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My surgeon said no carbonated drinks ever because it will stretch your pouch. There were six things my psych said I can never have ever after surgery. Lets see if I can remember them all. Carbonation, alcohol, caffeine, fried foods, sugary drinks? And I can't remember the last one. Ill have to look that up.

I had my first glass of wine about 3 months out. Now 6 months out I have a glass every few weeks. One and done is what I like to call it because I would be sick on the floor on more than one. One thing I didn't think about preop is that alcohol is pretty much all sugar so you don't just have the alcohol but the sugar too. One glass I am feeling good, two (I tried once) and not only am I drunk but sugar overload kicks in. HW 344, DOS 320, Surgery Date 2/20/13, CW 236 Sent from my iPad using RNYTalk

Oh mY Gosh - I am so glad you posted this! I am sorta in the same boat! Just started this past July. My center is VERY strict as well - which I am glad about. Cannot even see surgeon until you lose 8%! Grrrr! I have only told 3 pple and i am slowly telling a few others. Also because they are other "life" things i should be attending to but I have my mandatory mtgs. I for one believe you should be honest w/ your boss and if she is any kind of a good boss or friend, she will be nothing but supportive. Ask her to PLEASE keep this between the two of you. If an alcoholic had to attend mtgs, I do not think bosses can share that info w/ others!! Stay in touch - we shall go thru this together!

sniff alcohol wipes. i know, sounds weird. its an old mexican treatment. works pretty good. but yeah, call your doc. there's nothing over the counter you can get for nausea.

Hi ya'll! I'm fresh off a 4 day weekend and wanted to get you the up to the minute Johnny news. C'mon, be honest.... how many of you just can't wait for your fanatical fat fix? I thought so. This blog is like an auto race. Most of the spectators just come for the crashes. At the very least, I am a cheap version of a reality show. Your own personal rendition of Biggest Loser. Or Survivor. Hey, I got an idea ... What if we combine both of those shows? Let's strand a bunch of fat asses in the middle of no where with no food and the potty mouthed TV chef Paula Dean. We'll call it Fattasy Island. My bet, 7 contestants arrive, only 5 leave. The other 2 will be enjoyed with a homemade tropical marinade. No doubt this will be a huge hit. On to the news. Last Monday I went for monthly follow up visit at the center for Fat-ass-i-ness. As reported last week, I officially hit the 50 pound loss point. Yippee! I have to tell you that I am starting to look and feel a little out of place in the waiting area. I am no longer the short, overly swelled man that enjoyed the extra comfort of the fat ass chairs. I am now just a short, plump man that looks like a little kid sitting in a big chair. Add the fact that I usually wear a suit and tie on Mondays. The waiting wobblers probably think I'm some kind of creepy sales person waiting to show Dr. X my new drugs. But sitting and waiting is part of my commitment. It is part of my rehab. Yup. Rehab. Because that's really what this is. Fataholic's Anonymous. My name is Johnny ... and I'm a fataholic. Anyone that reads this, and definitely anyone that tries this, must realize what a significant weight loss project really is. It's a full time commitment to food sobriety. Without full dedication to the cause, you are doomed to fail. "Just one Oreo" can be as catastrophic to a fataholic as "just one beer" to the alcoholic. That first step backwards can lead to a tumble. The end of the binge is just as devastating for both. Self consciousness, loss, shame, failure. All the same buzz words. The alcoholic may end his bender in a a tavern with a shot and a beer in the wee hours of the morning. The fataholic may end up in a corner with a jumbo bag of Dorito's and jar of salsa. Self inflicted wounds for both. The fataholic requires guidance just like his counterpart. We get all the information we need to succeed from our nutritionists, shrinks and doctors. But at the end of the day, it is still on you to watch and motivate yourself. You have to make constant decisions to succeed. Food is not only required to live,it is part of our culture. Think about it. Just about every social gathering includes food. A nice night out with your better half probably includes dinner. A business lunch includes food. Weddings, birthday parties, anniversaries, bar mitzvahs ... you name a social gathering and there will be food. And plenty of it. How about our addiction to Fat Ass TV? There are several channels that air nothing but food shows 24/7. Then you have Masterchef, Iron Chef,Top Chef and a myriad of other kitchen shows. There is a guy that drives around the country and pigs out at out of the way diners. There are guys that fix broken restaurants and a guy that spies on various eatery's employees. If has to do with food, there is a TV show about it. And these chefs / stars get paid humongous salaries for this! I'm really in the wrong business. It's easy to see how someone can lose sight of a healthy lifestyle and fall in to the grips of fatness in our country today. Once you get there, going back is b***h. It's a challenge every minute to stay on your selected program. It's a good thing I have my sober coaches to guide me ... good ol' Al C. Hall and his cousin Vinny Vino. See you soon.. Johnny PS I'm at a little plateau here. The weight loss is slowing down to around a pound per week. I'm going to have to change something up here next week

Nikki - Although some may disagree, I don't believe that any of us who got to the point of WLS, are ever really cured 100% from our eating issues. Sure, we make changes; control what we eat, exercise to varying degrees, and follow the band rules (albeit, not always perfectly). But food addiction is no different than any other addiction, in as we can fall back into old habits & behaviors at any time. That's why one of the 12 step program mantras is that they're always "in recovery"; never "recovered". I couldn't agree more. With food, it's actually more difficult, because you can never completely stop eating, as you can with using drugs & alcohol. As far as concerns about complications with the band, yes, I think about it, too. Although, now that I've got a few months under my belt, I don't think about it quite as much. But, sure, it's always in the back of my head, especially since I had the band with plication. I'm doing pretty well, so I figure I'll pay close attention, see my doctor regularly, and deal with complications IF they arise.

Interesting. I never had indigestion or Reflux before surgery, even though I had a hiatal hernia (never knew I had one!) which was repaired during surgery. My stomach now is greatly irritated by any amount of alcohol (thankfully I rarely imbibe!), and I find myself popping a tums more and more often, even while avoiding irritants. I guess my question was whether the band itself causes more acid in your tummy and whether we should all be taking acid blockers. It will be a question I ask the doc on my next visit in November! Thank you for the replies, and any other input would be welcome! :-)

Because it seems completely clear to me, I often make the mistake of thinking it must seem obvious to others. So here it is: If you are over-weight and don't have a band, losing weight without eating well/exercising is damned near impossible If you have a band and don't eat well, don't exercise or have no restriction, you're pretty much as above If you have a band, don't eat well, don't exercise and have some restriction, you may still lose, but probably not much, and eventually you'll probably start regaining If you have a band, eat well, don't exercise and have no restriction, you might still lose, but slowly If you have a band, eat well, don't exercise, and have restriction, you will lose steadily but may not lose ALL your excess weight. If you have a band, eat well, exercise and have restriction, you now have the trifecta and have given yourself the best chance of success with weight loss. I am a realist. If I don't exercise, I don't expect to lose fast. If I drink alcohol, then I expect that I will have to burn that off. If I don't have restriction, I expect to GAIN. The responsibility of how well I do is in my hands. No one else, and certainly not the band's alone. People say the band is a tool, and this is what it means.

I cannot believe that in this day and age and technology, your doctor would not agree that obesity is a major problem. I think I would find a new doctor immediately. Becuase she's never gonna be supportive even after the procedure is done. Every ache and pain you have, she is going to blame on your surgery. Apparently, she doesn't understand that obesity is a disease just like alcohol and smoking.So sorry for your doctor's ignorance.

Pretty good week for me as well. I was targeting 1700 calories a day in order to gain a pound or so. But the long Labor Day weekend pushed the actual closer to 1800 calories. But I was 153.6 yesterday morning so I'm pleased with the result. Still struggling to get my fiber up with last week only hitting about 50% of my goal. I will eat my veggies, I WILL eat my veggies! Percentages were good - 33/35/32 against my goal of 40/30/30 carbs/fat/protein. Carbs make me nervous so I'm always glad to be below that number. Fat was a little high but doesn't seem to have anywhere near as much impact on my weight as carbs. Yesterday's numbers aren't reflected in last weeks results but...I had half of a medium baked potato with BBQ chicken and a little low fat butter with canola oil on it for dinner. Good meal calorie wise and very filling (little weak on protein with only 6g). About two hours later I got hit with "late" dumping aka hypoglycemia. I've had the baked potato with BBQ chicken before with no problem. At the moment my best guess is that the dumping was caused by the combination of the potato and two glasses of Merlot that I had about a half hour before dinner. No previous problem with either the wine or the potato but the combination together and BAM! Strange stuff hypoglycemia. I ate a protein bar with 2g of sugar and 4g of sugar alcohol and in 20 minutes I was just fine. Hope you guys had a terrific Labor Day!!

Yes sugarfree Popsicles.. But it did have like 2 g of alcohol sugar some like that

There are many journeys that had us arrive at the pre-op weight that we were. For me, I was a stick in grade school, high school and college. I was soooo active, I remember eating a Big Mac and two hambeurgers (in one sitting) on a regular basis. Back then, I could not gain weight at all. However, as I am sure this resonates with some...I started slowing down, drinking alcohol...but in some respects I never changed my eating habits (well, except for loathing fast food). Pre-op, did I eat the wrong things?? I am sure I did, however, my biggest weakness was portion control. I was never a big sweets guy...only would partake on occasion. Now that I am sleeved, I am forced to change some of my habits. I was sleeved almost 6 weeks ago...and I can relate to what Laura-Ven stated, about mind set. I have evolved in just the past two weeks. It is commonly held, that it takes approx six weeks to make a habit change permanent. There are things that I have chosen not to re-introduce, as I see them as a threat to my overall goal...slider foods are one of them. Do I believe that everyone needs to follow that?? Absolutely not! I do believe that we should all become as knowlegable as we can, then try to objectively weigh the risks and choose what you want to do. Cindy, I am happy it is working for you! And I wish you success in the future, and I think everyone on this forum is or should be rooting for all to succeed!

Hey! Umm, honestly I eat whatever I want and I drink alcohol too. Which is bad I know but I really have no consequences, I'm still losing a pound a week and that's what I expected to lose being that I was a low bmi. People tell me I don't need to lose much more but I know I am cause I want to be smaller. Everyone notices that I've lost a good amount of weight and it's very rewarding. I always make sure I eat Protein first whether it be meat or cheese but I do eat chips and bad stuff I shouldn't. I think I became lactose intolerant because I tried to eat ice cream and I had bad pain and diarrhea. It was awful. But I probably don't get all my Water in either and that's the worst part. I need to improve on that a lot.

For me, I learned a lot of faulty beliefs about food as a child. My Dad, who had schizophrenia, was never very loving (actually extremely abusive) but on occasion, when he felt especially happy, he'd share his joy, and love with us buy buying junk food. I remember him carrying me on my shoulders at around 4 years old down to the corner store and bought me those little chocolates wrapped in foil in the shape if a football! That's a special memory for my because I've had very few experiences of feeling loved by him. (Food = love) I was the oldest of 9 children. I had a lot of responsibility and stress growing up seeing as my dad was unreliable mentally and our mom was a raging alcoholic with a mood and anxiety disorder. I felt very comforted with food. I liken it to a drug. I could eat so much pizza that it would get me high. I would feel relaxed and happy afterwards. (Food=escape) I was never called fat in kindergarten, but that changed in 1st grade. It was so humiliating. I was ostracized from my classmates and I hardly ever had friends through out school. Thats when I knew I was fat. My mom said I wasn't and that it was baby fat and I'd grow out of it. I didn't. I got bigger and bigger. I went through a little phase where I tried not eating. I wasn't very good at that. (Food=companion) So this little fat girl grew up to be a fat teen with very low self esteem. The first boyfriends I had at that time were real scumbags and of course that's all I thought I deserved, subconsciously anyways. They were into the drug scene and I made some pretty poor choices back then, experimented with drugs, sex, and alcohol. During this time I lost weight. I remember fitting into a size 16 and I felt like I was getting skinny. Food wasn't an issue for me at that time. Male attention was my drug of choice. It sure felt good to feel wanted and be given compliments and to have that void in me, that deep dark hole of just desiring to belong and feel significant temporarily filled by the strange men. By the grace if God, I was able to pull my self out of that. But at 15 and having had many many horrible experiences, I developed depression. And there was my good ol' frenemy FOOD. (Food=antidepressant) I got my first job at Taco Bell. I was 16. I ate whatever I wanted. I was up to 230lbs and 5'3". There were times I tried to diet and exercise, just never worked out. I met my husband there. He liked me because I was big. He was into that. I never felt pressured to lose weight and he treated me to anything I wanted. (Food= love) He didn't do it to hurt me, he saw feeding me as making me happy which it would do. For years though, I'd cry to him. "I'm so fat, my knees hurt, my back hurts, I can't climb stairs, I broke your moms chair, I hate my self, that's why I can't get pregnant, I'm too fat, I can't lose weight, I need help, promise to help me?, don't let me eat too much.... And on and on. He'd try. He would really try to help. The addiction was too powerful. I decided I need to do something about it. I started researching fertility treatments and they assured me if I were to lose weight I'd greatly increase my chance to get pregnant. I researched the lap band back then, before anyone really heard of the sleeve. I decided that that's what I wanted. I had to lose 30lbs to get the surgery and I put my butt to work! I wanted a baby! I was infertile for 5 years and once I lost those 30lbs I got pregnant. I was around 250-260lbs then. I said well to heck with getting the lap band now! At the end of my pregnancy with my son I was a whopping 310 lbs. (Food= I can eat more when I have an excuse...I'm feeding two!) Some of the weight came off and I was pregnant with my daughter at 276lbs. I was 300lbs at the end of that pregnancy. I was the fat mom. The lazy mom. I was the fat wife that just found out after (at that time) the whole 9 years I had been with my husband he had been cheating on me with another woman!!! I was not going to be fat anymore!!! I pursued wls and had my sleeve on 2/13/13. I am down 116lbs. Currently weighing in at 185lbs at 6 months post op. I have had the most bumping road I could have imagined for my self. I have had several breaking-up and getting-back-together episodes. I had an extremely slutty stage too where I was reverting back to what filled my void as a teen since food wasn't an option anymore. I cheated on my husband with random men. I was a mess. As for right now, I'm doing good. I'm happy with my husband and have not been promiscuous. Doing pretty good eating wise and working on becoming a better me. I'm learning to love myself in a way that heals my void so that I wont rely on an external substitute. I am learning to be really nice to me. Now if I can only quit smoking! Lol, but really I need to.

I also like the idea of feeling like I'm not on a "diet", and can occasionally eat comfort foods. I can have a few bites of potato salad or a hot dog, for example, things I would never have allowed myself when I was on a diet before. And I don't feel deprived, or fearful, knowing my sleeve will help keep me in check. But I also know I am an "addict" and one bite of sweets, crackers or chips, will make me want more and more. I have decided that for me, those things are like booze to an alcoholic. So I choose to never eat candy, cookies, cake, chips, pastries, etc. again. I don't trust myself. Everyone is different in how they handle foods, especially "trigger foods", and which ones they can control and which they can't. For me I'm happy with healthy foods most of the time, an occasional few bites of a higher calorie treat, and living without those things that used to make me binge. If you can lose weight with portion control, and are eating healthy most of the time, more power to you! Good luck.

I am only 2 weeks post but my doctor says no alcohol for at least a year.

So true, the funny thing is my surgeon doesn't say no alcohol, they say its not gonna hurt you any... just moderation. Get a shot and sip on it over a few hours and drink it with Water if you want. Do what makes you feel comfortable. I am not a big drinker. I gave up soda, do I miss it yeah.. if my dr says i can drink it again I don't know if I would. I do want to be able to go to a friends house and not have to bring my own food, I want to be normal and just eat a small portion. If that means I have to drink a Protein drink or 2 because I can't get it all in then I will. Guess I am different than a lot of people. Do I plan on eating better and healthier, of course. But my problem was portion control.. Now that I have my tool, I can control my portion control.

This is pretty much how I feel, I don't mind giving up soda or alcohol forever, but I'm not giving up my pizza!! I basically wanted to try to re-learn how to eat and not be a pig! Have 1 slice and be satisfied instead of thinking I need to eat a whole large by myself. If I want a few chips I'm going to eat them! I really just hope this is a lifestyle change in regards to making me realize that a small portion is just as good! Amanda

Jose Cuervo light margarita. Already has the alcohol in it. 4oz = 95 calories

Ok Im playing devil's advocate for a minute.. Yes, there are situations where a person may have a cane due to some medical ailment not related to weight, however, there are a fair share of those who have canes because of their weight too. It's impossible to discern between the two, and thus people are making rapid judgments because our brains are designed to do just that. So let's take that snapshot judgement and analyze it... why do we change our behavior when obesity vs disease (assuming you see it differently) is the culprit. Disease is easier to discuss. We have empathy for anyone who is 'inflicted' with a disease, disorder, condition outside their control and must live with the disability it renders. Thus we want to diminish their pain and inconvenience. But the key phrase, might be outside "their" control Now let's look at obesity. I would presume the majority of our society sees obesity as self driven, not as a disease. Thus the inconveniences that go with being overweight (joint issues, inability to fit in standard seats, lack of clothing options etc) seems avoidable. It's the same mentality with cancer. Horrible when it's breast cancer, not so horrible when a smoker gets lung cancer because they ignored the warnings. The result seemed predictable and thus is sympathy and pity warranted? Most would say no. I think people are naturally uncomfortable with the concept of self abuse. It's taboo and poorly discussed in our society. People don't know how to cope with family members who are drug users, alcoholics etc. Same goes for dealing with obese people if you've never had to deal with it. People become judgemental because they are ignorant, but also because of the emotions it arises in themselves. Examples include: disgust that someone would abuse themselves despite the apparent health issues, frustration that the person would rather live poorly than seek help, even anger when their disability becomes a burden onto others as well as themselves. The list goes on... SOME of the thinking is off base. Without full comprehension of what obesity is, that it is indeed a disease, and how difficult it can be to manage, people are not ready to offer their sympathy and concern. THey receive negative feedback in public by obese persons and that's hard to refute. Examples include overweight woman using handicap carts instead of walking, obese man eating a dinner for 5 while sitting in a wheelchair and has a nasal canula blowing oxygen, than there's the those who live out the lazy/dirty stereotypes who cant keep up with hygiene or sit in front of tvs all day instead of joining their families etc. This is a very hard thing to contend with when trying to educate the public that being obese warrants sympathy. People resent being enablers and sometimes their actions are a form of tough love to counteract the mentality that obesity should be supported. Personal example: I was a 250 lb nurse. I worked with another nurse who was closer to 400 lb. It was an absolute embarrassment and infuriating experience working with her. She elected to sit all day on a rolling chair. She would roll from one side of the room to the next, patient to patient. She would yell across the room and ask you to do her tasks since you were in the area (like if I was in the supply room, that was her cue to ask me to get her supplies) to avoid the extra steps (or leg sweeps in this case). I was embarrassed that patients/families would see this. Nursing should not be seen as limited or lazy. What happens in an emergency..imagine doing chest compressions sitting in a chair for instance. We carried a huge burden compensating for this nurse. And even though she didn't want to be discriminated against, she sure didn't mind inconveniencing the rest of us. Does this warrant help and sympathy? Not for me Even I struggle with not being judgemental and I use to be obese. Am I at fault? It's a visceral feeling to not be ok with someone else's choice to allow themselves to go that badly before getting help. It's the equivalent of self preservation. Because you react to it poorly it tells you its not accceptable for you and thus it discourages that behavior. Some of this is surmised at a very subconscious level. Some are just fortunate to not be inflicted with obesity and thus don't understand how some things can't be avoided, only managed. There lies the distinction. So without knowing people personally you will always be subject to making snapshot judgements. And yes, even the obese are judgemental! By no means am I trying to not be sympathetic to your specific experience/situation. I'm just trying to shine light on a very old argument.

My husband has gout issues. He is very sensitive to fish, lentils, alcohol, asparagus and brocolli. He try's to make sure that he gets 3L+ of water a day. He takes a medication called Colchicine. He takes 1 tablet a day when he is in remission and 3/day when he has a flare up.

I'm three months out and have tried both beer and wine. It didn't get me drunk at all, just very dehydrated. You will feel the alcohol flow but depending on your body's reaction, you will either get plastered or just dehydrated. Personally, at 4 weeks out, I would wait. At least, you have something to look forward to later on.

Just curious how many people have tried alcohol soon after their surgery? I am nearly 4 weeks post op and just curious if anyone has tried alcohol this soon out? I haven't and my surgeon didn't really say much about it they just said that only drink occasionally (socially) and don't let it become a habit? Would it be bad to try a drink so soon after surgery? (Like tequila on the rocks? Or whiskey on the rocks?) if I took it slow and only had one? I'm going to a bday party tonite and just want to have a drink?... Plz no judgments just curious if it's a bad idea or not? Thanks

I used rubbing alcohol as the strips lifted to remove the residue and stop the itching. Hope that helps.

You did better than I did. I'm 10 days POST-op (which isn't much different than pre-op diet). I decided I'm just not ready for outings like these where there is food and alcohol (and cigarettes). I know I will learn to handle these things, but right now I'm too new to this way of life. Good luck to you! The weekend will be over before you know it!!