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I can't post in the veterans forum so I'll ask here... I know its tough too admit but please answer honestly... Has anyone that has had there surgery for more then a year become dependent on some kind of outlet (other then food of course)? Maybe drugs, alcohol, any kind of pills, anything?

A deal is a deal! You did your part. Now for mine. I have had reactive hypoglycemia about five times over almost two years. On two or three of those occasions I ate an orange (and a small square of year old chocolate that my wife found somewhere the first time I had it). Symptoms have always disappeared completely in 20-30 minutes. In the case of the most recent problem, we were out of fruit and the closest thing at hand was a Protein bar with 17g of carbs, 2g of sugar and 4g of sugar alcohol. It also did the trick and symptoms were gone in 20-30 minutes. But now your PCP has me wondering. Fruit is considered a "simple" carb as opposed to a "complex" carb. I have read that including complex carbs in five to six meals a day will help to avoid hypoglycemia. The idea being that complex carbs take longer to digest and help keep blood sugars at a desirable level over a longer period of time. In other words, complex carbs will help you avoid hypoglycemia in the first place. Makes perfect sense. But it raises the question if doctors make the same complex carb recommendation if you are already hypoglycemic? It's too late to avoid it. The question is how to resolve it? And I would add resolve it as quickly as possible (it's definitely not pleasant)! My understanding is that simple carbs are digested more quickly, which raises blood sugar levels more quickly, which in turn should resolve the hypoglycemia - more quickly. Now to be my own devil's advocate - I have often wondered if eating too much simple carbs while hypoglycemic has the risk of creating a yo-yo effect. In other words if you ate two or three oranges, hypoglycemia would be temporarily resolved, but blood sugars could spike again, and then crash AGAIN in response to the increased insulin prompted by the spike. So you're right back to being hypoglycemic. I have never experienced this scenario but on the surface of it, the logic would seem sound. Hopefully someone a lot smarter than me will weigh in on this!

PLEASE, I pray all of you have MOM.... MILK of Magnesium in your pantry, IF NOT SEND FOR IT ASAP.! after about 3 days after surgery you will need to "evacuate" the premises" MOM is the fastest and best way!!!!.. Take a tablespoon........ if that does not get the "movement" going, take another TBSP... remember MOM is your FRIEND........ Stay close to the bathroom as she will make you RUN, .. BUT you will be so relieved and HAPPY that you took it...............I did not KNOW this PRE my surgery...... and OMG............ I know what $hitting a brick feels like......... I even gave myself enemas...... it was SO PAINFUL......... they did NOT HELP................ MOM LOVES YOU...........and will make it all RUN smoo0ooothhhhhly......... just stay close to the bathroom. UNTIL u feel good enough to go a FEW days..... take MOM......... you have to keep the stuff moving OUT....... SMOOTHLY for u to FEEL GOOD Best of luck to all you "newbies" Follow the directions the DR gave u, or ASK a SR Sleever!!!!! Lots of Dr's from Mexico DO NOT GIVE DIRECTIONS!!!!! us OLDER SLEEVERS are HERE TO HELP.. Drink your water.......NO ALCOHOL for MONTHS.............. You just had a life changing surgery!! YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW THE RULES~~ IF U WANT TO SUCCEED!!!! Bottom Line.........IT IS UP TO U..; DO NOT LOSE 50 LBS and THINK U can CHEAT......... YOU WILL FAIL >>>>> BIG TIME>>>>>>>>>>>> BBBBBIIIIGGGG TIIIIMMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Do NOT come back in 18 Months and say I had the sleeve and I have GAINED 50 LBS YOU WILL FAIL and YOU were not sincere when you had the surgery.... NOR were YOU serious.......... YOU need to look DEEP within and get serious. The Sleeve is NOT the ANSWER///////// U R...U have to DO WHAT IT IS TO LOSE AND KEEP IT OFF!!!!!!!!!! Drink that water and best of luck to YOU!!!!! I AM here to HELP!!!!

Ohhhhhhh this was a bad weekend. Bridal shower and bachelorette party. So many good foods and gah a lot of alcohol. I knew it was going to cause a gain. I already had my game plan set for Monday on how to get back on track. This weekend has been so out of the norm since surgery and I feel miserable. Bloated. Water retention. Dehydrated. (In between festivities water was all I drank) Thank goodness I don't do that stuff every weekend. I'm just not cut out for it any more. I'm actually excited to go back to my normal way of eating.

Tiny I am so sorry you are in the situation that you are in, keep you head up. I relate in someways as to what your husband is doing. My ex was five years younger than I. Remember I said ex. I caught him in bed with another woman who was only 6 years older than his oldest, if that much. Well, he asked me to give him sometime to work it out, about getting a divorce. Papers were served within two weeks of that conversation. It tore me up, but I got the best attorney and got everything I wanted. Then a year later I met my last husand and had the most wonderful 12 years of my life, as it seems he did to. My ex went on to marry his alcoholic girlfriend (he also became an alcoholic) a few months after I got married. Karma does have a way of coming full circle. She continues to dissapear and sleeps with other men, ex has had a heart attack, now diabetic, cancer, and full blown emphysema. She has been diagnosed with full blown cirrhosis of the liver. In the meantime he still tries to control her because he wants to strut around crowing about "look at my catch, I've got a younger woman". But for that control he lost all the respect of his children and friends. You are a survivor and there is something better for you out there for you. Keep your head up.

donewithdieting your hard work of losing 74 lbs and "losing" alcohol - what can i say??? very happy for you!! can't relate to the drinking, but i think some/many/most of us can relate to being obsessed over food - so drink is right there too raising my wine glass (filled with Water ) to your health and happiness best of luck to you kathy congrats

Ok, on MFP I range from 21 grams of fat to my worst day of 42 (I ate 3 oz of pork steak which even though I cut the fat off MFP still counts it). Here is my program's plan for regular foods (which starts this coming Tuesday for me had I followed their timeline) 3 meals a day. 20 G of Protein AT LEAST per meal with a goal of 60-70 per day. Less than 40 G of carbs. No specific goal on fat, but remember to eat lean meats and cut fat off of fattier ones. Approximately 800 calories max a day. Their sample meal plan for this stage however includes a light Breakfast sandwich made with egg white, turkey sausage, and a whole wheat english muffin. According to MFP, this meal consists of 27.5 carbs, 250 calories, and only 12 grams of protein! This is using Thomases muffin, jimmy dean turkey sausage, and great value egg whites. This would leave me with only 13 carbs left forthe day and not enough protein in my first meal. Calculating this has seriously made me feel like my program has not considered their plan thoroughly. Although they are a center for excellence. The timeline is 2 weeks liquids (nothing particles or cream) 1 week thick liquids (include thin yogurt, cream soups) 1 week pureed foods (still pretty thin) 1 week mushy foods (applesauce consistency) 1 week soft foods (for some reason can include very very toasted bread chewed to a paste-like substance and iceburg lettuce) After 6 week appt can do all foods except: Pasta til month 4, corn, fresh fruits and veg until month 2, steak until 6 months, other lettuces in month 2, alcohol for 1 year, carbonated drinks 4 motnhs if ever. I think that is everything. Also, the NUTs give differing food intake advice from the PA. I haven't seen the surgeon since I was in the hospital. My program farms people through efficiently so the surgeon is not a very important part of the program after he performs the surgery. B

I suspect you did that because like many of us, you are a food addict. Any addiction makes no sense whether it's food, alcohol, drugs, gambling, etc. You can't change what you've done so just know not to do it again. I'm assuming you are on the pre-op diet currently. If yes, this is how you stay compliant. Remind yourself that if you cheat, your liver might not shrink sufficiently, and then you don't get banded. That should inspire you to stay on track. Then know that post-banding, once you start to get restriction, you should be able to control the addiction because you will really suffer if you are not compliant and with restriction, you will not be so hungry and will make better food choices and do better with your portions. I went into this process because I had no choice. I didn't want to do it unlike so many others who were so excited and happy to get banded. I had to do it as I had mobility issues and needed to have joint replacement surgery and at 267 lbs, I wasn't a candidate for surgery. So know that I went into this kicking and screaming. My doctor was hoping I'd lose enough weight in a year...I needed to be under 200 lbs. Well, I met the goal in six months, and now 8 months after starting my pre-op diet, you can see by my ticker that I am down 86 lbs. and my surgery is scheduled for next month. Believe me, if I could be successful, anyone can be. So...good luck to you...stay compliant, and you too will succeed!

Good info guys, thanks! Zingy, I did notice that I could eat more when I drank during my meals. So, I am definately sticking to no drinking during the meal. It does put a damper on having a glass of wine with dinner. But I guess we shouldn't be drinking alcohol anyway. I am trying to be really good this time and get all the rules down. Any veterans know of any good basic breakdown of lapband do's and don'ts literature that I can brush up on? Thanks!

How is everyone doing? I'm sober since Feb5 2013. `7 months. Never thought I would be a drunk but I know I can't touch the stuff anymore. Made it to goal a week ago. and am working on maybe another 5-10# lower leeway. Doing my eating from noon to 8 pm daily. I like this I don't go to bed stuffed. Occ. will be hungry but I sleep much better. If I have cravings for alcohol I will just take my L-glutamine and I'm good. I don't go to meetings I'm doing this on my own w/ help from these forums. Lets keep this forum alive. Linda

The reason sugar alcohols can sometimes create intestinal problems is because some of them (ie, Xylitol, Malitol) are not absorbed by your body and go straight through you. Erythritol, however, does get absorbed and is filtered out by your kidneys. I like this one the best. I use it to make cookies and muffins. From the research that I have done the benefit of these are that they do not cause tooth decay and they do not create an insulin response like other artificial sweeteners.

Other than the stuff above. You may want to take a robe since you'll be walking the halls. I would ask the nurse to saline lock my iv so I could use my robe and walk comfortably. And I also bought a clip on desk fan at target for $10 ( it's with the dorm stuff). It was an incredible idea. I clipped it onto the side rail so it could blow in my face. The pain meds made me really hot. As well as when the anesthesia was wearing off and when I started drinking Water I would get nauseas... The fan helped. I also asked the nurse to leave me several alcohol pads in the room. Smelling it when you feel nauseas really helps. I would carry alcohol pads with me when I was walking the halls (started doing this after I gor nauseas walking and had to stop at a random nurse's station and ask her for some). Good luck!

I had that same problem with my family and friends. They did NOT want to hear my "negative" thoughts about the surgery. When really, how is it negative? In any major surgery there is a risk of death. It may be extremely rare but it's still a risk. And yes, the most unlikely people do tend to be the ones that care the most. I think that's because the people who love you the most may be in denial. Or I could just be rambling. I had all of those thoughts about my surgery too. I was scared of waking up in the middle of it, or with a breathing tube in, or a leak but funny enough I just couldn't stop smiling the day of surgery. I wanted to get it over with because I waited too long and I was excited. Everyone came to speak with me before sending me to the OR and I got a lot of reassurance and support from my team. Also, they gave me a "alcoholic drink" before surgery. I was sooo relaxed in that OR I am pretty sure I was slurring and was like, "Lets do this!!!" They don't want you to panic or be afraid, though it's expected. I believe all hospitals give you that relaxer but I could be wrong. Also, think of the future. Be aware of the risks but imagine how much healthier you will be. Imagine how much happier you will be. Imagine you running marathons and looking good in jeans and not being tired all day. And yes, it is very understanding that you are using this to re-evaluate who is in your life. I did the same thing.

I had an awful recovery. I'm 9 months out now so I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. About 13 weeks in and out of hospital and lots of pain meds - the worse of it all was detoxing from the dilated. 5 days of pure hell. So please use pain meds with reason - even when dr's are offering it so freely. Remember WLS patients have a risk of developing dependencies on drug, alcohol...etc. When it comes to gas pain - heating pad really helped. I didn't get better until I started moving around - try and stay on your feet as much as possible. And than drink drink drink.

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