Search the Community

yep im not allowed alcohol either but I did take to sips on my anniversary! Bad Monken......

Biggest pre-op mistake: drinking more than normal because it was my last time. Ugh. Glad I'm giving up any form of alcohol from this point out. I know we can drink later (my doc says 3 months) but I don't intend to do so. What were your biggest "Farewell to Food Festival" mistakes?

Well I do intend to still enjoy the occasional drink but I have a whole new respect for how vulnerable I am to alcohol. The no food overtired combo was lethal. Family came home, set off dogs and general chaos that should have woken me but Didnt. i was passed out.

You can eat smaller portions, most doctors say no soda or carbonation, and alcohol is empty calories so not much. You should go to a seminar near you. They'll tell you all this.

After the surgery u can eat like regular food and can u drink soda or alcohol

I had one. My doctor does one on everyone. It has to do with determining the extent of fatty liver. He told me that in 20 years the number one cause of cirrosis (sp?) of the liver will be fatty liver due to obesity, not alcohol or hepatitis. We ALL had a fatty enlarged liver due to our obesity, but like the rest of our bodies, livers can lose weight. That's the reason for the pre-op diet. Hope that helps ease your mind. -Kendra

Just like any other addiction, we use our addiction to comfort ourselves, which causes obesity which causes more bad feeling and more comfort etc.....Also known as "Head Hunger". Until we learn to recognize what we're doing and find healthier ways to comfort ourselves the addiction will continue. So in my opinion, any addiction whether alcohol, drugs, sex or food, will not be cured until we fix our heads. There is always going to be ppl hating on overweight ppl, but with a good support system , we can learn to love ourselves no matter what. I know I have.

Per my post-surgery diet plan, I'll be on regular foods starting at 4 weeks, although the idea is to ramp up slowly, so I don't necessarily think that being on "real foods" is a problem. I do think that the choice of real foods might be an issue, though. As others have already said, the sleeve is a tool, not magic - we still have to work at having an appropriate diet and exercise. In fact, it's probably even harder since the volume of food is so much smaller. You need to make sure that you are getting your nutritional needs first before anything else. I know you've heard it all before, but go back to Protein first, then produce. Once you get to maintenance, then is the time to think about the occasional treat like ice cream or Pasta. For now, focus on taking maximum advantage of the so-called "honeymoon" period where your weight loss is at its best. I'd also recommend going back to tracking for now. You may find you don't need to do so stringently after a little while, when your good habits are set, but for now, especially if you're concerned about not losing, it's helpful to know exactly what's going in your mouth. When you can, weigh it or measure it. If you know you'll have to eat out once in a while, master the art of measuring by eye - my NUT made me measure things out for a month so I KNOW what 3 oz. of chicken looks like, or a 1/4 cup of peas, or a tablespoon of salad dressing. It's still better to measure when you can in the early stages of the game, but real life does make that difficult As Pookeyism asked, what are you drinking? Are you getting enough liquids? Avoiding alcohol and empty calorie beverages? Not getting enough Water can impact your weight loss, too. A 1 lb. fluctuation is minor, as well, and could simply be a factor of what you ate and drank in the last couple of hours, if you happen to be holding onto a bit more water than usual, or when you last visited the bathroom! When you do weigh yourself, try and do so at the same time of day, under the same conditions - I choose to do so after I get up and visit the toilet, but before I get dressed for the day, so I'm typically wearing similar sleepwear, haven't eaten or had significant amount of water yet, and I'm pretty much at my base weight for the day. I plan to continue that once I have my surgery, and I've vowed to myself to ignore the scale between weekly weigh-ins I know for a fact that my weight can fluctuate as much as 3-4 lbs depending on the time of the month, too, so I take that into account before I panic about a gain. Did you take measurements before you started your weight loss? You might check to see if you're still losing inches. As you've probably read, it's fairly common to have a weight loss stall but find that your body is just playing catch-up, and the inches are still coming off. Are you getting more exercise than you used to? Remember that you could be building muscle, which weighs more than fat. The big thing is to not panic or get discouraged, take a deep breath, and go back to basics: take care in what you eat and drink, get some exercise, and get plenty of sleep. If you do that, I'll bet the weight starts coming off again!

I would caution real food is not a great idea at 4 weeks, and the way you are defining your portions might need to be revisited ("small", "bite", "half"). The foods you are describing come straight off my no-no list straight to this day, so I cannot say that you can eat those things and be ok. Stay away from foods you cannot measure and keep a calorie count, give yourself no excuses, keep a food log. You did not mention what you were drinking - Water, juices, dairy? Alcohol?

I think it's especially important for us to pay attention to these things too. Not only because it takes so much less to knock us on our butts. I think the risk of a "crossover addiction" is very easy! I come from a background of family members with addiction issues (drugs alcohol) I have NEVER had a problem with drugs or alcohol (just food) . I was very prepared for many things after surgery but the one thing I didn't think about was the temptation to find comfort in things that never comforted me before.. The weeks after my surgery I became increasingly aware of my "need" for my pain meds (refilled twice) it got to a point I looked forward to my nightly dose. I wasn't taking it during the day just at night for my relaxing down time (the time I used to over eat also). I knew it was becoming an issue so I fessed up to my husband who then helped me hold myself accountable after. I guess for that reason now I only have a glass of wine when I'm out at a social event and not at home alone, at least for now....

There is no difference for me pre and post op with the impact of alcohol. I suppose it is different for everyone.

I had a lapband placed four years ago and had good success. Steadily lost weight and went from 275 pounds to 155 pounds. About four months ago, I was so happy with my band and the progress that I'd made. I felt like I was at my goal and the whole process had been wonderful. Then I realized that I'd been having problems for the past 8 weeks, which helped me lose that last 15 pounds. I was to the point that I could barely sip water. Barium XRay confirmed that I was almost completely blocked. Since I'd recently moved across the country, I didn't have a surgeon, and since I live in a remote area, the closest weightloss surgeon was 2 1/2 hours away. After a frantic few days of trying to find a surgeon that would see me before taking a few weeks to evaluate my records, and more importantly evaluating my insurance, I went to an emergency room three hours away. The ER doctor removed the fluid from my band and I was able to drink again. When the surgeon saw me the next day, he was concerned that the ER doctor had punctured my band - my stomach looked like sausage after all the times he poked me trying to find my port. I've been going back every 4 weeks to get my band filled back. I gained 30 pounds almost immediately but have gotten to the point that I am no longer gaining. From the beginning, this surgeon has wanted to do a revision. He thinks my band slipped and it will happen again, so he is afraid to fill my band to where it was before. Furthermore, we just realized that my band is leaking. So, something needs to be done. Since my original surgery, I have gone off my blood pressure meds (blood pressure was really high even the highest doses of meds that I could take) and the pre-diabetic issues (insulan resistance) have gone away. However, my blood pressure has shot up over the last few months and I'm going to have to go back on meds soon if something doesn't happen. I talked briefly with my surgeon this week about where to go. He is talking about RNY or a sleeve and would prefer RNY. He feels RNY would be safer to let my stomach heel after surgery. I am just not feeling the RNY and am leaning towards a sleeve. At this point, we are trying to figure out my insurance because my (new) primary covers surgery, but only if it is the original surgery and I've gone through the whole approval process with them. My secondary, which I used before, does not have the hospital that I'd have to use for this surgeon in their network. So, I have some time to think about where to go. If my primary won't cover the revision, I have two options. The first is to pay some out of pocket. The second is to find another surgeon that does practice at a network hospital. I like the surgeon that I'm going to now, mostly because he spends a lot of time with me discussing concerns and options. But, I'm sure there are lots of other good surgeons out there. So, questions that I have: Maybe it's safer to have the RNY rather than having my stomach sleeved during a revision, but is that a real concern? I think I'd rather go through the tedious process of liquid/soft diet for the weeks/months than to have the issues involved with RNY. I'm just not feeling good about the RNY. Next question - if I do have a sleeve, what can I expect as far as pre-surgery diet, time in the hospital and overall recovery time, and diet once I am recovered - i.e. I've seen discussions about alcohol, carbonation, not using straws, etc.... I've read through the website, but would appreciate any information and advice I can get.

Lots of questions!! That's good, a wise person will ask a lot of questions before making such a major and irreversible decision. I can't answer them all, but I'll give some of them a go. Being active before surgery can only help, can't hurt. Lots of folks who were never active become active after surgery, so you'll have no trouble returning to activity, it'll just put you on the sidelines for a very short while. Don't worry about the size of your stomach. Every surgeon has his or her preferences, but in the end we're talking about millimeters of difference. The standard is to remove about 85%. That sounds awful, but it really isn't. Some folks have longer stomachs than others, so those folks can eat more than those with shorter stomachs, because the surgery only affects the circumference, not the length. You'll be able to eat enough to sustain yourself. Lots of folks experience regain, so that proves that the stomach won't be TOO small. It's fairly unpredictable what you will/will not like/tolerate post-surgery. I loved Water before, drank it constantly, can't stand it now. But I compensate with Crystal Lite and tea. I do drink coffee every day, but it was a few months out before I could resume. I am able to eat all the sugar I want, unfortunately. But I've read it makes some folks sick. Same with Protein drinks. Some couldn't stand them before or after. I loved them before and after. I had to MAKE myself stop drinking them at about 10 months out because I was then able to eat all the protein I need, and was taking in too much, believe it or else. I eat two servings of nuts every day. Post surgery, they are a healthy source of protein and Fiber. Fiber becomes hard to get in, so don't discount nuts. Fruits, well, you will not eat much of that for a while. Too high in sugar and carbs when you need to focus on protein. I personally haven't had wine or any other alcohol in my year post-surgery, but lots of folks do have it and fare well. They just drink much less and nurse it over a longer period of time. I have not experienced any reflux before or after surgery. Maybe someone else can chime in on the points I've missed, or share their experiences. Good luck with your decision!!

I guess it goes without saying that there are plenty of fat people out there along with the skinny ones who still don't believe that obesity is a disease. I guess we should shut down all the drug and alcohol rehab facilities as well. After all they just need to stop drinking and sticking needles in their arms. Right?

I like the Pure Protein Revolution Bar 180 Calorie, 6 gram fat, 5 Net Carbs(17-1fiber-11sugar alcohols), and 20 grams protein.

One more thing about Quest bars...they have no sugar alcohol, which I cannot tolerate for some reason. So that's another plus. On the down side, they cost $2 each.

I hope so too...it was an awful feeling. Now I have to sit in a room in a group setting..I am not to excited about that at all...I have not told anyone about this...and to go in a room of strangers ... and get schooled about alcohol...I know what I need to know I been researching this for a long time... I am just totally bummed...and I will have to miss more work..because ofcourse the group is in the middle of the day..ugh..

For the last meal of the day would you take a shake or a low carb protein bar? I have nu go bars which are 20 g protein and 20 g carb (not from sugar, but from fiber and sugar alcohols). I have been taking shakes before bed for several months now and want to try the bar if it is not going to mess with weight gain. What do you think?

the alcohol will affect your liver directly- dont take any chances

Can we have alcohol during the liquid diet phase. I don't need a lecture, I'm just curious. My 1-week starts Friday.

thank you for sharing this. I always have said that drug and alcohol addiction is nothing like food addiction because we all need food and not the others.

With me, yes, at first it changed family/social gatherings and how I approached food at those gatherings. But those changes to me were not all that big of a deal. To me, it's more being mindful of the surgery I've had when I'm at these functions, such as eating the Protein foods first and not drinking with those meals. Other than that, I just enjoy myself and since I'm over a year out, it's almost just habit for me to get protein in and not drink with my meals. By that time, I'm so full that IF I do want a dessert and partake, I'll eat very little of it. It may be an adjustment for the first few months trying to keep these things in mind, but eventually it will be something you'll not even think twice about and can concentrate on entertaining your guests or just relax and enjoy yourself. For most, the benefits of this surgery far outweigh the mild annoyance from the minor adjustments we have to make after the sleeve. I had these same concerns before my surgery as I'm in these social situations a lot (parties, holiday gatherings, tailgating, etc). But I've had to sacrifice very little and I still party ALMOST as hard as I did before. With that in mind, just be careful with your alcohol and know that many sleevers turn to drinking as an emotional outlet to replace their past dependency on food. Also, there are all of those empty calories with alcoholic drinks, but I do have a glass of wine or a draft beer (lower carbonation) on occasion.

Copied from Allergan: Your surgeon may consider whether the LAP-BAND ® is right for you if your BMI is at least 35 and you have a health problem that is related to obesity. Your surgeon may also have other criteria he or she uses. Ask him or her to discuss the criteria with you. Contra-indications The LAP-BAND ® System is not right for you if: You have an inflammatory disease or condition of the gastrointestinal tract, such as ulcers, severe esophagitis, or Crohns disease. You have severe heart or lung disease that makes you a poor candidate for surgery. *You have some other disease that makes you a poor candidate for surgery. You have a problem that could cause bleeding in the esophagus or stomach. That might include esophageal or gastric varices (a dilated vein). It might also be something such as congenital or acquired intestinal telangiectasia (dilation of a small blood vessel). You have portal hypertension. Your esophagus, stomach, or intestine is not normal (congenital or acquired). For instance you might have a narrowed opening. You have/experienced an intra-operative gastric injury, such as a gastric perforation at or near the location of the intended band placement. You have cirrhosis. You have chronic pancreatitis. You are pregnant. (If you become pregnant after the LAP-BAND ® System has been placed, the band may need to be deflated. The same is true if you need more nutrition for any other reason, such as becoming seriously ill. In rare cases, removal may be needed.) You are addicted to alcohol or drugs. You are under 18 years of age. You have an infection anywhere in your body or one that could contaminate the surgical area. *You are on chronic, long-term steroid treatment. You cannot or do not want to follow the dietary rules that come with this procedure. You might be allergic to materials in the device. You cannot tolerate pain from an implanted device. *You or someone in your family has an autoimmune connective tissue disease. That might be a disease such as systemic lupus erythematosus or scleroderma. The same is true if you have symptoms of one of these diseases. I put * on the potentially applicable contraindications. Talk to your rheumatologist about this, please. Best of luck!

The thought of that scares me. but how do you know? and can it be fixed? I have had a couple of episodes of vomiting due to eating too fast. I have a pain in my stomach now that wasnt there before.. banded 11/29/12 sw 226 cw 200 To the OP: From what I understand, a slip can have many different symptoms. The only way to find out is to see your doctor, have a barium swallow. I've had 3 stomach viruses since being banded and it didn't cause my band to slip. #3 brianb Member Joined: Mar 4, 2013 Posts: 21 posts Topics: 2 Gender: Male Patient Info:View my profile Posted Today, 5:29 AM Six days of post op and had a long night of uncontrollable dry heaves because of alcohol and over eating. Of course I'll not be doing either again. From what I read, it's pretty unlikely that a band slipped. But a quick call to your doctor might make you feel better. Like This Absolute must see videos for anyone that has or is getting the lap band... Some of the misconceptions that the series of videos covers: * The lap band should not restrict, but instead trick the brain into thinking you ate much more than you did. * food goes through the band in less than a minute and does NOT sit above the band (unless food is stuck or you eat too fast) * The band causes food to rub against nerves in the stomach as it passes through the band. This causes a feeling of fullness. * It should not be necessary to fill the pouch above the band to achieve a feeling of fullness. http://www.lapbandta...dr-paul-obrien/ Quote MultiQuote Blog This Report As far as Brian is concerned...generally alcohol isn't allowed for 3-6 months post op. The attitude that "everyone does it" is not going to get you anywhere and is an adolescent excuse. Sorry, but that's how it comes across. Line-dancer was replying to the OP, since she recently was Dx with a slip...not saying she overate and drank to excess.

Six days of post op and had a long night of uncontrollable dry heaves because of alcohol and over eating. Of course I'll not be doing either again. From what I read, it's pretty unlikely that a band slipped. But a quick call to your doctor might make you feel better.