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I also became an alcoholic after gastric bypass. I've been sober for over 2 years now but it was a tough fight to get there. I only recently found out that gastric bypass makes you prone to alcoholism! That's because the alcohol goes straight to your small intestine (bypasses the liver) and into your bloodstream and brain. It's a powerful head rush and very addictive. You can google "gastric bypass alcohol" and find articles about it. So it's not all your sister's fault that she is addicted to alcohol. They should warn EVERY gastric bypass patient before their surgery and forbid them from drinking after the surgery. You might be able to help your sister by going to al-anon or other support groups for family/friends of alcoholics. It will help you too. Hopefully once your sister is ready she will be able to stop drinking. It took me a trip to rehab and then 4 months of drinking on and off before I finally gave it up for good. Re support groups after gastric bypass: for me there weren't any. That could be partly why I failed. I went to the US (Rochester) to get my op done and then there was nothing here for me in Canada. For my lap-band I deliberately chose a clinic that offers a lot of online and in-person support after the surgery.

Hey, Bandsters! Time flies when you’re having fun. If you’re like those of us here at Celebrate Yourself This Valentine’s Day! Keep reading for more on each of these stories, and when you’re finished, come on over to LapBandTalk.com for more motivation and information. The conversations never stop! And, as always, please free to drop us a line if you have any comments. We love hearing from members! See you on the boards! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder LapBandTalk.com Please be Respectful on the Boards! We started LapBandTalk.com to help lap-band patients and people who may be interested in getting the lap-band. We are very proud of the array of resources on the site, and recognize that you, our members, are our most valuable assets. From the conversations on the boards and feedback we receive from members, we know LapBandTalk.com has been successful in reaching out to thousands of members and making a positive difference regardless of where you are in your weight loss journey. One of the most valuable features of LapBandTalk.com is its welcoming, respectful atmosphere. Because of some recent incidents on the board, we’d like to remind you that rudeness is not tolerated. Board etiquette is outlined in the dinner with wine. Before starting your weight loss journey, you may have celebrated by exchanging boxes of chocolate and eating too much fat and sugar at home and at work. On your pre-surgery diet and after surgery, these unhealthy choices are no longer for you. High-fat, high-sugar foods aren’t part of your weight loss surgery diet. Pasta and shrimp can cause problems with your lap-band and alcohol with dinner can make you lose your control and overeat. So what can you do to enjoy Valentine’s Day – with or without a special someone – while keeping your weight loss on track? We have a few ideas. Give your sweetheart flowers instead of candy. Opt for broiled lobster or chicken with vegetables instead of steak with creamy mushroom pasta. Skip the refined pasta at dinner. Instead, try a small amount of orzo or another whole grain – but only eat it after eating your Protein and vegetables. Choose strawberries for dessert instead of chocolate cake and ice cream. If you still have chocolate cravings after dinner, sip sugar-free hot chocolate instead of going for the chocolate truffles. There’s nothing more romantic than dancing. Burn a few extra calories with some slow dancing before watching a movie after dinner. Picking out a few slow songs to dance to with your sweetheart will show how much you care. Take a walk. A short after-dinner walk lets you and your valentine enjoy the fresh air and focus on each other. Don’t have a valentine? Call up one of your single friends and take a leisurely walk together. You’ll both benefit from the chance to chat. Make a Valentine’s Day card. Do you remember how good it felt to get them from your friends when you were in elementary school? Making one instead of buying one lets you put your own personal touches on it. These are just a few possibilities for enjoying your Valentine’s Day without interfering with your health. Everyone should be able to enjoy, not dread, this happy holiday, and we hope these suggestions are useful as you make your plans. Member Challenge: Be Your Own Valentine! The Member Challenge portion of the newsletter is an opportunity for you to try something new or discover tricks that’ll help you with your weight loss and health. It’s not a competitive challenge; it’s just a way to challenge yourself to achieve new goals. This month, we’re sticking to the theme of Valentine’s Day. Some people think that Valentine’s Day is only for couples, but we’re going to let you in on a little secret: anyone can celebrate Valentine’s Day, even if you’re by yourself. Take advantage of the occasion to show yourself how much you love and appreciate yourself – especially as you work toward becoming healthier. The challenge this month is to show yourself how much you care about yourself and appreciate your efforts to become healthier and happier. These are a few of our ideas to treat yourself without going off your weight loss surgery diet. Get a massage, facial, manicure or pedicure. Try a calorie-free chocolate treat, such as chocolate chapstick or chocolate-scented body lotion. Make or buy yourself a Valentine’s Day card. Frame a “before” and “after” picture – with or without your sweetheart – in a Valentine’s Day-themed frame. Try a dance class – you’ll burn a few calories and may meet a special someone! If you are dedicating February 14 to a special someone, take a few moments to treat yourself, too, or treat yourself on another day. Use one of the above ideas, or come up with your own way to celebrate Valentine’s Day without missing a beat in your weight loss journey. We’d love for you to tell us how it went in the Challenge Forum! Sharing your ideas and experiences gives you a sense of purpose and helps other bandsters hit their own challenge goals. Don’t forget that the archived Newsletter Forum is always there for you when you’re ready to try an old challenge. We’ll leave you with these thoughts of Valentine’s Day, hoping that they’re warm enough to carry you through the rest of the cold winter. Keep up the great work with your weight loss journey, and we’ll see you on the boards! Thanks as always for your support. Take care of yourself and each other. Sincerely, Alex ============================================================== If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, you may unsubscribe by going to your Control Panel and clicking on the Newsletters tab, or clicking on the following link: {unsubscribe}

Well I have only told one friend about the surgery. I was a person that just could not see getting gastric bypass. My sister did and she looks awful, rotted teeth, no bone density, no muscle, just flabby gross and very sickly. Then to top it off she became an alcoholic! I am not doing this for anyone but me. I went to CA with my granddaughter and just had no strength in my legs to do all I wanted to and so that was it for me. I took my 10k from my retirement acct and 5 weeks later I am done. The incisions aren't leaking badly, but the coughs still give a new adventure in pain. I was bad today, ate some chocolate covered strawberries. Mothers day gift. I am in some pain but working through. I need and want to lose weight. I am tired of being tired and fat and weak. I will resume my pool time as soon as dr says I can. swimming will tone me best! Keep smiling!

Cigarettes and alcohol can be given up. But food...we have to learn to make good choices for the rest of our lives in order to live linger.

Ok I'm clearly having a rough night and just need to vent. I feel like I have been jipped (sp?) out of this surgery so many times. My mom worked at ADP for 6 years with UHC and they covered it...but only if I was 18...then when I was 17 and 7 months she changed jobs to Key Payroll online and still has UHC but they dont cover it!!! Gah just my luck. Then 6 months ago she got a credit card for 20,000 but it is maxed out now cause she took alovely trip to Arizona....Then she refinanced the house and spent 20,000 on our kitchen alone (more than the cost of surgery) and normally she has great credit and could get financed for a surgery here in the USA but now her debt to income ratio is too high because of her new stupid southwest airlines credit cards. So basically I have been told oh yeah this will work...Siiikk! too many times. I feel like I am so close yet so far. I have been researching this for 5 years now ever since They had that girl from wilson phillips on TV for the NWWLS commercial (if u live in WA im sure you know what I'm talking about). I just feel like my time is never going to come. And I have applied at ADP (the place my mom use to work, which I know for sure covers the surgery) for receptionist and admin jobs for over a year now and they just won't hire me.<br>I just wonder when my time to shine is going to come<br>Sorry to vent I just feel hopeles....and today I was crying and my mom told me "It's not my responsibility to pay for your stupid weight loss surgery...I didn't make you fat." All I could think was uhm...maybe if I had some emotional stability when I was a child and didn't have an alcoholic father I'd have felt more loved and not needed food to comfort me. I know most of you bandsters on here are older than me and maybe are parents too....but it's very difficult when both of your parents were bombshells and popular in high school and never been overweight...I mean my mom simplifies it to "Why should I finance a surgery when you can't even pay your cell phone bill." I duno I just think she needs to take a step back and realize that spending $20,000 on new kitchen isn't as important as your daughters lifelong happiness, health and success. Maybe I feel like it is owed to me because I truley feel like she should have provided more stability in my life. I rememebr beign in 3rd grade and beign called fat for the first time...and I didn't realize that I was different until then...I just know that if I saw my kids gettign chubby I'd enroll them in basketball or some form of fun exercise and have activites for them to make healthy Snacks....like celery and Peanut Butter with little raisens on them. I wouldn't wish beign 275 on my worst enemy....and just can't figure out why my mom didn't fight harder for my health when I was so little.

not everyone dumps. I never have - and most people I know who've had bypass don't. I don't know what the statistics on this are. I see 30% thrown around on here and on other boards sometimes, but I don't know if there's any hard core research behind that. It can be prevented, though, by limiting your sugar intake (many dumpers can eat *some* sugar - just not a lot of it) Artificial sweeteners don't cause dumping that I'm aware of, but some people are really sensitive to them (especially sugar alcohols - the ones whose names end in -itol). GI distress, diarrhea, etc - but this can happen to anyone, bypass or not.

I was emphatically told that I was to avoid all alcoholic beverages for an entire year post op...

You may find after a period of not drinking that you have no desire to. You might only go out once or twice every couple months now, but when you lose weight and have more energy and a new attitude towards life, you will probably go out more. Plus 21 is coming up and you will actually be legal. I expect you will want to party and enjoy life. A lot of people your age binge drink anyway, I know I did at that age, well kinda. You can drink socially, just be careful. Everything that OkPirate said was good advice. Now I enjoy being sober and being the designated driver. I have a big personality and I don't need alcohol to be fun. It is also interesting to watch other people drink and how it affects them. Just think about it carefully and proceed with caution. Sometimes when these alcohol threads come up everyone says you will be come a drunk or whatever. That really isn't the case for everyone. Just being aware can help you avoid a lot of the pitfalls.

No, sliming doesn't hurt. It's just the food that got stuck coming back up. The "slime" helps to bring it up. You can drink alcohol but it will inhibit your weight loss as alcohol carries a lot of calories with it. A glass of wine on occasion isn't terrible but you have to make the right choices regarding what and how much you drink if you want to see results from the band. Good luck.

I'm 9 months post op. I average 750-900 cal. a day, mostly lean protein and veggies. Weight loss has slowed but still losing 10-15 lbs a month. I am able to eat larger portions now but just because i CAN doesn't mean I SHOULD. I have begun dabbling in carbs, you know the simple ones that got us to this forum in the first place. My body clings to them like a drowning man to a rope. Any weight loss comes to a SCREECHING halt. I can even gain several pounds in a day. WTF!!! I have two things only on my no go list, carbonation and alcohol. I tried both once, and did NOT like the results for either. I look at it this way, I know there is poison ivy in the woods. As hard as I try to avoid it, sometimes it gets me. But if I start to itch, I know what to do about it. After a little while it goes away. Once in a blue moon though, I'll get naked and roll in a patch of it, and later ask myself if it was worth it... My NUT suggested 1-2 T. of grains per day AFTER I reach my goal as a way to slow weight loss(also switching to full fat dairy-milk and cheeses). Keep up your hard work, it pays off!

Wow...thanks for the sincere responses. I know that IF I want to go through with this, it will be a band and not a bypass. I definately plan on having more children, and my surgeon advised that the bypass is not favorable for pregnancy. My biggest problem is my boyfriend not being on board with this. He is overweight too, and I think he's intimidated by me losing. He would never get the surgery, because he loves his evening beer way too much...that I can do without, but can I never drink again? Kaiser says yes...no alcohol...ever. But those I met who have had the surgery, can drink a teeny tiny bit. Im sure this is on another thread...Ill look for it and post there . Thanks again... A

I have to admit, it felt really good to MOVE! Starbucks is an issue with me as well. And I still splurge on the occasional slurpee (so so bad). At least I manged to cut out most alcohol since I'm trying to get pregnant! It counts for something :eek:

A great number of us are going to disagree with you. There is much less food to be held up by the alcohol. Most of us tend to get drunk verrrry fast. We make for cheap dates. :rose:

I am beyond amazed by the quality of care and service that is being provided to me by my care team. My journey started less than a month ago when I met with a new PCP, got referred to a weight loss clinic. since then I have started making lifestyle changes that will help me succeed in the future. I have stopped drinking alcohol (a big deal for me) and carbonated drinks! I had my group intro meeting Tuesday and met with a nurse practitioner and a nutritionist today all regarding my weight loss journey. Good news is, aside from being obese, there is absolutely nothing wrong with me. good blood work, perfect EKG, etc. Next step for me is a sleep study. I have never had one and I am not really looking forward to it. Also have appointments with a psychiatrist and physical therapist. It seems that Legacy Weight Management Institute has a real wonderful program that seems well thought-out. They strive to specifically tailor each surgery to each patient for best possible success. I am not required to lose any weight prior to surgery and have just started a 3 month medically supervised diet as required by my insurance. This is getting me really pumped up. I know I haven't been on here in a while, but I have the weekend off and plan to read a bunch of information.

Okay, I have 56 hours until my surgery. Not that I am counting the minutes or anything. :smile: So, I have this wonderful family. My folks live very close by, in the house I grew up in. My sister & her family live 3 blocks from them. I am married to an incredibly sweet man and have two sensational children! I know, it's sickening. :wink2: I also have a crazy, abusive, alcoholic Aunt, so it ain't all butterflies and rainbows! Anyhoodles, my daughter is my buddy. She just turned eighteen and I couldn't be more proud of her. However, the last few weeks I have noticed she hasn't said a word about my upcoming surgery. Hasn't asked any questions. I was begining to interpret her lack of interest as her not loving me. Even when I would bring up the subject of my surgery, she wouldn't comment. Finally, after school as I sat listening to her tell me all about her day, I decided to get to the bottom of the issue. I started off by asking her if she was worried about the actual surgery. To my surprise she broke down in tears and told me she was scared to death for me! Holy cow! This whole time the child has been so scared, she refused to acknowledge the subject! What I realized is that yes, I am begining a journey. However, I made the choice to take it. The rest of my family did not. They just kind of got dragged into it. I really need to remember that while I will most definitely need support during this process, so will each very special member of my family!!!

Personally I would send a meeting request and reserve a conference room so this meeting will be private. I would tell him that you are very uncomfortable with him policing your eating habits. That you do your very best to eat healthy and if you end up having to eat a unhealthy meal on RARE occation; it is not his place to comment. Also that he does not know how you will eat when you get home to make up for a higher calorie lunch. If after you have this meeting he continues to comment on your eating habits go to HR. What he is doing is bullying you. Tell them you've spoken to him privately and he is continuing to harrass you. It is their job to deal with work place bullying. Trust me an HR generalist/manager does not want you going to their boss (HR Director/or VP) because they've failed to deal with work place bullying. I had a boss that would comment about everyones lunch. She was a vegetarian and no matter how healthy your lunch was she would say gross/disgusting there's meat in there! She would have vegan soup for lunch that had 35 calories and make sure EVERYONE knew about it. She also however would talk endlessly about her alcohol fueled orgies on the weekend! NOT kidding. I had several thin coworkers comment to me how annoyed they were about the way she commented about everyones food habits, yet she was a high functioning alcoholic. Oh and by the way she would go to the company store at the other end of the building and buy cookies and eat them when she thought no one could see her. Priceless. This is why I don't tell coworkers that I've had WLS. You can be guarenteed that every though I have skinless chicken breast and raw veggies (no dips/dressings) everyday for lunch; the day I have a 1 inch square piece of birthday cake someone will comment about it. For other readers esp. if you work in an enviroment with HR you boss does not need to know what surgery you are having. That is the beauty of HIPPA. A manager does not have the right to determine what medical proceders, ordered by a doctor are neccesary. The notes my doctor gives just say the gastro/intestinal dept; says nothing about WLS. I had a coworker have breast reduction surgery and was out on disability for 6 weeks. Some might argue the company should not have paid her to be off 6 weeks after breast reduction. Clearly WLS is more health oriented that that.

I've taught my kids to respond to statments like that with "Yeah?? and??" I told my daughters from an early age that being called fat is only stating the obvious and that they shouldn't get hurt or offended by it. Now, yes it hurts that someone wants to hurt my child by cutting me or her daddy down, but I will NOT let my kids think they have to ashamed of my obesity! My issues show on the outside...via FAT. Who know's what issues "their" parents have...alcohol? drugs? work-a-holic? cheating parents? neglectful parents? etc... I let my kids know "children like that have parents that have bigger problems than me, so we should feel sorry for them." Fortunately, we haven't dealt with a whole lot of it, but it does happen from time to time and perhaps my approach is a little unorthodox, but I want my kids to know that a fat person is a person with the same value as anyone else.

I had IBS when I was younger and it developed into full-fledged ulcerative colitis by the time I was 30. I've been on meds for it off and on since then. I had my surgery 3.5 weeks ago and I have to say I haven't had any symptoms. I think. It's hard to know what's normal after sleeve since I've never had a sleeve before. Unlike many other people, I do not suffer from constipation post-op, and usually have a bowel movement 3 times a day - it's always loose and soft, similar to what I had pre-sleeve. However, I do know that when I went on the pre-op diet, which allowed lean protein and non-starchy vegetables, and was no dairy or alcohol or caffeine, all of my symptoms cleared up immediately and I had no issues. The big difference between then and now is that I am eating cheese and greek yogurt to help meet my protein goals, but I wonder if that is affecting my BMs. However, I'm not going to change anything until I back to full foods and can cut back on the dairy. I'm not taking any meds for the colitis at the moment as I don't know how well they'll work with my new sleeve. I'm going to go talk to my gastroenterologist next week about it. That said, I've done some research about it and it seems that the sleeve really helps alleviate symptoms. I know colitis and IBS in general are not exactly the same, but as I have suffered from one or the other for over 30 years, to me there is little difference between them.

That may be a little soon to be testing out alcohol.. You are still in the healing mode. May be you should Celebrate without alcohol the month then in a few months have a party to celebrate your first drink and how much weight you will have lost. Enjoy"

My band has made my stomach very sensitive to irritants... acidic drinks, coffee, alcohol etc irritate my band area and make it hard to eat or drink at all (I learned this after a weekend of lemonade). I'd be hesitant to drink something potentially harsh before that band is fully healed! And... Happy Band day today! Hope the surgery went well!

My biggest advice - banded or not - take it slow and eat before you go out. Your first big drinking experience will kick your butt if you go too fast. At 3 weeks, you will most likely still be on your post op diet. Ea something heavy to help soak up the alcohol. If you're on mushies, tuna would be good. If still on liquids, I recommend only 3 drinks all night so you don't get wasted. You do not want to throw up as it can dislodge your band. Definitely talk to your doctor. Mine didn't say anything about alcohol specifically, just to watch empty liquid calories. Good luck and happy birthday!!

@NikkiDoc - I feel the same way about the alcohol, but I haven't done the follow-up to ask, if I do. same scenario though - hot tub, hubby...glass of wine @@bikrchk - I thought I would miss pizza. I ordered one and picked it up otw home from work a couple of Fridays ago. Not my preferred pizza (pre-surgery) it was thin crust all meat. I got the narrowest slice and took a bite from the end away from the crust and chewed it, and then spit it out. I "ate" about 2 more bites and it went in the trash. Havent even thought about another piece since

I've always been told no more alcohol. sorry.

I really screwed up on pre-op diet tonight. i was doing ok--until this evening, when party food made its debut at my place. disaster. no alcohol tho. tomorrow--back on strict pre-op diet. hope i'm not doomed. what does anyone else think????? :cry :cry :cry

I finally had the information meeting with my prospective surgeon last Friday. I had really been looking forward to it - but left feeling deflated. I told him I was worried about not being able to walk with my rheumatoid arthritis if I can't take ibuprofen. He never answered me regarding that issue - just said the need for other RA meds would decrease. I also think I will need a lot of support after the surgery because I think it will be very difficult psychologically. He never mentioned a support group so I asked if they had one "yes, we do," was the only response - no additional information whatsoever. In general, I felt like he didn't really address my concerns, I got the feeling there would not be much after care. I have decided to get a consultation with another surgeon. I know that the one I went to is very talented surgically, but after the surgery I don't think he'll really be there. There was another patient there who wanted to schedule a band to sleeve revision and the Dr. told him he looked familiar - the patient said "you did my lap band and I saw you referred me for an EGD last month." Kind of felt like we were just warm bodies sitting there. Maybe I'm wrong- maybe that's how all surgeons are and I am just making excuses for my fear and second thoughts. My mom went with me and kept saying she was afraid I would become an alcoholic if I wasn't able to eat junk food, and that I would be even more unhappy being thin with sagging skin than being fat. I appreciate your thoughts