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I looked at the Pure Protein bars today at the store and they had 9 grams of sugar alcohol. If I ate one of those, I had better plan to stay home alone for quite awhile. Sugar alcohol and I do not get along well at all so I avoid it like the plague. The Oh Yeah Bars are not something I ate when I was losing. I eat them now, because I figure it's better than eating candy.

Evening ladies! DH is doing well, we got some new homeopathic cough syrup, had the Dr. approve its use, and voila....12 hours sleep! There is no alcohol in it, so it was just exhaustion that put him out that way, and without the cough, he just kept snoozing!!! Today has been a better day for him. They moved our appointment in Albuquerque with his cardiac surgeon up to tomorrow. Then we see the PCP on Friday, and he hopes to go back to light duty next Monday. Seems rushed to me, but he will not be alone, and will be doing computer work, so I know it will be ok. DD is hanging in there too...the infection seems to be at bay right now, so hoping it stays that way! I didn't make it back to curves today, I ate one jalapeno appetizer, and made myself sick, not a real PB, and not excessive slime, just upset stomach, and felt like it was sitting right in my throat....so opted to sit and read to the baby instead. I need to get back in the groove of exercise, my weight is dropping well, but I know I need the muscle work out....Beannie maybe you should get the boot... Glad to hear your port is looking better Chrispy...scary stuff! Got my homeowners insurance bill in the mail today...anyone wanna pay it for me??? I hate when I space out something like that and it catches me unaware...big bills suck!!! Seems like it is too early, will have to look into it. I remember paying it and my property taxes about the same time, and the taxes are due by 12-10....so this seems early. Of course they want the money so I am sure they are right!!! Well I am rambling...so will go and soak in the tub for awhile maybe! Better wait a bit, or I will be in bed too early, and awake at dawn!!! See y'all later! Kat

The hyprocrisy in the Catholic Church has always been a problem. Now that the Pope himself has been shown to have put the church before its' parishoners health and well being is almost unthinkable! If any of these priests had been teachers in a public school, the uproar and anger would have been played out in the news media and in our communities to the point that Americans would be calling for public lynchings. There's nothing much worse than for someone who has influence over a child, for them to sexually abuse those children. Children look to adults for guidance. They consider adults the ones who are there to teach them to do the right thing in all ways. We have a friend whose son attended a Baptist Church elementary school in Tampa, Florida. They didn't find out about their son's sexual abuse by one of the male teachers until after he was grown and had been in the Army (in a bomb disposal unit) for several years. He came home from the desert a wreck. It took many nights of drinking alcohol, hand wringing and support by his parents before he could unburden himself of the horrific things that happened to him when he was a child at the hands of that teacher. Can you imagine that scenario? Can imagine that happening to your child? They did their research and learned that the same teacher who abused their son was still a teacher at that school. How many years did that vile human being commit disgusting acts on boys who relied on him? How many other parents learned what that man did to their own sons over the years? Anyone who didn't report it and anyone who swept it under the rug is just as culpable as the pedophile himself as far as I'm concerned. John is still in therapy - too many years after his first discussion with his parents about the sexual assault against him when he was a child. The Pope and everyone involved need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Otherwise when will it ever cease?

How interesting and true what you're all saying. The other thing I'd like to add that food is an addiction for most of us, but unlike other addictions (alcohol, drugs, gambling) we NEED to be in contact with our addiction in order to survive.So we can't give up completely on food, we have to live with it, prepare it, handle it, and try to avoid it at the same time! With alcohol, drugs you can stay away from it completely, and I'm not saying it's easy, but trust me to have the most difficult addiction to deal with

What alcohol are you able to drink k ? Also what would be the amount you have ? Frequency ? Sent from my SM-G930P using BariatricPal mobile app

Early on in this thread I did empathise. However after now reading all the posts which I must say do come from a very narrow minded point of view I've seriously had my eyes opened. Seriously folks if you are planning bariatric surgery please don't pay heed to this viciously over exaggerated and very negative thread. I'm now five weeks in and although it can be a struggle at times, it's really life changing worth every once of hard work needed to gain success. Like this lady pre-op I suffered from many of the same illnesses fibromyalgia, crippling Arthritis, irritable bowel, lumber spondylosis, just to name a few. I took a large cocktail of drugs that the side effects from made me very ill and yes I was one was lyrica too. I was virtually housebound for a year. Since Xmas I've lost 3 stone. One and a half stone lost since the op Only five weeks ago. I no longer take any medication apart from paracetamols and lansoprazole which protects our stomach while it's healing. I no longer need crutches and am vitally pain free. I live in the UK and did extensive research on bariatric surgery prior to my op . I know the NHS offer an amazing comprehensive service for those lucky enough to live in a district that can fund bariatric surgery free in the UK. You get free pre counselling Good free pre op care Good post op care including medication and follow up diet all prescribed free. Free follow up appointments with your bariatric surgeon. A free post op support group And free care from a doctor if you need it. If you live in the right district her in the UK the Gastric Sleeve operation on the NHS will cost you nothing. I know people here on the UK who would jump at the chance to have this life saving and changing operation but their district has not got the funds to offer it. I hasten to add I could have gone through the NHS but chose to pay nearly £10000 for my op because I could afford it, I got the op performed within four weeks privately my decision because health was so bad and I was virtually housebound. I don't regret it at all. I now have use of private telephone support. But I also have access to a regular NHS support group where I meet people who support each other. ...................... I've just read about not knowing about the effects of bariatric surgery. This is impossible ! Everyone has a consultation with your surgeon before making the decision to have the operation . Everyone has a pre op consultation with a team of nurses. Before surgery everyone meets with their surgeon and anaesthetic consultant. Everyone has to read and sign a pre-op agreement outlining exactly what could go wrong during and after their operation. The surgeons have to be so careful. They need to know you understand all the risks. From all the frequent posts above full of drama you would think the care here on our NHS is non existent. This is not true! What worries me and many other people is a narrow minded point of view we are reading can scare monger and ruin other people's chances. I also find it extremely disturbing to read there was no understanding to what the operation entailed or what would be happening after the op. However someones pointed out a membership on this forum of ten years prior to surgery. A ten years membership here would make an expert of anyone! ...................... I've now read of another side effect from the operation is Clostridium difficile. This can be carried in the body and could be caught after any operation. Unfortunately it had to be another drama and turn into a further more serious complication. I've just read the support for this condition is also poor with no proper treatment and no doctor support. The NHS in the UK take this infection very seriously. Granted there is a massive shortage of doctors in the UK it can regularly take weeks to see one . However you can get phone call appointment and readily get nurse appointments. Also emergency appointments instantly if deemed necessary. I can't believe I've just read that while so critically ill with gastric sleeve problems and CDiff a house move have been planned actioned and is taking place... If things were so bad this would be Impossible! A house moved is deemed as one of the most stressful events we can have in our life. This can also effect our digestion and bowels. Let's look at... Clostridium difficile: What is the treatment for Clostridium difficile infection? The decision to treat C. difficile infection and on the type of treatment depends on the severity of the illness. No treatment is needed if you have no symptoms but are known to carry the germs (bacteria) in your gut. However, if symptoms develop, some of the treatments below may be needed. If you are not already in hospital, people who have mild infection can often be treated at home. However, if the infection is more severe, you will usually be admitted to hospital so that you can be treated and closely monitored. ...................... Pseudomembranous colitis signs and symptoms: Diarrhea that can be watery or even bloody. Abdominal cramps, pain or tenderness. Fever. Pus or mucus in your stool. Nausea. Dehydration. Pseudomembranous colitis self-management: To cope with the diarrhea and dehydration that can occur with pseudomembranous colitis, try to: Drink plenty of fluids. Water is best, but fluids with added sodium and potassium (electrolytes) also may be beneficial. Avoid beverages that are high in sugar or contain alcohol or caffeine, such as coffee, tea and colas, which can aggravate your symptoms. Choose soft, easy-to-digest foods. These include applesauce, bananas and rice. Avoid high-fiber foods, such as beans, nuts and vegetables. If you feel your symptoms are improving, slowly add high-fiber foods back to your diet. Eat several small meals, rather than a few large meals. Space the smaller meals throughout the day. Avoid irritating foods. Stay away from spicy, fatty or fried foods, and any other foods that cause you problems. ...................... If suffering this illness, it seems having the gastric sleeve which limits the intake of all the irritating types of foods that can make the current problem worse is really a very good thing! That is if following a gastric sleeve diet properly. That means reading all the paperwork and diet advice everyone undertaking this operation is given prior to leaving hospital. The gastric sleeve operation will help anyone recover faster. Doctors medication advice. Sensible foods, lots of liquids and don't forget your soluble or liquid vitamins ... Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Good luck with your upcoming gastric bypass!! I hope you’re working on resolving any emotional eating issues as the new surgery won’t prevent you from eating poorly or overeating. It is also common to lose less weight with a revision versus an original surgery. But if you follow recommendations to eat dense protein first then non-starchy vegetables, and to avoid sugar, processed food, simple carbs, alcohol, and liquid calories, you should be successful. This new way of eating needs to be a long term lifestyle change, and not just until you reach your goal weight. You can do this!

I like Syntrax Nectar powders. You can get samples of the different flavors, I find them less sweet than the ready-to-drink ones and no sugar alcohols to anger my healing tummy. BariatricPal also sells protein shots that are 3 ounces, fruit flavors, and pack a nice protein punch. They are sweet but go down easy when I need something quick.

OK, I found an answer about net carbs online here: Net carbohydrates can be calculated from a food source by subtracting Fiber and sugar alcohols (which are shown to have a smaller effect on blood sugar levels)[citation needed] from total carbohydrates. Sugar alcohols contain about two calories per gram, and the American Diabetes Association recommends that diabetics count each gram as half a gram of carbohydrate.[4] But how does that impact us? Do we want to watch all carbs or just net carbs? I'll have to ask my nutritionist, but does anyone else know?

I'm an info hoarder too -- I waited MANY years to pursue WLS until the VSG "clicked" as The One for me. So I'm also a researcher and did a lot of background studying for a long time. That said, the answers to the questions you posted above are NOT obvious and are not the same for all people, surgeons, countries. - I'm one week post-op and my doctor says liquids only. Can I have bread yet? The answer to that in my case would have been..."liquids only"?? There is no such thing. Of course you should eat bread! - I'm 6 days post op. can I get wasted on vodka yet? Alcohol wasn't expressly forbidden at all, though it was suggested to keep it a minimum for the first six months. But yeah, vodka in quantity on day six should be a fairly obvious NO. LOL. - I don't really have to exercise do I? No, you don't. Not at all. It's a good idea and good for your health -- but not required for weight loss. - why am I hungry? I thought they cut the hunger out of my stomach! I never lost my hunger either, despite being aware of the ghrelin gland thing. So I get why people ask about this one. There are enough people uninterested in food entirely, that when you're still hungry, you feel like u r doin it rong... - I can only hold down crystal light and haven't had anything else for three days! What should I do? (Obvious answer- ask your doctor, not an Internet forum) LOL. Agree. But it doesn't hurt to also ask the internet forum cos you will never find a critical mass of your people in real life as you will here!! :-)

I haven't asked my Doc how long I could drink Alcohol. I just figured, it wouldn't do anything to help with weight loss, so i was content to just wait until i hit my goal. Coffee on the other hand.... For now i'm okay because of the B12, but I do miss the taste

I was released from te hospital after a two day stay and put on full liquids for two weeks and then two weeks of puréed. I was told I could have alcohol six weeks after surgery. They frown upon it because it's liquid calories. I am 27 years old and would like to have a glass of wine every now and again.

Wow I didnt see the trend until you brought it up. I am 18 months out and life and food is pretty darn normal. I think it is a combination of not doing your homework and knowing what you are in for, but also being ready to make and accept a change in your life. This isnt just having surgery, you are changing the way you have to eat, to get enough nutrients in (especially early on). It is for many like giving up an addiction and you need to be ready, only with this addiction rather than being able to get your vice (alcohol, cigarettes etc) there is no going back, no restart button. There are days I over eat and make myself ill (not intentionally) and think when are you going to learn your lesson? However did this happen before...yes! Now it just happens a whole lot quicker now, no consumimg 5000 cals in a sitting. Despite these moments I am anything but regretting this. If you do regret, i am sorry to hear that, but you have no choice but to embrace this now!

My doctor actually recommends not drinking for a year after being sleeved. He says that your body absorbs the alcohol a lot faster and it takes very little to get you very drunk--making alcohol poisoning a definite possibility. He pleads with his patients that if they do decide to drink alcohol, to do it in extreme moderation, and DEFINITELY NO DRIVING!

:biggrin1: Beversman - Thank you for the advice on the peroxide. It was Deiselangel who had the question about it. I was worried to about her too, although I didn't have the details that you have. I am sure she will read this....I hope! Maybe I will switch from polysporin to alcohol, it will probably get rid of some glue marks as well! Thanks.

I just want to wish all my fellow December bandsters a Happy New Year. Thankfully, when the ball drops this year I won't have to look on the past year and become depressed because I didn't lose weight. Instead, I can look ahead and know I will be successful this year. It's exciting. I'm staying in because I just don't want to be tempted by food and alcohol this soon after surgery.

Hi all - I wasn't able to get on yesterday but came back and you are all doing so well! I think I'll get my first fill around Jan 22/23. Thats 6 weeks for me. I go in again on the 9th just to have another food talk - thats when he'll tell me to eat regular foods. I'm not doing bad on mushie/soft foods. My diet now is interchangeable with soft foods and its been pretty easy. Yesterday we went to a wrestling tournament - my great nephew just started in the peewee's - so darn cute - anyway, for Breakfast I ate a banana, lunch 3 pirogis, and a little Soup, supper was chicken and rice in general tso's sauce. I woke up in a hot flash tonight and started thinking about what I had ate so I had to get up and check the calorie content of the chicken - it was 240/cup - so I think I'm keeping my calories well below 1000. I also had 2 bites of my daughters milky way. I haven't felt sick at all since I had the surgery. None of the golf ball stuff or pb's - has anyone else? I keep worrying that I'm making the right food choices and now and then I feel like I need to burp - which if I get up and walk I do burp - big loud burps but thats probably from eating too fast. And I also find it so much easier NOT to snack between meals - I don't feel hungry at all unless its meal time. I LOVE MY BAND! The clothes swap sounds cool. I'm fitting nicely into my clothes again, yesterday I went through a bunch of old ones that still didn't fit and tried a pair of jeans on that did but then I remembered why I didn't like them. I hate low riding jeans! Why on earth would they make fatlady jeans that button below the belly button? I know I've got an odd shape with a apple belly and not pear shaped but still my belly button is low and these jeans still come 3 inches below MY belly button. I get no sympathy from my daughters who are a size 6 and 10 - they can wear crap like that. They usually start giggling when it comes to me and jeans. I hate the look but its so much more comfortable to wear the old lady stretchy slacks that come up above my belly button. My daughter has a pair of jeans that are all ripped up - you know they buy them that way for $50 - I"m old, I know - anyway I told her that next christmas I'm going to wear them. LOL not that I want to wear ripped up jeans but dang I can't wait to be that size! Well I've been up and hour - the hot flash is over so I guess I'll try to sleep again. This is my insomnia. I haven't had it for a while and when I feel like I haven't been sleeping well I take and otc sleeping pill - usually a half will give me a good nights sleep. Its so irratating because I know that tomorrow is New Years Eve and if I don't sleep tonight I will be crashing before the ball drops tomorrow. Which btw - Kay - I have 2 partys to go to - I'm taking mushy/soft food that I can eat - you know they are always potluck - I may have a glass of wine - I had one on Christmas and it went down well. I'm not a big drinker anyway so its not a big deal. Its funny because other then a glass of wine now and then the only alcohol I drink is dark beer and now I can't drink that at all. If I don't see you all later today - have a Happy safe New year celebration! Love ya bandsters!

I had my sleeve mid January. I waited a month before having any alcohol and only had a glass of wine. At 6 weeks, I had a martini. I drank both the wine and martini slowly over an hour or so. I didn't notice any difference than before my surgery.

I'm still having some problems with that. Just because it's Rant & Raves doesn't mean "everything goes" - or does it?? It's one thing to rant & rave about whatever topic but I always get a sour feeling when the rant & rave is about "all of these stupid board members" (and lets face it: there are enough of these threads). I can't really put my finger on why I feel this difference but the later gives me a bad feeling. During my time on this board I've read lines like "I'd like to see some of these people publicly fail" or that "they didn't deserve surgery" and that just makes me want to scream out loud. It's disgusting. Even worse, it brings out the mean b**** in my personality. I've even caught myself thinking "I'd really like to see some of those smug, arrogant users fail in the long run. Maybe that will cure them of their superiority-complex! Pride before fall and being a few months or one or two years out give them still pretty much time to fail." All of these "lets bash stupid users" threads smack of "I'm a better WLS patient than you!" - reminds me of the alcoholic drinking only two bottles of wine a day acting superior towards the alcoholic who drinks two bottles of hard liquor a day. Add in the numerous posts of "good WLS patients" who are eager to post how strict they are following the rules and what really good girls/boys they are (or are going to follow the rules once they had surgery - LOL) and I can only shake my head. Or laugh out loud. Depends on my mood. --- Oh, and if someone thinks this rant of mine is out of place or something because he or she might not like what I've said: look at the section!

I meant only good carbs, I think at this stage bad carbs (refined sugars cakes chocolate ALCOHOL) shouldn't be part of are diet. In fatsecret.com the carbs come out when you log you're food in. I do agree though you need to see what your doctor recommends. As I said earlier I wouldn't recomend the bad carbs at this stage

A good friend of mine had a bypass in 2000. She lost a lot of weight had a beautiful baby and became an alcoholic. She would drink a couple of bottles of wine a night and just couldn't figure out why her weight was creeping back on. She is now divorced and back at her original weight but she did give up drinking altogether this year. I don't think she ever looked at the surgery as a tool...she seems to think it is supposed to be a magic solution that should require no effort.

I just wanted to add what happened to me yesterday with regards to alcohol. I am 2 years post op. I must say I feel the effects of alcohol so much stronger than before. Yesterday I had a friend over and although I only drink occasionally thought it would be fun to get a bit tipsy. I had 3 carbonated ciders mixed with vanilla vodka. The cider was 4.5% alcohol as well so I really didn't have any mixer with it. I got so drunk so fast and before I knew it I was staggering around and falling down drunk! I passed out and in the middle of the night was doing the dry heaving. It was also coming out as diarrhea. I wanted to die! My stomach wanted to get rid of the alcohol but my band was preventing it from coming up. My husband asked me how much I'd had to drink and was surprised to hear I'd only had 3 drinks! Please use caution my friends. I will never EVER do that again! So not worth it.

One of the reasons my doctor told me not to drink alcohol is because it will hit our system quicker. He said I'd get drunk before I realized it, then most likely start vomiting and that's exactly what you don't need to do. When I pushed the point, he did say that a glass of wine every so often would not hurt. Beer was definitely a no-no just because of the carbination.

yes, I'm aware that the pancreas still produces insulin in reaction to anything sugar or sugar like. I was merely responding to the posters response that they were using stevia but stopped bc they didn't want anything artificial or fake ... And, for me since I'm also allergic to artificial sweeteners, I'm pleased to have Protein powder flavors sweetened with stevia for variety. So far, tge unflavored Isopure experience is nasty! Also, stevia is so potent, you need very small amounts of it so that is probably a positive thing but that's just a opinion not necessarily a fact lol The problem with this logic is that simply coming from a plant and thus not being artificial doesn't necessarily mean we should be filling up on it. Sugar comes from a plant, too. Splenda is simply a modified sucrose molecule, thus it is technically plant based as well. Cocaine is made from cocoa leaves, heroin is made from poppy seeds and alcohol will form in the bottom of your trash can if it's left out long enough with any plant based material in it. Eating sweet foods, regardless of how abd whybthey are sweet causes cravings for sweet foods. Diet Coke contains no sugar, yet it promotes a response from your pancreas similar to regular Coke. Your brain perceives sweetness and prepares for an onslaught of sugar, even if there is none.

This is kind of mind blowing so I'm hoping that someone here has some knowledge or insight on the subject. I've been for a very long while a bit of a "health nut" though obese, still very interested in eating foods that are as organic as possible, no chemical sweeteners, etc. I have had (pre-op) a fantastic all purpose seasoning from soy Protein that is non-GMO, gluten-free and preservative free. It's sort of tastes like a soy sauce and can be added to Soups, any meat, fish, chicken, lentils, just even put into a salad dressing, or mixed into a glass of tomato or vegetable juice. When I was raising my grandson, he loved to use it for his California rolls and sushi. It's really great. I just pulled it out to season some pre cooked lentils I bought at Trader Joe's and for the first time took a look at the protein content per serving 1/2 tsp. there are 189 servings per 16 fl. oz. container but under the list of "per serving it says protein is 310mg!!! That would mean per 1/2 tsp. Is that possible? It is listed under "Amount Per Serving". Ingredients are Vegetable protein from Soybeans and Purified Water. The aminos are Alanine, Arginine, Aspartic Acid, Glutamic Acid, Glycine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Lysine, Leucine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Proline, Serine, Theonine, Tyrosine, and Valine. Is this a find or what? The stuff is so good to season food that you can easily put away half tsp. Does soy protein count? Reading off the bottle it says BRAGG liquid is a Vegetable Protein Seasoning from healthy certified non-GMO soybeans from the original formula by health pioneer and originator of Health Stores, Paul C. Bragg. A Gormet Alternative to Tamari,& Soy sauce. NO PRESERVATIVES, NO ALCOHOL, NOT FERMENTED, GLUTEN-FREE... Anyway if this counts as protein intake then WOW!!! Or is whey the only way to get additional protein into our diets? Any feedback on this anyone?