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I had my surgery sep 9, last weekend my friends wanted to go to New Orleans for the weekend, so we did. I had a Jell-O shot and a few sips of a friends daiquiri (I know, very unhealthy) I was pretty much hammered, but my stomach handled it well. They mainly tell u not to drink because your body will be looking for another addiction to grab onto. Also, alcohol can dehydrate your body so just be sure to drink lots of water. It was fun, but I doubt I'll be making it a habit.

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

I was sleeved Sept. 26th. I don't have chronic diarrhea. I did have Type 2 diabetes (for 4 years), sleep apnea and non-alcoholic fatty liver. My diabetes was gone in 2 days (my doctor estimated 3 - 4 days). The sleep apnea and fatty liver will take 3 - 4 months to go away. The diabetes being gone takes a big load off my shoulders!

My doc said no alcohol until 48hr after surgery! I'm 6 wk post op. Had the odd glass of vino with no prob whatsoever x

I pretty much avoided alcohol during weight loss phase but had some red wine at a celebration about 4 months out....burned! Now I am almost 3 years out. If I drink on an empty stomach it hits me hard. It's like the booze goes directly into the boodstream! I don't recall being so sensitive when banded. The sleeve creates metabolic change. If I eat first I can have 1-2drinks with no issue. Just be careful with it.

The only thing that limits you to only losing 60% of your excess weight is you. I've lost over 100% and am maintaining easily. I eat whatever I want whenever I'm hungry....protein first, then veggies, fruit and whole grains. But I also eat ice cream, desert, bread, alcohol, cake, etc.... just everything in moderation. I do not excercise and I've never tracked or counted or measured my food. I didn't have surgery just to be on a diet the rest of my life. I do make sure I drink at least 64oz of Fluid and I do take my Vitamins (but I've always taken vitamins, so this is no change) Other than making much healthier food choices, my life isn't a whole lot different than preop. Unless you count Having a normal BMI, shopping in regular stores for clothes, not being in pain everyday, spending a lot less money on groceries, and being able to hike, climb stairs, etc without getting out of breath, Perhaps I am an anomaly, but I just wanted to let you know that there is more than one way to be successful and postop life does not have to be all that complicated.

Beni. Trust me. We have been seeking medical advice for years now. (Medical aid is free of charge in Denmark J ) So we have been in and out of hospitals and as so has been aware of B12 defiance all the way through. In fact, in Denmark all gb-patients gets injected with vitamin D and B12 even before surgery and ever since, she has received B12 on a third month basis. Twice a year her blood has also been monitored for iron, zink, magnesium, vitamin B D E, calcium levels and some more. There has been some minor B12 defiance, but never anything alarming. Since a pregnancy in 2011, she occasionally has to get iron and vitamin D intravenously though. Still my girlfriends’ neurologic condition seems like an enigma to the doctors. I have read a LOT of Google stuff about it all. Lately I found a diagnosis – Wernickes encephalopathy – that fits quite well on (some of ) her symptoms, but what also occurs to me is that her condition might not be that rare at all..? Meaning: My girlfriend is not aware of her condition. She cannot remember that she was ever any different from today and does not remember her “absence attacks” either. She recognizes her spelling and memory issues but does not notice that her very personality has changed. She used to be a very “tidy” person –hence her house was always clean and things were always in place, she always kept her appointments and never spend more that budget. These days she is all but different, her house and her financial situation being a mess. (Even her mother says, that she doesn’t recognize her own daughter anymore) We are members of a local gby forum and what strikes me is that a few of our gby acquaintances are dealing with (some of) the same issues. Some has lost their capability of spelling or their handwriting has gone horrible, some tend to forget words, names or appointments, some can’t find their ways, some occasionally has a “numb” sensation or deals with cold/hot/wet/dry issues. Only they are not striken as bad as my girlfriend – or at least not yet, and this is my reason for writing to Bariatric Pal. See: In Denmark we didn’t perform gastric bypasses before 2006, so if neurologic complications doesn’t show before after say 6 years or more, we won’t have that many experiences yet. And I am well aware that this might be one out of a thousand that has to deal with these issues. In Denmark that would be only a few dozens of individuals, so there wouldn’t be any statistic relevance to state a case upon. But to save my own family I really need to know, if anybody out there has any experiences on this matter and especially if anybody knows a cure… - MsUjima: There is quite a few research articles about vitamin B and E defiance. Most related to alcohol abuse though, but the symptoms are alike those of my girlfriends (who hasn’t tasted alcohol for 20 years)

We've all heard of cross addiction, right? We trade overeating for alcoholism or a gambling addiction or drug addiction, etc. From reading these posts it looks like we should add "scalaholic" to that list. Not being able to control a behavior and letting that behavior control our emotions and mental well being definitely falls into the category of addiction.

Hello Daniel welcome to the forums it's a very supportive place here and lots info too the ppl are great I'm pre op still working on getting testing done been considering this for years finally decided to do it try not to let ppl discourage you from your decision as long as u feel comfortable that u have researched the procedure and u understand what u have to do to help it work for u and u feel comfortable with the surgeon u choose put others opinions out of your mind there is of course always a risk with surgery even minor ones however our odds of having long term life threatening illness due to excessive weight are better than good not to mention all the things we miss out on or can't participate in because of it the thing is it's so very limiting living that way I do think that ppl who don't have issues with food can't understand why we can't just not eat as much if it was that simple no one would be overweight I think it's the same as any other addiction like drugs or alcohol it alters your brain to some degree I believe like being drawn to drugs or alcohol your brain says yes even when u know u shouldn't my thought is keep moving forward one say at a time until u get where u are healthy happy and can enjoy life the way u want to good luck to u!

HW 238 SW 216 CW 143 TPL 95 TPG 88 Ok, so my 10 day carb fest paid off. Not only did I finally stop losing, I gained 4 pounds! I was travelling, visiting friends and family and attended a conference. 10 days of bread, ice cream, potatoes, desert, chips, cinnamon rolls, chocolate and LOTS of alcohol. I'm still under goal and well within my bounce range. But now it's back to the old 12 hour work days, protein eating, water drinking routine. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next couple weeks. And to tell you the truth, it was exhausting having that much fun

For DSers when we are trying to achieve goal weight it comes down to going back to basics, eliminating Carbs from your diet as much as possible especially simple carbs like sugars, breads, Cookies, anything white really... and increasing Protein and Fat. 100GMS of protein minimum and I've stopped counting Fat Grams and just add fat to everything. Also make sure you are still getting enough hydration, eliminate anything dehydrating such as diet sodas, coffee, and alcohol to name a few. Also make sure you are eating enough calories to allow your body to not be in starvation mode. myfitnesspal is a great APP to use, and you don't have to use it forever, but you have to be honest about portion sizes and tracking everything. If you are a big exerciser you may be building up muscle which weighs more than fat. That's all I've got!

Thankfully did not have to do liquid diet prior to surgery. My date is next Tuesday 10/14. This is my last day of food. Tomorrow I stRt the prep phase for two days. Had my last big meal last night... Went to outback for my son and my sisters birthdays. Half a piece of salmon and half a piece of steak with veggies. My cheat was an alcohol beverage. Then we went on a 15 minute walk after dinner ... My son is so good at keeping active. He will keep me on track after surgery for the first three days. Then he goes back home. So I am getting a bit nervous and/or anxious. Bought all kinds of jello and pudding and soups to start off. The only thing I still need to get is some unflavored protein drink. Such a journey.

I was sleeved on August 11th of this year. I had alcohol for the first time since July last night. I had an Angry Orchard Cider. It has a very small amount of alcohol, but I noticed that I got a little dizzy after drinking it. I thought dizziness was due to the fact that I was drinking it on a boat and the boat was rocking. I had another drink after I exited the boat, and I felt the same way. I don't think I'll be drinking again for a while.

I'm curious for those who went from the band to the sleeve - with the smaller stomach - have you noticed a difference when drinking alcohol? I'm not a big drinker - I can't stomach much alcohol as it is but I'm wondering if the sleeve changes the effect that alcohol has on the body.

@@superbariatricbabe I have been giving a lot of thought regarding how food plays such a major role in my life and how it is wrapped in my persona. Food and I are like two sides of a coin. I am thinking I will have to replace it with something else. Because many WLS replace it with other things equally as destructive such as alcohol I need to get in front of this. In my opinion it will have to be something that provides pleasure. I think I failed in all my diets in part because I was not replacing food with something else that I loved as much. Of course it may have been because I was just hungry all the time and that was torture. Any thoughts?

My Doctor said at minimum wait 3 months. I know some on here that say theirs told them to wait 6 months or a year. I think this is primarily because alcohol is completely empty calories and usually associated with sugar that you might still be sensitive to. Remember, your body will burn the drink before it burns fat and also, there is a HUGE risk for us as overweight people to develop alcoholism post weight loss surgery. I've actually witnessed someone go through that first hand as I worked for them in home and saw her take on 6-8 beers sometimes nightly. Counterproductive after her bypass because one, beer is carbonated and two, even though she looked like a twig, she was diagnosed with fatty liver disease and likely has cirrhosis. I don't know how that wasn't stretching her pouch. Anywho, if you are talking about just a drink, I would make sure that most of your sensitivities to foods are done and over with before you test your new tummy. Never drink and drive. and last but not least .... remember you are now likely going to be an incredibly cheap date. Just sip on one drink very slowly and the effects will be felt, as soon as you feel them, I would stop drinking. If anything could make you dump, it would be a drink not sitting well.

@@sharie24 ask your doc all docs will give you a different response various time periods one month, 2 months etc as you loose weight it will take less alcohol to get you "tipsy" doc told me to wait 20 years!!!! good luck kathy

How long after surgery should you wait to have an alcoholic beverage?

@@Bandista, be careful. I've been told Tylenol and alcohol are dangerous together. It's hard for me since I usually take Tylenol daily in the morning and if I have a drink in the evening I basically hope it's out of my system. We can't win. Nsaids harm your kidneys and acetaminophen harms your liver. Pick your poison. Interestingly this week I have less joint pain. Even in my hands and elbows. Weird since I had such horrific flares this summer. I know it's due to stress levels but I'm thinking it has to do with diet too. I've eaten way less processed food the last few weeks. Maybe it's had a positive effect on my inflammation. Hmm.

@@F_it thanks for chiming in on your experience with Cymbalta. We are all so different and such bags of chemicals. Like you, I am very sensitive to drugs of any kind so my trial with low-dose Cymbalta for arthritis relief didn't last very long. I felt like I needed to give it a go and I do think there was some perceived relief, but it didn't agree with me. The first night I took it I felt like I was tripping so I backed off to a lower dose to begin -- that should have been a signal right there. The thing is, at 53 with this much pain if there's anything out there that may possibly work then I want to make sure I've at least investigated. Unfortunately we have to be our own guinea pigs sometimes. So sorry for everything you went through with the Fibromyalgia and your experience on Cymbalta. We have got to do something about these auto-immune disorders, for crying out loud! I have had horrific experiences with steroids -- in fact the overnight weight gain I had from Prednisone (ha, that just auto-corrected to "prisoner") kicked off twenty years of overweight and all kinds of other complications in my body. The arthritis has been really flaring lately and I know that has to do with the change in weather. I have been walking outdoors most and now that the temps are under fifty (we've had the thirties here, eek!) I find that cold really exacerbates the joint pain later in the day. Last night I took a couple of Tylenol -- has never done much for me -- and a couple of tequila cocktails. That is something that helps, and I figure alcohol as a drug is better than a lot of what gets prescribed by various physicians even though they generally disapprove of that. But you got to do what you've got to do! I use ice packs, too. Seems so ironic that cold makes arthritis worse yet ice packs reduce inflammation -- makes no sense!

I haven't had WLS yet but I have lost 140# in the past and maintained it for several years..prior to ending up here. I passed the 6 month supervised weight requirement by my insurance. By the skin of my teeth....At one point I had to give up the fantasy that I was gOing to drop all this weight and shift my goal to maintenance. That meant I needed to increase my exercise and gain some control over what I was putting in my mouth. It was HARD. What I hear from you...is somehow you have to gain back your sense of freedom around this requirement if you don't have the cash go to MX. The perception can be shifted to this being something YOU want versus something THEY are making you do. I have a mental block when it comes to anything feeling like authority and I rebel every. single. time. Don't let it be coming from a male or a white person, then I'm one step away from a full-on tantrum!! Needless to say, I've done many stints of therapy and a stint in recovery support groups (alcoholic dad) to work out my issues. I've found Geneen Roth helpful over the years, too. There is a reason people binge and overeat and it's usually a good one and WLS won't fix the reasons for any of us.

It sounds like you're doing incredible. December 31st is 82 days away, so you'd have to average a 1/2 pound a day. That's pretty aggressive. I'd think more about why 40 pounds is so important to you. Sometimes we focus on that number on the scale so much we kind of forget why we're doing what we're doing -- not just losing weight but gaining health! Looking at your workout schedule I don't see that you have to add anything necessarily... maybe focus on really staying on task with the food choices (maybe drop the "little" alcohol?). Best wishes!

Hi All, I am a 39yo guy living in Sydney. I had a gastric sleeve operation 4 months ago and my life has changed dramatically. I have lost about 32kg (70lb) in that time, including pre-op liquid diet and now I no longer snore, have heaps more energy and look and feel better. It hasn't all been pleasant but I should have done it years ago. My issue is that for a personal goal, I really want to lose another 18kg (40lb) by New Years Eve. My weight loss is slowing now cause I have had my dramatic initial reduction then plateau. I swim 4 times a week, boxing class and boot camp each once a week. Am looking at possibly adding a Bodypump weights class. I eat clean and don't drink alcohol much at all. I keep protein levels high and hardly ever eat pasta, potatoes or rice. I walk a lot too. Do you think another 18kg/40lb by NYE is possible? Can it be done? Would appreciate any suggestions from people on how I might do this, particularly details about which activities may yield the best results... Cheers, D.

6 weeks post op i got a really bad flu/cold. The Nyquil that I took gave me the room spins. I thought that was pretty amusing. About 3 1/2 months post op I took a half shot of Jager to Celebrate my recent engagement and it was fine. But I would recommend having alcohol so soon after surgery. Give your body a chance to heal.

Whey Isolate Protein is the best quality protein you can get. It's not a matter of taste. Rather, It has more SOLUABLE protein in it & Your body absorbs and metabolizes this type far better than any other. I usually get it from Vitamin World or GNC. I make a concoction-smoothie. Milk based (more protein), I toss the recommended amount of chocolate powder in the blender with Wymanns Wild Blueberries (antioxidants) straight out of the freezer (buy them in the frozen section). To that, I add Colon Cleanser (psyllium husks) to keep things moving along, *Warning! Too much will bind you & be a whole other 'situation' to deal with before you can resume normalcy with your band. I add liquid Collegen to restore/maintain elasticity, L-Glutemen (sp?) for muscle-support, Crushed Flaxseed or flax seed oil for Omega 3's (heart & brain function), liquid L-Carnitine (metabolizes fat), and Milk Thistle (supports weight loss). I take my multi-Vitamins & some hyaluronic acid (keeps joints cushy and skin taught) with the shake. Muscle Milk is good in a pinch too. Muscle Milk has a good array of vitamins & nutrients in it. They sell it pre-mixed at convenience stores with the individual drinks or you can buy it in quantity at the big box stores. They have powder too. Muscle Milk has more alcohol sugars (sweeteners) in it than whey isolate protein but if you really need to gas up quick & grab a quick meal for the road- Muscle Milk works. I always use Protein shakes as a Meal Replacement. Not something you want to gulp all day or suck down with meals as your 'drink". I don't count calories, but these shakes ARE caloric! Protein Bars are good in a pinch too. I like Pure Protein best & buy in bulk at BJ's. Great to keep a couple bars in the purse for those times when you're ravinous and won't get home anytime soon- like when you have to pop & go to work w/ no time to fix a lunch or eat breakfast. The other kind I like are "Supreme"-something found in gas-convenience stores near the candy. They're bigger & feels SO naughty because they taste just like gooey candy bars. When I get the GOTTA HAVE candy/ chocolate, I hit up a small protein bar- guilt free. Best luck in your journey.