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I know I had a hard time finding information on others with my situation so I thought I would put my story out there and share as I move through the stages of weight loss then maintenance… March 4, 2002 I had my original Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (OPEN they didn't have laparoscopic then). I just turned 27 years old. My starting weight was 268 pounds and I lost 136 pounds – a little more than half my starting weight. I hit 132 pounds February 1, 2003 – it took a mere 11 months. I didn’t have any real follow up care after my staples were removed so I just exercised a lot and tried to eat right (and totally got full of myself by the way..). Slowly between moving twice out of state, getting a divorce and coming out as a lesbian to my family and trying to figure it out for myself – some of my bad habits like grazing returned. Since I couldn’t handle much food I also turned to alcohol as my “comfort” so to speak. I really don’t know why it didn’t “click” that a chocolate martini has about 500 calories EACH with no nutritional value and 3-4 of those a night 4+ days a week did me no favors. I had also pretty much quit exercising. January 2013 I decided to get my **** together and I was 208 pounds (gasp!) so I had regained 76 pounds. I started eating better, joined the gym and even spent $5,500 on hiring a personal trainer. I was seriously invested. I lost and gained the last 15 pounds several times over 7 months. It seemed no matter how hard I worked the weight just stayed… so again I gave up and decided to just eat & do whatever I wanted too (great idea right?)… November 2015 I quit drinking – yes totally it’s just not worth it… by now I’m sitting right at 204 pounds. I had been really having issues eating. I could eat “insert any food here” one day and be fine; two days later I’d warm up the leftovers and dump like crazy so my digestion was/is totally unpredictable and I’m hungry practically all the time… so I went to google and typed in WLS revision. That’s when I found Dr. Snow. I called his office and made an appointment to find out if I had totally screwed up my original surgery. December 1, 2015 My first appointment with Dr. Snow. I provided the story as I’ve written it above. So during this exam we did a barium swallow test right there in the office. It was fairly fascinating to watch it on the monitor. What Dr. Snow determined was my pouch still looked great and wasn’t stretched but my stoma reduction didn't hold from the original surgery. He scheduled me for an Endoscopy to go in and confirm the stoma was enlarged. I weighed in at 204.0 in the office. December 18, 2015 Endoscopy day – fun times! I was put under light anesthesia & Dr. Snow went in with a camera and checked out my guts. Once I started to wake up he conformed the enlarged stoma and said he would do a Endoscopic Soft Tissue Re-approximation to reduce the size of my stoma which would keep food in my pouch longer helping me feel full longer and to prevent so much dumping since the food I was consuming was falling right out of my pouch into my intestines… his office staff was to contact me with the details. January 15, 2016 After all the holiday madness I realized the staff hadn’t reached out to me so I called the office. Dr. Snow had moved to his own practice so I was given his new contact information. I called and left a message which was returned the next day. The staff was fantastic. We talked about where I was in the process (insurance coverage) and I was told I’d get a call back once my coverage was determined. February 2, 2016 I received a call that although my insurance does covers bariatric services they would not cover a “repeat procedure”. I was then told that if self-pay was an option it would be $4,900 for everything and my insurance would cover my follow up care… I scheduled surgery February 9, 2016. Dr. Snow called me later that afternoon and went over expectations and risks. He said I should expect to lose about 60% of what I had regained so he estimated 40-45 pounds. That would put me right about 155 and I would be very happy with that. February 3, 2016 I started a clear liquid diet & went in for my pre-op testing (Blood draw & EKG). February 9, 2016 I went into the hospital @ 6:30am for outpatient surgery. Dr. Snow cinched my stoma down to 1mm (yes really 1mm according to the surgery notes in my chart) and added several pleats to the inside of my pouch to make it a bit smaller since he was already in there. I didn’t find out about making the pouch smaller until the next day when I got a follow up call from a nurse who went over the surgery notes with me. I was home by 1:30pm –the hospital was a 30 minute drive one way from my house. Oh and the hospital scale said I was 196.0. After surgery Food: Basically 3 weeks later I’m on soft/moist foods. I can usually eat between 1/3c-1/2c of food and I’m happily full but not bursting at the seams. I do try and eat on the schedule otherwise I forget to eat, like today (2/29) I forgot to eat until it was 11:30 so I’ll be playing catch up all day to get in my Protein. But knowing there’s a 1/2c serving of protein ice cream I can have tonight with 20g protein I’m not freaking out. I use MyFitnessPal to track everything I eat/drink always getting protein in first. I average about 80-85 grams of protein & roughly 700-800 calories per day. Weight: I have dropped a little over 18 pounds. Follow up care: I was Dr. Snow Feb 18th and he was happy with my progress at the time. He would like me to lose 9 pounds before our next appointment March 24th. He also approved of me finding a local bariatric nutritionist I can work with to keep me on track. Insurance coverage: The office staff is going to file a claim with my insurance for the surgery on 2/9. I’m fully expecting a denial letter but that will give me a starting point to appeal and fight them on it. This wasn’t a repeat procedure it was a repair and as such should be covered so time will tell. My total out of pocket thus far including co-pays for office visits and the endoscopy is $5,161.72… …So there it is in a nutshell. I’m attaching a scan of the brochure/pamphlet pictures that explain the revision procedure for the benefit of others wondering what can be done. I’m an open book so please feel free to ask anything that comes to mind

Amen!! For three years I worked full-time and got my master's degree part time. I was promoted twice during that time and increased my salary by 30%. I've lived abroad before. I've never NOT had a job since I was 16, and even babysat before when I was 13-15. I am a very hard worker, but no one acknowledges that. I drop a few pounds and all of a sudden people are now proud of me? WHAT IS THAT? It's like people don't see what I've done with my life because I have fat on my body. They don't/can't see the work it took to get the degree or the dedication it took to get those promotions. They can, however, see your body shrinking. That's why the results of this particular addiction is impossible to hide. If an alcoholic is standing beside you, do you know they are an addict? Likely not unless they are truly at the end of their rope. Same for a drug addict. But a food addict...well, everyone knows of our struggles because it's out there for all to see. For me...I'm still a food addict but because I'm normal sized now, no one is aware. Still means I'm an addict though. Always will be too.

Thank you for getting back to me guys. It's so nice to have people to talk too on here! I am on my second week of the pre op diet and hopefully I do better this week than my EPIC fail last week. I drank (alcohol) on 3 nights, ate sweets, carbs and pretty much everything else that is banned. My will power is just shocking. I have 5 days to go for surgery and I am going to stick to the diet like crazy. I am so determined. I have to do this. I'm so scared the doctor is going to operate and then see that my liver is just a huge hot mess and then he won't operate. I know that I can't re-do my wrongs and if anything happens then all I have is myself to blame. I'm hoping that if I drink enough Water and hardly eat anything he won't be able to tell....ugh. This part has got to be the worst, surely?! How long are you guys taking off work after the surgery? I'm off for 1 week. And then I'm walking straight into a brand new job. Hopefully they won't notice that I'm only eating liquified foods!! It's a fresh start at least. Xx Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

To the OP... for how many people are you shopping? We spend $900 a month on groceries, restaurants, alcohol and takeout ... for 2 adults and one very picky cat. And we eat very well. Sent from my SM-G900V using the BariatricPal App

@@Queen of Crop I had a seroma. It should be just Fluid, not blood. The layers of your stomach that were peeled apart, didn't stick together correctly, so now your body thinks that it's injured and it's producing all of that extra fluid to try to heal you, which your body doesn't realize isn't helping much. I had a seroma for about a month, it was annoying, it required a second drain be put in, and then multiple times being drained, and then finally my doctor filled the seroma with alcohol, which did the trick, dried it all up, and I was good within two weeks. The trick to healing the seroma quickly is to avoid twisting...you want those two layers to stick back together. I caused mine because I just had to walk miles and miles everyday too soon after surgery and the twisting of my torso resulted in a seroma. Wear your binder and your compression, and think of it this way....it has to heal and it probably isn't getting any worse, so you only have improvement to look forward to!

Hi everyone. I have not been on for awhile and boy have I had some major changes. I recently went on a cruise. Ate what I want and drank what I want. After the cruise on my way home I thought what is happening to me where has my motivation went? Why am I drinking so much alcohol? Because it makes me feel good it makes me grow wings & I become super women. I only drink at night as if that makes it better. One night my husband had a terrible time helping me down the stairs. I don't remember any of it. So on our way home some where in Texas I woke up & thought to myself I have gone through so much. No way was I going to let alcohol control my life like food. I took my life back in control & have not drank any alcohol for 5 days. There are so many obstacles in life that we have endured & have yet to endure but losing the battle of winning is not one of them. I hope you all are doing well. Let's revamp, refocus & reset my friends.

4 months glass of wine 5 months Bloody Mary (didn't sit well and couldn't finish it) 6 months vodka cocktails Since then I've had everything from Twisted tea to Apple Crown, vodka, rumchata, Kahlua, wine, bloody Mary's, margaritas, and flat hard cider. Mostly just on vacation or over holidays. Unfortunately Alcohol does not effect me any differently than preop....I can still outdrink a football team. I was really looking forward to being a lightweight, but unfortunately am not. I was an alcoholic preop....drank every day, got seriously drunk on the weekends. I often drank more calories than I ate. But now the calories just aren't worth the buzz. I basically treat it like any other carb....limited occasions and in moderation.

Happy Sunday 2/9ers hoping everyone had a fabulous weekend. So I had my first hang out night since surgery and I survived. I wasn't tempted to try any food that's not on plan or alcohol I survived and no one payed attention to me not eating much. How's everyone doing? I decided to start weighing on Mondays only because the scale is starting to give me anxiety. My wife asked if I'm looking to lose 50 pounds a day or something lol - that's not it, I'm just impatient (slightly) and want all the weight to melt off as I sleep hahahahha Slimtrimshel- I am going to look for those Protein shots. It's a great idea and shouldn't be tooooo filling on those days when short on protein SuzzyQ- you are definitely getting in more protein than I am but I also take b-12 and my multi Vitamin everyday, which seems to help with energy. I think we all are really tired initially, your body just went through a major shock but I would definitely suggest trying to do some minor walking (even if you don't want to) TxJP - acid reflux has been an issue for me since starting puréed, it actually has made me do more Protein shakes because of the fear of that feeling. When I called my surgeon they told me to take nexium twice per day in addition to my Protonix and I will pop a few gas x strips. The nexium does take a few days to kick in but it has helped some. I never had acid reflux either but did have a hernia repair so this was definitely not expected. Surgeon says it should go away within a month and the pills will no longer be needed, hopeful Iamsafe69- congrats on the weight loss and sorry about the respiratory infection. Take it easy and don't over push yourself, you will get back to running sooner than later.

I'm with @lifeofblair... chocolate is a major trigger food for me so I choose to just stay away from it. Sugar alcohols upset my stomach as well, so I'm not going to even try the NSA chocolate. I do eat chocolate pudding, but that's not even close to the same thing. I haven't had real chocolate since I was pre-op. On a side note, I bought a bag of chocolate covered almonds as my last treat before I started my liquid pre-op diet. I never got to eat if because we ended up buying a puppy that night and I was too distracted with her. Best decision of my life getting her

After RNY gastric bypass, there are two problems with traditional chocolate candy: sugar and fat. During RNY the part of the stomach that processes fats and sugars has been cut away. If you eat several chocolates, it can lead to dumping syndrome. Eventually your intestines will figure out something is wrong and will step up to the plate and begin to process these foods. This can take about a year. You are within the "weight loss" phase for such a short time, it is important to maximize the weight loss. Once you transition into the "maintenance" phase, the strategy is different. Fats are a useful tool during maintenance because they take away hunger. Maintenance is about hunger control. But I would recommend you avoid sugars during the maintenance phase. Natural sugar (fruits and milk), artificial sugars (such as splenda), and no calorie natural sugars (such as stevia) are fine, as well as sugar alcohols. So if you have a craving in the maintenance phase, it is fine to consume Adkin's treats. Or enjoy a cup of hot cocoa, only make sure it is the "no sugar added" variety.

When did you have your first alcoholic drink after your surgery ?!

I am 4 months post VSG and down 50 lbs but have had unreasonable sugar cravings in the past week that I have given in to - eating hard candy, drinking small amounts of alcohol, part of a bagel, and today I got a frozen yogurt with crushed up butterfinger in it and ate about 1/2 cup and got so sick - vomited multiple times. Why am I doing this to myself? It's almost like I am testing the limits to see what I can "get away with" which is ridiculous since I KNOW that this isn't good for me long term. I am so close to being under 200 lbs for the first time in over 10 yrs. am I intentionally sabotaging myself? WTF is wrong with me?

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/news/20130118/alcohol-sleep http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh25-2/101-109.htm I didn't believe it but I found it to be totally true. I fall asleep much easier in a completely dark room. Once I close my eyes I sleep very deeply, rarely dreaming that I can remember. I wake up naturally in 8-8.5 hours, fully refreshed. Like I said it is almost freakish for someone who has never slept well in their adult life.

@@needtorecover I have a friend with sleep apnea. They don't wake up, but they sound like they are dying over and over during the night. It is terrible to hear, and every time we go on vacation it keeps me up because they refuse to wear their cpap thing. So you can have it and it won't wake you up. Sleep is one of those things I fixed before surgery. Because of my work and the fact I have a pretty open schedule, I can pretty much work whenever I want as long as I meet my deadlines, I used to nap in the afternoons often. Once I stopped napping in the afternoons, went to bed at a decent hour, in a completely dark room, with no electronics in it, my sleep greatly improved. I sleep around 8 hours a night and it is a deep sleep, my eyes close and then they open. It is actually freakishly deep for someone that has never slept well at night before. I wake up and hit the floor ready to go. I am so relaxed and refreshed. Make sure you have the nicest most comfortable bed you afford, a dark quiet room, and don't drink before bed. My Dr told me years ago that drink to sleep, actually interrupted your sleep and I didn't believe him but since I gave up alcohol a few years ago, my sleep started improving. If you drink before bed, you never get into deep REM sleep.

I thought of several things as I was reading your post. I've been battling chronic depression and anxiety since I was 14 years old. You have done an awesome thing getting yourself through college while dealing with depression, anxiety and weight loss surgery. You deserve a round of applause! When I was your age, I was chasing that "high" or any good feeling with a lot of self medicating with food, alcohol and other things. I don't suggest going that direction because it just made me more depressed than ever. I went through some therapy but that didn't really help much either. I finally sought help from a good doctor. He explained that some people have severe chemical imbalances in their brains that cause depression. I started on antidepressants at that time. I was really really really lucky that the first one we tried worked well for me, we have adjusted medication over the years when needed. The truth is that science does not know enough about depression yet, as in doctors really have to guess what medication to start you on and sometimes it can take a while to find the right one. Another thing that came to mind is that I always have to carefully watch myself during February because I also have Seasonal Affective Disorder. The theory is we get less sunlight during the winter months which affects our brain chemicals. During the winter months, and especially February, I can't watch movies about anything depressing. Like I usually enjoy movies about World War II but I do not watch them right now. I started watching a movie about civil war in Liberia during the '80's and started crying in the first five minutes. I watch comedies in February. I go outside several times a day when the sun is out and just stroll around with my dog. Or sit out in the sun. It doesn't take long for these things to help me. So, I'm just relating my experiences here. Not trying to be an expert, just saying what has helped me. I hope and wish you the very best and that you will find something to help you through this time.

Three years out and my posts have started to shift to living and observing life as a thin person and not focused on what to eat/not eat, what I weight..etc. Yesterday I had an encounter that would have meant nothing to someone always thin, but reminds me constantly that I am not the same person I was. I don't mean that my moral compass has shifted, or that my personality is vastly different...or possibly it is. I was at the market yesterday and bumped into another shopper. Happens all the time in NYC markets...they are very tight as is everything in NYC. I apologized and the woman laughed and said, 'hey, this in Manhattan...nothing we can do about it.'. I agreed with her and moved on and then realized this would not have happened when I was obese. I would have still apologized but my eyes would have been down and I'd have scurried away as soon as possible.....because it would have been my fault that we collided. How does an obese woman not get in other people's space when she takes up more than her share? Now times that by a thousand because of how we live here in the city. The old Liz would have been so embarrassed but this new, normal sized Liz wasn't even thinking that way...I was only apologizing as anyone would have done. And then I allowed a bit of small talk after that encounter that would have never happened before either. We really need to admit that when we lose so much weight, we do become different people. Both internally and externally. I was on a girls weekend recently with long time friends and likely due to the amount of alcohol flowing, we got silly and sentimental. I heard many times, how inspirational my story is. How I changed my life around. How I was always a great person before, but I simply glow these days. I found it embarrassing but I understood it was complementary and I just had to suck it up while they went on and on. Don't tell me that doesn't change a person because it does.

Welcome to the site and thank you so much for sharing your story. I am really impressed you used "gruntled" in a sentence, that doesn't happen very often! I am so sorry you have had to deal with some much life stress but am glad you are dealing with your transfer addictions. Unfortunately, unless we deal with our underlying eating issues it is all to easy to transfer to other things like: alcohol, gambling (day trading), etc. I hope you have found s good therapist and/or recover program Glad to hear you like your Fitbit. I have started a misfit shine because I swim and really like it. Again, welcome to this site. I hope you stick around and share the benefit of your experience.

I just joined this Forum a few minutes ago. Take a look at my Post under "my story" section where I discuss my use of alcohol. It might be instructive.

This is the first time I've visited this forum. I was looking for a place to share my story with other RNY patients, and here is where I landed. So, first off, the basics. I had bypass surgery 6 years ago at the U of W Hospital. The surgery was straight forward and I suffered no complications.My pre surgery weight was 355. During the first year post op I shrank to 217 (which contrary to all obesity tables was thin for my build). I was 60 at the time of the surgery. During the first year, I ate whatever I could tolerate, and drank no alcohol at all. I was pretty gruntled over the results. I tossed by CPAP, as the decrease in fat around my neck cured me of the obstructive aspect of my apnea. I was on a low dose of blood pressure meds, and I no longer needed to continue that med, as my BP dropped with my weight loss. I never could tolerate sugar after the surgery and found I really needed to limit any carbs a couple of hours prior to doing physical activity to prevent lightheadedness--although, I continued to eat a lot of high carbo foods. After the first year and the highly satisfactory weight loss, I started reintroducing alcohol. I had, for over twenty years, been a daily drinker-- usually a couple of cocktails in the evening with friends. I found that alcohol after surgery was different. I got drunk much faster, sobered up much quicker and never suffered a hangover, no matter how much I consumed. This was great fun, as I'm by nature a happy drunk, pleased to make people laugh and enjoy the company of friends and alcohol together. This behavior went on and I started to gain weight. I wasn't overly alarmed by either my alcohol use or my weight gain, as I had been told that studies indicate that RNY patients suffered a 10% weight regain after reaching their highest weight loss. Well, pressures of life mounted, I daily traded in the Stock Market, and found with the advent of the Fed's QE programs and the advent of ALGO trading, my trading strategies suffered considerably. Over the course of the next 3 years I lost $10s of Thousands of dollars in the Market. So, I sat at the computer 14 hours a day watching the evaporation of my money as it went to money heaven. It was disturbing and depressing--to say the least. My alcohol consumption increased, as my activity level decreased. In fact, I started adding a daily bottle of good red wine with dinner to enjoy and make me feel better. This escalated over the months. On top of my own Market disasters, our Family suffered some terrible tragedies and losses in the course of an 8 month period in 2014. My Wife, of 46 years marriage, had suffered clinical depression bouts and hospitalization a number of years ago. With the family loss, I constantly worried about her mental health, and as she increased her wine intake (she is on Wellbutrin), I viewed it as not a bad thing, as it helped her cope with the immediate pain and depression. My weight gain continued. I found myself back on my BP meds. and, back on the CPAP machine--which I hate with a passion. Finally, towards the end of 2015 we had a discussion about our health and what to do about it. On Jan. 1 we both stopped drinking and started dieting. At that point I had ballooned up to 278! I was embarrassed by my weight gain and felt I had failed myself and my Wife in my presurgery promise to get healthier in order to have longer and happier life together. So, on Jan 1. I got the Fitbit App and went on a 1500 cal. a day eating plan. I cut out alcohol, all starchy foods, most meat and very little fried food prep. I take a couple of Premier Protein drinks a day and eat a lot of raw veggie salads. I have to say, I couldn't be happier. Since Jan. I've lost 32 pounds and have a goal to drop another 30 pounds before Fall, I've put away my CPAP machine, I sleep better and have less aches and pains in my joints. My wife has also lost weight, although only 8 pounds, which is very visible on her, as she wasn't overly sized to begin with. I have to admit that I have an easier time with the diet, as I don't experience hunger pains, and often view eating as necessary rather than desired. My activity level has markedly increased. I've started woodworking again (just finishing up a stunning dining room table of solid black walnut) --I had stopped for about 6 years. And I am currently building a deck on the south side of the house that I had been putting off for the last twenty years! I wanted to share this with others in the hope that it might inspire anyone that fallen into a similar situation and despaired of regaining their health and happiness. So, my first recommendation is the Fitbit App to monitor and track your food intake. And, to be honest, the first week of big change like this is a bit of a hurdle, but, put your head down and power through this period and you'll find it will be easier going forward. Life will get better. Best wishes to all.

(Repost from another board--I wasn't sure which was the best place to post!) Hello! I'm new to the community and wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. I had my WLS consultation yesterday, and have decided to pursue the gastric sleeve. I am fortunate that I have already gotten insurance approval, and upon completion of all of my pre-op tests/obligations, should be able to schedule surgery for sometime in the next 4-6 weeks. I've struggled with my weight my whole life, and am ready to get a handle on it. My BMI is currently 41. I'm a married mom of 2 young girls, and it is so important to me that they see me as a role model for a healthy lifestyle. Now is the time for me to get this under control. I'm anxious, but very excited about what my future holds. I'm looking forward to getting to know you all, and finding support here! Some questions I've thought of--if any of you have an insight, I'd love to hear it: -My FIL had gastric bypass several years back, and ended up with quite an alcohol problem afterwards (he is now going to AA and doing much better). This is one of my husband's main concerns for me about getting surgery--trading one addiction for another. I'm not a big drinker, so I don't see alcohol as being problematic--in fact, I plan to give it up entirely for the forseeable future, but perhaps shopping, or something else that could replace food in my life, is his concern. -I'd like to try and keep my surgery journey private for the time being. I'm worried about how to respond when people start noticing my weight. I have some ideas, but feel like I'll crack and tell people, then wish I hadn't. -I'm a straw drinker. I guzzle drinks quickly and am going to have to learn to sip. But I'll admit that I'm already in mourning over the loss of my straw. Is this forever? -I'm a Diet Coke addict. I look forward to breaking free of the hold it has over me (man, that sounds absurd--but it is true!) But I'll admit I'm mourning idea of that loss too. I'd like to think maybe someday I could have one occasionally (my surgeon seemed ok with moderate amounts of carbonated beverages after 6 mo out). But maybe it's time to cut the cord permanently. -I am afraid of the hair loss. My surgeon said its pretty inevitable, but should be temporary. My hair's pretty fine & thin anyway, so it concerns me. I'm hoping I'm able to keep it a minimum. Ok, I'm just rambling now. Thanks for taking the time to read this! I look forward to getting to know you all!

Hello! I'm new to the community and wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. I had my WLS consultation yesterday, and have decided to pursue the gastric sleeve. I am fortunate that I have already gotten insurance approval, and upon completion of all of my pre-op tests/obligations, should be able to schedule surgery for sometime in the next 4-6 weeks. I've struggled with my weight my whole life, and am ready to get a handle on it. I'm a married mom of 2 young girls, and it is so important to me that they see me as a role model for a healthy lifestyle. Now is the time for me to get this under control. I'm anxious, but very excited about what my future holds. I'm looking forward to getting to know you all, and finding support here! Some questions I've thought of--if any of you have an insight, I'd love to hear it: -My FIL had gastric bypass several years back, and ended up with quite an alcohol problem afterwards (he is now going to AA and doing much better). This is one of my husband's main concerns for me about getting surgery--trading one addiction for another. I'm not a big drinker, so I don't see alcohol as being problematic--in fact, I plan to give it up entirely for the forseeable future, but perhaps shopping, or something else that could replace food in my life, is his concern. -I'd like to try and keep my surgery journey private for the time being. I'm worried about how to respond when people start noticing my weight. I have some ideas, but feel like I'll crack and tell people, then wish I hadn't. -I'm a straw drinker. I guzzle drinks quickly and am going to have to learn to sip. But I'll admit that I'm already in mourning over the loss of my straw. Is this forever? -I'm a Diet Coke addict. I look forward to breaking free of the hold it has over me (man, that sounds absurd--but it is true!) But I'll admit I'm mourning idea of that loss too. I'd like to think maybe someday I could have one occasionally (my surgeon seemed ok with moderate amounts of carbonated beverages after 6 mo out). But maybe it's time to cut the cord permanently. -I am afraid of the hair loss. My surgeon said its pretty inevitable, but should be temporary. My hair's pretty fine & thin anyway, so it concerns me. I'm hoping I'm able to keep it a minimum. Ok, I'm just rambling now. Thanks for taking the time to read this! I look forward to getting to know you all!

Based on my experience, food-wise, by 7-9 weeks I was out of the liquid/soft phases and cleared to try most (if not all) foods. Personally, Intake the no alcohol rule vey seriously. Even if you are someone who doesn't, 7-9 weeks post-op would be way to early. You are still healing. As long as you are able to get in all of your Protein and fluids then you should be fine. The challenge will be not getting behind, especially with your fluids. But, you are going to have to do that whether you are on a cruise or not. As long as you don't have any complications, or have any other issues, I would think you would be fine. By that time your incisions should be healed so you will be able to swim, etc. Just to be safe, be sure to let your surgeon know of your plans. Also, take his contact info so that if you did wind up in a hospital, you can loop him in on what is going on. Whenever you decide to go, I hope you have a wonderful time!

I did flip I was convinced the wine burnt a hole my my new stomach and I was dying. ... yes a bit extreme but so is blood. I was a mess till they told me I would be okay. Said it was like pouring alcohol on a fresh cut... causes it to bleed more and it hurts.

TMI. Warning: I had blood in my stool and urin. Went to the doctors and they said I was bleeding and asked if I had consumed alcohol. Lol My consumption was mindless.. and it hurt when I drank it.

AHHH! I just found out today that my surgery date is March 16th. 3 weeks from tomorrow. It all seems so fast. I just started this process with an all day appointment at Mayo Clinic in November, and the time has FLOWN by. I had my last visit with the psychologist on Friday and she signed off/discharged me then. I got the call from the surgical scheduler today and, I'm not even going to lie, started freaking out a little (okay, a lot). Anyone else with March dates? My birthday is March 10th, so I can't think of a better way to usher in 33 than a new me. I'm starting to get more nervous, but I keep telling myself that it's all for the better. One preop visit, one lab visit, one bypass diet visit and then surgery. I don't know if anyone else has gone to Mayo Clinic, but they do not mess around. I've had to keep a significant food log (with pre and post-meal feelings) since November, had to cut out any alcohol and most caffeine and had to significantly increase exercise in order to be discharged. Sorry, I'm kinda freaking out here. All of the forums here have been a massive help thus far, and I hope to post/contribute more as I go through the process. WHEEE!