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Is drinking a bit of alcohol 15 days post op that bad? I know they say you get drunk a lot faster, so if I watch out for how much I drink is it okay to drink just a bit? Like maybe a small cup? Or is it not allowed

I am in agreement with Splenderella. Just to demonstrate that alcohol temperance or abstention must a life-long objective: I had my initial RNY 30 years ago and still cannot drink more than 1 or 2 cocktails or glasses of wine before becoming inebriated. As a result I drink very rarely and stop at one drink. Addiction transference is a real thing for WLS patients. Some become alcoholics after surgery, perhaps because alcohol is a substitute for food addiction, a different coping mechanism. Be cautious with alcohol after surgery and keep track of your drinking behavior. Be honest with your surgeon and dietitian about your alcohol intake. Have your first drink at home in a safe environment. Avoid alcohol for as long as you can, for at least six months post-surgery. Alcohol dehydrates you, so be sure to drink extra water. Stay away from all sweet drinks, which can make you dump. Alcoholic drinks are empty calories, which should be reason enough to abstain. Alcohol hits your bloodstream much faster after surgery so it will affect you much harder. Never drink and drive. The way alcohol affects you after surgery will definitely impair your ability to drive.

It's been 2008 since I had a very successful surgery. Seriously, I swam in SF Sharkfest from Alcatraz to SF 2 yrs in a row. As I've gotten older, I have learned a few things I'd like to pass on to those who might not know this. Someone who has had bariatric surgery can only drink 5 oz of alcohol (wine/beer) and then they are legally drunk (trust me, you look act like you have had way too many drinks--slurred speech, staggering, falling down) and if you were to blow into a breathalyzer, you would get a reading indicating you are inebriated. Although I hadn't had anything to drink in about 30 yrs, during a few social dinners at our house, I had a small glass of wine and then my husband wanted to know just how much I had had to drink. When I say, "Not even one glass of wine," I was in such bad shape that he didn't believe me. He was furious and told me I wasn't to have any more drinks for the night. This also happened at my son's who was just livid with me and told me to go to a spare bedroom for the rest of the night. And, truly, I felt super drunk. At some point, I did some research and learned that because of how small my stomach pouch is and the way liquids are absorbed, I really shouldn't even have a sip of alcohol. Just thought I'd pass that on. Also, I originally lost 137 lbs to get to my goal weight. I maintained it for several years because I was working out regularly. A few yrs ago I started to put some weight back on, mostly because I wasn't exercising as much, I was alone ALL the time because of Covid because my husband was in contact with Covid infected people at the hospital he worked at 5 shifts a week for 1 yr and 9 months until his last day was Nov. 1. My diet wasn't as healthy and we were sleeping in different bedrooms on separate floors because he was so afraid he would test positive and give it to me. All last year, from July through May 29th when I had left hip replacement, I swam in a local lake for 1 hr each session...2x-4x a week with water getting down to 40 degrees. That kept me sane. Both of us have had our Covid vaccination shots and booster shots and I'm back in swimming in the cold water. If you have gained weight during the pandemic, just go through every day thankful and get back on the post-surgery diet your doctor put you on. (Currently, mine is 1200 cal, unless I burn over 900 swimming and only then do I get to add on 300). Even though I was afraid I had "stretched" my stomach pouch (I'll be 68 yrs old in a few weeks), I had an endoscopy and colonoscopy a month ago and the gastroenterologist said everything looks perfect.

Imma say something blunt: If alcoholics can kick alcohol and diabetics can kick sugar, you can kick sugar, too. I don't know everything you'll need to do, but here are some obvious changes to make: * Don't buy it. * Don't let anyone else in your house buy it and bring it home where you could eat it. * Become more personally accountable and become more accountable to others, e.g., tell those you spend time with that you're not going to eat any more sugar. * Invite the support of those who love you (see above) and ask them to support your new sugar-free lifestyle. * If you really think you're an addict (you used that word, I think), then treat it like an addiction and get yourself into an addiction program, either out- or in-residence. * Stop regarding and using sugar like a treat. If you're an addict, it's dangerous to you. Treat it like poison. * Figure out what other activities or things you can use as rewards instead of sugar. * Don't hang out with people who eat a lot of sugar. * Identify all the hidden sugar in foods you are now eating that you think are sugar-free. I'll guarantee you there are some sugar-laden foods somewhere in your diet right now that you don't know about yet. * ... and other things. I know you know this, but the longer you go without eating any sugar, the less you will crave it. Good luck! I appreciate that you replied to my post and offered some tips. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but some of what you said reminds me of people who say no one really needs bariatric surgery. We just need to be more personally accountable and diet and exercise. Do you not see bariatric surgery as a tool for dealing with obesity and kicking the things that made people obese in the first place?

Wow! I had a similar experience with my psych evaluation. I'm at the beginning of my 6 month program. I already had my initial evaluation with the psychiatrist who works with the wls center. She brought up her concerns that she saw in my initial application i.e.( severe depression & anxiety, brief bulimic experience & my drinking alcohol). I felt VERY attacked and uneasy. I wanted to make sure I was honest on my application but had NO idea it was going to be used against me later. She suggested that I meet with an outside therapist to work on my issues. I asked if she had any power to deny me surgery and she said she doesn't but she gives the surgeon notes. I have to meet with her again in April and I'm not looking forward to it. I plan on seeing a therapist but now I'm worried about being so honest if it is going to stall my surgery. FYI I have wanted wls for about the last 3-4 years. My insurance has put me through the ringer and I'm SO close. I don't want to mess anything up.

i worked with a guy who used to take antibuse. it seemed to me that he loved taking it and being real strict. not using after shave or mouth wash or anything with the slightest bit of alcohol in it. to prove to himself that he could do it and not drink. but then i think the biggest charge he got was when he would stop taking it, and count down to the minute he could start drinking, then crack open a beer. he is sober now, but with the help of aa.

You probably have something in the materials given to you about this, but be aware that we're supposedly a lot more sensitive to alcohol--and for me, I was pretty sensitive to it before! And, of course, it's just empty calories than can blow your eating plan out of the water, so you don't want to drink much or often. All other considerations aside, pot is probably going to be easier on your system than alcohol.

I'm really afraid to have any alcohol. I do not like being sick so I don't experiment. There r times I'm out and want to have a drink, but I don't. I understand being young and wanting to have fun. I'm soooooo glad I got the partying out of my system when I was young. Be safe whatever u decide!!! (HUGS)

I drank 4-6 cans of diet soda a day before I got the band. I haven't had one in 3 months, I can tell you that once in a great while I have the urge to grab a soda and chug the entire can down, but I don't....I paid out of pocket for this and I need it to work. Plus, I don't know what it is, but my skin is in much better condition, much less dry, and I think it has to do with not having the soda.... As for sugar and alcohol, I have had some of both, but I do it in moderation. The sugar thing is the hardest, because so many sweet things are still very easy to eat....chocolate, ice cream, caramel.....the band doesn't really restrict those things, so I do my best to stay away from because they just slow down the progress. Good luck!

A food addiction is physical. If I eat *any* type of carbs found in Pasta, Beans, rice, bread (basically any flour product whether it be whole grain or refined), I set up a chemical reaction in my body that physically craves more of these carbs. I went on Atkins for 5 months and lost 70 lbs. The first week was the hardest. I was literally going through withdrawal. I had all of the physical symptoms of withdrawal as well...nausea, lightheadedness, headaches, etc. After the 2nd week of absolutely no carbs, I was fine. No cravings, no 'compulsion' to eat. The *first* bite of carbs I put in my system and it was downhill from there on a rollercoaster binge. So I learned not to eat carbs...at all...and I lost 70 pounds. At some point it just became too much to avoid all carbs. So no more weight loss. Fortunately, I didn't gain it back though because I increased my activity to compensate. However, I deal with it from another angle -- diabetes. The only way to keep my blood sugar levels within a normal range is to either give up carbs completely...or take insulin. No surprise I'm on insulin. The band helps me deal with my carb addiction because I physically cannot eat the carbs except in tiny quantities...and yes, when I sit there and finish my 1/4 cup of potatoes, rice, a roll, etc...within 30 minutes my body starts screaming "MORE!" and the only thing that stops me is knowing that if I do, I will get immediate, painful feedback. We (therapists) call it 'aversion therapy'. Like the drug they give alcoholics that makes them nauseated and feel sick if they drink while taking the medication. Calling something an 'addiction' doesn't make it an excuse. It's just an explanation for the behavior. If calling it an 'addiction' is an excuse, then the same applies to alcoholism, gambling, shopping or any other 'addiction'. Just pull yourself up by your boot straps and fix it. Fortunately, we're coming out of the dark ages and recognizing that people can be addicted to food and it's not completely about willpower or self-control. It's about a physical craving. This may not be true of all overweight people. Some people eat to bury their pain. Some just eat the wrong things or aren't active enough. My mom dropped 75 pounds and has kept it off by doing nothing more than kicking her 12 cans of Pepsi and bag of chips a day habit and getting off her butt. She now drinks diet-pepsi and rarely eats potato chips and stays active. Some of us have a physical addiction. In any case, until we each find the reason for why we overeat, we'll always be fat. Just ask the people who've been banded for years and still are. .

Any other guys having surgery soon? My surgery day is rapidly approaching and I am ready to move to the next phase. Just ending my 10th day of pre-op liquid diet -- down 13 pounds in 10 days and 42 pounds since starting this journey in late July. Have been free of soda, caffeine and alcohol since Dec 1st.

Hi all! So I just came back from vacation where I ate solids, drank alcohol and had edibles! Good times! But don't worry, I am back to my dull healthy life I did read some post about drinking after the sleeve and was super cautious about it. However, for me, I was able to handle my alcohol just fine. For reference, Im a whiskey girl and I drank it straight to avoid soda and sugar. I also had some vodka spiked mimosa's. Now, I'm not much of a smoker and prefer alcohol to marijuana but every once in a while I'll have an edible. This time, I had half a gummy worm and experienced a full high! After laughing uncontrollably for 2 hours I knocked out for 4 hours! Then I woke up an ate a full meal! No restrictions! The following day I had a small bite of the remaining half of the gummy and felt the SAME high as the night before. I ate 6 chicken wings and a chicken tender! Thats a whole lot of food for me right now. Personally, edibles are not my favorite distraction but this was definitely a different experience post surgery. I am SOO happy I didn't eat the whole gummy. BE WARNED!

Absolutely not chica.. No alcohol before.. I wax for a living and those two do not mix.. You need to find someone who does waxing as there main service and you will be good to go.. Yes it does smart the first go around but if you keep it up every 4-6 weeks the hair will get softer and the experience will be less painful each session.. Good luck and have fun with it.. Get designs on occasion...

Whichever doctor said that you can drink alcohol a month after surgery can I please have his/her name and practice? Thanks in advance.

I feel like I should start this like an introduction at an AA (Alcoholics Anon) meeting. "Hi, my name is Lainey, and I'm overweight.".....(Everybody): "Hi Lainey, welcome". At one time I was 5'10 (well, 5'9 and 3/4, actually, but I used to round up). I am now 5'8 and something...I think my feet have flattened as well as some spinal compression. I stepped on the scale at the doctors office this Thursday and the scale read 239. I forgave it for lying. Hopefully soon, it will start being more truthful. It wasn't too long ago I had little sympathy for fat people. Throughout my twenties and thirties I was a steady 128 lbs. I modelled, some print, some runway. My mom, who was heavy since her 40s was somebody I thought had just given up. She's 5'7, and fluctuates between 185 and 220. I used to say: "Fat people should give me their bodies and I'll lose the weight for them." Losing weight was no problem for me...people would wish for my metabolism for thier birthday. Then I hit 40. My metabolism went in the crapper. I just started putting weight on....a few pounds a week. Diets worked only as long as I was on them and then I'd gain the weight back and some as soon as I went off the diet. My decision to band was bourne from my thought of taking myself to my death bed many years down the road. I don't want to have to say: "I've been fat since my 40's..." Now, I marvel at how much self control my mom has. She looks just slightly overweight and is in terriffic shape for a 70 y/o woman. Perspective vs reality issues......but the fact is, just like me, she has been heavy since her 40's...and my grandmother before her. It's my inheritance. I am a nurse anesthetist in my last year of clinical residency in Tampa. That's how I found Dr. Dietrick. He runs the Bariatric Surgery Center at University Community Hospital, where I have been on clinical rotation for the past year. I just did an emergency lap appy with him last night. He was about 20 minutes skin-to-skin. He is very fastidious..unfortunately with my pre-ops, too. I spent almost 2K in pre-op testing....and I'm a self-pay! I've seen these operations up close and personal...from the head of the bed. The anesthetic risk doesn't change. Insufflating the abdomen with CO2 gas is a freaky thing...and we all watch the monitors like an episode of "American Idol" while the doctor stitches the lap band in place. But as far as anesthesia goes..an endotrachael tube is still placed and cuffed, and you pray for a good anesthesia provider....one that gives you enough pain control. I am afraid of waking up in pain.....If you do it seems like forever to get relief. All of a sudden everybody is moving in slow motion, especially the recovery nurse. I know this isn't true....but pain distorts your reality. I am also an astrologer. I was certified to the intermediate level by NCGR, and just never went back to get my advanced certification. I want to book on the 26th after 11 am because before that the moon is void-of-course. What the heck is a void-of-course moon, you may ask? It's when the moon has made it's last aspect to the latest degree planet in ANY sign...it then goes void-of-course until it goes into the next sign. It's kind of like going through the Lincoln tunnel. You start out in Manhattan, and once you get in the tunnel, you don't get out until you're in NJ. You never know where you're going to end up at the end of a void-of-course moon. Now, I was born under a void-of-course moon, so that makes it a little different for me, but I just asked another astrologer and she told me her experience is that medical procedures booked under a void-of course moon don't actually take place. Now that would be a nightmare. There are other astrological considerations, too....like not having any procedure done when the moon is in the sign ruling that part of the body (that would be moon in cancer for a lap band)....and you want the mars (surgeon) well aspected. All in all, I'm happy with the 26th as a date. So deep breath, putting all my fears aside, I will soon join the ranks of the lap band of brothers. Hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, there will be a lot less of me. I want to go back to being a skinny bitch with attitude and confidence. I've been skinny, and I've been fat. Life's better skinny. It seems like just a dream right now, and it's more than 100 pounds away. Yet every day I feel myself drifting towards that dream with an all-consuming purpose. More later.....

I have a big event 3 days before my surgery. Is there any danger to having a few drinks at the event?

That is the absolute right thing to do. Obviously she found some things that you said or filled out on your questionnaire that caused her concern. There is a small but significant portion of people who go through WLS and turn to alcohol instead of food for comfort, so maybe she thought you were a high risk. Then again, maybe she deals with a bunch of alcoholics and has just applied a one size fits all answer to you, which is really sh*tty, but happens. What I would do is get the entire report from her, including what the questionnaire indicated. After that be very honest with yourself regarding what it shows. If you truly disagree afterward, go to someone else for an eval, but still be 100% honest. In the end it will only help you out.

Slim, thank you so much for helping us understand this complicated journey. What you opinion or experience related to alcohol?

I didn't drink during the two week pre-op diet. But I did have one last trip with friends to World of Beers. I love Belgium Trappist ales, so it was my last time to enjoy bottles of Chimay and Rochefort for a long time. I definitely don't plan on giving up drinking forever. That's just crazy talk. Even my doctor told me that eventually I'll be able to drink again, just that I'll be an cheap date since the alcohol will enter my system so much quicker. I'll also only be able to have maybe one drink and have to drink it very slowly. I'm also a fine wine connoisseur and have a decent amount at home. I am not giving up on those bottles since far too much money is invested. Most of the bottles won't reach their peak for a few years, so I've got time on my side.

Just now 3 months out from my bypass, I had to wait a year after getting my band out to get the bypass.. I learned a lot in that year (wait time was a combination of healing and insurance requirements). The big difference is you won't feel "stuck"... just full with a small amount. I did have a drain and after they removed it they didn't tell me it "MAY" leak for several days, some do, some don't. Have some pads available just in case. The other thing they warn you about is sugar. Now I have not tested the sugar/dumping syndrome thing because I don't want to dump. However, watch those sugar alcohols you know in the different shakes and protein bars out there I have found I am very sensitive to even Spleda and all the like. Other than that I wish I would have done this first... I don't know why I was so scared!

Since I am not a professional therapist I can not give your professional advice. Besides, if I were, you'd have to pay me! I would consider therapy for the two of you---alone and then together. You HAVE changed. He hasn't and maybe doesn't want to. Remember, there are few things more irritating than: an x-alcoholic, a born again Christian, or a recent weight lost "know what's best for every one". He may be able to listen and talk to someone objective rather than be "preached" to by you===even well intented. Get going on getting your marriage back on track. Do NOT put therapy off---hoping it "he will come around". I know. Wishing you nothing but many years of happily married life.

If you have c-diff one of the worst things you can do is to take immodium or something to prevent you from having bowel movements. I hope you do not have it. I have had it twice and it is nasty sh**. It can be difficult to get rid of hence the name difficile. Good luck. Flagyl is one antibiotic to treat it. It is one of those pills that dissolves very quickly and tastes pretty bad. You cannot drink any alcohol with it. I forgot and took a sip of communion wine and got sick. I am allergic to flagyl so have to take vancomycin when I get it. Vanco is avaiable in capsule form. The first time I got it, it was only available in oral suspension. Vanco is very expensive prescription. In 2005 the last time I had to take it was $1,600 for a two week supply. If the test comes back negative but the symptoms still persist, ask for a retest. I have had tests say negative and then retest shows positive.

I would like to know if anyone has heard about addiction transfer (AT) after having weight loss surgery (WLS). I've been hearing and reading about some folks who were addicted to food prior to WLS, and now post-op, they have become addicted to other things (alcohol, drugs, shopping, smoking, sex, etc.). From what I've read, it doesn't happen to many, but it is something to think about. I'm sure this is where the psych eval would definitely come in to play to help identify those who may be at risk for this. I guess the key would be to replace the food addiction w/something positive (i.e., walking, knitting, chewing gum, etc.). Have you heard about this?

I'm 3 weeks out..have lost so far 11 lbs..I noticed in my arms and face a lil..I know I'm not yet losing as fast as I want.. but God willing im heading towards my goal weight..180.. I'm happy everyone here decided to go along with surgery. .I don't feel so left out... what I think I will miss out on is my get togethers..margaritas! !.. does anyone drink alcohol after surgery? ? If so how much can you drink? Does it burn?

transfer addiction is real possibility (some people develop alcoholism after surgery - we're at much greater risk of that than "normies"), so tread carefully. Some surgeons recommend you wait up to a year before drinking any alcohol (although others are more lenient), but most if not all would recommend you only indulge occasionally, and then only a drink or two. Alcohol hits you much faster after surgery. I didn't have any alcohol for the first three years - alcoholism runs in my family, so i was always very careful about drinking, even before I had surgery. I now drink maybe four times a year, and it's usually just a glass or two of wine.