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My Doc & Nut had printed in our manual (produced a cople years ago) "never" drink alcohol. In class, they had us turn to that page and scratch through the "Never", and simply write "avoid". They said no harm now and again, but don't make it a habit/new transference/addiction.

I'm not worried about becoming an alcoholic. I'm worried about messing up my sleeve. I get the part about the calorie intake but with this small of a stomach, not eating much nor able to drink much. I just want to make sure if I could get it down it would not it ruin my sleeve. Thanks for all the feedback

My nut advised me that approx 30% of WLS patients become alcoholics after surgery due to the fact that they end up trading one addiction for another. And if there is a family history there is more of a risk.

Movin on I can definitely relate to you right now. I had my surgery on the 7th so we are pretty close. Tonight my husband will bring home Taco Bell for himself and my daughter. I'd about kill for real food right now but instead am still on Clear Liquids until tomorrow and then will only be on Protein Shakes three times a day until Friday when I can transition to soft foods. I also had a VERY close relationship with food. I love my carbs and I love the taste of food period! So much so that two full plates was within my range of consumption and hence why I am where I am today. Part of this process is that we have to change the way we look at food. Change our entire relationship with food. Eating has become such a pleasurable thing for us that it has become unhealthy. Much like an alcoholic, some people can drink and not have it interfere with their lives, others can't. We are like those people. It's a difficult thing to digest (no pun intended). Add to that the depressive aspects of surgery, general anesthesia and pain medications and things aren't looking too cheery right now. All I can recommend is to try and keep focused on the big prize and not the immediate gratification that food offers us. We will eventually be able to eat food again (yes even peach cobbler on occasion) but we will eat very differently than we used to in terms of both quantity and quality. We will eat healthier and be healthier as a result. We will love what we see in the mirror instead of loathing it. We won't have to struggle to get off a couch or be ashamed of our size for any reason. This period of time (the first month) is probably the most difficult for us. Hang in there, hook up with other people who were banded in February (there is a great group of people in the February 08 support group), who can relate to what you are going through. We will both get through this while enjoying sunny Florida!!! Hugs!

I was hoping that would happen to me. I was never a cheap drunk....I could out drink a football team and still not be "drunk". Unfortunately postop is the same. I've had 3-4 pretty strong vodka or whiskey cocktails post op in one sitting a few times with barely a slight buzz. It would take thousands of calories to even make a dent in my alcohol resistant physiology, so I guess I'm stuck with sobriety. (I'll keep trying, though ). Oh yeah, I also wish I could drink hard cider....yum....but carbonation is the only thing my tummy can't do.

The hospital where I had my surgery recommends this, too. My doctor suggest waiting one year or to be at goal, since the alcohol is empty calories (this seems sensible to me, but I'm a light drinker in a frequently tee-totalling social circle, so it's not a big part of my life). One of the big concerns is cross-addiction (lots of WLS people at AA!), as well as the ease of becoming impaired very quickly and then driving.

I was told to wait one year before having alcohol because of dehydration and ulcers to the new stomach. Anyone else have to wait that long?

. I first went to a seminar in April of 2013 for the lap band. The Practice that hosted the seminar took all of our information and researched my insurance coverage. The called me back in a week or so later and said my insurance would cover it, minus my deductible and 20%. However they had a $1,000 admin fee that had to be paid up front and insurance didn't cover it. As I was saving to pay this my gall bladder quit working and I had to have emergency surgery to have it removed. That is where I met my surgeon. He mentioned after the surgery that he also did bariatric procedures and he only charged $500 for the admin fee. When I went in for my follow up post gall bladder removal, I made an appointment to come back for my 1st presurgical visit. My insurance company required a medical history showing 5 years of obesity, attendance at a presurgical seminar, a 6 month physician monitored diet, a history of all past attempts to lose weight, a psychiatric evaluation, meeting with the nutritionist, full bloodwork up, EKG, EGD, Chest Xray, and speaking to their bariatric nurse. I was pushing to get this all done during 2013 as I had met my out of pocket for the calendar year! I was sleeved on November 19, 2013. My approval came through on Nov. 4th, the Surgeon's office called and said start your liquid diet tomorrow (2 wk pre op liquid/semi-liquid diet is mandatory to assist with shrinking your liver reducing surgical complications). I also have severe sleep apnea, or rather did have, so I also had to be cleared from a pulmonary perspective I just went to my 3 mo post op apt on Wednesday, I have lost 62 lbs since 11/4, I have gone from a 5X to a 20-22. The day of surgery I was in a lot of pain but you start drinking that day, I was up and walking around that night. I was never nauseated, never threw up, I have tolerated everything. I won't lie, I followed what the Dr. told me to eat, when he told me to eat it. I count how much Protein intake I have. I tracked my calories for a while but they were consistently 500-800 so I stopped, now I do it once in a while. I drink Water or crystal light however I can tolerate alcohol although if I drink to much I will have an upset stomach the next day. If I want something I have it but in moderation. I have also learned to like reduced fat and sugar free choices. This is so life changing, it is one of the best decisions I have made in my life!!!! I have never had a single regret!

With the change in the weather you can get away with warm drinks that have very little to no acohol in them and still be festive. I know that Eggface has an eggnog protein shake recipe, and you can have mulled cider. I personally do not care for the taste of alcohol except for mead, port, and this one rhine wine I had in Germany. When you said what's your poison, i thought this was going to be a discussion of our drug of choice, food. Mine was and is grilled cheese. I have zero control around grilled cheese, fresh bread with butter, and chocolate.

I waited 5 months to have a drink and when i did I had vodka! I drank shots and followed it with crystal light I may have gone over board a tad.... but it was my birthday I had fun HOWEVER... the next three days I felt hung over and I felt guilty for drinking because all I could think about was carbs carbs sugar and hurting my liver and my spouse said I was trying to shove food in my mouth... I never want to be fat again so I decided alcohol is not for me I use to drink a lot in college and I am just worried about waking up that LiL monster and ruining all that I have worked hard for!

I ate something I shouldn't have eaten on Saturday (fried food -- I know it was dumb). Now it is the following Wednesday and ever since then my stomach feels sore. It feels like the day after drinking too much alcohol, only it's lasted numerous days. I'm taking Carafate and Gaviscon with little relief. Lying down makes me feel better. It happened one other time and went away after about a week. I even went last time to see my surgeon and had an ultrasound and labs that came out normal. Anyone else have this happen? I just want to feel better again. [emoji27]

I'm Dec. 19. I can sleep on my right side but not the left side where the port is. I still think my tummy is slightly bloated. No more pain though. It was hard not to eat/drink alcohol at a New Year's Eve party last night. But I survived. Surgery day I was 171. The pounds were coming off so fast and now for a few days the scale hasn't moved. I like it better when it was falling off:) I'd love to hear how the earlier December people are doing.

The sleeve will give you time hopefully to change your thinking. Retraining your brain to see food as nutrition and nothing more. We have used food like an alcoholic uses alcohol. To fill a void in our lives to Celebrate to calm to comfort and to even get back at those that have hurt us. It is a way to deal with our problems. And the sleeve will give you the time you need to retrain that brain of yours and realize that it was a ruse. As we never felt good after the fact. That using food was a mirage that only put a band-aid on an open cut that really needed stitches. It never works and so we try to fix it and keep falling back to the old ways. It is more then eating that got us here. It is everything in our lives that society and big food companies and even the diet companies have pressured us to do. The more we diet the more weight we gain back and the more we wreck our metabolism. And the whole thing goes round and round..... Think of the reasons you are doing this. Think of the changes you want to make and think about whether it will be worth it. All of it. It will help you make your decision. And when you do..Stand by it! It will change your life.....mentally, emotionally and physically as well. You got this!

Hi All, I rarely come on the forums anymore. It seems that, once I got past the really tough times with my band to sleeve revision I just drifted away. Anyway, I realized that I will be 2 years post-revision in a couple of weeks and I should probably report in and let the newbies know about my experience. If you want to know specifics about my surgery, you can look through my profile posts - it is hard for me to remember all the details now. I had a lap band for 4 years and it sucked. I got my lap band at 215 pounds and ended up at about 195 pounds and was gaining slowly on top of that. I couldn't eat chicken (did I mention the band SUCKED?). I wanted the band out, but I was afraid I would baloon up higher than ever. For me, the sleeve was an insurance policy. I did not expect it to work because I had already been through weight loss surgery that did not work. Why would I expect anything different the second time around? I was 100% afraid to dream that it might be successful. And, of course, I was wrong The sleeve was everything the band promised and more. On surgery day I was somewhere between 195 and 200. I went to Dr Aceves and would recommend him without hesitation. Band out and sleeve in, took less than 90 minutes. No complications. Good pain management. That's when the tough stuff really started. I couldn't drink the Protein drinks because I couldn't handle the smell or taste. Because of this I barely ate or drank anything for weeks. Everything tasted so weird / bad. I was significantly fatigued for 3 months because could barely get any food in. I chewed my Vitamins and took my omeprazole like a good girl. The apex of my weight loss occured after about 9 months. I got down to about 127 pounds. Mind you, at no time was I ever "trying" to lose weight. In fact, I was "trying" to get enough quality calories in my body. Since I ate so little, I couldn't mess around with junk food - I only ate food with good nutritional value. I also found that Certain foods were just harder to eat. I craved chicken, but I had a hard time eating carrots (they stick!). I would say I didn't feel completely normal until about a year had passed. At this point I have levelled out in the 135-140 range and I am thrilled about it. It is easy for me to get down to 135 (and lower if I wanted to) by just cutting out one snack a day or quitting drinking alcohol altogether. I weigh myself maybe once a month and if I see myself creep towards 138-139, I start cutting out a couple of things and get back to my comfort zone. It has been hard in the last 6 months because my father committed suicide leaving me with a contentious legal battle with his wife. I started drinking a couple of drinks every day because of the stress. That has kept me in the upper end of my range, but it is still easy to maintain. I find as time goes by, I stopped drinking every day and only a couple of times a week - it made me less puffy :-) So, my lifestyle now: I don't exercise. Yes, I know - that's bad. I do have tons more energy and I walk more in my daily life than I ever did before, but I do not engage in regular exercise. I try. I do my best. I'm just being honest. I still have a hard time getting even 30 ounces of Fluid every day. The taste of Water changed for me the day I had surgery and I have had a terrible time replacing it. Sometimes I have fizzy water. Strangely, beer goes down very easily. I developed a Starbucks mocha habit after the first year, but I limit it to one a day and get nonfat most of the time. I also started drinking iced coffee. I eat 5-6 times a day (I limit it to 5 if I am actively trying to manage my weight). I eat protein and veggies. I just started liking sandwiches again, but find bread and rice both expand in my stomach and make me very uncomfortable after I eat them. Even now, I eat too fast sometimes and can be in terrible pain from fullness. I still can't drink after I eat. I drink as much as possible up to the point where I put food in my mouth and then no liquids for an hour or more - PAINFUL!! I could never have done this without the sleeve. I am completely happy with the result. My life isn't "normal" because I still have to think about carrying Snacks with me so I can have good choices while I am out of the house. I still have to eat slowly. I still have people in restaurants badgering me about why I didn't finish my food. The difference is that I wear size 8 jeans and size 4/6 dress. I can walk / run around Disneyland for 10 hours with my daughter without major breaks to sit down. I rode a bike with my kid just this week and it was awesome. I finally feel like I fit in with my world. The outside reflects the inside. I feel much happier now, also, because people are used to me being this size now. Before people were always making a big deal out of the wieght loss. I don't like talking about it. I hated the attention during the loss because I was very guarded about the surgery. Now I have been the same for a year and a half or so, people don't comment about it as much and I love it. My future: well, the biggest surprise for me is that my husband and I are thinking about having another baby. My daughter is 8 and I had my tubes tied 6 years ago. I scheduled my tubal reversal with a specialist in Beverly Hills at the end of March. I will be 39 in a couple of weeks, but the doc says my FSH level is that of a 25 year old and my husbands sperm count and motility is off the charts! I used to be super-fertile before my tubal (just look at me sideways, and I was knocked up!) so we will see if that is still the case in a couple of months. Also, I finally finished my Bachelors degree 21 years after I started :-) I graduate in June. My life rocks! I was already lucky to have a good man, a great child, good job, and overall good health. The sleeve and weight loss are the icing on the cake for me. I'm a lucky lady. With gratitude, Lara

The end of summer sales are coming up and you can pick up some great bargains in your gonna be size. One size equals about 15 pounds, so buy some shorts, capris, etc about 4 sizes smaller than what you wear now. It will also be a great incentive - to fit into them come cruise time. I bought my dress for my Oct wedding in Mar and got a great deal. I also bought it two sizes too small and made myself work to fit into it - and I did! I love to cruise! My DH loves to tell people that they do everything for you except powder your butt. For formal night, I would buy a party dress at the after-new-year sales. You will be very close to your 60 pound loss then, so size will be less of an issue. Don't go too naked on the top, though, as they keep the AC turned up on those ships and the dining room gets cold. Money exchange...you can look up the exchange rate online right before you leave and almost all airports have a place to exchange money. Also any bank, once you arrive at a port, will give you current rates. Merchants WILL scam you. We just got back from Mexico and every place was charging 10 pesos to one US dollar. The rate was actually 10 pesos to 90 cents, so they made an extra 10% off every transaction if you paid in USD. Even so, don't expect huge bargains in port cities, or truly "local" stuff. Most of the world's souvenirs are made in China! Alcoholic drinks on cruise ships are very expensive. coffee, tea, juice, and Water are free and more healthy, so I'd stick with them. We were settling up our bill on the last day of one cruise and overheard a party of 3 young women weeping and wailing. Their bar tab was $1300!!! Staterooms are small and the closets are tiny. Don't over-pack. Also, be aware that most airlines allow 40 pounds per bag and if you go over that, there is a steep charge. One last thing...arrange transfers in advance from the airport to the dock and back again. Most cruises do not include these and depending on the distance, a cab ride could be very costly. Hope you have a great time!

When I was a baby, my father remarked to my mother: 'She's going to have problems with her weight in the future.' Apparently I was physically very similar to his mother. It turned out he was right but not for the reasons he believed. Ironically, it was his life choices that set me on the road to super morbid obesity. Whenever I want to imagine myself as slim and fit I have to go way back through the photo albums to the age of twelve or so. My thighs were so muscular, tanned and slim then! I ate normally, felt normally, behaved normally. I had friends at school, worked hard, and as the daughter of a vicar, was expected to behave impeccably. At the age of twelve my father abruptly left his children, his job and his wife for another woman and we had to vacate the vicarage quickly. We moved to a small, moldering terraced house in a rough part of Manchester. Our diet changed to extremely poor quality food as my mother struggled to care for her three children without the assistance of Child Support (I don't think it had been invented then). I ate to comfort myself, to choke down my feelings of abandonment and sadness. I stole change from my mother to buy sweets, I sneaked out of school at lunchtimes to go home and eat chips and cry on my own. My weight gain and my obvious differences in life experiences from my new classmates meant I was bullied, not only by the 'in crowd' of girls in their smart clothes, but also by my sadistic PE teacher, who on one occasion brought a tape measure into the girls' changing rooms and measured everyone's vital statistics. The closer to the fabled 36-24-36 they were, the more they were congratulated upon for being 'nearly right'. My home life didn't improve. My mother met a man who was an alcoholic and he moved in after their second date. Years of drink, violence, abuse and other horrors took its toll on my mental health and I began self-harming in secret. How is a fourteen year old schoolgirl, already reeling from changes in her life supposed to react when she comes home from school to find her stepfather passed out in the garden, his trousers to his knees, fully exposed and wet from urinating on himself? Worse still was later on when he had come round, expected to sit around the dinner table as if nothing had happened. My weight climbed and my self-esteem plummeted. At fifteen I went on my first ever diet. A quarter of a glass of grapefruit juice for breakfast, half a slice of dry toast for lunch and a quarter of a tin of mushroom soup for dinner. I lost weight, I obsessed about food constantly and my yo-yo had begun its lifelong twirling. I dieted several times in my life - sure to lose many stones then just as surely putting them back on and some. One does not simply wake up at 27 stone, it is the peak of years of food use, abuse and denial. My last big loss was in 2008 when I lost almost eight stone through strict diet and increased exercise. Four years later ... every stone is back and they, as always, brought a couple of friends back with them. I know this would have been the pattern for my almost certainly truncated life had I not had the incredible good fortune to have a mother about to receive a hefty inheritance along with a deep sense of guilt and regret for some of her life choices. I asked her several months ago if she would consider releasing some of the funds that she intended leaving to her children in the future early, enabling me to have private WLS. She said yes. It has happened very, very quickly. A medical screen by a bariatric nurse yesterday, followed by a consultation with a surgeon booked for next Tuesday. As soon as the funds come through (early December) I will have a date for a sleeve gastrectomy booked. The WLS is only ever going to be an aid, not a cure for my weight. I know I have years of poor eating habits and psychological difficulties to work on. But I have never been in a happier place personally than I am now. A husband (blimey!), a sense of direction (future children and employment) and a maturity of self set me in good stead for this undertaking. Bring it on.

My nurse from my general practitioners office told me that I would end up a drug addict or an alcoholic! I was absolutely floored! Needless to say every time I go in for a checkup since surgery I make sure to make a comment like....well still not on any meth thank you! Lol Some people can be really rude and insensitive to other people! Grrrrrrrr!

Cyn, I was told that you can drink alcohol, but it's considered "empty" calories. So if you drink, maybe just one won't hurt your calorie intake. You'll do good. I was afraid too, but I needed the help. I haven't had a fill yet (surgery 8/10 and fill 9/11) but I have a friend that had surgery too and we sort of help each other. This website is wonderful and everyone will be a big help.

I don't have what I would consider an eating disorder in the purest sense, so this advice is not from someone who has battled it. I can tell you that when I was going through the process, the psychologist wanted to know if I ever ate so much I purged. I explained there were times where I wanted to, but I didn't. She simply reasked the question, and when I said no I never actually purged, she was fine. I'm guessing they are concerned about self-destructive I also would note that it is really dangerous to overeat yourself after any of the bariatric surgeries. I had the lap band before, and yes, I did eat way more than I should have, and I was one of the "lucky" ones, but other people had band slips, esophageal dilation, or band erosion. With this and the sleeve, I would presume staple line leaks would probably be the largest danger, but even the best case would probably be a stretching of the pouch or sleeve. I have a friend who is an alcoholic. At least that is what he would say to you as soon as he introduced himself. He went through the AA program and hasn't had a drink for nearly 30 years. He explained to me that AA teaches "Once an alcoholic, always one". He was very concerned about transferring his coping method (food) back to that of alcohol. He went into the process very conscious of that, and thus far is doing very well with no problems. So I'm not saying it can't be done, but I would definitely not have the surgery until you can satisfy yourself, and your psychologist that you have it under control. I don't know if they have Overeater's Anonymous (OA) in Australia, but if they do, you might be able to find some people that had ED and had bariatric surgery, and see what they say. I'm mostly concerned about you causing physiological damage from even a single "binge" episode. I do say to take all of this with a grain of salt, I'm not that far out there myself. I wish you the best and hope it works out best for your health. One of these days I really want to visit AU, the home of Holden, which brought us the modern Pontiac GTO and the Pontiac G8...I only wish we could have gotten the Holden "Ute" but that body style doesn't do very good over here.

My doctor plainly said to avoid it as much as possible. He didn't want to give me a specific "go drink alcohol" permission lol. I started though about 3 months out. But I don't drink often. One drink a month or so. Less sometimes.

Me too! I was starting to get worried, thinking it was only me. I can't think of anything I enjoy eating now, trouble is my mind thinks I will and then when I taste it nothing happens! Lol. I am pleased really as my enjoyment of food and eating out got me needing help! I just miss the socialising...at the moment meeting up with friends etc is often challenging and overwhelming as it often consists of food and alcohol and they don't know I've had the bypass [emoji33]

Mine says a year for several reasons. 1 - Alcohol can be irritating to a healing pouch. Possible ulcer risk, also. 2 - There is a high risk of transfer addiction. It's not uncommon for weight loss surgery patients to become alcoholics. Most of us had a food addiction and need to learn to deal with our problems without turning to food or other substances for comfort. Avoiding alcohol while we are learning this is important. 3- High risk of liver damage and/or failure. While we are losing weight fairly fast (primarily during the first year) toxins stored in the fat are released into our bodies. Our liver is working overtime to process these toxins. Adding alcohol can be dangerous at this time. The danger lessens as weight loss slows and stops. Always follow your own doctors instructions. Each doctor has his own instructions based on their own personal experiences and observations.

I'm only at month 9, but if you'll allow me to put in, I can answer to my experiences. Just in the last month I can eat a whole apple -- although I like small gala apples. However, prior to a month ago I could only eat a portion of a small apple. I have had a bite or two of rice and Pasta here and there, and have not ever eaten enough to feel discomfort. I don't think it would bother me unless I ate a bunch. That's why I stay the hell away from rice and pasta! LOL I do have wine before dinner occasionally, and sometimes I've had other alcohol. I just don't have beer or champagne, because the bubbles are definitely uncomfortable. I don't have wine (or any liquid) with dinner, or for 30 minutes afterwards. I am able to drink Water quite comfortably -- usually. I've always been a big water drinker, and when I'm thirsty I like to take several big sips. I would say after I was pretty much healed (couple of months) I could, on most days, drink water like I always have. Some days, inexplicably, big gulps are uncomfortable. Who knows why. So I always 'test it out' before I down several sips at once. Not really an emotional eater.... And no sadness really about not being able to eat large portions. Maybe more like frustration sometimes. And it's not that I can't eat a large portion. I've learned to eat "gourmet style" -- you know, small amounts of really good food. I find that no matter how delicious something is, when I'm full, I'm full. The frustration I think is just that it is SO DIFFERENT to the relationship I used to have with food. I just have to get used to getting satisfaction from eating quality food and not from the quantity. It's such a change and takes some getting used to. But ya know, before surgery I knew I would be changing my relationship with food, and that's what I absolutely 100% WANTED -- was to not enjoy so much damn food! LOL. The frustration is also in the cooking....I spend a lot of time to prepare a nice meal for my husband and myself, and then I just seem to get full so quickly. It seems like a waste of time to have spent time preparing the meal if I'm going to be done so fast.

My sisters and I gather at my mother's once a year (we're all spread out across the country), and we had our annual long weekend this past weekend Thursday to Monday. My mother loves us with all our favorite food and we sisters share in a good bit of wine. I got on the scale this morning and didn't gain a thing (of course I didn't lose either). But my point is that banded or not you can still enjoy life as it was meant to be enjoyed. If you're going to waste calories on alcohol, be responsible, and do it with some moderation -- THE KEY TO EVERYTHING!!

Talk to your surgeon but from what I have been told, alcohol is not OK. Empty calories and carbonation.