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I was told to wait until 3 months post op before introducing alcohol.... some programs have you wait as long as 6 months. Follow your plan.

I'm 3 months out and steak still scares me. lol! I was told no alcohol until 6 months.

I can eat anything...just some foods go down better than others. This past weekend I had an actual sandwich. Cheeseburger with bun. I ate half, took my time and it went down fine. My first since being banded because I was too afraid to try, but no problems. It seems like all that worry I had about not being able to eat what I wanted was for nothing. But I'm glad it's the way it is. The only things I refrain from is products with carbonation and I limit alcohol because it tends to give me heartburn.

the alcohol will affect your liver directly- dont take any chances

I decided I didn't want to drink alcoholic beverages when I was 22yrs old.. (Wish I had given up sugar as easily) I told everyone since there was nothing I would do drunk, that I wouldn't do sober... Let's cut out the middle man and save the hangover! I was ALWAYS the life of the party! (And designated driver) ... So show your friends you still know how to have a good time.. Or forget em! Find new friends! ?

I used to drink Diet Coke/Coke Zero a lot - at least 16oz a day, but often twice or three times that amount. I had that habit for about 20 years. I gave it up cold turkey 3.5 years ago and I haven't missed it since (this was long before I ever decided to have bariatric surgery). Yes, I did have some cravings in the first couple weeks afterwards, but I was able to overcome them, unfortunately with other sweet things, like chocolate. I've heard from people that giving up soda also curbed their sweet cravings, but that wasn't the case for me. In fact, my sweet cravings went into overdrive. But eventually I was able to deal with that too. Based on what I've read, here are the reasons why any kind of carbonated drinks are not recommended, at least for the first six months (or ever): while it does not stretch your stomach, it probably feels like it does, and can be very uncomfortable for you you should be trying to keep the acidity of your stomach down, not increasing it empty calories - do not be fooled by the "sugar-free" label. Yes, you may not be consuming calories, but the rest of your body (your pancreas in particular) still thinks you are and will secrete more insulin to deal with the anticipated sugar rush. Of course, there is no sugar, but what happens over time is that you end up becoming more and more insulin-resistant and/or pre-diabetic/diabetic (if you aren't already). if your stomach is full from carbonation you won't have room for the food you really need soda, for many people, often accompanies other foods they shouldn't be eating, like pizza or burgers or fried food or chips or...You may have trained your body for years with those kinds of associations. It may be a slippery slope to start drinking soda again and not want a bite or nibble of something to accompany it. most people who admit to drinking soda weekly or somewhat regularly again have lost most of their weight and/or are in maintenance. That's a much different situation than being within 6 months of major abdominal surgery. In the end however, it's up to you. To the OP: I noticed that your profile says that you are pre-op. Like so many other habits (coffee, smoking, alcohol, etc) this is one addiction that you should probably get a hold of before surgery. The more you can deal with these things beforehand, the better.

Ah we are bringing God into this again are we? That is why I changed the bottom of my post...another thing for you to dredge up. You knew I couldn't stand you so why would you say "Are you coming back to Idaho, are we finally going to meet you"...I tried every way I could to get you to back off...telling you let it go....move on...just move on, but no you couldn't. You only got attacked on your thread for picking on 3 Loves and you know it...you think you can get away with anything and everything. Who will be your next victim...that poor girl that just signed on from Idaho looks like the latest victim. You are already wanting to meet her...God help her. Supporting alcoholism is being an enabler...ever heard that word. That is what you are taught at al-anon. You don't support alcoholics, you make them own up to their actions, and apparently you are having too much fun to admit there is a problem, even though I think your own dr. has pretty much written you off till you get help. Me-I feel sorry for you. Enough said.

Thanks everyone! Yeah I'm hoping I can get pass this complication and that it doesn't get work, but as for the alcohol i don't mind not drinking, but it seems like the friends I hung out with do mind, so I'm not invited to go certain places or to go out which I still enjoy doing, but just not drinking. Idk, it just sucks that they don't feel the need to hang out with me, when we could do other stuff too you know? Doesn't have to be going out.

Hi. I feel for your struggle. I'm only 4 weeks out and have mixed feelings. I tried advancing to soft food but kept getting sick. Put myself back on puréed for another week. We'll see.. so looking forward to chewing. About the alcohol. I quit drinking alcohol 6 years ago.. for a bit it bothered me but now I have found substitute liquids to order and I don't think my old friends ever notice. And I still have fun going out. You can order "virgin" versions of many drinks. I just tell any one who looks my that I don't like alcohol or prefer not to drink it.

I've tried a few of the sweets recipes from Bariatric Foodie. (Make a small portion ahead of time and have it for a few days.) I just made two of the protein cheesecake ramekins (eating one now) and it is so good! I also got in the kick for a while of buying sugar free angel food cake or SF shortcakes and adding some low-carb toppings (cool whip, nuts, SF chocolate chips, torani syrup, PB 2). There's always sugar free candy, if one piece will satisfy you. But that's where the real sugar alcohol problem comes in. I learned my lesson the hard way!

Keep in mind that she's at the age where you know nothing. TheWomanWithin, feel like reading a long personal story? I never did drugs/alcohol, but I too went through the stage where your daughter is. And I went through it H-A-R-D. And for a long time. I didn't ever use alcohol or other habit forming substances - but did everything else. I really resented my parents for a lot of different reasons, and did everything I could think of to make sure they got the message. I didn't see that that's what I was doing then, but I see it clearly now. My father and I hardly spoke, literally, between the ages of about 15 until I was about 18 or 19. We avoided each other because, with only a few exceptions, every time we spoke we'd end up fighting, which brought on more resentment, and only made things worse. This killed my mother who considered family one of the most important things, and her efforts to fix things only caused more problems. On top of what was happening in our immediate family, all the extended family felt is necessary to give their opinion to my parents, which only made things that much worse. They really disapproved with how my parents were raising me, constantly told my parents, "She's going to fail at life", criticized them for not making me have religion in my life (they're stout Catholics), criticized them for not giving me a curfew, criticized them for letting me hang out with "trouble makers"... but my parents remained steadfast in their belief that they had to let me be me, and although they had to stay involved, they also had to give me room to make mistakes, and learn... that I was smart, would only let it get so far, and in the end would end up a better person for all of my mistakes. They held onto this fundamental belief, even through 6 or 7 years of hell in our house. I might add that my aunts and uncles were very rigid with their children, borderline abusive, but at the same time uninterested and uninvolved. They ran tight households, but didn't know their kids. They weighed them down with rules, but never asked how their day was. One night I couldn't sleep, it was around 2am, so I came out to the living room to watch some TV. My dad was already there, he couldn't sleep either. We both sat there watching TV for about 2 hours and finally I looked over at him and asked, "Dad, why do you hate me so much? Why don't you want to talk to me? Have a failed that much at being a good daughter?" We stayed up all night talking. That night was one of only a tiny handful of times I've seen my father cry. That night literally changed everything, and from that moment forward we have been best friends. My parents know the details of my life, and I've come to depend on them for input on tough situations. They're my roots, and at the same time they're my wings. I think that's the key, and it's the approach I plan to use when I have children. Sorry for the long story, but I've been there. I didn't do the drugs, but I did other self-destructive things. I rebelled big time. I did dangerous things just because I knew it would piss my parents off if they ever found out. And I didn't care one bit. I was living so much in the "now" that I couldn't conceive of long-term consequences. All the while my parents were at their wit's end, but they did what came natural to them, and in the end it worked. Now my parents couldn't be prouder of me, and (much against my advice) they rub it in our family's face whenever they can, because my life & their childrens' lives are now total opposites -- my life is "together", and their's really aren't. Every time my parents think back to what everyone told them they were doing wrong, every time someone told them how they should be raising me "right"... every time they were told that they need to force a path on me rather than letting me find my own, they just want to throw everything I've accomplished into their faces. I'm over it, over all the disapproval they poured out behind my back, but when my parents see me, and they see how the others' children turns out still, to this day, gives my parents a great big swelling of prideful "SO THERE!" So believe in what you're doing as a parent. Do what you believe is best for your children. They probably won't see the good in it now, but someday they will. Once they grow up, mature, and start to see life for what it really is they will appreciate what you do for them more than they could ever let you know.

Goodbye Taco Tuesday.... Hello tighter tummy! (Hopefully!) hello all, my name is Cassandra... I'm 9 days from my gastric sleeve surgery and getting very excited! I have always been the girl with the "pretty face" and always have been big! I think the last time I remember not being the biggest girl in class or the biggest girl on my softball team was probably when I was 8-10 years old! People always referred to me as "curvy" or "thick" growing up but in my head I always knew they were just being nice! I played college softball and have always been very athletic... But as I get older I just have continued to get bigger. I have tried all the yo-yo diets and that's exactly what they were! After having my son 3.5 years ago, I never lost all my pregnancy weight (80 pounds) and just have always been ashamed and embarrassed! I have thought about WLS for years but have known 2 people who had gastric bypass, got thin, and became alcoholics..... I didn't want anything like that to happen to me, so I decided WLS was not for me. Not that I'm a huge drinker, but I do drink socially. However, my son was diagnosed with autism and is VERY energetic... I am a single mom and keeping up with him is hard. He is diagnosed as severely autistic & the reality of the situation is that he may always need care, even as an adult. This was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back for me, I needed to get healthy to make sure my son was never alone ! Of course there are plenty of other reasons, in fact I wrote out a list of 32 reasons tonight so if I have bad days after surgery I have something to remind me why I started this journey! The various forums have helped me immensely and all of you seem like such great inspirational people! I'm looking forward to the journey and to talking with you all about my experiences in the future! For now, I'm doing the countdown as if I were going to Disneyland (and could Fit on all the rides!)

Wait WHAT!?!?! You had five drinks and drove an hour later? :faint: Yeah i live like 10 minutes from where we were and was perfectly fine. I danced and pee'd it off. And we ate food afterwards so i was fine.The only way your body can get rid of alcohol is through your liver. Dancing and peeing will not help your body metabolise alcohol. Only time. You were a massive danger to yourself and other road users. I appreciate the consurn and i know how i felt and i know where your coming from. Thanks.

My friend that had the surgery last year around this time said what helps her to drink a bit more is eating some peanuts! Or little pieces of bread that will help absorb the alcohol more than your tummy! I'll try this when I'm ready to my first drink

There's no C02 in guiness... they use nitrogen to charge and express it. I've been curious if the lower carbonation will make it easier to drink? I know I didn't burp drinking it before I got banded.... but I haven't had any alcohol in a couple of months, so I don't know that I'm even that worried about it.

I tried everything in the Syntrax nectar sample pack from Syntrax. The only sample I liked as Capuccino. The rest were either grossly too sweet :tongue_smilie: or tasted like cheap drink syrup without the alcohol. :crying: I heard Fuzzy Navel was good so I bought some of that. Its their best flavor. I do like the Health Wise Lemonade and Health Wise pineapple Orange.

One suggestion -- you may want to have your physician order a hepatic function panel for you about once a year. This just ensures that your liver remains healthy. One terrible weekend, due to incredible stress, I overindulged in alcohol and had such a violent physical reaction that I ended up in Urgent Care and learned that my liver enzymes were elevated above normal. But within a week, when retested, they were normal again. So I am very, very careful about drinking alcohol now. My surgeon told us at our pre-bariatric seminar that he has had only one WLS patient die during his 20 years of practice, and this was from alcohol addiction leading to cirrhosis. Because of the WLS, the cirrhosis developed very quickly. So we have to be careful and, if we drink, ask our doctors to conduct blood labs to ensure our livers are processing the alcohol and remaining healthy.

I have a sweet tooth and that is one of the reasons why I gained weight over the years before my surgery. As time went on I became diabetic and that can lead to a whole slew of problems. Fortunately today there is a wide range of options that I can use to control my craving. I am 26 months post op from RNY surgery and I am stable weight-wise in a maintenance mode. I am at the bottom end of the scale. Sugar is a very complex issue, so let me describe the rules that I currently follow. My diabetes went into remission the day I left the hospital and has remains so over these past 26 months and I periodically check my blood sugar levels to validate the approach that I use. I strictly avoid processed sugar in its many forms. That includes most foods ending in (-ose). That includes sucrose (table sugar), fructose (honey), dextrose (glucose), corn syrup, corn solids, high fructose corn syrup, cane juice. I look at food labels on the products I buy. I first check the % sugar under the total carbs. If it lists more than 5 grams of sugar, then I look at the ingredients portion of the label. If one of these sugars is among the first 5 ingredients listed, I generally avoid the food. [The manufacturers are required to list the ingredients by the percentage within the product, so the first item listed is the highest percentage of the food in the product, and the second item listed is next in percentage. That is why I focus on the first five ingredients.] This approach is a holdover from the surgery. After my RNY surgery, the part of my stomach that processed sugars and fats was cut away. If I ate either sugar or fats in high levels, it would immediately cause a bad reaction by my body rejecting it. This is called dumping syndrome. After about the first year, my body evolved and my intestines now begin to perform the functions that my stomach once performed. Therefore, I can eat sugars and fats and absorb it. I use the following types of sugars: natural sugars (found in fruits and milk), artificial sweeteners (such as Splenda), very low calorie natural sweeteners (such as stevia, and sugar alcohols). These products offer me a wide range of options to control my sweet tooth. After my first year following surgery, my body can once again process fats and this in my opinion is the key. Fats have the ability to take away hunger and they in my opinion are the key in the maintenance stage. Generally, I will have a cup of coffee in the morning with a large scoop of whip cream. The whip cream is home made and contains no sugar. I use Splenda in its place. Throughout the day, eat a few Adkin's treats. These products are similar to candy bars but contain no processed sugar. They take away the craving because they contain fat and use sugar alcohol as a sweetener. I also consume natural sugars found in fruits in moderation and natural sugars found in milk. I consume whole milk and eat real butter. [This approach is not something you can do right after surgery, you need to wait until your intestines evolve.] As I say, I periodically validate my approach by monitoring my blood sugar levels. I have informed my nutritionist of my approach and they seem to be fully onboard. [sometimes between you and me I think they are a little bit in awe, because my weight levels are still falling 26 months after surgery.]

For those of u that r 6-15 months out, what is eating like? Will I ever be able to have pasta again? What about alcohol? I'm a week away and wondering what I got myself into.

There are a few controversial topics that get some strong (and not-so-strong) opinions/responses on this forum. Alcohol consumption is one of them. With that said, I am a maintainer and a regular drinker. Aside: I have mixed feelings about saying this even as I type this, as I don't want to inadvertently influence someone to drink if they are of the type who may spiral. I often drop hints about my drinking habits in more light-hearted threads (i.e., the food thread or the clothes thread), but in threads specifically asking about alcohol by those in the early stages, I have pause. But, we are all adults here and can make our own choices, so here goes: Prior to WLS, I didn't drink regularly, but if/when I did, I drank ALOT. Think sloppy drunk. It was always at parties or nights out, and never at home (if we hosted parties, I'd drink, but not get drunk cuz I mean, I had hosting responsibilities after all, LOL). During weight loss phase, I must have drank maybe 5-6 times the entire time. And it was very little, less than 1/4 of a single serving, if that. The first time I drank after surgery was 3 weeks post op. I had 2 sips of red wine at a party, and it was weird...I remember feeling the liquid in my stomach and the warmth of it travel through my intestines and I got surprisingly tipsy for so little that I drank. The second time I had a drink was 3-4 sips of a soju-sake concoction around 1-2 months post op and I had the most horrible dumping experience soon after. Like laying on the bathroom floor horrible. It was the sugar in it. The handful of times I drank after that (during weight loss phase) I stuck to gin/vodka sodas & dry red wine. I was definitely affected with just a few sips, and the effects wore off pretty quickly. Now, lets talk maintenance. Freed from having to stay under a self-imposed calorie limit, I drank more. I drank more often than I did pre-op, but less overall, even including my occasional pre-op benders. I no longer only got to sloppy level when I drank, but to just a good buzz. And again, only when I was out and about. I'd say I had maybe 1-3 drinks a week. I still got buzzed relatively quickly (less than one full drink), and the effects did not last long (less than an hour). There were maybe 4-5 times I got pretty trashed during this time (i'm guessing on like 5-6 drinks), all while on some vacation or other, and once at a wedding. Then came lockdown in March last year. I was about 1.5 years out when Covid reared its ugly head, and just under a year into maintenance. My drinking increased exponentially over a couple months. These days, I drink at least one drink a day (usually two, occasionally much more, on those nights we have an extended dinner seating time, or when it was patio season last summer). Now according to the literature I have read, based on volume alone, I am an alcoholic. Go figure. Am I concerned? Honestly nowadays, not really. I did contemplate it in the beginning, especially cuz Mr would keep bringing up how my drinking has increased (in a joking way mostly...but he should talk, he drinks every day too. Almost always has...his drinking also increased with Covid. Granted, he has more mass than I do and has the metabolism of a hummingbird). It's been almost a year of this daily drinking now, and while I believe I could benefit from cutting down, I don't see it as an issue at the moment in terms of any decrease in quality of life or my own safety or the safety of those around me (but I suppose this is what anyone who drinks would say). We'll see. Back in the summer we agreed that each person in the house can call a "dry day" at any point and everyone must abide to no drinking that day. Though to date, no one has called it. That probably speaks to the mentality we got going on here, lol. I did a couple "dry weeks" on my own accord months ago, just to prove to Mr. & myself I didn't have a problem...these weeks went by uneventfully, but I'm not sure if it really proved anything. Very long story short, while I'm not advocating nor discouraging drinking either way to anyone, as with anything else in life, the hope is that you can be self-aware enough to know what YOUR acceptable limits are and try to stay within them. Sorry this was so long. Good Luck ❤️ P.S. In case you were wondering, I have pretty much maintained my weight (115 lbs +/- 5lbs) this entire time. Last year I reached my acceptable upper limit (120 lbs for more than 3-4 days in a row) twice and then switched gears to get back to 115. First time took me 3-4 weeks, second time took me 3-4 months (granted, I didn't try very hard). Today I am actually 6 lbs under my "normal", BUT I'm in transition at the moment as I've had zero exercise for about a month due to injury and i'm trying to offset that with a reduction in calories...and yeah, I haven't found the right level yet...so this is temporary, as far as I'm concerned. BUT I'm still drinking, lol, am just having less dessert 😜 P.P.S. I also smoke. But that's a whole other topic...

*trigger warning if you are scared about gastric bypass this is not a good post to read also it is a long * (admin if I shouldn't have posted this please delete) I debated long and hard about whether or not to talk about my dad and how he died. I never want to scare anyone and tbh his death wasn't so much because of the gastric bypass he had but rather the prejudice and malpractice of his primary care Dr and the hospital he went to for emergency care. My dad came into my life when I was 28yrs old. I didn't know I needed a dad honestly. He started dating my mom and considered me part of the package. He protected her, he protected me...no strings attached totally unconditional regardless if I wanted him to or not he was going to be there for me. Turns out even at 28 I needed a dad. He was 6ft 5", almost 500lbs, tattoos, beard, and a biker. Dad never talked a lot, he preferred actions. If he agreed with something he'd say "No doubt". If he didn't well he'd just shake his head and turn away. He had had 4 heart attacks by the time he had his gastric bypass surgery in 2009, He went down to 190ish lbs. Everything was great. He did everything he was supposed to do. Crushed his meds, no alcohol, watched his food ..he followed all the rules. Fast forward to July 2021. Dad and mom had split a few years back but he was still my dad. Around July 30th, he started having abdominal pain and couldn't go to the bathroom. He did something he hated to do.. he went to the Dr. The Dr filling in for his Dr took one look him..biker with tattoos wearing a leather jacket and on Medicare and immediately ignored him. He told dad if it was so bad go to the emergency room. So dad did. Hospital er looked at dad...biker with tattoos, wearing a leather jacket and on Medicare and assumed..drug seeker! Told him there was nothing wrong with him. They did no test and sent him home. About 2am on July 31, Dad was in horrible pain and call EMS, they weren't part of the hospital he had gone to earlier, in the ambulance they did an ultrasound on the way to their hospital. One of the paramedics picked up his cell phone and called the first number on it...my mom. They told her to meet them at the hospital, it was bad real bad. She and his biological daughter got to the hospital about the same time. Dr told them there was 3 options...1 take him into surgery immediately ..he would most likely died on the operating table 2. try to get him strong enough to have surgery he would most likely never wake up or 3 give him morphine and let him die. They chose option 3 and less than 30mins later he was gone. So what did a simple ultrasound find? Dad's large intestine had twisted so badly that while he ate, food couldn't get past the twist. Imagine making a balloon animal and twisting the balloon then keep blowing up one side.. the inevitable happened. The food side popped filling his body cavity with food and stomach acid. He didn't have to die. Had the Dr listened, they could have found it and done surgery to fix it. The hospital and the Dr, naturally, claimed no responsibility it was obviously the 12yr old gastric bypass that killed him. I wish I could say they were sued til they cried but dad's biological daughter refused. Me, I wanted their heads on a silver platter but I don't look good behind iron bars. My mom isn't very happy that I am having bariatric surgery less than a year after my dad died. She is trying to be supportive but she is scared. I often wonder what advise would he have given me. I got my insurance approval letter in the mail today and said to myself "so this is really going to happen". I swear I heard "No doubt" Sorry this was so long.

Alcohol isn't going to be good for shrinking your liver, so don't do that! Never heard of a milk diet though, I'd imagine a lot of poo'ing is involved!

Hello aloudwhisper, A Paleo diet cosists of meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, butter/ghee, olive oil, and coconut oil. You are not supposed to eat grains, legumes, dairy, processed food, alcohol, and starches (including potatoes other than sweet potatoes). Sugar-substitutes, honey, agave nectar and the like are a gray area. I personally think they are bad for us and keep us eating dessert-like foods which is a psychological habit we need to break. I am trying to break the dessert habit now, but I find that instead of icecream, I'll go for nut butter, dates, or oranges. Grrr...it is a hard habit to break. Some people who eat Paleo limit their carbs from fruit and sweet potato, and other watch fats and limit nuts/coconut products. Others don't worry about carbs or fats. -Hilary

I actually have noticed that alcohol seems to tighten me. When I finally realized it, me and DH decided the alcohol must be irritating my stomach, thus making it inflamed and harder to eat. But I've tried having a martini before dinner, and a glass of wine before dinner, and both times, it was damn near impossible to eat after that.. and it hurt pretty bad.. that burning alcohol feeling, but it gets stuck in the stoma..ow.

The main concern is that they don't want to band alcoholics. However, I know an alcoholic who is banded. She has lost 100 lbs and is doing fine. I drink wine a couple times a week and am still losing at least 1 lb a week. I am sure you will be fine if you drink the way you say you want to.