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So I'm having my surgery in around 4 months or so. No set date yet. I used to drink a lot on the weekends, but I quit that so I can lose weight. I probably won't be drinking after surgery until I lose the weight I want to lose. So, can you drink when you've had the surgery?

Alcohol is my achellies heel. I love it and love wine in the evening. I know I would be losing weight much faster if I stayed away from it. It is high in caolries and it makes me snack more. ARGH!!!

Be very careful about alcohol. This is coming from someone who loves a nice cold drink frequently. One good thing I have done since being banded is that I have not had any carbonation at all...not a drop. My drink of choice before LB was rum & diet Coke. Since LB I love vodka with diet Snapple iced tea. When I drink I find that my weight loss virtually stops and my inhibitions are lowered and I start to snack on nuts and other Snacks I shouldn't have. Not losing weight after surgery is devastating for me so I had to make a decision to stop drinking on the weekend. Since I stopped that my weight loss has started to pick up again. I know that when I go on vacation or have a special occasion I will probably have a drink again but just drinking casually on too many occasions is not worth it . If you just have to have it maybe we need to seek other help. Think about all the reasons you got banded to start with and all you had to do to get banded.

How did I become obese? Mass quantities of food and alcohol...... 12" sub with 2 bags of chips and large soda, 1/3 pound burger with a plate of fries followed by a piece of cake, lots of vodka, whiskey, rum and beer (my liquor store bill often exceeded my grocery bill), a pint of Ben and Jerry's, a whole Tombstone pizza, A tube of Nestles premade cookie dough. Basically I didn't have that chemical trigger that told me to stop eating because I never ever got full.

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.

I am saying good bye to all my favorite foods so not really heeding the diet. My BMI is 32.7. I am not too worried about my liver esp. since I don't drink alcohol. The 6 week liquid diet shouldn't be a problem since I am scared to death of getting things stuck, puking, and band slippage. I'm self pay.

I usually order what I would usually do but try to stay away from the carbs. I still drink alcohol, and when I'm out to dinner, I'll drink it up until the point where we're eating, then I'll stop. The other day we went out for Mexican, I had shrimp and crab enchiladas which sucked! Anyway, they were basically grilled shrimp and canned crab with some sauce on top of two cheese enchiladas. So I just had the seafood, left the enchiladas alone, had some grilled veggies and that was it. There was Beans and rice as well, but I gave that to the dbf. Today at lunch I ordered an arepa from the food cart outside of my office. An arepa is like a Mexican corn cake that they top with grilled veggies, meat (I chose shrimp) guac and pico de gallo. They serve it with a side of rice. All I ate was the arepa and that was it, threw the rice out. Once and a while I'll order just an appetizer, but a lot of them are either deep fried or dips which I kind of consider a "slider food" Hope I helped!

168! Spent last week on a cruise with its never ending food and alcohol. Still managed to lose 2 lbs! I love my sleeve!! Sent from my SM-G920V using the BariatricPal App

I've worked in drug and alcohol treatment for the past 30 years, currently running a long term residential program for men returning to the community from the county jail. What has been amazing to me since I had my sleeve done 1/22/18 are the similarities between my emotions and thinking and those that client have expressed they struggled with early in their recovery. Acceptance is a b***h, whether it's acceptance of my addiction, acceptance of a medical condition or acceptance that my days of eating a 16 oz steak are over. There is a very old reference in AA's Big Book that goes once a pickle, never a cucumber again. I have told this to clients for 20 years but it didn't settle in for personally until yesterday when I was feeling resentful after seeing a burger king ad and realizing that I could never sit and eat the hamburger. I got angry and resentful and even told myself that it was ok to have piece of ham because I deserved it. Yeah, that entitlement lasted about 1 minute which is how long it took for me to throw up from the cramps I was having. I'm working on embracing/accepting my "pickleness" today. What I has seen over the years is that acceptance brings serenity.

Lissa, I "liked" your post - you are very brave and I know going through this is very hurtful. My Sister married an alcoholic after dating two alcoholics. They werent back-toback-to back but I can tell you you are much better off filing for a divorce. Reoccurence in alcoholics is high, and the chances of an enabler changing the situation for an alcoholic is slim. I dated an alcoholic for awhile and we were very serious, until they wrapped their graduation present around an oak tree. It may sound horrible but what if they hadn't? I would have probably spent years and years putting up with an escalating situation that could already get bad at times. I would have never met my wonderful Spouse, left the town I really needed to get out of...you are out, and you see it for what it is. Be brave. Be prepared too. Do what you need to to be protected. Get your handgun license if you don't have it yet. Please don't take offense. I didn't say you needed to get a gun, i just said get the license. The license takes longer, and you don't want to be two or three months out from legally carrying one if you decide you need to. This step, from what I observed with people I knew, can be really hard. This is the physical and spiritual representation of your marriage, and you are going to have to separate all of this out. Be really careful, get a lawyer and email me if you ever need to talk.

Sugar alcohols were ok in moderation but wow can they stall weight loss. Bummer

The bariatric foodie just reviewed Quest bars .. If you have FB you can like her page. They do have sugar alcohol called something else I can't remember but anyway wanted to let you know thaf date of surgery 02/21/12 surgery weight 340 lbs. current weight 146 lbs

It's my understanding that some Vitamins can interfere with the absorption of calcium. In addition to other meds/vitamins, Calcium needs an acidic stomach to fully breakdown for absorption in the intestines. Since most of us are taking a PPI, our stomach acid is decreased. I found contradicting articles on Prilosec interfering with calcium citrate absoprtion, one article said yes it can/does, the other said no it doesn't. So, I take my calcium mid-afternoon and right before bed. I take my Prilosec first thing in the morning. Iron and zinc are listed in this article: How to Best Absorb Calcium Supplements | eHow.com Step 1 Take Vitamin C at the same time you take a calcium supplement. Or eat a food rich in Vitamin C, such as an orange. This helps with the absorption of calcium. <LI id=jsArticleStep2 itxtvisited="1">Step 2 Eat foods high in the amino acid lysine, which is needed for calcium absorption. These include eggs, fish, lima Beans and soy products. <LI id=jsArticleStep3 itxtvisited="1">Step 3 Take a sunbath without sunscreen for 15 minutes, three times a week. Sunshine is the easiest way to get Vitamin D, which is essential for proper absorption of calcium. Stay out of the sun when the rays are strongest, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. <LI id=jsArticleStep4 itxtvisited="1">Step 4 Divide up your doses of calcium. It appears to work more effectively if taken in smaller doses spread out over the day, rather than a large dose all at once. <LI id=jsArticleStep5 itxtvisited="1">Step 5 Combine calcium with magnesium in a 2-1 ratio - two parts calcium to one part magnesium. <LI id=jsArticleStep6 itxtvisited="1">Step 6 Avoid taking iron and calcium together. It reduces the efficacy of both minerals. <LI id=jsArticleStep7 itxtvisited="1">Step 7 Avoid taking large doses of zinc with calcium. At high doses, zinc can interfere with calcium absorption. <LI id=jsArticleStep8 itxtvisited="1">Step 8 Decrease or eliminate soft drinks from your diet. They are high in phosphorus, which can cause you to lose calcium. High phosphorus intake can lead to calcium excretion in your urine. <LI id=jsArticleStep9 itxtvisited="1">Step 9 Decrease or eliminate animal-based products in your diet. High intake of animal-based Proteins causes increased amounts of calcium to be excreted in your urine. A high intake of sodium is another culprit. <LI id=jsArticleStep10 itxtvisited="1">Step 10 Cut down on junk foods, alcohol, caffeine and white flour. All of these lead to an excessive loss of calcium from your body and a decreased rate of absorption. <LI id=jsArticleStep11 itxtvisited="1">Step 11 Eat foods containing oxalic acid in moderation. Oxalic acid interferes with calcium absorption. Foods containing oxalic acid include almonds, beet greens, cashews, chard, kale, rhubarb and spinach. <LI id=jsArticleStep12 itxtvisited="1">Step 12 Use wheat bran in moderation. Excessive amounts can interfere with calcium absorption. <LI id=jsArticleStep13 itxtvisited="1">Step 13 Check your prescription medications. Some, such as glucocorticoids, can interfere with calcium absorption. Discuss supplementation with your doctor.

I went to a party and had it done on my arms and inner thighs and I lost an 1inch on each arm and 1/2 inch on each thigh. But it's all pretty temporary it's like a detox you have to drink lots of Water and eat very light and do a brisk walk or exercise before you come. Bought a few to support my girlfriend and that was it. Here's the paper that they gave me with tips for before you come to the party. Not endorsing but keeping you informed. Ultimate Body Wrap Tips: 1) Before you wrap: Try to get some exercise. (It doesn’t have to be much, just a walk will do. This helps to get your blood moving and it stimulates your lymphatic system. ) AND HYDRATE!!! HYDRATE!!! HYDRATE!!! (Your body cannot move those toxins on out if you don’t pee!) Make sure to drink extra water prior to wrapping and after wrapping to ensure you are not dehydrated and just replenishing those fluids needed in your system. 2) When you wrap: Your skin needs to be clean and lotion free (shower or clean with alcohol). MEASURE in 3 places. 2” above your belly button, your belly button and 2” below your belly button. Use a sharpie to mark the exact location you are measuring so you know you measure the same place each time (try to measure on your side so the marks don’t come off while you wrap). Take a picture so you can compare later. Apply your wrap with the lotion side on your skin and smooth it out. Cover with cling wrap to hold it in place and protect your clothing. If you are doing curvy areas (i.e. waist or butt) rotate the cling wrap roll 180 degrees as you go around the “bends” to allow you to pull it tighter. Then smooth all the air out so you have maximum contact with your skin. Although the cling wrap does fine by itself, try to wear clothes that help hold it in place (Yoga type works great). 3) While you are wrapped: HYDRATE! HYDRATE! HYDRATE! Do not work out. Don’t sweat. Sweat will inhibit the absorption of the good stuff. Wait at least 45 minutes before you unwrap. You can wear it up to 8 hours. 4) After you unwrap: Rub all the extra lotion in. MEASURE on the same spots as above. Continue to hydrate. Measure again in 24 hours. Hydrate. Measure again in another 24 hours. It takes up to 72 hours before you see the full results. Email total results to Dianna at WrapQueen@ymail.com. If you are happy with your results please write on my page at https://www.facebook.com/Wrap2Shrink, if you are not PLEASE CALL ME! Every single BODY is different. Many people that follow these directions lose 1-3 inches in 72 hours. Sometimes people don’t see immediate results. Some people see an increase during their wrap period. DO NOT BE ALARMED OR DISAPPOINTED! This effect is called “toxic bloat” and is caused by your body’s reaction to the increase in “floating” toxins. Often it is these people that end up with the best results at the end of their 72 hours. Some people require more than 1 wrap before they see visible results. If you happen to fall into this category be sure to check with me so we can talk about the reasons people don’t lose inches sometimes. Keep in mind that if you eat junk you will replace all the stuff you just took out and your results won’t last as long. If you make good food choices (try to eat fresh organic food without preservatives) and you exercise your results will last much, much longer. If you are dehydrated, you will not be flushing out your system. The water you will be consuming will in fact store in your system to rehydrate itself. You must drink extra water to flush the toxins out. If you are not using the restroom at least once every 2-3 hours, you are not drinking enough water. Your urine should be very clear. The more color, the more dehydrated your body is. This is not a substitute for making healthy choices. If you have health issues PLEASE take the ingredient list to your Dr. for review BEFORE you use this or ANY product.

So far, my experience has been a bit different than others on here: My surgeon told me alcohol was fine a month out, in moderation. I'm a month out now, and I had two margaritas (separated by quite a bit a time and ate an hour+ beforehand) with no ill affects, on Thursday. My tolerance seems about the same. Added to my calories for that day but it wasn't too bad. Had maybe 5 ounces of a mimosa (went minimal on the champagne b/c of carbonation and stirred it a lot) this weekend, and that went down fine. No pain from carbonation. I didn't try beer though - we only had bottled beer and even pre-surgery, that seemed too carbonated to me (compared to draft beer). Though I did take some gas-x before or after (don't remember) just in case. I haven't tried soda since - don't really want to! Used to love Diet Coke too much. Basically, it varies by surgeon. Ask yours about it.

each doctor is different. my doc told me no soda or alcohol for 3 months post-op. i drink diet soda now... 1 or 2 cans a day... and my stomach gurgles like its hungry when it passes thru the band. i get a lot of funny looks lol

Doctor, this is an informative article. I totally agree that overeaters need to take responsibility for their habits and behaviors and not resort to excuses. But what of the OA model based on the 12 Steps? I know that doctors are scientifically minded but many appreciate and recommend this program for drug addiction, alcoholism, and many other addictions as you know. "food Addiction" does often exist in the form of compulsive overeating where not willpower is called to be employed, but surrender to the fact that food addicts are powerless over their "drug of choice"--food. How to perform this tricky feat when we all need food to survive? The 12 Steps are a prescription for living that indeed any individual can use to create a better quality of life. In my own experience, having the VSG done is only one of a variety of tools I use to treat my disease of addiction. I use a spiritual connection, a community of like-minded individuals in recovery, and abstinence from the thoughts and behaviors that cause me to overeat---not just avoiding triggers. It's work, yes--difficult, but doable, and only one day at a time. I personally have to "abstain" from certain foods, yes, but also from my tendency to eat over stress, celebration, depression, what have you. I can no longer use food as a substance, not unlike a drug, to avoid feeling. Not if I want to survive, have a good life, and enjoy good health. So, the points in your article are great, especially those 7 things successful people do to maintain weight loss. However, I feel that addressing the underlying causes of overeating (including the engineered foods that foster addiction outright) as well as the avoidance of uncomfortable feelings are key to not only losing weight but keeping it off and managing addiction. Addiction will always be with me, but I can live my life not being controlled by it any longer. I just have to pick up the tools and use them. That's just my two cents! Thanks for the article.

I was cleared for alcohol after 6 weeks. I regularly drink now with no issues.

Hi Bandster , I just read your whole thread today and I feel so bad about all you have gone through. I feel sorry for your brother too and I'm sure I would've made the same mistake and co-signed for him. I can't telll you how many times in my 67 years 'ive sacrificed to help someone else out and got bit in the butt for doing so.....But, you know what, I wouldn't change a thing. That's how I am and I like myself. If he gets his act together, you'll know you helped. About the gas: Be sure you aren't constipated, take gasx or something simular, lay off sugar and artifical sweetners, and make sure you aren't lactose intolerant. The worst thing for me is the sugar alcohols they put in candy etc in place of sugar. Blows me up like a balloon. I wish you luck and hope you feel better by now. Sharon

Dammit - what is your freakin obsession with water - it's not like it's that important for life - that's what alcohol is for - give it a flying flipping break you nimwitted, nanner eating tree swinging skankish freak btw - feel free to get to know me anytime - I'm a cool chicka!

I've had my lap band for 2 months now and The first month I lost 13 pounds, the second month 0 (zero). Here are my questions. Feel free to copy and paste and answer them with your own personal information. 1. How long have you had your band? 2. How much weight have you lost? 3. How many fills and unfills did you get until you found the "sweet spot"? 4. If you stick to a particular diet (ie weight watchers, low carb, atkins, etc) which on works for you? 5. How often do you exercise? 6. Does anyone do Yoga and how long did you wait until you started practicing again? 7. Do you ever drink alcohol? 8. What foods give you a problem? 9. Does your port stick out? 10. How much water do you get in each day? 11. Any tips that will help on the journey?

I think you make some very valid points. There is a not too subtle message out there from many sources that says if we want to be a normal weight we must eat things we don't like and don't eat things we do. Do you think thin people think this way? No. My former nutritionist said there is only one purpose for eating - nutrition. Really? Food is an integral part of our social network. Have you ever been to any social or holiday gathering that didn't involve food? And what did they serve? Tofu? No. Food has a lot of tradition with different ethnic groups, too. And carbs have been demonized. The poor baked potato is the cause of our obesity? Obvioulsy making wrong food choices on a daily basis is wrong. But it doesn't make you a bad person for longing for your grandmother's banana bread or a big mac. And there is nothing wrong with having a bit of either once in a while. If a person's band is so tight that many or most foods are eliminated from your diet, then they should re-think about getting a slight unfill. And this is especially true if you are vomiting, have heartburn, reflux or pain. Those of us who are obese have been made to feel guilty about eating all our lives. Food is bad. I remember doing a mental mantra "Food is evil". Food is not evil. Thin people don't look at it that way. Maybe we should quit studying about what makes us obese and study what allows adults to remain thin all their lives. Do you observe thin people when you are out eating? Aren't they eating pizza, fried foods, etc.? They are where I go. But they probably do it once a week, not every day. We've got to stop demonizing food and our desire for things that taste good. It's okay to want to be able to eat all the stuff that tastes good. It's just not good to actually eat it on a regular basis. We can come up with a way to incorporate it into our lives without it causing a problem. Maybe some are like recovering alcoholics who can never have alcohol again, but I suspect most of us can handle the occasional cookie, piece of pizza, etc... without going overboard.

This is not the first thread that this has happened on. For some reason some people read responses and take them completely the wrong way. Some people seem to forget that on the internet you cannot see the body language or the tone behind a post and something that has been said with the best intentions is taken completely the wrong way. I think we all need to remember that when we post things on a public forum we will get some responses we like and some we don't. We just all need to lighten up and not take things personally. Going through this process is hard and some of the things that we have to do to get there can make us feel extra edgy. We are cutting backs on a lot of the crutches that we depend on. E.g food, sugar,carbs,alcohol,tobacco etc. All of those things can combine to make a person more on edge than they are normally. Just remember we are all working towards the same goal , some of us are there already, some of us are on our way but wherever we are in the process we are here to cheer you on and to help and guide you when things get tough.

Well, I ignored all of your great advice and had two margaritas. I drank them slooooowly. I felt a tiny little buzz for a few minutes at one point, but it wore off quickly. I didn't react to the sugar, or really even to the alcohol. I still lost a pound a day the whole week. I definitely won't be drinking a lot, but I won't be freaking out about it anymore either. And FYI - my doctor told me that it is ok to take ibuprofen or aspirin SHORT TERM when necessary - it doesn't have to be completely cut out forever. (I asked for that time-of-the-month) and he said not to suffer, but to try and not take a lot. Thanks everybody!

If you want my opinion over your doctors, which I do not recommend, I would say wait 6 weeks if you absolutely must have a very small amount. Otherwise, wait 6 months until you have a reasonable amount like 1/2 a glass or more. Alcohol may slow down your weight loss so it is best to not start drinking until after you have lost a lot of weight. And even then, it is still good to drink in light moderation because you will get tipsy much faster and the calories are not helping you. At least make sure you are drinking something you really enjoy or is high quality to offset any negative effects from the extra calories. I started at 6 months and finished weight loss at 7 months. I have 1-2 drinks a month and am 11 months post op.