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Although I was banded in 2010, my recovery seems like it was yesterday. If I recall, I really had no real pain after the surgery, but the gas in my chest was the most uncomfortable thing. While you had it go away quickly, mine lasted up to two weeks. For new bandsters, it is important to know that each person has a different recovery experience as well as a different weight loss journey. The first few weeks post surgery can definitely be annoying, and it may take several fills before you feel like you are restricted, but everyone has a different experience. A tip for those of you new bandsters, who are still learning the ways about timing while you eat, I found that setting a timer for 20-30 minutes on my phone, was the perfect amount of time to eat as long as you take one bite every 30-45 seconds. My doctor told me that it takes about 20 seconds for the food to pass through the band into the lower portion of the stomach. Also, by keeping yourself on schedule while you eat or drink, will fill you up faster and give you less of a chance of having the food get stuck (as you focus during during those seconds to savor and chew the food to a pulp). As you progress in your weight loss journey, you will have days when certain foods will go down, which others won't. My family who had the band, as well as others I know, refer to the band as a "fickle b***h" because how tight you are can depend on not only how much Fluid is in your band, but on stress, alcohol consumption (makes food go down easier because it relaxes your esophagus,etc.) I speak at the information sessions as a live testimonial for the NYU weight loss group in manhattan. If you have any questions on pre, post or cosmetic surgery, please feel free to ask me (whether here or In a message...)

Ok guys just got surgery on june 25th. Still on fluids and am having trouble getting them down but thats not my biggest problem right now. I am FREAKEN OUT!!!! Will i be able to eat a slice of bread again?? Will I be able to eat a baked potatoe again?? Will I be able to drink alcohol again?? Will I be able to ever eat a sub or a sandwich again?? I know this seems stupid but I have all of these fears right now. I'm not looking to eat any of the above anytime soon but I fear I wont be able to have some guilty pleasures ever again. And what about diet cola on ocassion?? I just want to be normal again......

benhamgal, hey we're here to support you and I guess it's frustrating when you just want to know a little question and "bam" you get opinions from left and right and up and down! We get a little too passionate here about stuff. I did have the same symptoms about 19 years ago after my last baby was born and I thought I was having a heart attack so my husband called my primary, who I still see, and we went there and they hooked me up to an EKG and told me I was having a panic attack. Recommended I see a psychiatrist and put me on something that totally zombied me out, wish I still had some or knew what it was and that's when I first began treatment for anxiety and depression. I guess the crying all the time gave away the depression part and the not breathing at night and the chest pain gave away my anxiety. I get panic only during a weird situation when I'm driving and have to come to a light, I'm always afraid I'm not going to stop in time or I'll stop too soon and someone will hit either way! I'm also not too thrilled with driving on highways or in the dark but that may just be my failing eyesight! Anyway I tend to avoid situations that would cause that stress so as to not have a full blown attack I suppose. I've gotten better, there was a time when I would not even get in a car and drive myself a block so I believe I'm a lot better but I'm nowhere where I was when I was an independent teenager on my own going everywhere! I've kind of learned to accept my limitations and often that came with guilt especially because I felt like a failed human being, mother, sister, wife, daughter because there were things I just couldn't do like a normal person anymore. It was difficult for me to understand my daughter's panic attacks because I was so different from her. Hers were kind of like yours they would come on, possibly more than one a day and there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason. At first I thought they were only at school so that was what it was then she would have them at home too. I'm a fixer type person, daughter of an alcoholic so to most psychiatrists it all makes sense. Anyway I wanted to "fix" her and it also made me feel guilty that I passed on my lovely genes to her and it was my fault she was having these horrible issues with panic disorder and was even hospitalized at one time when I took her to a doctor for very bad depression and had tried many meds that weren't working, I turn around and she's admitting her into a psych hospital.:cursing: Anywho, I just wish you well, I just watched a show on depression on PBS and it was really informative. New studies on the brain and all and anxiety. Hopefully they'll get us all straight one day so we don't have to suffer so long. They did make a comment that if someone was in pain lets say for some physical injury they wouldn't let it go weeks before they found something that relieved the pain like they do for psychological issues. You did mention that you're a very busy person and don't have time to let things fall apart. Everyone is depending on you so maybe you do need to take some time out for yourself, just a thought, take care brandyII:smile:

What about alcohol after the recovery stage????

What my doctor told me was, very often people trade addictions. So after WLS, some patients will trade their food addiction for alcoholism or drug abuse. He said this one of the reasons he tells his WLS patients to avoid alcohol, not only because it's empty calories but because of the increase risk of addiction.

I too was wondering the same thing? Drinking as in swallowing or drinking as in alcohol? I had roux ny done in 2000 and was just banded this past May 16th....my pouch, after all these years stretched and so lap band was the only thing offered to help this ...I am doing well so far as I was good most of the time on my eating habits with the bypass..it was just one of those things, however, nothing in a drinking matter afflicted me...I like to have a glass of wine or maybe two but I don't see the correlation between bariatrics and alcoholism?

Water: Admittedly, I have tried a sip of Water at a meal. I can handle that, but no more and I only do it if I am really thirsty. The drinking thing has been the most difficult habit to break of all for me. Now I try to drink something right before I eat and that seems to help tide me over. My doc told me 30 minutes to an hour after I eat and now at 6 months out, 30 minutes is just fine. I have gotten good at distracting myself until then. Alcohol: I have had a few glasses of wine in the last month or so and it went down just fine. I don't see myself being a big drinker in the future, but it's another thing that's not permanently off the list. The alcohol processes differently now though. Totally different sensation after a glass of wine. Salad: I am one of the people that has no issue with salad, but I didn't start trying it until month 5. Raw veggies do just fine in my stomach, but I can't eat the quantity I used to. I used to be able to shovel a ton of salad down and now it is more like a cup of it.

I'm thinking that there are some people that just have addictive personalities -- my ex-husband was one of them. He smoked and stopped, then took up cross-stitching (excessively, 6-7 hours a day while working full-time), then soduko, then crosswords, then planning flower gardens (not gardening, planning them). It seemed like he couldn't stand life without one all-consuming hobby or thing to do. I'm sure it's the same with alcohol... even after you beat the demons of food or alcohol, you might replace it with some other thing. I'm glad you're in therapy -- that should help figure out your compulsions. I have heard people say to focus on exercise and get "addicted" to that, but that can even be a problem if it gets excessive. I hope you find help that works for you and I hope you find lots of support here on the boards.

I went with the sleeve. It was recommended over RNY unless you had acid reflux (which I didn't). I also think that RNY results in a quicker weight loss thanks to malabsorption. The pluses of the sleeve are: 1. It's less likely to stretch because the stretchy part of the stomach is removed. Since an RNY pouch is constructed from the esophagus, it can stretch. 2. My surgeon told us no alcohol or NSAID'S with an RNY for life. I'm a weekend social drinker with arthritis, so this was my primary reason for going VSG. 3. I love the simplicity of the sleeve. Once I healed, I'm basically "normal" with an itty bitty stomach. Who doesn't love that. Yes, they say that that RNY is reversible, but I've never heard of anyone doing it and why would you? 4. I have also heard that the malabsorption factor goes away down the road and your left with just the restriction of the pouch, which can stretch (at least a little). 5. Finally, remember that VSG was first developed as stage one of a DS surgery, so I suspect you could always go back to get the malabsorption part done later if needed (at least I think this is true). Btw, there is nothing I can't eat - no hint of dumping whatsoever!

I went to a friend's 50th birthday party three weeks after my surgery and it was rough! I love beer, and to be there without being able to drink was a struggle. But, I made it through the night without a drink, and I did it knowing that some day I could probably have beer again. I didn't have a beer until six months post-op. I'm two years post-op and I have an occasional beer, but it's usually a stout because anything with carbonation bothers me. I've learned to savor my beer because you will be a total lightweight after surgery. I usually don't finish my pint, which still stuns me! Hang in there - you'll get to have alcohol again, and it will be worth the wait.

That was my first thought too but The NA beer still has a tiny bit of alcohol in it so if it’s the alcohol part that is acidic it may still be too harsh. I would worry about the carbonation so early out as well.

I am pre-op, but was finding that the foods I've been eating are just not making me feel well. I've always suspected that I may have an intolerance to wheat, but not sure about anything else. So, I went on an 'exclusion diet' and removed all dairy, gluten (wheat, rye, barley, and oats), eggs, citrus, alcohol, and caffeine from my diet for two weeks. I chose these because after much reading on the internet, these seem to be the most common food intolerances. There are more complex exclusion diets, but this was hard enough to follow as it is. Luckily, I have a friend who has celiac disease (allergy to gluten) so she was able to help me understand what foods are gluten free and which ones aren't. Anyway, after the two weeks of excluding this all from my diet, then I introduced one at a time (not faster than one every three days). So far what I've found is I have intolerance to onion (goes right through me - horrible cramps and diarrhea). Even though this wasn't something I had purposely excluded, it just so happened that I didn't have much onion in anything until the 10th day in. I had been feeling great, then bam, the onions made me feel awful. I didn't quite see the connection at first, but then it happened again the next time I prepared something w/a lot of onion. The next thing I identified as a problem is dairy, but I seem to have a threshold w/it. A little dairy is fine. If I have more than a normal serving or multiple dairy items in one meal, I feel sick to my stomach, and get diarrhea again. Sorry, if TMI. Finally, I just reintroduced wheat products today and haven't had any GI symptoms, but VERY noticeable lethargy/tiredness after eating. And, I didn't eat a lot of wheat. I had popcorn chicken (that has breading on it) and a cookie. Then, took a 2 hour nap. Interestingly, prior to the exclusion diet, I was feeling exhausted every afternoon and most days needed a nap. Since the exclusion of wheat, I had not needed naps anymore.

I was told no alcohol for a year. Our livers are working overtime to clear toxins that are released with quick weight loss. Alcohol on top of that can cause liver failure. So I was told by my team... I would caution you to talk to your doctor first. If your doctor has no problem with it, then by all means, celebrate. If they say no, listen. They have reasons for the restrictions they give. Personally, I think it's not worth the risk...

SJ - the most important part of the band is the followup. Seriously. If not for my monthly trips to Dr. Ren in my first year I would not have lost the weight I did!! You know, it takes a while to detox from the reality of being obese. When I would go for follow ups, I would have that "Weight Watchers Anxiety." You know what I'm talking about - wearing the lightest clothes possible, crash dieting the day before, hoping and praying you're not judged cause maybe you only lost 4 lbs in a month. You know I got lectured - and I mean LECTURED - for losing too much weight? The nurse at Dr. Ren's told me if I didn't slow down he was gonna unfill me :huh2: That was a first. I pranced. I liked not being lectured for eating too much. It's just *such* a different world. It's hard to describe. Instead, even if I lost a little, I'd be sitting there nervous, feeling like I'm failing everyone, failing myself...and when they weighed me and talked to me, they just wanted to know if I was hungry. Sometimes I'd say yeah, but I don't know if its PMS or not. They'd tighten me and fix it. Can you eat more than a cup of food without Water in 20 minutes? Yes. OK you're getting tightened. They just cared about me, they cared about the band working properly. My favorite thing about Dr. Ren is that she thinks of obesity as a disease, like alcoholism with as much genetic roots as social and behavioral roots. Not many doctors see it that way. And god! Wait til you get The Magic Fill. My first four months on the band I was still fighting hunger, able to eat a whole burger and fries meal from Wendy's, despite monthly fills. I was totally resigned to this taking forever. Other people were dropping like crazy, but my fat stubbornly clung to me like barnacles on a sunken ship. I was actually depressed at this point, thinking I made this huge change and dammit, it didn't WORK. As usual. Then in April I got this fill. I was on liquids for two days...typical deal. Feeling like it was useless, the third day I popped a small piece of a Cinnabon in my mouth. I mean, small. Maybe pea sized. Well, I didn't chew so well and had my first regurgitation. I thought I was going to die. It's actually funny now. There I was, alone in the house, panicking and pacing around frantically crying because something hurt in my chest - the pastry was stuck, oh THIS is what they've been talking about, that golf ball feeling...THIS SUCKS!...I'm gonna DIE I'm gonna DIEEEE...and I jumped, raised my arms, did everything I could not to barf it up...and I did anyway. it was incredibly unpleasant, mostly because I didn't know HOW to regurgitate properly if something was stuck and it turned into full scale vomiting, with the lower stomach. Painful, forceful. But then it was over, and I settled down. I slunk to the kitchen and made some hot tea and next thing I knew, it was seven hours later and I realized with a start I had not eaten all day. {{{NEWS FLASH: KATE FORGOT ABOUT FOOD FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER}}} The hunger WAS completely gone. Gone. Not nausea, but very close to it, where you're just turned off by ANYthing. Holy crap! I kept thinking, "Is this what skinny people feel like ALL THE TIME!?!?!?" No wonder they thought I had weak willpower. It was so SIMPLE to forget about food - or if I was forced to eat, choose something like broth or a small 1/2 cup of tuna fish. Then I cried again, laughing and dancing with the lightest joy because this was the Magic Fill my mentor had told me about that I never believed...and couldn't comprehend. Four months after surgery, I was finally in the zone. Accidentally. That's when the weight loss really began...I lost 80 lbs over the next 6 months. Just remember...it is a process. I know you're sick of the weight. I know you want it to be over already...but it's coming. There's nothing like feeling in control for the first time in your life :cool2: NOTHING. Maybe on one of your fills we'll hike up to Dr. Ren's together, if I need one too. I just got mine done so I'm good for at least a month or so.

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.

I don't think any of this is surprising. I think most of us notice our negative emotions more because we used to calm them with food. When you can't do that you start feeling crazy until you learn different ways to cope--hopefully healthier ones. But it's part of why transfer addictions (alcoholism etc) are so common after WLS. I know I didn't even realize I'd been having anxiety all my life until a couple years ago--I've been treating it with food for so long I didn't even realize I was anxious until it got way out of control. Now I am dealing with this with my therapist and it is very helpful.

To me that sounds like a gallbladder attack. If you still have your gallbladder and if you're still experiencing it, or if it happens again, definitely go to the ER or your doc (primary care or surgeon) so they can rule it out. Alcohol can cause gallbladder attacks, and many people have gallbladder problems after bariatric surgery for some reason.

Mr. Doctor warned me that the effects of drinking alcohol would be much more pronounced after the lap band surgery... apparently the alcohol gets into the system faster for some reason? He also said empty calories, avoid it... but we are all human and I think everyone cheats on occasion.

My Doctor had put me on Cholestrol Meds. They check your liver function. Well, it seems my liver tests raised up - a lot. My Doc told me I had fatty liver and it could cause problems and that I needed to loose weight. I didn't of course. So we waited and he checked them again. Still elavated. I had to cut down on the Cholestrol Meds, but still bad liver tests. Finally he told me I might have to go off the Meds, I thought he said to so I did. Well when my next liver test came back crappy he said well I guess you will need to go off the meds. You should have seen his face when I told him I already had. This was right after I had spoken to him about the band. So now I checked out Fatty Liver and found out what the real name is and how bad it is. And yes, it can kill your liver, which you can't live without. So when the Surgeon spoke at the Seminar about shrinking the liver, I knew I was in deep do do. Anyway here is the defination. I don't drink so it freaks me out, I have seen an alcholic liver. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) refers to a wide spectrum of liver disease ranging from simple fatty liver (steatosis), to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), to cirrhosis (irreversible, advanced scarring of the liver). All of the stages of NAFLD have in common the accumulation of fat (fatty infiltration) in the liver cells (hepatocytes). In NASH, the fat accumulation is associated with varying degrees of inflammation (hepatitis) and scarring (fibrosis) of the liver. The term nonalcoholic is used because NAFLD and NASH occur in individuals who do not consume excessive amounts of alcohol. Yet, in many respects, the histological picture of NAFLD (when we look at a biopsy piece of liver under the microscope) is similar to what can be seen in liver disease that is due to excessive intake of alcohol. As we shall see, however, the clinical circumstances in NAFLD and NASH are very different from those in alcoholic liver disease (ALD).

I have gout too....if you stick to a low purien (not sure if I spelt that right) diet it will help with flare ups. avoid cured meats, like bacon and jerky, especialy deli meats. avoid red meats and alcohol as well. I still have some of these things, in moderation, but I havent had any flare ups since I started limiting those sourses of protien. hope this helps!

I deal with addictions all the time in my work. Personalities are what makes it the most different. With food addiction, we usually and nearly always publicly display the results of our addiction, causing us to become defensive and shamed. You never see a naturally skinny person complain about food addiction. It's not a problem for them. I had a counselor tell me once if alcohol causes you problems then you have an alcohol problem. Most recovering drug addicts like to wear their demon as a badge, food addicts spend a lot of time trying to put ours away. Drugs and alcohol I put away for good along time ago, food is an addiction I have to learn to live with because it's something I can't live without. So food is an addiction...an acceptable one. It's obesity that's unacceptable.

Absolutely not!! A food addiction is just as easy to relapse! Almost easier, because everywhere you go there is food!! EVERYWHERE!!!! You can't walk into a grocery store and buy heroin. An addiction is a addiction. Whether it's food, drugs, alcohol, or tabacco!!!

The definition of addiction is noted below. I see no difference between addiction to drugs or alcohol and addiction to food. I see people all the time just stop when they have had enough to eat. Stopping was always a struggle for me. Even now, I can stop but I think about eating more so I'm still a foodaholic, simply in recovery. How is that different from any other addiction. It's not. Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry. Dysfunction in these circuits leads to characteristic biological, psychological, social and spiritual manifestations. This is reflected in an individual pathologically pursuing reward and/or relief by substance use and other behaviors. Addiction is characterized by inability to consistently abstain, impairment in behavioral control, craving, diminished recognition of significant problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships, and a dysfunctional emotional response. Like other chronic diseases, addiction often involves cycles of relapse and remission. Without treatment or engagement in recovery activities, addiction is progressive and can result in disability or premature death.

@@csg WLS does not operate on our brains. None of them do. Head hunger is real and doesn't go away. Binge eating disorder, whether diagnosed or not (as in my case, but let's face it, I binged daily for decades) is about using food to comfort/entertain/numb/get high/all of the above. Until we find a different, healthy REPLACEMENT for food to do those things for us, you bet your sweet bippy we will return to the food. Don't take my word for it. These boards are filled with WLS unhappy endings from LapBand, sleeve and RNY patients who found a way around the physical limitations of their WLS and gained their weight back. I'm not accusing. I've read the confessionals here. And for every "help me I want to start again" confessional, there are probably twice as many who just dropped off the boards, never to be heard from again. I go to OA and CODA to work on the issues that led me to overeat in the first place. Because not only do I not want to fail at WLS and return to overeating, I don't want to replace my food addiction with alcohol or pain pills. And without working on my head, guess where I'd be next?

Thats awesome that youve started ur preop diet that early and have been so successful. I didnt even think about it that early on it didnt seem real until my insurance approved it and i had a surgery date. I nevee thoughr id be scared not to chew my food only drink but i am. Food really controls the mind i understand drug and alcohol abusers now