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So a quick update. I saw a skin specialist today who is pretty certain I have Chronic idiopathic Urticaria. I say pretty certain because there's another possibility (with joint involvement), but we have to wait for my pathology results to rule it out. He has started me on montelukast today and increased my fexofenadine tablets to three times a day. After just one montelukast dose, I could feel the itch subside and I was so happy! Imagine how ill be in a week! He mentioned that these hives can be brought on by stress. Given that the mini gastric bypass is incredibly stressful to the body, this ties in well with the onset time etc.

Hi, I'm Jeremy. I'm 42 and have been fighting weight issues for decades. I will be having mini-bypass surgery on October 14th in Istanbul. Age : 42 Heaviest: 330 Now: 312 Goal: 190

I know I am a bypass patient so it is a little different, but I tend to eat similar things as others have said this far out! Breakfast (when I manage to eat it) tends to be a protein porridge pot, or if I don't feel hungry in the morning I have like a protein iced coffee & a protein shake/Huel shake. Lunch tends to be either some form of wrap with chicken, or some sort of salad pot. I don't pre-make my lunches which is probably a bad thing, but also just to encourage myself to walk to the shop at lunchtime so I can get some steps in 😂 Dinners really vary, but I have found that I can eat most things: chicken, beef, fish, seafood etc. So I just cook normal things like spaghetti Bolognese, curries, salmon & broccoli, anything that takes my fancy really! I can eat a small amount of carbs, especially things like brown rice & pasta, but burger buns are just too much so I just take the bun off 😂😂

Hello so my surgery is being planned in November assuming I pass the psych evaluation on Wednesday. I'm extremely worried about passing the evaluation and what the evaluation is going to entail can somebody give me a basic idea thats been through it before? Im getting the gastric sleeve operation. I've already filled out their questionnaire and they gave me about 150 questions to answer but the questions give me no clue about what questions the psychologist is going to be asking me aside from trap questions like "I can eat whatever I want after the surgery." Obviously clearly a trap and you're supposed to clearly answer strongly disagree to that question but other questions were not so straight forward. I also have a history of mental illness (I'm schizoaffective) does that mean that I automatically fail my evaluation?

Hello! My name is Zach, and I am a 2nd year medical student conducting a research project, "Evaluating GERD symptom alleviation following robotic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery", which essentially seeks to evaluate the efficacy of robotic gastric bypass surgery in relieving GERD symptoms. I was interested in minimally invasive surgery long before starting medical school, and decided to spend my past summer working alongside a bariatric surgeon in my hometown. While working with him, I noticed how many of his patients stated that their GERD had resolved after undergoing robotic gastric bypass. My time there was limited, so I was not able to really share this survey with his patient population. Below is a link to a survey that follows the guidelines outlined in the official GERD health-related quality of life questionnaire. I would greatly appreciate your help with this! My goal for this survey is that your responses will allow me to publish a paper from an educational perspective, illustrating how efficacious robotic gastric bypass is at alleviating not only weight loss, but symptoms of GERD as well. While I hope that all of you have had nothing but success following your surgeries, I understand that this is not always the case. I would love to hear all of your various experiences and perspectives, whether they are positive or negative. This survey below is entirely anonymous. You should not be asked to sign-in to Microsoft in order to complete the survey, and I will not have access to your name or any other patient identifiers aside from your age. When you first open the link, you will see information regarding informed consent. After agreeing to participate, you will then see seven screening questions. After that, you will begin the actual survey, in which you will answer questions regarding various symptoms before and after your surgery. This survey should take about five minutes of your time. Survey link: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=5CBDHRt_fk2_8ubn-Q2YhAxSQabe5PdIrhihxZU9cCZUQ1hSQjE3WkozVEFHTUQ5N0RTNERSMUNPMy4u If this type of post is not allowed, I understand and apologize! I hope to have the opportunity to share your experiences with this survey and shed some light on the relationship between gastric bypass and GERD. Thank you all in advance!

I am having bypass surgery on Tuesday, October 1 and this is my main concern. Even with my having lost 10lbs just on the liquid diet. I am starting the get more and more nervous in general. All I can say to both of us is WE'VE GOT THIS! I saw in a previous post that you mentioned an October surgery group. I have looked for one but did not find one. Of course I just joined the forum so I have ZERO clue how to navigate!

I don't think my cat is impressed with my new lifestyle as he sits in front of the oven expecting to be served food however I don't think I have used my oven more than twice in the year since my op, now it is air fryer or slow cooker if cooking. Guess he misses his oven cooked chicken 😂 I know he missed me (his servant) while I was in hospital for so many months with my post-op complications as he has been so affectionate and chatty since I was finally released last November. For weeks I felt he would go into panic mode if I grimaced and had a bit of pain but I presume he was just afraid I would not be home to serve him!

THIS ^^^^ I never dropped a lot of weight in a short time. I averaged 1-2 pounds a week and as long as the scale was moving in a downward direction I was happy. If I hit a stall, I stayed off the scale to preserve my mental health. LOL I kept telling myself slow and steady wins the race. Distracting myself with moving and thrifting. I found that I breezed through clothes sizes way faster. Which was sooo much fun. Almost 1 1/2 years after Gastric Bypass. I'm still losing pounds and inches. Not sure where I will end up and people are telling me to stop but I'm letting my body dictate that. For now. I walk a couple miles a day. That's it. Today I am 5 pounds from goal weight. And I personally know someone who had WLS GB many moons ago and regained the weight back and more. She's a bad reminder of where I don't want to end up. Enjoy the journey and WL and mentally prepare yourself more so, for the maintenance part when it comes. GL

Yep, still waiting for my surgery date @Spinoza The dietitian had warned me that I could end up doing the liver reduction diet over Christmas and I was wondering if anyone else had managed the same 🙂 When I had my appointment with the surgeon, we both agreed on having a bypass so now I wait for the date for the op! Definitely glad I’m over Covid though 🥳 @FifiLux isn’t it odd how the there are so many different approaches to WLS? Some have no pre-surgery diet, some have a couple of days, mines 3 weeks plus there are longer ones etc. It’s hardly surprising that some people end up totally confused with what they are supposed to be doing! Oh, how was your break? Did you take your travel scales? Did they help if so?!

Wanted to share my experience and echo the other commenters here. I am 9 weeks out of my gastric bypass and I am right where you are almost exactly weight loss wise- Pre surgery and liquid diet I was 260lb (117kg) After liquid diet in surgery day I was 244lb (110kg) Now after 9 weeks I am 99kg. I haven’t weighed in a few days so I may be a pound or two more but I’m trying to limit myself to only weighing every few days so I don’t hyperfixate. I definitely feel like I’m losing slow- but last week in my bariatric programs’ support group on zoom, almost EVERY patient had that same feeling. It was very validating and most of us were feeling disappointed and impatient. After hearing that it made me feel a lot better. I keep reminding myself that I haven’t even been this weight in a long time and that it’s going to keep going down on its own schedule, when it’s right for my body. Keep fighting the good fight and showing love and kindness to your body and we will all get there.

You must be so incredibly frustrated! Which type of surgery did you get, the sleeve or the bypass? I'm at about 7 weeks post op from getting the sleeve + intestinal revision and my calorie consumption ranges from 500-700/day, with my carb intake less than 35/day and a protein goal of 60/day with fluids of at least 48oz/day. I agree with others - it seems like a good idea, regardless of any advice you get from this forum, to revisit your surgeon. That said, I do believe you hit the nail on the head for one with the alcohol, and secondly I'd ask how many of your calories are coming from carbs. It's ok to include carbs in your diet, but really, this early, unless you are very physically active there isn't cause for many of them. At this stage it's typical to eat no more than 1/2cup - 1 cup of total food per meal, three times a day (or spaced out into 4 meals if needed). That's including your protein, which as someone else said should be the first thing you eat. Another thing about alcohol - it tends to cause dehydration - so you'd need to be consuming even MORE water throughout the day to compensate for that, just like caffeine. If you aren't hitting your hydration goal (PLUS, because of alcohol) then your body will struggle to convert your stored fat into energy, which is what causes most of the weight loss. An example of what my diet looks like at this stage is a single serve yogurt for breakfast (I have been getting the Aikos zero sugar or 2Good ones) - Remember no drinking 30 minutes before or after, and your meal should last at least 20-30 minutes. For lunch I might have a 'tuna melt' - which I make out of 1/3 can of tuna in water, a zero net carb small tortilla, and maybe 1/8 cup of shredded cheese or a low fat string cheese (I cook it folded over like a quesadilla) with maybe 1/8 cup of low fat cottage cheese, then for dinner a serving of one of the many bariatric recipes - there's a ricotta bake (lasagna with no noodles, basically), unstuffed cabbage rolls (Kind of like egg roll filling), or maybe chicken or tuna salad made with low fat mayo and a dab of relish with some cucumber slices/2-4 saltine crackers. I use the free Baritastic App to track my food and fluid intake. Using a tracking app increases weight loss significantly from what I've been told because you can see and understand what exactly you're putting in your body. The good news is that as far as I know, it isn't too late to backpedal and reset yourself! I'm NOT a doctor but my understanding is that if you get off track after weight loss surgery, especially this soon, one way to 'reset' is to go back on a liquid diet for a week or two, with zero-sugar jello, zero sugar pudding, and protein shakes (less than 5g of sugar each) to hit your goals. After that, work your way back up to puree foods for a week, then soft foods for a week. I strongly recommend eyeballing the nutrition information on any shake you think of buying, too, because there are some that are loaded with sugar and have as many as 22g of carbs EACH. After weight loss surgery it's also strongly discouraged to have fried food at all for the first 6 months, and after that maybe once per month. The same goes for sweets and baked goods. I hope this helps, and again - I feel like you should really follow up with your surgeon and a nutritionist! Best wishes!

Actually 7 years post op in November. Where does the time go? 😳

I’m not sure about in AU, but in US medical files sometimes still say history of obesity/Bariatric surgery so that bypasses a lot of issues when trying to explain why you need help losing regain or maintaining weight. Can others please chime in if they have any information about this? But either way if you can swing it, they are effective.

Hey there! I had bypass back in February. My best advice is to ignore other people's stats and focus on you. I, too, was worried about my progress, but 7 months in, I am still losing weight and just bought jeans in a size I have not worn since I was 22 years old (I am 50 now). Here is how it went for me, just so you can see one example, but we are all different. Starting weight: 251 lbs (BMI 40.5 as I am 5'6" tall) Pre-surgery loss (over 6 months): -12.2lbs (this was from nutrition changes) 2 week liquid diet: -15.4lbs Month 1: -8.2lbs Month 2: -10.8lbs Month 3: -3.8lbs Month 4: -11.0lbs Month 5: -3.4lbs Month 6: -5.2lbs Month 7: -3.6lbs So far in month 8: -2.2lbs Today's weight: 175.2lbs (BMI 28.3) My goal is to lose another 20lbs in the next 5-6 months, which would be 3-4 lbs per month. That would get me to a "normal" BMI of under 30 and would be about the same weight I was when I was 18 years old.

Hi Ladies, I’m almost 6 weeks post-op from my gastric bypass. I started at 109.5 kg, and now I’m at 98.6 kg, so I’ve lost about 10 kg. While my nurse and doctor mentioned that I could’ve lost more by now, they said it’s still not bad. Honestly, it didn’t make me feel great, but a loss is a loss, right? I find myself comparing my progress with others, mostly with sleeve patients, which I know isn’t fair. So, I’m here in the bypass forum to hear from others with success stories. Shouldn't the most weight loss happen in the first 2-3 months, and then it slows down? Right now, I’m losing around 1 kg per week, which I know is healthy, but I keep feeling like I should be losing more, and then I panic, wondering if I’m overeating. I’m on a 1200-calorie plan with 8-10 small meals a day. I haven’t been able to stick to the 10 meals, but I do my best to hit 8, and they’re all balanced. My workout routine has been almost non-existent, but I joined the gym TODAY, so that will change! I just need some reassurance that I WILL lose the weight and that I’m not going to fail like I have in the past with weight loss.

Well, great is sort of relative isn't it? 😁 For me it's much better than I expected this week, all things considered. I'm sure for some it's pretty slow. Consider that the world record half marathon time is about 58 minutes. This means I'm running twice as slow as those folks. On the flip side, this time would probably put me in about the 55th to 60th percentile world-wide for my age group. This means I'm probably a little faster than average, but I'm sure not winning any races! I've got another Half Marathon race scheduled in November and hope to break 2:05 in that one. I haven't fully decided yet, but may do one in April or May and if so, will be shooting for a sub 2:00. I guess my point is I don't think too much about how I compare to others. My real goal is to continue to beat myself!

Yes, I had sleeve 3.5 years before I started my journey to revision. It’s considered fairly “new” In the medical community but finally got endorsement by the ASMBS so it should become more prominent now but finding info on it as a standalone procedure was tough enough, nevermind as a revision. Like @Arabesque said I had a really difficult time making my decision between the SADI and bypass but i did finally land on the SADI and I am happy with it. This week at six weeks out I was down 40 pounds (including the weight I lost on my two week preop diet which was basically two shakes and a low carb dinner). With the sleeve I felt like I was on a diet. The reduction of the hunger hormone helped me to keep my portions small and get down to 167 (i’m 5’8”) but I was able to eat more than expected from day one. Not a lot more but enough that once the hunger came back and I was eating several times a day I was gaining from even healthy food. The fact that I felt like a failure for not reaching my goal and that I was gaining in spite of my best efforts discouraged me and bad habits started slipping in bit by bit but rather quickly I gained it all back plus some. Things that have been different with the SADI. For one, my level of commitment. I quit going to my follow up appointments at the Dr and stopped posting here when I regained a big chunk of weight post sleeve because I was so embarrassed and I never went to the in person support groups to begin with. After I started my journey to revision I began posting again and committed to doing the in person groups when they meet monthly. I also have made even more than the minimum required appointments with my team to acquire as much information as I can and I asked to do my follow ups more often which helps for now with my anxiety over healing but also will help to keep me accountable In the future. In terms of the surgery itself it seems to have made more metabolic changes for me. For one thing I was actually a salty snacker before my sleeve but post sleeve I craved sweets. I actually woke up from my sleeve surgery craving various desserts but with SADI I was craving Fish Tacos (a meal I never even enjoyed pre surgery) and I have been eating all kinds of stuff I had to force myself to eat pre surgery and I’m actually enjoying them. I mean not like pizza but still pretty good I am back to regular food now and I may have a sugar free popsicle once a week. Other than that I don’t really want sweets and my food cravings are very quiet and good choices are really good. In terms of motivation and energy I have a ton more. Part of that may be due to my exercising this time compared to the sleeve in which I didn’t do any. This time I started out a little shy of a month just walking to the end of my street and back and now I’m up to over 15k steps a day (sometimes 19k) and I’m getting ready to try YOGA at my community center (waiting for my 8 weeks post op just to be safe). I feel fantastic. It’s not just he honeymoon phase either. I actually wake up hours earlier eager to start my day and at night when I hit the bed I feel accomplished and I sleep so much better. Everyone I talked to said fat was okay with the SADI and carbs were the enemy but that has not been my experience. Maybe processed carbs are bad but in things like veggies, fruit and oats or brown rice are okay for me. I actually do lower fat because I had my gallbladder out so think almond milk and 2% cheeses or non fat yogurt (surprisingly not bad tasting though). In terms of carbs if I remember correctly she started me at. 60g and then increased me to 80 because of my activity. They did not resleeve my stomach so my return to food progressed a little slower than yours will if your getting re-sleeved though so that will not be the case this early out. You won’t be able to eat the volume of food that I do at this point. I can actually eat every 3 hours. Most times I’m already up but I have an alarm set for 8 and I wake up and have my proffee which I finish by 9 with my multi vitamin and then every three hours (12,3 and 6) I have a small meal with my three calcium chews. My last meal being a snack at 9pm and I take my magnesium and hair vitamins. I seriously have so much energy. I care so much about what I put into my body. I make everything from scratch and before it was all about convenience (hated to cook) and I won’t lie and say I love exercise but I want to do it. In fact I’m nursing three blisters now and they just weren’t healing with the continued training so I’m having to force myself to slow down today. It’s so weird. I haven’t exercised in over 20 years. I have avoided it at all costs!! I mean I had to make the decision to get started of course but the surgery gave me the energy to do it. Ooh, the recovery was a bit tougher for the SADI, well a lot for me but they took my gallbladder too. I was okay without pain meds once I finally was able to pass gas (like 7 times one morning) but I spent five days in hospital because I couldn’t pass gas and my pain was only managed on meds they wouldn’t send me home with. Once I got home I took half of one pill because my husband forgot to get the Tylenol and I had to wait for him to get it I the store but after that i managed without it. With my sleeve I work up and refused pain meds and was fine the next day. In fact i almost forgot I had surgery when I was out front and asked my husband to pass the basketball to me. So night and day difference in recovery but it wasn’t horrible. Just not expected. Anyways, I’m sure that once I get closer to goal I will be tempted by less desirable food choices and it won’t be as easy as it is now but I honestly do feel like it will be different this time. For one, I have more support but also, I am actually changing my entire lifestyle this time. I am even looking for organic and cleaner ingredients in my food instead of just processed junk that’s diet friendly. I feel great and I want to continue feeling this way for a long long time. That got kinda long, sorry. I really hope some of it helps.

I'm almost a year and a half since my RNY (November). I've lost about 135 give or take (I bounce between 125-130lbs). I haven't lost any fat free body mass since month 3, and have actually gained 5lbs of fat free mass since May. At my 1 year, in May, my body composition said I was at 18.1% body fat which is on the low end of "lean" I did another one last week because I was feeling off (tired, muscle cramps, brittle nails, headaches) My body fat percentage was at 12.3% which translated into roughly 16 pounds of my overall weight (130 at the time of the test) being fat. Anything under 15% is "at risk". I eat, what seems like all day long, I get my calories, protein, healthy fats, fiber. I take all my supplements. All my blood work I've had this year for random things and specifically for post surgery, has been normal. Nothing, other than feeling off, pointed to this. I do have an appointment with nutrition and my bariatric team this week. But wanted to see if anyone has gone through this, heard of this... Anything? My initial thought is how my body is absorbing nutrients, but again, my labs have been normal.

Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me all this! How long were you off work right after surgery? I told them 1 to 1.5 weeks is my guess. But one lady here said she was back in a few days. I don't want to push it if I need to heal more though and my clients are all understanding. My dad passed away last year after 25 years of congestive heart failure then also diabetes and lost one leg then the other. It was extremely heartbreaking and don't want my kids to see that happen to me if there is any way at all I can be healthier. So going to do this. Have 12 dietitian appts. Done two. Already had psychological and was cleared. Have endoscopy Oct 11 and last dietitian appt on Oct 30. Surgery after final approval so they estimate Nov. Hopefully early Nov. Doesn't bother me at all about the holidays. One year I lost 5 lbs from Thanksgiving to Christmas. It's all mindset. But it's when I go back to eating like everyone else I always gain! Sucks. Thank you again! I'd love to be able to text with you if you'd consider that! It's ok if you'd rather not though. Lol! I know I'm a stranger. Lol! You look great and I'm so happy for you. And yes when I'm even at 200 I have the energy for the gym and remember only being able to do the stairmaster for seconds and worked my way up to 20 or 30 minutes. I was so much stronger. It was years ago so can't remember but think I got up to 30 mins and now I love esp the machines and esp the leg machines. Leg day is my fave! Can I ask you, did you grieve your clothes? Even though they are big now I like them. I remember when I lost before I grieved them because I'd raised babies with them all and kept some just as memories. Lol! But will just alter what I can and the rest will buy new. Bet no one ever asked you that one! Lol! Unless you've been there and dropped several sizes before you wouldn't understand. 💗 And do we need to add quote when replying because won't these get too long? Lol! Have a great Friday!! ⚘️ Wow! That's awesome. I'd take even half that loss and be happy. But would sure be nice to lose quite a bit so my low back can calm down. Severe osteoarthritis there. About 240 lbs now. 277 was my highest many years back. Lost 100 through diet and exercise and slowly came back. Then end of 2021 was 265. So did it again. Ate less, moved more and lost 64.5 lbs about 2 years ago and got to 200. Felt sooo much better even there but slowly back now to 240! Blah! Surgery most likely early Nov for sleeve. Said bypass will cause ulcers since only ibuprofen helps my back. Can I ask you about exercise you did? Also that you do now? And did you have any skin removal? May need that around my middle later on. Heard someone with our insurance got that covered also. Praying for that but will save up for it if I have to. Thanks for any advice and info! You look great and I know you must FEEL better. That's what I want. I never sought surgery to look better but hopefully will. I just feel terrible and need some relief and want the weight to stay gone. Using this tool to help me remain smaller.

I was in the same boat, My very highest was 310Lbs then lost 100lbs through WW, had my daughter gained most of it back. Lost 50 ish pounds, gained 75lb back. A constant yo yo of my weight. I got down to 240 when I met my partner, then had our son and gained it all back to 297lbs. At that point I was tired of feeling like crap, being too tired to do anything, not being able to be active with my kids, not being an active partner. So I looked into the sleeve, didn't feel like the bypass was for me, due to certain restrictions with meds. My goal wasn't even to get this small. It was to be at 190lbs which put me in the "normal bmi" and I wanted to have more energy and not to hurt anymore. But then I really got into into fitness and eating healthy. Can I ask you about exercise you did? I started with walking around 6weeks post op, just 30min during my lunch break, about 2 ish weeks later I started incorporating weights and workout videos. Very light 5lbs or just body weight. Then at about 3ish months post op I joined my gym and I hit the ground running and never have stronger and fitter in my life. Also that you do now? I work out 6days a week. 3 days lower body/cardio, 2 days upper body/cardio 1 day HIIT training/cardio each about an hour to hour and half a day. If you need assistance what to do workout I am super willing to give you some things that helped me. And did you have any skin removal? I have not, I am getting my boobies done in January lol but nothing else. Its so expensive! so I have to do it in parts. Right now I am working out as hard and heavy as I can to tighten up as much I can. This tool was THE BEST DECISION ever! I wish I would have done it sooner. I got my life back.

Wow! That's awesome. I'd take even half that loss and be happy. But would sure be nice to lose quite a bit so my low back can calm down. Severe osteoarthritis there. About 240 lbs now. 277 was my highest many years back. Lost 100 through diet and exercise and slowly came back. (Had lost 100 lbs 8 years before that and gained it back too.) Then end of 2021 was 265. So did it again. Ate less, moved more and lost 64.5 lbs about 2 years ago and got to 200. (Had lost around 60+ twice before that and gained it back over some years too). Felt sooo much better even there at 200 but slowly back now to 240! Blah! Surgery most likely early Nov for sleeve. Said bypass will cause ulcers since only ibuprofen helps my back. Can I ask you about exercise you did? Also that you do now? And did you have any skin removal? May need that around my middle later on. Heard someone with our insurance got that covered also. Praying for that but will save up for it if I have to. Thanks for any advice and info! You look great and I know you must FEEL better. That's what I want. I never sought surgery to look better but hopefully will. I just feel terrible and need some relief and want the weight to stay gone. Using this tool to help me remain smaller.

Hi all! I’m entering my 2nd week after gastric bypass and generally feeling pretty good (knock on wood!). The only thing I’m really missing— like, making me sad, missing— is coffee. I keep trying decaf but I can’t do the taste and all I want is a sugar free pumpkin cold brew cold foam. So my question is… how bad would it be to get one? I know I could only do maybe 3 or 4 sips of it but man, I want it. Thoughts? Experiences? Thanks in advance!

Sorry for the semi-duplicate post. I was falling asleep while I was writing it, and some of it disappeared. Good luck with your GP, surgeon and dermatologist. I have also dealt with hives, even before my original gastric bypass surgery. We couldn’t find any causal reason. After trying several medications alone, my doctor and I decided to try a “cocktail.” I was on 4 medications, but I only recall Ranitidine and Zyrtec. It worked! I had the gastric bypass a few years later, and the hives left me alone.$!

Omgoodness. I'm so thankful I'm not the only one! I had a sleeve to mini bypass done on 19th August and at week 3, I developed hives. Initially it was thought the hives were a drug allergy but they weren't. I can have totally clear skin then have a tepid shower and break out again. I break put at work or where my dog lays on my lap. I think of an itch spot and I'll look to find a welt. Lortadine is useless and the mild steroid creams I have are also ineffective. My surgeon has said no to steroid injections too. I'm going crazy with the itch. I wear gloves at work, I flare up, my watch band, I flare up. I've had to change to a heavier fabric scrubs to avoid the "slinky" material ones my organisation has because my skin didn't agree!

Well, I guess I'm not alone in this. Thanks to each of you for your thoughtful responses. Yes, it is mainly to get to sleep, but also to bring the brain down to normal ticking- I'm a wound up person, always was, when I worked a career I was a demon. Now retired but still, that tighter than a spring quality is part of me-- and yes, addictions are transferable for sure. I've been honest w/ my docs about it. They don't see harm in a couple drinks, generally. And yep, with the bypass surgery, the line between nice buzz and blitzed is a fine line--that much I learned pretty fast. Crazy thing is, I don't really have demons haunting me. Life is generally good. Sure, there's the usual life stresses but my life in general has never been richer (in quality). Thank you, my fellow/colleagues in this adventure.