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I was terrified going into it, but my Aunt died after having WLS (back in the 80's) and I didn't tell my family until the night before. However, I knew I was in good hands and not only did my research on the surgery, but also the surgeon. I stayed away from any negative reviews as I didn't want that judgement going in. I had a lap band previous so I knew a little as to what to expect. I was told the surgery was harder than the band, but I didn't think it was. This is not for everyone. It is a lifestyle change and have to be willing to give up an addiction. Just like you wouldn't bring a recovering alcoholic to a bar, you don't bring a recovering food addict to a buffet. It's not an easy fix by any means. You still have to fix what's broken only this gives you the perfect fitting tool to do so. Losing weight will not be the only thing you'll have to fix. It's the easiest, but the hardest is beating the addiction. With the sleeve, while your beating the addiction, you'll be losing weight!

I just asked my dr today when it was safe to have a little alcohol (hell if we cant eat we might as well have a little fun drinking every now and then!) So they told me 1 year post op. Im only 20 days post op...i don't think i could wait a whole year!

I've been taking a chewable from The Vitamin Shoppe - Bariatric Support - It's not too bad but I've seen lots of great reviews on the Celebrate vitamins. If you choose non-bariatric vitamins, make sure that you take high quality vitamins that include minerals (lots of them don't and minerals are just as essential for us as the vitamins). One a Day and Centrum are NOT considered to be high quality - they do not dissolve well in "normal" stomachs, much less in our tiny, itty bitty tummies. If you don't want to pay for the bariatric ones, I would go to a health food store or similar and get a really good one (which will probably be as expensive as a bariatric one). I've decided to either continue with bariatric multi's or go with USANA brand (widely recognized as being among the best nutritionals you can buy - pharmaceutical grade, properly and easily absorbed, etc. But they are expensive ) and figure that the money I'm saving by not eating out and not drinking alcohol will more than make up for the expense LOL....... Besides, what's more important than our health???

I'm waiting for six months because I have never stuck with anything and I need to do this... Also alcohol is going to be SO strong at that point of having nothing. It's gonna be a great party lol Sent from my iPhone using VST

I was cleared at 6 weeks for food & alcohol...each Dr's instructions vary

I just had my two month appt a couple of weeks ago and my NUT told me physically i was OK, but to be real careful,,dead calories and high sugar and carbs in alcohol. Plus you will be a real cheap date as you haven't had anything in a long time. We also tend to make bad food choices when we drink. I have had a couple of really small (2oz) of wine and one mixed drink (no carbonated beverage). and had no problems, but it definately hits you. Remember one 1oz of red wine has 25 calories, so one glass at a resturant is 4oz which equals 100 calories, which is a tenth of the calories at your stage. plus you should only be taking in 30-40 carbs per day. Hope this helps. Good Luck

My nutritionist and surgeon have both said NO ALCOHOL for at least six months and even after that, it must be "skinny" cocktails and "light" beers, etc. At 6 weeks I'd double check it with your surgeon and nutritionist as I know different practices say different things. Good luck!

Ok so is it ok to have a drink 6 weeks after surgery?

My husband has this and when he is overly tired or had lots to drink (alcohol) it makes it worse.

Are you tracking your food and calories? Are you measuring portions? I ask because I didn't have a gain during my journey and I did those things. Maybe it will work for you. If you didn't cheat with food might you have induldged in alcohol? Because that will make the scale soar. Retention of Water when drinking alcohol is usually an issue.

Good for you! Mind over matter! Personally, I enjoy egg nog. I will have a little shot glass size of Southern Comfort Vanilla Spice eggnog (no alcohol in it) every once in a while at night. I'm not completely giving it up & a shot satisfies me.

I was banded on 10/26 and had my first fill today- up to 3.6cc's. Thanksgiving got me though, and I went up from my 2 wk weigh in (4 lbs.) My dr. was not thrilled. I've found my biggest calorie ruiner is alcohol- and i didn't help that I was at the in-laws for t-giving. Is anyone else having this problem? The fill didn't hurt as bad as I thought it was going to, but I made the mistake of looking at the needle beforehand. That sucker was huge!

I have been on a two month journey to get a vertical sleeve surgery. Just two weeks to my scheduled surgery date; just to be told the insurance will only pay for RNY. I spent a lot of time researching the sleeve. Now I have to decide in a day or two if I want RNY. Can someone tell me all the drawbacks. (Sweets alcohol etc. ). I don't have a big sweet tooth but do like them once in a while. Also what are the pluses over the sleeve. THANKS.

Yes- I remember that feeling well! It felt like your whole mouth had a coating on it. I used this tea tree mount wash that was alcohol free (supposed to work better) and it kept that feeling away for a while.

This is how I explained it to my (slim) husband: it's as if someone is an alcoholic and you tell them, "I know you're addicted to alcohol, but you're going to have to drink it every day for the rest of your life, only it's up to you to make sure that you drink only a reasonable amount and that you keep yourself from overdoing it."

Lovethenewme, thank you - I had been having those same thoughts about finding new ways to cope with life's ups and downs. I have been studying NLP and have become very mindful of my behaviour. It is scary to think about not having food as my 'best friend'. I'd say its almost like an alcoholic deciding to quit drinking. Food is so central to my life, it's hard to imagine what it would be like without full meals. How do you go at social gatherings and family occasions?

I got Bariatric Advantage Meal Replacement shakes (lots o' Vitamins and protein) along with frozen fruit for smoothies, flavoring for the shakes like alcohol based candy flavorings, DaVinci and Archer Farms sugar free syrups, and since I was allowed broccoli, fresh florets to steam for a snack. I would not get a sherbert based smoothie, personally. It's going to be high carb content with all that sugar, even if you put Protein powder in it, that's not going to make it good for you. I was told to limit my carbs per serving/meal to less than 19, but that's just my surgeon. Follow what yours says to do. Remember, the liquid diet is difficult, but so is eating tiny portions and basing everything around Protein first for the rest of your life. Going back to what we used to do will only get us where we used to be. Instead, find ways to make the stuff you eat taste good. One of the shakes I liked the most was a pina colada one. 1 serving of vanilla shake powder, 1/2 c large pineapple chunks (in Water, drained), a little coconut flavoring, and ice cubes. Add splenda to taste if it's not sweet enough. Blend with water until smooth and there you go!

The hardest part for me is dealing with my head hunger and staying away from my food addiction that involves sugar. Everything else has been relatively easy. I did find myself sitting with a friend in a bar and looking around at all the alcohol and carbonated drinks and deciding on having some cheetos. The bar tender kept questioning me on needing something to drink and I would give her a little info that I can't drink while eating and that lead to more questions. I finally just explained that I had wls and she then stopped. I just wasn't interested in talking about my surgery. That was the first time.....Next time I will just order water. It's really been hard getting into exercising. I do it, and then I don't do it.....

To answer your questions... 1. I am a lap band to r n y on the 26th. Not doing well on pre diet need to know drastic measure to shrink liver by Thursday. You really need to get back to the pre-op diet your surgeon/bariatric center put you on and stick to it. It's the best you can do. The whole idea of the pre-op diet is to help shrink your liver for the safety of you during the surgery and it makes it easier for your surgeon. The easier the better...the smaller your liver the better and easier it is for your surgeon to hold it aside while working on your stomach. They have to push and hold the liver out of the way so as not to nick it and to have the best possibly access. Buckle down and stick to your pre-op diet...it's the best thing you can do for yourself. There are no drastic measures you can take....liquid diets are tough period. The liver is the first to gain fat weight and fortunately the first to lose it according to my surgeon. Stick STRICTLY to the pre-op diet. 2. Any successful converters? I had the lapband. It was removed in Jan/Feb of 2010 but, my surgeon said it was still a revision because the stomach still has the flap in it that held the lapband in place. She did say that they remove that flap and that will sometimes cause them to have to make the RNY pouch a bit bigger than they would for someone who hasn't had the lapband because of scarring. In my case she did make it slightly bigger but, I feel great and I'm losing weight. Also all well if u take Vitamins? Vitamins are ABSOLUTELY necessary because of the malabsorption our bodies go through after RNY. We have to take a higher dose of vitamins in order to get the right amount in our bodies because of this. Definitely buy those vitamins and try them prior to your surgery. Your surgery is close so hopefully you've gotten them already or have tried some. If not I highly recommend picking some up. My surgeon didn't require me to take them for 2-3 weeks after my surgery because she said our bodies have them stored and they can sometimes upset the pouch early after surgery for some folks. I had no issues taking mine at the 3-4 week mark and I take them daily. The hardest one to remember though is the Calcium because I can't take them in the morning with everything else. The Iron and calcium fight for absorption so you have to take one or the other two or more hours. With Calcium your body won't absorb more than 600 mg at a time so having to take 1500 mg once again...I have to wait in between. So it's a bit harder to get all that in but, I get some calcium from milk and cheese too. Also 1.5 weeks off of work? Need to be clear headed for work. Ok expectation My surgeon recommended 3 weeks out with a revision surgery because of the added work done to accomplish it. I ended up being out 6 weeks because I had an infection in the main incision site. Going back was still difficult because you're body is getting used to less calories and if your job is stressful...well...that doesn't help. Mine is stressful so it took a while for me to get back into the swing of things but, all set now. Everyone is different so all times back are different. Take the cues from your body and listen to them though. This is the time to take care of YOU...work will be there! 3. Worried about long term complications. Thoughts? Most people fine? There are complications for some folks just as there are for any surgery. I looked at it as...I was having more complications with being overweight at the moment and they weren't going to get any better..if anything it would get worse and a shorter life. For me the surgery was worth it. Most folks are fine. There are some postings within this board from DLCoggin that are great to read. The postings are from studies he's read about and tell of the percentage of issues etc. Worth a peek. (Sorry I can't point you to the exact postings at the moment...DL if you see this can you post the link to the thread.) 4. Really no beer ever - Go with what your surgeon/Bariatric center recommends. Mine says no carbonation. That means soda, beer anything with carbination bubbles. They say after a year out from surgeon an occassional, stressing occassional, glass of wine is ok but again that's after a year. Alcohol can and has become an issue for many RNY patients because they've replaced the comfort food with alcohol. It's really important to work on the issues of why the choice of comfort foods in the first place. Just like any habit.....they are tough to break and takes lot of mind work to accomplish conquering....but always remain a work in progress. I do know a few folks who do drink a beer here and there and have no issues. Fortunately for me, I only occassionally had a drink maybe 4 a year so I'm just choosing to not bother. Everyone is different and reacts differently to alcohol though so be careful if you choose to have it. Good luck with your surgery!

PlutoMars: yes take a deep breath! Do clear liquids this really does help. It you have been mainly following the preop diet you should be ok. If not at all, there may or may not be issues. My dr doesn't require one and I was fine with a 43 BMI. Also the beer: technically yes. It's carbonated and that is a big nono for most RNY patients. Too much air in the pouch and alcohol can be processed poorly by us (see UPMC study) . But I know a lot of people that can do alcohol and carbonation a year or two out. It is just not recommend. 1 1/2 weeks off work is really pushing it. Some do two and are fine with no complications. I'm still at three but may need more since I had to have a second surgery for a stricture. Only time will tell. Good luck to you! Let us know what you need. :-).

Gallstones! Please please pay attention to the warning signs!!! Wow what a week. I've been in the hospital since last Sunday, no food or Water since then either. I had some pain here an there the past two months that once I was told by my surgeon was prob food poising and the next time they said it was prob That i ate too much too fast and that I also had alcohol (it was 1&1/2weak drinks). I've been spitting up lots of acid with stomach pain after meals which was reduced to being acid reflux. Then last weekend it hit me and HARD!!! I called my dr who made an apt for me the next day saying it was probably gallstones and that since surgery in feb ive made it far because its common to have them develop even with a sleeve. Then the nurse said that if it didn't pass in an hour to go to the ER. Well In about five minutes After talking i was on the floor crying and my gut felt like muscle spasms, Charlie horse and stabbing all together. I doubled over and was spitting up (all I had was coffee that morning so far and it was still hot coming out) I started sweating like someone poured water on me and I could barely walk. My husband rushed home from work and could barely get me to move Let alone stand, so I was taken to the ER. They wheeled me in from the car cause I was puking (dry heaves of course) the whole way and as we pulled up. I don't even remember the first hour as it was a blur and hazy experience due to the agony. The staff got me in right away and they figured it was stones but gave me pain meds to calm me down and took a CT scan and MRI. Not only was it gallstones but one, the size of a quarter, had lodged in my duct (opening size of a pea) where the pancreas connects and my pancreas was bleeding and my liver Enflamed. My hemoglobin was incredibly low and I was majorly dehydrated. So after 11 hrs in the ER hallway bed, they finally had a room for me. The 3 hr dose pain killers would wear off in about 45 minutes at most the Pain was unbearable, so they scheduled an emergency surgery. But the surgeon was very afraid of my levels --- normal enzyme levels should be 45-50 and mine were incalculable as the scale only read up to 1,0000! So they had to postpone it until my pancreas could calm down.Each day a new issue with the pancreas or liver came. And each day a new pain killer was introduced as none were working. All making me puke, but again it was dry heaves acid and with each gag it pulled on my insides and caused more tears and swelling. So last night day 7, still no food or water the entire time, I had the surgery to remove the gall bladder. My blood count was so low they had blood ready and warned me I could go into cardiac arrest because the enzymes that normally eat bile were now eating me. But that they couldn't wait longer as the blocked stone passed and this was their chance before another one came up. The doctors said everyday since I haven't had a BM they were afraid I'd get what's called dead bowel. That's where there is bile in your intestine and when you're put to sleep your intestines freeze and that area doesn't react when u wake and they have to cut out the section with bile and reroute that part of the intestine. But an enema was too dangerous for me now. I hadn't eaten so couldn't see how to push the bile they knew was there so of course this added to my stress and tears. The meds gave me such bad acid reflux that I had horrible chest pains that felt like I was having heart attacks and I was burping and gagging like after the sleeve recovery. My surgeon ended up with complications with another surgery and was late for me after I was already in surgery room I was told to try to walk around to calm down and get the gas outta me. So I cried and cried and somehow I decided to spend that time on the toilet and 20min into that i ended up having a BM it was amazing how that happened? The dr said that saved me from so many complications! Surgery was about 45 min and today my color is back in my face and i feel like half way normal and even hungry! I've walked around to expel the gas and had Jello & ice tonight (24hrs after surgery and 8days after last meal). No I don't look like I've lost weight hahaha... In so bloated from all the different meds and fluids that I look like a white Madea! Haha Today the dr said if I can go rest of day without the IV pain meds I can go home tomorrow instead of weening me slowly over 3 days. They're very bad to be on more than a week! And I gotta be able to be off them to go home anyway. I was totally fine taking liquid meds and have all day so tomorrow I'll go home. This was an unreal nightmare and I pray someone, anyone, who thinks they may have pain that's been blown off, goes in and gets the abdominal ct scan! It may save you from agony or even just save your life!!!!

How long post sleeve did u have a little wine?

Definitely go! I went to an all inclusive in the Dominican Republic last month. I was able to eat small portions of everything I wanted and I drank alcohol. I couldn't finish a whole drink but it was all inclusive and I was going to eat and drink what I wanted! I actually came back home 2 lbs lighter! Enjoy your vacation!

I have just got back from a two week vacation in Australia. I just went with the flow and decided to enjoy myself and not spend time worrying about weight. I didn't eat more than normal, though the food was different and included more carbs than I usually consume. I drank alcohol every day which is not the norm. Despite this, I lost a kilo over the two weeks. I am back on MFP and back in my usual routine and I think the break from my routine was a good thing.

I very very rarely put alcohol or toners on my face, I have just broken out so much that I was trying to get rid of all the oil. My face seems a but better today. But thank you for the aupport. I wish I could be like my fiancé who doesn't even wash his face, just uses hit water and his face is always clear! Men....