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Tiny I am so sorry you are in the situation that you are in, keep you head up. I relate in someways as to what your husband is doing. My ex was five years younger than I. Remember I said ex. I caught him in bed with another woman who was only 6 years older than his oldest, if that much. Well, he asked me to give him sometime to work it out, about getting a divorce. Papers were served within two weeks of that conversation. It tore me up, but I got the best attorney and got everything I wanted. Then a year later I met my last husand and had the most wonderful 12 years of my life, as it seems he did to. My ex went on to marry his alcoholic girlfriend (he also became an alcoholic) a few months after I got married. Karma does have a way of coming full circle. She continues to dissapear and sleeps with other men, ex has had a heart attack, now diabetic, cancer, and full blown emphysema. She has been diagnosed with full blown cirrhosis of the liver. In the meantime he still tries to control her because he wants to strut around crowing about "look at my catch, I've got a younger woman". But for that control he lost all the respect of his children and friends. You are a survivor and there is something better for you out there for you. Keep your head up.

I was told that the sleeve is a high pressure environment and that it will increase, albeit slightly, the predisposition to reflux. But of course so do spicy foods, milk products, fatty foods, alcohol, smoking and possibly caffeine, tight clothing and laying flat. What i do is take it every other day and if that works then i take it once a week. when it flares up ( in a month or three) then I start over. I lived with reflux before they invented any of these meds and it was horrible, i dont mind being on them and dealing with whatever problems may or may not come up. alex

OMG I am really excited to have found these! I'm sure a lot of you know about them but I just discovered them. For those who haven't tried them, they are protein bars that taste good, are extremely low in sugar (2-3 grams), very satisfying and 20 grams of protein! Best of all, the original line has NO sugar alcohols whoo hooo! I really dont want to have two shakes a day forever and, I wanted something I could travel with when necessary. Awesome!

Hi back from holiday in Cyprus and happy to say I lost weight whilst there ! Three stone thinner than when I visited in May too. So glad I had this surgery. It's great to see that you are flying along with your weight loss. I am slow but steady so I'm hoping this will continue. Dined out last night but took a container with me and brought home what I did not eat. Might as well get the value as you are paying for it! So far I have stayed away from sweet stuff and no alcohol has passed my lips since early July. Never thought I would say it but not bothered if I ever have it again. All the best to you and any other UK sleeves reading this

I hope you don't take this brief post as "preaching." Have you also considered: * Alcoholics Anonymous? * Therapy? If not, what are your thoughts about these resources?

@@VSGAnn2014 Your initial comments were fine. The Oak Park OP said she's "depressed," and since that depression, is drinking more beer, ingesting more calories in beer than in food. Liking beer doesn't make one an alcoholic; regularly/frequently turning to it in depression, etc., warrants contemplation. To consider AA...legitimate query, if one is truly open to exploring all reasons and all possible remedies for the weight gain. [Ann, hope you're hubby is progressing well.]

My surgeon said never to eat more than 1,000 calories per day. He also suggested that no meal should ever exceed 300 calories and that no snack should ever exceed 100 calories. His instruction was to eat only if hungry and to transition to a maximum of three meals a day, preferably two, and a maximum of 3 snacks per day. No alcohol. No caffeine. My surgeon has never been obese and follows this diet himself. He had no body fat. He practices what he says. I am trying to follow his advice for long-term success. He told me that RNY is the best procedure for maintaining long-term weight loss. I trust his advice, particularly because he follows it himself. I am 2.5 weeks post op and battle low energy. I am forcing myself to walk long distances. I love having the restriction in my stomach. I am very grateful for this surgery.

I'm doing brilliant 113 lbs down no alcohol what so ever I cant stand the smell of it so when I do go out its tea and water I drink I can't believe 6myself how are you doing

I'm 5 years out (2016) with GS and alcohol has been a sporadic transfer addiction since 2019 after my Dad passed away, then 2020 Covid...relationships...2021 basically LIFE to 2022. Ok, that's sugar coating... I saw it becoming a minor issue in late 2018, however, I was still working out and maintaining my weight loss. I made comments on another thread late last year about alcohol and transfer addictions after a bad night and it's now Feb 2022. I do ok..."for a while"...and then? Boom. Last Thursday I had a horrible regression into two bottles of wine, where ALL my feelings came out. They were Good, Bad and then UGLY. I'm not sure who that person was and I know that version of me can't live like that anymore. I got all my bloodwork done and know my health is stable....Got my roadmap there. This Thursday I'm starting some much-needed therapy for my mind and all these "feelings" (new or old) I didn't learn how to manage. It's time to be responsible and respect the mental with the physical...get my soul feeling balanced again. I still have my sleeve restriction and will be working on losing the 50 or so lbs I've gained over two years. I really appreciate posts like this and sharing your stories to inspire me...that I haven't failed and am not alone in some of the feels that were trapped in the "fat".

At one of the info nights I attended, the question of alcohol came up. Whislt alcohol is empty calories, my surgeon said that overall, moderate wine consumers tend to lose better than total non drinkers. Moderate means 3 or 4 standard drinks a week. Maybe its a whole set of characteristics - if you drink wine moderately (it does have recognised health benefits) perhaps you also have other healthy practices and perhaps you are also good at practicing moderation in all things. I dont think he was suggesting that the wine itself is magic. But cocktails etc ugh, stay far away.

I know I don't need to drink and I plan on making good choices. I just know it will be a little bit hard when everyone else is drinking and eating and I'm sorta sitting there. I was told carbonated drinks are out and the only carbonated drink I have is beer....so non-alcoholic beer won't work. I was also told that you cannot gulp water...that you have to sip and you cannot use a straw? This is from NUT clases. The most important thing to me is that I am successful with this band. I am not happy or healthy being obese and able to eat/drink everything so I am going to have to make lots of changes. I appreciate the suggestion for drinking the protein drink, etc. My life will be changing in so many ways. :-) It's all good! Thanks for all of your replies!

How far out are you from your procedure? Have you consumed alcohol yet? Have you noticed any change to the way your body metabolizes it? Feel Drunk much more quickly? Any odd unusual or unexpected side effects? Gas? LoL [emoji23] thanks!!

I would think it might be a dehydration issue. Alcohol seriously dehydrates you and probably since you haven't had a drink in a while, you notice the effects more. Drink lots of water! I have heard that pedialyte is good for re hydrating after drinking too much, but Im not sure about the sugar content in it.......

I would have to say cold turkey would be the only way, and replace with something else with caffein. Personally, I don't like coffee but i like tea. I used to have a can of soda on my way to work at 1:30 am, a 20 oz bottle on my lunch at 6ish am, then hit a drive thru for a large soda when i got off, then another couple cans by the end of the night. it was all i wanted to drink. it gets easier the more time that passes by, and you'll find that after awhile, soda will taste too sweet. i was out with friends over the weekend, and i had finished my bottle of water but i was thirsty so i asked my friend for a sip of her soda-not good, i know, but it was that or alcohol, lol- and the soda was sooo sweet. it actually grossed me out some. i think i miss the thought of it more than the actual drink.

After a tremendous amount of research on the Gastric Band and Sleeve I decided to get sleeved. After going through all the approval processes, I was sleeved on May 24, 2013. I was super excited and looking forward to the new "thin" me!! After surgery the Doctor said everything went just as planned. I was feeling very nauseous and sick. I felt like my head was going to come off.. the doctors said I might be going through caffeine withdrawl?? I asked for pain medicine... they said they were waiting on my doctor to prescribe that. I asked for something for nausea and one nurse gave me alcohol pads to smell.. it actually worked. I was in a lot of pain and finally had my friend who is a nurse call the hospital and find out what was going on. The night nurses were clueless... they gave me water with a straw when I told them I had sore throat... they brought me Tylenol pills to swallow when I asked for pain meds... I told them I couldn't have that... even on the wall it said "ice chips only". They said they would cut the pill in fourths if I wanted them smaller. Again, I had done a lot of research and I knew what I could and couldn't have. My doctor came back to the hospital at 10pm because someone finally got ahold of him and told him what was going on.. he was very upset at the hospital personnel. I so sick and in pain that my doctor ordered a swallow test to make sure that the sleeve was done correctly. That test turned out good. The next day was Saturday, I was still sick and nauseous and for some reason my kidney's shut down. Not good.. and I was still so sick. On Sunday, the kidneys started working again.. thank God! I was very sick but ready to go home. I was released on Monday. I was weak and couldn't wait to get home. My next follow-up appointment with my doctor was the next Thursday. I was still feeling nauseous but I could keep down popsicles and water. At my appointment I showed my doctor a HUGE bruise on my stomach. It was as black as dark grapes and as big as a cantaloupe. I could tell my doctor was surprised. All he said was "that's were you bled out". He told me not to be concerned. By the weekend, I was puking up stomach bile and couldn't even keep down water. I called his office and he told me to come in on Monday. On Monday, he admitted me to the hospital. His exact words to me were "You look like hell". I was dehydrated, weak and nauseous. It was horrible. In the hospital they did another swallow test and an MRI. Swallow test went well... the MRI showed I had a HUGE Hematoma in my stomach. I was 15 inches long. It was bigger than any of my organs... the doctor said this is what was making me so sick. So, they put a drain in and sent me home. I felt ok for about two days then the puking and nausea started again. I was readmitted to the hospital the following Monday for dehydration and nausea. Another MRI showed that the drain was not in the hematoma anymore and the blood was still about 12 inches long. Apparently, all the heaving and puking had moved it. The doctors put two more drains in and after a few days sent me home. After about two days, I was puking and couldn't keep anything down again. After the following week I was readmitted to the hospital for surgery to remove the hematoma. By this time, the hematoma had "jellied" and the doctor said he got out most of it but not all. He said he would literally have to scoop it out with his had to get it all. What was left was like trying to slurp Jello through a straw. The next week I was back in his office still sick and nauseas. Through the whole process I had tried all types of medicine to help with the nausea. I had to wear a patch behind my ear and my two weeks vacation from work turned into a six week sick leave. It took me six weeks to work through the nausea and dehydration. It was a horrible experience and every day I wished I wouldn't have had the surgery. Night and day puking stomach bile was a nightmare. Since surgery I have lost 41 pounds... I love losing the weight and how it makes me feel. I feel tremendously better and have put the six weeks behind me and choose not to dwell on the negative. The weight loss is super slow right now and that is kind of frustrating. However, I've never lost 41 pounds in 14 weeks before so I'll take it. I've been reading about stalls so I know this his normal and the weight loss will continue... I will reach my goal eventually!!! I do appreciate that my doctor did all he could to make me feel better.. I don't blame him for what happened. I am greatfull to finally be feeling like a human again. Would I choose surgery if I know what I know now.. I am not sure?? It was the worst 6 weeks of my life... and I really felt like I was going to die. When I reach my goal I might have another opinion.. maybe it will be worth it... we will see. Nothing that's worth it is ever easy!! If you haven't had the surgery yet, do your research. Mistakes can happen... you need to be prepared and keep in touch with your doctor daily if needed. My doctor texted me almost daily to see how I was doing. Good Luck to everyone!!!

Hello! I've lost 140 lbs thusfar, and I don't exercise everyday. . I do drink sometimes with meals, and i do snack every now and then. . . but then i'm different, just like your different. . I lost 53 lbs in my first 7 weeks and now that i'm almost 1 year out I've lost a lot of weight, but I live life like i like it. . I'll eat whatever, in small amounts of course, I'll have my alcoholic beverages, I'll have my Snacks of whatever. . . not horde amounts though! I don't stress over my weightloss, and i definately don't weigh myself every day. . . I do that only if I think about it. . which usually is about 1 or 2 times a month if that. . . I'm living a "normal" life as per me. . .and its working great. . .I usually judge my weight loss by the clothes i wear. . .if they are too lloose, I go the store fit on something that fits and it usually is a couple sizes smaller then before then I glorify myself that way. . .I get alot of compliments from people, but this usually goes in one ear and out the other, because I know how people are and usually they are not genuine . . . but this is only how i do it, i don't expect anyone else to do it this way. . it works for me only. . . good luck to everyone, you are ALL doing very well and together everyone can get through this!

Surgery was on 8/27. Hernia surgery created bad neck and shoulder pain but very little discomfort from the sleeve. I got up and moving quickly that day to avoid a second night co-pay. (I'd rather stay at the Ritz for that price!) Including my two week preop diet and post surgery I've lost 34 lbs. Just struggling to get the walking in or I would lose faster. The worst part so far for me was the puréed stage. I kept drinking shakes. I wanted FOOD! My mental adjustments have included learning the feelings that I use to cover with food and finding new coping skills. Being around snack food and alcohol in social situations and being the voyeur. Overall, now that I'm eating food I'm happy. I'm wearing some clothes from my "thinner" closet. I'm getting compliments. I have struggled with constipation but there are some good ideas here. Good luck to all! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi all. Still new to all of this, so thanks again for the wealth of info on this site. What did we ever do without the internet??? lol!! My question is this. I am a former heavy drinker. Drank tons in college, and after my ex decided that 'he loves me, but he is no longer IN love with me' I crawled into the bottom of a bottle for several months. I drink alot now, I have plenty of tolerance, but only in social situations. I can go for weeks on end without drinking, but when I drink, I DRINK!! My biggest fear is that my surgeon will go to insert the band, and see something in my liver, and just not put the band in. In preparation for my surgery, I have already quit drinking, even socially. I haven't had a drink in almost a month and a half. Don't want one either, my health and self esteem are more important to me right now. Has anyone else every been in this situation? Am I freaking out for no reason, or do I have a valid fear? Has anyone ever heard of a situation where this has happened??? I was recently approved for surgery, and now all of the fears and freakouts are coming out of nowhere. Help??? :help:

I am very heavy & after I wash my belly button...I dry it & put constarch baby powder in it. Tha keeps it dry & it smells good. Clean it out with alcohol & then put in the powder. I do it after EVERY shower & mine never smells. I use 2 have that problem bcuz Im so heavy & it is so deep.

plain, I originally started the gastric bypass surgery pre-op stuff about 3 years ago before my surgeon even did lap bands. Then all these things started happening like my dad got ill and my sister got cancer and my dog died, sounds like a country song but it's true and I put it off because I felt like I was needed elsewhere. Then two years later I decided to take the time for myself since everything in my life seemed fairly calm and I went back and then found out they were doing lap bands now. I started pre-op again for the gastric bypass and had it all approved and I changed my mind, I kind of chickened out I'd say and wanted the lap band because of two reasons, one I knew it could be removed if need be and two, I wouldn't have the bad side effects you get from gastric bypass surgery because I knew I'd end up cheating once in a while with ice cream. And also it wouldn't be as traumatic on my body. I think a lot of people feel that way. Anywho, I had already discussed the post op diet with the nutritionist for the gastric bypass and had done everything else and called the doctor made an appointment because I wanted to tell him I wanted the band instead. This was about one month prior to surgery. I was never told those things and maybe it's my own fault because of the way I had changed things in the middle and maybe something (info wise) got lost in the shuffle. I swear it's the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me God. I'm not a soda drinker, I'm not much of an alcohol drinker but I like me some ice cream and knew that would be an issue. But because it was so much easier to eat the yummy cakes and cookies and pies and ice cream and candy instead of protein I tended to go that route because I found out it went down no problem. I think I learned that at Halloween. My dad was an alcoholic and I take after him, except I'm not dead and I'm not a male. I tend to choose sugar foods over alcohol but there very similar in a way. I'm ate a salad today for the first time in a long time because my fill is reduced and I also had almost a whole sandwich with Weight Watcher's bread today and that was so weird to me. Anyway I have to learn to stay away from the WW desserts though because I'll end up eating them instead of the healthier foods. I don't blame my surgeon, they have a good program here and they have an orientation first and then you meet with the surgeon, you go through a lot of pre-op testing and get screened by a psych of their choosing. I'm not a dumba...s but I guess to a lot of you I appear to be. I just have issues with certain foods that the band won't catch and didn't know it ahead of time. I'm still working on it just in a different way now. So wish me luck, brandyII.

Wow! I'm impressed Josephine. Your success is inspiring. I'm a food addict. I'm addicted to lots of things. I've learned to live with my addictions and my new credo is "moderation". If I must have ice cream or pizza or chocolate or whatever.........I have it, but I have very specific limits that I hold myself to. I only allow myself 1 or 2 mini or snack size chocolates and I dish out enough of the other risky items to satisfy, but not enough to fill.......so I don't go overboard. I box the rest up and put it away or give it away. It's by doing this that I NEVER feel deprived and my own eating disorder is under control. "One day at a time" is the way we all must deal with any addiction whether it is food, alcohol, drugs or an activity/obsession. Good luck to all of my fellow addicts!

Just wanted to put this out there for those soon to be surgeries. I've read so much about how bad the gas will be the first few days and the necessity for the Gas-X DISSOLVABLE Strips. You might want to get them ahead of time. They may not be easily found in stores (although Wal-Greens has them). They were about $6.00 per 18pkg, recommended 2-3 at a time. Wal-Mart does not carry them in store(or not in all stores) CVS does not either. Amazon had them listed from about $9 up to $30. Crazy prices. It's been said they are discontinuing them but I suspect they will probably come back at a higher price due to increasing needs due to bariatric surgeries etc...All I could find were the mint flavored but I'll probably need them for fresh breath anyway. I got 4 boxes to be safe....I had to order because our nearest Walgreens is 50 miles away. Trying to make sure I have everything needed for the first week or two. Found that zero Gatorade too. I'm just ready to get this party started. Cooking supper tonight, all I could think of was how I'm going to miss my veggies. Crazy right, ok with giving up alcohol and desserts, I'm going to miss my steamed veggies, cabbage, asparagus. I only have a 24 hr liquid diet but, I'm going to start a week earlier and be diligent the last 3 days. Dr. said no need but this is one time I'm going to go with my gut. I'll abide by his orders afterwards. (smile) Have a great weekend everyone!

I have been using the "I don't have any pot today, try this..." argument ever since the late 1960's. That should give the readers of this thread an idea of how long this fruitless "war on drugs" has been failing. And I will say it, "Pot is no worse and probably a lot better than alcohol". Of course "the munchies" is a Lap-Bandster's worst nightmare

:wink2:<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" width="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off">It's 1:52 AM and I just had a horrible dream about my band... I went to get a fill and they told me I was too tight. They said I'd have to get an unfill. "But I ate nachos for breakfast!" Then they charged me $365.00. I asked for their director's name and number. Last time they only charged me $100.00 and I got a fill! Anyway, I woke up and my band was bothering me.... ? I felt like I could feel pressure in the area. I've only felt this once before when i really was too tight. I'm not too tight right now though. I am thinking that maybe I irritated my stoma b/c I drank wine today at a BBQ. I usually don't drink that much alcohol. Anyway, it's hard for me to sleep. It's not super painful, but some sharp pains and hard to sleep on my stomach. I feel fine now that I am sitting up. Does Crystal Light bother anybody? It is to harsh on the stoma? I am always so fearful that my band is going to 'go wrong'. I feel my body is going to reject the band. Has this happened to anybody? I keep having these horrible thoughts about my band. Why? Please help me! I'm going crazy! </TD></TR><TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on"> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

If your physician says moderate alcohol is okay I would suggest scotch on the rocks. It's full flavored enough you won't be as tempted to drink it quickly. If your not a scotch drinker already get a small bottle of something on the more expensive side like Laphroig the bottle will last a good long time so don't let the sticker shock scare you off. After that I'd suggest bourbon just avoid the temptation to use it as a mixer or drink it in shots. My third choice would be wine but at that point it's harder to identify a specific bottle that you can enjoy without drinking too quickly due to personal taste. My goal would be to find a drink that I can enjoy sipping from a single glass for as close to 2 hours as possible. If that doesn't sound like something you'd want to do regardless of what the doctor says then I'd encourage you to just skip the alcohol that night.