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well, I agree with all the above.. I was married to an alcoholic and I enabled him to continue to be for 10 years. Finally broke free of that! Yours sounds a lot like mine... giving orders and such. If he wants a divorce, let him file it. Why should you take on all the stress of that, meeting with lawyers, paying for it and so on while he sits back and just signs his name when you are done doing ALL the work. Screw that. Let him do it and you sit back and sign when you agree to everything. Thats what I say... Dont let him keep ordering you around... you dont owe him sh*t.

My surgeon said to wait one year for all of those things. I have no urges for anything carbonated since surgery. In fact the thought of carbonated beverages is a real turn off. I dont think that anything is off the table for ever. They do prefer you not use alcohol or sodas due to empty calories and the damages they can do to your stomach.

I applaud that you are asking questions in advance to get more information. Like most Drs. lists, mine says "Make smart choices". My Dr's list also says avoid soda, beer and other alcoholic beverages along with gum and straws. In discussion, he really wants patients to avoid carbonation. Good thing for me, I enjoy a good whiskey ????. At 5 weeks out, I have no desire for carbonation or alcohol, and trust me, I to had that heavy addiction to Diet Mountain Dew all day long and more than an occasional beer in the evenings. I always had a tin of gum in my purse and variety in my desk drawer at work. Those are gone now replaced by breath strips, spray and tictacs. I will have to judge in the future how to live my life in moderation, which I've proven in the past is quite difficult for me. I started on this path with my new teeny tiny tummy with the goal to be above average with my weight loss and retention of that loss for the long-term. If that means no more beer or Mountain Dew for me? Well then so be it. I choose to do without and excel in my goals.

pretty much my NUT and surgeon say no carbonated beverages-I gave them up 4 months before surgery because I loved my diet dr pepper. I drink with a straw-I have some mild facial paralysis from a prior brain surgery and it keeps me from dribbling liquid out of that side of my mouth. I drank coffee my first week but stopped, not because of the coffee but because the milk and 1/2 and 1/2 made me nauseated-now I drink a cup or two a day...everything in moderation for me except carbonation...and alcohol-just don't want to go there yet

I'm about 4 months out. I still drink carbonation every once in a while. Usually it's in the form of a sip or two of my fiancé's drink. Drinking too much of it leads to pain in my shoulder. Alcohol - usually have a glass at night. It's empty wasted calories so that has slowed my progress down but it's enjoyable experience and doesn't make me feel like I'm on a restricted diet. I hardly drink beer now. Between the higher calorie content and the carbonation it's just not worth it for me.

I agree with the above...all of them LOL I haven't touched carbonated beverages since my surgery, I don't miss them at all, and I was a 2 liter (minimum) a day Diet Coke drinker...when I gave it up for my liquid diet, I never looked back, and I don't regret giving it up...don't miss it at all. I really thought that would be a hard habit to break... At the Success Habits workshop that we had to attend prior to surgery, Nisa put a balloon over the top of a bottle of coke, and it filled with gas, without any help...she said she left it on her desk one time to see how long it would stay filled...she said it stayed for 3 days before she dumped it...3 days of AIR in your tummy!!! NO THANKS. Decaf iced tea for me, or Torani syrups added ... As for alcoholic beverages, was never a big drinker, so I don't miss that AT ALL...empty calories and carbs.... but as stated, I will never say never...who knows what tomorrow may bring... you just have to live in the moment!

I would be very careful with alcohol. I get drunk super fast and black out. Tread slowly.

I personally would, because I never over-did alcohol in the first place, but I think people don't understand a few things: - Contributory factors of addiction in many of us who had eating problems shows this isn't a good thing to have post-op -- those who had food addictions are way too susceptible to substituting food addiction with alcohol addiction. This is something my hepatologist mentioned before surgery and I notice this is backed up by numerous scientific journals. - Nextly, many of us know that the surgery puts our body into panic but don't fully understand the extent. The liver, for example, goes into overdrive, producing massive ketones to burn glucose and fat throughout the body as a natural response to lack of carbohydrates to utilize as energy. It likewise has to work extremely hard to produce enough glucose to move through the bloodstream to make up for the lack of glucose due to the extreme carb and caloric deficit, so the body needs to have enough energy to function. This happens all the way until we've healed enough to go to a normal diet. So add alcohol to the stress the liver is going through and it's very easy to cause damage to it without even thinking. This isn't a huge deal for people with normal livers, but for the 20%+ of population who do have liver issues (diagnosed with 1st stage fatty liver or worse), it's not smart. I believe in a recent journal I read that over 90% of people entirely who go through VSG wind up having inflamed livers (showing in their enzyme levels) for a period of time. It needs to heal almost as much as the stomach does. So throwing alcohol into it one or two months into surgery I just don't find to be a good idea. Besides all the carbs in alcohol it's likely to cause stalls and weight gain, never mind the prior paragraph about liver damage. If you want attention find a guy. You've already made enough drama out of nothing. Go away.

I don't agree. According to the advertisements alcohol free beer is supposed to be tasting just like the real stuff. I also think we should all keep in mind that advertisement companies don't have our well-being in mind. Their goal is to sell products. Some stuff sells, some stuff doesn't sell. Sex sells for example. So obviously does luscious chocolate. I personally don't mind that Celebrate Calcium chews chocolate and caramel don't taste like 100% crap. I don't know who thinks something like this tastes "exactly like candy" or something. I don't really like them, but at least I'm taking them without having to gag. There must be something wrong with the taste buds of people who can't taste the difference. Same goes for milkshakes and Protein shakes. Someone already mentioned protein brownies. If people want to be purists they can be. I don't mind. I personally prefer supplements that don't taste like "oh my god I have to turn off my taste buds to be able to swallow them".

Maybe a little off topic but I am very aware that my drinking has increased since I've been banded...and I know why. I wasn't able to drink wine when I was heavy because it gave me awful heartburn. Now that my hernia has been repaired and I've lost 150+ pounds, I can drink white or red with no issues. I also know that folks can replace one addiction with another and while I don't have an alcohol problem, I am aware that it's a possibility so I make sure to keep my wine consumption to no more than two glasses while out to dinner and only an occasional glass at home.

A cottonball and some rubbing alcohol worked for me. Also a little baby oil or if you don't have that, a squirt of non stick cooking oil will also fix you right up...but then you are all oily. edit: Forgot to add, HEY!!! You are a couple days out! CONGRATS on your surgery! How do you feel???

I'm six years out. It took me a year and a half to lose 107 pounds, now I'm down 124 pounds from my surgery weight. I was a slow loser, and it was a frustrating process at times. I had a child post op, and lost that weight, too. I do not fear regain. I'm so small now that I work to keep weight on. I'm still not hungry. Emotionally, it was a difficult adjustment. It took a few years to realize I was normal. I've been in therapy for a long time. I had a lot of issues to work on, and depression set in when I had to acknowledge that it wasn't my weight that had been making me unhappy - my weight was a sign of my unhappiness. But I'm in a much, much better place now than I've ever been, mentally and physically. I was finally diagnosed with mental problems I'd been suffering from my whole life. I never would have gotten help, because I'd been medicating with food and alcohol. When my sleeve took the ability to do that away, I had no choice but to reach out. As for what I wish I'd known? I'm on B12 and a PPI. No biggie, but I had no idea they'd be forever. My diabetes is gone, so I consider it a win! I just turned 36, and I feel like I got a chance to live a life due to my surgery. I'd never, ever take it back. Sent from my XT1254 using the BariatricPal App

Catina, are you saying you are having another gastric bypass to redo the pouch? Since your pouch does not have the ability to produce acid the problem you are having is an ulcer in the pouch. What you have sounds so painful. The issues we are having are both painful but different. Ulcers could be caused by many factors including stress, cigarettes, coffee and alcohol or other reasons, but the GERD I am having is partly because the esophageal spasms make food get stuck in my esophagus so since I was sleeved, I still have acid produced in my stomach which then forces it's way up trying to digest the food that is stuck in my throat because of the spasms. The spasms are due to the acid. Of course, I could always end up with an ulcer in the pouch, but my pouch will not produce acid which will stop the GERD which hopefully will stop the esophageal spasms. Even with the sleeves we aren't suppose to drink coffee and I sometimes do drink coffee and have wine occasionally. Thanks for input. I am prone to stress so I hope that I can do whatever I can to avoid an ulcer, but I know sometimes they aren't avoidable.

Just don't forget that alcohol turns to sugar!

For future reference I was wondering if I decide to go out and have a drink would a beer be better than a Margarita. Girls from work like to get together and I haven't told but two people there about surgery so I don't want them to get supicuous

Oh yes.... i did forget beer/alcohol... should we perhaps add tv and video games? Lol

I've posted something similar to what I'm about to write elsewhere on here, but I'll keep posting it when I see one of these posts come up: I loved smoking. I started when I was 15 and smoked through the next couple of decades without quitting for any real length of time. I enjoyed it, and I was pretty pissed at the idea of quitting for this surgery. I only smoked around 6-8 cigs a day, and technically was a light smoker... but after so many years, even light smokers experience issues with tiny capillaries dying off, cold fingers and toes and weird nerve issues, wheezing and coughing and are more prone to colds and flu and all the other horrible things that come with smoking ~any~ cigarettes. So I quit. Here is what I realized: I'm having this surgery to make my life better, to be healthy, to live longer and really enjoy the time I have left on this planet. Smoking is in direct opposition to all of those goals. Smoking - and I count vaping in there too since the early results on vaping are not looking good for long term health - is one of the few things that is guaranteed to do major harm to your body and kill you in the end if you use the product as intended. Think about that for a minute. There is no reason to smoke. It is bad for you, it hurts your lungs, your circulation and hampers healing. Smoking before or after having major surgery is beyond stupid (I'm saying this as part of my own self talk, not calling you specifically stupid). The ONLY reason any one smokes is because it is addictive. If you smoke or vape - you are an addict, same as an alcoholic or a drug user. Quitting is the only smart, rational option ESPECIALLY before having a serious, life altering surgery like a sleeve or bypass. I miss it almost every single day, and I just celebrated (yesterday!) my one year quit anniversary. I tell myself that I can always smoke again someday, just not right now... and hope that I can keep telling myself "maybe tomorrow" for the rest of my life. But I am damned proud I took my life back and no longer depend on those evil things, even if I still miss them. It's part of being an addict. I know what I am, and admit I'm probably always going to have that struggle, but I'll be damned if they'll ever control my life that way again. You are doing this to improve your life, so take that step further and really commit to giving your body the best possible chance, and quit smoking as well. You deserve to be the best you that you can be, and smoking should not be a part of that.

I am sorry to say that while this surgery has helped many, it has ruined 5 lives. My ex got this surgery without realizing that he probably had an underlying psychiatric issue which he medicated with food. After the surgery he never was relieved of pain. In fact, he almost died, even though the surgery was done in Princeton, New Jersey by an expert. He became septic because of a fistula. He lived through that. For 6 weeks after the surgery I had to stuff gauze inside the wound and change it twice a day. A nurse came to our house to change his IV. That was the summer of 2007. The entire month of July. The pain lasted more than 8 years. This pain and the lack of joy he Had previously derived from food, led him to a dark place which he medicated with alcohol while doctors prescribed antidepressants. His family thought he would be okay because he continued to make money hand over fist by surviving each office work day and spending the evenings and weekends soaked in alcohol, Drugged by medicine to mask his physical and mental anguish, and sleep. He lost interest in our children who were all under 8. He lost the ability to perform sexually. He eventually lost his job. We moved and in one weekend he took so many ambien that it is miraculous that he is alive. We eventually divorced because he felt “maybe [he] would feel less like committing suicide if we were divorced”. But it was not so. He continued to behave and feel the same way. It was, in fact, worse. When the police intervened and got him to a hospital, it was found that he had a vitamin deficiency which caused damage in multiple organs. He is now recovered. He is in his right mind and has a job. But from 2007 to 2018, that was the life we lived. My children were without a present, healthy father from the time my son was 2 until he was 12. My daughter barely speaks to him because she blames him for turning to alcohol. She spent her life to 16 that way. The middle daughter understands, but likely does not realize how it has affected her. She knows nothing else. She was 4 when this started. I hate gastric bypass. If people are fat, it’s because of a mentally unhealthy relationship with food. The exceptions to this statement are FAR LESS than the number of people getting this surgery. But doctors like money.

Received my order and tried the Spicy Tortilla flavor this morning. Not all that spicy but it's still quite tasty. I'm a little sensitive to caffeine and alcohol since surgery so the caffeine in the green tea gave me a good buzz and reduced my hunger. I would also highly recommend these teas for anyone on the pre and post op surgery diets. Or, for we banders, post fill for a day or so? tmf

I like martinis - lemon drop, cosmo are types of martinis that are delicious. They are basically straight alcohol and there fore best consumed very slowly..and you only have one. My friend makes a great martinis and on the rare occasion we have one, we share a single serving. Advantage is minimal highcarb mixer I first discovered fireball a year ago - my gfriend introduced me. I hate whiskey, but fireball is all cinnamony and warm feeling. poured over alot of ice.. the ice melts... it becomes a whiskey Water the way we drink it. and again - no high carb mixer. haven't had one in ages, but I think when we do our monthly happy hour (which was disrupted by my going into training for plastic surgery and now recovery from Sept-Nov) it will probably be our Dec happy hour drink. again, we have one My favorite summer drink for ourhappy hours is gin tonic. She orders vodka collins but I dont know what is in the collins mix.

I can totally understand where you are coming from. I am a self-confessed and proven food addict. I am absolutely powerless over food, particularly things with sugar in them. I will honestly tell you that just as an alcoholic drinks to self-medicate, I used to eat to numb my emotions and fill some void. I have really found a lot of help in Overeaters Anonymous. You can go to their website (www.oa.com) and find a meeting (either a face to face meeting in your area or a call in phone meeting you can do from home). My philosophy is take what you need and leave the rest from the meetings. I am doing pretty well right now but I know it is a process that will take time. Good luck with everything! :-) Katie

I was banded in Sept. 08. First fill Nov. 08. Second fill - January 09. After the second fill (total of 3cc in a 10cc band) all my problems started. I developed reflux at night - not necessarily heartburn - but liquid coming up. I quit eating at least 2 hours before bed. Didn't matter. My surgeon ordered an endoscopy. I had it yesterday. The first thing the gastro doctor said afterward was that he thought my band slipped upward. And I said how could that be resolved and he said my surgeon would have to reposition it. Then he said my surgeon might have deliberately placed it high if he wanted me to lose more weight (my BMI was under 35 before surgery). Anyway, he said it was higher than in most he had seen and I also have a hiatal hernia. He said the pouch is high, small and tight and there is no place for the food or liquid to go but up. So I got the whole sheet on hiatal hernia care - elevate the bed, no alcohol, no chocolate, blah, blah, blah. My husband suffered from GERD, hiatal hernia and eventually barrett's esophagus than turned into esophageal cancer. He died of it 3 years ago. So I could write the book on treatment of all these conditions. The lap band was supposed to reduce my hunger. It hasn't. It was supposed to make me feel satisfied with a smaller amount of food. It hasn't. I have changed the way I eat - I eat my Protein, then a little later a veggie, then later a fruit. My eating is spaced out over the day. Same foods, same calories - and it seems to help some with the discomfort that was happening when I ate. But the reflux remained. I have a LOT to discuss with my surgeon. I want my last fill removed for starters. So, since I got the band I have developed a hiatal hernia and reflux (I didn't have them before). Anyone else have this problem and if so, how did you and/or your doctor solve it? Thank you. P.S. My gastro doctor and surgeon work out of the same hospital and refer patients to each other and I doubt he will write anything in his report to second guess my surgeon. You know how that is.

I had my RNY Gastric bypass on January 7th of this year and it felt I had finally found the solution I was always searching for. I began preparing to have the surgery the September prior and it felt like every moment that went by I was just waiting for the day to start my life over; like I was only half present during holidays, dates, or work and half counting down the hours. I got down to about 100 lbs this past June, just in time for my birthday; but, ill admit I hadn't been consistently playing by the rules, I started smoking again, drinking alcohol, picking at foods when I'm cooking, not taking vitamins, not exercising and loading up on the carbs. My weight loss had stopped and it seemed like I had lost all motivation to get it up and running again. It wasn't until last Monday that I was re awoken. A week ago I watched my boyfriend have the same surgery, with the same surgeon and later recover in the same room. I remembered how hard starting out was for me and I knew that I needed to be strong for both of us. I feel alive again, and I won't dare lose focus again. I bought new vitamins that I have been taking vigilantly, drinking my water and making better food choices. I'm still working on the exercise but ill get there. I'm grateful I got the opportunity to change my life and I'm even more grateful that I get to experience this journey with the person I care for most.

Agree with other posters.... beer bubbles will make you feel uncomfortable. Keep in mind too that your alcohol tolerance will change now with your sleeve. I can get a slight buzz on 1/2 glass of wine now. I stick with heavily watered down margaritas, fruity martinis. And..... I make sure I'm not driving. You might want to just kinda experiment at home. Will also vary on if you have eaten or if you are empty.

I too had this problem. It was bad, I could barely sleep. I went to the doctor who did my surgery, more or less knowing what the outcome would be,and I was right. The band had slipped (more stomach now above the band & mushed inside the band making for very little passage through the band). Complete unfill. I could chug a whole glass of Water again. Worked really hard not to regain weight, and only gained about 5 pounds in the 4 months it was unfilled. I could have gained 25, it felt so good to eat normally. Went back in August for refill, not as much as before, but definately enough. I am a wiser bandster now. I am very careful. When I get a hint of gastritis, and I do get it, I take an antiacid & restrict food to blandish mushies until the irritation is gone. I have been able to avoid the more serious complications so far, but know they could be around the corner if I am not very watchful. I have read a lot & think there is a very hagh rate of some kind of complication in long term banding. I got mine 1/15/07, but does that mean we should not be banded? I was 215 at banding & am 158 now. It has been well worth it to me. I only want to lose 20 more pounds. The doctor told me if you are having night coughs and reguritating into your nose & broncial tubes at night, forget it you need to be unfilled. I think it makes sense to try the antiacids, not eating or drinking at night, mushies, etc, but if it's still there you will probably need an unfill. Usually after letting your stomach heal you can have a refill. They can tell with the floroscope if the band has gone back to an acceptible position. I figure I'm going to be walking a tightrope with this thing. If I can avoid serious complications long enough to lose 20 more pounds, I'll unfill & rest my stomach, & refill it later if I start gaining weight, and then unfill,etc & soforth. Here's what I have learned about avoiding complications: 1. I don't do well with alcohol & spicey foods & must avoid them. 2. I must chew, chew, chew. 3. If I don't observe the above I develop a mild gastric irritation & must go to antiacids & muchies. 4. If I don't do this I will start to throw up, which is a major contributing factor in slippage. 5. If I don't do these things I will start to have the reflux problems at night & soon will not be able to even drink fluids easily. At this point I will have to go & get unfilled which may or may not end my life as a bandster. 6. I must be very careful in my eating & face the fact that, for me at least, the possibily of complications is always lurking.