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I haven't discussed this with my doctor yet. I did discuss with my dietician. She stated you will get intoxicated on very little. She also suggested if I did drink, to try it at home first because no police officer will believe you had a few sips. It's empty calories, so why bother? My fear is that I drank a couple of bottles of wine per week before surgery. I do not want to replace my food addiction with alcoholism. I'm leaving it in the past.

5 months post op and I've been stuck for about 1-2 months with the scale not really budging. Ive been stuck shy of 50 lb mark for too long now. I've gotten frustrated enough to jump off the cliff of the plateau and to push myself more. I've reduced my calories (esp random snacking), reducing the alcohol and increasing exercise. This morning my scale had said I lost 2.7 lbs! I am excited and noticed again. I question myself if I'm really hungry or bored. A 3 mile walk on the beach with gorgeous weather definitely helped today. I'm in Florida. Hope everyone is doing well. How'd you get over your plateau's?

No liquor! Not a wise idea you may hurt your pouch. My doctor say no alcohol ever. Other doctors say 6 months. But as you probably know it would hit you like a ton of bricks. As far as eating i think thats about it.

Yes, at 4 months out, I was still super restricted. The adding bread, potatoes, other mushy foods to my meat really changed well after a year post-op. A lot of it was "how" I ate the food on my plate. I would only eat the meat first, add nothing to it. Once I got into maintenance, and eating more varied diet, I started eating differently. A bite of meat, a bite of veggies, a bite of meat, a bite of potatoes. Those mushy foods helped the food go through faster, and didn't take up space. I didn't touch bread for months, and for the first year, it was really difficult for me to eat breads. Now, they're a bit of a slider food. I still feel restriction with breads, but I can eat it without discomfort at this point. Just like, if I decide to drink wine before a meal, I can eat more. Sometimes, I'll have coffee or a hot tea (like at the Japanese restaurant we frequent) before my meal, I can fit a few more bites in. The alcohol and warm liquids all relax my stomach. Another reason why alcohol is so discouraged early out. Snacking and drinking go hand in hand especially in social settings. We drink, we snack, we drink some more, we snack some more etc etc. That's what led to my gain over the holidays last year.

I've encountered a weird situation. First off, I rarely drank before being banded so I don't have incredible tolerance. However, since I've been banded my tolerance seems to be nonexistent. About 3 months after I was banded I went to a concert with some friends of mine. I had about 3-4 beers and boom I went from zero to hammered in no time at all. I never got that kind of reaction pre-banding and it hit me in such a way that I didn't realise I was drunk and had a couple more while the realization set in. The worst part was I ate some sort of roadkill chicken from a vendor there and a couple hours later when I got home I started dry heaving from the bad food/alcohol combo. It was a terrible experience and I thought I slipped my band. Needless to say there hasn't been much alcohol at all in my life since that incident, not that I miss it, but it was really scary.

Hi chrissy we, ve already been chatting but to let other fellow brits know, i, m 6 days post op and 16 lbs down including pre op diet I, m a northern girl lol and had my surgery done at thornbury hospital Sheffield although all my other pre and follow up consultations Will be at the nhs northern General hospital with my surgeon dr patel. My post op diet is 3 days liquid followed by 3 weeks pureed then soft/mushy and crispy. Then stage 4 is solid textured diet 3-6 months after my sleeve, I guess I will know through triel and error when my stomach is ready for this stage. Dr advice is no alcohol for 12 months post surgery but I know some drs in America say 6 months, I know I will attempt a small glass of wine around Christmas, which will be about 5 months post op, I may find I no longer desire a drink, but I do like a glass with Christmas dinner so i, m not depriving myself lol.

One cannot say for certain this is anything more than coincidence, but of the 10 folks I personally know who had WLS, the portion that gained all their weight back and essentially are in worse shape than when they started, all allowed alcohol back into their diet. Empty calories, yes, but I think it is also to do with mindset and choices. Sometimes making a small sacrifice is really a token gesture to our subconcious that we are making life changing, permament choices. The question I ask of myself is, if I am going to take these measures to reclaim my true me, is there ANYTHING worth doing that treads boarderline behavior that has ANY potential to lead me back to paths I am choosing to leave behind. I wish you well in your thought processes!

Just to be on the safe side, you are going to be effected by much less alcohol...I used to be able to drink a handle and be coherent...now I drink the same amount as some lightweight girls I know.

My wakeup call was finding out that the co-morbidities I had: diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver were *progressive*. That prompted my next question, "So where is this heading?" Even though my blood sugars were well-controlled, the doctor said that I would wind up with an insulin pump. I also have sleep apnea. The doctor told me that my weight would shorten my life by 10 years. Holy smokes! That's a LOT of time! Then I thought of my kids and their marriages and potential grandchildren. Didn't want to miss everything OR have my husband and kids hurt big time for 10 years longer than would have been necessary.

Actually not entirely true... To the weight loss surgery patient slider foods are the bane of good intentions and ignorance often causing dumping syndrome, weight loss plateaus, and eventually weight gain for gastric bypass, gastric band (lap-band), and gastric sleeve bariatric patients. Slider foods, to weight loss surgery patients, are soft simple processed carbohydrates of little or no nutritional value that slide right through the surgical stomach pouch without providing nutrition or satiation. The most innocent of slider foods are saltine crackers, often eaten with warm tea or other beverages, to soothe the stomach in illness or while recovering from surgery. Understanding Slider Foods The most commonly consumed slider foods include pretzels, crackers (saltines, graham, Ritz, etc.) filled cracker Snacks such as Ritz Bits, popcorn, cheese snacks (Cheetos) or cheese crackers, tortilla chips with salsa, potato chips, sugar-free cookies, cakes, and candy. You will notice these slider foods are often salty and cause dry mouth so they must be ingested with liquid to be palatable. This is how they become slider foods. They are also, most often, void of nutritional value. For weight loss surgery patients the process of digestion is different than those who have not undergone gastric surgery. When slider foods are consumed they go into the stomach pouch and exit directly into the jejunum where the simple carbohydrate slurry is quickly absorbed and stored by the body. There is little thermic effect in the digestion of simple carbohydrates like there is in the digestion of Protein so little metabolic energy is expended. In most cases patients in the phase of weight loss who eat slider foods will experience a weight loss plateau and possibly the setback of weight gain. And sadly, they will begin to believe their surgical stomach pouch is not functioning properly because they never feel fullness or restriction like they experience when eating protein. The very nature of the surgical gastric pouch is to cause feelings of tightness or restriction when one has eaten enough food. However, when soft simple carbohydrates are eaten this tightness or restriction does not result and one can continue to eat, unmeasured, copious amounts of non-nutritional food without ever feeling uncomfortable. Many patients turn to slider foods for this very reason. They do not like the discomfort that results when the pouch is full from eating a measured portion of lean animal or dairy protein without liquids. Yet it is this very restriction that is the desired result of the surgery. The discomfort is intended to signal the cessation of eating. Remembering the "Protein First" rule is crucial to weight management with bariatric surgery. Gastric bypass, gastric banding (lap-band) and gastric sleeve patients are instructed to follow a high protein diet to facilitate healing and promote weight loss. Bariatric centers advise what is commonly known among weight loss surgery patients as the "Four Rules" the most important of which is "Protein First." That means of all nutrients (protein, carbohydrates, fat and alcohol) the patient is required to eat protein first. Protein is not always the most comfortable food choice for weight loss surgery patients who feel restriction after eating a very small amount of food. However, for the surgical tool to work correctly a diet rich in protein and low in simple carbohydrate slider foods must be observed. The high protein diet must be followed even after healthy body weight has been achieved in order to maintain a healthy weight and avoid weight regain.

I've only had the first situation you describe where I get "drunk" very quickly, on very little alcohol, then sober up just as quickly. I haven't pressed my luck, so to speak and drank enough to get any worse than that. I'm not a young person anymore (I'm 36), so my days of drinking more than a couple of drinks in one evening are well behind me now. I don't think I'd ever have any desire to drink more than a couple of drinks, especially when I start feeling drunk so quickly now.

I too am a mother and understand that sometimes we need relaxation and alcohol can really hit the spot. I however have resorted to meditation I find that learning to relax takes away my need for alcohol. Also it's a really good thing to do with your child as they get older. Teaching a child how to relax can help if they develop sleep issues or anxiety. I know of somebody who has had a gastric sleeve and finds out how very easy to slip down his throat and has probably replaced one issue with another. It's always worth just keeping a check on these things I can slip very quickly. What you're suggesting in terms of drinking occasionally should not be a problem. In fact a delight. Enjoy and cheers.

If you trusted the surgeon enough to cut you and remove 80% of an organ, you may want to give his opinion on alcohol consumption some more thought. I had a few drinks at 5 months, but I have the sleeve and I had clearance with my surgeon. First time you drink there is a very real possibility of getting sick.

I use the point system and track. I only do 20 points a day which is 1k calories plus the bonus points. Most of my extra points are spent on alcohol since it is so high in calories. I lost 4 lbs this week and .7 last week. I am 8 lbs away from plastic surgery. My leader is wonderful. I did also tell her I had Bariatric surgery because she notice I had lost weight in between being a member. I haven't told her its lapband yet.

Since I consider myself a 'failure' with the lapband i feel differently then most lapbanders. If you pb often you are to go on liquids for some length of time and this can cause a vicious cycle - and yes, you will get hungry and if good bandster food doesn't go you tend to go toward foods that will go through ok - not good bandster food. I actually feel sorry for this woman and am glad she found something that works. I've tried almost everything and do almost 95% of all things right - i'm not perfect but i eat around 1200-1500 calories a day, drink very minimal amounts of alcohol, exercise regularly and still struggle with not pbing and i don't lose weight. I've maintained which is something I couldn't do without the band but I don't want to or think I need to be tighter. My body just won't lose weight (and yes, I've been tested metabolically.) As my doc said - you can put lapbands in 4 patients and each patient will have a different result - you sometimes can't pinpoint it. I know 3 other bandsters like me and it is a lonely lonely road of mostly folks blaming us for our lack of success -nobody likes to hear from the failures. I would still say go for it - if you have researched and thought long and hard about your decision and realize that for some people it doesn'tt work - one of the folks I know that has had no significant weight loss had the surgery with her mom and sister - mom and sister are pretty much at goal and the woman I know has lost 16lbs - I don't know if the doc or procedure is a joke - I just know I feel for someone who doesn't get the result they want from the lapband and when they do find something that works - good for them.

Just to clarify a little on the Atkins - you actually count net carbs - which is total carbs, less fiber carbs and sugar alcohol carbs. So your carbs from the fiber in the veggies would not be included in your daily total

My doctor recommend not drinking Becuse the alcohol is now digested in the small intestines which will absorb the alcohol much faster thus giving you a buzz faster then normal. That and the fact that alcohol is a bad habit that will lead to other bad habits that will lead to weight gain and then frailer at WLS. For me that scares the hell out of me I don't want to be FAT ever again. So if it means giving up beer,soda,candy,fatting foods I'm ok with that. I love the way I'm looking and haven't been this light in 40 years. Surgery Anniversary 7/30/12

Not that I recommend this but...I had a alcoholic drink 4 days post op :thumbup: I am slowly losing and I know it would come off faster if I gave up alcohol but I enjoy a glass or 3 on the weekends. When you are single and your social activities revolve around dinner w/ friends it is hard to stay on track. (probably one of the reason I am obese...now, I can eat a reasonable sized portion when dinning out instead of cleanning my plate...thank you band)

Ok so i will be 4 weeks post op on Tues i had my surgery jan 26. Tomorrow I am going out with my hubby and friends for dinner and drinks. Is it too soon to have 1 alcohol beverage? What is safe to have?

My surgeon suggested that I avoid it if possible. Otherwise, he said be careful as WLS patients are more sensitive to the effects, as others have posted. One sip and I am tipsy and tired for hours. I also don't enjoy the taste any more. I chose to avoid it altogether, which is fine by me as had I not had surgery I probably would have been well on my way to becoming an alcoholic.

Update: I do not enjoy alcohol at all anymore. It hits me hard and not in a good way. It's not worth it to me. I enjoyed it a couple times but now it turned a bad corner.. Gives me headaches and makes me feel hot and queasy with just a couple sips .. I'm over it lol I guess I'm the new DD around here lol

The only harm alcohol causes us is empty calorie weight gain. Most likely people get drunk more quickly due to the fact you have abstained from alcohol for a good bit of time. Your tolerance is different. I used to enjoy a couple glasses of wine every night, but 2 now is way different. I don't do it simple because I'm still trying to make goal and wine is way off my course. It's a mind set

I was told no alcoholic beverages for at least a year by my doc. They emphasize the fact that your liver is like the housekeeper and needs to filter so much junk out of your blood as you lose, that asking it to metabolize alcohol on top of that could cause serious damage. I've also heard through some other groups that I belong to that people have gotten seriously ill and died just from a couple of drinks after WLS because of the way their new system works. Totally not worth the risk to me. I love a glass of wine (or a mojito, or margarita...) as much as the next person, but I'm not going to chance it for at least a year.

Had my second fill this week. I feel a restriction again! So glad. I think I still eat too much and make some bad choices but I am getting there. Instead of 2 sausage burrittos and and egg mcmuffin I can only eat one burritto now. That is huge to me! Now if I would just boil some eggs and have one of those instead I would be doing better. Stress at work is better too. One of the hospitalists went to my boss and was very upset about how I was treated. The other hospitalist told me yesterday he is glad I am still there. That was very sweet. I realize that my bosses problem with me was personal - she said nothing negative about my nursing skills. So that's good. I really have figured out I am fine with the person I am. Just need to steer clear of conflict when possible which means some weaker people are going to have to fight their own battles. Might be good for them too. On the strange side. I have a patient this week who is going through terrible DTs from his alcohol withdrawals. Its been both and emotional and physical battle. He is very funny - but also very motivated to escape and drink. He actually punched me in the stomach. That won him 4 point restraints. I hate restraining people. Ok but the strange part is that while talking to him and trying to redirect him I discovered who his mother....as it turns out he is the brother of the man who broke..destroyed my heart 25 years ago. We aren't in the same city! Missouri is a small state eh? I haven't had his brother call about him yet but that would be so surreal and stressful! But also kinda funny. My life is so good now with my husband!

I was sleeved January 30th. No alcohol for me yet. Doc said I could have it 4 months out. I believe VSG patients are supposed to feel the effects because the stomach is so small that the alcohol does not stay in the stomach as long as when it was full sized so it kind of flushes through the stomach and gets absorbed right away.