well I plan to resume drinking and enjoy some alcholic beverages again. I have heard that others do drink beer (which is carbonated). I am willing to try it and see how my stomach tolerates it. But I am normally a liquor drinker or mixed drinks. I am used to drinking vodka in sprite or ginger ale. I am trying to plan what non-carbinated drinks I can make especially with vodka. I would love to find a ginger based drink because it would go well with vodka in my opinion. Does anyone have any ideas of what alcoholic drinks to try when weening back into alcohol. *note* note I also know that I will try my first drink at home and be aware that it will affect me quicker. I know that I need to be aware of my calorie intake and know that alcohol = sugars. -Joe M.

Thanks everyone for your responses. They were very helpful. Now thinking about the standing for long periods of time..I know that happened to me once while waiting for a concert to start (it sounds like I go all of the time lol), and actually walked out early because I started to feel nauseous and hot. I didn't have alcohol then since I was 2 months post-op, but I think of how I was then - combined with alcohol and a bit of salad for dinner..it must've been too much, causing me to pass out. I think the best thing for me to do is stay away from alcohol for a bit anyway, but I'll be more cautious when I know I'm going to be in similar situations. Thanks again for everyone's input. And I believe someone asked which concert.. it was Marian Hill

I have almost passed out several times, I don't drink so I can't blame it on alcohol. The main thing that triggers it for me is standing still for long periods and becoming over heated. I don't really sweat anymore, I go from normal to hot very fast. Standing makes the blood pool in your feet and you get dizzy. Low calories. I used to try and save my calories for dates, and not eat much during the day, but mistake which probably leads to the other cause... Low blood sugar If the alcohol did anything it wasn't because of the liquor, it is because it spiked your sugar and then made it drop. If I go some place and I am just standing for long periods, I get dizzy every single time.

For post WLS patients the hypoglycemia after booze would be reactive, and it can cause you to pass out. Alcohol is extremely carb-dense, and its liquid so it will be absorbed very quickly, your body will respond in kind by releasing tons of insulin into the bloodstream. The booze will past through your digestive tract extremely quickly and the insulin will lower the glucose in your bloodstream by far more than you can handle. This problem gets compounded if you haven't had much to eat or drink, as in water, not booze, in the prior few hours. At any decent concert one can be there for hours.. even worse if they're burning off energy standing, walking, moshing, etc., and not sitting, out in the heat, it only gets worse. Sometimes people need to learn the hard way that their bodies can't take much post-op.

This is one of those things that could mean nothing, or it could get serious quickly. Umm.. Pass out while driving anyone? Good to get checked out to make sure it was just the alcohol.

I had pretty much an identical experience at the Britney show in Vegas. For me, I think it was a combination of alcohol (it's Vegas!), dehydration, and heat. The only other time I had this happen was at my rehearsal dinner where it was super hot and I hadn't been taking care of myself (oh haaiiii pre wedding stress). I haven't had this issue since, so I wouldn't worry too much.

Hey all, so I was sleeved on 5/23. I am so grateful for everything I've learned from this board just by reading people's stories, so hopefully, someone can benefit from mine... My surgery was at 9:15 am this Tuesday. On my way to the hospital, I was complaining to my sister that I wish my surgery was outpatient instead of I day inpatient stay because I was so sure I'd be fine and just wasting my time in a hospital... boy was I wrong! Apparently I don't tolerate anesthesia well at all. I woke up in the PACU in horrible pain and severe nausea/gagging/abdominal spasms that were almost nonstop. The last time I had surgery was when I was a kid and I just remember waking up and feeling a bit of pain then.. I thought it may be the same. I was transferred to my unit for my first night and every few minutes I was calling the nurse for pain meds or nausea meds, or both. They had me on 3 different types of medications for nausea, 2 different pain meds. Despite this, I was still having significant breakthrough pain and nausea. I couldn't get out of my bed at all, let alone walk a few hours after surgery. The entire time I kept thinking what the heck did I do to myself and I wondered whether I'd be sent home feeling this way. I didn't get more than a few minutes of sleep the entire night. All of the nurses on the floor did everything they could to help me out and I could not be more grateful for such a wonderful team caring for me. The next morning I was still on max doses of all the same medications, but I was starting to feel better. Started walking with the nurse's assistant and took a few more laps around the floor throughout the day. I had lots of secretions in my lungs that was keeping my oxygen saturation down, so I had to clear them out. By evening time, I was more stable, but I still had not peed and was not passing gas. This may be TMI but they had to catheterize me 5 times I had to stay inpatient for another night so they could monitor my urine output. This morning I woke up much better, just trying to take in all of my fluids, but I'm getting small bouts of nausea from just one 1oz of liquid per hour. It's slowly getting better, but I'm still behind on my fluids. Anyway, I'm so happy to finally be home. I'm gonna keep drinking fluids like it's my job. I also wanted to add a couple of things people may find helpful: First, if you are out of surgery and having trouble tolerating plain water, try a flavored water. I never was much of a fan of flavored water pre-op, but it helped me so much after surgery. Second, if you are having bouts of nausea, ask the nurse for some alcohol prep pads (the ones they swipe you with before you get an injection), place it under your nose and keep inhaling. This may seem strange, but it kills nausea and worked great while I was waiting for my IV nausea meds to be administered. I hope my story didn't scare anyone off. Everyone responds to anesthesia differently, I guess I'm one of the unfortunate people who have a hard time with it. I also hear for most people the first night is by far the worst, and that was definitely the case for me. I started feeling much better by the next morning. Good luck to everyone!

Definitely would be a good idea to go to your doc and get some bloodwork done. Make sure you aren't short on something. That little bit of alcohol shouldn't have done that.

I'm so sorry that happened. When I feel faint or dizzy I eat a little salt and then drink some water. It helps. I keep little packets of salt in my purse/backpack so I'm ready when the need arises. I haven't had any alcohol in months and I'm 6 weeks post-op. For me I think the triggers are dehydration and low BP or BS.

Hey All, So as the subject title says, I fainted at a concert last night. I've never fainted in my life, so I'm pretty shaken up. I'm 8 months post-op, and I know I shouldn't really be drinking yet, but I did have about a quarter of a drink over the period of an hour (during the opening band). I had dinner before (salad with chicken) and had been drinking plenty of water all day. As the first band ended, I started to feel a little dizzy, so I told my friend I needed to lean up against the railing. As I started to walk over there, the dizziness increased tremendously, and very quickly. I just remember holding on to the railing, and telling my friend "this is not good", and then all of a sudden it went completely silent and I could hear ringing. Next thing I know I'm on the floor and someone is helping me because my legs got tangled in the spaces of the railing, but I couldn't get up. My friend and security helped me out of the crowd but I could NOT walk. The security guard was just pulling me and I was trying to tell him to stop or let me sit down but he wanted me out of the way (understandably). Everyone assumed I was drunk, but I could hear my friend yelling that I hadn't even finished half of my drink. They brought me to some employee area, tied my hair up, gave me a wet cloth and some water and tried to give me juice. I kind of gagged from nausea and then that's when everything started to calm down and go back to normal. I explained to the 8 people I had surgery and they agreed not to call 911, which I was glad about. Everything just kind of went back to normal and I was brought upstairs to sit down and watch the show from the balcony. Thankfully the "passing out" was super quick, and my friend said I was moving extremely slow (even though I felt like I was moving really, really fast). I feel fine today other than being a bit sore on my side from falling. My body also feels sore like I must have tensed up. Has anyone experienced something like this? I know it must be from the alcohol, but I can't imagine this would happen every time I drink?

Yeah it's best to wait at least 9 months until having alcohol to prevent developing ulcers. And my nutritionist advised no carbonated drinks so no beer...I have a had a vodka cooler but have to be careful of sugar. I can have most wines

Definitely be careful regarding the coping mechanisms. Especially with alcohol. I have several people at my job who have had the procedure and spouses/relatives that had the procedure. Several of them (like 30% which is a crazy rate) became serious alcoholics. I can only think this was a new way to self medicate. Sent from my Nexus 6P using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi👋🏻 JC . I'm having my sleeve soon. Got my pre op next week. I've done lots of research over the time I've been waiting. With the hair loss it's down to the hormone changes we go through after removal of most of the stomache that from month 3 people notice some hair loss. This stops usually at about 12 months to 18 months when your hormones regulate themselves better. I too have fine hair and although not a deal breaker I was concerned . I've read that expensive suppliments will not alter the hormonal changes . It's viral though to get your daily chewable vitamins in without fail and protein requirements. Take heart that the hair loss as a result of surgery are temporary and the benefits huge. I love a drink on the weekends and have learnt from others that you may be able to enjoy a small drink but it will affect you faster than before surgery so take it very careful and the overwhelming message is do not drive😅. Im going to try and have the mindset to avoid alcohol for as long as possible and enjoy the weight loss . That's the plan 😉 All the very best on your journey to a healthier you X

I waited until maybe 5-6 weeks post-op. To avoid the possibility of dumping, get an edible with a very high THC content, and only have a teeny bit. My go-to is a chocolate, but because it has so many milligrams of THC, I only need about a pinky-nail sized amount. For the brand I use, this is about 0.8 grams of sugar. Another great option is to use a tincture. They can be either alcohol-based or glycerin-based. Although, tinctures work by absorbing into the bloodstream via the mouth, and therefore work more quickly than edibles.

Lets do the math on this. (The calorie count is rough) Beer in general has 150 Calories per serving. Light Beer Calories 100 Extra Light beer has 64 Hard Liquor has 60 Wine has 120 IPA Beer has about 250 Calories Sweet Drinks such as Mikes Hard Lemonade etc about 250 Calories If you have about 10 IPA Beers per week that is a potential extra pound of weight loss you could have had but the reality you gained it as you didn't loose it because of the alcohol. Can you drink alcohol? It is not recommended. you will loose weight much faster if you don't.

I think a lot of time is wasted on trying to prepare people for avoiding addiction transfer and a lot of other mental and emotional post-op issues are actually ignored. No one ever tries to prepare someone who has been obese their entire adult life for the changes of longer being obese. Losing weight isn't a magic pill to problem solving. I think the best way to avoid addiction transfer is to be in a good place before hand. I also think by ignoring a lot of other issues that come with losing a massive amount of weight, they are ignoring why people become alcoholics after weight loss. A lot of people are dealing with depression for various reasons, including an inability to cope with their new looks, lack of support from other people and levels of attention they have never experienced before. Then a lot of people were not social before when they were obese. Now suddenly they are out more and partying. It is easy to lose control, that is a social and behavioral issue more that just a simple post-op issue. It is part of adjusting to a new identity and lifestyle and some people really struggle. There is little support for those kind of struggles since most people think losing weight should solve all of peoples problems. I was worried I would develop a shopping habit. Thing is I was already a compulsive shopper pre-op. Post-op I hate shopping. I can't shop online anymore, not even for jewelry. I have dropped more than 2 ring sizes. Necklaces even hang different on me. I have to try on every single article of clothing. Shopping went from being a relaxing joy to being a complete pain. It takes forever just to find a dress. I might have to try on 10 to find 2. Regular sizing has a lot more variation than plus sizes, so it is harder to know your size, add a changing body and it is a disaster.

I liked the post. You made some great points. I did hear a story about someone through my surgical group who ate a chip the day after surgery who did open her stomach and cause complications. So I don't know that it's 100% accurate what you said. Also in respect to caffine or alcohol... I know there is a medical reason and that is while your new stomach is forming you don't want to cause ulcers. But maybe the length of times can be exagerated sometimes. My NUT said to wait a month while my surgeon said to wait only 2 weeks. Friday is my 2 week mark and I am seeing my surgeon that day. I am excited to have my first coffee on that day and I am doing my part by waiting until then. -Joe M.