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You can support your co worker. It's up to the family to do an intervention. If they dont know how to start the process, send your co worker resources in your area for alcoholism. There are also support groups for family members. Sent from my SM-G930T using BariatricPal mobile app

I am 8 months post op and have been at a stall for 2 months. So, i finally made an appointment to see the bariatric surgeon to find out what is going on. I saw him today. It was very interesting. Thought I'd share. He basically told me that the sleeve is working just fine, but my diet needs work. He told me that most of what I was taught about the diet is wrong. His recommendations FOR ME are: Protein first, but get all protein from fresh sources no Protein shakes NO DAIRY NO ALCOHOL No beef Jerky no cheese sticks only really "good" quality cheeses in limited amounts only a bariatric Multivitamin (no other supplements needed) first thing in AM- a big glass of Water daily breakfast- coffee and a piece of fresh fruit lunch- a great big salad dinner anything fresh and lots of fish. My exercise regimen is ok Im gonna start going to weekly educational/support meetings with weekly weigh ins. I got a copy of his new book and so far it is really good. it is available on Amazon. "Ultimate gastric sleeve success: a practical patient guide to help maximize your weight loss results" by Dr. Duc C. Vuong" ...feeling hopeful

Hi, It's all going a bit too well. I am day 11 today and last night I went out for what was meant to be a few quiet wines with the girls and ended up an alcohol fuelled debaucherous dancing frenzy that finished at 6am this morning! Even managed to have McDonalds on the way home (By this stage I had completely forgotten about the band) when I am meant to be having fluids only. The burger and fries went down without so much as a hiccup. So now I know I can eat, it is much harder to deal with the fluids only. WHAT HAVE I DONE!!! But on the bright side, I did get a nice little ego boost while I was out. Much more male attention than I am used to. Would have been a great night if it weren't for the hubby and kids tucked up in bed at home. At least I remembered about them!!! LOL Going to bed now. Need sleep Megs

I don't understand why you'd want to get this if it hasn't been around for a long time. The sleeve is very safe, without a lot of surgical connections/re-routing. I was sleeved on Sept. 26th. My diabetes was gone in 2 days! The other co-morbidities, sleep apnea & non-alcoholic fatty liver will go away in 3 - 4 months.

In all honesty, I attribute 90% of my success to not making excuses well and losing my hunger really helped ha ha ha. Yes, the post-op diet sucks royally, but you know what, it's just a temporary phase. I stuck to the dietary guidelines per my surgeon. 600-800 calories, no more than 30gr of carbs, lots of fluids, 60+grams of Protein, NO SNACKING. 4 meals that consisted of a minimum of 15gr of protein per meal was my guideline and I stuck to it. No alcohol until I was close to goal. No soda until I was at goal. No b.s.'ing my way through it. I couldn't work out for nearly 4 months post-op due to complications, but of course I walked as much as I could. The one thing I really think you have to do is set your goal, find what works for you, follow your surgeon's guidelines, and don't be negative. There will be struggles and challenges, but the victories and successes will outweigh them 10 fold.

I cannot remember anyone who loses too slow. Some exercise, some don't. Some count, some don't. I am a failure bc I am not at goal and it has been over 8 mos. I failed. So that means I am wearing a size 8 to 10 petite instead of a 4. Haha. But I used to wear a 20 womens petite. The good thing with the sleeve is even the slow losers are winners. Best wishes...you will do great. Important things are to get a great surgeon that will support you throughout, a really good bougie size for you (mine is 34), no leaks, lotsa fluids and Protein, and do not move to solids alcohol or heavy exercise too quickly.

transfer addiction.....we have addictive personalities.....some transfer to shopping,sex,alcohol....even exercise....it's to know this we can all aware

My doc told me that I would have to be careful with drinking alcohol because I would get drunk much faster now due to the VSG but that was it.

Hi Everyone! I'm at the very beginning of my journey, so please bear with me. I am 37, single, female, and I live in Doha, Qatar. Currently weigh 259 pounds. I have many reasons for wanting to have the surgery - mainly to improve my overall health, but a big reason for doing it is to improve my confidence. I've always been overweight and always been shy around strangers, but with the right people around me I was happy and outgoing and being overweight wasn't such a big deal. But - I had a major knock to my confidence about 18 months ago and since then things haven't been so good. I'm in a vicious cycle of desperately needing to meet new people, but being too embarassed about my size to have the confidence to join any new groups. So aswell as improving my physical health, which drastically needs an overhaul the psychological benefits will be equally, if not more important. I'm having my surgery done at the local hospital here in Qatar and I'd be really interested to hear from anyone else who's had their surgery done anywhere in the Middle East. So far, I've just had the initial consultation with the surgeon. The hospital adminstration and communication here is very bad, so even finding out how to get the appointment was a traumatic process! But - eventually I got to see a surgeon to discuss my options. The consultation was brief... I was weighed, told I was eligible for surgery, and given the option of Gastric Bypass or Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy. He told me to go away and talk to people who've had the surgery.... unfortunately there are no support groups for VSG in Qatar, so if you don't mind, guys - will you be my support group? But finally - I'm on the waiting list! The waiting list is 6-8 months, which suits me just fine. Time to mentally and physically prepare. In preparation, I'm trying to exercise every day - my reward for exercising every day is to treat myself to a massage at the weekend. If I skip a day I'm not allowed that massage, so it's a good incentive! I'm cutting down on the carbs, cutting down on smoking with the aim of giving up completely before surgery, and I'm trying to cut out diet pepsi! I hardly drink alcohol so that's not an issue. Is there anything else I should be doing? Any tips would be gratefully received! Next week I'm seeing the anaesthetist for pre-op assessment, then later abdominal ultrasound and then endoscopy, which I'm not looking forward to at all! I'd love to hear from any of you and share experiences x

Defining Myself after Weight Loss Surgery In order to define who you are after weight loss surgery, it’s important to answer a few questions. The most important question may be “Who do you want to be”? However, before you answer that question, let’s walk down the road of your past and define who you have been. You will discover qualities about yourself that you want to hold on to and develop as you move forward in life. You will also discover some things about yourself that it is time to permanently abandon. Life after bariatric surgery is most assuredly about redefining yourself. You have gone from seeing yourself, and being seen by others, as “the fat person” to being “that person who had bariatric surgery and has lost so much weight”. It’s easy to find yourself wondering who you are at this point, many pounds lighter than you were not so very long ago. You’re probably tired of all of the comments and questions related to how much weight you have lost and how you have done it. It’s time to start living the new life you have worked so hard for. However, you may be confused about who you are now that you have lost so much weight and the hype of the weight-loss process is over. You may find yourself staring into the mirror wondering, “WHO AM I”? Let’s find out, starting by identifying your “titles” or the “hats that you wear”. Imagine you have a wall in your house with a great big board affixed to it. On the board are a number of hooks. On each hook hangs a hat and under each hat is a small sign with a label, one for each of the roles you play. For example, you may have a multicolored, floppy hat to represent the many dimensions and of being a “mom”. There may be a fedora or a nursing cap or a chef hat with a label underneath that says “working professional”. Is there a whimsical hat with a sign that says “friend”? A hat to represent yourself as a daughter? a woman? a spouse or partner? a dancer? a pianist? a photographer? a volunteer? a mentor? a student? Make a list of your titles and alongside the list, state the benefits and drawbacks for you in each of these roles. Are there any roles that you want to eliminate? Are you at a place in your life where you no longer want to play some role on your list and that you can responsibly let go of? Maybe your parents forced you to play a musical instrument as a child and you continue to play in a community orchestra even though you don’t want to. Would now be a good time to say good-bye to being a “musician”? There are some roles you may have that you wish you didn’t, but you accept them because you are a responsible person. For example, you might wish you had a sun visor on the wall where your professional hat is because you want to be retired. However, you keep the hat of the working professional because you are a responsible person and have a family to feed. (Idea: Hang the visor underneath the professional hat as a reminder that the retirement hat is one you will be wearing one day!) Is there a role you would like to add to your life? Would you like to become a tap dancer and add a top hat to your wall? Are there some roles you love that you already have but would like to improve on? Would taking parenting class help you to be an improved version of “mother”? Now make a list of words that you use to describe yourself and that other people use to describe you. Make this list of words descriptive of your personality. For example, are you “bubbly”, “grumpy”, “responsible”, “gossipy”, “adventurous”, “whiney”, “moody”, “outgoing”, “a good listener”, “lazy”, “serious”, “silly”, “friendly”, “mean”, “motivated”, “introverted”, “lively”, etc.? Be sure to include the names you have been called related to your obesity, such as “fat”, “chunky”, and “husky”. Were you called “smart”, “stupid”, “idiot”, “baby doll”, “princess”, “daddy’s girl”, “spoiled”, or “alcoholic”? Next to each of these descriptive words, write down your feelings related to each of these labels. Which of these things do you want to continue to be? Which do hope to never hear again in reference to you? Okay. You’ve got a really great start toward answering the question, “Who Am I”? You have identified the roles you currently play in life. You have identified words and labels that describe you. You have chosen which ones you like for yourself and which ones you are ready to leave behind. To get rid of the ones you are ready to discard from your life, write the words or labels on separate pieces of paper. Next, light a fire in the fireplace or a large coffee can and drop each piece of paper into the fire, and say out loud, “I am no longer a ‘fatso’”. Then throw the word into the fire and refuse to ever refer to yourself as that again. Do this with each word and label you are getting rid of. The final steps to figuring out who you are at this time in your life are to verbalize and write down who you want to be! Simply state out loud and then write down, “I want to be and will be “a person who thinks positively about myself and others”. “I want to be and will be “a person who plans what I eat every day and sticks to my plan”. I want to be and will be “a person who exercises 60 minutes a day, five days a week”. I want to be and will be “a person who focuses on gratitude throughout the day”. That’s the easy part. The more difficult part is to determine specifically what you are going to DO in order to be each of the things in your list. For example, “I will be a person who thinks positively about myself and others by stopping all judgmental thoughts as soon as I am aware that I am having them and by immediately replacing all negative thoughts with positive ones”. “I will be a person who focuses on gratitude throughout the day by writing down one thing I am grateful for three times each day”. By specifically defining your goals and visualizing yourself doing them, you will do them and become the person you imagine yourself to be. Picture yourself eating healthy meals. See yourself walking the dogs. Imagine yourself giving genuine compliments to others. Picture yourself looking into the mirror and smiling kindly at yourself. Decide who you want to be by: identifying who you have been deciding what parts of your previous self you want to keep and what parts you want to discard determining specific things you want to do and specific ways you want to behave. Choose to become the person you were born to be before the “genuine you” got lost beneath unhealthy extra weight. “Who Am I”? Whoever you choose to be! Connie Stapleton, Ph.D. 4/12 WLS Magazine

Why is everyone so damn concerned with this? Who gives a damn what she does? We need threads discussing someones career choices, especially someone we don't even know. I think it is extremely childish of people to judge the woman based on what the media says. NOBODY knows her personally, and NOBODY knows what happens behind closed doors. If I was constantly drilled about losing weight, I'd have a damn chip on my shoulder too. Her private life is just that, private. She doesn't owe it to anyone to explain how she lost weight, just like I never will go public with my choice. Being a celebrity is hard work and all the money in the world can't buy you respect. The media can ruin you with one photo or rumor, can ruin your family, career, whole life. Why do you think it is that so many celebrities hide away in fancy high security hotels or start using drugs and alcohol. Because people are so f-ing fascinated with the stars that papparazzi and magazines will do anything to get a sale. Leave her alone, you DO NOT know her, so why badmouth her? Walk a mile in her shoes before you make a judgement.

No I ain't had nothing to drink I knew that’s probably what you'd think If I dropped by this time of night Remember way back when I promised you I'd drop in At one of those meetings down at the Y Well, they started talkin bout steps you take Mistakes you make The hearts you break And the price you pay I almost walked away You could hear a pin drop When this old man Stood up and said I'm gonna' say it again Like I do every week For those who don't know me (Chorus) It's the simple things in life Like the kids at home and a loving wife That you miss the most, when you lose control And everything you love starts to disappear The devil takes your hand and says no fear Have another shot, just one more beer Yah, I've been there, that's why I'm here This ole boy stood up in the aisle Said he'd been living a life of denial And he cried as he talked about wasted years I couldn't believe what I heard It was my life word for word And all of the sudden it was clear (Repeat Chorus) That’s one of my favorite songs. It’s written and performed by Kenny Chesney, and for a long time I couldn’t hear it without crying; sometimes, I still can’t. I know it’s about alcoholism, but it’s also about me and my eating disorder. So many times, I thought, “I got this. I’m in control. I’m NOT an addict. I’m not ill.” Then there was the time when I lost 71 lbs. on Weight Watchers, and I was convinced that I was “fixed.” I was cured. I wasn’t “that” person anymore, and I was never going back; ever…but, I did. The devil definitely took my hand and I thought, “Just this once.” “Just this once” led to a downhill slide and a massive weight gain. I spent years beating myself up over that. I could not believe that after all that hard work that I blew it, like that. And then, my darkest days began. I felt as though my eating was so much bigger than me. It was something separate from me, that I couldn’t control. I hated life. Every day was a struggle of when do I eat/how much do I get to eat/when will I get to eat again/ what is there to eat? Worst of all, I knew that if I ever did get it together, that it wouldn’t stay together. And I hated everyone; but no one as much as myself...I really hated me. I think that everyone has to have their “moment of truth.” Mine came for me at 3:00 in the morning, watching a show on WLS. I remember thinking, “Life doesn’t have to be this hard.” I pretty much decided right then, that I was going to do this thing. You know, I would have NEVER thought that anything positive could have came from that 71 lb. weight gain, but I was wrong; several positive life lessons came from that. I learned that just when you think you’ve got your demon under control, and you get so high and mighty and complacent that it will rear its ugly head and kick your ass. I learned what to look out for, and what foods that I can’t handle; foods that are “triggers” for overeating. I learned that I am WAY stronger than I ever imagined. Lastly, I learned that the weight loss is secondary for me. The main thing is that I’m free. I’m free from the prison known as my eating disorder. And life is good. Life is very good.

I am 2 yrs 4 months out They never tell u puking will never be the same when I throw up it jus looks like pink slime. You have to gag up ur puke. And when you drink alcohol and you feel so sick you try to throw up and you can not no matter how hard you try. Surgery was worth it and u will get usta the way you throw up but I wish there was alot more info lol Sent from my LG-M150 using BariatricPal mobile app

Unfortunately my therapist told me that she doesn't think I'm ready due to me having one emotional eating day. She recommended I return for two visits in July and two in August. I'm so upset that I cried in my car for over an hour also I'm totally depressed after seeing her. I have waited for six months with one visit per month at the weight loss clinic. I Had all my testing done,quit smoking,quit drinking alcohol totally,gave up soda. Everything I was told to do and now I feel like giving up . The six visits over six months and 2 therapy visits is part of insurance requirements before approval. I planned everything for a reason because I'm almost finished with my internship and I'm about to start a new job so if I wait two additional months it will totally screw up my schedule. I don't want to start a new job and have to take time off for surgery before my 90 days is up.I wish I wouldn't have shared anything with the therapist because she has no clue on how much I changed my eating habits from a year ago and I don't overeat to the point of stomach pain any more. I know that surgery is one of the tools that I need to continue my journey. Right now I'm just miserable in my body ,depressed and I feel like giving up on this whole thing because next it will be another excuse why I can't get surgery😒☹️ Signed , Over it

I'm so excited. Starting the pre-op diet today, surgery date is May 6th. The first time around the pre-op diet was just super low carb, no caffeine, no alcohol, no carbonation. (My surgery was cancelled due to insurance, then rescheduled a month later). THIS pre-op diet is UnJury or protein drinks for breakfast and lunch, and a small low carb low fat dinner. I think this one is going to be a little more of a challenge, but I'm up for it! GO MAY SLEEVERS!

I decided to cut back on alcohol especially since I'm still about 60 pounds away from goal. I like fruity drinks like OJ and vodka or diet cranbery and vodka. I also like mikes hard lemonade wine coolers. I love having a drink especially on the weekend but my NUT said that I'm not supposed to drink until 18 months post op, OOPS! lol Also when I drink I tend to have more cravings and less will power. I also like the bud light margaritas.

It is best that way (wait to month 6) in order to be over all food issues before complicating things with alcohol. Also a fair amount of weight loss will be lost by month 6 and alcohol is known to slow down or stall weight loss.

Louise-good point about needing to work off the calories on the drinks. I noticed today after my margaritas last night that the scale is up a few pounds. Must be water retention from the dehydrating effects of alcohol. Go figure because I drank like 1.5 gallons yesterday. At least I did not get any hangover affects this morning (never do). Today is my run day so it be extra weight should drop by tomorrow. However, I would not recommend drinking the day of or before wanting to run because it makes the body more lethargic.

I don't do "diet" anything. I eat normal, regular meals, just in smaller portions. I never worried about fat...I do full fat dairy and eat a ton of nuts. I use real butter and real maple syrup on my homemade pancakes. I also don't like artificial sweeteners, so I drink Water, decaf herb teas, milk, juice and if I do drink a Vitamin water or other "sports drink", it's the real thing, not low cal. Seriously, the only thing I do different from preop is drink a large protein/fiber smoothie everyday (30-40g protein/10g insoluble fiber), make sure I'm getting plenty of fluids and eat healthy.....Protein, veggies, fruit and whole grains instead of fried or processed junk food. Not to say I don't still have deserts, alcohol, bread, Pasta and other "bad" things, but in moderation, and not everyday. And, BTW, I lost over 100% of my excess weight and have kept it off for 5 months....all without "dieting"

I have had the sleeve back in December 2008 & have lost 80lbs so far I didn't have any complications after the surgery may I add that the only reason I haven't lost all the weight is because the sleeve has a small tricky side..It is the best decision I've made in my life! Thus far I had the surgery when I was 21..I'm 22 now..a November baby....okay well first off it's a life changing thing...& unlike most people my insurance did not cover it...so my mother paid the $20,000+ straight out of her own pocket- no payment plan- no credit card... So that i could have the surgery very thankful since my health was going in a direction in which I was told by the time I was 30yrs old... My health wouldn't be too great, so what I wanted to speak on was the sleeve.. Alcohol consumption for me if I get enough in my system I'll say 1or 2 drinks... "smaller stomach makes you come into a state I don't care to be in alot faster "drunk" so me me it tricks my stomach / my senses and I am able to eat more then I normal eat,.. ALL the bad foods chips, cookies candy, the SOFTER foods I can consumer alot more of that if I dont eat my 2-3 small meals a day..meat MUST be chewed well...I seem to do better with chicken then steak.. Remember reduced stomach means reduced acid in the stomach which helps break the food down..a small steak is fine... & I mean Small!..so now that I'm back on track with the weight loss I have no regrets about the surgery, I have 3 spots on my stomach were they cut me.."microscopic" so no major Horrific scaring...heals with time & proper care+ a scar cream... if you allow it to be like I did which caused my small set back..in me only losing 80lbs is snacks, junk food the Softer the food(mush mush) the more your stomach can hold but don't let bread fool you that's one soft food I avoid with a meal because it swells up and makes you full before you even get your dinner "well with me it does" anyways I believe you get the idea....acid reflux> I take my nexium once a day...skinny people have acid reflux so if the surgery doesn't totally eliminate it..then it will reduce it alot.. I've noticed foods with too much of a kick don't sit well in the stomach.. Gives me a burning feeling sometimes it just depends.. Other then that...I love love love the sleeve, it is a life long change.. Ask yourself this if people are going to lose the weight and then remove the band...and HOPE to remain thinner, why get the band At all especially if they say food can slip through,get stuck& you never really feel full? what kind of mess is that! I thought that was the point to make you eat LESS& BE FULL(really) and all by consuming smaller portions...with the sleeve there isn't any trickery when it comes to the full feeling "except maybe when consuming alcohol like I said earlier" otherwise when YOU feel full, you are full(.)And the backlash for trying to push through that full feeling is you have to throw up plan and simple if you have tried for years to lose weight like I did.. Go with something that will help you benefit you, and actually give you good results.. Instead of being pumped or undone, or redone again.. For those that might not know They sleeve was/ is used on patients that were over 350+ lbs I believe ..& was the first step in prepping patients to get the gastric bypass by allowing them to lose weight( 380+ weight is too high a risk when doing such a major surgery like the gastric bypass) .. But turns out the sleeve made a lot of those patients lose a good amount of weight... Thus the sleeve became one more option in weight loss surgery.....

I'm no expert on this (I leave that to the surgeon, who is a liver guy...) but rapid weight loss does tax the liver, so that increase in diet severity could lead to altered numbers. This is a good part of the reason that my surgeon has a strict no alcohol during weight loss policy - the liver is stressed enough as it is metabolizing the fat that we are losing. My suspicion would be that it is just the dietary change, but it would be best to run that by your surgeon to see if he has any concerns about it. We didn't have the pre-op diet so it wasn't an issue then but I suspect that my numbers may have been a bit out of whack post op while losing but it was never brought up as an issue by either my PCP or the surgeon.

Wondering what alternative drinks people order when at a bar or restaurant if you aren't drinking alcohol. Most of the low cal options are highly carbonated e.g diet coke Non alcoholic drinks such as lemon lime and bitters or lime and soda are generally quite high in sugar and calories. Plain soda water is boring and plain water even worse.

As many of you saw on in my photos on my other post, I enjoy a cocktail or two. I've switched from Vodka Sours to Vodka Cranberry. I also drink wine a lot, but find that red wine gives me heartburn. It did before banding so that's nothing new...it just seems worse now. So, I keep my red wine drinking limited to wine club meetings, and drink blush or white when I'm in the mood. I'd have to say the biggest change in terms of drinking is the amount. I only need a few to really feel it, and I try to eat as big a meal as I can before I go out if I know we'll be drinking because otherwise it can get away from me. And we've all seen evidence of that in my photos. :-) I'm glad you have a doctor that you can be so open with. I'm also glad you shared what you learned...I was just thinking about it today and wondering what, if any, actual alcohol has on the band. Sounds like the carbonation is the real trouble (thank god!) Megan

At risk of sounding like a real lush - I wanted to share this information I got today. I like many others on the site thinking about the lap-band love beer and enjoy the weekly happy hour: I actually had a pretty lengthy discussion today with a Dr. in Dallas about the beer subject, because I too love beer and was really fearing leaving it behind forever. He said to poor the beer in a glass, let it sit in the fridge and let it lose most of the carbination. He also suggested adding a lime to distract a little from it being flat. He suggested to give it a dry run, but didn't see a problem with it if you let it go flat. (He also indicated that a lot of patients lose their taste for it) He also said that another one that he might not have a problem with me trying is sugar free Red Bull and Vodka. He said it would help to let the Red Bull sit for a while to "rest". His best suggestion was to switch to a room temperature wine - this is a drink that people tend to drink at a slower pace. I know that a lot of the postings that I had read on hear about drinking suggested moderation - I agree, but I really wanted to have a heart to heart with the reality of this subject before I made my decision. I am sure that many of you that are banded might have already shared this, but he said that the biggest concern that he had for alcohol as it relates to being banded, is that "instead of polishing off a bottle of wine to get drunk, you shouldn't need more than a few glasses". - He then admitted that he and his wife still enjoy a nice night out away from their 5 kids - so he could relate Don't mistake that he encouraged any of this - his official recommendation was still to KEEP IT TO A MINIMUM. I was so excited to have a Dr. that was really comfortable being open with me about this subject. Please share any additional real life information that might help a band-er-to-be. I look forward to your input about actually living with any of this advice!!

One thing to keep in mind that I never thought about until now: I am having issues with my pancreas. I am a drinker and have only been drinking on a regular basis for about 2 years. Obesity and significant weight loss can bring on gallstones and excessive alcohol consumption can directly affect the gallbladder and the pancreas. Just something to consider