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Helen, I'm very sorry to hear that you've gone through this. I've heard similar things from WLS patients, some become so sensitive to alcohol that one or two drinks can cause them to become "blackout drunk." I was advised to not drink anything for 6 months after surgery, and even then be very, very careful what I drink. It's sad, because my 40th birthday is in three weeks, and it would have been the perfect occasion to raise a beer in celebration. But honestly, I'll take being fit and healthy over having a few beers, any day.

I train with two ladies that had the surgery & both of them became alcoholics. They liked the immediate buzz & then the quick sober. Both of them gained a lot of weight back...liquid calories! Both are doing great now!

I would question what they're using to clean skin with when operating and filling you? Is it something like scrub care or hibiclense that have germ killing properties for up to 24 hours after used? Or are they using something not as strong. The same would go for fills. I know alcohol swabs are used in fills, but some drs use stronger germ killing agents. You might want to ask about these. Are you seeing a wound specialist now. I know in my area they have wound care centers- mostly used by diabetics and others having problems healing. I had a friend with cancer with a wound specialist as she was getting vacuumed shut after a surgery. She also had type 1 diabetes so it was really hard on her body and took constant vigilance of keeping everything clean. To the extent that she had to get rid of her small dogs and cats. And had someone come in to declutter her house and deep clean it.

I had my sleeve done on Sept 30, 2013 in MX. It was a little rough at first but almost 7 months later I can't believe how normal I feel. I did not weigh prior to surgery. Day of surgery 300lbs. Today 220!!! I don't follow the rules as much as I should. I rarely have a shake. I try to get all my food from Protein. I rarely eat bread or past. I mostly eat meats and vegetables. I eat a sweet every night. I need to drink more Water. I drink alcohol about 2 to 3 times a month. I probably could have lost more but honestly I am happy with my progress. My biggest concern was never eating the foods I like. I eat small portions if whatever I like. So loosing and eating what I want on occasion is success to me. My goal weight is 160 and I hope to get there by Sept.

I didn't really try drinking any alcohol until I was 6 months post-op. I found I got roaring drunk from half a vodka cooler! I didn't like the feeling and it left me quite dehydrated. So I didn't drink after that until we went to an all-inclusive resort in January (9 months post-op). By that point I had lost more than 100 lbs, was eating closer to 800-900 calories per day and exercising regularly (3-4 times per week at the gym, plus daily 4-5K walks). I found I tolerated the alcohol much better during our 2 week vacation. But it's not something that is part of my normal daily life. I will have a social drink (just 1) during special events, but I haven't drank anything since returning home from vacation (over a month now) and I don't miss it in the least. I was not much of a drinker before surgery, so this is pretty close to my normal drinking pattern pre-op as well. It is said that VSG patients must be extra careful to monitor their alcohol use post-op as there is a risk of "cross-addiction". We give up our addiction to food, and substitute it with an addiction to alcohol! Very dangerous and easily done! If you're going to have a social drink, try just part of one drink at first to see how you do, but I would certainly wait until you're at least 6 months post-op. You need to be solidly into a normal eating routine and above all, make sure you hydrate well before and after the drink, make sure your'e in a safe environment if you get drunk (it may not take much!) and of course, no driving. Follow your surgeon and NUT's guidelines regarding alcohol consumption post-op and you will be fine.

You're welcome and thank you!! You are correct, do not compare yourself and YOUR journey, to anybody else's. I lost 23 lbs prior to surgery, weighing 205 the day of surgery. I reached my doctor's goal, (150) just a few days short of 5 months, so my weight loss was almost exactly what yours is so far. I never felt I was losing slowly, I felt sure it would be forever. We had approx. 85% of our tummies removed. I cannot imagine HOW we could gain ALL of it back without trying to do so!!! You can drink your calories with milk shakes, cokes, alcohol. I guess if we were to do all that and rather than eat Protein like we should, we were to eat chips and Twinkies.....it could be bad. I weigh daily, and if I put on a few lbs, I nip it in the bud. Taking a few lbs off takes nothing but cutting out a snack and maybe eat a little less at a meal or maybe eat the can of tuna, which is 1/2 cup, rather than half the can with 10 mini Club Crackers. It's really that easy.

Hi All, I rarely come on the forums anymore. It seems that, once I got past the really tough times with my band to sleeve revision I just drifted away. Anyway, I realized that I will be 2 years post-revision in a couple of weeks and I should probably report in and let the newbies know about my experience. If you want to know specifics about my surgery, you can look through my profile posts - it is hard for me to remember all the details now. I had a lap band for 4 years and it sucked. I got my lap band at 215 pounds and ended up at about 195 pounds and was gaining slowly on top of that. I couldn't eat chicken (did I mention the band SUCKED?). I wanted the band out, but I was afraid I would baloon up higher than ever. For me, the sleeve was an insurance policy. I did not expect it to work because I had already been through weight loss surgery that did not work. Why would I expect anything different the second time around? I was 100% afraid to dream that it might be successful. And, of course, I was wrong The sleeve was everything the band promised and more. On surgery day I was somewhere between 195 and 200. I went to Dr Aceves and would recommend him without hesitation. Band out and sleeve in, took less than 90 minutes. No complications. Good pain management. That's when the tough stuff really started. I couldn't drink the Protein drinks because I couldn't handle the smell or taste. Because of this I barely ate or drank anything for weeks. Everything tasted so weird / bad. I was significantly fatigued for 3 months because could barely get any food in. I chewed my Vitamins and took my omeprazole like a good girl. The apex of my weight loss occured after about 9 months. I got down to about 127 pounds. Mind you, at no time was I ever "trying" to lose weight. In fact, I was "trying" to get enough quality calories in my body. Since I ate so little, I couldn't mess around with junk food - I only ate food with good nutritional value. I also found that Certain foods were just harder to eat. I craved chicken, but I had a hard time eating carrots (they stick!). I would say I didn't feel completely normal until about a year had passed. At this point I have levelled out in the 135-140 range and I am thrilled about it. It is easy for me to get down to 135 (and lower if I wanted to) by just cutting out one snack a day or quitting drinking alcohol altogether. I weigh myself maybe once a month and if I see myself creep towards 138-139, I start cutting out a couple of things and get back to my comfort zone. It has been hard in the last 6 months because my father committed suicide leaving me with a contentious legal battle with his wife. I started drinking a couple of drinks every day because of the stress. That has kept me in the upper end of my range, but it is still easy to maintain. I find as time goes by, I stopped drinking every day and only a couple of times a week - it made me less puffy :-) So, my lifestyle now: I don't exercise. Yes, I know - that's bad. I do have tons more energy and I walk more in my daily life than I ever did before, but I do not engage in regular exercise. I try. I do my best. I'm just being honest. I still have a hard time getting even 30 ounces of Fluid every day. The taste of Water changed for me the day I had surgery and I have had a terrible time replacing it. Sometimes I have fizzy water. Strangely, beer goes down very easily. I developed a Starbucks mocha habit after the first year, but I limit it to one a day and get nonfat most of the time. I also started drinking iced coffee. I eat 5-6 times a day (I limit it to 5 if I am actively trying to manage my weight). I eat protein and veggies. I just started liking sandwiches again, but find bread and rice both expand in my stomach and make me very uncomfortable after I eat them. Even now, I eat too fast sometimes and can be in terrible pain from fullness. I still can't drink after I eat. I drink as much as possible up to the point where I put food in my mouth and then no liquids for an hour or more - PAINFUL!! I could never have done this without the sleeve. I am completely happy with the result. My life isn't "normal" because I still have to think about carrying Snacks with me so I can have good choices while I am out of the house. I still have to eat slowly. I still have people in restaurants badgering me about why I didn't finish my food. The difference is that I wear size 8 jeans and size 4/6 dress. I can walk / run around Disneyland for 10 hours with my daughter without major breaks to sit down. I rode a bike with my kid just this week and it was awesome. I finally feel like I fit in with my world. The outside reflects the inside. I feel much happier now, also, because people are used to me being this size now. Before people were always making a big deal out of the wieght loss. I don't like talking about it. I hated the attention during the loss because I was very guarded about the surgery. Now I have been the same for a year and a half or so, people don't comment about it as much and I love it. My future: well, the biggest surprise for me is that my husband and I are thinking about having another baby. My daughter is 8 and I had my tubes tied 6 years ago. I scheduled my tubal reversal with a specialist in Beverly Hills at the end of March. I will be 39 in a couple of weeks, but the doc says my FSH level is that of a 25 year old and my husbands sperm count and motility is off the charts! I used to be super-fertile before my tubal (just look at me sideways, and I was knocked up!) so we will see if that is still the case in a couple of months. Also, I finally finished my Bachelors degree 21 years after I started :-) I graduate in June. My life rocks! I was already lucky to have a good man, a great child, good job, and overall good health. The sleeve and weight loss are the icing on the cake for me. I'm a lucky lady. With gratitude, Lara

Does anyone know exactly why we're not supposed to have any alcohol? I'm almost 4 months out and would love to have a glass or two of wine with dinner. Is there any danger or is it just the fact that it would be empty calories?

I have been married 2 years and recently have kicked the battle of alcohol that has plagued me all my life. I have been clean about a year and have no desire to drink. This really has pleased my husband because he saw how it tore me up. My life has changed so much since he came into it. I'm just very blessed. Here is my issue. My husbands mom died last year and he came into a bit of money. And I asked him to help me get this operation. He never denies me anything unless he thinks it will hurt me. Well, of course he said yes...and so now I'm on my way. I could have used credit or gotten a loan but he wouldn't hear of it. Said we are getting out of any debt we have had and that would be counter productive. Well now that he has just given me the cashiers checks to pay for this whole deal (I go on Monday the 24th for my internal medicine appointment and thats when payment is due). And I'm thinking about how much money this is...how I SHOULD have been able to do this (lose weight) myself. Funny thing is my DH has never had a weight problem, was very thin when he was in his 20's and really has no idea what being FAT all your life means. He says he can imagine and see's me try. He only wants me to be happy. We've been together like 5 years and we both have improved each others life. He's much happier now and the main reason I'm doing this (LB) is for our intimacy. I told him his quality of life will improve considerably *grin*. I'm so healthy I should not have really been considered. I am over a 35 BMI so that's the reason they are doing it. It just is amazing what he is doing for me. I'm blown away and feel kind of guilty as well. I better not fail this time. Thats all I can say. Valerie :pray:

hi leslie - was interesting reading this thread starting in 2009 - but we all are food addicts, what ever year it is. In my case, give me Cookies, donuts,etc. and i'll be your friend for ever! Some people (DH) love all the carbs like bread etc.. i don't know why we just cant't limit ourselves from eating the consumption of food that we do eat with. ) Most peoplec can eat a regular portion of desert or plain amount of dinner or whatever, but us food additcts-well wd just ca't stop. The temptations are too strong. Similar to alcohol yet food addition doesn't count to "normal people" Therefore we become' food addicts" don't eat properly, and can't stop eating when we should - ADDICT, ADDICT,ADDICT Oh well - i didn't answe any question, just getting some feeling outs - thanx - welcome leslie Kathy DOS 12/15/11

Could it have been the sugar alcohol? We're not suppposed to absorb it so it it doesn't officially count in the carb count. Hence the "sugar free", but I know it's always affected my gut even without the sleeve so I avoid the stuff.

this may sound dumb, but here goes. . .when i was about 3 months out, i was still really careful in everything i attempted to eat. . so when my mom and her friend came to visit me for a week, what i did instead of "joining in" with the celebrations (I hadn't seen my mom in over 7 years) I busied myself catering to them. . . when it was time to eat, i made myself a very very small plate and took only protein, When my mom started in on me, I right away would get up and offer her stuff, more coffee, some cake? How about some alcohol? Lets go sit on the patio, You 2 visit, let me stack the dishwasher. . . I was so busy with myself that i never once missed the celebration with food and it did me good. . .I understand you want to celebrate your daughters b/day but really there will be one every year. . . it's not like you have to do it this year right? Busy yourself by fussing around her. . cater to her. . But it's your choice, you make the choices for yourself. . .just be careful cause at 31/2 weeks. . . well ask yourself, is the tummy REALLY healed up good enough to prevent a possible leak??????? good luck!

Just a few hours ago I was at my therapy session, it’s a crucial aspect for me in this journey to deal with my love of food and alcohol. Anywho, as we were talking I had my leg crossed without realizing it and when I noticed I told her, “well damn, look at that I haven’t been able to do this in years” it was a great moment 😁

I don't love the Quest bars, but I found them tolerable. I am usually full after 2/3 of it, so I toss the rest and feel quite proud of myself that I didn't "clean my plate". I love love love the Oh Yeah Bars. I am not a big sweets eater so one satisfies me and I have no carb cravings after. They are definitely a meal for me. Make sure to get the grab and go, not the BIG HONKIN' size. Nutrition Facts Serving Size 1 bar (45g) Servings Per Container 1 Amount Per Serving % Daily Value Calories 180 Calories From Fat 80 Total Fat 9g 14% Saturated Fat 4g 20% Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 5mg 2% Sodium 65mg 3% Potassium 70mg 2% Total Carbohydrates 19g 6% Dietary Fiber 1g 4% Sugars 8g Sugar Alcohol 7g Protein 14g 28% Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 0% Calcium 4% Iron 4% Phosphorus 6%

Here is my true holiday party confession. I forgot who I was. Okay, who my stomach now is. Had a second glass of wine (danger Will Robinson.) Then someone ordered some flatbread pizzas, and I thought, "Genius! Good idea. This will soak up the alcohol." How many mistakes had I made thus far, people? Are you keeping count?? So then I had two small squares of the pizza, and felt the hiccups come on. And then mentally hit my hand to my forehead. I forgot that I enjoy chatting so much…and that I don't always pay attention. Can't do this, this way, anymore. But when I got home I dutifully calculated everything, and found that I was only a little over 1200 calories for the day. Since then, I have been more careful and other than an eye sprain from rolling my eyes at myself it's all good. HOWEVER, I think if I had not been in the habit of tracking I would have been either feeling like I had ruined everything, OR underestimating the damages. (1200 calories is 150% of what I should be eating daily, so it's significant.) And the entire overage was in stuff that has questionable nutritional value. So. Back on track, literally and figuratively. And a much better plan going into the next party. Nothing like getting cocky and then getting knocked down.

While I generally agree with @The Greater Fool, I've been told at least 64 oz post-bariatric surgery as you are losing weight because when the body is breaking down fat it uses water, so we need to drink more. Also, sometimes after surgery people don't drink enough because it's hard to swallow. I don't know how far out you are from surgery or if you actually have not had surgery yet, as your profile suggests. Some people find that drinking more curbs their hunger. This doesn't work for me, maybe it does for you. Some people will drink absolute gallons of water in a day; that can actually be dangerous as it throws your electrolytes out of whack. If you're not being extreme in either direction, not drinking a lot of alcohol, not running in today's Boston Marathon, not thirsty, you're probably gonna live.

It isn't unheard of. Yoyo dieting seems to effect your body's natural set point where it starts going into "its a famine, slow everything down" type of mode. Try timing some Protein (25g) before and after a workout. I don't know why (and as far as I can tell no one else knows either) but certain ethnicities do better with carbs and others with protein. It just may be some things that our ancestors had that allowed them to pass their genes forward long ago. I have experimented enough with myself to know that I do really well when I am eating meat and a few vegies. If I throw too much fruit in the mix, I start gaining. You are in a strange netherland. If you are not already, log your food and see what combination works for you. When you start googling this, you will start realizing "a calorie isn't really a calorie." A piece of wood has calories. But those calories can't be absorbed. Alcohol has calories, but not all are absorbed. Some people seem to more easily absorb certain calories. Hormones effect this too. If you find some good research, please share it with the group.

Hello from Toronto! I understand 100%. I was a smoker, quit LAST SUNDAY! I've been a smoker for 20 years, but have only been smoking 12-15 cigs a day for the last 10 years. I quit because it was time, and this was punctuated by my surgery date on the 15th of July. My Dr. wanted me to quit 2 weeks before surgery. I have quit in the past, about 7 years ago, but stressful events in my life had me returning to the nasty habit! I had quit for 6 months, a real shame to return after that period of time. Alas, we move on, and try, try again! My quitting this time is part of my overall change of attitude! I want to get healthy, so I can play with my children, and feel good physically again! It's a lifesyle choice, and I am now chosing to control my habits, like smoking and eating and lack of exercise, rather than letting them control me! It's rather empowering me...and I'm feeling like I'm taking back my life, step by step. I'm using the patch, and it's working well. Try taking it off about 15 minutes before bed...the dreams and restlessness should stop... Stay strong, and breathe deeply everytime the urge creeps up on you...seems to be working for me. Staying away from "triggers" like coffee, alcohol ect is important. I KNOW you can do this.... Best of luck!

They say that the alcohol is empty calories, it can stall weight loss and promote weight gain. I am not a drinker anyway, so I will not miss that one bit, lol.

I personally find that I do not lose as well when I don't hit my Water minimums. I also need more than 64 oz a day because I live in the desert. Dehydration is bad stuff and I don't see why anyone would even consider risking it, but that's just my opinion, and I am not a doctor (I'm not even "in the medical field" teehee). If you want to go through all this effort, time and money for your sleeve to screw it up by not drinking enough water, go for it. No judgement here. Personally, if I'm going to screw up, it's going to be over something huge and wonderful and preferably involving alcohol and/or chocolate, not something lame like water LOL

Karen, I would advise against consuming alcohol for a couple reasons (at this stage). 1) right now your stomach is on the high acidic side. Making you prone to things like acid reflux and ulcers. Alcohol and caffeine alike increase acidity in the stomach and can predispose you to these complications. 2) I know you may feel like you don't have to watch calories, but these mindless liquid calories are not what your body needs right now. Protein is essential for recovery. Alcohol is a blood thinner and thus slows healing. It offers no nutritional value. and 3) Right now is the prime time to follow the rules, being diligent with healthful choices etc. You are establishing new habits and a foundation for the remainder of your banded life. Yes, alcohol can be consumed when you are banded. I would just advise against it until you are well established on solids for now.

I misspoke in my first post about it. It's not brain damage, it's neurological damage. Other than what my doctor told me, I typed in a few different things in Google and came up with articles related to many different variations of it. A lot of it had to do with your body being in ketosis and various enzymes that are needed to break down the alcohol and sugar. The main danger I think, if I understood correctly, had to do with the things your body needs to break down alcohol that your liver doesn't get to. This had to do with a lot of factors like glucose levels, muscle mass, ketosis, your own hormone levels, etc. So for people like us, in the very early stages of weight loss where we are losing extreme amounts of weight quickly, we are at a higher risk. My doc told me I was an even higher risk than most because by my 6 week checkup, I had lost around 35 pounds already. Above average I think. So the further you get from surgery, or the slower you lose, the less risk you're taking. Of course this is all unrelated to whether alcohol actually affects your weight loss. From what I've heard from others that have drank after surgery, it definitely slows the loss. On top of the worries my doc put in me about alcohol, I gave up smoking to have my surgery. I'm almost 6 months nicotine free. I wouldn't go back for the world. Not to overeating and not to smoking. So I'm a little worried about drinking again. I don't want to give up both of those bad habits to take on another one. OH! That's another thing! When searching around for different things related to alcohol and weight loss surgery, those that have had the surgery are like 40% or some crazy high number at a higher risk of becoming an alcoholic. I didn't look into the whys of that one but i bet it has a lot to do with psychological factors, like trading one habit for another. So, I really don't think there is some super high risk of everyone that has had weight loss surgery developing issues from alcohol. Probably the same risk we all have from second hand smoke, or drinking sodas, or smog. They're all unhealthy, but something's going to kill us any way, might as well keep living till it does.

@@aclinton16 I completely agree we should follow our doctor's orders. I for one would certainly hold my doctor's opinion above that of others. However, perhaps next time you might consider including more information than an example about two alcoholic friends when calling someone wrong. I don't think I'm right or wrong. I merely gave the info my doctor provided. I really enjoy this forum and I highly value the insight and opinions of everyone here. I don't think it's acceptable to single someone out and say they are wrong solely based on what you think because you have friends that drink too much. Perhaps that's not what you meant to say, perhaps it is.

Welcome to the board!!! We hope you stay a while....As far as the carbonated drinks...my Dr's office told me that they could stretch the pouch...like when you put coke in a sippie cup it spews out the top; that is what it would be like in your stomach....I think that is one of the rules that all the Dr's agree on. I could be wrong. I have had frozen alcoholic drinks...margaritas and stuff like that and they haven't bothered me...I think there are some of us that have the drinks around here.. Good Luck and welcome!!!!!!!!!!!

As far as I am aware the following things can all cause cancer :- Too much protein Too much fat Too much sugar Too much sun Too much stress Too much alcohol Sex Genetics Breathing Being alive