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Well I am about 4.5 months post surgery and have lost an astonishing 125lbs! I did however experience my first stall last month when I went THREE weeks without losing a single ounce! I knew it would happen sooner or later but after almost four months of steadily losing approx. 5lbs a week it was a stark reality check. I find that even this soon after the surgery it is easy to let diligence slide and slip back into naughty habits. I have since reminded myself what unholy hell the entire process was to get here and that serves as effective motivation to keep my protien up and my fat/carbds down. Luckily I have had very little temptation with some of my trigger foods (soda pop, pizza, sweets ect) however, I did slip up on my birthday and allow myself to eat a small peice of raspberry ice cream cake and a few bites of chinese food, and while it has been MONTHS since i have touched alcohol and YEARS since a birthday bender I nonetheless spent the night over the toilet and in excruciating pain...lesson learned! To avoid stalls i have also begun to increase my exercise bi-weekly (an extra 15m session on the treadmill here, an extra half hour of aquafitness there) and my weight loss had returned to it's former glory

Hi LB, I am also a (former) thc user, I had used for approx 15 years and recently quit (not just for surgery) aside from the risks that being a smoker creates for the "going under" part of the surgery, I personally found that on the two occaisions I have smoked (both times as pain management) since surgery (aug 9 2012) I found I felt sick, nauseous, got dangerous munchies and ZERO motivation to get anything done! I would honestly say that if you are considering having the surgery, which is a MAJOR life/behaviour altering process I would advocate for the ceassation of using all drugs, alcohol and tobacco. It jusy makes sense to focus on ALL aspects of ones health. Good luck in your endeavors!

That's completely false information. Yes if you drink like a fish, a bottle a day, sure you'll have issues, (which are not complications, they are issues related to the alcohol, not the surgery). ANYONE WOULD! Another NUT!

We've been told that if we drink alcohol, it's not an issue of if we have complications, but when. My NUT and case manager worry about gastritis and ulcers, along with transfer of addiction. That being said, not quite 6 months post op and I've enjoyed an occasional glass off wine or beer. No upset tummy yet.

After having worked with many NUTS due to my son's medical condition, I can tell you from experience that the majority of NUTS are aptly named as such. 90% of them let their personal opinions override any medical information they may have gained in their five mins of medical training. They make blanket and stupid statements, such as the one that you heard, which are completely false, and sadly people believe them because they have a title and work in the medical field. If the cleaning lady at the hospital said that you'd dismiss it right? Well she's probably smarter than the NUT Honestly, when I've challenged these idiots on total stupidity that has come out of their mouths they fall apart. Total idiots and we are supposed to PAY for their services! I can't even begin to tell you the stupid things they've said to me about my son's needs in the past. My favorite was one who told me to force feed him juice (he was two months old and less than 8lbs) because he needed to develop a taste for natural flavors at that age or he'd never be healthy. Tell me....how do you force feed a baby without drowning them???? Oh and did I mention he had chronic and explosive diarrhea so fruit juice was a 100% off limit item to us on the orders of our doctors? They're fools, and you were listing to a classic fool apparently who maybe had an alcoholic father or something. THere is NO medical data to back that up and frankly, I'd ask them for the studies in class next time to put them on the spot. Ask if they can bring it to the next meeting with references of course because you are finding that the information might be misleading or some other not threatening style question Bet they call in sick the next meeting LOL Your nut is a NUT! As to the liquor hitting you quicker This is actually not true of all sleevers. I find that it is quite the opposite for me. I only drink wine, so to be fair I don't know how hard liquor would effect me, but wine, while I drink less of it, actually does not effect me as much as it did prior to surgery and any effect I do feel goes away quickly. The only thing I have noticed as a trend, and this is only twice so it might not be my long term effects....is that if I have more than two glasses of wine during a long evening I wake up with a terrible headache. But I'm also able to drive home because while everyone else is partying silly I have sobered up quickly. And I use that term, sober, gently because I don't seem to get even tipsy. I actually don't mind this because we are wine collectors and wine tastings and dinners are a big part of our life. It's nice not to feel like a total lush after just a glass or two LOL

Ummm... I think there are plenty of people on here that do have the occasional glass of something that can tell you first had nothing, that I know of, happens to their body- myself included. There are definitely very opposing opinions on the subject but I, myself, believe everything in moderation. I have never heard on here that your stomach can become nercrotic and there have been tons of posts regarding the subject of drinking alcohol after being sleeved. I wish you all the best and Happy Holidays!

I have not heard anything like that either. I know with my program, they want you to stay away from alcohol in the losing phase because it is very high in calories. You will also not be likely to have any kind of carbonated kind either, especially beer. The carbonation is very painful. The only other caution is like mentioned above. It takes very little to start feeling it, so take it slow! I am over 2 years post-op and enjoy the occasional beverage.

I am 13 months post op. i haven't heard anything like this about drinking alcohol. I will say that when i drink now it takes a lot less to get me where i wanna go if you know what i mean. Liquor hits you a quicker but it tends to burn off quicker also. after doing some quick googling it looks like alcohol can cause Alcoholism-induced bone necrosis. but it seems what you would have to be a alcoholic for several years before this set in. a few drinks from time to time shouldn't hurt you. hopefully this helps.

i love martinis and gin & tonics. But i no longer want the empty calories. Post-op I am happy to give up alcohol. Maintaining weight loss is more important to me.

I had to sign a waiver that I would not drink alcohol for a year if not longer. The way it was explained to me, it has nothing to do with hurting you stomach, but it has everything to do with how your body will handle alcohol. The smaller stomach has fewer enzymes to break down the alcohol and you have teh potential to become inebriated much more quickly. 21 is a special year, but like everyone else said, you should wait. It doesn't matter that there may be alcohol in your Loratab. When you are on Loratab, you are not allowed to drive or handle large equipment/machines because of impaired judgement.

This is what support group told me tonight led by our NUT. If we as sleevers drink, everything pass our stomach will become necrotic. You mean to tell me that a glass of wine here and there is gng to KILL me? I know a lot of surgeons release their patient to drink in small moderation at like 3-4 months. What gives? What are ur thoughts?

But let's be honest, you asked about drinking alcohol one week after surgery. I think some "duh" answers are to be expected when asking a question that has SUCH an obvious answer!

Not a good idea, not only because you are freshly sleeved but because alcohol is nothing but empty calories and you are trying to lose not gain. I'm 6 months out and I am refusing to touch it ever again, not worth it.

So tomorrow is my big day! And I'm so nervous I can barely sit still. Im excited about my new life but then I'm scared it won't work or that I will regret having the surgery... I'm nervous about the pain???? I'm nervous about how long I will be laid up??? And not extremely important questions but just curious. 1st: how long did most of u have to wait to have sex? I mean comfortablely. 2ndly: My most favorite drink is Malibu and pineapple. Will I never get to drink it again? Or alcohol for that matter? Kind feel Iike I'm going in this blind....

be careful with the "juicing". I take it you mean fruit juices. Those are very high in carbs. An 8oz glass of OJ has like 28 carbs. The reason for the chewable vitamins is that are stomachs dont produce a lot of acids and can't break down vitamins and minerals like other peoples. That is why our diets are set up like they are. Like butter said it's very important to keep your fluid intake (water) up. the alcohol flushes water out so minimize that and drink 48-60 oz water

6 per week is a drinking problem? My friend must be a full-blown alcoholic, cuz she can knock back 10 at a time!

i've been smoking since I was 15 and im 23 now and when I found out I was going to have surgery 2 months ago I stopped. its nothing bad like people think. I don't drink alcohol, I think it should be illegal Fred Montana JR

And I mean water not alcohol lol

Seriously!! The mean, judgmental, sarcastic people need to calm their ass down! Geesh!! I bet ya'll wouldnt run your mouth like that face to face.. smh! Anyways happy bday to you.. as previously posted by the nice and caring people, i would stay away from alcohol. Take care! Enjoy your bday!

My clinic said no alcohol for 6 months and beer would be carbonated.....no carbonation forever. Wine might a better option.

I'm not a huge drinker but I usually have a beer if I'm in a social setting. Is that off limits forever once I'm banded? I know it's not recommended but would it kill me?

I don't think it's a good idea either. Your stomach is basically new, like a babies stomach. That's why we start at liquids, the work our way up to solids again....so that our stomach can heal. Alcohol is very strong and has a lot of sugar. You may dump:( I'm sorry that you can't celebrate with alcohol, but just having this surgery is a celebration in itself:)) Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday! I just want to say that I had a tiny sip of a fall punch about 4 weeks post-op-well, about 20 minutes later I was sick as a dog! It wasn't worth it at all! Meanwhile, I asked my doctor last week at my 2 month post op visit about alcohol and she said they recommend waiting 3 months and then to avoid beer and wine. She said have Crystal Lite with a dash of vodka would be ok. Also, she warned that sleevers are cheap dates-be careful, the buzz sneaks up on you! Good luck!

Addiction is addiction... It's hard. It's hard when you give up everything. A lot of us have addictive personalities... That's what got us here in the first place. I'm no saint. Just be careful. Talking about it helps and so does realizing it's an addiction... Be it food, alcohol, or anything. Hopefully you can find another healthy outlet for it. I would recommend talking to a professional. Not what I wanted to hear, but has really helped me. Best wishes!! And know that there are plenty of us that feel your pain!!

Hey all! I'm 3 weeks post op today, from band to sleeve revision. I really did not work on my bad habits of drinking alcohol before surgery. Now at 3 weeks out, I'm feeling great, and I'm dying for a glass of wine. Since I can't have wine, then I'm grabbing a piece of dark choc. If I don't have that I'm reaching for my leftover pain meds. I'm feel like I'm controlling these urges but they are coming on stronger. This is only at night too, that was my nightly routine, after 5, glass of wine. I have a very addictive personality obviously, and I'm worried. I don't want to talk about this to my surgeon bc I already feel like she looks at me as a failure bc of the Lapland. I'm sorry for rambling or if this is even making sense. It's so hard to not fall back into old routines when you start feeling back to normal.