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As some of you know I'm 47 and divorced, will soon be 2 years this month. Let me start how my weight gain all started for me, I wasn't an obese child nor a teen. I married my high school sweetheart in 1986 and boy did I think I knew the world, if I knew then what I know now, ha. He was shy and I was the outgoing one, he was super skinny and I was average. He ate and ate and ate and I thought I could eat along with him so my weight kept creeping up over the years of our marriage little by little. By 1990 I weighed 199, said to myself I'd never let myself weigh over 200, I ate crow alright. We were unable to have children so we occupied ourselves in the life of luxury of world travels and cars and later in life our dream home in '06. By that time he had a corporate job, I had not worked in years and we had our dream home with a pool. It was all I could do to keep house it was so huge but I loved it. Guess you could say starting in '06 I could see a change in him and I began to stress eat more. His job was very stressful, afterall he managed a factory, oh how proud of him I was but then the alcohol began and then my food addiction began. From 2006 until he left me Oct '09 I literally watched him become a full blown alcoholic and my eating had well, let's just say I gained about 25 lbs. He began staying out late till the wee hrs of the night/morning in bars, coming home drunk, it was horrible. Then on that fateful afternoon in Oct. '09 he came home and said he was leaving me, I was devastated to say the least. I had no idea he wasn't happy. Yes we had our ups/downs like anyone else but I guess he had gotten tired of looking at a fat wife, I had let myself go, certainly not the girl he married. I stayed in the marital home a few months until I couldn't care for the acreage and pool and he made me move out and he move back in. At this time he had asked for a divorce and I was at my all time low, a deep depression. I guess I have to admit I was on the verge of suicide but I'm deeply religious and knew better and had it not been for my faith in God and my mom and of course my Psychiatrist I never would have made it out of the dark hole. My mom stepped in and bought me a home close to her and I rented it from her. Guess she wanted to give me my independence for the first time in my life. By this time it was May of 2010, divorce proceedings were ongoing, I was living alone and eating and eating. BIG mistake. I had no accountability, I was sitting alone in a house with a dog and a tv and eating whenever and whatever I wanted. I literally was eating myself to death. I knew I didn't want to die an early age like my dad but yet I still kept eating. I had ballooned to 294, I was huge, could hardly walk, couldn't breathe. In early June '12 I moved in with my mom for financial reasons and she sold the house, talk about humbling, having to move back in with a parent at age 47. One afternoon I asked my mom to go with me to a seminar for lap band surgery, this was April 2012. What a revelation. Yes I had done my homework, I had actually gone to a seminar back in '08 but wasn't ready mentally then. This time I was ready. The next day I called my ins, they covered it, called the dr's office made an appt, got right in, from start to finish I was banded in like 4 weeks, his office pushed my ins approval thru really quick. Needless to say this saved my LIFE. Has it been a struggle, yes, I struggle each and every day with head hunger and sweets and sometimes give in, that is why my weight loss is slow but I'm proud of my 68 lbs in 1 year and will never look back. My eating habits have changed, for the better of course, I look at food differently, I taste it now instead of gobbling it down. Had it not been for all of you all on here answering my questions throughout this last year and Jean's book I don't think I could have survived my first year. Thanks to all of you out there you're the best! You guys are family!!! Looking forward to the next 12 months of a happier, healthier new me. Donna

I have it pretty easy right now... I have surgery on 4/23 my doctor doesnt really recommend the liquid diet either. He thinks that as long as I lose 5-10 pounds then that will shrink the liver enough and also show motivation he said. I have exceeded that loss but hope to lose a few more before my pre op appt on 4/17. I really think tho that if you cannot follow what the doctors orders are if they are within reason that you probably need to work on other aspects of the food addiction and such before venturing into a huge lifestyle change. It would be like telling an alcoholic they are switching their booze for Water... same as telling a food addict that you have to hand over the plate of Cookies for a cup of broth :sigh: Thankfully I started my own low carb no sugar way of watching weight before I hit the final stretch here before surgery so I won't be in too much of a shock.

I have bipolar disorder and some history of eating issues but only for brief periods of time (maybe 15 incidences of vomiting and a few months of restrictive eating). I can't think of anyone who hasn't yo-yo dieted: I have once lost 50 lbs and another time lost 100, but gained it back. I'm not sure what you mean by "hiding extra food from others". I have no history of addiction, but I know that can be a concern for WLS because cross addition especially alcoholism is a problem after WLS. For me, the weight center (also a major academic medical center) is requiring that my psychiatrist speak to their psychologist and clear me for surgery. Did you see the bariatric psychologist?

I read an article the other day that talked about this addiction tranference and the Lap band and most people who were once addicted to food incorporated gambling, alcohol, and extreme shopping to their life style to trade one addiction for the other. I have to say that I do buy a lot of clothes but Its my reward. Im not making us broke over it but I do love buying clothes.

Actually, there are also two other concerns re alcohol and WLS patients: 3. Rapid intoxication - due to the reduction (after WLS) of enzymes that metabolize alcohol Here's a short piece written for a lay audience on this topic: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/74384.php 4. Risk of transfer addiction (from food to alcohol) -- low odds (probably around 3-4% for those who don't already suffer from alcohol abuse or addiction issues), but a possibility nonetheless. The deal about transfer addictions is that when we are stopped from using Substance X that we've abused in the past to reduce our stress or anxiety we may transfer our addiction to Substance / Activity Y and/or Z. Doesn't mean that we will, but that we may.

How long did you have to wait before consumming alcohol? I'm not looking to get drunk or drink anything fizzy, just a glass of wine or two at a wedding. Any input?

Definitely. But if you hold yourself to a "perfect" standard, you're bound to fail sometimes. We all need to practice getting back on the wagon after a misstep. I know I am prone to the "I already blew it for today, so what the hell" attitude. And then one day turns into the rest of the week, rest of the month, etc. That's what I love about these forums, we understand each other. Remember, alcoholics don't "need" alcohol, but we all need to eat.

Hi fit. I'm not an alcoholic, but my son is and I've watched him struggle for many years. First, I think your doc or pdoc really MUST support you with your detox . . . at least psychologically. But I'm not sure they'll give you something addictive (like Ativan). Do you have health insurance? They may authorize an inpatient detox for you for a few days. Second, once you are detoxed and at least 7 days sober, ask about one of the new medications for alcoholism. My son is on naltrexone, and it works wonders. Helps manage the cravings and, when he has slipped up, it has been a tiny slip that he has managed to get under control. There's another newer med as well but I can't remember the name right now. Your pdoc should know, and if not you should insist that he look it up!!! Of course there is hope. You're the one in charge, and if you've decided to get sober you CAN get sober. It's not easy, but nothing is. Good luck to you. Alcoholism is so difficult, and you have my sympathy.

Hi Ang, I am frustrated too. I just got back from vacation and I don't think I gained anything, but I'm not sure if I lost either. I'll have to weigh at work to be sure. But I can tell you this. I have not allowed myself anything sweet since I had the surgery. No cake, cookies, ice cream, puddings, sweet drinks because I know I am like an alcoholic and if I start, I am afraid I will not be able to stop. This is really hard. I get full quicker, but no restriction yet. But then the other dayI was eating half a sandwich and I didn't chew really well and it got stuck and I had to wait a few minutes for it to go down. I was happy to know the band was there. I am not really hungry between meals, but have to work at not eating in the evening which has always been the hardest time for me. I think becuase in the beginning, right after we had surgery when we were all on liquids and mushies, it was easy. Now it gets harder. I hope when I go in for a fill on April 9th I will get more restriction. But I would not want so much that everything feels stuck if I forget to chew well. It definately makes you slow down and eat slower. I guess we have to remember this is a tool, not magic. And we still have to change our behaviors that got us here in the first place. I want it to come off fast too. But if it comes off too fast our skin will really sag. So, we just have to hang in there. Keep trying and support each other. Happy Easter. Diane

Regarding exercise, it doesn't need to be a long, grueling workout. Just go for daily walks, and start small and gradually lengthen them. Regarding the alcohol, I'd suggest seeking out a support group or counselor.

Just over three months, this week my college besty came to town. On two days I had a glass of wine. It went down well but did hit me a little more heavily than in days past. I feel more guilty from the calories than the alcohol. Just not worth it at this point of my journey. I'll enjoy my glass of Jamison's in the future, but I want to hit a few more mini-goals before I repeat my drinking experiments.

Just remember, any sugar alcohols, xylitol, malitol, erythritol sorbitol,etc, are all wonderfully potent laxatives. With a sleeve a laxative effect can be magnified. And the last thing you MAY want is being dehydrated from the laxative effect or getting your body used to the laxatives, and then without them,you get constipated. Just a a friendly FYI. When i was young, many moons ago, we used to see who could chew up the most sugar free candies without running to the bathroom...needless to say, it never ended well. For fun look up the sugar free Haribo gummy bears on amazon, and read the reviews. you will fall over laughing. BTW DO NOT EAT THE SUGAR FREE GUMMY BEARS. lol read there and youll find out why.

Nancy, I learned about this surgery from a church member who was very kind to tell me excatley what he did when I asked what he was doing to lose the weight. So I decided that if others can get up in front of groups and admitt to being alcohol or drug addicts I can face my food addiction also. I carry brochures with me at all times about the surgery and I have a wallet full of the Dr's cards. (bet he wonders what happen to all the ones on his desk). So far I have had 4 others convert and have the surgery. I feel I have saved four lives like mine was saved by getting the right information. I also now work with the Dr by being a Post Operative Patient at the Pre- surgery conferences. I get my 15 minutes of fame at the end of the conference what I get to speak to the people and answer questions that only someone going thru this can do. Also I get lots of ladies that like to feel my port and see the scars. Being gropped is just something I have to put up with. ( LOL like I'd complain)

Carol - wow! Talk about success stories! You are like the poster person for gastric bypass! It is unfortunate that so many of the vets drop off the forum after reaching their goals. I don't post replies as often as I once did (you can only answer the same question so many times and then it's time for others to take over) but I still monitor the forum on a regular basis and try to help out where I can. I firmly believe that, like a person that has the disease of alcoholism, I will always have the disease of obesity. Whether you're one year post-op or ten years post-op, managing your weight is a life long endeavor. Reading the victories, challenges, and lessons learned by others is an invaluable tool for maintaining my commitment. You never stop learning. Have a great day!!

They call the first year the 'honeymoon period'. It is when you can lose the most....but you must stick to the program. No cheating. They told us at the seminar, this is not a diet, it's a new way of life. That is fine, BUT until I reached goal, I treated this as the most important diet of my life. NOTHING sweet, nothing fried.....touched my lips!!! Carbonated drinks....NEVER. Alcohol, every so often AFTER reaching goal. I didn't touch a thing until after I'd been at goal for a good six months. I reached goal quickly, but I was, as my nurse said 'rigid'. It worked for me. I weighted or measured everything I ate when we were at home, I still do most of the time. I still keep an on line food log. Now at almost 3 years out, I feel like I live like a naturally thin person. Life is good, and I never feel deprived. Sometimes I have something sweet more than I should......but with little or no hunger, it is easy to lose a few lbs after vacation or Christmas!!! (still no hunger but my 'new' hunger is more of an empty feeling!!) Good luck!!

Here was my pre-op diet starting 12-days before surgery: The patient may have one Protein shake for Breakfast and one Protein Shake for lunch. At dinner, the patient may consume one Lean Cuisine. Protein shake = 1 scoop Iso-Pure Protein powder with up to 2 cups of skim milk. 1. No alcohol for two weeks prior to the surgery. 2. One Chromium Picolinate 400 mcg per day can be taken for fat-burning purposes. 3. One Metamucil capsule can be taken at 10:00 am and one at 3:00 pm for hunger pangs. Drink with a lot of Water. 4. 1-2 diet drinks a day are allowed, but not to be taken to excess. 5. A green salad (no colors other than green!!) may be consumed. A zero to five calorie dressing may be used, but not to excess. (Example: Wish Bone Salad Spritzer)

I don't care if it IS the "easy way." As someone who also does the AA program due to a drinking problem, if there was an equivalent of VSG for alcoholism, I'd take that "easy way" in a matter of seconds, too. Probably even faster, because I would LOVE some kind of surgery or something that just magically made my alcohol cravings go away. The easier, the better. There are multiple solutions to obesity, and this is one of those solutions. The way I see it, if there's a different solution that's better for someone else, that's fine too. But this was the best solution for me. And I also wear glasses to drive and for distance viewing. I could also have surgery, or I could wear contacts, but the solution I went with was glasses. So I chose one of the medical solutions to help me see clearly, because I've found sight to be valuable.

I am diagnosing myself here but I am pretty certain I have non alcoholic fatty liver disease I can review my labs on line and view the trends since surgery almost 6 months ago now My Alk-phos is elevated and increases each time I have my blood work done My ALT and AST are also trending upwards all three tests are elevated above normal ranges I don't drink alcohol and haven't for years and years So the only explanation is I have Fatty Liver Disease! Loosing weight and exercising helps!! but obviously in my case it hasn't My Glucose level is 111 although I have not been diagnosed with Diabetes there is a chance I do have issues there plus my triglycerides are still elevated at 172 post surgery Anybody else have these problems?

This picture is from a cruise my DH and I were on in April this year. I was able to maintain a weight of 195 for about 4 years until last year this time. I became very depressed and put on 30 very stubborn pounds. I was in bad shape about 6 years ago. Then God renewed His relationship with me and I began to heal. In the time that has past, the tangible changes have been astounding. I am truly a new person. I went from practically penniless and jobless to having excellent credit and a home. I was gifted with a job working with adolescents at a university hospital on a mental health unit. I can't think of a more rewarding job and I am able to help change lives. I guess that's 'paying it forward'. I also met my husband and have been married just over 2 years now. The first year was a real trial. In my family, which was loving, chaos reigned and some bad things happened. No sexual abuse or anything just alcoholism and like I said, chaos. My DH is so calm....and I can tell you that's what I want most in my life. But coming from chaos, I didn't know how to handle 'calm'. I began to drink more. This really conflicted with my relationship with God. I became very agitated, knowing I was living 2 lives but having such a hard time changing my 'learned' behaviors. Finally everything came to a head and I became suicidal. I knew then that I needed help and I got some. Out-patient substance abuse program (Kaiser Permanente has a marvelous set-up). And guess what! It took! I now have no desire for alcohol. I don't go to 12 step meetings...I really find that my urge to drink is gone. They call it the 1 step program (relying on God). So after telling you all that, the point I am trying to make is that I believe God has blessed this weight-loss journey for me because I was careful to heed his work in my life and am really wanting change. I can't tell you how grateful I am to be past that other stuff and onto this wonderful phase in my life. I had my only son when I was 17 which essentially cut off my childhood (which as I mentioned was not real storybook). Now that he's grown, I have my childhood back. I can travel and find new hobbies like hiking. It has really been a journey of self-realization and when I look back through all my foolishness (drugs, alcohol, risky behaviors), I see where God was there, probably very sad at what I was doing to myself but there nonetheless, watching over me. I am so amazed at His patience and love. I am happy to have found this board and you all are so awesome to share this with. I really enjoy this thread because it does help to 'flesh' out the names. I have learned SO MUCH from this site. If I were to go on just what the doctors office told me, I would be very uninformed. So thanks everyone. I will share my experiences with everyone, hoping I can help others like you've helped me. Did I say that today is Band-day eve for me?? Happy happy joy joy! Thanks for listening. :happybday:

I learned many years ago to never judge other people, I had many vices myself. I used to drink but I found that was one vice that I replaced with going to the gym. After my surgery, I cannot even think of drinking or eating things that are not good for me. I work too hard at the gym to have things that are going to slow my progress of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I still go out with my friends, they have drinks, I have water. I do not miss alcohol at all and I used to love my beer and margs. As you lose the weight and move toward your goal, it is very hard to do things that will slow your progress, you too might find you do not have the urge to drink anymore. Good luck to you on your journey.

Be sure your surgeon knows you smoke. The best would be to quit before your surgery, but if your surgeon is aware and willing, then take it from there. As for alcohol, it is empty calories. I choose to have a glass of wine every evening. It was the one treat I didn't want to give up. I count the calories and work it into my 1200 calorie diet. Some doctors say no alcohol, mine didn't so check with your doctor. As for your emotional eating, the band WILL NOT help you there! You will have to battle that demon yourself. I would recommend counselling to help address the emotional issues. When I got my band I decided my life had to change completely......and it did. Now my food choices are healthy, there is NO junk food in my house anymore, I exercise daily (wow, never thought I would say that) and most importantly food does not control me....I control it. Good luck on your journey.

PLEASE STOP ALL THE DRUGS!!!!! Prilosec has problems...new ones found recently check up on it. The combination of everything your taking is causing more harm than helping. Make sure you are not overfilled. I suggest you go without a fill for a while...take it all out and heal. Drink aloe vera juice to heal...you can mix it with a gentle fruit juice. Alka seltzer is OUT completely...carbonation is notgood with a band. No TUms, etc. Maybe the occasional Pepto Bismol. Make sure you stop all eating 3 hours prior to going to bed and sleep on a bed with the head raised about a foot. drink water and herbal teas like mint tea or chamomile. Do not drink alcohol or coffee or regular tea. Good luck!

OK, I made it to my appointment at 11:43. I know it was pushing it since I told you all my appointment was for 11:45. Well to my surprise upon arrival my appointment was really schedule for 11:15. I was in total shock. I went blank for a second in thought thinking were did I get 11:45 from. Well, she check to see had the worker left for lunch. Thank God they were still there. I went in nervous, just as if it was the day of the surgery. Got upon the table. They put the xray over me to find my port. Tah tah! ding ding ding....they found it instantly. So here comes the bad stuff, the pain. I asked about numbing it. She explained, why get poke twice when you can get poke once and be finish. I am still shaking like a leaf on a twig. But guess what I didn't even know when she started or finish. I didnt feel a thing other then the alcohol swab being rub on me and her hand. They tried to talk to me during the process. I wasn't hearing that...lol...to nervous thinking my talking would bring pain....I know, I am crazy, but that's just me...lol I got 4cc in a 10cc band. Literally, i did not feel or see the needle at all. My filler was GREAT!!!!! I hope she is the one to do it all the time. My appointment last a total of 5 minutes, including the EKG. I have lost a total of 12lbs. They would prefer for me to get to 159lbs by my bandevesary. I have bigger dreams, I am aiming for 135-140lbs. My original weight was 191 on my very first visit to the center. So that puts me at 179lbs now....... Its a start!!!!

Luckily I have no immediate family nearby except my sons - one who won't talk to me because I won't support his alcohol addiction and the other lives in Henderson and doesn't see any good reason to get a driver's license ... so I don't have to worry about snoopers. The reaction of your family is exactly the reason I didn't tell anyone I was doing this and since my return, the only thing I've told anyone is I had hiatal hernia repair surgery (which isn't a lie as Dr. A did find a sliding hiatal hernia and he repaired it) In hindsight, I now wish I had not told anyone ANYTHING however, hindsight is 20/20. I figure when I continue to lose weight there may be questions and the best I can come up with is that since I was on the liquid diet following the "repair" surgery, and my stomach had shrunk (not a lie :thumbup:) and I was finally losing weight, I decided to take this time to get on a healthy diet and exercise regime and lose as much weight as I can. In reality, it really is NO ONE's business but your's and your husband's. I think your family has been watching too many movies or something about Mexico ... print out things from this forum and let them read them ... surely they wouldn't believe that we are all "fake" and will start to see that you will be in the BEST HANDS and that you will come home afterwards. Hang in there and hang onto those "balls" -- family is family; however there is no reason you can't stand up for yourself all the time!

So, super long story short...I had arthroscopic knee surgery 2 weeks ago for a torn meniscus that I've had for years, and finally fixed because I couldn't handle having my knee lock up on me all the time. Surgery and recovery went remarkably well, then suddenly I noticed a large lump in my calf. I showed it to my dr during physical therapy, and she told me to go to the ER right away. I got an ultrasound which showed I had deep vein thrombosis reaching all the way to my hip! They admitted me to the hospital, I had to stay there for 4 days until my blood was thin enough for me to be safe enough to go home. Now I have to take cumadin for the next 3 months! This drug is very complicated, and I've never taken it before, but basically I can no longer eat most green veggies, which is a majority of my diet, and everyone is telling me I need to take a break from losing weight, and focus on managing the cumadin. Of course I intend to do so, but I'm so overwhelmed because my weight loss has been so successful, I've lost 90 pounds in 6 months, but I still have a long way to go, and apparently I gained 3 pounds in the hospital, which blows my mind!? I cannot mentally handle gaining weight, but this cumadin is so damn sensitive, that it says any changes in weight could throw the drug off and put me in the danger zone again. I just can't handle this, I absolutely can't smoke or drink alcohol anymore now, and I find my thoughts, and actions drifting towards unhealthy food choices...this is a mess.....is anyone else on cumadin? I'm so sad and just had to vent. Thanks