Search the Community

I understand that... As my surgery date is coming I desire alcohol more.. anyone else?

Congrats!! This is an exciting time and you have so much to look forward to. Good luck and keep posting!! And hey, you're on liquids. Drink what you like. (Except alcohol!)

The intention of the pre-op diet is to shrink your liver. Alcohol goes straight to your liver. Why not drink some camomile tea and/or take a hot bath instead.

When I started my journey almost two years ago, I remember being told during my psych eval that it is very common for us sleevers to develop other addictions post-opt. Made sense to me, since food was my drug of choice and this "treatment" would severely limit my "habit" (ha ha). However, I never thought I would develop a post-opt addiction because I'm against drinking (alcoholism runs in my family), smoking (my grandma died of lung cancer), gambling (brother is an addict) and excessive shopping (I love clothes, but I'm also very cheap) or a lot of the other common vices I saw around me. I thought I was fine. Then, slowly and without me realizing it, I started becoming addicted to my job. I have a special alert set on my phone just for work emails. It doesn't matter if I'm at church, in bed half asleep, having dinner with friends, on vacation, at the doctor's office, at a traffic light, whatever. If I hear that special alert, I'm clamoring for my phone. Almost all my lunches are working lunches. On the weekend, I will sit down at my computer for "a minute" to do something quick for work, and not realize several hours have gone by until I get hungry and/or need to pee. My job also dominates most of my conversations. I've noticed it myself and find that when I try NOT to talk about work, it agitates me. So I take turns talking off different people's ear about my job. I get excited when someone I don't talk to regularly contacts me because I know that means I can talk about my job for a long time and not feel guilty because it's not like they have to listen to me everyday. When I watch TV, I'm half paying attention because I'm either reading a work email, responding to a work email or making a document for my job. Even though my Mom (who I'm extremely close with) has said several times that I seem consumed with my job, I didn't realize it was true until I had two panic attacks (one this morning, one last month). As I was driving home today sorting through my feelings, I remember my pre-opt psych eval. Now that I don't/can't binge eat, work is my new "comfort food". But like I used to do with food, I'm overdoing it. All my self-esteem and sense of self worth has also become tied up into my job. When I do a great job at work, then I'm walking on sunshine. When things don't go as planned, then I'm miserable and feel worthless. If I find out I've been excluded from something social (ie: maybe some coworkers go to a happy hour) I feel devastated even though I have a good number of close friends and family I spend time with outside of work. I constantly compare myself to other more senior staff members and tell myself I'm a loser who didn't deserve my promotion. Even though I've worked at my current job with the same staff and boss for almost 7 years, every day I go in like I have something to prove. Most mornings, I'm there before my boss and even though I leave before the boss, I go home and work another 3 - 4 hours. I plan to talk to my therapist, but I just thought I'd share. If anyone has thoughts and/or has been through something similar, would love to hear. Thanks for reading/listening.

I have dumping if I eat sugar alcohols or some dairy. I had the sleeve.

I am always very surprised at how little information is given to patients that do not have their surgeries done at Bariatric centers of excellence. Most insurance companies require that you use one but there are still some out there that do not. The pre care and post care of a center of excellence is outstanding. Mine literally gave me a 3 ring binder (my bible). It told me everything I needed to be doing day by day, week by week, month by month. It described the 3 different surgeries, the risks and benefits associated with each one. It had a section for each specialist you meet with and a special section for the 6 month supervised diet. Then it provided a huge list of sites to get even more information. I knew exactly what I was getting into from day 1. In addition, my center of excellence made me literally sign a contract stating I would not drink alcohol for the first year and that I would follow all the rules required of someone who has WLS. I also agreed that I would get my labs checked twice per year and take my required Vitamins. I feel bad when I hear about people not getting this level of care. I cannot imagine going through this without all the data. I also met with bariatricians, Bariatricpal nurses, Bariatric physiologist, and a nutritionist every month leading up to surgery, I was beyond educated and would love to see that every patient is but it just seems that is not a requirement of some insurance companies.

Premier Protein is really yummy, and it doesn't have any sugar alcohols and only 1 gram of sugar. I like the chocolate best.

3 months, no, no, no. I still choose not to eat and drink at the same time just because I don't want to risk getting sick from being full and taking in liquids too soon after that. I don't feel like I'm affected any more now by alcohol than I was before surgery. I've tried wine, mimosas, amaretto sours, but will usually stick to cape cods (vodka and light cranberry juice). Can't drink fast and carbonation of champagne has to go even slower. Still kind of nervous to try my luck with shots, but if someone else who answers has any advice, I'd love to hear that too.

1. How long did you go before having your first drink? 3 weeks - a small glass of wine for my friend's birthday. 2. Have you had any MEDICAL complications with your surgery that were attributed to drinking alcohol? None at all. 3. Have you gained back significant weight from drinking alcohol? No, still losing. 4. Have you developed an alcohol addiction post VSG after having been able to control your drinking before? No. It certainly effects me differently. I feel like I get the buzz from the first sip, but I don't get tipsy, just that lightly buzzed feeling then I feel like I have to stop.

After a friend of mine guessed what I did based on what hospital I was in, said to me "I hope you had the therapy that told you that your gonna become a sex addict and alcoholic now". Where do ppl come up with this stuff. The next week he asked me if I was tired of throwing up yet. I proudly told him I haven't thrown up at all.

I wanted the simplest possible regimen so I take Celebrate 2-in-1 and a generic iron+C pill. The Celebrate 2-on-1 sold only on the Celebrate website and on Amazon. It has everything except Iron (because it has the calcium, they keep iron out of it). It tastes like a grainy sweet-tart (emphasis on the tart!). It contains a sugar alcohol, unfortunately, so it makes me quite gassy for a little while after taking it.

So today I got laid off. Makes no sense but supposedly purely a financial decision. They're paying a severance. I'll be fine. 47 years old and first time I have lost a job. BUT I am trying to focus on a few positive things 1) I had insurance pay for my surgery that I might not have had at another company; 2) 100 pounds ago I wouldn't have felt too confident going out to look for a job 3) a little time off might not be a bad thing and 4) so far I haven't turned to food or alcohol as I normally would have and don't have the capacity or ability to do that anyway. Life goes on. This could be worse. It was a good ride while it lasted....

I've enjoyed all of your posts and comments. You are an inspiration and a true success story. You not only lost weight and got your mindset back you also overcame alcohol abuse. It by itself is a huge pat on the back! I'm so sorry about your friend. You look great and I hope to have a similar mind set down the road about life in general and not live in the now. Congrats to you. Heather

I also drink diet soda, mainly diet dr. pepper, diet coke and coke zero. Popcorn is a huge temptation. The last time I went to the movies I ate half of a large bag of popcorn. Then I was upset with myself so I told myself to throw it away and not take it home. I took it home and devoured the remaining half a couple hours later. I had a very small glass of egg nog last night. I also ate one white chocolate and macadamia nut cookie. I drink alcohol far more frequently now than I did before the surgery. My metabolism has changed after surgery and I can tolerate it better now.

I'm so glad to hear from you all! It was a little scary not having anyone my age to talk to about this, because honestly, I don't think it's the same experience as someone a little older. I don't have a husband or kids, so I think it will be nice not to have to worry about anyone other than my self. As for the alcohol, I rarely go out now, but I do every couple of months. I honestly don't think I will have trouble giving up alcohol. I joined a sorority in college and got all of my drinking out then Thank you all so much for the replies. I'm sure I will have a bunch of questions

When I started my journey, I researched hospitals first. Newton Wellesley is the top wls hospital in New England and top 5 in the country, so I started there. At the orientation, they made a point to say that they no longer do lap bands for two reasons; they provide no metabolic help, and so many are being revised to sleeves. Not saying this is true, but considering the source, I'd give it some consideration. For me personally, I looked at all the options and selected the sleeve for the simple reason that it was simple and eventually, you completely heal and are left with a normal body and a "skinny girl" stomach. It is the one option that gives the least trouble with food textures, ibuprofen, and alcohol. Also, my life style doesn't lend itself to frequent doctors visits for adjustment. That said, I am impressed by the success stories I read on this forum from banders. I think it's safe to say any of the wls options will be better than just trying to lose weight on your own!

I was drinking quite often and it slows your weight loss and makes my stomach hurt. I've been super strict on my diet (sans alcohol) and have still lost a lot of weight but it's better to avoid the booze - sorry to say. For the rest of you - no lectures, please. I've reformed.

I like to drink as well. Used to drink like a fish. Went to see my nut a couple of weeks ago and asked her about alcohol. She told me I could have hard alcohol mixed with Water or juice but nothing carbonated. Beer is also not allowed. With that being said however, she told me that I should try to stay away as much as I can and not have it at all for a while if possible. Can't remember what she compared a standard glass of vodka to, but I was shocked at how many calories it had compared to the other thing. Not to mention the calories and sugars in juice. As for beer, it's basically liquid bread so the calorie count is insanely high. I guess I was comforted by the thought that I could enjoy a drink with my crazy friends every once in a while but I am planning to steer clear for at least another 4 months because I want to maximise on the weight loss. Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I'm 26 and had my VSG Nov 30 th. Before my preop diet I was 352.2, day of surgery 334, today 327.8! I am 6'2". I have given up alcohol at this point. For me it's not worth the calories and sugar but know others post-sleeve or post-bypass who do drink. You'll have to weigh the pros and cons for yourself and decide.

Just be aware that you will get DRUNK off of much less. Your stomach size apparently helps with the processing/absorption of alcohol, so one drink might mean you'll be done.

A lot of people ask for Protein drink advice, and since I've had a really hard time find a Protein Drink that I could tolerate, I've tried a LOT of them. Most of the time, the suggestions we get are "try drink X, I love it" but it can be hard to tell if you will like the same thin because everyone has different tastes. So, I thought I'd write up my assessments here in case it helps someone else. To help you gauge your tastes to mine,:I do not like sweet drinks like sweet tea, nor do I care for artificial sweeteners (including stevia) or sugar alcohols; I don't mind the mild texture that is a given with protein powders. So if I say a drink is "extremely sweet," and you love southern sweet tea, you might like it whereas I gagged on it. Also, My tummy seems to be somewhat intolerant of sucralose and/or acesulfame-K, which are in the vast majority of flavored Protein Drinks. Unless otherwise stated, all the items listed have at least 15 G protein and no more than 6 g carbs per serving. "RTD" means ready-to-drink, I.e. drinks in bottles or cartons. Everything else is a powder. All powders are either whey-based or vegan/plant Proteins. All whey items state that they are lactose free. I haven't been able to bring myself to try the new " beef proteins" (basically gelatinized bones & hooves of cows) ! All powders were mixed with 1 cup unsweetened almond milk and ice cubes in a shaker jar/ball. Texture of drinks made from powders would probably be even smoother better using a blender or bullet. ********************* Ready-to-Drinks: Premier Protein, RTU, vanilla, from Walmart. Extremely sweet, with a strong artificial sweet taste from sucralose (Splenda) and aculfesame-K (ace-k). Strong artificial vanilla flavor. Very smooth texture. Medium body (I.e. Thickness, as in a milkshake vs juice). Gave me a stomach ache & made me burp and feel a bit bloated for a while after drinking (probably the sweeteners) ATKINS ADVANTAGE, RTU, coffee flavor, from Harris Teeter grocery. Extremely sweet, although the coffee flavor cuts it a bit during the first few sips. Sweetened w sucralose & ace-k. Very smooth texture. Medium-thin body. Gave me a headache & stomach ache. GNC TOTAL LEAN 25 shake, RTU, strawberries & cream, from GNC. Very sweet, with a artificial sweet taste from sucralose (Splenda) and aculfesame-K (ace-k). Light strawberry flavor. Very smooth texture. Medium-thick body. Very filling but it does make me burp and feel a bit bloated for a while after drinking. NOTE - the powdered version of Total Lean 25 is MUCH higher in carbs. OH YEAH! NUTRITIONAL SHAKE, RTU, strawberries & cream, from Harris Teeter grocery. Very sweet, with a artificial sweet taste from sucralose (Splenda) and aculfesame-K (ace-k). Bright, full-bodied strawberry flavor. Very smooth texture. Thick body. Very filling but it does make me burp and feel a bit bloated for a while after drinking. This brand has recently started being carried in Harris Teeter grocery stores. Haven't seen it anywhere else. MUSCLE MILK, RTD, chocolate, from Walmart & Harris Teeter grocery. Very sweet, with a more natural sweet taste. Sweetened with fructose & sucralose. Very smooth texture. Thick body. Very filling but it does make me burp and feel a bit bloated for a while after drinking. Powders: unjury, chocolate, from BariatricAdvantage.com Very sweet, artificial sweetened flavor. Sweetened w sucralose $ ace-k. Very smooth texture, especially for a powder. Thin body. I found this not to be filling at all. 100% whey isolates. Like all whey proteins on this list, claims to be lactose free. NOW SPORTS PEA PROTEIN, unflavored, from GNC (vegan). Unsweetened. Tastes a little like dirt. Might be good in Soups, or blended with fruit post-op, but would taste odd with sweeter drinks. Standard powdered protein texture (sort of chalky but not gritty) . Medium body. 100% pea protein from yellow split peas. PERFORMANCE AMP WHEYBOLIC EXTREME ORIGINAL, unflavored, from GNC. Unsweetened. Mild whey flavor, would be fine with anything. Standard powdered protein texture (sort of chalky but not gritty) . Medium body. Whey isolates and whey hydrosylates. Like all whey proteins on this list, claims to be lactose free. MUSCLE MILK NATURALS, chocolate, from GNC. *my favorite!* Perfect, mildly sweet, with no artificial sweetener flavor. Moderately chocolatey flavor. Sweeteners are fructose, stevia, & monk fruit. Least sweet of all items reviewed. Standard powdered protein texture (sort of chalky but not gritty) . Medium-thick body. Very filling. NOTE - this has 10 g carbs & 26 G protein per serving. It's more than the 6 carbs per serving my nut wants but less than the 11 g she said was the absolute max. To reduce carbs/protein ratio and keep the flavor, I sometimes mix it with protein-enriched almond milk and Water. Unlike Muscle Milk RTD, this does not make me bloated or gassy, so I think it's the sucralose in the RTU that bothers me, not the Muscle Milk itself). Mixture of milk-derived proteins, including whey isolates. Like all whey proteins on this list, claims to be lactose free. JAY ROBB WHEY PROTEIN, chocolate, from GNC. *my 2nd favorite!* Sweet, without artificial sweetener flavor. Lovely milk-chocolate flavor. Sweetener is stevia but this lacks the strong bitter aftertaste that many stevia-sweetened products have. Only 1 carb per serving. Smooth texture, especially for a powder. Nearly as smooth as Unjury (but more filling). Medium-thin body. 100% whey isolates. Like all whey proteins on this list, claims to be lactose free. VEGA ONE, chocolate, from GNC (vegan). Extremely-sweet, artificial sweetened flavor. Slight gritty/grainy texture. Thin body. GARDEN OF LIFE ORGANIC PLANT PROTEIN, chocolate, from health food store (vegan). Extremely sweet, artificial sweetened flavor. Slight gritty/grainy texture. Thin body. GARDEN OF LIFE RAW PROTEIN, chocolate, from GNC (vegan). VERY sweet w slightly bitter aftertaste (sweetener is stevia). Slight gritty/grainy texture. Thin body. RAW FIT, coffee flavor, from health food store (vegan). Sweet but missy taste, w slightly bitter aftertaste (sweetener is stevia). Extremely gritty texture. Tastes like you are eating ground up leaves & sticks. Thin body.

How long post surgery do you need to wait to have a glass of wine or some form of alcohol without carbonation?

.....I started my preop diet. I consider this my anniversary date rather than my actual surgery since I lost 22 pounds on the preop. Since surgery I have lost over 100% of my excess weight and have kept it off for over a year. I don't measure or track my food. I don't own a scale. I never obsessed over numbers or details. I just stuck with mostly Protein and veggies while I was losing and stayed away from the "white carbs". For maintenance I simply eat a healthy balanced diet including protein, veggies, fruit and whole grains. I make healthy choices (most of the time) and my sleeve helps control my portions. I still indulge in sweets, Desserts, alcohol, bread, rice, potatoes, etc, but definitely in moderation. I still drink Protein shakes and eat Protein Bars. Although I don't officially track, I do keep a rough tally of protein and fluids and usually exceed 70g protein and drink 64-100+ oz of fluids every day. I take my Vitamins every day. I have bloodwork checked annually as recommended by my surgeon. I don't excercise but I have a physical job and active lifestyle. It really has been a pretty easy journey. So here's a recap some of my favorite year 1 NSVs.... I can cross my legs. I can even cross them in a car and under a table. I can hop up into my saddle without having to find a rock or log to climb on. I feel so relieved that my horse no longer has to pack my fat ass around the mountains. No more knee, ankle or foot pain. I lived on ibuprofen and tramadol before surgery. I am now completely pain free. I can also squat down and kneel effortlessly without my feet going numb or needing a table or chair to heave myself back up. I can sprint up stairs or hike up a hill without getting out of breath at all. I've been on 15-20 mile hikes with friends and I am always out front, waiting for them to catch up. I can shop in regular stores. I can order clothes online and I know they will fit and look great. I now dress to show off my body, not to hide it. Now for year 2..... Maintenance is boring. NSVs are few and far between. Everything is just "normal" now. Spent most of the year finding and keeping that balance between what my head wants and what I know I actually need. I rarely weigh myself, but I will step on the scale at work after an especially carby weekend or vacation. I go back to strict protein/veggies or even full on preop liquid diet if I pop even one pound above my bounce range. I know I have to nip any small gains in the bud before they become big gains. But this year also brought about the biggest NSV of all. It has nothing to do with my weight, it's all about my head and it's one I would love to not have experienced. My best friend committed suicide 7 months ago and every day since has been a miserable struggle with the grief, anger, despair and confusion. The victory in this is that I haven't buried my emotions with food and alcohol. I spent over 1 1/2 years drinking and stuffing my face after my brother died 4 years ago. In the end that only impeded my ability to heal and made me even fatter and more miserable. I learned that you have to feel the pain before you can over come it. So this time I'm feeling it all. And it sucks. I will never stop grieving either my brother or my friend, but maybe some day I can start living again, rather just going through the motions. Anyways, thanks for reading this extended post, and good luck to all you newbies. My advice is don't get wallowed down in the "now". Don't be overwhelmed by the details. Life is more than just carbs and protein and minutes at the gym. You chose a chance at a new life. The first few months are just a teeny tiny period and simply part of the process you have to go through to get to that new life. First photo collage taken December 4, 2013 and December 4, 2014 Second set taken this morning.......I just had my gallbladder removed 8 days ago, so that's what's up with the new scars and my belly is still a little swollen from surgery. I also got a new tat last February - a tribute to my brother who was a wonderfully talented musician.

I was told 60-80g Protein and 64oz Water MINIMUM. And to stay away from bread, Pasta, rice, sweets and alcohol. That's it. The nut even laughed when I asked about calories and fat vs nonfat yogurt. She said I will be eating so little that as long as I was getting my protein and water and following the guidelines I certainly didn't have to worry about calories, fats or carbs. So I never did bother to count or track or measure. I get my protein, I drink my water, take my Vitamins, I eat healthy and eat smart. It's very simple and at two years out and maintaining 10 pounds below goal, turns out she was right. I was, however, concerned about not wanting to be low cal for very long....didn't want my metabolism slowing down. So I did "spot check" my calories a few times. I was never below 500 and mostly stayed at 600-800 the first 4 months, was up to 1000 at 6 months, 1200 by 8-10 months and last I checked, about 10 months ago, I was maintaining at 1400-1600 calories. I've never counted carbs or fat, so can't help you there.

@@ZetaStar my husband was taken off of insulin and started back on the pills. I know exactly what you are experiencing because my husband has everything you mentioned and including fatty liver disease, and non-alcoholic pancreatitis the neuropathy is the worst of it all. He wakes up in the middle of the night in lots of pain and sometimes can't get back to sleep for hours. He now works out 5 times a week during his lunch at the company gym and has lost over 100 lbs. If there is a possibility that going with the sleeve won't resolve these issues I would think long and hard before making your choice. I am sure that you will make the best decision for you. I am happy that you found the website. I stumbled upon it too.