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Alcohol is my achellies heel. I love it and love wine in the evening. I know I would be losing weight much faster if I stayed away from it. It is high in caolries and it makes me snack more. ARGH!!!

Shanna I am with you. I found that when I stayed strictly ON PLAN with NS it worked great. By the way, isn't the food delicious? I also realized if I faltered just ONCE I was lost. If you get an urge to just slip a little? Stop and think would an alcoholic be able to do that? Would a drug addict be able to slip just a little? Sometimes that keeps me from going over the deep end. Can't wait to get home and get back to basics. SIGH!! I am with you Shanna.

Golly, There are a few things I see here that I can relate to. People with substance abuse problems, say drinking, resent people who count their drinks. They say normal people don't count drinks. However if you were to ask a person who isn't an alcoholic how much they drink typically, they could answer you with a pretty definative number. Normal weighted people may not get on the scale daily and count calories but they do have an internal monitor that I'd argue Morbidly Obese (MO) people are missing. Does this make an MO bad? No, just different. The other thing that kind of ties to this thinking, a way to live ones life productively, is to understand this condition is chronic. It won't go away. Like diabetes if you treat it, you can control it, and if you are consistent controling it is easier. MO is like that. Then when you talk about control there's an image of a wagging dog's tail and a flea hanging on. You are the flea. If you are on the end of the tail you can be flailing all over the place, but the closer you get to the dog's behind the less out of control you'll be wagged. So the process is getting closer to the dog's butt so you need not hang on so tightly. I don't know, this thinking works for me.

I know how you feel. I have found that once I start snacking throughout the day and eating processed carbs it's extremely difficult for me to control myself, and my band seems to become less effective, almost as if all the slider foods cause it to loosen up. On the other hand, when I eat no more than 3 times a day, and I avoid carbs, I feel much more in control. It's probably somewhat of a psychological effect, but it seems like my band will let me overeat when I really want to, but when I eat less often it gets tighter. I know that many people don't like to "diet" after getting the band, and I don't know what your views are on this topic, but I think something like the Atkins induction diet (or at least completely avoiding sugar, white flour, and processed carbs) for a while would help you regain control. I have had lots of slip-ups, and I know how hard it can be to get back on track. Just try not to beat yourself up about it. The important thing is that you're willing to fix this problem before it gets too out of control. I have tried several different eating approaches while being banded, and I have finally admitted that I need a structured eating plan that eliminates both the need to make daily food choices and "trigger foods" (carbs). I wish I could handle routinely eating all foods in moderation, as this is probably the healthiest way to go, but I have found that it really is necessary for me to completely avoid all carbs except for veggies most of the time (I eat junk food once in a while but definitely not on a daily or weekly basis). During my regular schedule I have a can of v8 vegetable juice and an atkins advantage bar twice a day, and for dinner I have Protein and veggies. If I start eating carbs I get completely out of control, but after sticking to my plan for a few days the cravings go away. Maybe you can eat some other whole grains and healthy carbs and do fine, but I know that I am better off sticking to veggies only as far as carbs go. I think using Meal Replacement bars twice a day is a good way to keep calories low, get in your protein and Vitamins, and help you regain control by taking away the need to think about food. Then for dinner have protein, veggies, and possibly one serving of a healthy carb. I know this plan is very rigid, and some people might say it's not realistic to follow it long-term, but I am pretty sure that I will always be following a modified version of this plan to avoid weight re-gain. Some people are complulsive eaters who need to avoid their problem foods (usually processed carbs) almost to the extent that an alcoholic needs to avoid alcohol. I know this is not true of everyone who has lap-band, but it's what I think you should try if you're feeling like a foodaholic. Oh, and exercise can also be very helpful, as I'm sure you already know. I would highly recommend the Bodybugg calorie counting device (www.myapex.com) if you're interested in tracking your calorie intake and seeing how many calories you burn through exercise.

It's not the pills that are dangerous, it's the people who abuse them. I took phentermine on and off for many years, and it was the only way I could curb my appetite long enough to stick with a diet. I used them responsibly and they worked well for me. But I knew that they were not a good long term approach to weight management. If Anna Nicole died from ODing on diet pills, I'd bet money that she took too many and probably mixed them with other drugs and/or alcohol. I feel very bad for her and her baby. Her life was out of control for a long, long time.

Somewhere along the timeline of our lives we discovered that food elicits a certain amount of pleasurable feeling and, in some theories, the pleasurable feeling is made more intense as it counters the pain of daily life. At least this has been true for me and I've discovered this through therapy. Food to some of us can be like alcohol to an alcoholic. Consider yourself lucky to begin to break free from this cycle but please remain aware that the propensity to turn to food as a solace may still be there but just in a dormant state. The outcome of your surgery is an absolute blessing and it bodes well for long term success. Create a new voice inside your head to remind you that food is only for living not for medicine. :-D

Three or four months, probably. I had a vodka and lemonade that was mostly vodka and it went straight to my head. Then we went on our babymoon two weekends ago and I had several alcoholic beverages, and it went fine. Had two beers (a porter) last weekend and that went fine too.

This is a problem with anyone who gives up an addiction... There are several people on here that have given up alcohol and food addictions at the same time. The first part of the plan is to admit that you have a food addiction. That you are a food addict. That you use it as your coping mechanism in life. If you past 50 years old the chances of you taking on another addiction is about 30%..... Take the time to find out what caused the addiction in the first place and turn it around. Instead of living to eat. Eat to live...I now spend my hard earned money on quality and not junkie foods. I buy the very best of everything for me and mine because we are worth it....Next I read every label and spend a long time enjoying shopping now instead of rushing through, grabbing something quick and shoving it down. If I can't pronounce it I don't eat it...lol I look for different recipes and have started to try new foods. There are other things you can do as well. Like write down every day 5 nice things that happened to you the day before and read them as your stress levels rise...This is not easy to do... Next take up a hobby, volunteer somewhere. Get your body moving (walking gym, exercise ) instead of watching the T.V Plan ahead.....Have something with you that you can fool yourself into thinking it is unhealthy but really is..Like a Protein cookie. All these things were mentioned to me by a substance abuse councilor....This is your time to make it work.. This is up to you...This is about you...no one else...No one will shove the food down your throat...We have to fix the brain and the body will follow suit.....

Dumping syndrome is typically a bypass problem not a sleeve problem. There are a few sleevers who dump, but most of us don't. First of all, I don't understand why anyone would even try those things "early on" as you say.... But being over 2.5 years out I can speak to "later on." I was at a party about a year out and was desperately searching for something non alcoholic to drink and found "mineral water" in a bottle and poured a glass and drank some without realizing it was carbonated. Thought I was gonna die! Never again! Rice hurts also, even a few grains. Bread turns into a glue ball and feels icky... Toasted it's fine, as are crackers and such. Soft potatoes do the same. Haven't had noodles/pasta because I assume it's the same. Sugar I can tolerate more of than I probably should. Cookies and such are no problem. Fried is fine in the very limited amounts I do, I don't have an issue with one chicken strip or piece of fish and chips. Spice is fine too.

Using this same reasoning....why should insurance pay for addicts to go to rehab? The rates of failure are huge! Should an alcoholic have to go to their doctor once a month for six months to monitor their sobriety? That's crazy. My insurance pays for cancer patients to have very expensive treatments regardless of how many months they have left to live. why should we pay to get another few months out of someone? See that line of thinking is crazy when it comes to other things but not when you are overweight. Then it's ok.

So I had a weekend of being BAD in New Orleans. ???? I have lost 51 pounds since pre-op and ahead of goal. Last Wed. I flew into NO with hubs and OMG. I didn't eat as bad as I would pre-surgery by no means. BUT I didn't make the best choices either. Bloody Mary's, butter laden crab claws, and a 1/2 a beignet. I know, I'm going to hell right?? Lol No, would just love to hear from some of the vets that might have had the same lapse and was able to get right back on goal. Oh and for the pre-ops that want to know about eating post-op. Yes, for some you'll be able to eat what you want without getting sick. But no where near as much and alcohol doesn't have any different effect on me than before. I skipped the sugary mixes and drank straight liquor.

I can tolerate foods very well. I haven't had pasta, but I've had a little rice and potatoes. I'm not really nauseous. I'm doing my fitness pal to make sure I'm getting my protein in. I average 800-1000 cals/day. I'm so scared to try sugar or fatty foods, I don't want to dump. I think everyone is different. I have a bypass friend who can tolerate sugar and one who cannot. It's easy stay on track now but I'll be sad if later on I don't get the dumping to keep me in line, it wasn't my fail safe but was a back up plan lol. I think I'm holding off on trying sugar and alcohol till I'm at goal. But I'm truly satisfied with my food right now.....

"Drink whenever I can"...that is alot of calories, possibly the 20 lbs or so you gained. Perhaps it is time to see if you have replaced food with alcohol, and get some real help...and discuss this with your partner.

It's a fact that after VSG, your stomach is much, much smaller. Thus, alcohol pretty much goes directly into your bloodstream. Alcoholism is higher to VSG people because of it.... You get that high fast , kind of like smoking crack goes right into a crack head's system, and they are hooked. I've read about it researching VSG. Also, when you lose weight, you feel better. You go out more. So, you are probably drinking more often. It's a risk you weigh. You know beforehand the statistics, and keep them in mind. My procedure is Friday. Can't wait!

I've done that with the protein shakes! Lol. Ice cream was just one of my favorites before sleeve and probably was a huge contribution to my diabetes. I don't crave sweets yet and I think it would make me want more. It's an easy "treat" to not get full on but not enough nutrition for me and too much sugar (even sugar alcohols count to me as sugar). Good things come to good people.

Then it would be a good idea to say that in your question, wouldn't it? Speaking only for myself, the dealbreaker for me is the presence of sugar alcohols. My sleeve doesn't have a problem with them but my gut sure does. I've lost my taste for sweets, anyhow, so seeking out sugar-free, lactose free ice cream isn't on my radar.

To add to the mrs' post... Lots of RUM! (Artificial or alcoholic is up tp you)

I read something today that made a lot of sense to me. "What matters to success isn't the speed with which you lose weight, but whether you lose weight with a lifestyle you enjoy enough to sustain." -Eggface Wise words. For me, anyway, the "diet" mentality has never worked. What does work is focusing on healthful choices first, working in the things I like, (often, but not always modified to make it more healthful) and moving my body. If I put on 5 pounds, I take it off by eating a little less, eliminating alcohol for a week and moving a bit more. THIS is a lifestyle I enjoy enough to sustain!

Fyi: ive lost 2.5 lbs of the amt Ive gained. I stopped drinking alcohol and nightime snacking. I guess it makes a bigger difference than I once thought. I hafta force myself to "top off" with my dinner, eatong to the point of being full so Im not hungry again before bedtime. Probly not a great idea but once I have a snack (healthy or not) its over. I will eat all nite On my way back from the dark side...

Am I the only struggling to take this iodine off my skin. My surgery was 4/15 and everyday I try to take it off little by little today I couldn't take it and cleaned most of it off with alcohol and cotton balls. Also to make things worse my doctor put gauze and clear film over my dermabond I tried taking one one off to see the smallest incision and of course the gauze is stuck any suggestions guys?

Hey everyone! I'm exactly two months post op and down 56lbs I haven't had any trouble with eating or drinking and have been slowly going at my own pace, but I can essentially eat anything with no side effects Anyway, considering my bounce back, I feel like I can easily manage a couple drinks and I'm absolutely dying to go out and relax. I thought it would take 6 months, but I honestly can't see how 4 months from now anything would be different. I'm healed and cleared for all foods, so if I feel ready isn't that enough of a reason to try? So, when did everyone have their first drink after their op? No negative comments please (: Sent from my LG-H850 using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi - my surgery was mid August and I have had alcohol ( mainly white wine) on a few occasions without any side effects. I was told that 1 drink post op would be equivalent to 4 pre-op but I can't say I have noticed any difference. I'm certainly not squiffy after one glass! I would say "a little of what you fancy etc, but then that's probably why I needed wls in the first place!

Addiction transfer is a very real risk and one that should be kept in mind. As an anecdote, my best friend is able to drink tequila like water with very little intoxication. It's kind of fascinating. Give her one shot of rum and she's nearly three sheets to the wind. Please do be careful, though. As @MsMocie said, bariatric programs almost universally say to limit alcohol consumption to 3-6 months post-op and likely for very good reasons, regardless of type of surgery.

I think where @MsMocie was going is that alcohol can be extremely hard on the mucus membranes of your upper GI tract. This in turn causes erosion, especially in areas of healing suture or staple lines. Erosion can cause ulceration of this healing tissue and lead to GI bleeds. Many GI bleeds can be life threatening and are very common in heavy drinkers. A newly healing suture/staple line mixed with alcohol can speed up this erosive process, so you don’t have to consume much, which is why there is danger in alcohol consumption those first few months. Please correct me if I was off base on where you were going @MsMocie. Hope that helps, Tek. 😊

When I was losing, I had the odd glass. I think the first was a gin at my cousin’s 40th at about 2 months but then I didn’t have another for months. It truely took me hours to drink the low ball & no effect. Alcohol just doesn’t interest me as much & I had at least one big glass every night before I had surgery. I find a lot of alcohol too sweet now even some red wines. I’ll have a glass of something if socialising now (but who does that much anymore) but it’s not uncommon for me not to finish it. Honestly I do consider if it’s worth the calories & it’s usually not. The concern about alcohol is the addiction swapping: swapping a food addiction, which can’t be easily satisfied after surgery, for an alcohol addiction. My dietician told me Esomeprazole medication does reduce the effects of alcohol (not the amount of alcohol in your blood steam). I’ve never seen reports of this but she was a pharmaceutical rep previously so ... shrug. I’m certainly not advocating its use for this if it’s true but it could also explain some of why you didn’t have any ill effects after if you are taking it.