Search the Community

Dietary fiber is your friend. I take a bigger dose of iron, too....cause I don't eat a lot of meat and have heavy periods still (cross your fingers that perimenopause turns into total menopause for me soon...cause this whole menstruation thing is getting old) I find that when i'm getting 25g of dietary fiber every day and including fermented foods in my diet (pickles, yogurt, kombucha, tempeh)...my daily poo habit is normal. Also...this is weird, but it works. Eat a few sugar free Haribo gummy bears before you go to bed. Not too many...maybe 3-5 bears. They have maltitol (lycasin)...a sweet tasting sugar-alcohol that has the infamous side effect of giving unsuspecting people looking for a low calorie treat....massive diarrhea....when they eat the whole package. Just a few bears....will get things moving and make you super regular when needed. (least that how it affects me)

Awe, Hello, Sandra! So nice to see someone close to home on here! Thank you for the response and you are right, No more drinking after surgery. I have no problem with that at all. I had my last drink (2 glasses of wine) on Valentines day. I did tell them I drank, occasionally, which is the truth. Not sure why I said moderately. I guess, to me, a few glasses of wine every other week is a lot, but I won't miss it. I couldn't have had that much alcohol in there anyway, so hopefully it will not impact surgery, but if they feel they need to hold off I will understand. I hope your surgery was successful and you are recovering well. Do you mind if I ask what kind of insurance you have? I have State of Florida BCBS PPO and I am so nervous about when they file for approval. I have been trying to get this surgery for years, but just recently got insurance that will cover it.

I did mine at UF when you went in did you tell them you didn't drink? Also once you have the surgery you are going to have not drink period your body will be limited and you can't have what room you have taken up by something that will give you nothing in nutritional value. I can't say what they will or won't do but if they make you wait and do another blood my suggestion is to work on the no drinking period. If you continue to have alcohol show up they can refuse to do the surgery. Not because they don't understand but because they don't want you to fail and hurt yourself.

We are almost identical!!! Surgery 10/15 weight in 222 current weight 179.6. I swear I’m loosing inches more than weight! Eating around 700 calories. Feeling great. Only thing I can’t seem to keep down is my Multivitamin. So I’m back on the flint stones. My Hair loss is scaring me! I’ve been pretty active try to do full body workouts 3 times a week and cardio 2 times a week. I feel like my energy levels are really good good right now. Still wake up nauseous pretty much everyday. Started introducing alcohol I thought it would effect me more. Can drink about a beer and a half and it doesn’t do anything to me. The other day we went out to dinner came home and then decided to walk to a pub by the house and had a whole mojito that made me a little dizzy. Dropped from size 16 to a 12 YAY!!!!  Noticed I’m not drinking as much water need to make sure I stay on top of that.  Low sugar levels!!! It’s happed twice already where my sugar level dropped that does not feel nice, but I know why it was because I skipped breakfast.  So just need to make sure I eat even if it’s a protein bar.  

Hello! I am in Gainesville, Fl. trying to having surgery at UF Health Shands Hospital. I had my consult with the surgeon(Dr. Mann) Feb, 1st and have completed everything on my check list for insurance approval except my psyche consult which I have an appointment March 29th. When I went to preop for my required EGD they drew my blood for all the required labs. I was not expecting to have those labs drawn that day. I am not a heavy drinker, but I do drink moderately every other week or so. I have stopped drinking and was planning on getting those labs drawn a little close to the end of my check list to give my body time to eliminate the alcohol. So, of course I tested positive for alcohol and now the surgery coordinator is saying the bariatric team is reviewing those results, but not giving me any further information. Does anyone have any experience with this? Could I be denied all together for having the surgery or will they delay submitting for insurance approval? I am anxious because they just handed me a booklet with a list and said go do everything on this list then call us when it is all done, but they never said stop drinking that day or gave me any real direction. I work for the State of Florida and have BCBS PPO insurance. Does anyone else have this same insurance and how long did it take to get approval after they submitted your file? Any and all help would be appreciated!

Hello! I am in Gainesville, Fl. having surgery (hopefully) at UF Health Shands Hospital. I had my consult with the surgeon(Dr. Mann) Feb, 1st and have completed everything on my check list for insurance approval except my psyche consult which I have an appointment March 29th. When I went to preop for my required EGD they drew my blood for all the required labs. I was not expecting to have those labs drawn that day. I am not a heavy drinker, but I do drink moderately every other week or so. I have stopped drinking and was planning on getting those labs drawn a little close to the end of my check list to give my body time to eliminate the alcohol. So, of course I tested positive for alcohol and now the surgery coordinator is saying the bariatric team is reviewing those results, but not giving me any further information. Does anyone have any experience with this? Could I be denied all together for having the surgery or will they delay submitting for insurance approval? I am anxious because they just handed me a booklet with a list and said go do everything on this list then call us when it is all done, but they never said stop drinking that day or gave me any real direction. Any and all help would be appreciated!

All plans are different. My docs told us/my class, not to drink alcohol after surgery. I am not a drinker, so it doesn't affect me.

It has been quiet and I guess I've not posted much either. I was fortunate to have someone that was about my age and size that had the surgery and walked this journey 2 years in front of me. I've also been texting a with a guy from our group that again, about my size and had the December surgery. The process is so unique to each of us as individuals that sharing experiences is great, but the drive and passion absolutely come from within. I feel like i know when I am doing well way before my scale says so. I am losing the weight as planned, walking/ jogging on treadmill 5-6 times per week and eating fairly well. When I deviate from the food plan, I know it comes with risks of my stomach disliking it (milk/ red meat) and even having a 1-2 day weight gain because of those choices. I've dabbled with alcohol, albeit, maybe 1-2 glasses of red wine from time to time and have had no bad side affects. Yesterday when I stepped on the scale in the morning and saw 244.7 lbs. I was very happy and declared yesterday a cheat day. I didn't go wild, but I made a small dish of my favorite nachos and ate about 1/3 of a box of whoppers. Didn't feel guilty in the least, but I made sure to get up this morning and put my 20 minutes of walking/ jogging in with 10 minutes of resistance bands. I'm not perfect by any means, but I am dedicated to the process and make sure that with each speed bump (planned or unplanned) that I follow it up with some good decisions to even things out. Fearing that I turn one cheat day/ bad day into 2 or 3 is my drive to stay focused. That's my 60 days post surgery story, what's yours?

Thanks for sharing your story, and good for you for getting help. I've seen other WLS patients struggle with this as well, so you are not alone. I've never been a big drinker, and I haven't had any alcohol since my surgery. I don't plan on it anytime soon, but it's good to have a reminder to be careful.

Alcohol, shopping, gambling, drugs, promiscuous sex, even exercise.... Food addiction is tough and sneaky and loves to change forms. One of the reasons, IMO, getting mental health support lined up before surgery is so important. Thank you for sharing. Best wishes to you.

I share this story in hopes that it may help someone to never pick up a drink after weight loss surgery or to at least be hyper-vigilant about the dangers of drinking post weight loss surgery. I was sleeved in August of 2015 @ 310 pounds. I Quickly lost most of the weight needed (lost over 100 pounds) and began running 5k. Not really setting the world on fire, but it was really good for me. I got down to a respectable 190 pounds. Prior to surgery, I had always enjoyed drinking with friends. Typical guy stuff - couple beers @ a football game or watching the game on Sunday, meeting for drinks after work, etc. Never an issue or problem. Never anything that i had to have. My doctor warned me against alcohol, sodas, and transfer addictions, but I thought "NEVER ME !". Wow, was I ever wrong. I remember the first couple times I had a beer after the surgery (I waited 6 months), it was very fizzy and uncomfortable. I convinced myself that it would get easier, and unfortunately it did. Next came the rum and coke zero. Wow, that tastes great, and I get a buzz very quickly. That fast buzz turned into getting very drunk, very quickly. Our new bodies absorb the alcohol in 1/2 the time that a normal internal system would. Over the last couple yeaars there have been many episodes of drinking way to much, blacking out, and not remembering what happened. I have had to apologize for my behavior more than once after a night of drinking. I even started drinking every day. I would make a drink as soon as I got home each day. 1 turns into 2 or 3. Just like lays potato chips you can not have just 1. Alcohol consumed my every thought. When can I have a drink? How can I make sure I can get a drink? It amazed me how I was able to justify that if Creamer was good in my morning coffee, how great would Rumchatta be (it's damn good, by the way). I am living proof that transfer addiction is a real thing. I am now in counseling for my alcohol addiction. Transfer addiction is definitely a real thing. Prior to VSG surgery I was over 300 pounds because I had an addiction to food, and all the wrong kinds of food. My new addiction is alcohol and it's best friend is food addiction. what goes with beer = chicken wings, or nuts and pretzels, what goes with a margarita = tacos, etc. Alcohol also makes it impossible to lose weight. So if you are really dedicated to clean eating but you drink, your weight may stay the same, but it surely will not go down. I have packed on 60 lbs of the 120 that I lost. And, I am slowly changing behaviors to get back to where I want to be. Addiction is sacrificing everything for that one thing ! Recovery is sacrificing that 1 thing to have everything !

unfortunately, I've heard that story (or something like it) before - a few times, in fact. Alcoholism runs on one side of my family (my two maternal uncles both had it), so I've always been careful - and doubly, triply so after WLS because of the risk. sorry that happened to you.

I share this story in hopes that it may help someone to never pick up a drink after VSG or to at least be hyper-vigilant about the dangers of drinking post weight loss surgery. I was sleeved in August of 2015 @ 310 lbs. Quickly lost most of the weight needed and began running 5k. Not really setting the world on fire, but it was really good for me. Prior to surgery, I had always enjoyed drinking with friends. Typical guy stuff - couple beers @ a football game or watching the game on Sunday, meeting for drinks after work, etc. Never an issue or problem. Never anything that i had to have. My doctor warned me against alcohol, sodas, and transfer addictions, but I thought "never me". WOW, was I wrong. I remember the first couple times I had a beer after the surgery (I waited 6 months), it was very fizzy and uncomfortable. I convinced myself that it would get easier, and unfortunately it did. Next came the rum and coke zero. Wow, that tastes great, and I get a buzz very quickly. That fast buzz turned into getting very drunk, very quickly. Our new bodies absorb the alcohol in 1/2 the time that a normal internal system would. Over the last couple yeaars there have been many episodes of drinking way to much, blacking out, and not remembering what happened. I have had to apologize for my behavior more than once after a night of drinking. I even started drinking every day. I would make a drink as soon as I got home each day. 1 turns into 2 or 3. Just like lays potato chips you can not have just 1. Alcohol consumed my every thought. When can I have a drink? How can I make sure I can get a drink? It amazed me how I was able to justify that if creamer was good in my morning coffee, how great would Rumchatta be (it's damn good, by the way). I am living proof that transfer addiction is a real thing. I am now in counseling for my alcohol addiction. Transfer addiction is definitely a real thing. Prior to VSG surgery I was over 300 pounds because I had an addiction to food, and all the wrong kinds of food. My new addiction is alcohol and it's best friend is food addiction. what goes with beer = chicken wings, or nuts and pretzels, what goes with a margarita = tacos, etc. Alcohol also makes it impossible to lose weight. So if you are really dedicated to clean eating but you drink, your weight may stay the same, but it surely will not go down. I have packed on 60 lbs of the 120 that I lost. And, I am slowly changing behaviors to get back to where I want to be. It is a journey,, but I am worth it. I will overcome. Addiction is sacrificing everything for that one thing ! Recovery is sacrificing that 1 thing to have everything !

dumping syndrome usually involves symptoms such as heart palpitations, dizziness, chills, cramps, diarrhea, and/or nausea (and you won't necessarily have ALL of these symptoms). I've heard it can last quite awhile - sometimes a couple of hours. Sugar alcohols (artificial sweeteners whose names end in -itol) can also cause gastric distress in some people (such as cramping and diarrhea), but I would think that might take a little longer after ingestion

Addiction transfer is real, as so many people have stated on this board. It doesn't have to be smoking, alcohol, gambling etc. - we all know that this not "healthy behavior". Addiction can be way more sneaky. Being addicted to exercise and eating "healthy" is all too often encouraged and seen as a good thing because it aids "weight loss". No one intervenes when things get too excessive. Excessive exercise and eating little calories is seen as desirable. Something many obese people even aspire to achieve, being that person who "lives in the gym and eats 100% clean". And people in their environment only start "to worry" once the person has become thin enough to raise concern and/or suspicion. However, someone with a normal or slightly overweight BMI rarely raises these concerns so people suffer in silence. I think most people don't actively lie about this. Yes, maybe some people give the answers they deem to be "the right ones" - like all of us know what people in our environment want fat people to do, huh? So some people I guess actively lie/lied about calorie/food intake and exercise. It's the same the other way around. Once there is concern about a person getting too thin or not eating enough, the person might lie about food intake as well. However, I think someone who claims to "eat very little" actually is convinced that he or she is not eating that much. After all "a little" and "a lot" is 100% relative, it always boils down to whom you're comparing yourself to. Just look at the posts where people ask about what amount of food is "normal" X weeks or X months after surgery. Compared to the amounts people on this board claim they eat I look like a hopeless glutton. To my environment my food intake looks fairly normal.

For me it comes down to portion size, awareness of calorie & nutrient content, & a balanced diet. I guess it depends upon what you consider a variety of foods. I eat a variety of plant & animal proteins (more animal I admit), vegetables, fruit, a small amount of whole or multi grains. No breads, no pastas, or rice or alternatives. Avoid sugar, artificial sweeteners or sugar additives as much as I can (can be challenging cause it’s everywhere & yes I had cake & dessert over Christmas). No carbonated drinks (except for tonic/soda/sparkling water which I let flatten & drink slowly). I drink a glass of alcohol once a month or two. I don’t take any supplements. Since my surgery almost 2 years ago, I’ve had takeaway three times - braised chicken & vegetables twice & steamed gyoza once (ate the filling only). Do I miss it? Nope. I never was a big fast food eater so no loss there either. I cook most of my own food because I can control the ingredients & how it’s cooked & prepared. My decision came down to two things: what I used to do which contributed to my history of gaining weight & the things I realised I just didn’t need. Does it restrict my lifestyle? Nope. I go out to restaurants & socialise with friends & family without a problem. I freeze meals so if I need a quick convenient meal I just defrost something from my freezer. (God bless my microwave.) Honestly my inability to eat spicy food is my greatest problem - it seems they put chilli in every darn thing these days. But this is what’s working for me. You have to work out what works for you. If that means you can have some dessert or takeaway or become vegan or whatever it’s all good. If your diet becomes so restrictive it compromises your enjoyment of your life (i.e. being happy & healthy), you’ll likely fail. Good luck on your journey. Sorry for the long post🙂.

I'd second the therapy, and add in a "medication". If you have depression or a mood disorder, don't hamstring yourself by drawing a boundary around medications. I'm not saying you HAVE to take meds - just don't start from a position of ruling them out. Keep an open mind. Stress is a huge regain trigger for me, and not in the typical comfort-eating way. Stress builds up in my jaw and throat, and is only minimally impacted by meditation and exercise. I find myself eating so that the action of chewing loosens my jaw muscles, and then the action of swallowing expands my throat. None of this is post-surgical in nature, it's all a weird stress-related physical tic, but it absolutely results in me eating more to alleviate pain but could SEEM like it's emotional eating. Alcohol relaxes those muscles too, and similarly adds calories. When I go on low-dose medication, those things are considerably reduced and I can manage the remaining stiffness with hot tea. Obviously this is one extremely specific case, but shows how completely quirky the causes for regain can be. I'd already figured these tics out with a doc a decade ago but if I hadn't, I'd want a therapist/doc to provide that outside-in perspective.

OK...i want to stress that this is my personal experience only and do not advocate what I do/did to others. Do as I say, not as I do!!! lolololzzzz. I am 2+ years out and I can definitely eat much more than I could the first year (in terms of volume). BUT no where near what I could pack in pre-wls. Pre-wls I could easily eat 2-3 full plates at an AYCE resto (plus room for dessert!). Now a meal that is under my barf line is about 1 to 1.5 cups in volume (more if its salad greens, less if its dense protein or fluffy bread). I went through my logs to see if I ever went over 4000 cals. According to MyFitnessPal, i came close in June 2019 with 3896 calories. Though after looking through the list, it probably was well over 4000 cuz i notice I didn't log any alcohol that I KNOW I drank that day. Further, I did my logging after the fact as it was one of those morning-to-afternoon-to-night-to-the-next-morning backyard bbq parties. I was basically eating/grazing all day (and night) long. I also recall being sick a couple times in the evening. Now, I had just reached maintenance the month prior, and was concerned about my continued weight loss at the time so I figured, what the hell, I'm gonna go all out. It was not pleasant. Since then, I counted 9 times that went over 3000 cals in a single day (cheese, alcohol or dessert where the main contributors). But a normal day for me now is about 1800. My restriction is still alive and kicking, but I can definitely eat around it if I wanted to by grazing all day. In case you are interested, here is the log for that day (again, my alcohol consumption is glaringly missing from this log, so I would guess add another 800-1000 cals on top of this)

Right now the only carbs I get is from apples mostly. I don't drink alcohol so I don't have to worry about that. Even though I don't drink, we were told that we couldn't after surgery. Everyone's plans are so different. What they were told from their docs is very different.

I think after three months, I was (with careful planning) able to go out and have drinks and appetizers with friends. I would order a shrimp cocktail or seared ahi or even chicken wings (naked) and a martini, or a glass of wine which I sipped very slowly. I even went out for mexican food and ordered shrimp fajitas and ate just the shrimp and refried beans. Okay, it took three meals to eat all of the shrimp and beans...I took home the leftovers! Now, I bring a carb smart tortilla in my purse, so I can make a little shrimp taco...YUM!! If you host the event, no one would notice if you were drinking flavored water or something other than alcohol and you could make sure there was something you could eat, if not freely, at least without fear! So host a game night with your neighbors!

One of the recommendations from my dietician was to see a psychologist as part of the process. This tool is only one part of a lifestyle change, and not the easy way out. My foods were fine beforehand, but the volume I was eating was out of control. Also alcohol was a crutch for me too manage my extremely demanding life. So I have stopped drinking, and managing stress in other ways. If you aren't ready to make holistic changes, I would seriously reconsider the surgery and delay it. Find a bariatric specialised psychologist who can really delve into your dependency that I think you are eluding to. You can do this, believe me. But maybe not right now.... just my thoughts. Xxx

I had revision from sleeve to rny in September 2020 and have had zero GERD symptoms since surgery. I do dump with some sugar substitutes, but so far it seems limited specifically to sugar alcohols (xylitol, erythritol, sorbitol, etc.). Splenda and Stevia have been fine so far.

lots of people have revised, so some may chime in here. It usually does resolve GERD (although not always -- tracyringo, who's on here, hasn't seen any improvement yet, unfortunately) - but for most people, yes - it stops it. most RNY'ers don't dump (the statistic that gets thrown around a lot is 30% of us dump, although I don't know if there's any hardcore medical research behind that number. However, I've been on bariatric boards for the last six years, and I know a lot of us don't dump - so that number doesn't surprise me. And no - you don't dump on Splenda or other artificial sweeteners. Just sugar - and for some people, fats (although I should add that some artificial sweeteners, esp sugar alcohols, give some people G/I distress - but that's true of normal people, too - not just WLS patients). weight loss supposedly isn't as fast or easy with revisions as it is with virgin surgeries, but some people do manage to make their goal.

I was 47 with a 35 BMI, the minimum my insurance would cover. Looking back, I would have had the surgery at a lower BMI to avoid the negative feelings I had about myself as my weight continued to grow and dieting continued to fail me. After a certain age, which is different for all of us, our metabolism slows making weight loss much more difficult. This surgery is the absolute BEST thing I've ever done for myself physically. Prior to the surgery, I shared many of the concerns others share on this site. While I never suffered from eating disorders or food obsessions, I certainly loved to eat and eat well. I cooked frequently for myself and large groups of friends, and my lifestyle is social -- most of my social activities revolve around eating and drinking. So what has changed? Nothing, and everything. I still love to eat, and I still love what I eat. Other than pre-surgery and the first 2 months or so after, I haven't counted calories, haven't tracked macros, etc. The pre-surgery diet, although it felt brutal at the time, was extremely beneficial in getting my mind used to smaller portions. Knowing that I could do it, even with my whole stomach intact, was empowering. The post-surgery diet, which included counting calories for ~2 months, and more importantly accurately portioning my food (½ cup, ¾ cup, etc.), allowed me to gauge what a "sleeve" meal should consist of and look like. My social gatherings still revolve around food and drinks. I still cook for large groups. I still eat whatever I want. Pizza, pasta, French fries, etc. In that respect nothing has changed. I didn't drink alcohol for almost a year, but now I have a glass or two of wine almost every day, plus the occasional vodka (Deep Eddy Ruby Red vodka with water -- in Austin, TX they call it "pink crack). What has changed is that I mostly only WANT to eat things that are high in protein and otherwise healthy. Rather than wake up and drink 2-3 Diet Cokes, I drink water all day, every day. And not only do I not miss the soda, I crave the water. I carry it with me everywhere. If I've portioned correctly, I stop eating when my plate is empty. If I happen to add more to my plate than the recommended amount, my stomach tells me I've eaten enough before my plate is empty. I have more energy, I feel stronger physically, and I don't hate the mirror or the camera. FOOD: I eat every 3-4 hours. Breakfast is typically either: 2 eggs + 2 strips bacon, or a bowl of Kashi Go Lean high protein cereal with Fairlife (higher in protein) milk. Sometimes I go wild and use Fairlife chocolate milk on the cereal - LOL! Lunch: if not leftovers of last night's dinner, usually it's 6 Triscuits with lunchmeat and cheese, or 6 saltines with chicken or tuna salad. Not sure why, but 6 seems to be my magic number when it comes to crackers. If I want a sandwich, I eat a sandwich, but I buy those little party rye loaves with the tiny pieces of bread and I always toast them -- like a grilled cheese sandwich, but with meat and cheese. I will add horseradish to roast beef, or chipotle mayo, spinach leaves, tomato slices, or whatever. You'd be surprised how flavorful and satisfying you can make a tiny little sandwich. And I savor every bite. Dinner: Salmon, chicken, steak, shrimp, fish -- I have at least one of those every night for dinner, broiled, grilled, sautéed, stir-fry, or occasionally fried in coconut oil. Sides include a green veggie and a starch -- rice, pasta, potato. Those are mostly for my husband. I eat the protein, plus a very small portion of the sides. The fourth meal, either between lunch and dinner, or after dinner depending on what time we eat, is the same as what I described for lunch. I don't prioritize fruits or veggies, but I eat them when I want or when my body tells me it needs them. I get random cravings for oranges or salad, which I think is my body's way of telling me I need them. Also, I eat every meal now on a salad plate rather than a dinner plate. It's a small thing, but helps with portion control and to combat the visual impact of a nearly empty plate. THE DOWN SIDE: For me, months 3-9 were the most challenging, and mostly with social environments. I'm one of the people who didn't share my journey with my friends. After the third month, the weight loss was drastic. Month after month I dropped size after size. A good thing, right? Of course. But trying to maintain the secret, sit at a dinner table filled with food and friends, and eat at most a cup of food with no wine or cocktail? Sheesh, that was hard. The worst part was having overweight acquaintances ask me about the secret to my success. I wanted to share this amazing gift with everyone, but I chose not to trade the privacy of my personal health journey to become an ambassador for bariatric surgery. Now the questions have died down and I'm just normal me. I weigh myself 4-5 days a week. I hit goal about 8 months after surgery, and since then (21 months) I've gone +/- 3 pounds. If I eat pizza or fries, it's a small portion and not on a regular basis. Same with dessert. I'm actually satisfied with one Hershey kiss. Bizarre. It's like everything our doctors told us -- eat less, move more, eat healthier, use moderation. What seemed impossible to accomplish on a regular-sized stomach became simple with a tiny one. Sorry for this long post. I read everything I could find on this site pre-surgery and it really helped to have so many different perspectives from so many people. Our journeys are all different, and what works for some may not work for others. It's normal to feel nervous. But if you were to tally the regrets on this site, they would mostly be that we didn't take this step sooner.

I mean, the purpose of the preop diet is to shrink your liver for surgery, so I would say definitely no alcohol. Sent from my Nokia 7.2 using BariatricPal mobile app