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My dr. said her #1 rule is absolutely NO carboration. She said it stretches out our pouch, and can cause the band to slip, which means another surgery. She said the #1 lap band problem-maker is carbonation! So now, if I want an alcoholic drink, I sip a glass of wine, or a shot of bourbon over ice (both 100 calories). I didn't drink diet soda that often, so now I just don't.

Yea my cross addiction is alcohol So I try to only drink occasionally Sent from my iPad using RNYTalk

Wedding season is tough. But the thing is, even if you don't tell them you had a sleeve, you can just say you are cutting back on alcohol or watching carbs, or whatever. Heck you could even say you were trying to loose a couple of lbs to fit into the dress. Really you do not owe your friends an explanation about what you do and don't drink or eat either.

My surgeon required me to be caffeine free prior to surgery - that sucked, because I was a 4-6 cup of coffee per day person. But I did it because it was important. I wasn't much of a soda drinker prior to surgery, but I did enjoy some every once in a while. I wasn't a heavy alcohol drinker, but I did have a drink sometimes. So, I'm 6 months out...I do drink coffee, but not as much as I used to (I had to pinkie promise my dock that I wouldn't go back to old habits). I enjoy a Starbucks Carmel Macchiato, but it's a treat, not a habit. I drink 2 cups of decaf and 1 cup of regular every day. My drink is a DiSorrono and Coke...I've had two since surgery. The carbonation didn't bother me, but I stirred and stirred to try to flatten it. I can't see my drinking a lot of soda - it just doesn't make me feel good.

I stopped drinkng soda 6 months before my pre-op and haven't had any sense. My doctor told me I had to stay away from the carbination and to be honest I don't miss it and I was a BIGGG soda drinker. As far as alcohol is concerned I'm not a drinker so.....I drink alot of tea throughout the day and it's cafinated, my doctor never said I couldn't have caffenee but every doctor has different guidelines. The reward of not having certain things is far greater than having them:-) Good luck on your decision!

I have a Friend that is a nutritionist. She says that in the long run, craving sweets means you need protein. She has me eat medjool dates. When you get good ones they are soft and very satisfying, she said that they have a lot of minerals and Iron and fiber. I can usually eat only one, honestly. Not bad for a goodie. Then she said to load up on red meet. to buy myself an excellent cut of red beef like a fillet minion. broil it and eat it rare. Yummy. I also get good salmon here and the next day I eat that. I eat protein almost exclusively for a couple of days and I am really surprised! She also told me that if I crave salty things, I need minerals. If I crave chocolate, I need vitamin e. If I crave meat, I need b complex. I thought that one was weird but she has been proved right on for me. I understand something about acidophilus complex in the gut that react to red beef and it produces b complex. Its what she said! I really don't know if this is mumbo jumbo but I have managed to do better understanding this. Oh yeah she reminded me about Candida. Its a real sugar hog and a real downer after you use antibiotics. After you eat sweets if you get a real drowsy feeling:notagree then its likely you have a Candida overrun. If you crave carbohydrates, the refined kind, cookies, cake, bagels and chips etc you might have Candida also. So the last craving, the one for carbs could mean Candida overrun. She makes me go to the naturpath for a cleanse and gut rebuild for that one. Oh yea, the reason for the drowsiness :bored is that the Candida takes the sugar and makes alcohol!! If there is anyone that can give clarity or 'debunkness' to all this I would really like to know the real thing. I love my friend and all, I will still follow her advice its proven right by me but it would be nice to get verification of sorts. I feel silly if I'm passing out" just enough information to be dangerous!":nervous :guess She also said.. If I get angry to frequently and my moods are out of controll, I could have too much gluten. If you ask my kids, I must be gluten intollerent!!!:angry :cry:p

After goal, all the sex and sizzle of rapid weight loss and comments are gone. Things get normal. My interests change and evolve over the years. Things that I used to do. large amounts of alcohol and food at parties/holidays laying around the house Watching the food network and my 600 pound life going to bariatric group negative people in my life - Poof they are gone people pleasing

This thread is going to be very embarrassing for me, but I've talked to ALOT of women who are 8 or more years out on this subject, wished I'd of talked to them sooner!!! Before surgery I was warned OVER AND OVER again about alcohol!!!..did I listen, NOOOOOOooo. I was going to be the ONE who drank like she did before, This is the ONLY issue I REFUSED to listen to, I didn't want my surgeon or the PhD's to get in my 'Cup'. I did give up beer, only because of the carbonation, but what was I thinking, I wasn't!! About a year out, I thought I was safe, I was a miraculous 115 lbs, entering 'Maintenance" , had my Vitamin regiment down pat. blah blah blah. Feeling accomplished. BARTENDER!!! vodka martini please!!! first one, feeling good, whooo hooo...did a body check, no pain in the pouch, cool, BARTENDER!!! Vodka martini Please!!! People, I don't even remember leaving the establishment I was in. I opened one eye, head pounding and my husband standing at the foot of the bed shaking his head!!!..OH GOD!! what did I do!!!...well apparently not much. One minute I'm sitting there socializing, next second, I'm on the floor. I was a complete puddle, he carried me to the car and poured me in. out like a light!!!..I consider that episode a fluke, wont happen again, I'll drink something lighter DING! round 2: GNO aka: Girls Night Out. This time I decided I'd better get a strategy. I'd eat first. well this time I ordered my fave: White Wine..loveeee my wine, or I did. 1st glass, good, milder and lighter than the martini, slower to get a buzz. good strategy. yay me, figured it out. Drank a glass of Water in between, good, no pain in the pouch, not to buzzed. 2nd glass good, THIRD GLASS, BAM!!!! Hit me like a tone of bricks, this time I didn't fall out, but my buzz factor incapacitated me, I knew I couldn't get up and walk. crap! I whisper to my gal pal, to take me home. EMBARRASING!!! ok fine, I get it, I don't need round 3 to teach me anymore lessons, I'm not hard headed. But I do miss hitting the Vino till 2 A.M. So I do have 2 glass on whatever with a water back, and call it a night, or if its a dinner party, I drink water for the rest of the night, I mourned, and still mourn my 7-8 glasses of vino on GNO'S. thanx for listening, embarrassing as that was.

A friend of mine is getting banded a few weeks after mine. We got together to talk about it, but I'm worried that he isn't going to be able to make those changes as well. He likes to drink a lot, which is where a lot of his weight comes from. He said that he lied to the doctor about his alcohol consumption, and he doesn't plan to tell him about it.

Wheet, how would you feel being an ER nurse who is so busy you can't take a pee because up to 80% of your patients are narcotic seekers? I really think you have to see it to believe it. It's a huge eye opener. When most of your shift is trying to figure out which are the drug seekers vs. which ones have legit issues, it's very hard. The drug seekers know the lingo, they know exactly what to say to be seen quickly, and they know how to get drugs. Most ERs have a database of the drug seekers. You should see the size of that thing. Without a doubt, hands down, most people in ER are drug seekers. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Most have nothing wrong, they just want the narcotics. I've seen people get their narcotic Rx and ask to use the phone and FROM the hospital they are selling the Rx. Using the hospital phone!!! The regulars, they are the people with needle tracks up and down their arms. I had one lady that came in and after time, you can eyeball them and know bloody well what they are there for. She was having a hard time walking. Security was holding her up. First thing she asked me is if I was a compassionate person. I said, "No, not really. How may I help you?" She smiled and went on to explain that her OxyContin accidentally fell in the toilet and she was in soooo much pain. She needed another Rx. Turns out the reason she had to be held up by security was because she was so high she couldn't walk on her own. Her car was in the parking lot and she drove over a brick fence. Her car was on top of the brick fence. Know what her job was? She was a drug and alcohol rehab therapist. Again, it's just something you have to see daily before it sinks in just how serious this problem is. You might be shocked at how many narcotic Rxs are lost yet antibiotic and blood pressure meds are never lost. They are never dropped, flushed, stolen, or filled incorrectly. It's mind boggling.

I'm in the "everything in moderation" camp. I avoid alcohol mostly but indulge on occasion. The biggest problem with alcohol, for me, is that it boosts my appetite while lessening the efficacy of my band and that's a bad combination. I always eat my Protein first and then eat bites of anything else on my plate if there's room. I refuse to follow a specific, rigid diet simply because attempting such always backfires for me and I end up binging on what I actually want instead. Of course, traditional binging now is a physical impossibility but during a particularly brutal bout of PMS I did manage to eat an entire sleeve of Oreo Cookies and a glass of milk for lunch. That's all I ate and it kept me full for several hours... Calorically it was in line with what I would've eaten anyway but it was nutritionally void of anything except sugar and fat. I am in no way recommending this, but hey, I have food issues and occasionally I slip. The great thing about the lap band is once the episode ends, I don't just say "screw it" and "go off my diet" because there is no "diet" to exit anymore.

Yes, moderate alcohol consumption, specifically no more than one or two a night, has been shown to be beneficial. However, if you're trying to reduce carbs prior to surgery, you might be well advised to restrict or just temporarily cease alcohol consumption, since those carbs definitely count. But afterwards, once you heal and are on full liquids, have a toast on me!

Personally, I think it may be a little bit too soon. Has your doctor let you start eating solid foods yet? I'm 1 month post op today and I'm just now being graduated to mushy foods. The reason I ask is that I was told that your tolerance to alcohol on the band will be a lot lower. So, if you do decide to have one small drink, expect it to affect you a lot more than it would have before and PLEASE call a cab or have a designated driver.

Melissa it was very brave of you to post your story here. I am sad to hear that your surgeon offers no support to you. I hope that you can find the help you seek if you do. I do drink more regularly now than I used to... but not a bottle of wine every evening. If you want help, I really hope that you can get it. I know there are a lot of others out there with replacing addictions. I replaced my addiction for food with a shopping addiction. Going on Week 4 Shop Free right now. I know that does not sound as bad as alcoholism, but it can be when you shop beyond your means. Hugs to you and I hope you make it thru this and get back on track.

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.

Ophelia, Surgery or not, you will have to face your food demons sometime. I am seeing a therapist to help me work through some issues because it was recommended in my psyche evaluation and because I want to maximize my benefits from this surgery. So far, I've realized that it IS possible for me to deal with heavy emotions without resorting to food. I used to literally eat my problems away, but, just like an alcoholic, those problems were still waiting after I indulged. Now I'm learning to speak up when I'm upset, and to realize when I'm upset with someone, rather than eating something to shut myself up. Whether you go forward with the sleeve or not, it's a good thing to deal with the food issues. I agree that most obese people do not have a healthy relationship with food. That's not our fault, but we are the ones who have to do the work to put food back in it's proper place in our lives.''\ I'm finding it very interesting that for me food is no longer divided into "good" or "bad". Now it either IS or IS NOT Protein. if I want something, I decide whether to eat it based on whether I have reached my protein and Water goals for the day. I eat what I want, but I concentrate on the protein first, usually. Just like every other human being, I have days where I don't meet my goals, but I am changing my way of living, not "dieting". That's the freedom I get from being sleeved. It lets me eat to live without the distractions of constant hunger. I no longer live to eat. Oh, and dealing with problems now? I go walk somewhere, or I get on the treadmill, or I do my version of weighlifting. Once I've done some kind of physical activity, if I'm still upset, THEN I address the person who has upset me. So I'm also building my conflict resolution skills while I'm getting healthier. It's a win win for me! Good luck with your journey!!

How long before you can have a drink? I forgot o ask!!! Any feedback!?!

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

I would recommend sitting up to eat and drink. You are probably still swollen and having your band upright as things are passing through may help. You also may be experiencing some of te gas pressure from the gas they put in your abdomen. Try putting a heating pad on your back. My doctor said that I could have alcohol two days after I stopped the pain meds. His only concern is the empty calories and that you will be more intoxicated with less because you arent eating much so be careful

OTR, I'm still killing myself with food. On another post, I just wrote how i let myself "go" for the past 2 years. I didn't want to admit to it, but I did. I gained about 25 lbs. Not horrible, but I need to get a hold of this or else all will be lost. So about 11/2 weeks ago, I started on Atkins. Been doing well. Thought it wouldn't be hard, well today was day one of severe carb withdrawal. It was one hell of a day, but i did it. I was to the point of numbing myself with medication to stop the discomfort of withdrawal. I can only imagine what it must feel like to be withdrawing from drugs or alcohol. OMG it's terrible. But this evening I took benedryl to help me with the jitters, it's helping. I can just imagine how i would be tossing and turning tonight! LOL. I'm an addict. . never thought I'd say it, but here it goes. . Hello, my name is Ericka and I'm a food addict. . . .

I saw an interview with her a while ago and she admitted to having become a "raving alcoholic" (her words) after her surgery. I've seen other articles saying that seems to be pretty common in gastric bypass patients. She went into treatment and recovered before having her baby - in fact she said that was her main motivation for recovery. It's very sad, but I'm glad she's gotten through it. Glad I got a band, too.

Lately I've been hearing a lot about new studies liking anxiety to obesity. Cortisol, I think, is the name of the chemical in the body that is responsible for keeping the fat on nervous wrecks. I have a long-term history of severe anxiety disorder. Right now, my anxiety is 100% under control unless outside forces sneak in or if I abuse alcohol or caffeine. For example, I'll be having a perfectly normal day, but my boss could raise his voice and set my anxiety off without warning, and I'll be left with my heart pounding and hands shaking (which is lame considering I couldn't give a rat's ass what my boss thinks since he's clueless.) Even 1 cup of coffee is too much for me, but I still drink caffeine in several forms because I'm a junkie, plain and simple. When I was in my 20s, I was spending more time in Emergency Rooms than at work, so my doctor put me on fulltime disability for 2 years. I couldn't leave the house without having a full-blown anxiety attack. It was awful, because I would try my hardest to mentally fight them off. I had nothing to be anxious about, nothing scared me, I had no fears, no phobias, but the physical attacks were debilitating, and according to experts, were residual breakdowns from an abusive youth. At one point I was taking four 1-ml Xanax a day just to keep from hyperventilating. If you ever took Xanax, four pills could knock out an elephant for a week. Today, I only take about 1/2 a month around PMS time, or I keep one with me for emergencies. I noticed "Corti-Slim" is a new OTC diet drug that addresses this problem. I haven't bought diet pills since Phen-Fen, so I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about this new discovery, or if Corti-Slim is any different than any other speed pill, like Dexatrim, for example. Normal diet pills give me major insomnia, but I took both doses of the Corti-Slim yesterday and slept like a baby. Any and all info/comments/warnings/suggestions appreciated. Alex, Donali?

I smoked for over 25 years, with a ~2 year quit in there but went right back to smoking during a stressful time period... that being said, I quit completely a bit over 2 months before my surgery. I haven't gone back either, and I miss smoking and still think about it almost daily even tho I'm more than 110 days clean. And I can't promise that I'm forever quit since I do miss it so much. But here's the thing: I know that I'm an addict. I don't really miss it; that's the addiction talking. It's just like being an alcoholic. I can't have just one smoke or do it for a little while and quit again. I will always struggle with staying off cigarettes and I recognize that, and will do my very best to make sure I don't pick it back up again because it will hurt my health and likely kill me if I do. So yeah, totally conflicted but hanging on as hard as I can to my quit because I deserve to be healthy - despite that stupid addiction. There are no benefits from smoking - zero, zilch, nada. I had weight loss surgery because I also had issues with food and eating and I want to be healthy and live an active and enjoyable life with my husband. Being morbidly obese wasn't conducive to that idea, and neither is smoking. There is no good reason to smoke, and I've witnessed two family members die a slow, agonizing smoking related death... I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. And yet I still have that insane little voice inside that just wants a damned cigarette. Irrational and stupid, but that's what an addiction is. You can't get any more blatant than that. So that is just one more reason to not smoke - because I am not going to be thought of (in my own mind anyway) as a stupid person. And using an e-cig is just as bad if not worse. All you're doing is changing the method of delivery and still putting poison into your body while fooling yourself into believing that it is healthy. They're still in the early days of studying the health effects and the news coming out now is NOT good. Saying they're safer than cigarettes (even using the no nicotine cartridges) is like saying that playing with one poisonous snake is safer than playing with 10 of them... they are still dangerous. http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/California-Declares-E-Cigs-Are-Health-Threats-290104881.html https://www.sciencenews.org/article/health-risks-e-cigarettes-emerge I quit using the Allen Carr method (the vids are available up on youtube) and a phone app (Butt Out only available on iphones unfortunately, but there are plenty of quit apps) and told myself that the quit was temporary until I got healed from surgery. But I'm sticking with it as long as I can, because I know I feel better now than when I was smoking, and frankly it's nice to not be coughing and wheezing, have warm fingers and toes, and not smell nasty (and yes, you do smell nasty ALL OF THE TIME to non-smokers - that sh!t is in your hair, your clothes, embedded in your skin... I can smell smokers a mile away now, and had friends tell me the same thing). Look, I'm not telling anyone to quit smoking. You have to be an adult to smoke anyway, so I'm assuming that you know enough to know that it's got no benefits, is harmful to your health and you're wasting money and throwing away years of your life to do something that is in essence a nasty habit that will cripple and then kill you in the end. Only you can decide if you're worth quitting for - no one can do it for you. But if you just went through something as extreme as weight loss surgery, you have to care a little about getting your health and well-being back on track!

I've just been on holidays during which I ate out a lot more than usual and enjoyed a bit more alcohol than usual. I also enjoyed far more exercise than usual. I got home and had lost 2kg. I cant see why in the world you'd want to be unfilled and risk gaining. I got to enjoy everything, but not to excess like I would have done in the past. I know I'm one of the lucky ones who can eat anything without a problem, but my quantities were limited. Once we went out for dinner and it just happened to be a night where I was tight. We paid $200 for the meal (there were 7 of us) and I ate nothing more than a bite of it I care more about my weight and health than I do about wasting money int aht sort of situation. Big deal, who cares? I would consider an unfill if I had problems with flying but I dont. I know you were just posing the question, not thinking seriously about it but to consider an unfill for the purposes of digging in on vaction, well that would suggest to me somebody not mentally prepared for the change in lifestyle and not really ready to be banded. Where do you draw the line?. What about Christmas, Easter and all those other occasions? And although the band is YOUR tool and I've always been a strong believer in that, I think that's just not using it properly and I'm not surprised at all that a surgeon would refuse to just unfill you simply because you wanted to eat more. The thing is with the band, its kind of all or nothing but then its all or nothing without the band too if you really want to get control of your weight. People who have been a normal weight all their lives may very well tend to eat a bit more on holidays but you do that with a band too. Your food choices will be different and you'll probably drink more too. But you have to do so in moderation.

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.