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To all the newly post op, please see Super Bowl Sunday for what it is...one afternoon. One afternoon that you tell yourself, no to booze and junk food. Your sleeve is for the Rest of Your Life (assuming you don't eff it up). Stop acting as though one afternoon is unbearable. Pre op, you most likely had a two week liquid diet; that was 14 days and you did it! Now you are 3, 4, or 5 weeks out and you can't handle one afternoon? The wants you are listing- alcohol, tortilla chips, and fried chicken- are what put us on the operating table to begin with. Why let one afternoon get you twisted? Stay the course now so you can be a success story later.

Alcohol.... Nope. Nada. Not a sip. Take your own food or eat before and say you're not hungry or your tummy is upset so you don't want to eat and be sick. That's as near to the truth as you can get. Enjoy

I would never drink alcohol 3 weeks after surgery!!! I'm 3 months post-op and I still haven't. You need to check with your surgeon before doing anything so drastic.

You will get there! This is legit the first time I ever seriously quit (& hopefully the last, too!) I’m 34 and I smoked for nearly 20 years. 😳😳. What was crazy is I dreaded quitting for years... and then I did it and after 3 days it got much easier. Beware of the terrible threes. The hardest times for me were 3 days, the third week, and the third month! Also, stay clear of alcohol. Alcohol makes you want to smoke and impairs your decision making to weaken your resolve. I used a mix of Wellbutrin and the Juul e-cig to quit. However, having to then quit nicotine in the electronic cigarette was another addiction I had to break- so it may be worth your while to vape nicotine free juice if you go that route. Good luck and you got this! I tell myself I’m not going to let cigarettes or nicotine be the reason why this doesn’t happen, because that would be a lame reason. If I legit do not want to go through with it that’s one thing, but letting cigarettes control my life? No way! Best wishes to you!

I do think about how WLS has changed my life for the better, so many things are easier now than a year ago I feel so grateful and blessed. The truth is out there for those that wish to find it. There are TV shows about weight loss surgery, you tube videos about it, books about it, countless Instagram posts about it. It is not my job to inform every obese person that they could lose weight, they are most likely aware of this. If someone I know asks me how I am losing weight, or inquires about my diet I do share with them. If a very obese person asked me, I would even share that I had surgery if I thought they were honestly interested. Most people want a quick and trite answer though. Eyes glaze over once you mention exercise and lowering carbs so it’s not a topic I discuss with people. Just as other people with unhealthy habits need to want to make changes: smokers, alcoholics, drug users, etc....people have to be ready to change. Making comments to strangers does not inspire change, likely just shame and embarrassment.

yep im not allowed alcohol either but I did take to sips on my anniversary! Bad Monken......

I love my wine and had a very small glass about 3 months post op. I love to have a glass of wine with dinner and do most nights. I have also had a couple of screwdrivers when out, the alcohol effects me no different from pre op to post op, the only thing that is different is the slight buzz does not last as long. Pre surgery I drank 6-7 diet pepsi's a day, after surgery I stopped cold turkey. About 3-4 wks post op I was putting those flavor packets of lipton diet teas and have been using them ever since. I don't think they have much caffene in them at all. i do have a few sips of diet soda every once in a while but it all tastes like chemicals to me.

They have groups at different churches. Groups I go to is called celebrate recovery. It is nationwide group held at different churches or other buildings but it is faith based. A lot of people think it is just for drugs & alcohol issues but it isnt. The group is for all hurts, habits & hangups. Which means it is for a lot of different things -people gone through divorce, been abused in life, drugs or alcohol, co-dependency issues (which is people who have trouble like I said being alone), eating disorders, control issues, shopping addiction - like I said any hurts, habits or hangups. It is good program. It helped me through a lot of hurt with divorce & people there awesome. I still go because like those when I was weak helped me -we pray & help each other. You have lesson then break up into small groups. Groups separated by what people dealing with & by sex too cause guys feel more comfortable opening up to guys & women to women. It is a protected group & anything said there is kept in the group, not shared outside at all unless risk of anyone harming self if depressed then legally have to report that.

i suggest the same thing. call the surgeons office and make sure they r sending your "starting" weight'I was 42 BMI and only 1 comorbities. I have BCBS and i was aproved. Fortunally for me i did nto have to do the 6 month diet, my surgeon just asked that i give my liver a break by not eating any fried food, junk food or alcohol. So my the time i went under the knofe i was -7 lbs. good luck

Congratulations on taking steps to get healthier! I think your plan to add more Protein is a good one especially as the meal replacement. Protein drinks are tricky because everyone has their own taste and that can change drastically after this surgery so I would not invest a fortune in powders and such. Also if you are a busy person and do not want to fool around with blender cups or actual blenders I would recommend giving Premier Protein ready made shakes a try. They are excellent for post surgery as well. There is no grit, no nasty taste, in fact they are actually very good. They have 30 grams of protein in 1 shake, 1 gram of sugar and are 160 calories. I turned to them post surgery when I could not tolerate most of the whey protein powders. My nut suggested them and I am thrilled she did. You can get them in smaller packs at Walmart and Walgreens or you can buy them at a higher discounted rate and larger quantities at Sam's and costco. Some of the others that are more tolerable is the syntax nectars. These are a powder and you need to use a blender cup to ensure you don't end up with that grit. Leverage things like yogurt, cottage cheese, nuts and seeds to help boost your protein as well. Focus your meals on lower carb, high protein. Leverage good carbs like fruit and vegetables. Stay away from bread, Pasta, rice, white potatoes. Leverage Beans, sweet potatoes, corn, peas, carrots, cauliflower.....pretty much any vegetables you love. Salads with some protein make an excellent well balanced meal, just watch your dressing to make sure it is not loaded with too much sugar. The goal is to remove as much sugar and bad carbs from your diet. Remove all processed foods from your house. They are not something you will be able to eat after surgery. Honestly they are so very bad for us. If you drink caffeine or alcohol you might want to stop that now because you will be required to at pre op diet and beyond. My nut had me practicing mindful eating, getting my Water intake up to 64oz. Per day, eating slowly, not drinking anything when you eat and removing all distractions. I hope some of this is helpful to you! Please keep us posted on your progress!

Remember of the 4g of carbs 2g are sugar alcohol. So you can deduct that from net carbs but the sugar alcohol can also mess with your gut. I eat about 3-4 as a snack maybe 2-3 times a week, especially since its summer and hot.

Erosion does not happen because something comes in contact with the band. I'm not sure what the reasons for all cases of erosion might be, but there does seem to be a consensus that consuming things that irritate the stomach can percipate erosion. NSAIDS, like aspirin, alcohol, and other stuff are stomach irritants. Whether this causes stomach swelling which encourages the stomach to absorb the surrounding band, or if they cause thinning of the stomach lining, making absorption of the band into the stomach easier, or a combination of both or something else entirely, I have no idea. I hear mostly "alcohol in moderation" on all sites I belong to. I personally would be cautious not to trade my eating addiction in for some other harmful excess.

I'm not sure if there is already a thread here for cancer survivors or people who currently have cancer, with the sleeve or pre-sleeve? Would love to know that I'm not alone! I am a bladder cancer survivor. I have my 2.5 year scans coming up next week, along with all my pre-testing for my sleeve surgery. I have my story all printed up already because it's a long one...but I wanted to see if others have gone through cancer here? I believe it puts things into a different perspective if you've come through cancer. I was diagnosed with bladder cancer when I was 42. We found out that I was pregnant, surprise! We had already lost two babies, our son Daniel in the second trimester and then an early loss. We are foster parents and had already had three failed adoptions as well. When we found out I was pregnant, they did an ultrasound. They could not see the baby, but did find numerous tumors in my bladder. There started a whirlwind of tests, day surgeries, chemo, and finally major 12 hour surgery in March 2011, to remove my bladder and rebuild a "fake" bladder inside of me. 2.5 years later, I'm recovering still, have a hernia the size of a basketball due to the surgery, and need to lose some weight before I can have my "big" hernia surgery to fix my hernia, and start living again. My story This is what we consider to be our "last chance" at having a child in our lives. I'm 45 now. I've lost three children and two years ago lost my bladder and uterus to cancer. We've fostered children for years and had four failed adoptions. Last chance adoption. If we can afford it. My life reads like a soap opera. When I was 11, my sisters and I were hit by a car while waiting for the school bus. My little sister Kathy didn't survive. I was raised by a wonderful Mom and an abusive alcoholic Father. And then I married an abusive, drug addicted husband. Stayed with him for 12 years until I had the strength to leave. In 2001, I met Mark, the most wonderful man ever. We married in 2003. In 2005, at the age of 37, Mark and I conceived our first child. In 2006, I gave birth to our son Daniel, too early for him to survive. Later that year, we lost our second child. Fast forward to 2010 (time spent between 2006 and 2010 resulted in our becoming foster parents and having three failed adoptions). At the age of 42, I found out I was pregnant. Went for an ultrasound, where they found numerous tumors in my bladder. I lost the baby and started chemotherapy in Dec 2010. In March 2011, I had my bladder surgically removed, along with my uterus....losing any chance of having our own baby. But, in the end, I was/am currently cancer-free. We named our third baby "Angel" for saving my life. We became licensed as foster parents again, and had a 15 month old baby girl placed with us. On March 1, 2013, after living with us for over a year, baby girl was taken and given to an Aunt in another state. Failed adoption number 4. Through all of this, my husband Mark has been the best friend, nurse, Father, husband, caretaker ever. He deserves to have a child. WE deserve to have a child. We've looked into adoption and have started the process, which could take years.

You sound very well prepared!! I also had some decent success over about a 1-1/2 year span where I exercised at least 3 hours a day and ate 1000 cal or less. It was great. BUT it started climbing back up. I couldn't have eaten any less and I certainly could not have exercised any more. So, I gave up. I feel I can easily do the work...I'm not a binge eater, emotional eater, stress eater, etc. I actually like low carb foods, I can give up soda and alcohol. I'm not a big sweet eater. I just don't want to be hungry all the time. So, I feel this surgery would be a good option for me. I will probably get more excited and start stocking up more when it becomes more real...after I finish the various appointments! Let me know when you get your date!

My surgery was on May 9th as well. I just got home from hospital I started running fever as well as having major naseau. Now that I am home these gas pains are horrible but I am drinking my protein as well as sugar free popsicles. Be careful I have found with sugar alcohols cause it will cause gas pains as well. I pray for each of you! And pray that each of you as well as myself reach the goals we have always wanted to be at.

I can't recall ever being told I couldn't drink alcohol or carbonated drinks. I'm not much of a drinker so it was at 6 months that I tried a drink - I had some old Tequila from pre-surgery and mixed it with some Crystal Light lemonade. It was only about 2 ounces, but I was buzzing pretty quick! Since then I've drank beer and Mike's Hard Lemonade, but I drink them very slowly since I didn't know how fast the carbonation was going to fill me up. And I pour them over ice to get rid of some of the carbonation. I had no problems with any of them.

Regarding the liquor - I think they meant hard alcohol like vodka, but sometimes a couple of sips of wine helps. Small sips though; as mentioned from the "exploder", too much liquid just comes back up (and UG that doesn't sound fun what you did!!). You can get the papaya enzyme at health stores like GNC and I've also found them at Bulk Barn (in Canada). Swiss Formula makes one.

I was told not to drink anything with carbonation. However, I have had an occasional beer & haven't had any problems. I'm not a huge drinker, but I have gone to parties & had a few drinks. My experience is that the alcohol hits me a lot faster & wears off faster. If I have 2 beers in a row, I'm pretty tipsy... not sure if that is due to a lower body weight or the smaller stomach. I would say that you should be able to drink eventually, but start slowly since you don't know how the alcohol will affect your system.

I was ultra-low carb during weigh loss phase: less than 25g NET carbs a day (i don’t count fibre nor sugar alcohols in the totals). In maintenance, I eat more carbs for sure (and u can see the difference it makes: my face is not so Skeletor-ish anymore, even though I’m actually 12 lbs less than the time I decided to stop losing weight). Its sorta known that it you cut carbs from your diet, weight loss is generally faster than NOT cutting it out (all other things being equal, of course). BUT, this is not for everybody. For some, cutting out a whole food group may just lead to feelings of deprivation and may set oneself up for failure, among other things. For others, refraining from carbs is a little easier. I guess you know yourself best and will be able to figure out what type of eating plan works for you. In regards to your original question on pita: I have yet to eat any soft pita since surgery, BUT I have had homemade pita chips (pita seasoned with olive oil & spices then air fried), and had no issue....though I probably only had the equivalent of 1/4 an actual pita, so not sure if that really counts...?

I am a year out from surgery tomorrow. I had RNY 11/07/16. I lost 155 lbs. Now I have gained back 15. I'm stuck because I suffer from Major Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety. I go to therapy weekly and group every other week. I also am on medication for my mental illness. All I want to do is eat. I don't drink soda or alcohol. I get around 50-60 grams of protein a day. The rest is sugar and carbs. I feel so hopeless and like I've let everyone down. I can eat a whole box of cookies in an evening. I try to drink calorie-free things. I do well for a couple days and just do soft foods and track my calories and get protein, then I get depressed and overeat. I don't want people getting onto me but I'm getting suicidal due to this problem. I can't get big again. I'd rather die. I have an appointment for a one year checkup later this month and I'm so frustrated and depressed that I feel worthless. Has anyone experienced anything like this? Any advice? I'm in DBT and therapy and trying everything I know to do. I'm a college student and always on the go, I need some help. Thanks in advance.

Let's see, my surgery was June 13. I quit smoking, after 37 yrs, alcohol & coffee on June 1. No cravings noted for any of them.

Puppy- Yes! I've found a good body cleanse/detox once or twice a yr is a good thing. makes me feel lighter, more energetic, better skin, no sugar/fat / junk food cravings. The Vitamin stores have them. Basically, it's a box with a few pill bottles in it and some instructions. Some come with a disc. I get the regimen that detoxes heavy metals (aluminum, mercury) out as well as a general body-cleaning of chemical micro-junk we eat like pesticides on foods. Besically- cleaning out all those environmental and food toxins we breathe or ingest. You can't drink coffee or alcohol during the course (takes about 2wks) and you have to really follow the eating/drinking program and take all the pills on a schedule. The metal detox also detoxes Iron, copper, zinc, selenium- so you have to re-introduce them with a good quality multi-vitamin Afterwards, you have to get GOOD bacteria back into your gut- Probiotics. I get Acidopholous (sp?) and yogurt with LIVE cultures. It's a good idea to get these in regularly anyway, but the detox kills all the bacteria in your gut so you have to be extra diligent about replacing the probiotic bacteria. For the 1st week or so, you'll feel like absolute dog-doo doo! Really Tired, aches and pains, head fog, headaches. Just overall, lousy feeling. This is basically sugar/ caffein/ etc. withdrawals combined with lifting those toxins up out of your systems & organs: blood, renal, brain, liver, kidneys, glands, etc, and eliminating them through your urine and excrement. You'll pee & poop like a champ! lol After that, your energy comes back the aches and pains go away, no more headaches, you'll feel mentally sharp and eliminate regularly. No cravings either. The return to natural, (non-caffeinated) metabolic energy and overall feeling great is amazing.

After weight loss phase I worked myself up to about 1800-2000 cals a day, BUT I was also exercising moderately to high every day. However, I gained about 6lbs during pandemic due to decrease in regular exercise (and increase in desserts and alcohol, lol). So I cut my cals to about 1200-1500 (and exercised a little bit more regularly, but not to pre-weight-gain levels cuz I'm lazy) around mid-summer and am basically back to 115lbs today (weighed in at 115.6 this morning). Soooo....based on this, if I exercise every day then I can maintain at 1800-2000 cals a day. If I stick to the amount of exercise that I am currently doing, I am guessing I can maintain at around 1700-1800 cals a day. If I don't exercise at all, it would probably be around 1500. Keep in mind though that other factors need to be considered to determine each persons' calorie maintenance level (age, metabolic rate, medication, malabsorbative functions of different surgeries, thyroid function, etc. etc....)

I had RNY gastric bypass surgery 26 months ago. I lost 115 pounds and maintained the weight loss. Before surgery hunger was constantly gnawing at my bones. While I was eating a meal, I was thinking about what I would eat for my next meal. After surgery my hunger was gone. It was not easy to lose weight when you are not hungry. This is very much different than a diet experience. There was no willpower involved. Not everyone who has a RNY loses appetite but many do. This may not be the case for those that undergo Sleeve. By consuming more food you can stretch you stomach and thereby eat more and regain the weight back. I asked my nutritionist why some people lose weight after surgery only to gain most of it back afterwards. She said grazing which I interpret as another way of saying snacking. I do graze but I have not gained weight. I think the secret is what you graze on. I graze on Protein and fats. Fats take away hunger. So essentially I am never hungry. I strictly stay away from all processed sugars. I satisfy my sweet tooth with artificial sweeteners (such as Splenda, sugar alcohol), non-nutritive natural sweeteners (such as stevia), natural sugars (found in fruits and milk). At 26 months out, I have a cup of coffee each morning with a large scoop of whip cream. I make the whip cream myself using Splenda so it has no sugar. I have around 3 Adkin's treats a day. I consume whole milk, real butter and real non-lean meat. I was diabetic before surgery. That went away right after surgery. I periodically check my blood sugar levels and they are normal. The weight is off and all my prior medical conditions are in remission: high blood pressure, diabetes, GERD, sleep apnea, frequent urination. I think why some people gain the weight after RNY is that they are confused. After surgery you body (stomach) can no longer process fats and sugars. If you take too much it causes dumping. But as the months go by your body adapts and your intestines change and begin to take up the role of the stomach and start to absorb fats and sugars. There are 2 phases to weight loss surgery. These are the losing phase and the maintenance phase. The same rules do not apply for the two different phases. I personally wouldn't pay $20K for the operation because I do not have that amount of disposable income. The 12 months would better be spent by preparation. Attend Bariatric Surgery Support Group meetings. Do exercises. Walking each day is very important. Cut out all carbonated beverages and caffeine. Prepare yourself for this important step in your life.

Request a Rx for Mycolog Nystatin OINTMENT-no cream. The cream is scented=alcohol. My gyn prescribed it for me. Works great!