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Since your weight loss is obvious, it's not unrealistic to say that you lost weight by totally changing your eating habits...no starches, no alcohol, lots of protein. I eat out all the time and nobody has ever questioned me. (Only my husband know of my surgery) I take tiny sips of water and take home 3/4 of my meal all the time. I joke and say my 14 year old is so happy I eat less because he always looks forward to my leftovers!

I thought the topic was about alcohol too. I'm 4 mths out and drink a glass of red wine everynite. 100 calories well spent, in my opinion! I started drinking wine at about 2 mths. My dr had no rule pertaining to alcohol except "it's empty calories"

I hate to burst the bubble even more but someone mentioned birth control: my hospital requires you to be completely off of it for at least 2 cycles. So, to recap: No birth control, no carbonation or caffeine, no cigarettes or e-cigarettes, no drugs, no alcohol. Nada!!! I know one of you girls asked about smoking and having tubes tied, etc. With gastric bypass, you are under general anesthesia which means you aren't breathing by yourself - you are intubated and a tube is down your throat. Anesthesia slows breathing and heart rate, lowers your blood pressure and basically depresses your body, even your brain. When you smoke, everything from your lung capacity and the chances of getting pneumonia, to blood vessels constricting and oxygen not circulating in the blood, are compromised. I know how hard quitting smoking can be - I was there too. But, just try to take one thing at a time instead of shocking the body and forcing it to go into a serious withdrawal. I quit caffeine and carbonation 2 months prior to my surgery because I knew that my body wouldn't be able to handle that PLUS my pre-op diet. In the final two weeks before my surgery, I walked 1 mile every day because I knew I wanted to heal quickly and be successful in the long term. So my advice to both of you is pretty simple: take each day at a time, quit one bad habit at a time and remind yourself every day why you are doing this. It will get easier!!!

Umm... You don't have to be "crazy" to see a psych or therapist. I found that your statement rubbed me wrong. People see them for numerous reasons and I don't think that people who have bipolar disorder, PTSD, food addiction, drug or alcohol addiction, etc are crazy. The psych evaluation is mainly to see if you have unrealistic expectations after surgery. To see if you think weightloss surgery is a "fix-all" in your life. To make certain you are knowledgable about the surgery, etc.

Congratulations. You are a bit further than I am. I have got to make my psyche appointment. I will try to get to that next week. What should I expect? I feel funny having to go for a psyche evaluation. I'm not crazy...I'm just fat. I love to cook, I love to eat and I self medicate with food rather than drugs or alcohol. Do they ever find people psychologically unfit to have weight loss surgery? I have stressed more over this part than the surgery itself. LOL I have BCBS as well but mine is the Federal plan. I am currently on my 3 month medically supervised diet. I have been told that BCBS generally sends the approval back within 2 weeks if all of the requirements have been met but since I have not gotten that far, I can't say it with any authority.

Hi all...did I miss something? I see the post titled alcohol but no ones mentioning alcohol ..how long post op should I wait to try sipping a few...how long have you waited?

Gosh I have so many questions....I have been told NO asprin for the week before surgery, but nothing else. Was wondering about alcohol? Before surgery or dieting? I am new on here PLEASE help ....

My doctor and the nutritionist have both referred to me as a "restrictor." Guess that's a label for those of us who have dieted like crazy and find it difficult to let go of those restrictions. Pre-band I have been no dairy, no wheat, no sugar, no caffeine, no alcohol -- a lot of no-nos. So I'm trying to embrace all of it and just have those very small amounts of what it is my body is asking for. It wants dairy so I'm having some. Have not tried wheat yet and think I may not. My husband is celiac so we already have a wheat-free house. That is restrition of another kind, however, not that mental "can't have" game I have played so well the last two decades. Even though I'm so incredibly good at it, I was still unable to lose weight with that approach.

Thanks so much for this, TMF -- I'm going to hunt down the other seven and watch those as well. Nice to be up on everything that's out there research-wise. KBell, I just had my post-up follow-up meeting with the nutritionist and I asked her the very thing you have inquired about above. I was originally given the 30 minutes before and after rule -- it's in all my hand-outs and was emphasized by the surgeon. Today I asked about alcohol and going out -- saying that I assumed I would finish a glass of wine and let the other person have their appetizer then make sure thirty minutes had elapsed, etc., etc. She said not to worry about it, that it's the no liquids 30 minutes after that matters. Now this Austrailian doctor -- a leading LB surgeon -- is dispelling that science entirely. I guess it's up to me to figure out what works for my body. Moderation is definitely the goal. And I'm looking forward to my first Margarita one of these days, that's for sure! Best wishes to you.....

I'm sure I will get lot of opinions. Ultimately, just seeing how everyone handles times like this. I don't do carbonation- I haven't since pre-op and am too nervous to start up again. I'm not a wine drinker but can't imagine it being different than drinking any alcohol, really. Thanks for your response! Makes sense. (I'm 7 months post-op)

You may be stirring a hornets nest with this post This is my take. You should follow your doctors orders. But, I spoke to my doctor and his first 30 days post surgery instructions were no alcohol or solids. A few months out he said non carbonated drinks were OK but be aware they're high in carbs/calories. Just do it in moderation he said. My nut echoed his sentiment. He also said that he would prefer we not eat or drink 30 before and after but said some of his patients still drink with meals and are still successful. Dr. O'Brien in Australia said there is no problem drinking and eating as long as the patient waits 1 minute between bites to sip some water/wine? So, my opinion is it's fine once in a while. I do still drink a beer every now and then and maybe a glass of wine too. tmf

I agree with all of the above posters, know thyself. I am a vet at 3 yrs out and am now getting rid of the regain I experienced last year. That regain happened for many reasons but one of them was lulling myself into a sense of security with the "only in moderation" approach. Some people can do that, some can't. I can't. I couldn't before the sleeve and I can't now. I consider myself a food addict, in the past I have treated food in exactly the same manner as a druggie or alcoholic, self-medicating to ease internal pain. Some people out there can have one drink, one sniff of cocaine, one spoonful of chocolate and Peanut Butter Haagen Daz, and not be particularly interested in having more. If that were me, I would never have needed the sleeve inthe first place. My choice is to abstain with a caveat; someone mentioned pizza, I won't have a slice of pizza per se, but I will take all my favorite toppings, put them on a cauliflower crust in a muffin tin and make a low carb high Protein gluten free mini pizza. I may not have Pasta noodles per se, but I will jullienne zuchinnis blanche them and make low carb high protein fettucine. You see where I'm going with this? Also as someone said, your tastes do really change, there are things I loved before that I can't stand now and vice versa. One last thing - if you are still in your honeymoon period and already scheming on ways to eat bad/trigger foods, you might want to consider adding therapy to your recovery, I personally consider it essential.

I had the sleeve over two years ago, and even before surgery I didn't get a lot of hunger pains. But what surgery doesn't fix for me is the head hunger. I get cravings for Snacks -- especially salty snacks like popcorn, chips and nuts. I still get these after the sleeve even though I am not hungry. Sometimes I go to bed early just to avoid eating late at night. I think this would be true regardless of the surgery type. I haven't had any complications since being sleeved. I have not vomited at all. I can feel very uncomfortable if I eat too much too fast, but I've adjusted how I eat to accommodate this. I tend to stop eating after a few bites and give my body a chance to send me signals about fullness before continuing. Before my sleeve, I loved my carbs especially breads and potatoes. Since being sleeved, these are the foods I am least likely to eat because I don't like the way they fill me up. I can eat more of these than I could during my first year after surgery, but they tend to be crunchier versions, and I don't eat as much (especially potatoes). That said, I can still eat them. I just don't like the way they make me feel bloated, so I don't eat them. I love that I am satisfied with less. It sometimes takes me longer to eat if it is really protein-rich food. Alcohol hits me harder and faster on way less. I do drink when eating. I take NSAIDS fairly frequently. I should drink more Water on a regular basis. Lately, I have been neglecting to take my Vitamins, and I should at least be taking Iron because I tended to have iron-poor blood before surgery. When my blood work has been done, my results have all been very good although my B Vitamin levels were higher than normal, so I stopped taking Biotin. When I am taking my vitamins normally, I take one Multivitamin and 1 iron Vitamin A day. When I was taking Biotin, I also took one of those a day. I do not take Calcium supplements since I tend to have a lot of calcium in my diet. I love cheese. My stomach was very noisy right after surgery. For a while, it quieted down. In the last month or so, my stomach has gotten noisy again. I'm not sure why, but it may be because I've cut back down on my calories again. Growl, roll, growl. It can get pretty loud. This is something that didn't happen before my WLS. When I eat in public, someone who doesn't know that I had WLS won't comment about my eating habits. Those who know, especially if they haven't been with me when eating before, will comment about how little I eat. I would agree with someone earlier and say that what I eat is on the low side of normal portions.

Well im 2months 10 days out of surgery feeling great can pretty much eat anything with out issues havent started the gym yet because im waitin on payday to hire a PT but im down 48lbs im not sure if im doing it wrong if i shouldve lost alot more weight with my time but i have no complaints i am eating as clean as possible but sometimes you just have to eat whats there but i do take my daily protien eat clean no sodas or alcohol no smoking so hopefully i can loos 10more pounds by mid december but i can say i will sure as hell try

Well I'll jump in the pool for VSG. I am 2.5 years out and I've been at goal for over 1.5 years. With VSG, your stomach can stretch some but not all that much once it has finished healing ( somewhere between 6 months and a year most people reach their lifetime capacity. ) Weight regain generally occurs from eating too often and eating high calorie "slider foods". If your stomach stretches a lot, the surgery wasn't performed correctly (it happens). Rules about what to eat, when to eat it, and how much to eat vary widely, but it's generally no drinking 30 minutes after meals, Protein first, and never more than a cup at one time. Alcohol is allowed after 6 months in many programs. Many programs don't require lifetime Vitamins (mine does), but some people do develop Vitamin deficiencies. Most people can eventually return to eating anything they did before surgery, just less of it. For me, greasy foods, spaghetti with meat sauce, dairy, and tortillas still bother me and at 2.5 years out, I'm guessing they always will. I have my blood tested annually for a wide variety of vitamins. With VSG, you can take anti-inflammatory drugs, such as NSAIDs. Welcome everyone! I'm especially looking forward to meeting a few more long term vets. Lynda

I was told I had to wait a year before having alcohol. Im 3 weeks out, and I don't think my stomach could tolerate it. Having trouble with the Vitamins, so Im thinking I should wait till I can at least get those down. I love my wine, and have quite a few bottles, but Im waiting for the right time. Im concentrating on getting thin and healthy, Ill have my wine later.

I have been sober 4 years now so I dont drink but I would think that alcohol would lead to bad choices of food and Snacks. you dont want to binge eat after having the surgery. just my 2 cents

So I will copy and paste from the other thread as well... In all honesty, when I first decided I wanted WLS, I wanted a band. I had long thought about RNY but I was worried about malabsorption, and the restrictions due to medication. Even though I don't take any medication on a daily basis, (God willing) I have a lot of life yet to live and I didn't want to be restricted in any way due to having WLS. So I focused on the band. When I learned about the *possible* negatives to the band, erosion, slipping, cracked tubing, ports flipping, etc. even that didn't scare me away as much because honestly that stuff can be replaced. But when I learned about PBing your food or your medication, or God forbid, Water...that sealed the deal. I will do just about everything humanly possible to avoid having food come back up. I've never even drank so much alcohol that it made me vomit. Never! I've also never thrown up or slimed or PB'd or anything remotely like that since being sleeved 3 years ago. Not even right after surgery...had the patch behind my ear to keep nausea at bay. There are long-term band people who will say "I've only PB'd 4 times in 4 years!" but to me, that is TOO many! I decided that for me personally that I can't live like that. I also believe that with the band there is always a chance of having to do another surgery (as I mentioned parts can break and slip, but they can also be replaced) but for me I wanted ONE surgery and DONE. I didn't want to have to worry that in 2, 5, 10 years I would need to go back in and have a tune-up on anything. I've been sleeved for over 3 years and seriously have not had one single complication. Surgery recovery was pretty easy, I don't take any type of PPI (no reflux), and now 3 years later I still don't take any medication for anything. I'm healthier now than I have ever been in my entire adult life. The sleeve also puts me in control. I decide WHAT I'm going to eat, WHEN I'm going to eat it and the sleeve pretty much takes care of HOW much I can eat at one time. I max out at about 3-4oz of dense Protein. I can squeeze a bit of "other" food in there but my meals rarely go over the 5oz mark total.

Hmm since you posted this in the gastric sleeve forums I guess I'll give my take. Every surgeon is different. Mine said no alcohol for at least 30 days post-surgery. I have had the occasional wine or cocktail since then. For sleeve and bypass patients especially (can't speak for band patients) alcohol absorption is more rapid, which causes you to get tipsy quicker. Drinking more than you can tolerate is not something I would recommend, not just because of the anatomical change from surgery, but because you'll be making yourself more vulnerable in social situations and you'll have less control in advocating for yourself. For me one stiff drink is enough. But I don't plan on imbibing much these days. It's empty calories and I'm having a tougher and tougher time with the weight loss the closer I get to goal. I think with moderation it's okay, just be wary of cross-addiction, as it does occasionally happen to bariatric patients.

Also I heard briefly you can never have Motrin again? Ever. What pain killers are allowed after surgery

I need all your knowledge yet again. I'm still new to looking at all the surgeries and the subject if alcohol came to mind. I know I'll learn all the rules for post op for all surgeries in my program, but was just curious to know if alcohol is something you can't ever have again? I know that's prob not the case but I am a social drinker and I am curious as to if this will be a no no for a good amount of time. By no means do I have to drink just wondering g the rules surrounding consuming any.

I love wine and have pretty extensive wine collection. That is gathering dust. My program is "no ETOH for 6 months". And I agreed. For the following reasons: Alcohol is not great for the recovering stomach Alcohol's empty calories Being tipsy empowers your Fat Brain to have a little of this and a little of that and ... Real possibility of 'addition transfer' from food to drink my Program told me to... (sigh, I do drink caffine) I will have wine again (soon), but I expect them two bottle nights be OVER!!! And yes, my lovely wife DOES still have wine in front of me. No biggie...

So it isn't so dangerous to have a little alcohol so early out? Weeks, etc..? I know it's bad for the diet we are on, but can it actually hurt you? Anyone?

That is the thing that kills me in AA. The folks who have been sober for a few years all get together and talk **** about the person struggling to stay in the program. Time away from the days when they abused has given them amnesia. I say to them, "If it is so easy, why did you struggle to get sober? Why couldn't you do it on your own?" Then, trying to get at the root of the addiction takes a lot of strength, but it, too, sometimes gets forgotten over time. Forgetting where I came from is a dangerous thing for me. For food and alcohol. When I can't understand other's struggles, I forget my own and my ego gets the best of me. I don't always need to know why a person struggles (though I like to), but I just have to be present to share my experience, strength and hope. That is the tenet of the 12th step and helps keep me sober, and that is why I participate here. Sharing my story reminds me of where I came from and where I am now. Thank you, GG, and to all who stay and share their story.

It's a lot easier for me to understand it over the last few years when my carb addiction got out of control. Before that, I couldn't understand it as easily. But I also have 12 years of working with drug addicts and alcoholics under my belt. I've never been drunk or high. And I didn't understand why they couldn't quit. Months of conducting and reading their intake interviews, years of lots of reading and research and publishing in the field, years of it, now I understand it. Similarly understand why women stay in abusive relationships. I would beat the crap out of any man that tried that with me, but I understand how it happens. I do understand addiction. When I was so carb addicted that I lost control of my appetite is when I considered the surgery. The hunger was beyond "normal". The cravings were in control, not me. That's when I surrendered. Before then, I had my eating tightly under control, despite not losing weight. And I don't give a shit about fuzzy, straight talk works just fine for me I'm really glad you're participating in this thread. You've dealt with this demon on a couple of different fronts and have a lot to teach.