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I suppose we all handle this subject differently. I am not a death row inmate of course, but rather am looking at this time as if I am losing my BFF. And, right now I know I can eat whatever I want and how much I want while fully knowing this is "stinkin' thinkin". I just wanted other peoples perspectives and how they handled such a controversial experience. Personally, this isn't the first time I have experienced a indulgence loss. 17 years ago I quit smoking cold turkey and I didn't smoke a carton my last few days, I simply just quit. 2 years ago I quit alcohol, now that was hard. So you say, if you can quit those then what's the problem? I don't know, except that food is a necessity and we can't live without it I guess. Thanks for you post.

For me----My reflux is worse (10X) than with my band-- my band ended my reflux. I take axid 150mg twice a day and prilosec for break thru- usually daily to every other. I don't eat within an hour of lying down, alcohol and sugar make it worse. Reflux has been my only negative-- I'm 130#-- I will trade reflux for 230# and heart disease any day !! Hope that helps.

I will not be having a food funeral either. Over the past year or so, I've been working hard to implement the changes I need to make in order to make this surgery a success. I quit indulging in marijuana, I have not had a drop of alcohol and for the past seven months, I have been adhering to a rigorous 1,800 calorie diet, as prescribed by the nutritionists. That's not to say I didn't go out to eat before I started my liquid diet. I went out with a couple of friends and we went to this restaurant in Denver called Sputnik. I had one of their smaller dishes, the Mac-n-Cheese without the green onions. The experience of shooting the breeze with my friends, though, is more important and I made sure to pace my meal to the end of the conversation.

I personally do not have a problem consuming sugar alcohols such as Maltitol. But I do not use Calcium chews. I use Citracal (calcium citrate) tablets for my calcium.

Thanks. I'm trying like hell to drop the last 5lbs. If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them! I've been drinking TONS of water every day and cut all alcohol and junk out. Maybe I should try slim fast?

I have been eating like a crazy person for the last few weeks. My restriction is adequate, but at night I eat the wrong foods all evening long. Evening always was my problem. I'm not gaining any weight, probably because I'm exercising. But I don't understand why I'm doing this. My life situation is not exactly ideal, but it hasn't changed recently. My mood has been good. I'm not stressed about anything. I don't get it. I've started writing in my journal again, hoping that something will occur to me to explain this behavior and help me change it. Then again, I'm wondering if part of the explanation could be that overeating is just a bad habit that is going to rear it's head from time to time, similar to a relapse for an alcoholic. What do you all think? Nancy

I never realized before surgery how much of my social life revolves around food. All my thin friends always want to go to restaurants, and I used to think it was just me. People also are surprisingly pushy about getting me to drink alcohol, like I'm some sort of weirdo if I don't get a drink. They're always asking when I can eat or drink things. "Let me know when you can ______!" I also had no idea that after surgery you can't take ibuprofen (used to eat it like candy), that I would have to separate eating and drinking liquids, and that soup is a bad idea. The pre-op class was really surprising for me. The salad thing also surprised me but I can eat a little salad with my other food just fine, and straws and diet soda don't really cause me any issues. I'm fortunate that I haven't found anything I can't eat yet. I ate popcorn at the movies this weekend (got a kids' pack) and diet soda and was perfectly fine.

Yahoo home page. Let's see if I can find it.... hope these are it. Topomax (Topiramate) May Treat Alcohol Dependence Alcoholism : Addiction Medication : The Addiction Recovery Guide

I Am 25 Years Old...i Own My Own Home, I Am Successful, I Have Lots Of Friends, I Am Fun, I Have Alot To Say, I Truly Am Beautiful......so Why Am I In This Relationship Ive Been In For The Past 6 Years?? He Is 25 Also, Lives At My Home, Hardly Helps Pay The Bills, Getting Ready To Go To School For The Next 2 Years ( So It Will Be Me Paying The Bills!!), Hates My Friends And Family, Borderline Alcoholic, Has Never Lived Out On His Own!!!!!, Comes Home At Any Time Of Night When He Feels Like It!!! Why Am I Engaged To This Man?? Im Mad At Myself, Im Mad At My Own Stupidity And Low Self Esteem. I Know Whats Wrong, So Why Cant I Be That Old Independent, Get Out Of My House Kinda Girl??? Weve Been Engaged For The Past 2 Years....no Wedding Date..we Always Seem To Find An Excuse!! I Truly Feel That We Are Just Both Holding On To Each Other Til The Next Best Thing Comes Along.....now That I Am In The Prospect Of Getting The Lap Band Done. Things Have Gotten Worse. Any Thoughts, Opinions??

Hi CantBelieve_IdidIit! Dont really know where to start, but I was always a big kid. Used to play rugby and was a school swimmer (high school) was always big and muscular, till I went to the Army. I had an operation on both my feet, due to injury, thus unable to walk for almost 8 mths in 2003. Since den I've just been eating and eating and eating. No exercise.... loads of alcohol and serious binge eating especially at night after 11pm. I've put on heaps of weight and decided to have a VST this year because I felt I couldnt keep to dieting and exercise. And the VST went well on the 1st May 2012. Since then I've lost alot of weight and am continuing to lose even more. I've noticed my shoulders getting smaller... kinda like an "A" body shape, and decided to head to the gym last night, hoping to bulk up my shoulders before even more weight loss occurs.

The most important part to remember about being banded is that it is a tool...you can either use it or not, but it wont go away unless you have it removed...SOOOOOO unlike Weight Watchers or those other diets, you can start back right TOMORROW and MAY not even show any effects from your slip up...Probably most if not all of us here have cheated one way or another...it happens, we all screw up, but Tomorrow is a new day. Ya know? When drug addicts and alcoholics go to rehab they dont have to HAVE that addiction to survive. But WE are addicted to food, something WE HAVE to partake in everyday....How successful would a person addicted to Coke or Alcohol be if they had to take a little 3 times or more a day (depending on the specifics of your eating regimen)??? I heard that on a Discovery Channel special...its not excuse by far, but it makes slip-ups more managable and understandable in our heads. Dont beat yourself up, but realize that the continuence of slip-ups will be a waste of time, money, and sick-feelings.

I never had a problem with sugar alcohols pre-WLS but now I do post-gastric bypass. I especially experience discomfort with chewable vitamins that contain SAs.

So I was banded almost 2 months ago on 2/8/11. To date I have lost about 20 pounds since then. Most of you might think that's pretty good and so do I. The problem is I know I could have done MUCH better. Im disappointed in myself and my lack of commitment I'm feeling towards my new lifestyle. Im pretty much carrying on like I was before. I eat things I know I shouldn't FAR too often. I go out an average of 3-4 nights a week to a bar or lounge which equals ALCOHOL!!! Im not a light drinker either. Some people say the band has certain effects on their tolerance, but that is just not the case for me. Im talking an easy 5 or more drinks a night. NO I'm not an alcoholic and Im not turning to that rather than food. These are all things I did pre band and I am disgusted with myself when I think about it. Im 24, single in L.A. so I enjoy going out with friends, but I know I need to decide which is more important right now. Im still going to fast food restaurants, especially on the way home after the bar. Dating sucks too, because it usually involves going out to dinner or drinks at some point. I just don't know what is wrong with me. I guess this is the first step. I'm recognizing it and admitting to thousands of strangers; leaving myself vulnerable to harsh criticizing. I just need some support, as I have none really. I will work on myself starting this moment. Thanks for listening/reading.

Well, I believe you when you say you're not an alcoholic but sheesh, you drink an awful lot for a non acoholic, it definitely qualifies as binge drinking and not only will it sabotage your weight loss, it will definitely lead to later health problems, you're drinking WAY beyond the recommended intake for women. Its also easy to crave alcohol and cave in and have more than you should as well without having a "problem" with alcohol. But its a choice - keep up your lifestyle and probably forego real success or change your lifestyle. If you want to keep going ot, you have to decide not to drink if you cant decide to just have one - not drinking saves you a lot of calories and will probably cut down those post bar fast food detours as well, you lose all control when you've got a few drinks on board. That's the tough love part over with - I agree with you, its so awfully frustrating when you're trying to gain control when at every turn of your life there's another meal out, another drinks date, etc etc. I have weeks where I have that happen four or five times too, it drives me nuts, why does everything have to revolve around food? But the truth is, you cant always change it, nor may you want to if its the way you socialise and date, so the alternative is you have to learn to not view each occasion as an opportunity to go sick, but instead practice real restraint at each and every turn - drink club soda, eat only an appetiser, never ever ever order dessert, only drink white wine if you DO drink, and make damn sure you get plenty of exercise to balance it out. Nobody ever recommends skipping meals, but truth is, if we have a big lunch out, or we often catch up with my SIL and BIL with a cheese platter and a glass of wine on a Sunday afternoon - thenI dont eat dinner. The kids love being taken out for pancakes, and they are one of my fave treats too, so we time it as brunch and I dont eat at all again till dinner (even if I get hungry!), and we also often time that after a big walk up a mountain, known as the Thousand Steps, here in Melbourne, so a good bit of really hard exercise beforehand. I never ever miss my exercise, and on the days when I do have complete control, I really make them count so that I have a bit of a bank for those inevitable bad days. All that and I"m just working to MAINTAIN my weight. Being thin and healthy is a job, it never becomes efffortless, sad to say. You are always always working on it.

I will word it another way. If you drink to much Booze, and eat what ever you feel like. How can you expect GOOD RESULTS down the road. Especially from empty calories. You say your not a Alcoholic ! Can you put the bottle down, and leave it alone? Or if you were to start drinking, would you be like This Is Mine All Night Long ! As far as a Junk food Junkie... Well I am Banded too for almost 5 yrs.. Tell me again why your disappointed. I'm sure you can figure it out. Go spill all this to a Food Counselor, and let them tell you what you have going on. Maybe then you will believe someone. You said you wanted TOUGH LOVE ! Well there it is. Either Deal with it, or don't be to shocked when you find yourself in for a major let down. And the control is all up to you. Good Luck, Shirley.

I am approx. 7 months post-op and we will be going on vacation to an all-inclusive resort in mid-January for 2 weeks. There is a good chance I will have a couple of drinks while there, but probably only part of a drink at a time and not every day. I wasn't really a drinker before surgery (social drinking, maybe 1 time per month for 1-2 drinks). So not having alcohol since surgery hasn't been any sort of an issue for me. I have had 1 glass of champagne (last week) and part of a cooler a couple of months ago. That's it. I did find the effects to be much faster and more potent than before surgery. I didn't really like the feeling that much, which probably contributed to my not really trying it very often. I would not have had anything if I was not at least 5 months post-op. My surgeon did not advise when we could or could not start drinking again if we wanted to (ie. no 1 year rule), but there were alot of questions about alcohol consumption in my pre-op medical assessment papers. I think they find it a concern (and switching addictions from food to alcohol is a VERY real problem and must be closely monitored and avoided at all costs!). It's not a problem for me and I can do 1 drink socially if I choose and stop. My advice is to carefully assess your tolerance and pre-op drinking habits, take all of your physician's guidelines into account and then make a decision for your own circumstances. And be prepared to adjust your choice if the outcome is less than desireable!

I've been having problems this past week. My tummy is just bloated and feels overfull almost all the time, even when I wake up. I haven't changed anything -- although I stopped taking my omeprazole for a couple of days, got the Troubles and went back on them. I don't think I'm overeating particularly. Drinking enough, no alcohol, no caffeine. I'm thinking maybe I ate something Mr Cranky REALLY didn't like. I'm not worried about a stricture because I'm keeping stuff down -- but for example just a few minutes ago I took a sip of Lifewater and felt *almost* as if I was going to vomit but didn't. It's like there's a lot less room in there suddenly. I am suddenly able to eat much less and nothing goes down very well when I eat it. I feel like I've just eaten a ten course meal almost all the time. Suggestions? Gas? More ppi? Back to liquids?

Hi, Angie .... Just a 0.1cc or 0.2cc increase or decrease difference can be the difference between "I can't swallow anything but liquids" and "I have to eat Bandster Style & chew chew chew, but I'm NOT HUNGRY any more and I'm losing weight." From my time on SmartBandsters support group at YahooGroups, I've discovered that many US doctors ARE very conservative. They start low and slow, they often don't want you to come back sooner than one month, and when there is need for an unfill, they tend to take out way too much --- or sometimes all of it. Mexican docs, perhaps from having so much experience over the years, tend to use that "sit up and drink" style. As long as you don't lie to your doctor about what you're sensing, things seem to usually go well. They just don't want you to leave town for several hours. I have also discovered that some people start tight and loosen up in a week, but others are like me and tighten up significantly about 4 days out. I'm still tighter in the morning, losest around supper, then tightening again late. And Jessie Ahroni just told us all something I had never known before -- that a pre-dinner alcoholic drink will loosen your band!! :paranoid I learn something new every day still. Anyway, why not take a bottle of room temp Water with you this next time, have your fill around 11am or 1pm, and suggest to him that the two of you try this? I'm losing faster than I had expected to be, but I know with every pound lost, my caloric needs fall --- and that I will be losing slowly enough after I hit 180.

I had my sleeve 3/8/17. Surgery went great, struggled a little with gas pain and nausea/vomiting. No pain medication worked for me (morphine or dilaudid!) and the nausea medication didn't help either. One of the things the nurse told me the surgeon told her was to sniff alcohol pads......IDK if that really worked but I had to handle the situation internally. I was discharged the next day at my request and continued my healing at home. As of this morning, I am down 9 pounds from 3/8/17. I am on day 2 of full liquids. Struggling to get all my Water and Protein in. At this point I am going by how my body feels....If I feel thirsty, I sip and if I don't, I don't. I never feel hungry so I drink broth at certain time intervals and usually just sip on sugar free crystal light, eat sugar free popsicles, drink water and eat sugar free Jello in between. Pain is at minimum, only the incisions hurt (or mainly that abdominal wall hurts when I move), but gas has subsided and I had my first bowel movement in maybe 5 days today, which made me feel even better. So everything is grand right? I never understood how much of a mental test this is. I am not physically hungry but mentally i want to eat the Snacks and foods I ate before surgery. Its like I CRAVE the physical part of chewing and crunching more than anything. To aid, I've been crunching on pickles and then spitting them out as I KNOW I cannot eat anything right now....I DON'T want to screw anything up!! Pre-op I was diabetic. My A1C was as high as 11.6. A year ago, my blood sugars were out of control, I was on a couple medications for my glucose as well as a pill for blood pressure and cholesterol. I always told myself that I was going to lose weight but after trying for so long and failing, I gave accepted the fact that I was probably always going to be big. I would go to doctors appointments after doctors appointments making excuses as to why I hadn't lost as much as I should have. Eventually I found the surgeon who I wanted to do my sleeve. He asked if I had ever tried diet pills and I told him no because NONE of my doctors felt comfortable prescribing them (d/t cardiac side effects). Anyway, I eventually started phentermine and slowly making dietary changes (low carb, low sugar, cutting out soda).....and the weight slowly came off. Pre-op I managed to lose 50 pounds and only had to do 3 days liquid diet pre-op (not even 3 days) since I lost a good amount beforehand..... so this 2 weeks liquid diet is killing me. All I want to do is EAT...even though I am NOT hungry! Its so mentally hard. I remind myself of the reasons why I did this and how it is not a permanent thing having to do liquids but I just find myself counting down to the pureed stage just to at least be able to eat some of the things I like..... I've read on various Facebook posts where people did not follow the surgeons directions and started eating sooner, but I am terrified to even try it...

OK, long time ago and long story, but I got alcohol poisoning in college, called the poison control hotline and they said to sip on the juice from a can of peaches or pears (packed in 100% juice, not syrup). After three days of vomiting non-stop it's the only thing that helped the nausea subside. It's not carbonated either, might be worth a try...

No difference in actual eating (but i did/do) burp an awful lot. Fullness felt different…it was/is a pressure in my chest instead of a bloated feeling in my lower abdomen. further…when drank alcohol the first time (about 3 weeks post op) for swear i could feel it travelling down my intestines. After a few months (can’t remember exactly when) alcohol no longer produced that sensation.

At 4 weeks I don't see the harm. Just try one and see how it goes. I had to be careful with sugar alcohols at first (like in some SF candy). It had me running to the bathroom.

Ok, I came home with a drain for week. I just showered with the bandage. After, I would put a clean bandage on after showering. I would clean around the area with alcohol, put on a clean gauze square. After my drain was removed, I did the same except my Dr. said I could begin using some Neosporan when it began to scab over. After a good scab formed, I switched to aloe...and I put this on all my incisions. They're healing great! Good luck.

Thanks for the advice guys! I went out last night and had a great time. It was a little awkward at first because I wasn't endulging in the bar food appetizers and my friends kept saying, "does this bother you, are you ok" and of course I was, I just didn't want to make them uncomfortable either. So, I drank my water like a good sleever and enjoyed their company. My divorce with bad food and alcohol is much better...we can now tolerate being in the same room together .

Hi there, I am at week five, too! I wrote a post about my first fill last week but I'm not computer savvy enough to find it for you. First of all, I had the same experience of hunger returning. At first post-op I wasn't hungry and so now I know what the band can do for me. Love that! But the hunger did return maybe at three weeks -- varies greatly for people. Some are hungry right away so I think I was really lucky. I went for my first fill last Wednesday and will go back this Wednesday for a possible second fill. Basically it went like this: connected with the surgeon again (I like this guy a lot), went over the return of hunger and how I had one slime throw up episode, what that was like (ate too much too fast of course), then he had me lie back on the table, felt around for my port (they only use fluoroscopy if there's a problem), cleaned area with alcohol, gave a shot of painkiller that just pinched a little, no big deal. Then he was giving me an arm to sit up and I said, "what about the fill?!" He had already done it and I didn't realize it because it was so quick and easy and we were chatting.