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I agree with others here. I think it's way to early. I only recently, 4+ months out, had a sip of red wine for a toast. I don't know if it was psychological but it felt like it burned a little. I stay away from alcohol for now and will probably wait till 6 months or so. My surgeon recommended three to four months that's why I had that "sip."

Back from my trip late last night....happy to say the band has come through and performed splendidly.... Yes there was food around all day long.... You could not avoid Breakfast, lunch and dinner, as it was part of the agenda were all expected to eat together and the speakers and presentations continued as you ate....plus in the evening were the big sponsored parties..... All I can say is, the band is the band is the band.....regardless of where I'm at, or what I'm doing....no change....did not gain or loose a pound.... I do feel that what I did eat was not all that healthy, at least not the type of foods I would normally eat on a daily basis, not to mention the constant flow of alcohol available....just need to purge my body of all these toxins and impurities

I ate like a bird. Unfortunately my downfall is alcohol!

This is the third time I've gotten sick while being banded...pnemonia/flu. When I live in extremely cold climates this happens to me. New England now Utah....all this snow! Anyways, get your fluids in if you think you are getting sick. I can't even drink because my band seems to get really tight. I'm on maintenance yet I am spewing my fluids again. Hydration is so important with the band. Drink your Water and if you don't like water...anything is better than nothing. Stay away from alcohol as it causes dehydration in the cells. Anyone else have this happen to them? Sick and spewing? Any idea on how I can get some fluids in...w/o going to the ER for an IV?

ive read where sometimes the band can loosen somewhat later in the day. Also, having a hot drink before hand, or having some alcohol helps to ease it as well.

Sorry you have all these struggles, and that your family is being so monumentally insensitive and mean. The fact is, while they can be as supportive as possible, they will never truly know exactly what you're going through, exactly how hard you have worked to get here, and how much you are having to endure right now. The only solace I can offer is to tell you that it WILL get better. It will only get easier from here on out, physically. Emotionally... well, that's what we are all here for. No one understands the pain and struggles of an alcoholic the way another alcoholic does, and the same is true for us. Right now, everything sucks and hurts and feels really difficult. But where you are now is a place you've worked so, so hard to get, and no one can take that away from you. People who have not experienced obesity and wls have NO idea just how hard the struggle is, just how much you've had to sacrifice in the name of your health and well-being. Soon, you'll be feeling as well as you did before surgery, and then you'll be feeling better than that, and then better than that... We're here for you. Take care of yourself, take your pain meds when you need them, rest when you need to, stop walking and sit down when you are too tired or in too much pain to continue. This is not a race and pushing yourself because of the pressure your family is putting on you will only hurt you. Everything will be so, so much better soon. Take care.

I'm with Babbs. You don't seem like an alcoholic to me at all. You are a person who loves the taste of wine. I am a person who loves the taste of beer. I, too, had misgivings about giving up my tasty beer. So, I waited until after my Cancun vacation and had a goodbye beer celebration. Now, I'm on day three of my pre-op diet and I'm ok with not having a drop of beer for the next eight weeks. Afterwards, of course, will be only able to handle a little bit. But mostly I've made up my mind to give it up along with all of the other tastes (food) that I need to give up to lose weight and get healthy. All in all, my advice is to wait until you're ready to say goodbye to wine. If that means waiting until afterNew Year's Eve, then so be it. You do what is right for you. It's your choice.

From what you're saying, I personally think you're going through the normal grieving process like we all do with food, except you're doing it with alcohol. I don't think you sound like an alcoholic at all. Keep in mind, just like when we advise people about having "food funerals", you will be able to enjoy your wine in moderation down the road again, so don't think you won't. Get to your goal weight and implement your enjoyment of wine as part of your maintenance plan. In moderation, of course. If you feel you want to get it out of your system, by all means postpone the surgery until you feel you're ready to make the life changes needed for this surgery to be successful.

Popcorn is a real slider food. I can eat a huge bag of it at the movies. I do eat nuts too. I am not a drinker but I have had some alcohol and I get drunk now on one drink. You need to ask your doctor when you're cleared for nuts and popcorn though. I eat nuts daily because I believe healthy fat is good for us. Dr. OZ says we all should eat 10 almonds a day!

You should call your doctor and ask about a New Years Eve drink, but in general, you are right.. no beer, no champagne, no fizzy drinks. My doctor says one 6oz glass of wine or one 2oz mixed drink is allowable on occasion. But to keep in mind it's empty calories and will slow our weight loss. Another bariatric professional I know says alcohol consumption can affect your weight loss for up to 3 days afterwards. Also alcohol lowers our inhibitions and can allow us to make poorer choices, both in food and other matters. Again, since you are so recently banded, call your doc's office. They shouldn't mind at all answering a quick question like this.

I totally agree with all of the above....don't sweat it. I cheated a little to (in fact I drank alcohol both Saturdays before the surgery and was told none was allowed) we're not expected to be 100% perfect. You're doing great!!

I never considered anything but the sleeve. It took me years to creep up to an "entry level" wls weight (BMI high 30's). I had researched wls online for years and always got scared off by all the plumbing rerouting required. The more I looked at the sleeve, the more it looked like minor surgery. And clearly, after 6 months of healing I'd be physiologically normal again except my stomach would be the size of s skinny little girl. Then at the orientation, it became clear that the sleeve would be better for people who expected to go back to drinking alcohol (me) and NSAID'S. I had fairly serious arthritis and knew I'd need Advil once I started moving again. Finally, I was shocked at how minimal the surgery was. I recall being wheeled into the OR at 10:15 and waking up at 11:00! This was faster than my knee scope. Good luck!

My surgeon explained that any alcohol will pass through your pouch so quickly , like dumping due to the high sugar content! And thus causing you to become very drunk due to the rapid absorption.. It is a huge no no for his patients! Your only such a short time out... Major healing still occurring.. Can't imagine vomiting would be wise

My doctor prescribed Zofran and that really helped. I also used a nurses trick of sniffing an alcohol wipe. Thankfully, I never actually through up and the nausea passed by day 4. It WILL get better. Keep your chin up :-)

With lapband surgery it is recommended that you don't consume any alcohol. I know many people here do drink alcohol but you might want to check with your surgeon. There are a lot of calories in alcohol and it stimulates your appetite.

Another thing you can do with Quest Bars is pop them in the micro just a few seconds..it will soften them.. oh I am now loving the chocolate Chunk... they are better than candy or something unhealthy... I also found some Protein bars are funky tasting because they have sugar alcohol which really wrecks my system , but Quest does not have it... GNC has them on sale most of the time you get 4 for the price of 3... I have a gold card too which gives me discounts...They have a new white chocolate raspberry I haven't tried yet but I am sure I will get it soon...

I am going to answer my own question.....I found a medical study that was done and they drank 5oz of wine and on average it took 108 minutes for the alcohol to leave the blood stream, but it also said it really matters if you are drinking on an empty stomach and within the 1st year after surgery which both can mean it will take even longer to leave your blood stream. The 108 minute average was based on both male and female who were over a year postop. It can also greatly affect your blood sugars if you are not used to it or drink a lot. After reading the article I have decided that since I do not have a ride, I am not going to risk it and I will just order something without alcohol and enjoy the conversation instead

It's not recommended by who? Where did you hear that? This is what's in the Inamed's FAQ Q: What about alcohol? A: Alcohol has a high number of calories and breaks down Vitamins. An occasional glass of wine or other alcoholic beverage, though, is not considered harmful to weight loss². ²Dixon J., Dixon A., O’Brien P. Light to Moderate Alcohol Consumption: Obesity and the Metabolic Syndrome. Am J Bariatric Medicine 2002; 17(4): 11-14.

I don't thing there is anything wrong with alcohol, per se, but it does have a lot of calories. IMHO, a glass or two of wine a week? No problem. Don't know about the champagne. It's bubbly. Could be uncomfortable. I guess it is your call.

Unfortunately alcohol does not affect me differently....I can still out drink a football team. I was actually looking forward to being a cheap date. The only change is that now I get gastritis and have to take an antacid if I drink too much and I don't really feel like the little buzz I get is worth all the calories so I might have a drink maybe once or twice/month. I was a "cocktail every day after work and drink all weekend" person prior to VSG.

A little Different Approach If you believe that Alcoholism is a disease and not a weakness of character, then it should be treated the same as other illnesses. Here in Ontario if you have a seizure (epileptic or otherwise) you immediately lose your license. Then YOU have to prove that you have been seizure free for period of time. This is proven by test results and a doctors letter sent directly to the Ministry of Transportation. This would be easy to implement, and the costs associated with testing and proving that they have been alcohol free, rests with the drunk driver.

Hmmm. I'm not exactly sure where I am on the issue. When I was very young(6 or 7), my aunt, uncle and 2 year old cousin were killed by a drunk driver. I was shielded from the event and quite honestly don't remember much about it. I do know that it was a van of drunk teenagers who hit them and nomne of them had more than minor injuries. The driver served no time in jail. The flip side - my younger brother(28) is an alcoholic and he is certainly not trash. It wasn't known by anyone but him and his wife until he was 100% out of control. He spent 6 months in and out of hospitals and detox centers. Finally after what seemed like an eternity - he went to an inpatient rehab. He worked so incredibly hard while he was there and has continued to do so. During his drinking episodes, I know of at least a couple of times that he drove. I called the police both times and gave his vehicle description and plate number. I was more afraid that he would hurt or kill someone else than himself, sad but true. Anyway, he did receive a DUI. He was not pulled over because of an accident, swerving, or any other 'traffic violation'. Not that it makes it any better. He was pulled over because they were looking for him. My family left him in jail until the next day when he was released on his own. It was after this event that he committed to inpatient treatment, a wake up call if you will. After treatment he had his court date for his DUI. He had an attorney who thought he could get him off because of some technical glitches. My brother said no. He pleaded guilty. He asked the judge for a breathalizer to be installed in his car(when he got his license back), he had the cost of his attorney bill, the cost of probation, the cost of the breathalizer installation and monthly fees, one year probation, he lost his job. He no longer hangs out with the same crowd(not because they are bad but because they do some of the things that he finds to be triggers - playing pool, fishing, going to a bar etc). He lost the trust of his wife, family, friends and employer. I know that none of this makes up for the possible tragedy that 'could have been' because of his carelessness. At the same time, when I look at him now - there is no comparison. He has a great job, he has regained the trust he'd once lost, he is sober, responsible and hard working. He reaches out to those in need. He hosts AA meetings and works the program. He actually drives people to AA meetings who do not have a license. I can't imagine him still being punished now. He was very, very ill. Alcoholism is a disease just as cancer, diabetes and heart disease are. Having enough will power doesn't fix alcoholism. He should NOT have driven(remember it was ME who called the police) and I don't condone any of his behavior, but honestly - he was out of control in every sense of the word. Even on a sober day his mind didn't function normally. It took several weeks of sobriety before he was 'normal' again. I'm not making excuses, please don't misunderstand. It's just a whole new level of understanding about the illness. All of that said - I don't know the answer. My brother *could* fall of the wagon. He *could* drink and drive again. He *could* hurt or kill someone. I don't know that taking someone's license would stop them from driving(I am not speaking specifically of my brother), especially if they were still drinking. I don't know that taking a chance on it happening again is the greatest idea either. I guess I had a LOT to say with nothing to really add to the thread... sorry about that. For me, it's just such a gray issue.

My doctor recommend not drinking Becuse the alcohol is now digested in the small intestines which will absorb the alcohol much faster thus giving you a buzz faster then normal. That and the fact that alcohol is a bad habit that will lead to other bad habits that will lead to weight gain and then frailer at WLS. For me that scares the hell out of me I don't want to be FAT ever again. So if it means giving up beer,soda,candy,fatting foods I'm ok with that. I love the way I'm looking and haven't been this light in 40 years. Surgery Anniversary 7/30/12

I would recommend wine. I found moscato to produce no heartburn in me. For me, a glass of white wine seems to go down easier but it may not be the same for you. I am sure that you have been warned that you will likely feel the effects of the alcohol more quickly. I found that I can really feel it after 1 glass. I have only had wine a few times since surgery because of this. I avoid mixed drinks like the plague. Tried it a couple of times and even with the "top shelf" stuff had terrible heartburn and nausea. Have never tried beer since the surgery. With all the carbonation in beer, it just doesn't seem like a good idea.

I’ll be 62 in March so first looked into the over 60 group on this app but there wasn’t much going on there and the posts were pretty old. So if I behave myself can I stay in this group?! I’m almost 9 years post-op. I had my RNY on 10/24/2008. Hey I was 51 then! The day before my surgery I weighed 243.6 pounds. I lost 110 and kept it all off for a few years until I started eating the wrong foods, grazing and drinking alcohol. It wasn’t long before I had gained back 60 pounds. I’ve gotten 10 pounds off but would like to lose maybe another 40. I’m coming to this app looking for support from people who understand the struggles with regain. Have any of you regained some of the weight you’d lost? Are you having success losing again and if so how are you doing it?