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It been a year so far and i had that moment in the first few weeks of what did I do when you realize all the things you have to keep up with and can't eat. I am really glad I had the surgery. I went from a 24 to a 10 and have lost 105lbs. My only regret is while losing I almost lost myself and became a lil vain. Honestly this has disrupted my life and I became someone I was not and did somethings i would never do. Now im paying for them. I'm not gonna get into the details but your eating habbits and addictions can transfer into alcohol or attention like they did for me. Message me if you want more details but I still wouldn't have changed my decision for surgery. I thought I did all my homework but forgot to look at the emotional after effects of the surgery. Good luck.

Ok, so my high school reunion is the last week of October and that will put me at 2 months post op. I have a large group of girlfriends from high school that I get together with annually for a girls trip and we always have lots of drinks and fun together. At our 10 and 15 year reunion, we partied until 3-4 am. They will all be attending our class reunion of course. With all that being said, my surgery is a secret. How should I handle this reunion? Is it ok for me to have a couple? (I drink either wine, margaritas or jack and Water with lemon.) has anyone drank so soon post op? What was your experience with it? My doctor didn't give me any direction on alcohol but I've seen posts that say you aren't really suppose to. I never know what to believe due to so many conflicting stories about post op habits, diets, etc. I really have no desire to drink anything at this point. (That may change when I see all my BFF's getting tipsy) So anyone have any good excuses they have used to keep from drinking and also keep the surgery hush hush? I've contemplated just staying home pretending to be sick but I have been looking forward to this since my 15 year reunion! Lol. I rarely rarely drink, in fact, our annual girls cruise is generally the only time I drink all year. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

5 months out you certainly can overindulge. The sugary cocktail mixes can be full of calories. Crystal Light mixes have flavors like peach, mojito, pineapple, mango, watermelon, and you can make your flavor of the day with little single packets, easy to carry. You can mix these also with Diet Sprite or 7Up if you want the dreaded fizz. They had nothing sugar free on Norweigian last year, like lemonade by the pool. Luckily I do like unsweetened tea at dinner, but water and Crystal Light worked great. if you decide to indulge in a nighttime drink, order a shot of light rum, take to your room and mix with the crystal light. . Or order light rum over ice, carry your Crystal Light, and add to the drink. Enjoy your cruise! Caution, alcohol can hit you like a ton of bricks, and wine is no longer an option for me.

Jason and others, this is what I was recommended to eat. Yes it mentions low-fat Proteins, but does not emphasize them. This is from a leaflet from my consultant and is what is recommended in the UK. Successful eating with a band, divided into Green (eat freely every day), Amber (eat with cautions, eg weekends only) and Red (avoid or eat only for treats). They said Green foods should be 85% of the total. Amber foods: 10% (just 2-3 times a week). Red foods: 5% (try to avoid). Also keep the band active every 4 hours with a Cereal bar, banana or piece of fruit. GREEN * Low-fat Protein --Chicken/lean meat --Fish --Quorn (artificial vegetarian meat) * Low glycaemic index GL/GI foods --Basmati or wholemeal rice --Baby new potatoes, jacket potatoes, sweet potatoes --Porridge (but not instant porridge) --Pumpernickel or wholemeal pitta bread --Rye bread --Beans, pulses and lentils --Wholemeal Pasta * Fruit in natural form --Citrus fruits --Apples --Pears --Bananas * Fresh vegetables, except squashes, avocadoes and parships * Airdried homemade popcorn without butter or sugar * Low-fat cereal bars if used as an alternative to Breakfast * Dark chocolate (minimum 70% solids) with no sweet filling AMBER * Higher sugar fruits --Berries (a portion is 12, or 6 strawberries) --Melon/watermelon --Mango, papaya, cherries, grapes * Soft foods and ready meals that can be eaten with just a fork --Mashed potato --Shepherd's pie, cottage pie, fish pie --Creamy pastas --Haggis * Crispy foods --Multiple crackers --Biscuits [=Cookies in American English] --Crisps [=potato chips in American English] (Snack-a-jack ricecakes are better) --Packet popcorn --Cheesy biscuits * High sugar vegetables --Squashes --Parsnips * Sugary or nutty cereals --Muesli or children's cereals --Crunchy nuts --Anything with sugar, frosty or honey in the title RED * Fatty proteins and fatty vegetables --Nuts, seeds, avocados --cheese [if necessary have the Low-low brand of low-fat cheese] * Modified fruits --Juices (including home-made, organic and no added sugar juices) --Smoothes (including home-made etc) --Tinned and dried fruits, jams * Sugars (including natural) --Honey --Sugar --Milk/white chocolate --Toffee --Hot chocolate and coffee shop "Christmas special drinks" * liquids (Soups if replacing a meal) --Slimfast shakes or equivalent --Alcohol --Fizzy drink --Milk as a stand alone drink (lattes, Cappuccino, hot chocolate), although OK to add to tea/coffee * Fats --Creamy pasta sauces --Oils, including olive oil, mayonnaise, butter --Pannacotta, creme brulee, pecan pie --High fat gourmet ice creams --Cheese spread

Ryan, I'm so thankful that you have a dr. that is checking you out thoroughly. Ulcers are not anything to fool around with. Thank goodness you found out about this before your banding! This may postpone your surgery, but it's not stopping it. Please be careful in the types of food that you're eating. Spicey foods and alcohol will aggravate ulcers. This will be "repaired" and you'll be "back in the saddle". Take care and please don't get too discouraged. "This too shall pass." The peace and solitude at the lake are exactly what you need right now. Take care!

The broth at hotel is very bland. Take some powder mix with you. The hospital cafe broth is delicious. I took several bowls back to hotel. TAKE band aids with you & medical tape for changing your dressings. The tape mi doctor hospital uses is HORRIBLE. Alcohol wipes too are handy.

Hi all.... I had surgery Wednesday and I'm feeling better each day. I'm still a bit sore and bruised but actually going to go to the movies today....YAY!! My question is about sugar.... My Dr suggests sugar free puddings as a snack. I bought the Hunts sugar free chocolate. But I looked on the nutrition info and even though it said sugar zero and 70 calories it had a lot of sugar alcohol in it? What exactly is sugar alcohol and is that still "bad"? My goal is to not be on sugar and to be low carb but I don't think this pudding is low carb....any suggestions, advice or answers appreciated. Hope all of you are well.... Meg

Well, my insurance is blue cross blue shield. My requirements were 3 months on a dietitian monitored diet, 2 years (min.) weight history, Post-op preparation classes, and a bmi of 35 or higher. That would have been ok... But i started out in march with Dr. David Kim... I do not recommend anyone to his office. #Hurley911 - Some of the red tape/hoops I had to go through were nicotine and alcohol screening and things like that. The other problem I had was that after doing all the requirements for not only my insurance but my doctor... They stopped contacting me and i was forced to change surgeons. It has been a very long journey but it will be worth it when I finally get sleeved.

Hi! I'm 2+ years out and my sleeve is just as effective as ever, in terms of portion control. The main difference, honestly, between now and the first year-ish is that I am less militant about what I put in my mouth. I was very strict during weight loss phase, and have since loosened the reins since being in maintenance. I don't go nuts or anything, I just allow myself stuff now that I didn't before (i.e., alcohol and dessert, and the occasional processed carb). Given that, I have still basically maintained my weight +/- 5-6 lbs for the past 1.5 years. When I go up a few lbs for a sustained period of time, I cut calories and get back down to my happy place. My sleeve still works as it always did, its just my choices and behaviour has changed.

After weight loss phase I worked myself up to about 1800-2000 cals a day, BUT I was also exercising moderately to high every day. However, I gained about 6lbs during pandemic due to decrease in regular exercise (and increase in desserts and alcohol, lol). So I cut my cals to about 1200-1500 (and exercised a little bit more regularly, but not to pre-weight-gain levels cuz I'm lazy) around mid-summer and am basically back to 115lbs today (weighed in at 115.6 this morning). Soooo....based on this, if I exercise every day then I can maintain at 1800-2000 cals a day. If I stick to the amount of exercise that I am currently doing, I am guessing I can maintain at around 1700-1800 cals a day. If I don't exercise at all, it would probably be around 1500. Keep in mind though that other factors need to be considered to determine each persons' calorie maintenance level (age, metabolic rate, medication, malabsorbative functions of different surgeries, thyroid function, etc. etc....)

Yes alcohol no he never said I couldn't I phoned the clinic and she said as long as it wasent fizzy drinks it should be ok

AND Slim_Mommee! We were SO eager to tell you that EVERYTHING IS OKAY, that I totally neglected to say CONGRATULATIONS on reaching your first goal of 180’s! Woo-Hoo🎉this is FABULOUS!I can totally relate because I said to myself this morning...”the real excitement for me will be reaching the 180’s”. I yo-yoed the 190’s-200’s for last bunch of years, but the 180’s were back aways for me. I’m kind of in a stall past few weeks, but keepin’ on and know it will happen. Years ago I worried alcohol was becoming a problem for me, so I’m planning to not go there except maybe a glass or so family reunion, etc. a few times a year. I, too, have heard the risk of alcohol addiction is greater after WLS and I don’t want to go there!! I’ve watched it in my siblings and it’s a bear. Your surgery was a couple of weeks before mine, and rjan above and I were same day! So many kindred threads here... Bliss out on your SUCCESS Reaching the 180’s and give yourself a little smile and tee-hee that you’re choosing to slow the vino!💐💝

We have very similar stats - my surgery was on March 11th. I was 204 on the day of surgery - lost 19 lbs since then. It's really slowed down after the first few weeks - I've also only lost 3 lbs over the past two weeks. On the other hand, this is the lowest weight I've been in a decade. 6 more lbs, and I'll be the lowest weight of my adult life. And last time I was at this weight, I was STARVING all the time. Right now, I have to remind myself to eat most days. So I'm feeling pretty confident that the weight loss will continue. Even at a lb a week, I'd reach a normal weight by 2021. That would have been impossible before this surgery. This forum has been so helpful to maintaining my positive attitude. There are other slow losers here who are farther along in their journey - so you see it does work! As for the drinking, I did drink alcohol once since my surgery. However, I will try not to do that again for a while. I'm less worried about calories or slowing my weight loss than other issues. As NovaLuna says, bariatric surgery definitely changes how you process alcohol - I could tell this from my try. And studies show increased risks of addiction and alcohol related death or health problems after bariatric surgery. I had some issues with alcohol in my 20s, and I don't want to trade one problem for another. But please don't beat yourself up about it! That won't help. It's a really tough time right now for most people. Taking it day by day and doing our best is all we can do.

Don't panic. The PCP sounds like he needs to do some continuing education on WLS. That study primarily focuses on people who had RNY, since the sleeve didn't become popular until later.Those of us who had RNY can be at higher risk for bone loss because we have had several feet of the top part of our digestive tract removed. That's the malabsorption thing people talk about. VSG folks are still essentially intact but with just a smaller stomach (one of the highlights of VSG). Of course, keep taking your Calcium unless instructed otherwise by your surgery center, but as long as there are not other non-WLS factors that could cause bone loss (ongoing untreated low Vitamin D, heavy smoking or alcohol use, etc), the chances are low. This is based on findings from several studies by the ASMBS (American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery) - the managing organization for everything WLS. See screenshots. No more risk than with a lab band, and those have NO digestive tract change/removed. Hope that helps! ~SW: 278 CW: 165~ RNY 1/5/2005 "What got you here won't get you there."

I should also ad, I stopped drinking alcohol, and I still get these symptoms.

I've been having light headedness when I stand up too quickly. It only happens 2-3 times a day. It's rare enough that I forget about it until it hits me....lasts for maybe 3-4 seconds, light headed and dizzy. I went to the doctor last week and he took all my blood work, urine sample and they checked my blood pressure standing, sitting, lying down and swinging from a vine. It was always perfect. My heart rate however scared the doc so bad he personally called a cardiologist right then and convinced him to see me immediately. It was a consistent 42 BPM. They did 2 EKGs and didn't find anything. I go for an echocardiogram Friday and I get my blood work results Wednesday so I'll see what the deal is. I'm 8 months out and never drink alcohol and I feel great the rest of the time. The cardiologist says my heart is not having to work very hard to pump blood to my suddenly smaller body and that it should gradually pick up in time to normal levels. Nobody can say if my heart rate is even remotely related to the light headedness.

Hello, I am 6 months out from surgery and have lost 70+ lbs so far. I am 10-15lbs away from goal weight. I am asking a question here NOT to be criticized, but just for suggestions. If you do not agree with drinking after surgery well than thats your life style and my question is for someone who does. That being said,, It's my birthday and my husband and I planned an all inclusive get away WITHOUT the kids. Havent been away since before kids were born 5 years ago. I have no problem making healthy food choices while away. I know Protein first and all that. My real question is what drinks I should have. Again, I know Alcohol is not healthy so I dont need a lecture. But I do like to have a few drinks, especially by the pool. But problem is margaritas and all those frozen drinks are loaded with sugar and will surely make me nauseous, I cant drink carbonated beverages so diet coke and rums or vodka sodas are out. And I dont want anything too strong like martinis b/c I dont want to over due it or be sick. Wine is always safe especially watered down. If anyone has suggestions that I have not thought of id like to hear them. Thanks!!

I agree with all the others that are telling you to stop drinking alcohol. Calories aside, alcohol is a system depressent (just like a pharmaceutical depressant)- and is probably the cause of your depression, or at least, makes it much worse. Also, your system is reacting to alcohol differently than prior to your sleeve surgery. For me - I tried alcohol twice since my surgery - as an experiment to see what happens. I got a buzz on <1/2 c of beer, and a buzz on 2 tablespoons of fine tequila (sipped, not done as a shot). Beleve me, prior to my surgery, I could at least have a couple of drinks (beer or spirits) before I got to the same point of feeling a buzz. So whatever alcohol did for/to you before the sleeve - it is doing it MAGNIFIED after the sleeve. If you are having trouble staying away from the alcohol - get it out of the house until you get things back under control. Good luck!

Gosh, how I understand you! I'be been banded for over 2 years and this has been a constant fight against weight and it has not been easy at all. I'm still far from my goal and it's a everyday battle and I keep telling myself that this will go on and on, without ever ending. Some people have a problem with alcohol, others with smoking, others with drugs, mine is with sugar and all the bad stuff that's wrong for my body. But I still believe this band is the best thing I've ever done for myself and it's been a long hard process. I'm doing the best I can right now, but I know that there's still more I can do and I'll get there and I can't go back. There's no way I'm giving up and allow myself to go back to what I used to be. Hang in there, you came a long way, for some people like us, even with the band, we'll still have to put out an extra mile for it to work out. niki

Awww thanks god I hate beer. I do like alcoholic fruity drinks occasionally. Looks like next year once I get the body I want I can have alcohol once in a while.

During my consult, the Doc said that it's fine to drink a glass of wine as it relaxes your stomach. I got the impression that it's all about the empty calories, as opposed to the alcohol itself.

addiction talk....."You had a relapse." When we relapse with food, we get the same feelings of failure, incompetent, guilt and depression as a drug or alcohol addict would after trying so hard to JUST STOP! The wonderful and blessed thing is that we do have these tools that can help in getting back into our recovery from food that has taken control over us...once again. Good Luck

How long after surgery did your Dr. Clear you to drink wine or any other alcoholic beverage? Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G925A using the BariatricPal App

I agree and as a alcoholic i fully understand the disease, I will say i have never been able to kick the habit and most likely never will. I would add caution to the fact that the desire to drink after WLS is much more stronger post OP. I have been drinking since 16 years old and Done severe damage toll my body from it. I can function all day and get my company going but come 5 oclock its few drinks and off to bed. Post Op is even worse with the desire daily to drink, so the buyer beware is Dead On!

Today was a non-fast day (following a fast day) but oddly, I wasn't hungry until about 4 p.m. I just ate a small ramekin of vegetarian chili. Wondering if today will be my second fast day for the week (Mosley, the author of the 5:2 plan says it does not matter if your 2 fast days are 2 days in a row or spaced apart--he does usually do his on Monday and Thursday though). I think it's important not to go crazy with empty calories like wine/alcohol and carbs on the non-fast days. Excited to see where this goes!! :)