Search the Community

I had to sign a waiver that I would not drink alcohol for a year if not longer. The way it was explained to me, it has nothing to do with hurting you stomach, but it has everything to do with how your body will handle alcohol. The smaller stomach has fewer enzymes to break down the alcohol and you have teh potential to become inebriated much more quickly. 21 is a special year, but like everyone else said, you should wait. It doesn't matter that there may be alcohol in your Loratab. When you are on Loratab, you are not allowed to drive or handle large equipment/machines because of impaired judgement.

Thanks for sharing your story, Bill! My bro-in-law had his entire stomach removed last year with part of his esophagus due to cancer. He's doing very well, after having chemo and radiation, etc. Just got his port out in fact. He is having trouble gaining weight. He wasn't overweight when he started. But he eats nearly everything he did before. If he eats sugar or drinks alcohol he does have the "dumping" syndrome that gastric bypass patients experience. Otherwise, his prognois is great.

I really appreciate all of your views. I agree that she needs to take some personal responsibility in the choice she makes, the saving money should help. My therapist has suggested a nutritionist who teaches classes; I will send her to those prior to our commitment. My daughter will not go to therapy and participate. I have tried several times but she refuses to discuss anything real; she just holds it all in. She said she wants the surgery but I think anything she can do to show me she is committed would be good. The reasons I gave were hers but I understand how uncomfortable that could be. </O:p My daughter is 5'9" and 260 pounds and she will be 17 in August, found a website that said her ideal body weight for her height is 143. My husband is 6'6" and 300 pounds. He should probably be about 220, I am 5'6" and 170, and I should probably be about 130. My husband has a sister that is obese and I had an aunt however neither my husband nor I have had significant problems with our weight or any surgeries, I have recently lost about 20 pounds and it seems the smaller I get the more unhappy she is. My daughter has tried dieting and working out but has never stuck with anything long enough to get any real results. I sent her to Camp Shane when she was 8 years old but I think it was one worst things I ever did since she was so young; they made here weigh herself in front of everyone which was humiliating and I thought it lowered her self esteem instead of empowering her. I think if she had been older it would have been much better. I and my daughter are both emotional eaters. I often compare it to alcoholism, my sister is an alcoholic and she went through treatment when she was 19 and has struggled with it on and off throughout her life. They have both shown the same symptoms. I remember when my daughter was in elementary school and she took a Little Debbie snack that they had against the wall in which everyone in line had to walk by to get their lunch. I went to the school and spoke with the lunch room manager and told her I did not allow those types of food in my home and I didn’t appreciate that they were trying to fill their coffers with money from the sale of crap food. I told her it would be like having an alcoholic walk through the liquor store to get their food. I think it is appalling the way our public schools undermine parent’s efforts this way. The problem with eating is that you can’t ever stop completely and isolate yourself like you can with alcohol. I know that surgery won’t solve her problems; I just hope to make life a little easier while she is dealing with them. </O:p Of course she just brought it up today and I thought I should confer with some people who have experience with this. I will probably have to take her out of the country to have the surgery done as I don’t think that my insurance will pay for it and the cost is so much less elsewhere.<O:p

Do not be fooled by "Sugar Free", there is still sugar alcohol in the products as well as sucralose. Attached is a link to help you with the different between fat free and sugar free products. http://www.momswhothink.com/diet-and-nutrition/sugar-free-or-fat-free-to-lose-weight.html Either way I have found taking in natural sugar and fats will help curb your cravings and assist you in staying full longer. Try Salmon for fats or organic raw butter. How about cooking with coconut oil. It's wonderful. As far as sugar I love pineapple. Sweet and satisfying. Hope the article helps.

OK I am 33 I just had the sleeve done on 4/18/17. This is probably really stupid but during the summer my family gets together and we do like a weekend getaway where we BBQ camp and just have a good time. It's great I look forward to it every year the kids get to play with all their cusions and everyone has a good time. This year I'm nervous.... just having the surgery knowing there is going to be all this food. Not to mention we usually have a couple drinks around the fire... I don't know how alcohol is going to affect me and if it will be to soon to even have a drink. And I know my family... they understand why I did this but they are always saying... "here try this." "You can't starve yourself". I know I'm not but man what do I do

Yes, I know all about transfer addiction. I know about watching the sugar content. I know that MOST docs suggest NOT drinking while in the losing phase (if ever). I know we shouldn't have carbonated drinks. I know we have to watch with how quick drinks hit us. I know we should try a drink at home before trying one outside of the home. Etc, etc, etc. I get it! But for those of us/you who HAVE had a drink or drink on occasion, what is your go to? Since surgery I have missed out on several parties, anniversaries (including my own), birthdays (including my own), holidays and even a wedding. I knew it was too soon to celebrate any of those things due to where I was in my food stage, mostly. The alcohol I could avoid if I have to. But now I am on regular foods and 7 weeks out and soon I will be having a family reunion with several family members I may not see again for years, if at all ever (as they live across the country). Anyway, I would like to have a drink or two with them during their visit. BEFORE surgery I would drink occasionally. Maybe once or twice a month on weekends, around a fire or dinner out. My drink of choice before surgery was the Bud Light Out Of Office seltzer drinks. But I DO NOT see them as a go to now cause of the carbonation. I'm trying to think of some OTHER drink choices ahead of time so that I can try it at home before this reunion. I DO NOT like Whisky, Gin or Tequila. I also DO NOT like drinking the alcohols I do like (i.e., Vodka) straight. So, having said that, IF YOU DRINK or HAVE HAD A DRINK SINCE SURGERY, what kind of drink did you have? I am DEFINITELY looking to avoid anything sugary. I made a HUGE mistake over the 4th weekend and has a small milkshake and thought I was gonna puke, die, something. LOL MY heart was racing and I got all clammy. Ugh! I'm assuming it was the high sugar content that got me/spiked my sugar. I have not had sugar like that in about 4 months. So yeah, NEVER AGAIN!! LOL I USED to drink (just to give you an idea of my tastes so that you may be able to better suggest something to me)........... Wine (the sweeter the better, sadly)/Sangrias Bloody Mary's Seltzer Drinks (some) Fruity Drinks (pina coladas and the like) Beer once in a while I recently had a SIP of a drink my husband bought to try. It was called BeatBox. It wasn't bad at all but seems kind of expensive. Especially if I won't be drinking often (but they do have singles you can buy). https://beatboxbeverages.com/collections/zero-sugar Either way I'd like some other suggestions too. Oh and, I'm that person who DOES NOT like to taste the alcohol in their drinks. LOL Which is probably why I can't drink anything straight or even just mixed with plain water. Anyway, if after all of that you still have suggestions, lol, please let me know! Thanks!

Easy?? S'cuse me? There is nothing Easy about the lap band, it's a tool to work with to help me lose weight and become healthy but it's not easy! Surgery of ANY kind is dangerous , there is the risk of dying, especially when one is obese and having surgery. There are also MANY post op complications that can occur incld the risk ones body may reject foreign objects in it.... I know that "skinny" people think fat people are lazy, over eat, ect., food is an addiction just like drugs, gambling, alcohol, smoking ect., just it SHOWS ...IF we brought fat on ourselves then SO did every druggie alcoholic, gambler, sex ect ect addict out there!! Plus one can NOT STOP eating, one can STOP all other addictions and Never have to have them ever again, but you can't stop eating food. For that reason I consider a Food Addiction worse than any other. Also some obese people have truly legit medical issues. I, for instance, have PCOS which makes it VERY HARD to lose weight..even WITH the lap band, I have to eat less, and work harder than the average person to lose weight because of it, & I may never be as thin as I want to be simply because my body fights me on it. There is NO cure for PCOS and it wreaks havoc on my body. I am NOT using PCOS as an excuse by any means I am simply stating it makes it That much harder to lose weight I quit smoking cold turkey over a year ago...never looked back..I will never smoke again, yet food...I can't not eat...Oh how I wish I could...one has to eat to survive, so one has to Re-learn what to eat, portion control....it's hard ...everything in our society promotes Over eating and Huge portions...Yet...it also promotes Thinness...an oxymoron if you ask me! I agree Mountaingirl, if there were a surgery for those things it would be hailed as genius! Fat is the last frontier that can be abused...Overweight ppl are discriminated against, abused, made fun of..looked down on...you name it and fat people have had to endure it!! Do NOT be ashamed about getting WLS! Stand tall & proud! It is NOT an easy way out! Be PROUD of who you are and what you have accomplished with WLS! it is a tool that you used to help become a healthy person! Never be ashamed of that! If someone puts you down for having WLS...tell them to kiss your newly skinny butt! HA! Holy crap I just saw how much you lost in 5 months! OMG you go girl!!! I think I will think I'm in heaven if I lose that much!!! I am the same height as you and only 5 lbs more than you! course I just started this 2 weeks ago...but a girl can dream! So...Yup I had WLS...Look at ME....I stand proud and tall and anyone who wants to put me down for it can kiss my butt!!!

Next weekend I have an annual girls weekend at the lake. Yes, this includes alcoholic beverages. Maybe a few. Before surgery the only thing I drank was beer. Has anyone had beer post surgery? I'm afraid of the carbonation. Any other beverage options? I'm not a wine drinker.

You will find it hard going on holiday so soon after your op! The good news is that the pain from the air they pump in you during the op should be all gone then (mine was hurting in the shoulders and it is not funny, so if you have not heard about it yet, be warned! but it normaully only lasts between 7 and 10 days) As for drinking, you will be on your post op fluid period. This means that you will be able to drink but be careful with those hidden calories in alcohol! Do you think you will find it hard to be on fluids and mushy only whilst on holiday? Might be an idea to get yourself prepared as I am not sure how helpful restaurants will be with your post op diet??!! Let us know how you get on.

I think that face book group is called gastric sleeve recipes. I am on a whole list of facebook groups. None of them are vets only groups though. I can add you if you want! I do not drink alcohol. If I do, I get really drunk on one drink. i don't like that feeling. I still don't drink with my meals. It makes me feel sick. I do usually take a tiny sip of Water when I am done eating.

Getting back on the throwing up subject I woke up from surgery throwing up...so awesome! Then didnt really throw up until like 9 months out when i had a stomach virus. Nowadays I wouldnt call it throwing up, like we would have pre-surgery, it is more sliming...just a whole lot of slime...yea it is pretty. And yes in almost every occasion, a carbonated drink as been involved, my drink of choice is champagne...and its not everytime I drink champagne, but as others have said it is best to drink or eat, never the 2. In my case, sometimes I am just dumb and enjoying being with people and forget BTW I am saving so much money on alcohol lol, i can do more than one, usually 3 before I feel it now. I get drunk quick and sober up even quicker, usually if I go out, have a few drinks, feel the drunk sensation, then by the time i get home I am sober again.

my dr said ok to an occasional drink. i dont like beer, wine, or hard alcohol except for strawberry margaritas.mmmmmmmmmmmmm....... any hoo, keep this story in mind, i only have 1 -2 margaritas a month (or less) but i found out the hard way that the type of tequila can make a huge difference, really good Jose Cuervo tequila=no problems, cheap tequila at a mexican resturant=major reaction !(i threw up every thing!) Before being banded i had no problems with the cheap kind. Good luck !

I’m 8 weeks out and totally had a hard seltzer the other night. Low carb, low calorie, 5% alcohol. Naughty but so yummy.

Hey all - it's a while since I posted (and I was a newbie anyway so I hadn't posted much). I told myself it was because my surgery was still so far away that it was better to step away from the board and obsessing too much... but in reality it's because I'm anxious because I haven't told my husband and I don't know how to start. The surgery is Feb 5th! We have a few friends who have had the surgery and he is very negative and judgemental, critical and mocking. My main reason for getting it is PCOS - which causes weight gain as well as some other nasty side effects. My hormone levels are getting further and further away from where they should be, and the medications I was on are no longer working and are having a negative impact on my health. Honestly, the weight loss will be a bonus for me - it's resetting my hormones and becoming healthy again that I am most looking forward to. My BMI is "low" for this surgery at 36 - but I know that it will just get worse and worse so I should deal with it now while I am still relatively young. And he knows this - he has seen my struggle with awful hormonal conditions for 17 years. But all he ever says is that I need to work out more and eat better. A few things come into play in our relationship: 1. He is 25 years older than me (which I didn't find out about until after we were engaged - he lied about his age). 2. He is an alcoholic (which I didn;t find out about until after we were married. He is a binge drinker and so was able to stay sober for the months we were engaged). 3. I have an Irish accent that people here in the US gravitate to, and he gets very jealous. 4. He is not overweight as such, but has a belly from drinking and being middle-aged that he has been trying to lose since I met him. He yo-yos a lot, and goes on extreme fasts and workouts to lose it, then gains it all back when he goes on a drinking binge. He always talks about this magical day in the future when he has lost his gut, and it never comes. It will irritate him beyond belief that this day will come for me. These things make him very insecure, and while he gives me a hard time about my weight sometimes - I think he is very comfortable with me being fat as it means I am not going to leave him or be attractive to other men. He will be jealous of me. He might try to stop me getting the surgery. I'm not being fanciful - back in 2013 I was due to have a breast reduction. My boobs were massive, always had been even when I was 112 lbs. He supported my decision, wanted me to get the surgery... then he wen on a drinking binge the week before and I caught him trying to get my insurance cancelled so I couldn't have the op. When that didn't work he tried to call the hospital and cancel it - of course they wouldn't let him. When he sobered up he was mortified and bent over backwards to be supportive when I had the op - but it happened, and I am wary. To that end I am not telling him until after this Friday, as that is the end date for open enrollment on our insurance plan. I have gotten more savvy as time goes on! Please don't be lecturing me or telling me to leave. I know what the situation is, I know what I can deal with, and I have a plan. The only place I would want to go if I left would be home to Ireland, and that can't happen until my daughter is 16 - so I have 4.5 years to squirrel away money and position myself. I have a comfortable lifestyle, and it suits me to stay. I gave up everything to move here and be with him, and I figure I'm owed and would rather be comfortable until I can leave. If we divorced some other woman would move in and get what I'm owed - there is a shortage of men around here, esp men with good jobs. And honestly (don't judge me) - he is a 67 year old chronic alcoholic. He could pass away in the next 4.5 years and me and the kids would be pretty set. He doesn't bother me, we live pretty independently, there is no animosity, I have my own bedroom, and I pretty much do my own thing (like going home to Ireland for 6 weeks every summer). I have gone to all my weigh ins and pre-op appts without him even being in the slightest bit aware - that's how separate our lives tend to be. How do I start this conversation? He is smart and educated, but very judgemental. He is a therapist (haha, I know) who has had clients who have had the surgery and not done well. But they were a lot heavier than me, smokers and substance abusers, with severe mental health problems. I have read a lot and plan to make a note of all the benefits. I have some articles to show him - but I know he won't read them (he has a very short attention span and I've never seen him read a whole article never mind a book). I plan to ask him why he doesn't want me to have it - I know that "you could die" will be the only real thing he'll have to say - but I have a medical report showing that the mortality rate for sleeve surgery is 0.08%. He can't really say "because I'm jealous" as that isn't a valid argument. If he says it is the easy way out or the lazy way out I can cite facts to show him how it isn't - but even if it was... so what? So what if it was the easy way out it gets my health back on track and me feeling better? I mean, when I was having kids it was all epidural vs. med free and breast milk vs. formula. We all made our own choices, but in hindsight it didn't matter as long as the outcome was the same: a healthy baby. I'm trying to anticipate other things he might say, or stuff I should have prepped in advance. Everyone else I have told has been very supportive - my mum, two daughters, close friends. I know 4 people in my immediate circle who have had it and have asked a lot of questions. I guess my fear is that he will try to stop it somehow - I don't expect any support, but I don't want to blindside him by telling him afterwards. I don't plan on telling him my Dr's name or the hospital I'll be at, just in case. I'm very averse to confrontation and hate having hard conversations. I'm not scared of him - he isn't physically or emotionally threatening in any way, but I am scared to bring it up. Can't put my finger on why exactly. Thanks for listening to my ramble - I guess I'm just anxious, and I really could do without it because I am a natural worrier as it is!

I am sorry to say that while this surgery has helped many, it has ruined 5 lives. My ex got this surgery without realizing that he probably had an underlying psychiatric issue which he medicated with food. After the surgery he never was relieved of pain. In fact, he almost died, even though the surgery was done in Princeton, New Jersey by an expert. He became septic because of a fistula. He lived through that. For 6 weeks after the surgery I had to stuff gauze inside the wound and change it twice a day. A nurse came to our house to change his IV. That was the summer of 2007. The entire month of July. The pain lasted more than 8 years. This pain and the lack of joy he Had previously derived from food, led him to a dark place which he medicated with alcohol while doctors prescribed antidepressants. His family thought he would be okay because he continued to make money hand over fist by surviving each office work day and spending the evenings and weekends soaked in alcohol, Drugged by medicine to mask his physical and mental anguish, and sleep. He lost interest in our children who were all under 8. He lost the ability to perform sexually. He eventually lost his job. We moved and in one weekend he took so many ambien that it is miraculous that he is alive. We eventually divorced because he felt “maybe [he] would feel less like committing suicide if we were divorced”. But it was not so. He continued to behave and feel the same way. It was, in fact, worse. When the police intervened and got him to a hospital, it was found that he had a vitamin deficiency which caused damage in multiple organs. He is now recovered. He is in his right mind and has a job. But from 2007 to 2018, that was the life we lived. My children were without a present, healthy father from the time my son was 2 until he was 12. My daughter barely speaks to him because she blames him for turning to alcohol. She spent her life to 16 that way. The middle daughter understands, but likely does not realize how it has affected her. She knows nothing else. She was 4 when this started. I hate gastric bypass. If people are fat, it’s because of a mentally unhealthy relationship with food. The exceptions to this statement are FAR LESS than the number of people getting this surgery. But doctors like money.

I am almost five months post op from having my Verticle Gastric Sleeve. I had my surgery at the INT hospital in Tijuana, Mexico. Right off the bat, I have to say, it is the best thing I have ever done for myself. I feel SO much better, having lost 90 pounds so far. And I know that I look better! My family has had mixed reactions. But I am thrilled! I have always been heavy, fat, fluffy, large, obese, what ever you want to call it. Once, when I was pregnant with our second child, I was so nauseated, I lost about 30 pounds at the beginning of the pregnancy. My doctor told me to eat more. I told him how nauseated I was, how I just couldn't eat. He said "You have to force yourself to eat!" And I thought "Just my luck! THE ONLY TIME IN MY LIFE I AM SUPPOSED TO FORCE MYSELF TO EAT, AND I AM NAUSEATED!!!" Never before or since has anyone ever told me to force myself to eat!! I had my surgery the middle of June this year, and have lost a total of 90 pounds so far. I now wear a size 12, and am coming up fast on a size 10. (I tried on a pair of size ten slacks this morning, and they fit, but are tight. Didn't buy them. Just wanted to see if I could get them on!) But what a thrill. I know that as a child, I went straight from children's sizes to a women's size 16! Never, ever wore a size smaller than a 16. And gradually since my marriage (40 years ago!) I have gained a few pounds each year, taking me to an all time high of 260 lbs. I am a travel nurse. My specialty is Labor and Delivery. I love to work with laboring women! Don't so much care for delivered women or babies, but I love the laboring women! I have been working as a travel nurse for about 5 years now. A travel nurse contracts out, through an agency, to work for a hospital for a set number of weeks, usually 13 weeks at a time. At first I only worked contracts around Iowa, my home state. Then about three years ago, I took a contract in California, and have been working off and on in California ever since. I have been at my current contract for over a year. At the end of each contract here, they have just kept offering me extensions. So I have stayed here. I love it here in Merced, CA, but my current contract is over in a few weeks, and I have decided to go home,. My husband is lonely living alone, and it is of the highest importance to me is to keep him happy! When I initially started working in California, I thought I would use my time here to get thinner. I had an image of everyone in California being tan and thin and good looking. (The Hollywood Image I guess.) But it didn't work that way. I was lonely, living all by myself with no family or close friends, and I cooked and baked, and ATE! (Did I mention that I LOVE to cook and bake? Wish I had discovered this talent 40 years ago, I would have been a chef instead of a nurse!) I gained almost 40 pounds living in California by myself. So about a year ago, I started considering having bariatric surgery. My first cousin IS a bariatric surgeon, and I even went for a consultation with him. However, our insurance wouldn't cover it at all, and even though he offered to do the surgery free of charge, I would still have to pay the hospital and anesthesia charges out of my pocket. So I opted for going to Mexico and having the surgery there. I have previously expressed on this board my mixed feelings about my surgery in Mexico, so won't repeat it here. But the end result has me thrilled to death! I love the results I have gotten, and am so happy with my outcome. I couldn't ask for better results. No complications other than a persistant fatigue that hounded me for the first 4-6 weeks post op. But now am over that, and loving the way my life is now. I get so many compliments on how I look, and how much I have lost. Everyone has been so nice about it. I can't say enough about how my friends have supported me. It is going to be interesting to go home in a few weeks and see how my friends there react to me. When I first told my four children I was going to have the surgery, they all expressed displeasure and negativity about it. My son's mother-in-law had a Roux-N-Y surgery (another bariatric surgery) about 8 years ago, and she lost a huge amount of weight. But has gained it all back. She drinks quit a bit, and I think her alcohol consumption has contributed to her weight regain significantly. A good friend of mine who also has always been heavy had a Roux-N-Y procedure 9 or 10 years ago, and she too has gained most of her weight back. I look at them, and it re-doubles my determination not to gain my weight back. I want so strongly to maintain the loss I have achieved and continue on till I get to goal. (Also, I have given away ALL my fat clothes, so I HAVE to stay this thin, or go naked which would NOT be a pretty sight!) I told my husband at the outset, when he expressed his concerns about my having surgery, I am not doing this to look better, I am doing this to FEEL better. And I can say without a doubt, I feel SO good now. My joint aches and pains are gone. My chronic fatigue is gone, I have Loads of energy. I have been able to quit my arthritis medicine, my cholesterol medicine, my allergy medicine (who knows about that one!), my blood sugar medicine (I was a Pre-diabetic) and my blood pressure medicine. So I KNOW that my health has improved! What more could I ask for? My only regret is that this procedure wasn't available 30+ years ago!!!

Ok...I'm freaking out. One of my best friends from childhood is getting married on 10/10...I have to drive out of town for the wedding. I'm freaking out about the food....I'm freaking out about all the liquor I know will be there. My friend and her family are all obese...so I don't know what to expect of the menu...so I was planning on bringing a pouch of tuna...my question...is that RUDE to not eat the meal they paid for me to eat? Also, do you think a glass of champagne is going to do me in? I haven't had a drop of alcohol since 8/9 (10 days prior to surgery)...I was never a huge drinker (just occasional)...but it's a wedding for crying out loud! LOL

When I first began my journey toward having a LapBand, I was told an odd fact: a fair percentage of bandsters often end up with other issues such as alcoholism. I thought that rather odd, and considered myself very well-adjusted. I couldn't imagine developing such a horrible problem back then. I can now. What's more, I now understand why. I'm a stress eater. When I get under stress, I run to the refrigerator, not a bottle. That is, I did until I was banded. While I can still swallow those naughty treats, I don't keep many around anymore. Even ice cream, which slides past my band like it wasn't even there isn't available as much anymore, long as I avoid temptation while in the grocery store. But where does that leave me when under stress? I don't smoke. I can't eat sweets and junk because I don't keep them around the house. Booze? Yes, it's here. I keep a small stock for cooking. Now I can see how some bandsters, deprived of their usual comforts when under stress, turn to booze. Oh, yeah. I have to admit, thanks to recent events here at home, I've had a few glasses of wine and actually considered going for the (yuk!) bourbon. I hate bourbon. But I was desperate for any tranquilizing feel-good effects. Okay, so clearly that's why my doctor has a shrink on staff. She may spot potential issues like OCD, or stress management issues long before they become irrepairable. I can see that now. Scary. Very scary. The trick has been to find new methods of calming down. Walking has worked. Working, like cleaning house, helped. Doing my crafts rather obsessively has helped. Finding a job that got me out of the house has helped. It's the little things.

When I first began my journey toward having a LapBand, I was told an odd fact: a fair percentage of bandsters often end up with other issues such as alcoholism. I thought that rather odd, and considered myself very well-adjusted. I couldn't imagine developing such a horrible problem back then. I can now. What's more, I now understand why. I'm a stress eater. When I get under stress, I run to the refrigerator, not a bottle. That is, I did until I was banded. While I can still swallow those naughty treats, I don't keep many around anymore. Even ice cream, which slides past my band like it wasn't even there isn't available as much anymore, long as I avoid temptation while in the grocery store. But where does that leave me when under stress? I don't smoke. I can't eat sweets and junk because I don't keep them around the house. Booze? Yes, it's here. I keep a small stock for cooking. Now I can see how some bandsters, deprived of their usual comforts when under stress, turn to booze. Oh, yeah. I have to admit, thanks to recent events here at home, I've had a few glasses of wine and actually considered going for the (yuk!) bourbon. I hate bourbon. But I was desperate for any tranquilizing feel-good effects. Okay, so clearly that's why my doctor has a shrink on staff. She may spot potential issues like OCD, or stress management issues long before they become irrepairable. I can see that now. Scary. Very scary. The trick has been to find new methods of calming down. Walking has worked. Working, like cleaning house, helped. Doing my crafts rather obsessively has helped. Finding a job that got me out of the house has helped. It's the little things.

Sorry to hear you've lost a friend, hope things calm down and you can be friends again one day (perhaps not dinner buddies any time soon). I've also had some unfortunate times out with friends poking fun at what i'm eating and saying they all want a lap band just to lose weight. Funny none of them want to come for a run or spin class though! Most disappointing was some comments from my fellow lap banders friends last week, who said i must be doing something wrong and not really caring given i had a tuna salad wrap, (which i agree was at the upper end of the size scale for a lapbander) for lunch vs their fried fish and fries covered in creamy sauce. Even at half the portion size, the calories were dripping from very mouthful they were eating which was repulsive, and i copped a lecture about eating too much. Funny i wasnt washing mine down with alcohol and needed something to fuel my body before going for a surf. I've just started to develop a tough skin and come to learn those who i expected more support have sadly let me down and some of the best support has come from those i never expected.

Don't you think there will be chicken or some form of Protein at the wedding? I have been to several weddings and fancy parties since I was sleeved three months ago, and there was always something good to choose. (Lots of bad stuff, too, but plenty of fine choices if I chose to make them). Personally, I would lay off the alcohol for a little while longer.

The entire process was relatively 20 1/2 weeks, but only 10 1/2 weeks from my first consultation: February 13- started required 3 month supervised weight loss program April 24-consultation May7- psych eval, met with Nutritionist, lab work, swallowing study May 22- finished month 3 of program and submitted all required documents to Surgeon's office *this was a Thursday and Monday was a Holiday May 27-insurance company requests something from Primary Care Physician stating I had not been treated for substance or alcohol abuse within the past year (one of the requirements) June 3-Doctor's office finally has letter prepared and I faxed it in June 4-Insurance Approval!! Today(June 10)- waiting for the hospital to contact me bc they have to confirm that you dont have an outstanding balance, and they require you to pay a deposit. I spoke with the Bariatric Coordinator at my surgeon's office, and as of today the next available date for surgery is July7(they only perform the procedures on Mondays and Tuesdays, and you have to have time to do the pre op diet.

Hmmm ... are you a success or failure ... I can't speak for you, but I know I am neither ... I am human. An imperfect one, at that. I am an alcoholic who has found others who have found a solution to their issues with alcohol abuse. It is a 12 step program you may have heard of. If not, Google 12 step alcohol. There are many meetings in cities around the world every hour of the day. I found shame in admitting it at first, but after some time, similar to being sleeved, I have found that I can be of service to those in need, trying to reach out to others. I would love to discuss this further with you, if you are so inclined, but I cannot do this for you. No one here can tell you why you abuse alcohol just like no one here can tell you why you were obese. But I, and many others in your own city, can tell you what my issues were and how I found a solution which may work for you, if you are willing. You may or may not be an alcoholic. Only you get to decide. I've known more than one person who could suck down a bottle of vodka, but wasn't an alcoholic. But I do know, for myself, I stepped over the line when I lost my power of choice in the matter. Feel free to PM me, though, I think you may have already before ... right? The only shame is not doing anything about it.

I am having a bad day! Feeling very frustrated and like a failure. I will be 4 weeks post op tomorrow. For the past week, I keep gaining and losing the same 2 pounds. GRRR Then I took it a step further and drank alcohol last night! I only ordered one shot and sipped on it for about 2 hours. I got a little buzz from it and feel like total crap today! I keep feeling like I am never going to lose weight. I have failed at every diet I have ever tried (obviously, that is what led me to the sleeve) and I am staring to think I will fail at this too! Ugh! I hate feeling this way! Definitely one of those days I would like to stay under the covers and cry myself back to sleep! For some reason, I feel like I can't get my emotions together! Anyone else have these problems/feelings???

I am 7 weeks out, and I just went to a group therapy session for post op patients, with my number one problem being the social divide I now feel from friends and family. EVERYTHING revolves around food, or alcohol for me. Just think that it will eventually get better, and you made this decision for YOU to be healthy and happy, and nothing can get in the way of that. Stay strong and happy because the same reasons you had this surgery in the first place are still there, you just need to look back and find the strength to bring them back to light. I am going to a festival this weekend, with LOTS of alcohol and food, but fuck it.. because I know I will still have fun. I realized I was part of the problem dividing myself from others- changing your way of thinking may help - and it never hurts to explain how your feeling to the fam. If they love you they will understand.. Good luck!