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I just need to say it... My name is Breanne, and I am a food addict. *sigh* I believe my addiction began at the age of 17. I had always been an over eater prior to age 17 but it was more emotional eating than addictive eating. I got my first car in May of 2004. I remember the freedom finally! It started out being able to go to whatever fast food place whenever I wanted. I remember always loving KFC, but my mother never let me go, so the first week I got my car I couldn't get the place out of my head! I stopped there everyday after work on my way home and got the BIGGEST popcorn chicken they had and ate it before I got home, and then hid the container. I think that when you hide food is when you become truly addicted. I met my husband the following year. We fell in love and got married just six months ago. Let me rewind......from the time I met him to the day we got married, I gained 60lbs! A lot of people ask me why, and until now I didn't know the answer. Much like alcoholics, a food addict is unaware that they have a problem! I tried to blame it on my PCOS haha. In all honesty, I was the one to blame. We ate out constanelyy, but the biggest problem was, I was eating the same amounts as a 6'3 250lb man! What was I thinking, I can totally relate to that Dierks Bently song! :cursing: "I knew there'd be hell to pay, but that crossed my mind a little too late!" I want to be open and honest about my addiction. If anyone has any questions or feels as though they may be a food addict as well, don't hesitate to contact me! I don't have all the answers, as I am just starting the journey to recovery, but I'd love to hear from some people who think they might have a similar problem! Stay Strong!:rolleyes2:

I just need to say it... My name is Breanne, and I am a food addict. *sigh* I believe my addiction began at the age of 17. I had always been an over eater prior to age 17 but it was more emotional eating than addictive eating. I got my first car in May of 2004. I remember the freedom finally! It started out being able to go to whatever fast food place whenever I wanted. I remember always loving KFC, but my mother never let me go, so the first week I got my car I couldn't get the place out of my head! I stopped there everyday after work on my way home and got the BIGGEST popcorn chicken they had and ate it before I got home, and then hid the container. I think that when you hide food is when you become truly addicted. I met my husband the following year. We fell in love and got married just six months ago. Let me rewind......from the time I met him to the day we got married, I gained 60lbs! A lot of people ask me why, and until now I didn't know the answer. Much like alcoholics, a food addict is unaware that they have a problem! I tried to blame it on my PCOS haha. In all honesty, I was the one to blame. We ate out constanelyy, but the biggest problem was, I was eating the same amounts as a 6'3 250lb man! What was I thinking, I can totally relate to that Dierks Bently song! :thumbdown: "I knew there'd be hell to pay, but that crossed my mind a little too late!" I want to be open and honest about my addiction. If anyone has any questions or feels as though they may be a food addict as well, don't hesitate to contact me! I don't have all the answers, as I am just starting the journey to recovery, but I'd love to hear from some people who think they might have a similar problem! Stay Strong!:thumbup:

Are you lactose intolerant? It honestly sounds like dumping to me. I had it just last night cuz I chose to have a crappy dinner instead of my planned dinner. Sucked. It sounds exactly like reactive hypoglycemia and some of the sugar alcohols cause this same reaction in bari-patients.

I’m currently taking a 30 day hiatus from alcohol but i can drink the same as I did pre op unfortunately. Although my tastes have changed. And I used to love red wine but now it tastes like straight acid. I don’t want the useless calories anymore. Maybe special occasions after this 30 days

I had surgery on Jan. 23rd, and my doctor said that alcohol is fine. I usually drink 3-4 glasses of wine per week, but I make room for the extra calories by doing extra cardio on those days.

I am new to this lap-band thing...I have my first appointment with my surgeon next month..I have been on this site for almost 2weeks and have heard everything about this program, what to eat, what to do and not to do:lol:...What about alcohol, wine and beer???? Is that a no-no??????

My alcoholic brother called me "a fat f#cking b#tch !!" ...story gets better though...... A year later and 5 mths after my surgery the alcoholic said "you f#ckin b#tch" I was ready and prepared. I said, "that's right you can call me a f#cking b#tch but you can't call me a fat f#cking b#th no more, can you?!?! His mouth just dropped and he walked away and now I weigh less than him ........ I may have been fat but I'm not an alcoholic hurting everyone in their path Sent from my LGL84VL using BariatricPal mobile app

Can we pretend this is an Overeaters Anonymous meeting and it's my turn to stand up front and bare my soul?...especially since I never had the balls to set foot in a live meeting during my 35 years of having a BMI score higher than my IQ. There's donuts in the back...JOKE😁 It's been almost a year since my sleeve surgery and I couldn't be happier with the physical results. I was 60 years old, 5'4" and weighed close to 210 when I finally made an appointment with a bariatric surgeon. I'm now 61 and 134 pounds...I'm still 5'4" though. The past few days I've been in deep thought mode and was just hoping to use this forum to vent and hopefully get some feedback, positive or negative. Dining out: It's going to happen. It was probably part of your life pre-surgery, so it's naive of you to think it won't be a part of your life post-surgery. So maybe it's just me and my family (obese mother) and significant other (F, normal weight), but the minute the menu appears, I get a barrage of "Oh..they have plenty of appetizers and small portions you can order. Be careful, etc. Did you see the vegetable plate?" OK, so I know my significant other and my mom love me and are probably just concerned about my health and eating habits post-op, and if I'm being overly sensitive, just tell me and I'll shut up, but when they say things like that, it's not helping! If anything, something deep in my primordial starving "fat" brain wants to order the biggest thing on the menu and attempt to eat it. When it happened yesterday at lunch, I calmly and nicely asked both of them if they could refrain from offering me ordering advice, as I assured them, thinking about the ordering process and the actual eating of said meal in a healthy manner was the number one priority on my mind pretty much 24/7. They didn't seem to take it too well. Which leads me to my next thought... I might be stereotyping, but I'm willing to bet that a lot of us here were never/are not selfish people. I'm sure there are pages of psychological data written about the personality traits of the chronically obese and the myriad reasons we ended up as we did. My point is, after bariatric surgery, you might have to become a little selfish. You may need to put yourself first, sometimes to the detriment of others. Obviously, it helps if you can do this in a nice manner, but with certain people and situations in your life post-surgery, you might just have to be a selfish a*****e. If your new lifestyle (diet, whatever you want to call it), exercise regimen, food habits, etc don't quite mesh with those around you, too bad. This is your last chance at success and you need to make YOU the priority. I walk a lot now...and it takes a lot of time. Some of that is time I used to spend with other people...now it's not always like that. Some have mentioned it. I don't care. I always invite them to walk with me but I'm not going to not walk because they want to do something else or don't feel like walking. When I think about some of the healthiest people I have known in my life, they were/are quite selfish when it comes to exercise. One of my friends has been to the gym every morning from 5:30-7:30 for 35 years. He never misses. It's not an option. That's amazing to me because despite the genetics of obesity, there's no question that having some type of exercise regimen helps at some level. Did I ever have that level of commitment? Only to stopping at Whataburger several times a week. So as much as I read pre-surgery and even with the psychological profiling the doctor did, I never read much or heard anyone talk about some of the changes I needed to make mentally to make this work. It seems like most of the pre-surgery discussion is about how to eat before and after the surgery and most of the psychological discussion is about not letting one addiction (food) be supplanted by another (drugs, alcohol, etc). The crux of this dissertation, if you're still reading, is that there couldn't be more truth to the phrase bantered around here...."They operated on your stomach, not your brain". Prepare yourself for some mental challenges that being thinner does not make any easier. I must look a lot better because everyone tells me so...but I don't always feel better. Some of the same issues I've dealt with all my life, totally unrelated to weight, are still around. It's not that I expected them to disappear, but I think at some level, deep down, many of us think/thought, "Oh, if only I weren't so fat, I wouldn't have to deal with this problem [insert the problem/issue of your choosing]". Maybe I was just being naive or stupid, or both, but even being "thin" comes with plenty of challenges. I know these are "first world" problems and I'm not trying to sound like a complaining, spoiled brat. I just wanted to let off some steam here in the hopes that I'm not alone. Thanks for listening.

So the only preop requirement I have is a Liquid diet starting noon the day before surgery. The anesthesiaologist told me no alcohol 3 days before surgery. So wondering what other folks thoughts are on this. I've done fine on all my preop prep and lost more weight than was required.

What helped me pre-op was I started detoxing and dieting a whole month before my surgery. I started with a semi-liquid diet on May 11th. Protein Shake for breakfast and lunch and a healthy, no carb dinner. I stopped drinking alcohol and upped my water to 6 or 7 bottles a day. Then 10 days (because they had a cancellation and asked if I wanted it sooner than scheduled) before surgery, I started on all liquids. In the first 24 days before surgery, I lost 23 lbs. That really, really motivated me and made me feel so good both physically and emotionally. It also helped the surgeon with a successful surgery because of the liver shrinkage. Y'all have some awesome ideas!

Well ditch the alcohol..... You don't list what you are eating, so more info is needed from you.

I was a BIG momma before my surgery journey. My surgeon does his sleeves outpatient for the most part (inpatient would have cost me another $5K and I did self pay) so he wanted me to lose quite a bit of weight before surgery. I cut out starch (no potatoes, no bread, no Pasta, no rice, no corn) , no dairy, no sugar, no alcohol or soda and no fast food. I ate mostly lean meat and green veggies. Hard boiled egg whites saved me when I was really hungry and just needed something to eat. One large egg white only has about 17 calories and 3g of Protein. I also would make a cabbage based Soup that had about 40 calories a cup that I'd eat. You can do it! Eat slow and and chew a lot because you'll need to get used to that for after surgery anyway.

Before surgery, I committed to my surgeon no alcohol for 6 months. I am not a big drinker, but have had a few happy hours I couldn't have a drink. In my mind, it's worth it. But, I am counting down until Oct 24th!

I am six weeks out and my Nut sat not to drink because she has seen too many people, especially early in post op, that have had severe liver complications due to drinking soon after getting sleeved. This is due to an average higher alcohol blood count than usual which is harder for liver to process. I would say just because you think or feel you can tolerate it, you will end up taxing your other organs instead. Let your body heal and adjust before adding in toxins it has to try and filter on top of already trying to heal and repair tissue. It will also dehydrate you. I just came back to home town and was with all my old friends and family at the old hang out bar/grill and I sipped on ice water all night and I had a great time. It's not worth it, take control of your entire health and body. Take care of all your organs, not just the stomach.

Ah, maybe that was related to the alcohol content? Alcohol seems to affect people differently post WLS and maybe she wasn't ready for it?

How long did anyone wait to have an alcoholic drink? My dr said to drink on special occasions but never now long I should wait.

I would define a 'healthy' bar as one that has less than 10g sugar, low sugar alcohol (sugar alcohol can cause dumping also according to my nut, and it definitely gives you gas), low fat (less than 3g), high protein, and low sodium. It's hard to find all that in one bar, something must be sacrificed. For me, I'll choose a low sugar, high Protein Bar even if the fat content is more than I'd like. :-)

Phat, Me again. I almost forgot to mention - I was getting very gassy from some Protein products. Turns out many bars contain an alcohol sugar that causes gas. My nut says read the label, and avoid the ones containing sugars that end in "ol." Blew me up like a birthday balloon.

I never ate off plan until I passed goal. I followed every instruction my doctor gave me. I have gotten 60g+ Protein and 64oz+ Water every day. (Except when I was so nauseous from a medication I was on for a C. diff infection that I couldn't even swallow my own spit...which of course led to dehydration and IV fluids at which point my doctor and I found an alternative solution to cure the infection. In other words, make sure you drink!). I take my Vitamins every day. I get my bloodwork done as recommended and adjust supplements accordingly. I am active everyday. I lost over 100% of my excess weight and have kept it off for 7 months. Sure, now I eat deserts and carbs and drink alcohol, but I'm in maintenance and I'm allowed anything and everything in moderation. Any weight gain I observe I immediately check by going back to strict protein and veggies. Dear God: Please make me as perfect as Kindle,

Hi Cathy! So sorry youve had a rough start. But taking the prevacid should help. If your symptoms are not improving by a week or 2, please call your doctor back and ask for something else for your tummy. Its not uncommen to have to switch around meds (any meds) to find the right one for you. The stomach meds are no different! About the antibiotic - YES! some DO irritate the stomach. Try sticking to mild foods for a while - just until things heal. Stay away from stomach irritants like alcohol, coffee, tomato based foods, spicy things, etc. A stomach ulcer WITH our band is not something to take lightly. So please be careful!!!! Also, just as a personal rule, when I MUST visit my PCP, I *always* remind him of my band and the need to have scripts written that are gentle for the stomach and preferbly something in liquid form. (((hugs))) Hang in there, you should be on the road to recovery!

First of all I said IF meaning just what it says I didnt assume anything. As far as my education goes I have 30 years in healthcare and working with patients who have pancreatitis MOST have it due to alcoholism which is number one on your list. Secondly again IF I said not That he is drinking and needs to stop. So instead of asking questions like this in a forum you SHOULD go to a doctor not ask medical professionals who know about what your husband was diagnosed with. I am so sick of you people taking things I say out of context and making it what you want. If you dont want advice then dont ask. Educate yourself instead of copy and pasting what you think I should know because I far know more about medicine then most ever will. Next time call your lap band doctor and ask him what your husband should do. Have an awesome day.

I don't know when you posted but I just came across your post and can totally relate to your overwhelming life. Like you, I suffered with disabaling panic attacks. Like you, in a round about way, I have a husband who is disabled and retired on disability. He has many medical and depression issues. Additionally a Mother who is in end stage COPD and thinks she ready to start taking the morphine, a father who is having a total hip replacement next week, 22 year old son who just moved back home after being away at college for 4 years, and, he is quite addicted to alcohol (actually lost his license for 18 months for driving under the influence. Additionally, I work, but the husband, mother and father are all retired. Suffice it to say, not only do I understand, I can totally relate. It has taken me a long time but I am in the beginning stages of trying to unscramble some of this mess. Learning to say no, while not feeling guilty about it, is a big one. First thing, you need to get treatment for the panic attacks. There is medication out there to block the attacks and help you feel more in control. Anyone who is capable of caring for themselves, need to. If life is that stressful, maybe your husband might need to put his graduate studies on hold. He's going to be in a bigger pile of shit if you do have a nervous breakdown. You might suggest to him that he be a little more "proactive" in helping to unscramble the mess. You should check in your community to see if there is any assistance you can get. Maybe you would qualify for fuel, child care, Medicare/Medicaid (depending on your children's "needs"). Figure out what you do have control over; what can you take off your plate, what can you give to someone else; what other resources are out there for you. And, did I mention I too am in the first several months of preparing for a lapband, which is going by the wayside with all these other things going on. Remember, if you don't take care of yourself, you will be of NO help to anyone else. Take care and keep talking with everybody. Marcia

Thanks Lizzie. I think we have a lot of the same issues around junk food. I have to stay away completely - kind of like alcohol and an alcoholic. The band doesn't control me at all with junk food either. But the best thing I love about the band is when I fall off the wagon I never gain back 20 pounds which is what would have happened pre-band. Now I might gain back two which is absolutely manageable. That's what happened these past two weeks - I ate absolutely horrible and I was cringing when I hit the scale and I only gained 2.5. I couldn't believe it. Now I have to find the strength to stop eating the junk again. How do you do it? Tomorrow I'm stopping cold turkey and going from there.

Hmm since you posted this in the gastric sleeve forums I guess I'll give my take. Every surgeon is different. Mine said no alcohol for at least 30 days post-surgery. I have had the occasional wine or cocktail since then. For sleeve and bypass patients especially (can't speak for band patients) alcohol absorption is more rapid, which causes you to get tipsy quicker. Drinking more than you can tolerate is not something I would recommend, not just because of the anatomical change from surgery, but because you'll be making yourself more vulnerable in social situations and you'll have less control in advocating for yourself. For me one stiff drink is enough. But I don't plan on imbibing much these days. It's empty calories and I'm having a tougher and tougher time with the weight loss the closer I get to goal. I think with moderation it's okay, just be wary of cross-addiction, as it does occasionally happen to bariatric patients.

I need all your knowledge yet again. I'm still new to looking at all the surgeries and the subject if alcohol came to mind. I know I'll learn all the rules for post op for all surgeries in my program, but was just curious to know if alcohol is something you can't ever have again? I know that's prob not the case but I am a social drinker and I am curious as to if this will be a no no for a good amount of time. By no means do I have to drink just wondering g the rules surrounding consuming any.