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Well, you do sound rude. I truly doubt that you have been absolutely perfect. I was asking a question, which is what this forum is for. Not for people like you to place judgement. I don't have a bad relationship with food. That is not what got me here and you know nothing about me so with all due respect take your holier than now opinion elsewhere. I probably shouldn't respond to this since I'm 6 days post op from my conversion to bypass because of uncontrollable acid and on pain meds but I can't help myself. Posts like this crack me the hell up. It is evident to me that the OP was hell bent on drinking the Coke Zero, so I don't understand the need to post seeking advice. Moreover, it was clear she was going to react badly when she received a response that she believed didn't give the blessing she sought or was "holier than thou" (by the way I'm 2+ years post surgery round 1 and 6 days post surgery round 2 and I followed my instructions TO THE LETTER both times) . Posts like this is why the vets are leaving this site in droves. If you don't want the advice, don't ask the question. And if you ask the question accept the advice with the grace in which it was given. Like Kindle said in another post: I'm out. Good luck to all you new soda, alcohol drinking, pizza and bacon eating new post OP's who believe they know better what is right for "their body" than vets who are super successful or, amazingly the medical professionals in whose hands they placed their life's. Good luck And I don't think my message would be any different if it wasn't clouded by lortab. Bring on the bitching Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Whether to tell is a personal choice. Some people tell anyone who will listen, others may tell 1 or 2 confidants. In my case I kept quiet initially because I wasn't for sure if I was going to have the surgery. I just wanted to go through the process so that it would be on the table. WLS can be very controversial to some and I just didn't want to feel the need to justify my reasons. I made an informed choice. I was at peace with that choice. I chose to tell my husband, my 2 children and my mother initially because they are my primary support system and if something happened to me they deserved to be informed. Once I closer to my date-- I begin strategically telling very close friends (3) and family. They were very happy for me and extremely supportive of my decisions. They were very instrumental in my recovery and have provided ongoing encouragement and support post op. I don't regret telling not a 1 of them. I did not tell associates, distant family, neighbors, co workers and I take all of their compliments with a simple thank you and a smile. I don't find it necessary to explain myself to anyone. I too worried about what I would say but I noticed-- no one really cares what I'm eating. In family settings i'll fix a plate with items to nibble on just to look normal but no one says hey you hardly ate anything??? It's about being in the moment and enjoying that family time. Even if that means telling a funny story, or initiating Karaoke or an interactive game. No one will pay attention to your eating habits! I think I was more worried about it than anyone else. The only time I was called out was when my husband and I were hanging out with parents from my sons baseball team and I wasn't drinking alcohol-- it felt a little awkward to feel that way just for not drinking. Can u say peer pressure? Honestly we 'd hung out with the coach and his wife in the past and they've always known me to drink at least socially. But it's over and I didn't have to tell them a thing and since my son quit the team the next time I see them, I'll be skinny. LOL!

I used alcohol wipes on the areas away from my cuts, then as the tape came off I used lotion with Vitamin E and finally got it all off...I think!

How much pain you have is variable. I had none after my sleeve but I really knew about it with my gall removal. But the surgical gas is mostly in your abdominal cavity not in your digestive tract so burping & farting have minimal impact. The surgical gas rises up behind your lungs putting pressure on nerves which cause the pain. The gas is absorbed into your lungs & breathed out. Walking, marching on the spot, pumping your arms up & down, slow deep breathing all help you breath that gas out. Heat packs can help with any discomfort. It usually takes about a week to fully pass. Additional burping or farting can be from the shakes, any sugar alcohols used in the shakes or drinking too quickly, plus the change in your digestive process could be adding to it while your body gets used to the changes. GasX may help with this gas. As with everything if it persists or gets worse give your team a call.

What's the verdict on alcohol during the liquid phase? I'm two weeks post-op and kinda wanna join in the party a little bit. I know that i definitely shouldn't be drinking any carbonated mixers, but will a shot of something-or-other severely kill me or my stomach? I kinda got myself into something, too, and I don't wanna bail. I know it aint good for the diet, either, but... Advice would be great.

Kmw: Hopefully that uncomfortable feeling eventually subsided, but it's a hard and fast lesson. I cheated in the first 3 weeks with some foods that were slightly more solid than liquid but I washed them down with Water. Now that I've progressed to solids and had my first fill I STILL haven't tried eating anything like rice or red meat. I could tolerate bread pre-fill and chicken, but I have no idea how that might work now that I'm filled. You can start eating fish (rice isn't recommended until the solid stages) in a couple of weeks. Wait it out from now on. I know those cravings can be a bitch. And on the alcohol front, me and white wine have decided we get along juuust fine. I never was much of a beer drinker, but I have been enjoying a glass or two of chardonnay when I go out. My surgeon actually said that they've done studies and those who incorporate some wine into their diet tend to do better over the long run. Good luck!

Some would definitely hate me! 🤣 I think we are, or at least were, very similar with the amount of restriction. Mine was pretty extreme, which I was grateful for, most of the time. Near the 1 yr mark my relaxed pretty significantly. I can eat enough now that it doesn't usually attract attention when I eat out. We are also pretty similar in that I didn't have much physical hunger for a long time. Even now mine is pretty controllable if I fast & push liquids. Here's my brunch yesterday (Hush puppies covered with sausage gravy & bacon) As the picture illustrates, I get my calories in by eating pretty calorie dense foods, by eating frequently, & liquid calories (ie alcohol) (I don't drink daily, but I'm by definition a binge drinker)

I'd agree. I was banded at a higher bmi, but my weight loss has been fairly steady all along. I am now bmi of 24 and am not in any way, shape, or form actively trying to lose weight, but it still comes off. Even as I have settled into this lifestyle and am not nearly as strict about food or alcohol intake (i do love some mixed drinks myself , I still continue to lose at a decent pace. Heck, at this point I am the ones my friends point to when complaining about skinny people, which completely blows my mind.

Every insurance is different, and perhaps you have other co-morbitities that you haven't mentioned here, but usually if your BMI is under 40 they are expecting two or more other comorbidities (Non-Alcohol Fatty Liver Disease, Hypertension, Diabetes, Hyper Lipedimia, Sleep apnea, etc...)

I’m a 5 foot 11 inch tall 25 year old male who is scheduled for the gastric sleeve surgery on July 23rd. I had my consultation with the surgeon on February 22nd and he stated I do not need to lose any weight before surgery. My dietitian said the same thing and to continue the diet I have been on since December. I have lost 20 pounds in the last 3 months by changing my diet to much cleaner foods and walking my dog for roughly 30 minutes a day. I was 278lbs December 19th 2017 and now on April 2nd I weigh in at 258lbs. I cut out almost all carbs and artificial sweets in the morning and replaced them when egg white omelets with cut up vegetables and half a cup of oatmeal with honey and raisins. Lunch & dinner consist of vegetables, high protein beans/rice/lentils & lean meats. I try to stay away from sandwiches due to the bread and their favorite sidekick, chips. I have also cut down my dairy intake by about 90% and avoid pastas. I don’t have a sweet tooth so candy and soda consumption have never been an issue for me. I’m more of a greasy burger and cheesesteak with fry’s and ketchup kind of guy. My general practitioner believes this surgery is a bit extreme and unwarranted due to my age and state of health. I do not have diabetes, show signs of pre-diabetes, sleep apnea (never been tested), or constant high blood pressure for it to be an issue. My family background does consist of type 2 diabetes on my mother’s side as recent as my aunt. High blood pressure and cholesterol is evident on my father’s side as well but no diabetes. I have recently graduated from college and am no longer in that unhealthy atmosphere of drinking alcohol and poor eating choices. I want to cement a solid foundation from here on out to live a healthy and happy life and am looking for any advice on my situation with this surgery choice and/or any questions for me that I may have not asked myself. I appreciate your time reading this and hope to hear from anyone out there in regards to their thoughts or recommendations for me.

Personally, I don't even bother with the empty calories of alcohol... I'll have an unsweet tea...if they don't have that, an iced coffee... I keep sugar free flavoring in my purse, so I'm ready... don't need the alcohol to have a good time... but that's me... never was much of a drinker anyway...

The main reason you even have to do a pre-op diet is to shrink your liver. If your liver is too large, they might end up damaging it during the surgery. It sits almost blocking most of your stomach, so they have to use the laproscopic tools to lift it and then hold it out of the way while they cut away the stomach. If the liver gets damaged, it could not only turn a fast sleeve surgery into an hours long nightmare, but you could have serious complications - a damaged and bleeding liver could mean you're hospitalized for days or even weeks. You do not want that. That scared the crap out of me and although I had one moment of weakness during my pre-op, I did my very best to stick to the diet because I knew it had nothing to do with weight loss - it was to prevent me from having very bad complications. I was doing the surgery to improve my life, not damage vital organs. As far as the smoking... I was a very happy smoker for the last 20 years. I started as a teenager, and I was pretty mad about having to stop for this surgery. But same thing again - I am doing surgery to improve my health and my entire rest of my life. Smoking is bad. There is nothing whatsoever good about smoking. I know I am addicted, and quitting is one of the hardest things I've ever done. I had never been able to quit for any length of time before, but making the decision to have sleeve surgery meant I cared enough about my body and my future that continuing to be a smoker was just the most assinine, stupid thing I could do. And so I quit. And I had one slip up about 2 weeks out, but I got right back into quitting and I didn't slip again, and it's now been over 260 days since I had my last cigarette. I won't lie; I still want a damned cigarette almost every day, but I know it's bad for me and that's not who I am anymore. I won't let them control my life any more. Cigarettes are just as bad as being addicted to drugs or being an alcoholic - you are allowing an addiction to ruin your health and jeapordize your future. If you care enough about yourself to have this surgery, then show that you care enough also to get off the smoking and put ALL of this awful stuff in your past. Most surgeons will test you for nicotine and even the metabolized form so you might just be kicked out of the pre-op the day of if you haven't quit with enough time to get it out of your system completely. At least a month out should do it, and that includes using gum or Patches, but if you only have 7 days left, then quit right now. Even if they don't test you, you're risking a poorer outcome. VSG is major surgery, don't fool yourself that you can just keep sneaking one here or there and it won't hurt anything. You are hurting your body every time you smoke, and you are risking poor circulation, poor healing, poor lung capacity and issues with breathing during surgery and even clots for months after. Why? So you can feed a deadly addiction? If you continue to smoke, you're saying to yourself that you aren't worth having the best possible outcome and faster healing and better health. You're better than that, so start thinking that way, and fight hard for your health. There is still time, and you are so worth it. You CAN do this!! (I used patches and gum for a week, then cold turkey. I also used a quit smoking app on my phone - Butt Out - that was a lifesaver as it has a community that was really supportive)

Hi everyone, I only just found this website tonight and am sooo happy that I did. I am booked in for the Lapband Procedure in Rockhampton Qld for the September school holidays. I'm so glad to have found a place where I can ask questions that I probably won't of even thought about asking the Dr. I will have to be travelling about 3 hrs for my appointments due to the remoteness of where I live so I'm sure to be online to check on what's "normal" and what's not. I do have 2 Questions already that were concerning me slightly at this early stage. 1. Alcohol - What is the go in relation to maybe a couple of glasses of wine a couple of times a week (apart from the obvious calorie side) 2. Soft drink eg Zero Coke. Does this mean absolutely NO softdrink type drinks even in the future. Thanks guys. Hope to hear from you soon. Cheers Kylie (dakotababe13)

I am with JeepGal. I do not want to seem unsupportive, but the fact that you are gaining that much weight is kind of an indicator that you are not doing what you need to do to make the band work. I know every practice is very different in the kind of support/guidance they give, and it really does not sound (from your post) like your practice is giving you the support you need. I don't want to lecture you with info you already have, but I just want to make sure you know the most important rules to eating with a band, because not knowing can easily lead to failure. PLEASE do not be offended by this. If you know all of it, just skip it. But I would hate to see someone failing because nobody bothered to educate them on how to use their tool! NO SWEETS. Ok, we all know its not likely to give up all sweets completely, but if you are indulging in ice cream, cake, Cookies etc more than every couple of weeks....you have a problem. Even worse, these are usually soft calories (see rule two!) AVOID SOFT CALORIES. liquid calories are pretty much evil. You need to avoid soda, alcohol, juice (should only be used sparingly), any drink that has sugar in it should really not be a part of your life. But even more so, anything that dissolves too easily is bad. Not necessarily to be completely avoided, but not good. My practice gives this recipe (offhand I think its just vinegar and water) that you can mimic the environment in your body. Things that dissolve too quickly will go past your band too quickly. Mashed potatos, cookies, Pasta - they all dissolve quickly. The way lapband is supposed to work is by keeping the food in your pouch longer. If you eat too much of these foods, you trick your band. Protein IS KING. You should be basing your meals around solid protein if at all possible. This of course is meat, chicken, fish etc. These things take the longest to dissolve and will keep you full longest. Water IS GREAT. Well, most of the time. Try not to drink right before and after eating (consensus hovers around a half hour before and an hour after) so as to not push food past your band too quickly. The rest of the time, get that water in as best as possible. I struggle with getting my water in, but I can absolutely assure you when my water intake is up, not only do I feel better, but I lose faster. I really hope things turn around for you. Maybe if you can get like 10lbs off your doc will see you are trying and give you the fill you need. Best of luck to you!!

I am three months out and have not had any carbonation.....doesn't bother me at all to not have it. I have had alcohol a few times....wine, cosmo, margarita. My tolerance is much lower but when I have to enter the calories into "myfitnesspal.com" it is not worth it.

@@JustWatchMe your right life does not cooperate. Even though I do all I can to stay away from stress it finds me. Today, I took some time to let the heart monitor wind down so I could remove it and take a nice hot shower and try to get those sticky rings from the probe pads off my skin. (yeah good luck...it's still sticky even after olive oil, alcohol and a scrub brush in the shower) As I was just about ready to leave and head into the office and drop the monitor off at the Dr. that is closer to work than home, I get a message from sister in law asking me what I did with my old mattress when I got a new one 4 years ago?! Did she think I put it in the attic to save it for some reason?! It was long gone when they came to deliver my new one. So I gather my father is complaining about them buying furnature for the apartment we are securing for him. OK I get it...but I said to my self this is not for me to worry about. Move on and do you...take care of yourself and get to work and take care of things you need to take care of. Yeah well of course I can't just leave it at that, I had to reach out to some people and ask them if they still had stuff in storage they might want to sell. Of course the last time I had heard about them having stuff in storage was December and life moves on...and they no longer have that stuff in storage but gave it away. Well low and behold, a few texts to a few people later and most of the people that took the items were not using them and only storing them so they were happy to give them to me for my father's apartment. In about half an hour I had the whole living room and bedroom ready to go. Really I don't know how the kids text so much my thumbs hurt. Now my brother needs to go and get the stuff....will that be an additional source of stress...? Oh boy I hope not!!! I can't do it for them, I could ask my boys to help but they work and only around on Sat. of course my brother has 2 parties to go to on Sat. REALLY? Grrrrr well I did my part....can I be off the hook? Cause physically right now I can't do more than drive the truck and broker the time and place for pick up. I really need a nap!

Ok...yes....I know...there are some negligible sugar alcohols.... But in the realm of 5g or less.......

LOL yeah there were times when I was like... OK Crap... start deep breathing to get some of the alcohol to process before you end up face down on the bar. It sneaks up quickly! It does seem like the "Drunk" doesn't stick around for as long though too, which I found interesting.

@@Alex Brecher - good post, the only thing I would add is when I am posting to someone's question, I try to differentiate between "facts" and "opinions." For instance there are some accepted best practices on alcohol. I feel obligated to say this is what we know, but IMHO, this is what I have experienced. I think when people make clear when they are sharing but not claiming absolute certainty, it makes it easier for everyone to keep their reactions in perspective. IMHO

I used to drink massive amounts of alcohol in college 30 yrs ago, so after my maturity hit I maybe had a beer or two every few weeks or wine with my dinner like maybe once every few months, if I went out with friends I nursed 1 mixed drink all night, so I am missing u occasional beer or wine, I'm just confused as to whether I can or can't have it, there are too many theories and not enough research to go either way, I don't drink anywhere near I used to in my youth, but I wanted to take my wife to a vineyard near where we live and enjoy some wine tasting and lunch, and on the 4th I was craving my favorite beer, the only constants I find in any information available had to do with the sugars, and alcohol absorption in the body, has anyone asked their DR. ????

Surgeon said alcohol was OK 48 hours post-op? Seriously?!!!!! That's crazy to me.

Alcohol definitely affects me more quickly than before but not to the point where I can't drink. I'm in college and enjoy drinking with my friends and do not see myself abstaining from drinking in the near future. My advice would be mix your own drinks and just don't put as much alcohol in them. A bunch of my friends have questioned why I all of sudden didn't/ couldn't drink beer anymore and that was an awkward one. Since carbonation is really bad for the band I've been experimenting with many different liquor options. As was mentioned above vodka with just about any crystal light is awesome! Almost no calories at all.

This subject does come up frequently, and it usually provokes some pretty strong opinions on all sides. I'll state the same things I have stated on this subject before: If you are really serious about losing weight, you need to consider giving up the booze. It is NOT conducive to good health OR weight loss, regardless of what some small studies say about the occasional glass of wine. Don't get me wrong; I always enjoyed a good blast of hootch, but NOTHING could make me feel as good as I do as a thin person. Sure, you could have a drink occasionally; you could also have a Snickers on occasion. Or a Hot Fudge Sundae. But WHY would you want to, after everything you have been through with your weight? It's the little decisions that we make on a moment to moment basis that impacts our health so dramatically. A shot of booze here, some cheez whiz there,....it all adds up. And you don't NEED a drink to be happy or have fun....if you DO,....well,,,,there are perhaps some other issues that you might want to address. There are certain things you need to eat to live....alchohol is one of those things you do NOT need. And it can hurt you in a number of ways. Also, consider the very real idea that after you have had one or two drinks, your will-power does tend to diminish, if not vanish entirely. This could lead to more drinks, and then the snacking that can often accompany a buzz. Sure, you can drink. Sure, you can have that piece of pizza, that slice of cake. But will that move you ANY closer to your goal? Nope. Will it keep you away from your goal? A little, tiny bit, yes. And will it continue to expose you to the foods that made you fat to begin with? Sure will. A couple of you have said your Drs have said that it is OK to have a drink.. Some have said their doctors advised against consuming alcohol. You will find Drs that say both. But….I would challenge you to ask any Dr if it would be better that you did NOT have a drink/Pizza/whatever. I can guarantee you that probably %100 would say that it would be better if you didn't. You always have a choice. And you should always strive to make the HEALTHY choice. S.

I would not recommend having any alcohol that early, it can cause to much stomach irritation while you're healing.

I v I've heard 6 months and I've heard one year but I'm not an alcoholic and I only have one or two drinks I'm one year out now I noticed the effects pretty fast but it's caused me no problems obviously just drink slow because we can hold much Sent from my LGL84VL using BariatricPal mobile app