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@@2goldengirl lol! I'm boring! My kids suck the life right out of me! I'm only 35 but each kid aged me 10 years + 10 more for the husband so I'm really 75! Yep that sounds about right. No more waking up smelling like alcohol and bad decisions lol!!!

my program says no caffeine, carbonation or alcohol ever... they had us quit on the day of orientation. I don't intend to cheat because i don't want the ulcers or diuretic effect.

OMG, I had such terrible gas pain after my VGS on 10/29/15. I took no narotics in the hospital or out. I walked and took lots of Gas X. I also realized all the things they tell you to drink are sugar free. My body had a really hard time with the sugar alcohols. Once I stopped, the pain improved. Just in case someone else is struggling

This is one of those questions, like alcohol and caffeine, etc., You ask 10 different people, you will get 10 different answers... Really comes down to what you can do, and what your Dr. says you should do. There are people here who cannot tolerate swallowing pills whole....myself, not only do I take a large multi-Vitamin whole, but other supplements as well....plus certain oral meds I need to take.... But just because I can tolerate it with no problems, does not make it Ok for the next person to do so. Again, a lot of these questions there is no right or wrong....

I know a person who had the sleeve a few years ago and has gained almost all of their weight back. This person did not stick to the plan and I believe consumes a lot of calories from alcohol.

I have just read part of your blog and I related to your story. My husband was so very unhappy with my weight although he didn't harp on about it. My health was really beginning to suffer with my right hip being replaced this time last year. I reckoned that it was only a matter of time before my arthritic knees followed suit! My cholesterol was creeping up to dangerous levels, my blood pressure was doing the same and my doctor was concerned about my blood sugar levels. Mind you, his advice was to try 'portion control'. Yeh....... right......... I was polite enough not to verbally or physically hit him!!!! As I live in the UK our National Health Service deem that I am too light to merit surgery (92kgs, 5'3" pre op) so I took matters into my own hands. My rock bottom came in June when I went to a reunion for a ballet company that I joined in 1976 when I was 19. I looked at the pics that were taken at the event and I felt so dejected. Everyone else was still sylph like but I was the lump trying to hide at the back. I knew that my husband and I couldn't afford the surgery privately in this country so I started to search the web. I eventually found what I was looking for and at a small town in Belgium I was sleeved three weeks ago today. I have been told that I have an addictive personality and have so far managed to give up alcohol and cigarettes but no matter what I did food seemed to have a stronger hold over me. I just couldn't find the 'stop' button for my stomach. I used every excuse to overeat. I tried every diet, all sorts of 'diet' pills, and when I was still a working dancer I used to go (regularly) to a very accommodating doctor in London's Harley Street who would dish out speed to enable me to lose 14lbs in three weeks! However, over the years the yo-yo dieting has taken its toll and I've ended up as a blob. I love cooking and baking but I also enjoy eating the results. My husband, like yours, has the physique of a thoroughbred racehorse and can eat for Britain if he wishes. Not that he does. I cannot begin to describe just how happy I am to have made the decision to have surgery. I feel healthier already. I walk our dogs for at least an hour and a half every day and even managed two long walks a couple of days ago and clocked up a distance of six miles between the two. I intend starting to swim again soon as I hopefully won't be so embarrassed about the roll of blubber flopping around inside my swimsuit by my bikini line as it should have shrunk enough by then! I'm still on a liquid diet (amazing how inventive you can be with Soups and smoothies) and I'm really looking forward to going onto mushed up meals. I'm not missing the hungry gannet that I used to be one little bit. My only regret is that I didn't have surgery years ago and that I left it until now. Whoever said that life begins at 40 obviously didn't get to the age of 59 and got sleeved!!!!!????

I cannot imagine drinking a shot of vodka now. I take a liquid supplement with 12% alcohol and 1/2 T dose gives me a buzz.

I was sleeved on the same day as you. First day was tough but every day since then has been wonderful. I'm so glad that I had the surgery. I now have a stomach 'stop' button. I used to hate myself for being so greedy but I couldn't help myself. I've got an addictive personality and have managed to give up alcohol and cigarettes but food......... - no. I tried everything. My doctor suggested 'portion control'! Yeh, right! As I live in the UK our National Health Service wouldn't even entertain the idea of letting me have the op as I wasn't heavy enough. I had a hip replaced this time last year and I reckoned that I was going to have to have my knees replaced sooner rather than later as I was in agony with the arthritis in them. My cholesterol is high, as is my blood pressure. My doctor was concerned about my blood sugar levels but the NHS saw no good reason for something that would ultimately save them a fortune to be performed on this fatty! I went off to Belgium and paid for the surgery myself-well my husband did-and it's the best money ever spent. I am a very happy sleever.

I would keep carbs to under 10% of total calories, and the way that is done is by aiming for nearly entirely protein, and just accepting the little bits of carbs that slip in (you probably need them anyway just to keep your brain running). Nobody completely avoids carbs even if they think they are. Alcohol is a similar bad idea, and for the same reason...your body can burn that first for quick energy and thus hold onto more stored fat. Have you been cleared for exercise yet? If so, by all means go for it! It felt really great to be able to get back on the trails again.

Generally most artificial sweeteners are O.K. unless you have an allergic reaction to them. So if you can tolerate sweet-n-low before surgery, you should be able to do so afterwards. Generally, I use Splenda and Stevia. I also use sugar alcohols, such as those found in Adkin's treats. But I am a 30 months post-op. I have diabetes type 2 that went into remission the day I left the hospital. And it has remained in remission the entire time. I periodically check my blood sugar levels to validate. This link may be of help. http://acsh.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Sugar-Substitutes-and-Your-Health.pdf

I can relate to all of the above. Drinking a bit too often, occasionally drinking too much and eating way to much and too often. The more I would eat, the hungrier I would get. Obviously and especially carbs which I was totally addicted to. Am and always will be a carb addict, but luckily at this point I cannot consume them in an adequate quantity to fuel that addiction. I also recently saw "End of the Tour", a movie about the great author David Foster Wallace. It was fabulous. It briefly touched on his alcoholism and potential drug addiction (tho in the movie his character claims that he was not on drugs). It also very briefly touched on what he called a tv addiction. He did not have a tv in his house, he said that he had to give that up. Then when they were on a road trip for a book signing, he overslept one morning because he had stayed up late watching tv the night before. When they went over to a friend's house, all the friends were falling asleep on the sofa but he was wide awake and his eyes glued to or fixated on the tv. I find myself also procrastinating on things I need to be doing so that I can watch tv or just finish this one episode that turns into another and another. Then its like 4 or 5pm on a Sunday afternoon and I still have to do my grocery shopping, house cleaning, laundry etc which I should have been working on all weekend. This bad habit got really bad when I was broke and unemployed on and off during 2008-2009. I could stay up till 2am (or 3, 4 or 5) watching endless movies, and since I didn't have to go to work the next day. But now I do. But I still like to lose myself and veg out in front of the tube. Don't know if I'd ever have the balls to give it up like David Foster Wallace. But sometimes I wonder if I did, how many other books I would read or walks would I take? As far as socializing, eating out, vacations etc...I can now enjoy all these things and the company without being a member of the clean plate club. And after eating less than half my meal everywhere now what do I notice? That the thin people I'm eating with don't even notice because they only ate about half of their food too. And they did not plow through a whole basket of bread like I used to. No wonder they are skinny. I used to eat like it was a contest that I had to win. But now, for the time being, and hopefully forever, I have broken free from the grip my addiction once held. While I know that I am still an addict, I'm not in an "active" addiction right now. And I am so grateful to my sleeve for giving me that freedom and giving me my life back:-)

Decaf coffee is on my week one list and alcohol is 3 months. Discuss it with your Doctor. If you are taking your B-12 fatigue shouldn't be an issue.

My Surgeon said no coffee for 3 months no alcoholic beverages for a year.

I think I share pitfalls posted by everyone so far. Junk food, volume of junk food, timing of junk food and then float it all on gallons of beer and you pretty much have the recipe for disaster that I was following. Crazy lifestyle. I work long rotating shifts in a fast paced and stressful job. I let this single aspect of my life just about wreck my health. I didn't prepare meals like I should have. I almost never carried meals & Snacks in to work with me. Fast food on the way to & from work.......junk food from vending machines and the crapateria while there. Lots of diet sodas during the shift. Now.....I don't even take in cash with me. I bring in 100% of what I'll eat and it's much healthier and much more economical. I am blessed in that my job will allow me to walk for hours on end if I choose to. I'll be able to burn a ton of calories on the job. I also drank a lot of calories in beer. I'd work like crazy and then get a day off. That day would find me firing up the grill around mid day and popping a top. If one beer is good.....then an endless supply until bedtime is even better. Great music, relaxing and conjuring up a great meal. Son would get home from school and chow down and my wife would eat with him. I'd usually skip it and keep enjoying my brews. Late evenings......just before bedtime.....I'd want to eat leftovers and crash. So much bad with all this. Now...I'll be able to enjoy my days off so much different. Get up....have some coffee and then go hit the gym. Enjoy my tunes then while getting my elliptical and treadmill sessions in. I can still fire up the grill and cook up some tasty Protein......and break out the foodsaver on the leftovers for work lunches. I don't have and answer for the beer. I've avoided alcohol since last April while losing weight. I'll see what the future holds. I've seen some skinny margaritas that were low calorie.....basically a zero calorie mix + tequila or vodka. I'm not in any hurry to toss this back into the mix just yet, though.

There are people who become addicted to alcohol after the first sip. I think that was me with food. I just loved it. I have eight brothers and sisters, and even though we all played sports and were extremely active, I was the only fat one because I could never, ever get enough. It was all I wanted, and I spent all my money on it from babysitting cash at 13 to a good portion of my salary in my thirties. I can't believe how much extra money I have now simply because I'm not heading to a local restaurant, buying 3-4 meals and eating it in the car. Now, when I go to the grocery store, I walk up and down to the aisles and still look longingly over all the delicious things I can't eat. I flip them over, look at the nutritional info, and sometimes I put them in my cart and then dump them right before the checkout line. I really miss food. Most of it makes me ill so I couldn't eat it if I wanted to, but that doesn't change how badly I still want it. I still throw away most of what I buy because I can't eat it, but it makes me feel secure to have it around for awhile. My vice was binging though. I usually only ate once or twice a day, but I could eat enough for 3-4 people in that time. And soda? Oh boy, I lived on mountain dew for 20 years.

1. How about you? YES - no coffee/caffeine EVER, no alcohol EVER. 2. Why do you think your advice differed? No idea - some belong to "centers of excellence", some don't. Each surgeon / nutritionist has a method to their madness

I agree with @BLERDgirl. My guidelines were no alcohol or caffeine for 6 months. (alcohol may be a year, I forget) but I'm waiting as long as I can before I eat/drink the bad things, I actually dont plan to go back to most of them

I have been thinking a lot lately about all the habits in my life that in a way aided my food addiction and really bad eating habits. Now obviously the ultimate activity was eating for the joy of eating but now that I think about it, there are a lot of activities that I participate in that were in a way always affecting my eating habits. So I decided to make this post in order to list those activities and remember. In a way this is just a personal way to gauge what activities are bad for my new lifestyle as well as to keep in mind that I did pair these activities with food so that in the future when I do participate in them, I have that mental note. Can anyone else think of any activities that were partnered with excessive eating and in general a sedentary lifestyle? For me the primary ones were: 1. Video games. There were days were I would sit for HOURS and play online video games on my computer chair. In the mean time I would order large amounts of take out twice. Once for lunch, once for dinner. Sometimes I would also snack in between. Pair this with sitting in a chair all day, I started packing on pounds. 2. Same routine as video games but with TV and movies. I cannot watch TV or a movie without eating something. Popcorn, dinner, Snacks, beer, large coke. All kinds of unhealthy stuff. Now I am trying to re-train myself to not watch TV while I eat. 3. Pub crawling, going out excessively in the evenings with friends. Now this is an activity that almost everyone partakes in to some extent. Going out is just a natural social process but it was what I associated going out with which was damaging. VERY heavy drinking, decadent dinners, midnight mcdonald and snack runs. Typical college lifestyle only supercharged and would happen at least 3 times a week and included LOTS of eating. 4. I know I kind of mentioned this in my other post but drinking beer/alcohol EXTREMELY often. I lived in Montreal for a while, big drinking city, big college city. People in Montreal LOVE to drink. 2 beers with lunch, 5-7 happy hours, long nights of binge drinking. Buying packs upon packs of beer any and every time you went to a friend's house. It was very rare that there would be an occasion without drinks. As of now, after my weight loss surgery, this is something that I will hugely reform. I will not partake in 95 percent of the drinking that I used to anymore. Anyone have any they would like to share?

@@Missthugpassion That's probably a good idea. Regardless of WLS, you shouldn't feel you need alcohol to deal with your grief. But believe me, I TOTALLY get where you are coming from. My younger brother died unexpectedly 4 years ago and I was miserable with grief. I tried to dull my pain with food and alcohol.....drank every single day for over a year and a half. Unfortunately it didn't help. All I succeeded in doing was gain 40 pounds. It wasn't until I stopped drinking and actually faced my grief that I was able to start to heal. I am by no means OK even now, but looking back I see I really stunted my ability to move on by not letting myself feel. Now fast forward to 16 months after my VSG. My best friend committed suicide. The grief, anger, guilt and depression has been overwhelming. I go through the motions of living but it's all through a haze of my constant thoughts of him. 6 months later and I feel just as awful as the day it happened (probably worse since at least I had shock on my side at that point). But I learned from my brother that food and alcohol would not make anything better. Honestly I don't know what will, but I just know I can't fall back into that incredibly destructive, ineffective behavior. I have attended grief counseling and suicide seminars, but one website has actually been quite useful...... Www.recover-from-grief.com. It has a lot of good ideas and information. I am by no means close to "recovered", but at least I know I'm not crazy for feeling the way I do. i'm so sorry for what you are struggling with, but know you are not alone.

I'm getting mine on the 17th. I'm so disappointed on myself. I cheated yesterday with alcohol on my pre op diet

I did not have and have not sought any mental health support. Everything I know about postop life has been "self-taught" from books, on line resources and talking to friends that have had WLS. I haven't felt any need for formal, professional support. At only 2 years postop I guess I'm still kind of a newbie, but I have passed goal, maintained for over a year and haven't had any problems adjusting to this new life. Success is just something I was committed to and mentally prepared for when I decided to have surgery. Even with the death of two of my dogs, the suicide of my best friend, and a cancer diagnoses for another good friend, I've managed to stay away from my previous food and alcohol laden coping methods. Life is hard no matter what size I am, but it's no longer all about food.

It will hit you much harder, yes, but the primary reason surgeons don't want their patients drinking for a year or longer is because we are very vulnerable to transfer addictions right now. Someone with alcoholic tendencies can easily be pushed into full on alcoholism if they use it to soothe themselves during this crucial time while we are learning to give up food. So I guess my thoughts are that if you want 1 drink and you are sure you can have that one drink and be happy with it, then by all means, have fun. If you worry that it could become a problem for you or if it has been in the past, maybe give it some more consideration. It would be so sad to go through all this hard work just to develop an addiction and have your life fall apart because of it.

@@shadowsoldier I don't want to sound negative here and by all means you should listen to your doctor but you have to keep in mind your insides are going to take about 4 months to heal. The reason we're told (we were handed books telling us specifically what to eat at Mayo) to follow the different stages of liquids, purees, soft, etc. is because the opening from our new pouch to our newly connected intestine is the size of our pinkie finger nail. It has to be slowly stretched by this process. That's why it's also very important not to stay in the liquid stage longer because of fear of discomfort. Protein is driven home constantly and it is of the utmost importance. It will continue to be the rest of our lives. Day 2 being home from the hospital I was getting in my 60 grams and today at almost 7 months post-op, I'm averaging 130 grams of protein. It can be done but I am able to do it by supplementing my diet with Protein2o Water (dual liquid in my book) and by using Premier Protein ready-made shakes as coffee creamer, milk substitute in recipes, etc. Give them a try but no matter what get your protein in! Here's something else that helped me that I read at bariatriceating.com: Sew what? In terms of food, you must stick to your surgeons program for post op food stages. You need time to allow the tiny pouch cut and sewn from the fabric of your giant floppy stomach to heal itself closed. We have all glued something only to have the seams pop open. The liquid and soft food stages are to avoid stressing pouch seams and give your stomach a break from the process of digestion. Is ice cream a puree? Sirloin steak is not a soft food. Ice cream is NOT a puree. You can’t eat popcorn, raw carrots or celery ten days after surgery. People ask if we think they could have a pork chop, we say ‘no’, they eat it anyhow, then tell us ‘they didn’t have a problem’. No alcohol for a year… non negotiable… but people push back saying their surgeon said five weeks was okay. Folks… we know better and we are trying to help you. General Tso? NOT your friend The post op dietary stages are not a suggestion, they are a requirement for you own safety. You cannot eat Chinese food the week after surgery because you ‘chew it well’. A ‘craving’ for Orange chicken landed one support group member in the hospital! It’s a very bad idea to push. Being ‘released’ to ‘regular food’ does not mean what you think it does, but you already know that. How long until you can have pizza again? “Pizza is not a food for someone having obesity surgery.” (that’s a quote from Dr. N on My 600 lb Life) Every single week in our support group, these actions land new post ops in the hospital. Sip sip sip sip sip… If you had a back injury, you would not tile your kitchen floor the same week. Yet, people think nothing of making a trip to a theme park when they should be at home resting and taking in fluids. People ask us ‘Do you think I would be able to go on a cruise two weeks after my sleeve?’ (Nooooo!) As high as 30% of post ops are dehydrated enough to land back in the hospital with a Fluid IV. Not drinking enough water after surgery can cause heart damage. Dehydration is the most common bariatric complication, yet it’s largely avoidable. Stay home and heal… drink hot water, cold water, broth, Diet Snapple, herbal tea, eat sf ice pops and Jello. (We have a free bariatric water app called HY, click for GetHyApp.com) What’s eating you? If eating is a compulsion that you cannot control, ask your surgeon to suggest someone for you to talk to. A therapist can help you come to conclusions about your life – you talk, they listen and even after one chat you’ll often have a clearer truth of why you use eating as comfort. Knowing what drives you can help you deal with your eating issues to better work with your surgery. Vitamins are critical It is impossible for you to have your stomach surgically removed or reconfigured and take in the nutrients needed to run your body. While your surgeons group has mentioned Flintstones, that is so you will possibly take something instead of being one of the 67% of post ops who take nothing. They are not optimal and won’t prevent long term problems like broken bones from simple falls and losing teeth, but may keep you from dying in the short term. The idea behind supplements is to prevent issues from grabbing you in twenty years when it’s too late to change the path. Take them! Protein from food? What a novel idea! Yes, yes, yes, we’d all like to get our protein from food and that’s what you want to hear. However, if you are unable to take in 70 grams of protein per day, you can either weaken and lose your hair or you can figure out another way until you are able to learn and eat the right foods. Protein drinks make up the difference between what you can eat and what you need. They are not simply a tasty beverage for your enjoyment for you to be all picky and ridiculous over. They are the antidote for your disease of morbid obesity. Morbid means death and obesity surgery only slows and reverses the disease IF you follow your plan. Please wake up get very serious about what you have done to your body. There are obvious rewards to losing 150 pounds, but it does not need take place at the expense of your life. Peace.

I had my surgery 4th October 2014 and I have just lost 92 pounds I felt like a failure but I knew I was not doing what I was told to do. I stopped exercising drinking a lot of alcohol eating badly not that I could eat a lot anyway and stalled for a while. I see people who had surgery the same time as me losing over 100 pounds so I PICKED MYSELF UP DUSTED MYSELF OFF AND STARTED ALL OVER AGAIN. I went back to walking stopped drinking taking my meds and I lost 13.2 pounds in a month still eating carbs. Don't worry don't be discouraged just go on your journey at your own pace. THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN CHANGE THIS SITUATION IS YOU!!!!!!!

All the surgeons I have met have said no alcohol. Ideally ever.