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I didn't binge but I did eat everything I wanted to before my diet started. I ate my husband's amazing homemade salsa with my favorite chips, had fried chicken, drank diet soda and had a couple of margaritas. I was allowed 1 glass of wine by the doctor at a holiday party and had no alcohol beyond that. I did cheat a little - I had a couple of pigs in a blanket at another holiday party, etc. I was terrified that my little cheats would show up but the doc said my liver looked great as I've never been a heavy drinker and they could see that I followed the diet. I remember seeing an interview with Rex Ryan of the Jets and he said he used to eat 12 tacos at once before his surgery and now he eats 1 to 2 at a time. I used to eat 1 - 2 myself so my husband said I'll probably eat 2 bites. my doctor said that eventually I can probably eat small amounts of what I like and this is sustaining me.

The reason that most insurance companies want you to do a physician supervised diet for 6 months is to make COMPLETELY sure that you want to do this. If you are serious, and fly through their requirements then you will be fine. Every insurance company/employer does it different. It depends on how much the employer wants to include on their plans, which drives the employers costs up or down, the same as your out of pocket costs up or down. I sincerely doubt that they do this to increase pain and frustration. Remember there is admin costs on their end as well. And with the Affordable Care Act only 20-25 cents for each premium dollar can go towards administrative costs at the insurer level. I think it would be worst if it was a simple process, then you will have lots of people having some type of weight loss procedure, then sueing as they had no idea what they were getting in to. I also do not feel you can compare this with drug or alcohol rehab, that is comparing apples to oranges. I work for a health insurance company and had to do the 6 month physician diet, even after having to have my lap band removed due to slippage/failure. I had to jump thru every hoop to get my sleeve down, just a couple of days ago.

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.

I didn't have a stricture or any of the symptoms. In my case they did the endoscopy to identify the cause of the tiniest amount of blood in a stool test. Turned out to be an ulcer at the anastomosis. No pain, no other symptoms, I feel great. I'll get more information after the first of the year but I don't think it's real serious. But it's there and it means no alcohol, chocolate or spicy food for a while. I miss my glass of wine before dinner but the rest is no big deal. If I can lose 130 pounds I can beat an ulcer!! Lol!

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but...I love spicy food too but it can be an irritant. Having just been diagnosed last week with an ulcer at the anastomosis, I would urge caution with alcohol, chocolate, and spicy food. All taboo as of last week until I get this thing healed up. No pain, no symptoms, I feel great - but it's there all the same and I didn't have a drop of alcohol, a bite of chocolate or anything even remotely spicy until I was six months out. My experience does not in any way mean yours will be the same. But it's always good to be informed. You're gonna love the new you!!

BRAVO!!! This is what we are trying to accomplish. Besides the immediate danger, the OP is setting herself up by continuing her normal "I crave it so I'm going to have it" habit. Not only are these months for healing, they are for completely changing you eating habits and your issues with food. It's a training period for when most people just really do not feel like eating normal foods anyway. Maybe we should have a pinned DO and DO NOT list posted and pinned like: DO follow your surgeons post-surgery diet to the letter DO eat Protein first and fill in the edges with a little healthy carbs like veggies and Quinoa. DO take your Vitamins, minerals and Calcium daily DO exercise when you get cleared DO drink all your water/fluids DO NOT eat popcorn or nuts until cleared to do so. DO NOT eat until you feel sick or hurt. DO NOT drink alcohol until cleared to do so and then WATCH IT. Cross additions are common and alcohol has tons of calories. DO NOT eat nutritionally devoid high calorie foods such as white flour, white rice, high sugar, etc. DO NOT eat highly processed foods. The last two are debated by some people, but as a rule I follow the last 3 except for very special occasions.

Here is an article I read some time ago about WLS and alcohol. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/weight-loss-surgery-increases-risk-alcohol-addiction/story?id=16582225#.UN2tgeQ80xE

I also became an alcoholic after gastric bypass. I've been sober for over 2 years now but it was a tough fight to get there. I only recently found out that gastric bypass makes you prone to alcoholism! That's because the alcohol goes straight to your small intestine (bypasses the liver) and into your bloodstream and brain. It's a powerful head rush and very addictive. You can google "gastric bypass alcohol" and find articles about it. So it's not all your sister's fault that she is addicted to alcohol. They should warn EVERY gastric bypass patient before their surgery and forbid them from drinking after the surgery. You might be able to help your sister by going to al-anon or other support groups for family/friends of alcoholics. It will help you too. Hopefully once your sister is ready she will be able to stop drinking. It took me a trip to rehab and then 4 months of drinking on and off before I finally gave it up for good. Re support groups after gastric bypass: for me there weren't any. That could be partly why I failed. I went to the US (Rochester) to get my op done and then there was nothing here for me in Canada. For my lap-band I deliberately chose a clinic that offers a lot of online and in-person support after the surgery.

wishing you the best of luck on your LB journey! My sister had a gastric bypass and also lost a lot of weight and then gained it back and became an alcoholic. I'm so worried about her. I asked my Dr if he would band her and he said no b/c she didn't have her head into it. I think she messed up b/c she never went to support meetings. Be sure you post often here and get the support you need for success. Best wishes to you!

Personal preferences. I have found that shaving with a good conditioner works well. Use an alcohol rub down to fight bacteria that builds in shower stalls also helps. Burns momentarily. Then put on a good moisturizer after. Helps to keep the bumps at bay

I am also in the same boat. I haven't gained any back ....occasionally I will be up 1-2 lbs but I haven't lost in 3 months. I haven't been eating but I have been drinking wine....lots of it! I started today.....no more alcohol, back to the workout regimen I was using. I only have 18 more to go....I can do this and so can all of you!

Agreed, empty calories is the biggest. Also you get drunk easy on very little alcohol and the addiction rate with bypass surgery is very high, so if you do make sure it is very little and doesn't become a daily or even frequent thing.

makes you fat! Empty calories!! Alex has posted on here several times about how high alcoholism becomes in RNY patients. Im sure there are more but that seems to be enough for me!

A few days ago woke up with a sore throat and it got worse through the day and the next day I had a headache and that all over achey feeling. I headed to Walgreens to find something to take. I know we are supposed to avoid NSAIDS like ibuprofen, aspirin, Aleve (naproxen). I spent a very long time going through all of the choices on the shelves, looking for something that might help with my symptoms. Eventually I gave up and went for an Alka-seltzer product that dissolved in Water. Yes, it did contain aspirin. So I mixed it up and let the fizz wear off and drank a dose. It was a nighttime version and knocked me out. I felt better so I took another dose when the instructions said to, even though this time it made me slightly nauseas to drink it. Again, I felt much better. Both times I also took a Prevacid to help with any stomach acid. Later that night my stomach and intestines were letting me know that things were not all good. After a few hours of discomfort, I went to the bathroom and had a lot of very soft, solid black, tarry stool. Nothing that I had eaten could be attributed to that outcome and it wasn't Iron supplements since I take those daily and have not produced black tarry stool from iron. That meant that it was probably quite a bit of blood in my stomach. I ate very little the next day. Last night I poured a glass of red wine and took a sip. It felt like glass in my stomach. I'm going to guess that my stomach lining was raw and the alcohol scorched it. I have read from other posters that you don't have problems with NSAIDs, but I wanted to share this with all of you during this cold and flu season. If anyone knows of a good alternative that targets sore throat, sinus pressure, headache, body aches, cough, etc., please share it.

I have a question, the doc said no alcohol for 1 yr and others say 6 mo and sooner. What does it do to you (besides get you drunk).

I had surgery 11/8/12 exactly 2 weeks before thanksgiving. I was on pureed food by thwn but I stayed away from every single food there was at our family's party. It wasnt as hard as I thought it would be. I dont crave the food. Christmas was a little harder but I managed to get through it. I just keep tellong myself itll all be worth it. Im really jappy with my weightloss so far I started at 329lbs and im now at 278lbs. I started working out a week ago. I know new years is gonna be difficult seeing everybody drinking alcohol but ill be ok. My weight loss is what matters to me the most! Im no longer prediabetic and everything with my health is getting better. Just keep telling yourself its all worth it and keep thinking that everything you cant eat duribg the holidays gets you 1 step closer to your goal weight.

I used to love a nice, cold beer on occasion. Now, I can't stomach it. The carbonation fills me up so fast. I tried wine on Xmas but it wasn't my thing...a mixed drink on occasion works for me, but honestly, I can do without it. It does nothing for me but make me full, add calories and give me a headache. I'd rather eat something yummy in exchange for those empty calories. And, wow 20 beers for this one bandster on here? I'm sorry, but that's a bit excessive, don't we all agree? Band or not? Not judging, but just concerned...that's just not healthy . Trust me, I come from a family of drinkers, I understand the love and addiction to alcohol...just as an addiction to food. The only thing I don't get, we don't need alcohol to live as we do food. I think if you can kick your addiction to food, become a successful bandster, kicking the alcohol should be a breeze? Or at least kicking the bingeing aspect of it? I think you'll find, maybe not, that alcohol isn't as great anymore in this process. But then again, I was never much of a drinker, what do I know lol

The doctor said my wound looked good. Cleaning it with antibacterial soap and keeping it dry helped. Peroxide, alcohol and iodine will dry out the skin and will heal at a slower rate. They make a medical grade cleaning solution for wound care at CVS but simple antibacterial soap will work.

***I LOVE this article. Almost every single person that I have heard complain about re-gaining their weight has done it to themselves because THEY EAT THE WRONG THINGS JUST BECAUSE THEY CAN!! It's totally ABSURD! Why would you put yourself through the discomfort of having the majority of your stomach cut out if you are just going to sabotage yourself?!?!?!? This is a fantastic article...It's about time we started getting real with ourselves and others! Let me know what you think.***-Liz My Two Favorite Words In Bariatric Surgery: Personal ResponsibilityDecember 26, 2012 by tammy My Two Favorite Words In Bariatric Surgery: Personal Responsibility Bariatric surgery will not work unless we resolve the issues and change the bad habits that got us to the point of being morbidly obese. People email me all the time regarding the topic of keeping the weight off and staying happy and focused on their weight loss surgery journey. We all know that regain is such a big problem for so many of us in this community, and it can be really frustrating. It is also leading to more and more people inquiring about revisions. And for the record, no, I am not one of those people who think revisions are bad and should not be done. I do think sometimes things happen medically that require a revision, but also we can undo some of the good things our surgeries have done for us, which can sometimes be fixed by a revision. Here is what I have a problem with. I recently met a lady who has had two revisions in the last three years. She is still about 80 pounds overweight. She told me how frustrated she is and how sad it makes her to see the weight keep coming back. I asked her why she thought it was such a problem for her, and really expected some story of complications and issues that were beyond her control. What she told me actually made me even sadder than the medical issues would have made me. This beautiful lady told me a story of how she just loves her carbs. Rice and butter for breakfast, cookies for a snack, crackers and butter for another snack, and the list goes on and on. Bariatric surgery will not work unless we resolve the issues and change the bad habits that got us to the point of being morbidly obese. For some of us it will take therapy and dealing with a food addiction to be able to maintain these changes. One of the hardest things for me to do after my surgery and initial loss was admit I had an addiction and seek treatment for that addiction. I can thank my good friend, Dr. Connie Stapleton, for that light bulb moment. I have to take personal responsibility for my disease, its treatment, and for my recovery, which is so very important to me. How many of us truly take proper care of the second chance at life we have been given? I really ponder that question a lot. I know there are days when I do not. I like to have a drink when my husband and I are on vacation or go out on the weekends. Is that good for me? No. I make a poor choice when I put anything into my body that is not healthy. I then have to live with that choice. When we agreed to go under the knife and have weight loss surgery of any type, we took on a huge responsibility and a personal commitment to a new healthy life. This is not something I can take lightly. And my passion is to show others what a precious thing their treatment is and how it should never be squandered. I feel like every time we as post-ops make bad eating choices, it is no different from a patient who smoked their whole life, got lung cancer, then had surgery to remove the cancer and was cancer-free, PICKING UP A CIGARETTE AND SMOKING IT AWAY. If your best friend had lung cancer and then had surgery and chemo and was cancer-free, what would you say to them if they started to light a cigarette? Why then do we not say this to each other when we are out and one of us chooses horrible foods that have no nutritional value and will do nothing to improve our health? I hear so many in our community fighting tooth and nail to have obesity regarded as a disease, which it is for sure. But then, when we now have this amazing treatment for this disease, why do we not all see it and treat it as a miracle and a second chance and a real blessing? I think our path and our resolve has to be even firmer than that of a drug addict or a smoker. Why? We can live without alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes, but we cannot live without food. The temptation will never go away. I in no way expect every bariatric patient to be perfect. I surely am not, and I will always struggle with bad choices. I am human as you are. But I would simply challenge you to make fewer and fewer of the bad choices and more and more good ones. When I looked at the Doritos, my mind went to all of the people I know out there who want and need the treatment I was given and will never be able to have it for themselves. For me, that is a thought that literally stops me in my tracks. I have to think of where I would be without gastric bypass and how different my life would be. I think of the amazing things I can do, feel, and experience now because of the newer, healthy version of me. Your weight loss surgery was so much more than just a way to get skinny. You have been given something so precious and valuable. Nothing makes me sadder than seeing people just treat it as if it were nothing special and squander the chance they have been given at a new life. And, yes, I know many are thinking, “But, Erin, what about those of us who had terrible complications?” I know that happens and it is sad, but it’s one of the risks involved with trying to save our lives and get healthy. I have had a few, and am thankful that they have been minor and my heart breaks for those who have had serious ones. Please, the next time you are tempted to eat that cookie, or donut, or piece of cake, or plate of nachos, or have that sugary cocktail, or whatever your trigger food was, the food that contributed to your disease, think of where you have come from and where you want to be. Think of the person sitting in their room, crying their eyes out and miserable because their insurance just denied them the treatment you have been given. You owe it to yourself and those who love you to be the best and healthiest version of you that you can be. Never expect perfection as it will only leave you frustrated, but strive for 95 percent good choices and for optimal health. You deserve it, and you have a responsibility to make good choices. It is your responsibility to care for that treatment and tool and to never find yourself throwing it away. If you are someone who has regained, and are exploring a revision, I would encourage you to seek therapy first. Only when we fix the emotional parts can we really be the total package of health we all long to be and deserve to be. We are all works in progress, and the best we can hope for is to keep growing and learning. I love this community, and I love all of the amazing and diverse people who make it what it is. I also want to see us all be as healthy as we can be together! That will show the world how wonderful weight loss surgery really can be! Through personal responsibility, we can all better convey that truth to the mainstream media and general public! Erin Akey, FNC, LWMS, CWFI is a Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach and a Certified Aqualogix Water Fitness Instructor. She is the host of a weekly radio show about life after weight loss surgery called Fit Living. She also runs a company called The Bariatric Guru and is hosting a national conference series in 2012 called The Bariatric Breakthrough Challenge. For more

Try to avoid citric foods or drinks, and no alcohol, I notices that when I drink something that contains alcohol I feel sick and the pain starts. I have tried something that works for me when I'm in pain, try taking just a little tip of a spoon of (sodium carbonate) Arm & Hammer with some water and see the difference.

No alcohol lately but I have taken Motrin for headache. Band seems to be great no vomiting, nausea or any problems. No trouble with acid reflux just confused where this is coming from.....

Do you take NSAIDS regularly? Have you been drinking alcohol? Both can cause gastritis. If you don't know the cause of yours, I'd definitely see your surgeon, just to be sure it wasn't caused by a backup of bile from your band being out of place or too tight. Best wishes.

When it comes to food I'm not fussy I will eat whatever. The reason I had the band done is because I simply ate too much even though it's not take away or bbq meals. I never really had a problem with junk food only had it on occasion. drinks on the other hand are my weakness (not alcohol) I love my soft drinks and energy drinks. Is it possible to lose weight while still having drinks? I can cut to the sugar free range but I must have drinks. Of course I still do drink Water but I can't do without my drinks. I asked the doctor and he says diet soda is ok but just gotta watch out as it's still calories. Can't be too much calories though right?

My dr said to avoid beer and wine if I had to have a Coctail a 1/2 shot of good vodka was best due to the way the sugar breaks down. Maybe it's slower in vodka so the stomach can process it better since it's so small. She recommended having it with A sugar free beverage-not straight shots and to nurse it. Again, they recommend waiting 3 months which won't be until Jan. 11th for me. To tell you the truth, I'm struggling with food at every meal -I don't need more worries or issues by experimenting with alcohol! My husband's 50th B'day is Jan. 25 so maybe I'll indulge that night!

I suspect there are as many different "food issues" on these forums as there are members. One person's safe and routine manner of eating can conceivably be another one's downfall. We need to be very careful about generalizing personal experience and biases to others when posting here. Members of Overeaters Anonymous will admonish against the use of sugar, wheat (flour), and alcohol, while lifelong members of, for example, Weight Watchers will espouse the importance of moderation and a well-balanced diet including the use of alcohol and wheat-based foods. In addition and, for example, those with a starting BMI of 50 are going to face different ongoing post-operative food issues than those with a starting BMI of 35. When it comes to the vertical sleeve gastrectomy, subsequent weight loss, and weight loss maintenance, one size most definitely does not fit all. Aside from individual patient differences, everyone's surgeon seems to have different ideas about both pre- and post-operative diets. My surgeon, for example, did not require me to lose weight or go on a liquid diet before the surgery. I underwent the procedure on Thursday, December 13th and, on day 9, he instructed me to move to soft solid foods due to chronic diarrhea and a day-5 readmission to the hospital for dehydration and hypotension. Of course, my surgeon also sutures the new pouch after stapling it with self-absorbing stitches to further protect his patients from themselves. When asked, he replied that he had absolutely no concern that I might spring a leak on day nine by eating a piece of feta cheese or poached egg. According to the research literature, in the vast majority of patients, the new stomach is completely sealed by day 14. In a very small percentage of patients, that seal could take as long as 21 days to permanently set. That means that in 100 percent of all VSG patients, the staples are serving no practical purpose after day 21 and, for most patients, after day 14. The goal of the post-operative diet progression is to slowly introduce foods of increasing density as molecular density is directly related to stomach contractions. That is, most of us are restricted to a clear liquid diet for the first 14 days in order to avoid any stomach contractions while the new stomach is still adhering to itself. What would happen if you tried to eat a 3oz piece of Ribeye steak on day 22? Due to the relative high density of that particular cut of meat and the fact that your stomach will still be swollen, you will most likely feel very uncomfortable and then end up "coughing up" everything you had just eaten. Chances are you won't try that again until the second or third month when all the swelling is gone. As for "damages," those would be limited to whatever you paid for that Ribeye steak you just threw up. Pressure and discomfort notwithstanding, you would not have hurt your new pouch at all, not by the end of week three. Writing entirely for myself, I didn't undergo the vertical sleeve gastrectomy so that I could live on low-fat cottage cheese, plain poached eggs, and liquid Protein drinks for the rest of my life. I most definitely plan on eventually eating pepperoni pizza, hamburgers, and everything else I used to eat before the surgery with the one and only exception of carbonated beverages. Of course, the portions will be quite smaller than they used to be, which is why I'll lose the weight I need to and then keep it off. I didn't become obese by eating one gingerbread man or drinking one small cup of eggnog at a Christmas party. By the way, the Withings Wifi Body scale has been a very useful tool in helping me monitor not only weight loss but relative lean vs fat body mass. It's important to make sure we're not losing muscle but only fat. Meeting our daily minimum protein requirement is very important. The scale also links directly to the MyFitnessPal.com account. Best of luck to all the relatively new sleevers!