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When looking for a Protein supplement I look for less than 200 cals (but really not more than 175) 23g of whey protein or more very little fat, less the better and no more than 2 sugars, including sugar alcohols

It was just an alcohol pad. Never had a reaction before.

I am 4.5 weeks post VSG, and I think I just had my first dumping episode! I drank my first cup of coffee (caffeine) with flavored creamer (sugar) and a tiny half-shot of Bailey's (alcohol and more sugar). What in THE WORLD was I thinking?! Please, I implore you, don't make my idiotic mistake. This was the absolute sickest I think I've ever been in my life! A full hour in the bathroom, never feeling confident which end would go first. They most intense gas pain I've ever endured. Sweating, writhing around. Praying God would just take me. If this story helps just one person resist temptation simply by scare-tactic, I'll feel better. [emoji21] Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using BariatricPal mobile app

I used ooops paint remover, VERY CAREFULLY, LOL. I tried polish remover, alcohol, peanut butter, olive oil, finally got tired of the tread marks on the tummy and got out the oops, put it on a q-tip and gone with the first swipe. WARNING-DO NOT GET ON OR NEAR THE INCISION.

Today I am 29 days post op and went for my first fill. At first I was not sure what to expect. I saw the needles, saline bottle, bandaids, alcohol prep pads on the counter. When the doctor came in he made me lie down and do a small crunch. He then inserted the needle. It was totally painless!! I just felt the tiny pinch of the needle and that was it. I did not receive any anesthetic before the injection and I definately did not need any. I feel so at peace knowing that the only negative thing about getting a fill is the hour drive it takes me to get to the doctor's office. It only took about 5-10 minutes with the doctor before I could leave.

Yup, I'm "mentally interesting" too. I always say without bi-polars in the world, it would not be half as interesting. hehe My drug has been food, because I saw my brothers, who have it too, (it runs in families, if one person has it, chances are more do) use drugs and alcohol and literally ruin their lives and health. They were also brilliantly talented, as most bipo's are in some way and did not want that. Food however, made me as much a junkie as they are and kept me from living my dreams and a fulfilling life as much as smack, crack or drink would have. You go Beachee. Pat yourself on the back for taking that step because the sad truth is, most people with our problem DON'T go and get help.

1. How long have you had your band? August 13,2010 2. How much weight have you lost? 32lb 3. How many fills and unfills did you get until you found the "sweet spot"? 8 I think 10 CC's 4. If you stick to a particular diet (ie weight watchers, low carb, atkins, etc) which on works for you? I follow the 90/10 rule. Eat healthy most of the time and special occasions like someone birthday I can have cake. I make sure to get 3 Oz of protein at each meal. 5. How often do you exercise? Seven days a week. One hour of Lap Swimming, water proof MP3 players are the best invention ever! 6. Does anyone do Yoga and how long did you wait until you started practicing again? No 7. Do you ever drink alcohol? No 8. What foods give you a problem? Not really. The only thing that has given me issues is baby carrots when I them to fast. 9. Does your port stick out? No. In fact it is really deep and the nurse really needs to look for it. 10. How much water do you get in each day? Probably 80 oz. I do drink a lot of decaf coffee being as the North East has turned into a frozen tundra. 11. Any tips that will help on the journey? Really think about what your food triggers are. You may need to cut them out of your life. I used to have all kinds of crackers, cookies, Baked potato chips, cereal. I would either sit down and eat half a box of cereal or snack on it all day. Now I only get to have crackers if I’m at a party and eat 2-3. Also start concentrating and thinking about what you’re eating. The more you savor each bite the more you’ll enjoy it.

1. How long have you had your band? 7 months (june 29 2010) 2. How much weight have you lost? 90 glorious pounds. 3. How many fills and unfills did you get until you found the "sweet spot"? 3, I have 5.2 cc's in a 10 cc band. (This will change with the more weight I lose) 4. If you stick to a particular diet (ie weight watchers, low carb, atkins, etc) which on works for you? I count my protien and calories 5. How often do you exercise? Yes, daily - 30 min cardio plus 30 min strength training. I do miss a day occassionally. 6. Does anyone do Yoga and how long did you wait until you started practicing again? Never tried it, but would like to 7. Do you ever drink alcohol? Once in a great while. Had 3 glass' of wine xmas eve, would have one or two drinks at the lake last summer once in a while. 8. What foods give you a problem? Bread, scrambled eggs, pasta. (better if I try at night, sometimes I can eat them but I pretty much don't even try any more) 9. Does your port stick out? no (not yet) not sure if it ever will. 10. How much water do you get in each day?64 - 80 oz or more. once in a while i fall short. 11. Any tips that will help on the journey? Listen to your stomach, not your head. Get to know if you are hungry or just want to eat. Drink your water and exercise. Good Luck to you!

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.

Could it have been the pain medicine mixed with the wine? Since we are eating less, I think alcohol can make us feel fuzzier easier. I hope you are feeling better now...Let us know. Melissa

I am having a problem on deciding to get another fill. I had one 2 months ago and I got restriction from it but lately I have been able to eat a little more and I am just unsure about getting one again. It scares me to think that it is going to be too tight or I am going to start vomiting. I have not vomited since I have had the band...well....only that one night I had a little too much alcohol . And that scared the hell out of me because I had gone so long without one episode of vomiting that the thought of vomiting was terrifying. I thought something bad would happen to my band if I did. I cried so much that night and swore to not do that again! And I haven't **pat on back** !!! So...do I call and make the appointment and get it done or do I make the appointment and talk to him about it when I get there? Or just wait it out a little longer and see if I suddenly get some restriction back? Advice please! :Bunny And yes...I have put on about 2 pounds...not a big number but big enough for me to be really pissed!

To the weight loss surgery patient slider foods are the bane of good intentions and ignorance often causing dumping syndrome, weight loss plateaus, and eventually weight gain. Slider foods, to weight loss surgery patients, are soft simple processed carbohydrates of little or no nutritional value that slide right through the surgical stomach pouch without providing nutrition or satiation. The most innocent of slider foods are saltine crackers, often eaten with warm tea or other beverages, to soothe the stomach in illness or while recovering from surgery. Understanding Slider Foods The most commonly consumed slider foods include pretzels, crackers (saltines, graham, Ritz, etc.) filled cracker snacks such as Ritz Bits, popcorn, cheese snacks (Cheetos) or cheese crackers, tortilla chips with salsa, potato chips, sugar-free cookies, cakes, and candy. You will notice these slider foods are often salty and cause a dry mouth so they must be ingested with liquid to be palatable. This is how they become slider foods. They are also, most often, void of nutritional value. For weight loss surgery patients the process of digestion is different than those who have not undergone gastric surgery. When slider foods are consumed they go into the stomach pouch and exit directly into the jejunum where the simple carbohydrate slurry is quickly absorbed and stored by the body. There is little thermic effect in the digestion of simple carbohydrates like there is in the digestion of protein so little metabolic energy is expended. In most cases patients in the phase of weight loss who eat slider foods will experience a weight loss plateau and possibly the setback of weight gain. And sadly, they will begin to believe their surgical stomach pouch is not functioning properly because they never feel fullness or restriction like they experience when eating protein. The very nature of the surgical gastric pouch is to cause feelings of tightness or restriction when one has eaten enough food. However, when soft simple carbohydrates are eaten this tightness or restriction does not result and one can continue to eat, unmeasured, copious amounts of non-nutritional food without ever feeling uncomfortable. Many patients turn to slider foods for this very reason. They do not like the discomfort that results when the pouch is full from eating a measured portion of lean animal or dairy protein without liquids. Yet it is this very restriction that is the desired result of the surgery. The discomfort is intended to signal the cessation of eating. Remembering the “Protein First” rule is crucial to weight management with bariatric surgery. Gastric bypass, gastric banding (lap-band) and gastric sleeve patients are instructed to follow a high protein diet to facilitate healing and promote weight loss. Bariatric centers advise what is commonly known among weight loss surgery patients as the “Four Rules” the most important of which is “Protein First.” That means of all nutrients (protein, veggies, complex carbohydrates, then fat and alcohol) the patient is required to eat protein first. Protein is not always the most comfortable food choice for weight loss surgery patients who feel restriction after eating a very small amount of food. However, for the surgical tool to work correctly a diet rich in protein and low in simple carbohydrate slider foods must be observed. The high protein diet must be followed even after healthy body weight has been achieved in order to maintain a healthy weight and avoid weight regain.

Hello from Toronto! I understand 100%. I was a smoker, quit LAST SUNDAY! I've been a smoker for 20 years, but have only been smoking 12-15 cigs a day for the last 10 years. I quit because it was time, and this was punctuated by my surgery date on the 15th of July. My Dr. wanted me to quit 2 weeks before surgery. I have quit in the past, about 7 years ago, but stressful events in my life had me returning to the nasty habit! I had quit for 6 months, a real shame to return after that period of time. Alas, we move on, and try, try again! My quitting this time is part of my overall change of attitude! I want to get healthy, so I can play with my children, and feel good physically again! It's a lifesyle choice, and I am now chosing to control my habits, like smoking and eating and lack of exercise, rather than letting them control me! It's rather empowering me...and I'm feeling like I'm taking back my life, step by step. I'm using the patch, and it's working well. Try taking it off about 15 minutes before bed...the dreams and restlessness should stop... Stay strong, and breathe deeply everytime the urge creeps up on you...seems to be working for me. Staying away from "triggers" like coffee, alcohol ect is important. I KNOW you can do this.... Best of luck!

Yeah...I went to their smoking place...on LaCienega...back around 1970. It must have worked because I stopped smoking...in 2000. They told us to drink Water instead of alcohol and chew a clove instead of lighting up. I announced that I was going to be the only girl in town who wanted a glass of water before and a clove after. ( A rather "spirited" comment for 1970.)

I made a comment yesterday about not being able to conceive of people who would put their surgery at risk by drinking alcohol or eating a burger so quickly after surgery... It got a lot of feedback, most of it negative. I'm so sorry. It was never my intent to offend anyone, and clearly...I don't know too much of the emotional piece of this lifestyle change. I thought I was well informed about the mechanics of the procedure and the aftermath, however, I guess I'm not. I'm just trying to get healthy and fit so that my retirement with my husband (who is 8 years younger than I am - He's 55, I'm 63), will be as enjoyable and full of activities as possible. I have RA, Psoriatic Arthritis, Sciatica, Fibromyalgia, and a Meningioma in my brain. I am - yes - a little vain and have been asking questions about excessive skin because I'm frightened of the rash and pain that can be associated with it. But mostly...I'm afraid of the unknown. No matter how much you think you know and have read about it, you can't know til you are out of recovery. I'm nervous and anxious awaiting the approval from insurance and surgery date. I want to publicly apologize to anyone who I may have hurt or offended. Again...it was not my intent.

My surgeon says no alcohol the first year and after that in moderation. You don't want to take in all your calories through liquid.

Hi: I had a difficult time with the gas after surgery for about a week and a half. Sometimes, if you are eating, "or drinking", too many sugar free food or drinks, they tend to have a higher sugar alcohol content and that can cause gas, if you check the nutritional information or the ingredients, sugar alcohol will usually end in "ol". Hopefully you will feel much better very soon. Also, GasX is a chewable anyi gas that is very well tolerated and it helped me a lot. Good luck on this new healthy journey we have embarked on!!! Lisa:) PS I had mine done on March 9, so just a week or so before you:)

When did you have your first alcoholic drink after your surgery ?!

4 months glass of wine 5 months Bloody Mary (didn't sit well and couldn't finish it) 6 months vodka cocktails Since then I've had everything from Twisted tea to Apple Crown, vodka, rumchata, Kahlua, wine, bloody Mary's, margaritas, and flat hard cider. Mostly just on vacation or over holidays. Unfortunately Alcohol does not effect me any differently than preop....I can still outdrink a football team. I was really looking forward to being a lightweight, but unfortunately am not. I was an alcoholic preop....drank every day, got seriously drunk on the weekends. I often drank more calories than I ate. But now the calories just aren't worth the buzz. I basically treat it like any other carb....limited occasions and in moderation.

I did it for a mix of reasons. Absolutely to look and feel better. I hate getting an extender on an airplane and wondering if I could get removed from a flight. I hated being limited in what I could do because I didn't like to stand for long and walking exhausted me and the summer heat was unbearable. I also began working in a Senior apartment building and became infinitely more aware of health as one gets older and the impact excess weight has on health. My ObGYN told me in no uncertain terms that he felt I was a cancer risk due to being over weight. For years I tried to do this on my own and @@AvaFern has said it very well- a permanent solution to yo-yo dieting that I was not able to give myself without help. So, one day right before Christmas, when I was dreading the clothes family members would buy, inevitably too small, and ask me to try on, sliding into the airplane seat and praying and sliding into the booth at Denny's -where I really didn't fit, after family picked me up at airport and any other number of things I made the decision to meet with a surgeon and made the appointment before I left for the holidays. I met with the surgeon on December 29th and Got my sleeve on April 21st - almost 4 months later and I haven't hesitated or regretted yet. It is early on and I do look forward to getting off the purees and having some veggies and fish and steak (fingers crossed) but I am also looking forward to losing the weight, to starting at a gym, to arranging activities that don't center around food or alcohol. I'll admit- most of my current friends I met at a local restaurant bar and we had 3 nights a week that we met- but some of that has changed and I find myself a little at a loss of how to fill my time just now but I'll get there. But I am largely happy and on my way to healthy and so glad I made the decision to do it.

Remember it is a disease like any other like alcohol or drugs , just food was our drug of CHOICE, you notice I said choice , and until that person their selves want help and ask for it and really wants it then there is nothing you or any one else can do, so you can or might say in a nice way how you like being able to not to have the aid of a cane to walk and how you like to be able to bend over and come back up and not feeling like your going to pass out and how you are just able to breath better , and maybe it will trigger something , but again you can't force a opinion on someone , cause we all know what opinions are like , everybody has one , just do you like you have been doing and tell your sister you love her and are just worried and would miss her because of something simple that may save her life, well I hope some of this helped , and I am so mad that the Doctors won't touch my Mother to help her with her weight , because now she has to many issues and their afraid her heart wouldn't be able to take it , she is only 65, I am afraid I want have her around in a few yrs, and I mean few.

Unfortunately alcohol does not affect me differently....I can still out drink a football team. I was actually looking forward to being a cheap date. The only change is that now I get gastritis and have to take an antacid if I drink too much and I don't really feel like the little buzz I get is worth all the calories so I might have a drink maybe once or twice/month. I was a "cocktail every day after work and drink all weekend" person prior to VSG.

I think what dives me the most nuts is the contradictions. On Monday night the bariatric group is telling me it is OK to drink alcohol that is lower in calories in moderation once you meet your goal weight, but then 2 days later I am signing a piece of paper saying that I will never drink alcohol again. It i similar that they tell you not to drink crystal light or other sugar free drinks, but it is OK to eat sugar free jello and popsicles. Are the sugar free ingredients in those magically different then the sugar free ingredients in crystal light?

I can't believe anyone would think of asking you to sign that. You are getting a lap band, not moving to Mars! Of course, we all recognize that alcohol is just empty calories, but really, as adults can't we decide what we choose to consume? Alcohol will not hurt your band. It will merely impede your weight loss, as do lots of other poor choices. Maybe I should sign something to indicate that I won't eat pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. As for drinking with the band, I'm not a big drinker, but I do have a glass of wine every now and then. I've tried beer, but the carbonation makes me sick. Since, I lost half my body size, alcohol does effect me much quicker. You do need to be cautious, but you don't need to avoid it for the rest of your life. I really think that the secret to success with the band is to live as normally as possible. Crazy rules like this, just make it harder to think for yourself and make good choices. Information is useful, arbitrary rules are not. Cindy

Just like La Madam (Michelle, good to see you post and that you are still doing so well) but different in the sense that mine was a slip. I was a poster perfect bandster, right portions, no carbonation, no overeating/pouch packing, no NSAIDS, no pbing or sliming for months, by no means overfilled, and I had a slip. Being unfilled and mostly on liquids and soft food for 3 months did not resolve it. I am lucky that because I had no erosion that they were able to remove and replace the band. And because I had lost 90% of my weight at the same time I had a low profile port placed right above my left hip bone (never even notice it now and it was really starting to show when I wore more clingy clothes and sometimes uncomfortable when exercising). I also had a lower body lift done. So, yes there are some things to help prevent a slip but there can be other causes. I think it is very hard to be a perfect bandster as most of us do have an occasional treat and/or calories from alcohol Have I been perfect since my rebanding, no (I still enjoy occasional ice cream/couple bites of dessert or a glass of wine) but I exercise more, have an even lower amount of fill, and am very careful and see my doctor if necessary. I have only had two fills since the surgery (almost a year) and could use a little more but like La Madam (and in case I ever lose the band), I watch my portions, I do not allow myself to gain more than 5 pounds before I buckle down again, and NEVER overeat, if anything I eat much less. La Madam is such a wonderful example that the band is a tool and hopefully if we have to lose it, we now have the tools (emotionally) to maintain the loss. It is difficult because those hunger pains come roaring back and your head tells you that it is time to eat. When that happens I just drink another bottle of Water. I will NOT give in (Michelle, you were my inspiration even though you lost the band). I was totally prepared that I would wake up from surgery with a lower body lift and no band. I knew I could accept that thanks to La Madam. I consider myself lucky to still have one. So, this is getting long but IMHO for a slip or erosion there are some known causes but there are also unknown reasons why things happen to our bodies and how the band reacts. I personally feel that my slip was possibly from exercising too much. I wanted to try to lose as much of my loose skin as possible before considering plastic surgery. Possibly all the crunches I was doing? Just my personal theory.