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I would avoid fast food for quite a while after surgery. I still can eat very little of it. As for Alcohol, empty calories. Not recommended during post-op phase, when you do use, count the calories. Fast food for me is a ready mixed protein shake!

My surgery is 3-22 and need advise on this.... Fast food what is best eat and alcoholic drinks how many? Thanks

There was a whole forum dedicated to the cross over addiction topic actually! For me, I noticed a darker cross over addiction- I became more of a drinker. I have no stopped almost entirely, because I've started to respond to alcohol with bizzarre light headedness and vertigo for a week after. It's important to recognize that though you removed the stomach, you did not remove the emotional issues that caused you to eat to excess. They can easily manifest themselves in the form of other addictions and compulsive behaviors.

My surgery is 3-22 and need advise on this.... Fast food what is best eat and alcoholic drinks how many? Thanks

Congratulations!!! This journey can be exciting and aggravating in one. LOL. You have done your research it seems. So I'll gives you the best advice given to me when I first started out. First start dealing with your emotional eating habits now. Which you mention you are going to. Next start giving up those unhealthy eating habits. Stop eating those foods aka junk food, pop etc. The sleeve is only a tool. You still have to make healthy choices. I just had my nutrition class last week and I was shocked at how many people in the class got upset when they found out that they shouldn't eat junk food, drink pop and limit their alcohol. They was really upset over the alcohol. LOL. Good luck Sent from my KFOT using VST

I know that had to be hard for you to say! I am having the surgery in 2 weeks and am on my pre-op diet. We are addicts, just like alcoholics and drug addicts. The only difference is that every where we turn the temptation is there for us. I am finding it very difficult. I know there are things I shouldn't eat but I want them nonetheless. You have made it 8 years, which is remarkable. You can do this, you are a fighter, that is what got you this far. Don't give up. Every day is a new day with endless possibilities. We are all here for each other, this board will help you alot, it has helped me.

So ... today is my birthday. I am having kind of a down day Birthdays are normally a big deal in my family. Parties, alcohol, and lots of food. I am way out of my element right now. I feel like I can't celebrate my birthday at all. I hate this feeling! I keep telling myself over and over I did this for myself, this is my present to myself. It's just hard to except no celebration for my one day. I know I know I should not think like this and I am beyond grateful for the opportunity I have been given. It's just a hard day :/ Also on the negative my husband has to work all day and I wont be able to see him at all on my birthday End rant! Thank you all for listening. Hope all is going well with everyone.

I would think that people may begin to start going back to bad habits. Although candy, alcohol and other things like that don't take up a lot of space, they have a lot of calories in them. So instead of trying to eat like they did in the beginning...they have changed their habits.

my surgeon said no to nuquil and dayquil even dayquil has some alcohol in it was told to take sudefed and tylenol cold and flu went to my primary and he put me on antibiotic

I am a bad blogger!! While I take advantage of everyone's posts - they get me through every day, I do not get on and post myself! 12/10 and down 45 #. Slower than some but am happy with my results. My sister asked me the other day "Don't you miss eating whatever you want, and however much you want?" Well to be honest, yes!! But so does an ex smoker miss cigarettes and an alcoholic miss alcohol. It was my enjoyment of eating and my lack of self control that got me here in the first place (plus the fact that my metabolism has "left the building" so to speak). So regarding the fact that I really do not enjoy eating like I used to - it is totally worth it when I see the results. I am down to a 12 jean (I am sure that if they were the old fashioned "non-stretch" it would be a 14!). Regarding the victories that are not "scale related" - I did my first 3K walk last week. My goal was to finish, but not last!! I did finish and despite the shin splints, I was basically in the middle group of walkers and excited that I actually enjoyed it!! Also, I am off of my diabetic; high cholestrol; and high blood pressure medications! In fact, my blood pressure is usually on the low side now!! Woo Hoo!! I agree that comparing yourselves with others can have an opposite effect of setting yourself up to fail, everyone really sounds like they are doing well (most of the "tickers" are hovering around the 50% area) and I believe that the "December Sleevers" are all winners!!!!

Thanks. I'm trying like hell to drop the last 5lbs. If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them! I've been drinking TONS of water every day and cut all alcohol and junk out. Maybe I should try slim fast?

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

I am 6 weeks out and I haven't drank anything yet. My doctor said no alcohol for 6 weeks...but I am continuing because of the empty calories!

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

I like the Oh Yeah pb chocolate Protein bars. They are fairly low in carbs and don't have sugar alcohol. That stuff makes me sick. I also like Power Crunch bars. They also are pretty low carb for Protein Bars. Most protein bars have way too many carbs. If you go to the food forum, there is a thread ''Places to get samples" You can order all sorts of samples of Protein drinks.

I went to a party and had it done on my arms and inner thighs and I lost an 1inch on each arm and 1/2 inch on each thigh. But it's all pretty temporary it's like a detox you have to drink lots of Water and eat very light and do a brisk walk or exercise before you come. Bought a few to support my girlfriend and that was it. Here's the paper that they gave me with tips for before you come to the party. Not endorsing but keeping you informed. Ultimate Body Wrap Tips: 1) Before you wrap: Try to get some exercise. (It doesn’t have to be much, just a walk will do. This helps to get your blood moving and it stimulates your lymphatic system. ) AND HYDRATE!!! HYDRATE!!! HYDRATE!!! (Your body cannot move those toxins on out if you don’t pee!) Make sure to drink extra water prior to wrapping and after wrapping to ensure you are not dehydrated and just replenishing those fluids needed in your system. 2) When you wrap: Your skin needs to be clean and lotion free (shower or clean with alcohol). MEASURE in 3 places. 2” above your belly button, your belly button and 2” below your belly button. Use a sharpie to mark the exact location you are measuring so you know you measure the same place each time (try to measure on your side so the marks don’t come off while you wrap). Take a picture so you can compare later. Apply your wrap with the lotion side on your skin and smooth it out. Cover with cling wrap to hold it in place and protect your clothing. If you are doing curvy areas (i.e. waist or butt) rotate the cling wrap roll 180 degrees as you go around the “bends” to allow you to pull it tighter. Then smooth all the air out so you have maximum contact with your skin. Although the cling wrap does fine by itself, try to wear clothes that help hold it in place (Yoga type works great). 3) While you are wrapped: HYDRATE! HYDRATE! HYDRATE! Do not work out. Don’t sweat. Sweat will inhibit the absorption of the good stuff. Wait at least 45 minutes before you unwrap. You can wear it up to 8 hours. 4) After you unwrap: Rub all the extra lotion in. MEASURE on the same spots as above. Continue to hydrate. Measure again in 24 hours. Hydrate. Measure again in another 24 hours. It takes up to 72 hours before you see the full results. Email total results to Dianna at WrapQueen@ymail.com. If you are happy with your results please write on my page at https://www.facebook.com/Wrap2Shrink, if you are not PLEASE CALL ME! Every single BODY is different. Many people that follow these directions lose 1-3 inches in 72 hours. Sometimes people don’t see immediate results. Some people see an increase during their wrap period. DO NOT BE ALARMED OR DISAPPOINTED! This effect is called “toxic bloat” and is caused by your body’s reaction to the increase in “floating” toxins. Often it is these people that end up with the best results at the end of their 72 hours. Some people require more than 1 wrap before they see visible results. If you happen to fall into this category be sure to check with me so we can talk about the reasons people don’t lose inches sometimes. Keep in mind that if you eat junk you will replace all the stuff you just took out and your results won’t last as long. If you make good food choices (try to eat fresh organic food without preservatives) and you exercise your results will last much, much longer. If you are dehydrated, you will not be flushing out your system. The water you will be consuming will in fact store in your system to rehydrate itself. You must drink extra water to flush the toxins out. If you are not using the restroom at least once every 2-3 hours, you are not drinking enough water. Your urine should be very clear. The more color, the more dehydrated your body is. This is not a substitute for making healthy choices. If you have health issues PLEASE take the ingredient list to your Dr. for review BEFORE you use this or ANY product.

I'm 5 months out and have not had a cocktail yet. I'll wait, I'm in no rush alcohol will be there when I'm ready.

taurabird- today was the first day that I did not think about alcohol and "needing" a drink when I got home from work. Still dry, and by the grace of God I will stay that way. I see there is a 12 step support group that I will checkout. For this group It's about our bursing careers. For the last 8 weeks I have taken on the roll of "social worker" and case manager, have been extremly busy. Today was day one for a new "Social Worker" can't wait to catch up on my paperwork. And our hospital changing to EMR electronic Medical Record- no it's not epic it's Medi-tech 6 one care. Oh Boy. Life is interesting. One day at a time. Linda

When did anyone start drinking alcohol.?

Hey everyone! I decided to create another post about my surgery so I can go in full details. However let me first DISCLOSE THAT I PAID FOR MY SURGERY AND I DON’T WORK WITH MY SURGEON by recommending patients or him.. I GAIN NOTHING! HOWEVER I DID MAKE DR. ILLAN PATIENTS A PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP BEFORE I EVEN 100% Decided to go to him! Anyways since I felt the need to disclose that and get that out of the way… Let’s get in details… We flew in Wednesday afternoon and were picked up as soon as we arrived at 5:09 PM. Our Driver took us straight to Omar. (WE ALL LOVE OMAR) We met him outside the hospital and he got our stuff and took us to his truck. He was so excited to meet us just like we were him. He was also ready to take us to Dinner. We was very tired and I will be honest Food well Broth was the last thing on our minds.. LOL But we didn’t want to be rude and decline going, So we went. We were both so tired that we couldn’t really eat the broth. I will say it was different. It was the broth with the cherry and Pineapple. Some people LOVE IT and others don’t. I didn’t feel either way I just wanted my water LOL. After dinner we headed back to "Florence Hospital" where we got checked in for the night. We both agreed that the hospital was very nice.. Here are a few pictures I took… The staff was awesome! I am sure our nurses will never forget me and Jessica that is for sure. We are both out going and talkative so they seemed to be very comfortable with us. (I am sure they thought we were nuts at times lol). Jessica and I were in separate rooms but of course we were ALWAYS TOGETHER. We was back and forth, if the nurse couldn’t find us in our room they knew we was in the other room, so they would come in there to give us our meds, and take vitals together. I had requested to have surgery first on the 7th since I was leaving a day earlier than Jessica. I was scheduled at Noon. They started getting me ready and hooked up to IV at 6AM (Just like I was told the night before) I was also in surgery around the scheduled time also. Surgery went great! The funny thing is the Dr. and staff said the first thing out of my mouth when I came to was “HOW WAS MY LIVER”!! I was sooooooooooo worried about my liver because I did awful during pre-op and we only had to do pre-op a week LOL!! However he says my liver was very tiny and it made surgery so much easier so that is great! Then the 2nd thing I said was “MY THROAT HURTS!” I remember that. My throat was soooo sore. I don’t remember being put back in my room. I do remember waking up and Omar sitting in the chair and the first thing I ask was how Jessica was? She was already out of surgery but she was in pain. So I made him go check on her! LOL CAN YOU TELL I LOVE THIS GIRL! I remember the tightness I had in my chest. It wasn’t pain but it was uncomfortable! They said it was gas. Omar told me to take a Gas X strip and it HELPED! I also used my heating pad on my back shoulders and it helped a lot. Jessica says she came in to see me after I was put in my room. I don’t remember that at all. She also said I was getting upset about my throat LOL and something else..But she tried to calm me down but then they made her leave to go do her surgery haha. So that whole afternoon after surgery is a blur. That night I was better and feeling great so I walked to see Jessica. She was in tons of pain and was throwing up. She also had her gallbladder out so we are thinking that is why she was in pain. I was feeling great just some gas. Omar also gave us a picture of our stomach.. Here is mine.. The next morning 3/8: I was still feeling great! It just was uncomfortable when I ate my ice chips or laid flat down. I had taken a shower and put back the hospital gown as requested by the nurse. The DR. Came in and check on me and said everything looked great! He has the best bed side manner of any DR. I have ever been to. Plus he is a HOTTIE to say the least! The rest of day we just chilled. Omar told us to be up and ready to go at 9am the next morning for our leak test. 3/9… I was up and ready! I felt great! You couldn’t tell me I just had surgery if I didn’t know. I took my shower, put my make up on and had all my things packed. Then Jessica came in my room and she chilled in my bed while I was in the chair. She still wasn’t 100% but better. The Dr and Omar came in at 9 and happy to see how well I was doing. He took Jessica’s drain out while there. I didn’t have a drain thankfully!! After she got her drain out she felt great!! So we were ready to go. Omar told us to wait while he took our bags and pulled to the front. Well we thought we would just meet him outside so we just walked out of the hospital. LOL when he came back he was like y’all were supposed to wait!! They have to bring you out in a wheelchair. We were like but we are able to walk!! He just laughed and went in to give the hospital our slips letting them know we are officially discharged. We then went for our swallow test! That had to be the worst part of the whole thing. (People look at me crazy when I say this but for me it’s the truth LOL) That is the nastiest stuff ever! They all seemed to find me funny for some odd reason when doing my test! They wanted me to drink that junk in one gulp. GROSS I couldn’t do it. Then I had it in my mouth and couldn’t swallow. I DON’T know why I held it in my mouth. It just made it worse LOL but then I swallowed but since I didn’t take it in one gulp I had another sip!! UCKKK so anyways I had no leaks YAY but I had a lot of gas bubbles. Then it was Jessica’s turn she did ok. Omar told her not to do like I did haha..She took hers all in one gulp but she hated it also. I can’t explain the taste. She says cleaner but umm I have never tasted cleaner so I don’t know. After that we were off to the Dietitian’s office. She went over what to eat and what not. She also took our measurements and told us what our “goal weight” should be. Her goal weights seem to be higher than what the US dr’s say but hey I will take it. Plus she said I was “thick” and Jessica was tall so that was also taken in consideration. After that we went to the hotel to get checked in. We also met up with the other patient and his wife. We both loved them they are an older couple and just a breath of fresh air. Here are a few pictures of the hotel… ( we had private rooms but we decided to change it to just one room, it would have just been a waste LOL) We then all went for lunch. THAT BROTH WAS AMAZING!! I have never liked broth but this was LOVELY! However I couldn’t eat a lot of it YAY! After we left our full shopping day started! Omar is a champ! He took us everywhere. He also explained what certain things were and their meanings. We were all getting tired and we knew Omar needed to go check in at the hospital so we told him we were ready. He gets in no rush that’s for sure. He is so pleasant. However the other patient and his wife needed to eat dinner. I and Jessica Didn’t want anything to eat plus we had our broth from lunch in our room and Omar bought us jello and tons of drinks so we were good. So he brought us back to our room before taking them to dinner. He told me he would be back at 8am with Dr Illan and I needed to be ready to walk out at 9 am to go to the airport. However we found out our air didn’t work!! Oh that was not going to cut it lol so the office staff moved us to another room. After getting settled in that room we were ready to just go to bed! I think we had lights out at 9:30 needless to say we both slept very well that night. 3/10 Time changed last night. I had told my husband to call me at 8 AM My Time well he called me 8am HIS TIME EST! I couldn’t get back to sleep. So I just got up and started getting ready. Jessica got up with me and we chatted as always. We are never out of words it seems LOL. We also tried text Omar that we changed rooms but our phones didn’t seem to text good there. So a little after 8 our room phone is ringing! It’s Omar LOL he was like I didn’t know yall changed rooms! I have been beating on the other door with my hands full of water HAHA! He was like I am coming your way now. Him and the Dr Came and made sure I was ok to leave. He also explained that they are just an email and phone call away if I needed them. I hugged them both. I am embarrassed to admit I had tears in my eyes! It felt like I was leaving my best friends. I can’t say enough about either of them. I know deep in my heart they were the perfect ones for ME! I am 1000% happy with the care and service. Let me add I didn’t go to him because his price was lower. I was almost about to pay 5,550 so money was never the issue here. Plus my INSURANCE COVERS IT. I JUST DIDN’T WANT TO WAIT ANY LONGER and appeal! (I knew insurance would approve after my appeal because the issue was just missing info I HAD) Plus I felt the connection when I talked to them both for the first time. Anyways, The Dr Left and Omar told me he would be back in 20 mins. to get my bags. He came and got my bags and we had a private convo. OMAR IS THE BEST HANDS DOWN! Then I noticed the other patient and the driver was waiting for ME! So I am like OH NO I GOTTA GO! I hugged him and was LIKE I WILL CALL YOU! ( I TALK WAY TO MUCH) LOL, so we are leaving the hotel I can’t find my iPhone! I am freaking out! OH NO TURN AROUND I say. I left my phone. The driver stops and turns then ask is it a IPhone? I say yes, He is like you had it in your hands LOL OMG IT WAS ON THE SEAT! I say OK LETS GET OUT OF HERE so we are on our way. We talk the whole way. The couple with me is like myself. “Never meets a stranger”. The line to the boarder was CRAZYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! Thankfully we were in the medical Line so we didn’t wait at all! They had their passports and I didn’t. I was scared the whole time. I just knew they were going to make me the exception LOL. However that was not the case. They ask us the reason there and if we had alcohol and a list of other stuff. Which we didn’t, so we were on our way. We didn’t even get out of the truck and they didn’t even look in our bags. Now that I am home I feel normal. I have been talking to a lot of people in my private messages and I tell them if I didn’t see my stomach I wouldn’t think I had surgery! I have had no restrictions with drinking. I can drink normally so I am having no issue getting water in. My issue is broth. I don’t do well with the warm stuff! Why would that be? * I WILL BE ADDING ALL PICTURES IN MY GALLERY SO CHECK THEM OUT LATER*

Did you eat anything with sugar alcohols? Not splenda or ace-K but something like maltitol, sorbitol, or erithritol? Our sleeves can be very sensitive to those. Also, lactose intolerance is very commons, as others have mentioned. I would stay away from the cheese so early out. I think I was at 3 weeks before I tried a cheese stick--I did a really soft Laughing Cow cheese first.

Linda, I was just taking care of a pt that was sleeved 5 years ago and was going through severe DT's when he decided to quit drinking. He ended up in my ICU intubated for 2 days. When he started coming around we talked for a while, said it started slowly because he was bored and didnt have anything to do with his time in the evenings and weekends and then it gradually escalated to a bottle of vodka a day. Good for you that you recognized it...I can see this being a problem for us nurses when we get home after a bad day and cant eat bad food to self medicate....so we turn to alcohol instead. Like I said good for you, thank yoi for sharing.

I am with Cheri! Shoes, specifically boots for me. Now I have normal sized calves, I cant stop buying the damn things. And the saddest thing is since I broke my ankle at the beginning of the year I have barely been able to wear them (as most a heels and that dont go so well at the moment). I also like to cook, keep feeding everyone...I live alone so there is always way too much food. My workmates mainly benefit from this over cooking. One could argue that I moved to alcohol, as I mostly want to drink rather than eat when things get bad, but am a lush at 3 drinks...so not really happening there either. Never been able to get into the coffee thing at all...

I enjoy a beer, wine or White Russians on occasion with no problems. Well, no problems other than since getting the sleeve I have become a total lightweight when it comes to alcohol. One or two drinks and I am the life of the party, lol. Sent from my iPad using VST

Getting back on the throwing up subject I woke up from surgery throwing up...so awesome! Then didnt really throw up until like 9 months out when i had a stomach virus. Nowadays I wouldnt call it throwing up, like we would have pre-surgery, it is more sliming...just a whole lot of slime...yea it is pretty. And yes in almost every occasion, a carbonated drink as been involved, my drink of choice is champagne...and its not everytime I drink champagne, but as others have said it is best to drink or eat, never the 2. In my case, sometimes I am just dumb and enjoying being with people and forget BTW I am saving so much money on alcohol lol, i can do more than one, usually 3 before I feel it now. I get drunk quick and sober up even quicker, usually if I go out, have a few drinks, feel the drunk sensation, then by the time i get home I am sober again.