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I tried wine at 4 weeks out made me naseaus! I tried the starberry and peach margarita those ready to go pouches this weekend at 5 weeks out nd they went down so mooth i loooovveeee!!! Beer but its not gonna be a part of my life anymore i dont want to drink Anythin carbonated i take a super small sip just for taste when i get my hubby one but thts it im glad i gound those margarita pouches though they are 5%alcohol nd i got the light margaritas with less calories i tried a piña colada 6% alcohol nd it was too strong on my tummy

Meals? You get Meals?? I just finished day 7 of a 3 week pre op diet. I get 4 shakes a day and IF I'm still hungry (IF!!) I can have a dry salad. I am losing my mind! I'm being a little dramatic, but this is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Harder than quitting smoking. Harder than quitting alcohol. I know, I'm not being very encouraging. It's just been really rough. 2 more weeks of this seems so long!!!! Pray for me, people!!!

I drink beer and really any alcohol. Yes" you get buzzed very fast-be careful. I hate drinking a lot now because I have had a few black out moments-and made a huge ass out of myself. I had to learn what is my new amount that I can drink and be ok. I drank 6 beers the other night. I only drink on a Friday or Saturday. I hooe that im not stretching my sleeve out but beer was all that was avail at the time.

That's a really good idea for dealing with the assault but I've gone so deep into this dark place I hate leaving my house talking on the phone or even thinking about meeting a new person it's so not like me at the me I was. It feels more like a dream and yes addiction to alcohol grabbed my behind as well it took a few months to realize what I was doing and then I quit drinking completely however I never even liked to drink before I never even thought I'd become a alcoholic but when foods always been your comfort and suddenly your not able to be comforted that way our needs will find a means to get met I guess. But yes I will reconsider therapy again. Who knows maybe this time ill show up and stay. Thanks for the encouragement and acknowledgement. Sent from my iPhone using RNYTalk

@Veesoul....That's not true as you have read. My doc said no alcohol until a year after surgery. When you do you have to be careful because you will get drunk or tipsy really quick. You also could stand a chance of dumping if the drink is too sweet. Just be careful and if you decide to drink just remember moderation.

My Dr says NO alcohol again, ever?!? I wonder why??

Wow! I knew unhealthy - but my kids will never have chkn nuggets or anything from McDonald's again! The liver enzyme stuff scares me too knowing I have non alcoholic fatty liver disease - I'm sure bc I enjoyed too much McDonald's over the years! Surgery can't come soon enough!

Might I add, I am feeling a little sadistic having this surgery. I have given up drinking alcohol, coffee, food, smoking. Where is my will to live? About the only thing left is SEX and that might be difficult because I am such a moody B from quitting everything and being on a liquid diet, who can stand to be around me long enough to ... well you know....

I am looking for a sweetener to use in my tea in the mornings. I don't add it to anything else. I am not allowed any sugar alcohols, and can not stand it if something I drink leaves an after taste in my mouth. I thought about adding some vanilla protein powder but I am afraid it will clump because I like me tea to be HOT.

For some of us yes... Especially with foods like the ones in that article. Corn tortilla chips are my downfall. Had several run ins with them this week Lol and apparently alcohol too! Just saw what I wrote and it made no sense until I edited it

Article in the huffpost today: http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4043980 Here's Why Your Favorite Foods Are So Hard To Resist Renee JacquesThe Huffington PostOct 16, 2013 It's no secret: When you buy Doritos, you're going to finish the entire bag. There are countless reasons why people have so much trouble putting junky Snacks down. And many of them are by design: Companies spend billions on marketing their products and conducting scientific studies to figure out how to engineer their foods to keep you eating. Consider this: In a Connecticut College study released just yesterday, neuroscience students found that eating oreos activated more neurons in the pleasure centers of rats' brains than did consuming cocaine or morphine. And New York Times writer and author of Sugar, Fat, Salt, Michael Moss recently wrote about ten components added to Doritos that make them extremely tasty and difficult to resist. Unsurprisingly, salt and sugar were major ingredients. In fact, the salty additives in Doritos give them a "flavor burst." That "burst" dissolves in your saliva, sending signals to the pleasure centers of your brain, explained Moss. Do these foods sound "addicting" to you? Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, and author of many books on nutrition, says there should be a distinction between having a strong desire for food and being addicted to it. "I think of the word as meaning a physical dependence. We physically depend on food in general, but never on one food in particular," Nestle tells HuffPost. "Food companies create food products that people want to eat. Is wanting the same as addiction? I don’t think so but there’s evidence that foods trigger the same neurological pleasure centers as do addictive drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes, but not nearly to the same extent." Read on to discover exactly how some of your favorite foods may be keeping you coming back for more. You love pastries because they're packed with carbs. Lots of starchy foods contain complex carbs that your body breaks down into simple sugars. A study conducted on mice in 2012 found that foods high in carbs, fats and sugar can actually change the brain. The researchers at the University of Montreal discovered that after being exposed to diets with high levels of fat and sugar, mice revealed withdrawal symptoms of depression and a greater sensitivity to stressful situations. They also had higher levels of the CREB molecule, which is known to play a role in dopamine production. Much of this is still emerging science, and it's impossible to say that eating lots of sugar will necessarily make anyone feel happier, but humans are naturally drawn to sugary high-carb foods. "We evolved to love the taste of sugars as an infant survival mechanism," says Nestle. "The brain needs sugar to function and carbohydrates are the most efficient source of it." You love Cheetos because they literally melt in your mouth. How fast can you eat a bag of Cheetos? Probably pretty quickly. That's because the manufacturers of the puffed corn product have mastered the art of "vanishing caloric density." The Cheeto is extremely light and fluffy, therefore making it easy to rapidly melt in your mouth. Moss discovered that this junk food ploy tricks your brain into thinking you're not eating as many calories, so "you just keep eating it forever." You love Fruit Loops, popsicles and gummy bears because they are bright and colorful. Now, of course, that's not the only reason why you love these tasty foods, but their vibrant coloring has been known to play a part. Food companies add color to their products to make them more appealing. Dr. Linda M. Katz, Chief Medical Officer for the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, reports that color additives are incorporated into foods to "enhance colors that occur naturally" and to "provide color to colorless and 'fun' foods" (like popsicles and soda). "That’s what food companies do to sell foods," says Nestle. "That’s their business. People don’t like eating grey foods." You love canned sauces because most contain excessive sugar. When we think of satisfying snack foods, tomato sauce isn't really on the list. But that doesn't mean it's free of the additives that make more typical junk foods more appealing. If you look at the ingredients list on a can of Prego tomato sauce, for example, the second ingredient after tomatoes is sugar, one of the three addictive components of fast food, according to Moss. The New York Times reports that just a half-cup of Prego traditional sauce has about two tablespoons of sugar. That's the same amount of sugar as in two large Oreos. Nestle says the added sugar in canned tomato sauces "makes them taste better and covers up the off metallic taste from the canning process." But before you head to the kitchen to make your own, note that sugar can be found in canned tomatoes -- a common ingredient in homemade sauce -- in the form of high-fructose corn syrup. If you're craving tomato sauce, you're better off avoiding any kind of tomato product that comes in a can. You love candy because your body has not adapted to its intense flavor. There are a bunch of reasons why you can't resist munching on your kid's Halloween candy loot, but you can blame part of it on evolution. In an article on Prevention.com, Ashley Gearhardt, Ph.D., assistant professor in the psychology department at the University of Michigan, explained that the human body has not yet evolved to handle the intense trio of sugar, fat and salt that comes in candy bars. Gearheardt wrote that before processed food was developed, sugar was "found in fruit and guarded by stinging bees; salt was a simple garnish; and fat was a nutrient that had to be hunted or foraged." The tastes taken together are still very new to the human body. You love fries and potato chips because they have the perfect mix of salt and fat. And they're fried. According to Michael Moss, the coating of fat and salt on potato chips and french fries is what makes them so irresistible. Moss writes in his New York Times piece, "The starch in the potato causes the same glucose spike as sugar, but is absorbed into the bloodstream much more quickly." That spike will drop very fast, causing you to reach for another fry or chip. You love soda, juices and sports drinks because they are sweet, sugar powerhouses. Kelly Brownell, director of Yale's Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, claims that sodas and sports drinks are the “single greatest source of added sugar in the American diet, and the research linking sugar-sweetened beverage intake with obesity and diabetes is stronger than for any other food or beverage category. The average American consumes 50 gallons of sugar-sweetened beverages per year." The Nutrition Source revealed in a guide titled "How Sweet Is It?" that cranberry juice cocktail, orange soda and cola all have much more than 12 grams of sugar in a 12 ounce serving, with some packing upwards of 40 grams of sugar, which is the same as about 10 teaspoons of sugar. That's a lot of sugar. As with many of the items above, high sugar content plays a key part in making popular foods and drinks so hard to put down. But why so much sugar? Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist at University of California, San Francisco has a theory that he outlines in his viral YouTube lecture, Sugar: The Bitter Truth: So why do I call it the Coca-Cola conspiracy? Well, what’s in Coke? Caffeine, good, good. So what’s caffeine? It’s a mild stimulant, right? It’s also a diuretic. It makes you pee free Water. What else is in Coke? We’ll get to the sugar in a minute. What else? Salt, 55 milligrams of sodium per can, it’s like drinking a pizza. So what happens if you take on sodium and lose free water, you get? Thirstier, right. So why is there so much sugar in Coke? To hide the salt.

Wine has lots of sugar alcohol so it can certainly cause you to dump.

Honey, we all have eating issues or we wouldn't be here... food addiction is no different than alcohol or smoking or drugs.. something you may have not realized is that the lapband will change your relationship somewhat with food.. I love food but since being banded I don't think about it 24/7... I eat to stay alive, I still enjoy food but not as much.. after you have been eating healthy for awhile you will be surprised how your eating habits will change.. The band is the best thing I have ever done.. I tried every single thing to lose weight and never successfully kept it off long enough to matter.. This is different... Give it serious consideration and there are psychologist and counselors who can probably help with the mental part... You do have to change your eating habits but if you follow the rules and do your very best, I believe you will be successful. Best of Luck....

I just banded a week ago. I had gastric bypass 14 yrs ago but drank some of it back on. Surgery is a tool. Helps with the capacity, not the compulsion. Now I have to stay away from alcohol and it's hard. Good luck. Guess if my self- esteem was better I would feel better. Still am a smart ass fat chick at heart. Kiss of death for relationships . :-(

Miitiga -I am Italian too. Everythibg you said totally applies to me. I'm not afraid of the surgery. I'm afraid of losing the comfort of food. Like an alcoholic misses his alcohol - but still understanding that he must abstain. I'm scheduled for 11/5. I'm totally scared that I will be a freak who will never enjoy food again.

i know how you feel. i'm 24, 4 weeks post op, and my friends, husband and i go out A LOT. it's a big difference at first, mostly because for the first three weeks, at least, after surgery (for me) i was on full liquids/purees so any time my friends went out i couldn't go. it hurt, and i cried a few times, but i knew it was for the best. i'm not allowed alcohol for six months after surgery, but i wasn't a big drinker anyway. but yesterday, for example, my two friends and i went to a local bbq place. they both got cheeseburgers, ate the WHOLE plate with their fries. i got a wrap and immediately asked for a box, and boxed 3/4th of the wrap and 90% of the fries. i ate the insides of the wrap and about 5-6 fries. i made a decision to not limit myself when going out to eat because i would think it might make me feel lousy (but i do stay away from my triggers which is a slice of something like italian bread, a breadstick, the bun on a hamburger...) plus, while my two friends scarfed down their meal in under ten minutes, i can still get three more meals out of mine! haha! gotta look on the bright side. will you be a bit different? yeah. but when you see the difference on the scale, it's really not that bad! good luck!

Terry I was (and am again) drinking one glass of wine before dinner - more days than not. But just to be clear, I did not drink wine (or anything alcoholic) until one year post-op. I was diagnosed with the ulcer at about 13 months post-op. So, did the wine have anything to do with it? I really don't know. The doctors were aware that I was drinking wine and they didn't know either. Some doctors advise their patients not to have alcohol for a period of six months following the surgery. So one year would appear to be on the conservative side. The anastomosis (which is where the ulcer was) should have been completely healed after that period of time. I was slightly anemic and a stool test picked up a little blood. There was never any pain or any other symptoms, just the anemia. Following the endoscopy and the diagnosis, my surgeon increased my Prevacid from one capsule (30mg) to two a day. That was it. No other treatment. A second endoscopy about three to four months later showed that the ulcer was completely healed. I went back to my glass of wine and blood work was spot on at my 18 month check-up. Sunday will be my two year anniversary and I have an appointment with my surgeon on Tuesday. Lab work is already done so I'll know the results on Tuesday. Ulcers are one of the more common complications following bypass and are usually the result of bacterial infection (H. pylori) as opposed to food (or drink) related causes. But that doesn't mean that alcohol is not an irritant and was not/could not be a contributing factor. It appears to be a difficult question to answer except in extreme cases such as alcoholism or family history of ulcers.

Well, I think it largely depends on you and what could be personal triggers which may sabotage our efforts. Let me put it this way ... if a recovering alcoholic told you that drinking a particular energy drink reminded them of drinking margaritas, would you suggest they continue drinking them or find an alternative? If candy bars are not a slippery slope for you, then I would say the Quest bars are a great way to get your Protein on the go. But if it could possibly be a trigger, then ...

Earlier this year I had my second episode of DVT/PE. (deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism) PE can easily and quickly kill, so I am a very fortunate person to sit here and tell you this. When all was said and done I learned I will be on warfarin (blood thinners) for the rest of my life. There are a couple things you have to monitor and mostly give up while on them...anything rich in vitamin K and alcohol. Vitamin K is the natural anti thinner, it builds your blood. Therefore it will work against your medicine. Since your INR levels have to be monitored and meds adjusted frequently, you really don't want things jumping up and down. Alcohol thins the blood. So drinking on top of taking the meds can cause bleeding in excess. Not changing my consumption of vitamin K wasn't too much of a change as I was not a very healthy eater. ( If I had lived on green leafy foods I would not be needing the sleeve!) But I am a social drinker. I do enjoy a glass of wine now and then. I like to go out for celebrations and have a cocktail. I enjoy a cold beer on a hot day. Being told I could not do that anymore really was harder than anything. I am not an alcoholic, and I don't even drink that often. But it was the idea of being told "no"... Shortly after this all happened I did have drinks. It was Memorial Day weekend and I had friends and family over. I had a couple cocktails and thought "I can do this". But next time I was in for a blood test for my INR my levels were off and my meds had to be adjusted. ( plus I got a lecture) So no, I can't do it. Over the months I have come to accept it and move on.. One reason I chose the sleeve is because there is so much less "never agains". I realize it will be a while, after I am through the weight loss phase. But I know that, at some time in my life, I will be able to have things I really miss and enjoy again. I won't make them my everyday, they will be for rare and special occasions. I want to be healthy and eat healthy. Yet I know that, if I truly want to taste a long missed food, I will be able to again. I will just use my newfound better judgment and eat much less than I once had...

When you move from a food addiction - because you just can't ram it down your gullet like you used to - to other addictions like alcohol, drugs - anything that gives you a serotonin hit...

Pre-op can be so stressful, and seemingly have no end, especially when you have to take care for and cook for everyone else. You are almost there and are holding strong. I also love to cook and enjoy entertaining and I can honestly say that though my choices have changed I still enjoy food as I used to. Much less of it, and better choices, but instead of carb-heavy meals, I focus on making the best and tastiest Proteins I can. I experiment with veggies and have had no issues going out to eat. Wine is unfortunately another story, and will have to be a choice you make for yourself. Most surgeons will say it is ok to drink after a suitable period of time, so you have time to heal. I have had a glass or two of wine in the past year, but I limit myself. Aside from the empty calories, increased potential to make bad food choices if I'm drinking and the fact that the alcohol hits me harder now, I dont' want to put anything in my body that will slow down my weight loss. My understanding is that while alcohol is in my system, my body won't burn fat, it will burn the alcohol first. I want to ride this wave of losing as long as possible, so I limit my alcohol consumption. It's a personal choice. Not eating and drinking at the same time is for a few reasons. It allows the food are you are taking in to digest slower, keeping you fuller longer. Also, if you eat and drink at the same time, you will have less "room" for food when you do eat. It gets easier and becomes second nature as time goes by. I think a passion for food gives you a leg up, you are more inclined to experiment and make foods that fit your lifestyle. Best of luck to you!!

I'm five months out. I'm sorry you have to do a pre-op liquid diet. I didn't, instead I did a 6 month monitored diet where I practiced the not eating and drinking thing, which made me know I could do it and eased some of those fears. I'll share my current results and hopefully that will ease your mind, a little. First, fears are normal. Major changes are about to happen! But you know it's a good thing, and you'll do great! I don't drink 15 minutes before and 1 hr after I eat. When I go out to eat, and I do, because I love food and hate to cook (it's just me, and I'm social, so it's easier to go out with friends sometimes), I order Water - no alcohol for six months per my surgeon, plus we'll get tipsy faster with the smaller stomach - and have that while we wait for the food. Then I push it away when it gets closer to food and don't get a refill. When I was new, I didn't order water, or if I did I didn't drink any. Your stomach can't holdwater and food. It's a forever thing. The volume you can hold is much smaller. When I overfill it, it hurts, and I can tell right away. So I'd rather get my Protein in there than useless water at mealtime. I get my water in the rest of the day (64 oz. really is doable, but it takes practice). I've even been to a buffet with friends. I had one plate. I have to eat slower, and they kept getting up and ended up hurting themselves by the time they were done (guys, of course), but I was happy and satisfied. We're not limited in what we can eat, just how much. And the drinking thing gets easier with time. I've learned the hard way, kind of like eating too fast, that mixing them hurts. Better to not learn that way, but whatever "sticks" with you. I travel for work. My surgeon's plan has us on 1 Protein shake a day for the first year. I bring the whey isolate powder when I travel because it mixes without a blender. I bring my Blender Bottle (with the little metal ball in the bottom) and buy soy milk or skim milk when I get where I'm going. I mix the shake in the morning and it's like home. I travel with my Protein Bars, and now with some nuts (can't do them right away, though). That way I have portable protein. (There are a lot of websites with advice on portable protein and travel post-op). If I'm driving, I can bring a ready to drink protein shake with me, and sometimes I do. When I stop I grab string cheese. Depends on my mood. I've never been a big wine person, but wine is to be savored (my perception). So, you eat, you wait the hour for everyone else to finish their stuff, feeding your kids, whatever, and you have some later. Or you wine and then cheese fifteen minutes later and are done. WLS is a commitment to a different lifestyle, but not to giving up your life. It's a commitment to wanting a BETTER life. You can do it! Everyone is different and you make the journey work for you. You'll quickly learn what rules are "for real" and what rules are more "for best results in weight loss". You're going to want to follow all of them, though, or else why go through the surgery (Says the person who knows which ones to bend already...but look at my stats below...but I'm not claiming to be perfect, and I want to admit that to you) Good luck! and take a deep breath. It will be ok.

Thanks all, for sharing in my (my mental thesaurus is failing me, the best I've got at the moment is...)chagrin... Better (perhaps "more effective" would be more accurate than "better") than any laxative I've tried to date! Including the old standby Fleet enema! Splenda is a component of the "sugar substitute mix" of these. If I had a package at hand (Oh yes of course I have more, I bought a case online... because pooping one's drawers should never be limited to "just once"!), I would list more info, but you can probably look it up online pretty quickly if you are interested. Okay, grabbed a package because it really wasn't that quick to find the info online... Maltitol (a sugar alcohol) and Maltitol syrup are the first 2 ingredients on the ingredient list (ChihuahuaMom, stay far, far, away from these!!!), so that's where the beloved "laxative effect" comes from. Most definitely, there is the carb issue. They're about 37g carbs/serving w/8g Fiber, so that's what, like 2 carb servings I think? Pre-sleeve, I'd always bounced back and forth with my personal "sugar philosophy". Is it better to just have a little sugar or is it better to go with a substitute. Fortunately, I've never had an A1c or fasting glucose test that was high (though my docs kept poking me because my "fat" square peg didn't fit in their "must be diabetic" round hole...), so I've had the flexibility to have the choice. MIJourney: I would guess one bad sugar free candy experience would make you suspicious of them all. To which I would say "Good call!" Thanks all for having a laugh with me! What good is a "I Just Pooped Myself" story if you can't share it, right?!?! And it sounds like I'm in good company!!!

It seems to me a lot of people either weren't #1-properly educated pre and post-op, or #2-slept through all of those classes. When I hear that someone pureed pizza & thought that it was okay, I wonder.......wasn't that outlined in the education classes? When I hear of people drinking carbonated drinks because their band hasn't acted up, I scratch my head & think......don't they know that the issue is potential band erosion? Did the education classes not cover how to read food labels? When I hear some of these things, I just wonder what the mindset was was when they moved forward with this surgery. Please understand that I'm not passing judgement on anyone here. I've made my own mistakes. I never tried to "cheat the band", but I've maybe eaten a little bit more than I should have, or chose something that wasn't the healthiest choice. One night at a concert, I drank with reckless abandon. At the time I felt fine. The next morning, the calories were the least of my problem. The fact that I threw up was the HUGE issue. Lesson learned... I rarely, if ever, throw up from drinking. But clearly, my body no longer processes alcohol the way it did pre-band. Was I trying to cheat the band? No, I was not. I think, possibly, the thread header "How to Cheat On Your Band" maybe isn't exactly what you meant? If it was, then no, I do not understand why anyone would "intentionally" push the envelope straight into the danger zone.

Oh I am SO sorry! I had post op nausea too it sucks. I can't tell you when yours will stop, because everyone is different. If they think you should stay in the hospital, you should stay. Numero uno priority right now is for you to stay hydrated. Dehydration is serious business. Tiny, TINY sips of Water are the way to go, and breathe. Just enough to wet your mouth. Tiny sips several minutes later, and breathe. Rest, and repeat. It WILL get easier over time. Also, they should have some anti-nausea medicine, and I've heard smelling an alcohol swab can help. Mine lasted no longer than a week, and while at the time I was miserable --- it's a distant memory now. Hope you feel better soon!!