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My surgery was Nov 28th, I did a full 2 week liquid diet starting Thanksgiving week. 5 days that week I spent in Disneyland with family and friends. I did not cheat one bite on vacation. Came home and faced Thanksgiving with my family of 30. Took my protein shake along and no problem. I lost 17 pounds in 2 weeks before surgery. Had surgery 10 weeks ago this Wednesday. The first 2 weeks were painful, because once I got home I couldn't take Loritab it has 7% alcohol in it and I'm allergic to alcohol so I just went no meds cold turkey. The reason I'm elaborating is...if your having this much trouble with the pre op diet maybe your not ready. Your mind needs to be completely ready. If your falling apart at Dinner I'm worried about you. This is a major surgery, you are making a decision that is permanent. Do some serious soul searching, ok? You don't want to do something you regret. I have lost 47 pounds, and feel wonderful! Everyone I run into tells me how great I look. It's amazing! My goal is 100 pounds and in 10 weeks I'm just about half way there. Please make sure your ready to make this life changing decision. If dinner time is hard, Go for a walk and stay busy. My husband has been so helpful. He took over the cooking for the kids and himself. So I don't even have to think about it. I just grab my shake and leave the room. If something like that is an option for you try it. I wish all of you pre op people luck! Stay strong it's so worth it!????

I'm kinda shocked at that video, he not only says its fine to have a drink or two a day of alcohol, but to have a glass of water with your meals, which I thought was a no-no?!?!?!? I'm scheduled for surgery on 3/12, and I don't have my 4 hour class on everything until 2/12, so I'm trying to piece together the do's and dont's for now....hhmmmm. Kinda confused now!!!!

One more thing...if you are feeling nauseous..get a rubbing alcohol pad (the little packets nurses always have to clean your skin before a shot!) and put it on the bridge of your nose..the nurses did it for me and it took the nauseous feeling right away!!!

My dr also recommends 1 cup of food three times daily once I get to solids. No carbonated beverages at all. I can have caffeine and alcohol 3 months post-op.

They call the first year the 'honeymoon period'. It is when you can lose the most....but you must stick to the program. No cheating. They told us at the seminar, this is not a diet, it's a new way of life. That is fine, BUT until I reached goal, I treated this as the most important diet of my life. NOTHING sweet, nothing fried.....touched my lips!!! Carbonated drinks....NEVER. Alcohol, every so often AFTER reaching goal. I didn't touch a thing until after I'd been at goal for a good six months. I reached goal quickly, but I was, as my nurse said 'rigid'. It worked for me. I weighted or measured everything I ate when we were at home, I still do most of the time. I still keep an on line food log. Now at almost 3 years out, I feel like I live like a naturally thin person. Life is good, and I never feel deprived. Sometimes I have something sweet more than I should......but with little or no hunger, it is easy to lose a few lbs after vacation or Christmas!!! (still no hunger but my 'new' hunger is more of an empty feeling!!) Good luck!!

I was told by my doc absolutely no carbonation. I can have alcohol, just nothing with bubbles in it. :-) Of course, I'm not sure how much a sip would hurt, depending on how many sips and how often you're talking. One of the more experienced bandsters should have some feedback. I can't do the carbonation because it could stretch the pouch, cause bloat and even cause slippage so I stay away from it.

I know after the surgery beer will be a thing of the past but being a home brewer and beer snob I like to sample what I brew. How does alcohol effect you with the band? If I sip on a home brew am I gonna get bombed ? Lol. I have no prob giving up beer. I do a six pack a week. If that So giving is not a prob. I don't wanna give up brewing though. People love my beer. So is ok to sip with my squirrel stomach when I get it?

My doc didn't ban alcohol...he just said stay away from the carbonated beverages like beer and champagne because it can stretch the pouch, gas, bloating, etc. and count those liquid calories because too many of them and you will be starving and not losing weight. I'm not much of a drinker either, but I do like to bust out a Daily's frozen pomegranate margarita pouch during the summer sometimes. :-)

The risks related to alcohol are that we are told not to drink our calories and if you drink too much and get sick, you risk slipping your band.

I'm allowed alcohol, of course in moderation. I've never been a drinker except for a good wine when out and socializing. My nutritionist and surgeon have said if you want a glass of wine a few times per week that's fine, they did specifically say red as apparently it has some health benefits. I don't like reds, I prefer white wine and I've had it a few times and been fine but just be careful because we are eating so little it can go straight to your head so much quicker. As others have said, enjoy and count it in to your daily calories, portions. Cheers!

My doctor suggests a year without drinking at all. I personally have followed the rules regarding alcohol. I dont know what your doc recommends. I would stick with their plan. Im down 35 lbs and was banded Nov 5. Its not always easy,but its worth it when you see results! I wish you the best！

I have my surgery 3/12/13. I'm wondering if its ok to have an occasional drink if you are banded? I have a vacation planned for September (6 months post opp) and I'd like to indulge of a drink here or there? Any thoughts?

I wanted to share with you guys a discussion I had with my S/O tonight. As some of you may or may not know I've been majoring in psych for a few years now with a concentration in Drug and Alcohol addictions, this I have found is more of just addictions in general then adding the "drug and alcohol" label to it. So here is how the conversation went. I am one lucky person to be able to have food in my house that I know I can't eat. No one else in my household has a weight problem and my son is actually always on the fringe of being underweight. So anyway, last time we went to the store I bought some brownie mix for me to make with my son on a snowy day or something and it sits in the cabinet forgotten by me completely until the day he wants to make some brownies. I had a rough day on Wed. in one of my peer counseling groups where I was listening to a tragic story of something that one of my peers witnessed at her job involving a child. As a mother I was outraged at what I was hearing and had to spend alot of my day controling my emotions and wrapping my head around what I had heard because when you work in the field I do you always question how you can make the world different and better so that some of this nonsense that goes on everyday can stop. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts though that I started to take what this woman said personally and started over doing it and imagining my child being the one who was in danger and had no one to stand up for him....so my S/O works nights and I'm home by myself alot and when my son goes to bed it's just me.... I didn't want to feel the way I was feeling and was getting so wrapped up in it that I took out the brownie mix and I was going to make a whole damn box of brownies because of what I was FEELING. I did not make the box of brownies I am proud to share... but I do want to share that what I was feeling was going to get the best of me and what I tell someone who may have a crack addiction who was going through the feelings of rage and hurt I was is to sit still for a while and FEEL that. It's okay for me to feel that rage and anger and eating a box of brownies would not have changed what I was feeling nor would it had changed what happened to that child I heard was hurt....so to make a long story longer I just think that food can be just like a drug but sometimes we have to walk away (or if you're nutz like me stare at a box of brownies for way too long) and just sit there and feel that for a minute. I got through my emotions that day and I FEEL better for doing it. And the bonus is that on Wed. I didn't have to work through the extra feeling of guilt because I made the right decision and worked through what I was going through. Welcome to the journey you guys! Not everyday is full of weight losses and NSV's!

organic beef, organic evaporated cane juice, water, organic soy sauce (water, organic soybeans, salt, organic alcohol), organic apple cider vinegar, salt, organic paprika, natural smoke flavoring, organic black pepper, organic onion powder, organic garlic powder

270 grams and 17 grams of protien. cool i dont have to drive to whole foods. lol now for ingrediants i have to check but im sure it says beef or turkey organic beef, organic evaporated cane juice, Water, organic soy sauce (water, organic soybeans, salt, organic alcohol), organic apple cider vinegar, salt, organic paprika, natural smoke flavoring, organic black pepper, organic onion powder, organic garlic powder

Ecstasy has surely got to be better for you than alcohol ... or a cheeseburger I'm not approving it .... but I'm not disapproving it either.

Hi Paulholio, My research indicates that the smelly gas syndrome are associated mainly with the gastric bypass operation, which my wife received. The gas comes from the malabsorption that the bypass operation intentionally brings on. She doesn't have significant gas unless she eats a good amount of sugar-free candy, (the alcohol sugars). Anyway, your high-protein diet should not be a problem, the carbs seem to bring on the stench more. The bypass folks who have the problem take digestive enzymes and claim it helps. Here is a good article that talks about eggs being a culprit and Protein followed by sugar that brings on the wind: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/09/25/natural-relief-from-digestive-gas/

Fiddle, what was the restaurant. I think I know it We had a management retreat in Seattle not long after I got out of hospital and I loved the joint. I had that little chocolate ice cream with no issues For your next dining safari try RN74 downtown. It's a perfect sleeve joint as they are a tasting menu and they pace the meal well if you have more than one course. I've had no issues with anything they have served me in three trips there. Lark is also great for their small portions (tasting menu size). And I forget who asked but red wine and white wine don't differ as to how they effect your tummy. I drink both with no problem. I can drink a couple of glasses of wine without tipping over, though I'm much slower than I used to be! I've become the queen of the half glass request LOL I drink mostly white since my sleeve because the TPN really threw my palate off wack and good reds are still kind of wasted on me. I used to be able to pick out the most subtle flavors and now I just don't get them But...it's great to keep practicing LOL Some people have issues with the tannins in wines, which you'll find more of in red than white. I do find that they bother me more now than they ever did. Three glasses of red wine during a day will ensure a pounding headache the next day, but with whites I'm fine. (people say thats sulfates which is a myth...it's the tannins that are an issue). I don't know why tannins effect me now more. I should ask a wine chemist....I wonder if the high Protein diet makes a difference? We collect pinot noir so it kind of sucks! White and red wines have very low carb counts and the calories aren't bad either as long as you aren't drinking fortified wines or cheaper sparkling (where they add actual sugar to the wine). It's like 120 to 150 cals and 2 to 5 carbs per glass. I make sure to log it into my daily food intake and still don't ever go over my 800 limit. I never have gotten the instant drunk thing though. I wonder if it's because you went so long without alcohol and if that will go away?

Avoid any alcohol containing mouthwash. Alcohol = drying. Biotene has a great soothing mouthwash and they also have a line of other dry mouth products, toothpaste, a moisturizing gel (they have gum also but that's a no no). PLUS the mouthwash contains similar enzymes to the ones you have naturally in your saliva that help to fight the bacteria that cause tooth decay and periodontal disease. Dry mouth is BAD for your teeth. Dry mouth = increased bacteria + food we eat = the increased possibility of rampant decay. Like any of us need to also deal with that situation!

Thanks for all the positive responses. I decided I would go. taking a cooler with me. No alcohol for me, I will stick to water. Hopefully they will have a soup or potato I will be able to have. I will let you know how it goes!

If I have calculated correctly I am in my 11th week post op. Gosh, it feels a lot longer than 11 weeks. I feel great! I don't miss my old life of over-eating. I do love that I eat regular food now. Nice to fit in the healthy foods rather than all that Protein drink, yogurt, mashing everything up and such. My body feels so much better and is operating as it should (no need to go into detail with that---plumbing is finally working well with no help). I am down 43 pounds, that was last week. My hair is still healthy. Taking all my Vitamins everyday religiously. People are now noticing. I really don't like the attention. There are three people at work that know what I did. Everyone that asks, "what are you doing?" I tell them the truth, "eating healthy, portion control, no alcohol, no chocolate and getting my walks in". I don't feel the need to spill my story. It is my own personal journey. I still continue to eat my tiny portion way too fast. I am pretty much done in a few minutes. Seriously, how in the world does one make a few tablespoons last 30 minutes??! After I finish I have gotten into the habit of setting my timer for 30 minutes, when I can drink. It is all working for me. I am determined. Yes, I get to that crummy part of the scale when it decides not to move for a week or so. I have learned not to let it bother me. I understand what is going on, so I just don't worry about it. Saw my doctor a few weeks ago. I am scheduled to see him again in four months. Since he is far away he was willing to Skype my visit, but I didn't want to. I want to see him, I want to stay on the band wagon. I feel if I keep visits every four months or so for awhile I will stay on course. I am sure most of us have that fear of regaining. I don't want to ever go there. I have no regrets. I love the journey I am on.

Smoking can have a big impact on blood flow, especially to the stomach. It can impede the healing process as well. Also, at my info session the surgeon told us that smoking and drinking alcohol are 2 big factors in the development of ulcers down the line. I feel your pain and have been struggling to quit. I don't anticipate having my surgery till April, so I have time to quit, but it has been a definite struggle. Good luck! Hopefully after your surgery you'll be so focused on what you need to do to heal and stay on track with your new lifestyle that you won't miss smoking so much.

I think you should go. You can put Protein powder in a Water bottle and even add the water to it for the ride. I think it will dissolve fine. Tea bags or crystal light can be added at the brewery. Beer was my choice of alcohol and at 3 months out I still don't think I would enjoy one. I may try a sip once I get the guts for carbonation. Maybe there will be a soup you can have or a mashed potato so you don't feel totally left out. Good luck and enjoy! It sounds like a fun outing! Sent from my iPad using VST

Also, be careful with alcohol after surgery. Since you no longer have food as an escape lots of Bariatric patients end up turning to alcohol and end up in AA... I've seen it happen to myself as we'll as 2 of my friends who had the surgery. Since you can't eat and drink at the same time you end up drinking on an empty stomach and we all know how fast alcohol hits on an empty stomach.