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I always eat a little bit before taking mine. I've never felt gassy. But you might check to see if it is sweetened with sugar alcohols or sucralose. Both of those sweeteners cause me cramps and gas bubbles.

What kind do you take are they soft chews? If so are there sugar alcohols in them or dairy? Maybe that's it?

I went to TJ and Sam's last week. At TJ's they had brownies with cherrys in it. I hate cherrys so that was easy to pass up. I will miss the wine samples but there is always mass for a touch of wine. At Sam's. I had the inside of a sushi sample. Then purchased some sushi. I take the inside out and put it in turkey slices and roll it up. They had meatball samples and I had 1/2 a meatball and no sauce. It is pretty easy to pass up a lot of things. I think about how long it takes on the elliptical to burn the calories off, so that makes passing things up easily. I live alone so there are no bad foods in my house, even the "cheat" type foods are clean. We are surrounded by temptation all the time, just watching TV for example. You have to find a tool that helps you cope. Like I said for me, I think about how long it takes me to burn that many calories. Trader Joe's has so many awesome healthy options though, you shouldn't feel a lot of temptation. When they get Cookies and other stuff (I think their cookies and baked goods suck), you can get the sugar free chocolate coated almonds. They have sugar alcohol, so should really limit how many you have or you are going to pay for it. I was eating them long before surgery, although I hadn't had any since surgery. The one thing I did with them, was as soon as I got home, I measured out the portions into snack baggies so I always had the right portion amount. Post-op, I would probably have 1/2 a portion or less. They have riced cauliflower frozen that you can use for making all kinds of low carb dishes. Almond meal, almond milk, cheap ghee. Good luck

I don't care if it IS the "easy way." As someone who also does the AA program due to a drinking problem, if there was an equivalent of VSG for alcoholism, I'd take that "easy way" in a matter of seconds, too. Probably even faster, because I would LOVE some kind of surgery or something that just magically made my alcohol cravings go away. The easier, the better. There are multiple solutions to obesity, and this is one of those solutions. The way I see it, if there's a different solution that's better for someone else, that's fine too. But this was the best solution for me. And I also wear glasses to drive and for distance viewing. I could also have surgery, or I could wear contacts, but the solution I went with was glasses. So I chose one of the medical solutions to help me see clearly, because I've found sight to be valuable.

I spent the past week in Florida (my first real vacation since my VSG just over a year ago). We had a blast!!-- 1 week at Vero Beach and a couple days at Disney (Magic Kingdom). I was surprised and excited to see how wonderful vacation is as an average sized person. I wore a bathing suit, played in the sand, kept up without getting out of breath, my feet didn't hurt, and it wasn't NEARLY as HOT as I remembered other vacations to be. LOL. I felt comfortable in my own skin & fit in all the rides -- I skipped my family's last trip to Disney bc I was embarrassed I wouldn't fit on some rides-- anyway-- It was AWESOME! So... About the food: For the most part, I eat very well at home. Very few packaged food (only dairy, nuts, Protein supplements, and peanut butter)) and the rest of my diet is fresh produce and meats. As for our trip, I decided to take a vacation from my way of eating while on vacation. I still focused on protein and ate small portions, but I went a little wild on my choices of Snacks at Magic Kingdom. My husband (who also follows a low carb/ high protein diet) says, "there's no rules on vacation!" LOL My confession: at Disney I ate a Mickey icecream bar, a fruit smoothie, 5 French fries, and shared an icecream sundae with my husband. GASP! I also had 3 alcoholic beverages during my week (of which I can only drink about 1/3 ). Confession continued: nothing tastes as good as I remembered. Nothing gave me the high it once did. I didn't crave it. I didn't love any of it. And afterwards, Those poor food choices made me feel tired & down... Just no energy. That trash did nothing good for my body. Junk makes you feel like junk. So I had a WONDERFUL vacation, but I'm happy to be back to my normal eating & drinking habits. Here's a few pic of my trip along with some food & beverage choices. And a pic of the safety bar on a ride that doesn't keep me very safe bc I'm so much smaller than my husband now. HAHAHA.

Good advice from everyone. I dont know how I've done it but I've managed to lose over Christmas, wow. What I did - kept up, no, INCREASED my exercise. Doug and I have walked 10km (6miles) per day - even at 10pm at night if we had to. Ate the celebration meal, in moderation, and enjoyed it, plum pudding and all - kept the wine to a minimum. No seconds. No dinner Christmas night, strict diet the rest of the time, fruit for Breakfast, kind of thing. We've just been out for Doug's 40th birthday lunch, so no dinner again tonight and a big big long walk. Its doable, you just have to be mindful of what goes in your mouth. Its really not what you sit down at the table to eat that does the damage, its the nibbling and mindless eating, the excessive alcohol, all the little "extras".

I don't think you are too young since your physician mentioned it as a suggestion and he/she is in a better position to assess your health benefits versus risks.. It is a huge, non-reversible decision though and you are deciding now at 19, how you will eat for the rest of your life. I love the sleeve and recommend it but it IS a major, major, major lifestyle change. You are unlikely to be able to drink alcohol much if at all after the surgery. Not really an issue for me but sure would have been when I was 19!! Do your research and this Board is a great way place to start but don't just read the comments on here as some of us tend to be a bit Polly-Ann-ish (me especially) and you need a balanced view. Pregnancy might be in your future and you will want to read about how to manage a healthy pregnancy with WLS. Folks definitely DO and there is a great thread about it on here but it is just one more thing to consider. Good luck with whatever you decide and please post any questions you have on here as you will find that everyone is very generous with their time and expertise.

I just had my surgery on 7/25. My brother is getting married in Colorado (in the mountains about 5 hours away from Denver and civilization) on 8/10. I'm supposed to fly up there on the 8th and I've got this horrible internal battle going on over whether or not I should go. My whole family says it's ok if I don't feel up to it, but I'd feel guilty and sad if I didn't go. At the same time, I'm still dealing with pain in my incisions, some pretty foul smelling gas, and I'm an emotional wreck. I don't want to get up there and ruin everything because I can't hardly do anything for myself and I get very irritable very easily. Just the thought of traveling and airports stresses me out right now, which sucks because I usually love flying and traveling. Not to mention the struggles of still being on a liquid/puréed diet at a wedding. No dinner, no cake, no alcohol. Sounds pretty miserable. I'm just so torn. It feels like a bad idea to go, like everything added together equals disaster. But, it is my brother's wedding. I don't want to miss it. I've made it to all my other brothers' weddings (five weddings total, including this brother's first wedding and my baby bro's who had it in Hawaii) and I would just feel sooo guilty if I didn't make it. Anybody have any advice? Sorry about the rambling of this post, it kinda reflects my brain right now.

Lost 40 pounds since my surgery... it is hard... I binge all the time... then not hungry then feel the crave then back to normal... I try different thing but it is hard to keep me away from sugar... I was a food lover... then I feel it is no flavor anymore... I feel guilty of eating because I fear to take back my weight. I feel the people will judge me if I gain weight.. I took alcohol twice while I was not supposed to... I wanted to Celebrate my b-day. .. it doesn't take show a lot... Sent from my SM-N915W8 using the BariatricPal App

EGD on Thu confirmed a partial slip. Verbal diagnosises before that was profound slip. Profound was based on the angle of the band viewable with xray, and partial on the actual prolapse that was visible internally. I'm still really swollen, but it's getting better. Thu & Fri night my reflux was back. Haven't had it since my unfill, but since swelling basically gives you a reverse fill, it makes sense that it would strike again. Aspirated it again, and dealth with chest pain for an hour afterward. Haven't done solid foods since Wed of last week, they're too uncomfortable. Frozen liquids (e.g. alcohol free margarita, slush from Sonic, etc.) go down OK after a few sips. That seems to control the swelling enough that I'm good for super mushies or other liquids for an hour or so, then I clench back down. I'd take some ibuprofen to help, but there's no way even the liquid would pass. Reflux is gone at least, so it is slowly calming down. It never occured to me that there would be that much irritation during an EGD. I just didn't even think about it. On the plus side, going through this stuff again is really helping me be over it.

I would go and order a non alcoholic drink and if he asks just say that you're not an alcohol drinker and move on with the date - it shouldn't be a big deal or you can make a different suggestion and let him know upfront that you're not a drinker- personally, I would probably just go to the place he chose and keep it moving Have Fun [emoji16]

Hi everyone my surgery is scheduled for sept 20th. I haven't started the pre op diet yet but i see my surgeon on sept 4th. Per my insurance empire bc/bs i have to be one pound less than the weight i was in march. In March i was 240 now im 243. Is it possible that the insurance or surgeon will deny me. Covid has been rough stopped alcohol and marijuana and have been low carb for the last 5 weeks.

frust8 - thank you for sharing as well. There are far too many of us out there. 1 in 4 girls/1 in 6 boys are sexually abused by the age of 18 - 90% by someone they know, 68% by a family member. Most just never tell. Many combat their abuse through addiction - dissociation - drugs/alcohol/illicit sex - they continue to abuse themselves for it makes the pain bearable. Dr. Judith Herman, in her book Trauma and Recovery, states: “Many abused children cling to the hope that growing up will bring escape and freedom. But the personality formed in the environment of coercive control is not well adapted to adult life. The survivor is left with fundamental problems in basic trust, autonomy, and initiative. She approaches the task of early adulthood――establishing independence and intimacy――burdened by major impairments in self-care, in cognition and in memory, in identity, and in the capacity to form stable relationships. She is still a prisoner of her childhood; attempting to create a new life, she reencounters the trauma.” And on the subject of why people often don't believe the victim - but rather side with the adult - “It is very tempting to take the side of the perpetrator. All the perpetrator asks is that the bystander do nothing. He appeals to the universal desire to see, hear, and speak no evil. The victim, on the contrary, asks the bystander to share the burden of pain. The victim demands action, engagement, and remembering.”

So sorry for that horrible experience! Yes, the Dr is correct, the band indeed is not meant for things to "come back up" especially from lower stomach. It's only happened once to me (recently) and it was very painful and a HORRIBLE experience, due to alcohol, so I've learned my lesson as well.

As a couple, the Edward's have agreed to seek a bid for the White House. Being in the medical profession and having read the proposed treatment plan, I don't think the cancer issue should be a factor. For now, it's a chronic illness that will lead to death in as little as six months but projected to be a few years. For THIS couple, a decision was made to not let her illness change the short and long range plans. My vote would not be effected by a candidate's cancer diagnosis. Betty Ford was an alcoholic and many other presidents have had very personal issues to deal with while in office. Some were public and some we'll never know about. If the presidency were a dictatorship as opposed to a democracy with bipartisan houses, I might feel differently. How do YOU feel about it?

That cracks me up because I'm in the SAME BOAT! I've been on this #$%$ pre-op diet for 12 days and I'm surprised I have any friends left! I also quit smoking about 6 weeks ago, just as I began the whole Lap-Band process. I feel as though I've given up everything that ever made me happy (nicotine, food and alcohol). I've been very grumpy the last week, or so, but, I can honestly say it has gotten a little better. Perhaps since I know the end is near (my surgery is tomorrow), and hopefully I'll have some relief from this constant hunger. I've apologized to all my close friends and family about 100 times. I keep telling them to bear with me, I'll snap out of it. Thankfully they've all stuck around (haha!). Just keep focused on your surgery date, it'll all be worth it, right? Now I'm so nervous about tomorrow, all I want to do is smoke. I'm just a crazy mess. Just know that you're not alone!

Reclaiming Your Power Over food = Reclaiming Your Authentic Power By Louisa Latela, MSW, LCSW Isn’t it amazing how a chocolate chip cookie can control our lives? I am not a weight loss surgery patient, but have certainly had my share of struggles with food and other maladaptive coping behaviors. Despite years of schooling in psychology and social work, I continue to astound myself at how many times I choose to act in ways that do not support my highest good. In the last article I wrote: “Food and Feelings: Making the Connection,” many contacted me after having read the article and wanted to know if I was a WLS patient. While I am not, I have come to learn through years of working on myself emotionally, physically, and spiritually, as well as working with my clients, that there is a common thread among all of us who have ever struggled to truly love ourselves. It is that we lose our authentic power when we give something outside of us the power to control how we feel. Authentic power as defined by Gary Zukav, (author of “The Seat of the Soul”) is when the personality is aligned with the soul. When one is living in line with his/her authentic power, they act in ways that support their highest good. They are respectful and loving to themselves as well as to others. They are aware that the only thing that they can control in this life is their actions and are able to consciously choose to live and behave in a way that truly honors who they are. They hear and act on their inner wisdom, their intuition, their higher power, in essence their truth, their soul. Time and again, I work with WLS patients who are 2-3 years post-op and still struggling with their obsessions with food. It is not that they do not know how or what to eat. It is that they feel powerless over the control it still has in their lives. Hours each day are spent agonizing over what they should/should not eat, being angry about what they did eat, being angry about what they want to eat but cannot eat, feeling guilty about the fact that they ate at all, and ultimately feeling like a failure because they are still having to deal with this issue. They are allowing the thought of food to stop them from being present in their lives and it continues to define how they feel about themselves. This is where authentic power is lost. The way to reclaim your power is to be willing to sit with the uncomfortable feelings of not giving in to the urge to eat when you are not physically hungry, or when you are wanting to eat in a way that is not in line with your meal plan. It is as simple as that, and it is as difficult as that. We begin to discover in a deeper way why these compulsive behaviors exist in the first place. It has often been said that we are always operating from a position of fear or love. When we are operating from a position of love, we are connected with our authentic power. We come from a place deep inside that is rooted in knowing that we are perfect in this moment, that it is safe to act in a manner that supports our highest good and that we know how to truly self nurture. When we are acting from a place of fear, we will look to things outside of us to stop whatever emotion we are experiencing. So I guess all this new age mumbo-jumbo sounds good in theory, but how do you put that into practice? The only way I have discovered to do this, is to take a risk, and keep my word to myself. To make a commitment to myself, as I would to someone I loved dearly, to be conscious of my thoughts and actions, and begin to choose to act in ways that support what I say, are my intentions for my life. While morbidly obese persons are often the victims of prejudice and have to deal with things that average weight persons do not, on some level we are all the same. I have never met anyone who does not have some sort of addiction to some degree. It may be an addiction to alcohol, drugs, work, exercise, obsessive thinking, worrying, relationships, shoes, sports, nail biting, cleaning, chaos, gossip, the internet or sex, but we have all created intricately deceiving ways to help us avoid our feelings. We have all kinds of reasons to defend our behaviors, and it all sounds good, but the truth is, the only person we are really deceiving is ourselves. I encourage you to take the risk to experience the feelings of not giving in to the compulsion to eat when you are not physically hungry. You can always go back to the old way of living, just experience it and see what it feels like. You might just like it, then again it might be scary, just notice. When I have a client sitting in front of me struggling to reclaim their lives from compulsive eating, I often get an image of them holding onto a ledge of a mountain, high up in the air. They are “white knuckling it” to hang on, then they take the risk and “let go”. I then have the vision of them falling through darkness, and I actually experience this in my body. I get a nervous sensation and a feeling like my stomach is dropping, and for a moment, I lose my breath. Then all of a sudden I experience a calm, the tension in my body leaves, I am able to breathe, there is light, and I experience a glimpse of what I believe paradise to be, something that is difficult to describe in words. To know this sensation of paradise, I now understand that it comes from the willingness to go through the darkness in order to experience the light. We are faced with decisions every moment of every day. We are always faced with the decisions of what to think, how to feel about what we think and what to do about that feeling. Because of the work that I do and because of my desire to grow emotionally and spiritually, I am very conscious of my thoughts and actions. As I stated earlier, I sometimes astound myself at how many times I do not choose to think or act in a way that supports my highest good. However, I have also noticed that by putting my attention to wanting to live in a way that is loving and respectful to myself and others, I make many more choices that are self-loving than I have in the past. I trust that the number of self-nurturing choices that I make for myself will continue to increase because I have come to realize that keeping my word to myself feels better than eating a cookie or engaging in negative thinking. Knowing all of this and believing it does not mean that it is always easy to “take the high road.” It takes a great deal of constant, conscious effort. However, the more times you are able to not give in to your strongest urges to overeat, the better the chances are that the next time you are faced with a similar choice you will choose the behavior that supports good health. Most importantly, be kind to yourself as you travel down the path of recovery from morbid obesity. Give yourself credit for having had the courage to have weight loss surgery in the first place. Next, although it is not easy, allow yourself to take a hard look at emotional issues that may have contributed to your obesity. It takes time, patience and self-compassion. Every time you are faced with the decision of what and when to eat and consciously make a choice, you are taking responsibility for creating your life experience. Each time you are faced with that choice and choose health, you are reclaiming your authentic power. If you have any questions or comments about this article I would love to hear from you. You can respond below, visit my website at www.louisalatela.com, email me at louisa@louisalatela.com or call me at 856.429.9799 Copyright 2005 DDB Media LLC www.wlslifestyles.com All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Can't answer about alcohol, but as for soda pop....sure. But ask your doc. Some will swear their doc said absolutely not, as in their stomach will blow up or something. However, mine said no such thing and I can enjoy my pop when I want...it's about choices.

I was told that someone died from drinking alcohol after wls. But I do have a drink every now and then and it does effect me a lot quicker than before. It also gives me a stomach ache after too. I find that after my wls, everything affects me different than it did before....Even pain medications too..........

Just a question to those drinking so soon after surgery - Are any of you worried about dehydration? I'm not that much of a drinker so I can't relate to the feeling of having to have a drink but it seems pretty risky since alcohol makes you urinate more than if you just drank water or another liquid. I'm not trying to be judgmental. Just curious is all.

My program askes for a 6 month wait. I followed that even though I LOVE wine and have a fairly large "collection". Two reasons, alcohol can irritate the healing stomach and they worry about transerring our addiction from food to alcohol. I am now part 6 months and have had a few glasses of wine. My tastes seem to have changed some... liking the 'meatier' reds now. Had a sip of brandy, but could tell that my stomach was not happy so I stopped!

I am going through a center of excellence at Vanderbilt in Nashville and my face to face psyc evaluation was an hour then I had to do the questionnaire that was well over 300 questions. At the end of the face to face she told me she would be referring me for the surgery and the questionnaire was basically to look for certain behavioral patterns. It mainly asked the same things many different ways to be sure that the patient is not a drug addict, alcoholic, or suicidial.

Thanks everyone. Your responses are greatly appreciated. I should probably say that I'm afraid of these questions because I'm afraid of being denied! I have heard of folks "failing" their psych evaluations for various reasons including the possibility of crossover addictions and alcoholism. I feel like this is my last best chance to get this done. My work insurance won't cover so I bought an exchange plan and want to get this all approved as quickly as possible.

Hi Betty, I was where you're at around Thanksgiving and began moderate alcohol consumption again. I was 216 then and now 193 - down 23 pounds or about 2 lbs a week. I am 3 lbs from goal. I also am finding that on days when I drink, I also end my stall and actually lose weight. At least that's been the case for 9 of the last 11 weeks! It wasn't an easy decision because it was ahead of schedule per my program, although their advice was inconsistent. Here are my own personal rules: 1. Don't drink everyday - even if you're only having one. This is good for your diet, your liver, and keeps you in full control and knowledgeable that you're on the safe side of any sort of addiction. 2. Log everything you drink and their associated calories. Stay within your calorie limits. 3. If you do this, you'll be limited to 1-3 pure drinks. I drink bourbon and Water, red wine, and vodka (all around 100 calories a drink). In the case of vodka, I started with a shot in a 12 ounce wine glass full of ice. I would let it sit for 10 minutes until it became vodka and water. I am now adding seltzer water up front. I know that it is carbonated, but the vodka seems to kill the bubbles. It looks completely flat. 4. Wine (red) is the only thing I drink when I'm out to dinner. It is easy to sip one glass over the course of a 1-2 hour dinner. 5. I am on an antacid and since ulcers are the primary risk of alcohol consumption, I take it a few hours before my cocktail. Also, recognizing that alcohol is a diuretic, I make a point to drink extra water before and after. I think the key is moderation and if you do drink, have a plan and stick to it. Like most simple carbs, it's a slippery slope, so be aware and be careful! Cheers...

Good luck to you on your weight loss journey my friend. Though others who haven't walked in the shoes of a person morbidly obese, may say that surgery is the "easy way out", I'm hear to tell you that there isn't anything easy about this procedure at all. So the first tip I will give you is this, prepare to work your ass off, cause thinking that this is the magical cure all for your weight-loss blues is going to sourly disappoint you. You have got to prepare your mind and will power for this life changing procedure. Because its just that, life changing. If you have an unhealthy relationship with food (i.e. using food as a cope mechanism, addict, emotional eater, etc) then I would highly suggest that you need to deal with those issues first before going under the knife. Get a very good support system in place to help you mentally deal with those things prior to the surgery. For me I had friends who had already had the surgery that I could lean on for advice, and I was seeing a therapist to deal with some of my emotional issues related to stress/food/and image issues. Because once you get cut on and have 80% of your stomach removed, you won't be able to use food as a comfort release or coping mechanism as you may have done in the past. I learned that lesson the absolute hard way and I spent a good bit of my first year post surgery fixing and dealing with those mistakes that I made, because I wasn't as mentally ready for the surgery as previously thought. And experiencing dumping once or twice and needing IV fluids to be able to see, and comprehend again will make you follow the damn meal plans. Carbonation beverages I would just avoid, especially the first year or so. Now you will have a lot of people here that say never do it and some say its alright, I leave that up to you for you are an adult and can make your own decisions on that. For me I do rarely consume carbonated beverages (maybe a soda or hard cider ever 2 to 4 months at most), but I mostly find comfort in drinking flavored water, tea, coffee, and juice. I use to be about a 1.5/2liter a day diet Pepsi drinker and now I may have a can every 6 to 8 weeks at most and usually when I am out. I haven't really had a beer in like almost two years but I have consumed hard alcohol like Tequila, Rum, Bourbon, and Whiskey. Alcohol is very different for me now in that I don't need no where near as much as I did pre-surgery to get a buzz. So because of that and the fact that I don't like the "buzzed/drunk" feeling I limit the amount of alcohol I consume too. If I am out socially I usually have one to two drinks at most and I sip them slowly throughout the evening to minimize the affects that the alcohol will have on me. As the farther out from surgery I have gone, my tolerance has slowly increased, but its nowhere near where it was at per-surgery. Again not a bad thing because alcohol, especially beer is empty calories, and gas which you will not need. Trust me on the gas part cause being bloated is an absolute pain in the gut literally. I say all of that in the regards that you don't need the stuff really. Those first 12 to 24 months you should honestly be focused on eating properly and getting into a good workout/exercise routine so that you can continue to post gains(weight loss) while your VGS is still in its magical weight-loss phase. Cause eventually you will hit the stall and the tool will at some point stop being so magical. Get into good habits and work your ass off literally and you will see the difference. Sex Yes it will change. If you had low stamina and energy, it will increase. I mean you will have a lot less weight and body mass to deal with, so there is that bonus too. Also men tend to store testosterone in their fat cells, so the more fat you burn off the more testosterone you will be releasing into your blood stream. This means more hair growth, stronger erections, huge sexual desires, and if you hit the gym a lot some more strength. Guys with erectile issues may see those issues go away when they lose the weight off. Also your confidence will start to grow the more the weight comes off. You will look and feel better in your clothes. If you have a lot of fat padding around your pelvic area that will shrink away, which can help in penis growth a bit. Less fat around the "Ram Rod of Justice" I say the better for both you, your ego, and his/her pleasure (for my bi/gay friends there don't wanna leave you all out). I say all of this because I too was in your shoes almost three years ago. Hell if they would have told me about the sexual benefits, as well as me buying normal size clothes in normal stores I would have done the surgery years ago. Instead all I heard about or feared was the complications from the surgery, and all the foods I could no longer eat. Yeah sometimes I do miss being able to eat anything I wanted to eat, but I wouldn't go back to it at all. Because now I enjoy so so much more out of life than what is on my plate.