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I have introduced alcohol back in a few months ago. I have 1.5 oz vodka in 32 ounces of Water and a squirt sugar free package. Very tasty and no issues. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Yep, I get that too. I have changed Protein drink brands a few times, some are too thick. I am wondering if the sugar free things i am choosing to ingest have too much sugar alcohols. I am gassy all the time. Someone told me I maybe introducing too many different types of new food items. My doc is ok with eating pretty much anything - minus the sugar, butter and high carbs foods, he recommends to eat the Proteins first then if i want or have room for vegi. I have had this dumping for 2 days now. I am thinking it is related to this New whey Protein shake its no sugar- high protein but goes right through me. Anyway ---- food is becoming no fun right now.... I still feel tired as well. I keep thinking its the combonation of time change-diet change-no caffine/sugar - and the surgery are you taking your B12 and Vitamins?

I would say, behaviorally, try practicing some small changes that will mirror your post-sleeve life. Maybe make a little schedule and try out one new thing each week between now until early February. You don't have to keep doing each thing, but try it out. Having a plan and an agenda of what you will do over the next few months may feel like you are being an active participant in your healthy future now rather than just waiting at the mercy of an army of bureaucrats at the insurance company. It could be something like this: Week of Dec. 9: walk 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes at night (it can be super slow and gentle walking, nothing that will hurt you). Week of Dec. 16: don't drink during meals or for 30 minutes after (let's be good to ourselves and skip Christmas week) Week of Dec. 30: sign up for a MyFitnessPal account and practice logging all foods Week of Jan. 6: get protein samples and test out making protein shakes Week of Jan. 13: no caffeine, alcohol, chewing gum, or straws etc. etc. Also, stop beating yourself up about deciding to have surgery! Taking advantage of medical breakthroughs is NOT a sign of weakness or a character flaw. It's not like I'm planning to tell the dentist to hold the anesthetic and just give me a shot of whiskey and have someone hold me down the next time I'm getting a filling, because that's the old-fashioned way of enduring dental care. The truth is that 95% of morbidly obese people will never lose a significant amount of weight and maintain that weight loss unless they have bariatric surgery. So, you are in the great 95%, as am I and pretty much everyone else here. I think the fact that we researched our options, made this decision, and will work incredibly hard both before and after surgery is a testament to all of our strength, diligence, and willingess to be bold. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. This will be work and you are going to need to learn and apply a lot of information in addition to the physical, nutritional, and emotional work of surgery preparation and successful weight loss. You are making a brave choice and if anything should be patting yourself on the back. Hang in there and keep posting here -- this can be a great place for affirmation and support (or even a kick in the pants if you end up needing one).

I remember eating a lot of those. Just make sure the sugar alcohols aren't giving you the runs.

I am under the impression that the reason for not having alcohol is because it causes the liver to swell and part of the banding procedure involves moving the liver out of the way. I guess the question I'm asking is how much liquor causes the liver to swell sufficiently to have a negative effect on the surgery or on recovery time.

The reason you are on the liquids is to shrink your liver. This is the hardest part of the procedure. In this stage everyone wants to cheat. Everyone feels as if they could eat a horse and everyone has a VERY hard time. The only advice that I can give to you is to tell you, don't cheat no matter how hard it may be because I have heard of doctors canceling the surgery because of that. What I can tell you is that you are almost there and things will get better for you. The first week after surgery you should be ok until the swelling goes down and then you will unfortunately be hungry again until your first fill. The benefits are awesome though. Just wait until the weight starts falling off of you. You will feel much better. You can now tell everyone that has ever said, "this is the easy way out." that they must be out of their minds because there is nothing easy about this process. Right now your body is going through starvation mode. You will feel tired, you will feel all kinds of things, but like I said it does get better. Hang in there. You can do it. I have faith in you, have faith in yourself. We will save you a seat on the losers bench. In the liquid phase you can pretty much have anything except alcohol. Drink your Protein shakes but you might want to get some unflavored Protein powder so that you can mix it in broth also. The more protein you have the more full you will be. unjury has an unflavored chicken soup flavored protein that is very good. (UNJURY is Medical Quality whey Protein Isolate. Best Tasting Whey Protein Powder. Most Trusted Whey Protein Powder Supplement. Taste the difference!). Please feel free to add me as an email buddy and I will try my best to encourage you to keep going. The best of luck to you. Keep looking for the light at the end of the tunnel, your almost there. :thumbup:

Are you eating anything with "sugar alcohol" aka xylitol, sorbitol, etc.? That stuff was like the express train to Diarrhea Town before getting sleeved. I bet with a tiny pouch for a stomach, it would mess you up.

??? Caffeine has long been used as an appetite suppressant. In the glory days of ephedrine that taken with caffeine would kill an appetite for hour and hours. I'm sure for some it doesn't make a difference, or could have the opposite effect, but those folks are in the minority. To the original post you'll find lots of conflicting reasons/arguments about caffeine. Some docs worry about the coffee being too acidic, others say it leads to dehydration due to a diuretic, and some just think caffeine is the devil (as with alcohol and anything else that's fun...lol). There is justifiable concern that people turn to empty calorie drinks and will either slow down their weight loss or start gaining if it gets out of control. We all hear about the calorie nightmares of some Starbuck drinks. I drink coffee on a daily basis and I don't have any issues with it. I started with decaf after surgery because that was doc's orders, so I followed them. When I was cleared I started having regular coffee again but mixed with decaf. For me I had to slowly increase the caffeinated portion because it would hit me hard and give me the jitters. That's just me, though. Lot of people could drink coffee after surgery without any issues. Personally I don't care for some of these NUTS that say "never" again. I think it's unrealistic and gives people the wrong idea. As with anything in life moderation is key. I just don't like the idea of making a list of all these forbidden items that we're never ever allowed to have again. It's one thing to follow instructions immediately after surgery to make sure you heal properly, but for the long term they need to be more realistic.

How soon can one have a drink or two after surgery? I'm know I'll ask my doc this and follow his instruxtions, but I was just wondering how long it was until you had let's say a margarita?

My nut said you cannot drink again after the sleeve. She said we will not be able to tolerate even one beer without getting extremely drunk. Anyone post sleeve had anything to drink?

Yes, it is posible to drink too much water, just like alcohol. There even is an illness called Diabetes Insipidous that is related to drinking too much water. Hope that helps.

Hi, I'm Deb from Minnesota. I am so happy to have found this site. I know several people who have had the gastric bypass surgery but its too scary for me. When I heard about the lap band I knew that sounded much more safer to me. I have so many questions! First of all, does it seem like the weight loss is slower than you expected it to be? Are you able to drink any alcohol at all? I enjoy a cocktail or two on Friday evenings, sort of my reward for making it through the week. But I could live without it if I had to. Maybe others of you have felt like this, maybe not, but I dont want to tell everyone or really anyone for that matter that I'm going to have the surgery. :kiss Is that weird or what? :nervous Looking forward to connecting with you all and getting support and giving what I can too.

It all began when I graduated high school, moved out with my sweet heart and married him two years later. food became some sort of a comfort for me, through all my ups and downs. they say that the first year of marriage is the hardest, well try two years. It was hell most of the time. Food became the only thing that I felt I could turn to. When I cried, ice cream was my friend. When I was mad and felt like giving up with this whole weight loss thing Mcdonalds was my choice of meal. I thought about food all the time. I celebrated with it, and lived for it. It controlled me. I remember walking through the mall and passing that cinnabon place and every time it got me. I would indulge on the biggest cinnamon bun they had. I tried diet after diet, one being the cabbage Soup diet which resulted in bad breath and a hate for cabbage. I only lost a few pounds. then of course Atkins, oh my. GROSS. I couldnt stand the sight of an egg for weeks afterwards. and I gained. It was 5 years into our marriage and finally I was pregnant! we were so very excited! It was a bit of a rough pregnancy due to my weight but I made it through. although sadly we lost our little boy after 4 months..... downward I spiraled into a depression so deep I wanted to die. I hated everyone, blamed God, and diddnt care about myself. Two weeks after we buried our baby boy I felt a familiar sick feeling and realized I had missed a few periods. To my surprise I was pregnant. Something I wasnt ready for at all as I had my mind set on no kids. I hated not being able to turn to alcohol like i desired to. now here I was pregnant again and I was scared to death. I cried my way through it, worried constantly and half expected to plan another funeral. on novemver 16 2010 we welcomed our little girl into the world. she was perfect! she was healthy and happy and over the months i gradually let my guard down. maybe it was ok to be happy... now i had a sudden new lease on life. i got back on the weight loss wagon and went on a year long diet exercise program. I lost 10 pounds. yes 10 pounds. thats when i went to the doctor. he checked me out and of course all the tests came back normal. my old coworker told me about how she got gastric sleeve surgery so i asked my doctor about it and he sent in a referral to the bariatric clinic in red deer alberta. i was so excted at this chance at weight loss! however they called me a few months later and i actually wasnt big enough for it. my bmi was 37 and you need a min of 41. so i wasnt accepted. so crushed, i went on with my destructive ways of diet then sabotage. a year later and 20 more pounds gained. I got a call out of the blue from the clinic again saying they got another referral for me and this time they accepted me!!!!!!!! i was on cloud 9!!!!!! my life was going to change! i went through 10 months of pre op program and on november 30 2012 i got sleeved. it went fine, my recovery was rough but i made it. ive lost 35 pounds post op, 8 pant sizes, 2 shirt sizes, 3 dress sizes and ive discovered my long lost collarbone. lol. im happy as can be and i have no regrets. ive realized its not about a number on a scale but how i feel. if i can be a healthy size for me whatever that number is, thats good. i want to look good in a bikini, be able to play more with my daughter and feel more attractive to my husband. thats what matters. i know i will make mistakes and i know i can get back up. i know that i can do it and if i keep trying my best and focus i will get there. im on my way to achieving my dream of being skinny and nothing can stop me! ive overcome my emotional need for food and now i eat to live. food no longer means allot to me at all. im FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Beware of sugar free candies - they can be loaded with sugar alcohols that can wreak havoc with your system. If there is any ingredient with "itol" at the end (malitol, sorbitol, xylitol, etc) - look out - that's a sugar alcohol. For an amusing view of what problems sugar alcohols can cause, read this http://www.amazon.com/Haribo-Gummy-Candy-Sugarless-5-Pound/product-reviews/B000EVQWKC

What are you doing in the gym for 2.5 hours? Maybe that's too long and it causes hunger or the feeling that you can eat those things? I gave up alcohol about a month before surgery. I had a protien shake for breakfast pre op (and now still post op). I would have a snack in the morning a few hours after breakfast and a snack in the afternoon a few hours after lunch. I also used, still do, My Fitness pal, that may stop you from eating poorly. Seeing the calories and fat in these things.

As much as I love vaping, and how much better I feel since the switch years ago... If one can just quit cold turkey and never go back, that is just awesome. The money spent is real too. Lol coffee, a caramel green apple vape and knitting gives me the "Je ne sais quoi" daily pleasure. Thank goodness I never cared for alcohol, it makes me nauseous. For that I'm thankful. Sent from my SM-N910V using the BariatricPal App Thank you for not being offended. Honestly, we have to do what works for each of us individually, I just wouldn't want anyone to go back to anything when the nicotine withdrawal is already passed. Mental craving is a whole other story... Sort of like head hunger! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I waited around 3months out for a glass of wine, and have just stuck to this alcohol. I have had three beers (in holidays in the Baltic Countries) and it took me ages to sip them down and didn't feel that great. I usually have one or two glasses of wine with friends during the weekend though.

Congratulations on loosing 50 lbs!! It's disheartening I know to regain, but it does happen. You can start losing again if you work at it. You will get different responses to this.. but what I've been taught is that the band is supposed to DIM your hunger. Making it a little easier to control your impulses. It's always possible to eat more and to make poor choices, the band doesn't take over for you. I was told to eat 3 oz of Protein (I actually ate 4oz at the beginning of my journey because I was SMO ~ super morbidly obese ~ and have gone to 3oz as I lost) and 1/2 cup of low carb veggies. Try not to eat white carbs.. white potatoes, white rice, Pasta, bread, white flour products, corn...As these items TEND to be high glycemic and will make you hungry sooner. After eating your protein and produce.. move away from the table. If I am still hungry 20 minutes after I finish my meal, my nurses say I can have more veggies. I'm usually not physically hungry. Oh.. I can eat.. head hunger is almost never quiet.. but actual physical hunger is usually abated by the small meal. Yes, I see that you are saying that you have no control over what you put in your mouth. I know it is difficult, but you do have control. As someone said on another support list today.. food addiction is very difficult. With alcoholism or drug addiction, you can put the addiction in a cage and never let it out. With food addiction you have to let it out of the cage at least 3x a day. If you can't eat solid food comfortably, you may be too tight. When you are too tight it's so much easier to eat soft foods .. and those tend to be higher calorie. You need to be able to eat solid, but tender protein and vegetables. And a tiny tiny bit of whole grain. I have also had all my fills done by the nurses. I have seen my doctor in passing, but never had him do a fill or even an exam room visit with him. I'm perfectly fine with this. I think I might end up seeing him next week on my regular appt as he has started seeing patients on Wednesdays and that's the day of my appt. If you feel the nurses are competent regarding fills, and other follow-up, great. If you are unhappy, then you could ask to have an appt with one of the surgeons, or maybe even look for another bariatric practice. I'm not sure I buy the "no will-power" thing, but I will grant that maybe you really don't have any where food is concerned. Would you be willing to try to learn some techniques to develop some willpower? Look into behavior modification books. A very good one is "The Beck Diet Solution" by Judith Beck. It's not a diet per se, but a guide on how to deal with disordered eating and sabotaging thoughts and actions. Try putting yourself on a feeding schedule, if you know you're going to be able to eat again in a few hours, it might be a bit easier for you. For example: I have Breakfast at 7am. steel cut oatmeal with walnuts & apples & 1 turkey sausage patty or link. If I get hungry before lunch, I let myself have a high protein snack around 10am. Lunch is anywhere from Noon to 1pm depending on my schedule. smoked salmon/reduced fat cream cheese, veggies. PM snack is about 3 hours after lunch. today was a small apple and a cheese stick. Supper is usually about 6:30pm chicken breast & veggies. If I really want something ..and I haven't exceeded my calories, I will have 100 cal. snack (or less) before bed. I try to keep it to a cup of tea, but sometimes I'll have a bit of almonds. I also make myself drink 32 oz of Water between breakfast and lunch. Another 16 oz before supper and the last 16 oz after supper. This doesn't include any flavored drinks or tea I might have. I'm not perfect (fell off the wagon and ate a half box of saltines yesterday.. dang it), but every time I fall off, I get up and try again. You might also try keeping track of your food intake on a website such as The Daily Plate on LIVESTRONG.COM - Calorie Counter, Weight Loss, Food Calorie Counter, Nutrition Facts | LIVESTRONG.COM. I know other folks here really like fitday.com. The website All Things Food and Diet - FatSecret also has it's fans. Just chose one that works for you and use it. I think it's very helpful to record what I'm taking in. I can also make a printout when I go in for my appts and the nurse and I can discuss where I'm doing well and where I need to make changes. I know you said you exercise, but it might be that your body has become accustomed to what you are doing, you may need to do some extra or some intervals. Do you belong to a gym? If you do, see if they have any trainers who will work with you for a short period of time. I know I used to think that hiring a trainer was an indulgence.. and it is to a degree, but they can be very helpful. And not all of them are expensive. Does the bariatric group you're involved with have support groups? Do you attend? If they don't have any, may I suggest joining this one online? SmartBandsters : Smart_Bandsters health.groups.yahoo.com/group/SmartBandsters/ I hope I haven't come across harsh and unfeeling. That's not my intention at all. I'm impressed at how far you've come and am so glad you're reaching out for help.

yeah, for the wine. ha ha. Been scared to drink any alcohol yet because of eating so little it will good straight to my head.

For reasons that I'm not sure anyone can fully explain, the way you're feeling pre-op and the way you'll feel post-op are dramatically different. For several weeks and up to a couple of months post-op, you are likely to have little or no appetite at all. I found it to be quite amazing and bizarre at the same time. Lol. Everything changes post-op. The first few weeks are challenging but it gets better, MUCH better, before you know it. food is an addiction not unlike drugs or alcohol in many ways. Your body and your mind are missing that "fix" and in response your emotions take you on a roller coaster ride. When you're feeling sad, discouraged, frustrated, angry or any other negative emotion - reach for a better feeling thought. Focus your thoughts on feeling a little better. It may not be a lot, but it will be enough. Because when you feel just a little better, other better feeling thoughts will come - seemingly from nowhere. With a little practice and before you know it, reaching for that better feeling thought becomes second nature and the results are quite amazing. So "I'm really hungry" becomes "I know I'm doing the right thing for myself, my family, and my health". Better. "I'm nervous about my upcoming surgery" becomes "I am so thankful that I have been given this opportunity to overcome this disease once and for all". Better. "Why is this so hard" becomes "I have read so many success stories - if they can do it, so can I". Better. You're gonna love the new you!!

My take is..... If you bend the rules on the pre op diet.... Then you are setting yourself up to fail after you are banded. It's just my humble opinion but if you are in the mindset of doing whatever it takes to be successful.... I would skip the wine for now. Have fun at the wedding.... It's possible even tho you will be alcohol free.

She's the ungrateful and self centered one. If she can't make a small change in her diet to see her daughter make a life change to better her health than she's not doin what a mother should do. I'm only 19 and I just got a sleeve 3 days ago. Me and my mother did it together but she's lives in PA and I'm in FL. It's not like ur asking anyone to do the diet with you. Anyways my post op diet I just drank protein shake for breakfast and lunch, I had yogurt and jello for in between if I was hungry of course sugar free. U can also get sugar Popsicles to if u want. But for dinner I had a small piece of meat NO breaking. I had no complication with my liver being to large I even drank a little bit of alcohol a few days prior. Just make sure it's no calories and u drink a lot of protein shakes. Diet soda will be ur best friend too in between the shakes because that's like the last time you will be able to handle carbonated drinks.

My kiddo sprained her ankle at college and found one of those wheeled book bags really helped. LL Bean makes a sturdy one. Maybe something like that would help in early days after surgery? When traveling, plan for medical complications. It's rare, particularly in someone young and healthy, but strictures happen...margin leaks happen...obstructions happen. Have a plan in place, find a bariatric doctor where you're going to at least have a phone number, and traveler's health insurance for emergencies. I would be extremely careful with alcohol and run the experiment at home first to know how you react.

I wish i could tell you but there is such a huge range of recovery times. Some people are up same day as surgery and dont look back. others are laid up for days and take several weeks to get back into more normal routine. You have your youth on your side and i would hope you will be in the up and going gang busters group. All you have to know about "How it all works" is you need to eat very small meals and consume alot of protein while drinking water all the time. Dehydration is your enemy. as to the alcohol - just remember that it will hit you much much harder than before. I recently read a study that showed a huge increase in blood alcohol level from the same amount of alcohol given to sleeved vs. non sleeved test subjects. So exercise caution and make sure your safe. good luck and enjoy your time abroad

Betsy, I just knew you had to be a nurse like myself! Just after having my psych eval. I realized that many nurses abuse food,drugs,alcohol,etc. We took care of everyone except ourselves. I thinkthat is why I have done so well with this journey. I stated taking care of me!