Search the Community

By the way Laura, I LMAO reading about you getting a buzz on Nyquil. That stuff is 80% alcohol. Next time just make yourself a "hot toddy"! Cheaper and probably better tasting!

I also used to partake of the daily white russians during cocktail hour. It would normally take about 3-4 to get me buzzed. My Dr. says i can have one on my birthday in Oct. And he assures me it will affect me sooner. I think perhaps it's due to decreased body mass? A bigger person will tolerate alcohol more then a thinner person. And after you've been off the stuff a few months I'm sure you decrease your tolerance. I still plan to have the occasional cocktail but have to remember that our bodies DO NOT use the calories in alcohol for energy. It gets stored as fat and can be utilized later if needed with the breakdown of fat into energy. That's why alcohol makes us fat. In men especially it gets stored around the abdomen, hence the "beer gut". When I started drinking at age 40 is when my abdomen started getting so big.

That literature is for gastric bypass patients, who, unlike band patients, do have different absorbative properties. Our stomachs aren't any smaller and alcohol should not metabolize any different. Brad

Welcome. I am new too. I haven't set my surgery date yet but will have the sleeve with Dr Aceves. I am happy for you that your wait is less than a week away! I totally relate to being overweight and obese forever - started for me at age 5 or 6 and then obese since high school --for past ten years or so I have been around 300lbs on a short 5'3" body. I think that food addiction is harder than nicotene or alcohol because we can't just quit eating food altogether. Please post about your surgery experience and about whether you get any vacationing in at the same time.:tongue_smilie:

1. How long should I expect to be off from work after surgery? I know that it is up to the doctor, but I just want an estimated idea. I work a very low physical job. So, there will be barely, if any, physical duties. Plan on a couple of weeks. Might be more, might be less, but about 2 weeks is a good starting point to plan for. 2. Will I have to avoid carbonated drinks for the rest of my life? I'm not a huge soda drinker, but I do drink it from time-to-time. I know that I'll have to avoid anything carbonated 6 months post-OP. But does that mean for the rest of my life, as well? It's ok if I have to. I'm just curious. Some surgeons do recommend avoiding carbonated drinks for the rest of your life. Some don't. It may also depend on what your new, tiny stomach can tolerate. I can't have anything carbonated without discomfort, so I avoid it. IMO it's important that you be willing to stick to whatever your surgeon/dietitian recommends. Being committed to being compliant is a big part of the battle to be successful post-op. 3. Are Protein drinks, like Muscle Milk, the type of Protein Drinks that I'll be able to drink, or will they have to be made? You should be able to drink either pre-made or ones you make yourself, as long as they meet your dietitian's nutritional rules. For example, I could not drink regular Muscle Milk because it is too high calorie and high carb for my plan -- but I could drink Muscle Milk Light, if I wanted to (I don't, to me it tastes like industrial waste water). 4. Will I have to stop drinking alcohol completely? I rarely drink, but when I get around my childhood friends, they love to drink, and sometimes I'll drink a little. Again, this is up to your individual surgeon/dietitian. I think it is rare that any of them require you give alcohol up for life though. 5. Has anyone with PCOS had any improvement with their symptoms? If so, please explain. N/A 6. What would you say is an emotional eater? 1. Find a cognitive behavioral therapist who specializes in bariatric surgery patients (your surgeon should be able to refer you to someone good; and 2. Start developing activities and hobbies you like to do in place of eating. 7. Will I still be able to take Adderall after the surgery? Adderall helps my OCD. My OCD causes me to lose concentration on important things, so Adderall helps keep me focused. Probably, but discuss with your surgeon and possibly a pharmacist. You may need to adjust dosages, but most people continue taking their meds without any problems. 8. Is there any long-term pain after the surgery? No. 9. Will I be able to have kids? I'm only 24 years old (25 in about 2 weeks) and I have no kids. I want kids in my future. You will be more likely to get pregnant and to have healthy babies and children when you are no longer morbidly obese. It takes far fewer calories than most people think to nourish a healthy fetus, or a growing baby if you are breastfeeding. So if you plan your food intake carefully you don't have to worry that you will have an underweight baby or anything like that. There is probably not much you could do more beneficial to your future of having children than get yourself to a healthy weight. 10. Will I really have to drink 6-8 cups of Water a day? I barely drink 3 cups a day because a lot of water makes me feel sick. No. You will have to drink 8 cups of some sort of liquid in your liquid phase after surgery, but you gradually shift that over so you are getting more fluids from food. You will have to drink more than 3 cups a day though. I hardly ever drink water and I am perfectly healthy! 11. Is it true that laying down after eating should be avoided? If you have acid reflux, yes. Gastric sleeve can cause or exacerbate acid reflux so this is a rule that a lot of people find it helpful to follow.

I have just lost my first 50lbs and I am starting to get a lot more confident in myself. I have started using the dating apps and now that the possibility of dating is more real I am starting to get really freaked out. Has anyone starting dating soon after surgery? These are the things I am nervous about: - they will think my minimal eating is weird (I am not 100% open about having the surgery and don’t want to have to explain my situation to every tinder date.) - most people want to meet up for a drink but I’m still not drinking alcohol - even though I am much more confident I still have a ton of insecurities about my body so I’m not sure I will be ready for an intimate relationship if the time comes and I don’t want to waste anyone’s time. Anyways any thoughts and advice are appreciated. I’m just excited to start dating but also scared.

Well ok then! Gastric sleeve 11/03/2014...and I'm not an alcoholic (I don't know it just goes together : ) welcome!

Confession. My team said could drink alcohol after a year. Me being me, i had a couple sips of red wine around 3-4 weeks post op. Was really weird, i swear i could FEEL the wine travelling through my intestines. Then I had a couple sips or a sake-soju concoction around 2 months post. The aftermath still ranks to this day as one of my top 5 dumping episodes. *shudder* I had maybe 5 or so PARTIAL drinks of red wine or gin/vodka tonics throughout my entire weight loss phase. Long story short, I was "affected" really fast. I also sobered up unbelievably quickly. Now in maintenance (im over 4.5 years post op), im NOT proud to admit that i am probably (on paper), a full on alcoholic. i probably drink about 1-2 servings of alcohol a day (espresso martinis or red wine, mostly). I used to drink pre-wls, but nowhere as regularly as i do now. On the flip side, i would reach "embarrassing drunk" pre-wls, but have yet to get there post-wls. Yes, I realize i am justifying, but there u go. As i write this, im wary of newbies reading this, as i really dont want to seem to be endorsing my lifestyle. So sorry everyone! I guess what im ineffectively trying to say is (again) everyone is different, and it is my fervent hope that everyone knows their own personal limits and strives to stay within them. P.S. dont drink too much if u can help it! honestly its not worth the extra stress. I have way too many conversations with myself about this that its ruining my VIBE. P.S.S. i will now remunerate for the next couple hours if this post was a good idea or not. P.S.S. Happy Father's day today to all awesome dads our there!! ❤️

I'm so glad you're okay! It sounds like a fun event! And yes, alcohol is OK, in moderation and at an appropriate stage. Nothing is a no no after surgery. Life is to be enjoyed and that includes a treat occasionally.

I was worried about the same thing. I almost didn't Want to have the surgery becuse of the lifestyle change. I live in New Orleans. Food and alcohol are everything! We talked it out and by the time it came to schedule surgery, he was ready for the lifestyle change. I hope we both become active together. I also hope that eventually, we will be able to eat chargrilled oysters and bread pudding- even if it's just a small taste!

Maybe you're not ready. Alcohol was never an issue for me except for tailgating at DMB shows every summer and let me say, after spending a weekend tailgating with 300+ DMB fans, I did great. Had one sip of a drink and decided it wasn't worth it. Your feelings mat change post op. Much like most of us no longer want fast food or junk or even soda. (I was a HUGE diet coke junkie). If you're that concerned about your ability to stay sober at a party to reach your weight loss goals than maybe you should postpone until after graduation

If it can go in a blender (and not alcohol lol) then I don't see why not!@@yaya77nc

Hi, I was banded last Thursday and my surgeon has said it's ok to have coffee, I have been having one each day as I too can't survive without my caffeine fix. The only things he has told me to stay clear of are fizzy drinks, alcohol, bread and pastry. Hope this helps

My brochure said yes. I'm a bit sensitive to sugar alcohol tho so I have kinda stayed away

Hi All, Had the Gastric Sleeve done on Monday morning 11/11/19 at NYU Medical Center in NY. I’m super pleased to report that everything went extremely well and that I was really surprised with how manageable the discomfort has been post-op. For those of you considering it and nervous about the pain and suffering after surgery, don’t let it be the reason you cancel of postpone. Go through with it and take your future health in your own hands. My procedure was at 7:30 am on Monday. It lasted about 1.5 hours. During the surgery the doctor fixed a hiatal hernia and also took a biopsy of a small growth on my liver which thankfully turned out to be fine by pathology. Basically speaking, I ended up with 3 for 1 and honestly, had that liver thing shown up on a CT scan I would have wanted it biopsied anyway, so this was a blessing in disguise. Immediately after surgery, I was taken to PACU and stayed there for about an hour or so to recover from the anesthesia. Zero nausea, pain or vomiting. In fact, before going up to my room they had me walk several laps, which I did without any difficulty. In the room, the only issue I had was gas pressure (a sort of dull cramping feeling) on the left side of my stomach. Zero pain on the right side where the stomach pouch was stapled and removed. They had me up and around, walking and sitting in a chair for most of the day sipping ice chips and water out of those little one oz plastic cups. Zero hunger, despite basically fasting for 48 hours before surgery and a liquid diet for the two weeks pre-op. They were ahead of all my pain and symptoms by giving me Zofran for nausea, Levsin for inflammation and 10mg of Roxy (Hydrocodone w/ tylenol). The monitored all vitals carefully, had me walk every few hours and made sure that I was peeing. The gas pressure persisted, but it eventually got better. Still had not passed gas. The following day, the goal was for me to complete a drinking challenge, which consists of drinking 4 one ounce cups of liquid every hour for 4 consecutive hours (basically 16 oz of clear fluid). On the first try I got through the first three hours, but couldn’t complete the last hour so they had me wait. Ended up completing it later that evening, so they decided to keep me another night. Finally started to pass gas and even had a movement, so they discharged me today. Only real problem last night and in the morning was some reflux that they gave me Protonix and some Malox to counteract. Moving around and walking is basically normal, but I’m being very careful not to bend down or lift anything heavier than 5-10 lbs. When I got home I did feel a bit hungry, so with the Doctor’s clearance, I attempted small sips of Slim Fast Advanced High Protein. The first ounce went down good, but the second one caused a sharp pain which might have been my first experience with dumping syndrome due to the sugar alcohols in the Slim Fast. Still experiencing some lingering reflux, slight nausea and a bit sore, but definitely progressing. For those of you who are further along, what have your experiences been transitioning with liquids and diet? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Great work! So happy for you! I am about to have the surgery myself and have so many questions!!! How long were you off of work? How long until you could get back to exercising and lifting things? What were you eating? What are you eating now? Can you have pop, alcohol, wine, pasta. etc? How have your friends, family, and coworkers responded to you losing the weight? Have people been supportive/unsupportive? How did you handle it? How have you coped with your body changing? I think the hardest part for me has been the comfort of food and just being alone with it. I've always felt like I needed to hide from the world. It's going to be strange having new opportunities and doors opened. I hope to receive words of encouragement from everyone on here as I feel like you're the only ones who will be supportive of my choice for surgery and understanding of the hardships people like us go through. Thanks so much! Good luck with your continued success!

Back from my trip late last night....happy to say the band has come through and performed splendidly.... Yes there was food around all day long.... You could not avoid Breakfast, lunch and dinner, as it was part of the agenda were all expected to eat together and the speakers and presentations continued as you ate....plus in the evening were the big sponsored parties..... All I can say is, the band is the band is the band.....regardless of where I'm at, or what I'm doing....no change....did not gain or loose a pound.... I do feel that what I did eat was not all that healthy, at least not the type of foods I would normally eat on a daily basis, not to mention the constant flow of alcohol available....just need to purge my body of all these toxins and impurities

I'm sorry it went so badly. I had a weird appointment with the psych too. Basically they should be screening for untreatex mental illness and active drug and alcohol addiction. They shouldn't nitpick us but I guess they feel like they have to fill the hour or half hour. Your eating habits will totally change after surgery so there's no point in her arguing with you about it. You won't won't know until you get there. I know what you mean about not emotional eating. I don't think I was either. Maybe sometimes but most of the time I just wanted to eat something that tasted good.

I had my VSG 7/2015. I never felt much restriction and was hungry from the start. I restricted my calories to 800 per day and followed all the rules for the first 3 months and lost 60lbs… then my mother in law was dropped on my doorstep. LONG story but I was the sole provider for my husband and 2 small kids, working 12 hour night shifts. She had stage 4 emphysema and end stage esophageal cancer with alcoholic dementia to boot. Our house was tiny. She was 69 and weighed 65 lbs … let’s just say I was a bit stressed. I stopped counting calories. I plateaued for a full year and then started gaining. I’m now 6.5 years out and just 27 lbs from where I started. I’m hesitant to revise. My bariatrician tells me people tend to not have as much success with revision. I chose a sleeve because I didn’t want to risk not being able to absorb medications I need but my GERD is so bad I may not have a choice. I’d love to hear if anyone had a similar struggle with their initial surgery and were successful with the second. Those in the thread who had the scar tissue and hernia repair, surely they will allow a follow up procedure.

I Just filled out questionnaire and was approved for self pay sleeve in Mexico with Dr. Illian sometime this summer. Would like some valuable input from those who can help me decide to pull the trigger or not. 1- I'm a 67 year old male who is 5 ft 7 in and weighs 240. I now live full time in an rv and enjoy the travel lifestyle very much. I'm not overly obese but enough to make me think about it way too much with both the way I perceive myself and somewhat how others perceive me. I put most of the lbs on in the last 20 years. According to what I've read about seniors having the surgery is that they will not shed as many lbs as a younger patient. For those seniors reading this please let me know how it worked out for you. Also, did it take you longer to recuperate? I can continue to live my life as is but would certainly like to live out the rest of it feeling better both physically and mentally. 2- I have borderline high BP and slightly elevated levels of cholesterol for which I take daily medications. For any of you in a similar situation were you able to eventually stop the meds due to the weight loss? 3- when fully recuperated from surgery did you find yourselves with an increased energy and activity level or the opposite effect? 4-As far as the mental aspect did you adjust to the severely diminished food intake? Do you still enjoy food in the limited diet or do you now perceive eating as simply fuel intake? I would think one of the reasons for surgery is that we overly enjoyed food to begin with so this must be one of the hardest obstacles to deal with post surgery. How much do you get cravings and are they hard or easily dealt with? Please give examples. 5-For those who enjoy an alcoholic beverage once in a while (3-4 times per week) how has this affected you? Thank you for those who have read this entry and I look forward to hearing from any and all who can help me in this serious decision making process......................

I, too, became an alcoholic post-RNY. I am five days into my second detox. I went to an AA meeting today and realized they way they talk about craving alcohol is exactly how I used to crave food. I don't crave alcohol in the same way. I wouldn't even call it a crave. I use it to self medicate when I have anxiety, just as I used to use food. After I stabilize, my doc and I are going to look at changing my anti-anxiety meds because, clearly, the ones I'm on now are not doing the trick. Until then, I am keeping very busy with my hobbies and work to keep my anxiety down. I'm going to have a fantastic garden this year. 🙂

Having this surgery leaves you vulnerable to death by alcohol poisoning . Think alcohol enema . Be careful , just sayin.

It's ok to enjoy a slice of pizza. I don't completely deny myself having food I like. Many people eat pizza and don't become obese just like many people drink alcohol and don't become alcoholics. I usually reserve Saturdays for when I eat something totally off the diet. One week it may be McDonalds Breakfast burrito, or a slice of pizza, or some nachos from Taco Bell. I used to eat four breakfast burritos and an order of hashbrowns. Now I eat one burrito. One burrito has 300 calories and 12 grams of Protein so I'm not exactly ruining everything. If you have two slices of pizza a week you'll be fine. My past weight lose experiences always failed when I would deny myself the food I really liked and then would finally breakdown and just start consuming it everyday. I at least know now I can treat myself once a week and when I do, I can't eat as much of it as I used to.

Well I'm already about a month out from the surgery so no, I can't cancel it. I don't regret the surgery and I am by no means choosing alcohol over a healthy life. My main question was this: will it be realistic for me to have a drink or two before I graduate. Nothing crazy, no college binge drinking, but just a drink. I am excited that I went through with this at a young age because it means more time to be healthy. I'm working my ass off and doing everything else I'm supposed to do and it's working. Trust me when I say I have a good head on my shoulders. I am ready for this journey and I have been doing really well. I really don't appreciate all of the people telling me to quit. I wasn't asking to live on fast food for the rest of my life all I was asking about was a drink here and there or if anyone had any advice on socializing at bars and parties or if anyone was in the same boat as me.

I don't think you are dumping either. While sleeve patients can get dumping (like me) none of the foods you listed should cause it. You may be having issues with the protein shakes. They give me the terrible shits too. Check and see if there are any sugar alcohols in your brand. If so change brands. In fact, just change brands. Or don't use them. Protein shakes can really give you the runs. Just focus on your liquids for now and soon you will be able to eat some soft proteins that won't give you the shits. You won't hurt yourself for being low on protein for a little while, trust me. Also maybe ditch the sugar free jello.