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I enjoyed various wines, beers, Hennessey, Crown Royal as well as other "adult beverages" prior to my surgery. I was a "social" drinker and could put back about 4-5 mixed drinks or glasses of wine before feeling REALLY good... My surgery was April 16th and tried my first drink which was wine at about 8 weeks out.. It BURNED my throat and didn't sit well at all. I tried a Crown n Ginger at about 12 weeks and still... not good.. the only drink I have tried that went down okay was Ciroc and pineapple with a splash of sprite. It took me about 2 hours to drink it but at this point I can honestly say that I don't even desire alcohol anymore.. Once you are sleeved you will notice that your tastes change when it comes to drinks or food.. Some of the foods and drinks that I enjoyed prior to my surgery I don't like at all now.. Not a big deal for me personally.... My boyfriend loves it!! I'm a cheap date AND the designated driver!!! LOL

I am not a alcoholic but I do love to drink wine, cognac and other adult drinks. Can you please share your experiences with me about alcoholic consumption post-op.. Thanks in advance:-) I hope this is not a deal breaker :-( lol!!

Be sure your surgeon knows you smoke. The best would be to quit before your surgery, but if your surgeon is aware and willing, then take it from there. As for alcohol, it is empty calories. I choose to have a glass of wine every evening. It was the one treat I didn't want to give up. I count the calories and work it into my 1200 calorie diet. Some doctors say no alcohol, mine didn't so check with your doctor. As for your emotional eating, the band WILL NOT help you there! You will have to battle that demon yourself. I would recommend counselling to help address the emotional issues. When I got my band I decided my life had to change completely......and it did. Now my food choices are healthy, there is NO junk food in my house anymore, I exercise daily (wow, never thought I would say that) and most importantly food does not control me....I control it. Good luck on your journey.

No splurges for me this weekend other than 1 piece of sugar free Russel Stover English Toffee. I can't have too many sugar alcohol products or I'll get too friendly with the rest room so 1 was plenty. LOL

I have gout too....if you stick to a low purien (not sure if I spelt that right) diet it will help with flare ups. avoid cured meats, like bacon and jerky, especialy deli meats. avoid red meats and alcohol as well. I still have some of these things, in moderation, but I havent had any flare ups since I started limiting those sourses of protien. hope this helps!

You did the right thing. Sounds like he's picking up right where he left off from when drinking before... Yes, i'm married to an alcoholic...He is a hard working, ethical, responsible, loving person but he is an alcoholic. THat's hard to say, and most people would never DREAM that I or him have this problem. He does not beat me mentally or physically when drinking but boy does it get on my nerves...He's a daily drinker of beer and on an occasion drinks Jim Beam. THat's the part i hate, the Jim Beam...I left for a year and a half because he used to drink and start bitching but he learned to not do that now... I love him and it's sad. It has started to affect his liver, he says he's getting ready to quit (right before he pops the top on another cold one), maybe he will maybe he won't i can't control that. All i can do is watch and wait and see. I pray he does soon. People who know him at work would really be surprised that he can be as high functioning as he is if they were to see him this next weekend...Take care...

Have you ever been to an AlAnon meeting? As the former wife of an alcoholic, may I highly recommend that you attend one ASAP?

My husband, before we got married, last October did confide that he was a recovering alcoholic. I guess I did not understand exactly what that meant until recently. We got married on 10/31/2011. In January, I thought he was having a stroke, but right as I was about to call 911 he confessed he had just guzzled a bottle of vodka, thus the slurring and stumbling. There have been many more incidents since then like this one. He has even been to some AA meetings to try to appease me. Last Saturday he was drunk before 1030 in the morning. He had went out to buy donuts, and guzzled a bottle of tequilla on the way home. He tried to lie and tell me some melatonin made him do all that. Then he went to drive himself to get something to eat. Later during the week, sober this time, he got mad at MY 5 year old and slap him on the leg pretty hard. This weekend was the straw that broke the camel's back. Me and my mother went out of town together, and he promised me he would not drink, since the previous week had been pretty bad. When I got home he was trying to change a spare tire, and when he spoke his speech was slurred. He said he had taken his Xanax and that it made him do it. When I went into our room to unpack, I noticed glitter all over our floor, then I saw all the knick knacks on my bookshelf were broke, and everything was askew. I also noticed our dresser was all crazy and pushed into the wall, and the aquarium was on the edge of the dresser. I asked him about this and he denied knowing anything about it. Well I told him that he needed to come look, because if he did it, then one of his teenage daughters had been in our room. Well finally he fessed up he had been drinking and he woke up and there was a mess, and he doesnt remember anything. He stated his nose was broke, he had bumps on the back of his head, and his face was all scratched up and he didn't remember anything. I went and spoke with his 16 year old, who has Aspbergers, and she states that he was out of his mind, he fell face first on hearth of fireplace, he fell off of the couch several times, he tried to put on a tank top in the dryer like it was pants, he kept walking into walls and he left the house in his car twice. Folks, this was enough for me. I know its supposed to be through thick and thin but I cannot raise my 5 year old like this. He has made several promises to me about getting help, and only does it for a day or so. Don't get me wrong, he is not verbally abusive, or physically abusive, and he's been a good husband except for this. My sanity is shot. My son and I moved to my parents last night, and I am looking for a place for us. I just had to vent.

Although, there is no dumping of a mechanical nature, the sugar alcohols used in some sugar free candies causes dumping due to the chemical nature of the ingredients. If anyone has eaten more than a few pieces, they would have a story to tell.

Erythritol, found in stevia is also a sugar alcohol however studies/google have indicated that this is the best one to consume because the side effects are much less. Granted they downturn that folks with digestive problems should avoid this type of sugar alcohol it tends to depend on the individual. I have a Vitamin water daily and it makes me feel great and love the flavors, more particular Yumberry! It's a Chinese strawberry. It really is yummy:)

i would avoid "sugar free" anything & definitely wouldn't eat splenda... http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/08/23/splenda-part-one.aspx Please note that I do not advise using Splenda. Nearly three years ago I posted an article describing the dangers of Splenda (sucralose). Why not use Splenda? Well, research in animals has shown that sucralose can cause many problems. Nearly every month we receive a report from someone who has had an adverse reaction to Splenda, and you can see many of them posted on our site. Reduced growth rate in newborns and adults at levels above 500 mg/kg.day Decreased red blood cells -- sign of anemia (at levels abofe 1500 mg/kd/day Decreased thyroxine levels (thyroid function) (According to McNeil, since this only occurred on male rats and no abnormalities were observed with the thyroid tissue, this was considered insignificant.) Mineral losses (magnesium and phosphorus) McNeil stated that these patterns were variable and at times not dose related so they were not significant. Decreased urination Enlarged colon (The FDA Final Rule states cecal enlargement is often seen with poorly absorbed substances and is not significant.) Enlarged liver and brain (McNeil stated these were insignificant due to a lack of a dose response.) Shrunken ovaries Shrunken thymus aboe 3 grams per day Enlarged and calcified kidneys (McNeil stated this is often seen with poorly absorbed substances and was of no toxicological significance. The FDA Final Rule agreed that these are findings that are common in aged female rats and are not significant.) Increased adrenal cortical hemorrhagic degeneration (McNeil stated that this is a variable finding common in aged rats and not toxicologically significant.) Increased cataracts (McNeil stated that cataracts were discovered upon microscopic sections of the eye tissue and that this was not as accurate as in-life ophthalmological examinations and did not reveal any treatment- related ocular findings. Abnormal liver cells (The FDA Final Rule states that this was only marginal and probably not treatment related due to the severity of the lesion was not contaminant with the dosage.) McNeil concluded that all of these findings could be explained by reasons other than sucralose toxicity and were insignificant. This seems to be a pattern in all of McNeil"s study conclusions. I find it suspect that for every single adverse finding in the animal studies, McNeil always has some rationale that renders it "insignificant." Their downplaying every harmful finding makes it seem as if they are more interested in making sucralose appear safe than making sure that the people are not harmed. The FDA concluded that most of these findings had no toxicological significance and those that did such as the decrease in thymus weight and the decreased red blood cells, would not be a problem because they occurred at doses of sucralose much higher than what people would consume.. As a physician, I beg to differ. I believe that these findings are not of no significance." Many of these are symptoms of serious pathology. ----------- most sugar free stuff has aspartame in it... http://www.naturalnews.com/026849_aspartame_drug_diet.html The aspartame horror began in 1981 due to Donald Rumsfeld, as head of the G.D. Searle pharmaceutical company, when he used his political clout to put a known carcinogen on the market to poison a nation all in the name of money. In a Washington Post article of December 12, 2001 about Donald Rumsfeld, there was a one liner that was so incredibly relevant. That sentence was: "He could be swilling Diet Coke with the secure knowledge that if not for his turnaround of Big Pharma giant G.D.Searle & Co. and successful touting of the sweetener aspartame, the beverage would not be possible". If Donald Rumsfeld had never been born think of how many millions of people the world over would not suffer headaches and dizziness. Thousands blind from the free methyl alcohol in aspartame would have sight, and there would be much fewer cases of optic neuritis and macular degeneration. Millions suffering seizures would live normal lives and wouldn`t be taking anti-seizure medication that won`t work because aspartame interacts with drugs and vaccines. Think of the runner, Flo Jo, who drank Diet Coke and died of a grand mal seizure. She, no doubt, would still be alive. Brain fog and memory loss, skyrocketing symptoms of aspartame disease, would not be epidemic. Millions suffer insomnia because of the depletion of serotonin. Think of Heath Ledger. He took that horrible drug, Ambian CR for sleep, which makes your optic nerve and face swell and gives you horrible headaches. Plus, he drank Diet Coke and took other drugs and died of polypharmacy. Since aspartame has been proven to be a multi potential carcinogen, would Farrah Fawcett still be alive? Consider the constant plague of fallen athletes. Aspartame triggers an irregular heart rhythm and interacts with all cardiac medication. It damages the cardiac conduction system and causes sudden death. Thousands of athletes have fallen. Doctors H.J. Roberts and Russell Blaylock wrote these alerts: http://www.wnho.net/aspartame msg scd.htm and http://www.wnho.net/aspartame and arrhythmias.htm Epidemiological studies should be done on MS and lupus because of their link to aspartame use. Hundreds of thousands of people suffer from aspartame induced multiple sclerosis and lupus, and if not warned in time could lose their lives as many have. Hospice nurses have reported Alzheimer`s disease in 30 year olds as it skyrockets from Rumsfeld`s plague. Think of Michael Jackson, a former Diet Pepsi spokesman. He developed lupus, then came the drugs, then came the serious joint pain, and then he died of cardiac arrest which aspartame causes. As the phenylalanine in aspartame deletes serotonin, it triggers all kinds of psychiatric and behavioral problems. The mental hospitals are full of patients who are nothing but aspartame victims. If Donald Rumsfeld had never been born, the revoked petition for approval of aspartame would have been signed by FDA commissioner Jere Goyan and the mental hospitals would house probably 50% less victims. Jere Goyan would never have been fired at 3:00 AM by the Reagan transition Team to over-rule the Board of Inquiry. Instead, FDA commissioner Jere Goyan would have signed the revoked petition into law. See: http:/www.mpwhi.com/fda petition1.doc. The FDA today would still be Big Pharma`s adversary instead of being their "hooker". If aspartame had not been approved, Lou Gehrig`s Disease, Parkinson`s and other neuro-degenerative diseases would not be knocking off the public in record numbers. Michael Fox, a Diet Pepsi spokesman, would never have gotten Parkinson`s at age 30. He would probably still be making movies, young and healthy. Aspartame interacts with L-dopa and other Parkinson drugs. Parcopa has aspartame in it and the pharmaceutical company refuses to remove it. One has to take a deep breath when you think how heartless it is that there is not even a warning for pregnant women. Aspartame triggers every kind of birth defect from autism and Tourettes` Syndrome to cleft palate. Aspartame is an abortifacient (a drug that induces abortion). As an example, out of 9 pregnancies, 8 were lost and the one that survived is schizophrenic. Multiply that all over the world due to Rumsfeld`s Plague. ADD and ADHD would be rare instead of rampant. It`s normal for young girls to look forward to marriage and children. Yet, many sip on diet soda or use aspartame products not realizing that aspartame is an endocrine disrupting agent, stimulating prolactin, which is a pituitary hormone that stimulates milk production at childbirth, changes the menstrual flow and causes infertility. Many go through life never knowing why they couldn`t have children. Aspartame even destroys marriages because it causes male sexual dysfunction and ruins female response. Aspartame causes every type of blood disorder from a low blood platelet count to leukemia. Because aspartame can precipitate diabetes the disease is epidemic. To make matters worse, it can simulate and aggravate diabetic retinopathy and neuopathy, destroy the optic nerve, cause diabetics to go into convulsions and interact with insulin. Diabetics lose limbs from the free methyl alcohol; professional organizations like the American Diabetes Association push and defend this poison because they take money from the manufactures. How many millions would not have diabetes if Rumsfeld had never been born? Aspartame (NutraSweet/Equal/Spoonful/E951/Candere/Benevia, etc) and MSG, another one of Ajinomoto`s horrors, are responsible for the epidemic of obesity the world over. Why? Because aspartame makes you crave carbohydrates and causes great toxicity to the liver. http:/www.mpwhi.com/ aspartame makes you fatter.htm The FDA report lists 92 symptoms from unconsciousness and coma to shortness of breath and shock. Medical texts list even more: "Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic", www.sunsetpress.com by H.J. Roberts, M.D., and "Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills" by neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock, M.D., www.russellblaylockmd.com. There is simply no end to the horrors triggered by this literal addictive, excitoneurotoxic, genetically engineered carcinogenic drug. This chemical poison is so deadly that Dr. Bill Deagle, www.nutrimedical.com , a noted Virologist once said it was worse than depleted uranium because it is found everywhere in food. The formaldehyde converted from the free methyl alcohol embalms living tissue and damages DNA according to the Trocho Study done in Barcelona in 1998. Even with this devastating study showing how serious a chemical poison aspartame is, the FDA has turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to it. With Monsanto attorney Michael Taylor now appointed as Deputy Commissioner to the FDA by Obama, it`s nothing more than Monsanto`s Washington Branch Office. Even before the Ramazzini Studies showing aspartame to be a multi-potential carcinogen, the FDA knew it. Their own toxicologist, Dr. Adrian Gross, even admitted that it violated the Delaney Amendment because of the brain tumors and brain cancer. Therefore, no allowable daily intake ever should have been able to be established. Aspartame caused all types of tumors from mammary, uterine, ovarian, pancreatic and thyroid to testicular and pituitary. Dr. Alemany, who did the Trocho Study, commented that aspartame could kill 200 million people. When you damage DNA you can destroy humanity. Dr. James Bowen told the FDA over 20 years ago that aspartame is mass poisoning the American public and likewise in more than 70 countries of the world. No wonder it`s called "Rumsfeld`s Plague". Big Pharma knows all about aspartame and they add it to drugs, including the ones used to treat the problems caused by aspartame. Big Pharma has made America a fascist government. People are so sick from aspartame and yet they keep selling these dangerous pharmaceuticals at outrageous prices. Dr. H.J. Roberts said in one of his books that you have to consider aspartame with killing children. We are talking about a drug that changes brain chemistry. Today children are medicated instead of educated. Death and disability is what Donald Rumsfeld has heaped on consumers just to make money. Think of the death of Charles Fleming who used to drink about 10 diet sodas a day. Then he used creatine on top of this, which interacts, and is considered the actual cause of death. Yet his wife, Diane Fleming, remains in a prison in Virginia convicted of his death, despite being the very one who tried to get her husband to stop using these dangerous products containing aspartame in the first place. The list never ends. At least six American Airlines` pilots, who were heavy users of aspartame, have died with one in flight drinking a Diet Coke. When American Airlines was written about removing aspartame they said, "leave the flying to us". Pilots too are sick and dying on aspartame, and when you fly your life is in the hands of the pilot. There was a case with a Delta pilot that died from esophageal cancer and had a history of consuming huge quantities of diet sodas. This was brought to the attention of the Delta management that refused the pilot`s wife`s request to alert other pilots. Then there`s the Persian Gulf where diet sodas sat on pallets daily in temperatures in the 100 to 120 degree range for as long as 9 weeks at a time before the soldiers drank them all day long. Remember, aspartame converts to formaldehyde at 86 degrees; it interacts with vaccines and damages the mitochondria or life of the cell, and the whole molecule breaks down to a brain tumor agent. There`s a book out there called, "Rumsfeld, His Rise, Fall and Catastrophic Legacy", by Andrew Cockburn that will substantiate all of this. And fittingly, Rumsfeld appropriately lives in a place called Mount Misery. In the video, "Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World", which you can view at www.healthtalkhawaii.com, attorney James Turner explains how Rumsfeld got his poison marketed for human consumption. To learn about how the CDC investigation was covered up - The Rumsfeld-Pepsi-Nixon Connection, go to http://www.sweetremedy.tv/pages/rumsfeld2.html or view it in its entirety at www.healthtalkhawaii.com. For over a quarter of a century there has been mass poisoning of the public in over 100 countries of the world by aspartame because Donald Rumsfeld, as he put it, "called in his markers". The aspartame industry has paid front groups and professional organizations to defend them and push it on the very people it can cause the most harm to. A suit was filed against the American Diabetes Association in 2004 for racketeering but they got out of it. The hands of physicians are tied. Most are clueless that a patient is using aspartame, and the drugs used to treat the aspartame problem will probably interact and may even contain aspartame. This is the world that Donald Rumsfeld is responsible for! Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/026849_aspartame_drug_diet.html#ixzz25VCzXW8t

Although I really want to give you a silly picture, I'll be serious this time: Getting "drunk" is not good for anyone, sleeve or no sleeve. Every time you drink, the ethanol is having an effect on your central nervous system. Alcohol diffuses (spreads out) to your body tissues. It also thickens your blood, hence the post-drunkenness headaches. You are only 5 weeks out. You don't want alcohol entering your stomach that has recently been cut. While I have no fundamental objections to alcohol and before the sleeve was a rare drinker, you being anxious to get drunk is no bueno. Dang...that was hard.

Who said you can't have alcohol after being banded? I've been banded for almost 3 yrs now and enjoy an occasional glass of wine or margarita. You just have to watch the calories. There's nothing about the band that would preclude alcohol. Except that it lowers your inhibitiions on eating crap! Enjoy one in a while! Marci

Just be careful of the sugar alcohols those can give you the runs as well. I by a carb smart ice cream bar it has two grams sugar and 6 grams sugar alcohols that is on the lower side that I have found and they satisfy the sweet tooth. Even though I can't even eat half lol. surgery date 08-01-12

How far out from surgery are you? I'm 7 weeks out and once in a while will get the cramps/gurgling in my intestines. I can't guess if it will be gas or that I have to go so I get up and go just in case. Most of the time it happened earlier after the surgery for me and has gotten better. Just occassionally it happens now. Pay attention to what you've had to eat that day....you could be sensitive to milk/dairy, sugar alcohols etc.

It's only been six days since I've been banded and I cannot stop thinking of food. From pizza and Popeye's to green beans, I've been mourning my past life. Today was a particularly hard day and I had thoughts of regret. However, after reading some posts in forums, I'm again positive and took a big step... I ordered pizza for my husband and son. It might sound like I'm setting myself up for failure, but I'm really proud that I did this and think this is going to help me in coping. I will be so proud of myself after they finish their dinner. I found a surprise treat, as well. Although, I've never been a heavy drinker, I have had a margarita or pina colada on occasion. I know I won't ever be able to have an alcoholic beverage again now that I have a band. So, imagine my surprise when right after I ordered the pizza for my family, my son came into my room and said, "Mom, I bet your white popsicles are pina colada flavored." Yes, I found a pina colada flavored generic sugar-free popsicle at Krogers. I will enjoy that while they are eating the pizza, since I already had my protein shake for the evening.

as we are all tempted by sweets and whatnot but know better and scour the aisles for sugar free items PLEASE be aware of the dangers of malitol/sorbitol, sugar alcohols...which incidentally are neither sugar nor alcohol, but in fact a type of carb that is (in my opinion) EVIIIIIL they pretty much just rot in your gut causing at least a "laxative effect" and more extreme can cause bloating, cramping, diarrhea and horrible ookey pain. -this all stems from a lactose/sugar free ice cream i found containing, you guessed it, malitol which after two tablespoons cause me the most excruciating four hours of my life. so beware folks, it might be confused as dumping but anything containing more that (...40g i think) of malitol/sorbitol WILL cause baaaaad things... talk to your doctors/dietions ect!!

Girl, I hear ya. I love an ice cold beer, especially on a holiday like this. But I am three weeks out and now way am I trying alcohol, much less anything carbonated. Figure this craving will pass like any other.

You need to wait at least two months from surgery so that the blood thinning effects of the alcohol don't cause problems. That said, my doc says no way to any carbonation until six months to a year.

Mixed dring as in with alcohol? You can tolerate alcohol ! I wish I could but my NUT & Doc said that is a no no for at least a year... A YEAR ! I'd love a Cosmo bout now.

This forum has been really helpful to read about the success of others and also the challenges that are discussed. I started out at 335 lb and had weight loss surgery on July 2nd. I am in my second stall at 2 months ( 3 days now). My weight is currently at 255 lb and I know the stall will eventually end. 80 lb sown so far. Yay! However, I am looking for some advice for breaking this stall. First, I would like to give some background on eating, exercising and vitamins. I have been exercising daily either walking my dog for between 2 and 4 miles, sometimes with hills. I have done some hiking a few weeks ago, but it just about sent me into the ER because of dehydration and the hike was rated hard even for athletes. I felt like almost passing out at the end ( 8 miles round trip). Part of the trail is 2000 feet in 1.2 miles and was brutal stair climbing, literally. I used to be such an avid hiker previously when I was in better shape ( also hiked most of my younger years), before gaining quite a bit of weight ( 100 lb) after losing 100 lb 5 years earlier (atkins eating and lots of cardio). I gained mostly due to life and work stresses, but before that kept it off for 5 years. I gave up on dieting because of yo-yoing and the downward effect it was having on my ability to have a stable and happy life. That is why it has been such a good decision to have the sleeve surgery. It was a little difficult the 1st week post op, but then got better. Incisions still hurt a little on occasion, but manageable. Coming back to the stall, I am looking for advice of starting weight training program. I have never enjoyed weight lifting and have always preferred cardio like elliptical and treadmill. I have never been able to "get into" lifting or even basic training because i am not sure how to get started, even though i have a ton of books. Lol! My post op food intake has been fairly rigorous. I usually eat a matrix/soy shake for breakfast ( have been mixing in a low calorie veggie powder recently - a little weird but i got used to it after a few times), a greek yogurt for 9am snack, 3 oz chicken/ salmon for lunch, matrix/ water for 3 pm snack, some protein based dinner(3oz) and 3 oz matrix/water shake for 8 pm. I do not always have the 8 pm snack. I always get in the 80+ oz protein and usually have 100+ oz water/mio/crystal light a day. On weekends, i have been trying one or two meals at my favorite places to eat such as indian, red robin or olive garden. I mainly go to spend time with my family andy everyone is supportive and even help me find suitable choices. I am also very careful to eat 3-4 oz of something very high in protein. And yes, I really do like the matrix and nectar shakes, especially cookies and creme or oreo. I do not have and trouble with eating wrong foods, being over hungry, or drinking alcohol. I just do not have the urge nor want to sabotage the successes so far. Besides i think any high sugar or high fat would just make me sick and uncomfortable. I just want to keep eating simple as i have enough other things going on in life with family and work. I have not missed a day of taking vitamins. I take multi, calc chew, c, b50, b12, omega3, d and a few others. Taking all these vitamins is starting to feel like work, but i have always taken vitamins over the last 10 years so more of the same. Finally, i do journal every day with regards to weight, energy level, sleep hours, vitamins, prescriptions, food intake, liquid intake, exercise and general notes. It is helpful to have the notes and does put me in the right mindset for the day. My biggest concern is having a gall bladder issue as i read about it so often on the posts. No issue yet, but i do feel minor acute jabs from time to time under right rib. Again no issue yet but am concerned. Sorry this is so long winded, but i am looking for some long term advice to break stalls ( hopefully with regards to weightlifting) and get some comments on my approaches so far.

Hi All: So here is is Labor Day and I really just want to have a nice cold beer! I am 1 month post op so obviously I have been avoiding all carbonation... I haven't even tried it to see how I feel. But I'm curious if anyone else has... I'm a beer drinker not much of a liquor girl... Lemonade Vodkas are good but just too sweet after awhile. What are your go too picnic drinks? PS: I'm a social drinker not an alcoholic just to make that clear...lol

Funny thing regular food is not my problem, its sweets. I also had to leave the alcohol alone.

Change certainly is never easy. But as the saying goes. nothing worth having comes easy. This in my opinion one of the hardest things I can think of in regards to life changes. Lets face it, if you are an alcoholic, addicted to drugs, you fight to break that addiction, turn away from the drugs/alcohol and you work hard to never look back. But we have the more difficult task (NOT NOT NOT that I;m downplaying recovering addicts, I have tremendopus respect for them) but we can't walk away from our addiction...food. We have to face it every day, making it a daily battle. But deciding to do this, to get the sugery, to change our lives, shows we DO have the strength. Some days its just harder to find then others EEsMom...don't let the hurdles discourage you, so many of us had to go through them. Lets face it, we are doing this because we suffer health issues, so no wonder we hit some walls along the way! Each step though, is one step closer. Good luck to you!!! Heres another blog... Posted 3/23/11 One more week makes it 3 months. 3 months. Funny, I would think time would have felt like it flew. IT HASN'T! hehe. Its been a long 3 months if you ask me. Just yesterday and last night I was sick again. I know, I know, try not to be shocked. I wonder if that's ever going to stop or if it's a permanent price to pay. Not that its the end of the world, I mean this is annoying but diabetes would have eventually killed me. So its seemingly a small price. But on days like that I do find myself a little...perturbed. For all the seminars, meetings etc that I went to no one spoke about these down sides. Yes, yes they talked about eating too fast or too much making you sick, or eating the wrong thing may give you "dumping syndrome" (Really? with all the medical jargon out there they couldn't come up with a better phrase? Come on, that’s just gross) anyway... I don't know if they would tell us ahead of time of ALL the negative consequences that a lot of people would change their minds. I really don't think it would deter anyone. Hell, I made sure at the seminar I asked all about death rates from the surgery and that kind of stuff. Now mind you, they didn’t have it as part of the whole presentation but they did most graciously answer my questions.(Leave it to me to scare everyone) But anyway, why omit anything at all? I'm sorry but I had no idea how sick I was going to be all the time. Last night I was barely able to hold my Vitamins down. That’s just crazy! But it is what it is. I was talking to a friend of mine who told me he ran into an old friend. She had once been like 400 lbs, had the surgery a year ago and was looking and doing great. Then he told me she said yes, she still felt sick a lot.... ... ... ... A YEAR LATER?! So I gave up one sickness for another lol. Well ok, being nauseous all the time wont kill me so this is the better deal but I do find some kind of twisted amusement in this. All I know is that I have indeed learned this: I once claimed that having surgery was "taking the easy route" Well it may have been the fast route but easy? LIKE HELL!!! It has its own price, a worthy one but a price nonetheless... Call it karma, call it cosmic justice... just call me in some tums. Have a great holiday everyone!!

If I could go back to my 21 year old self and tell her to get the sleeve, I would. Absolutely, hands down. BUT I would give myself these tips: 1. Call the insurance company directly. As one person said - different policies under the same insurance company can be very different. Some do not even cover WLS even though UHC in general does. Though people on here are super helpful and you may find that the online guideline is correct, they can be very picky about wording. The best option is hearing it straight from an insurance representative's mouth. Record their name and all the information they give you every time you call. Keep it in a file for if you need to call and reference it later. Follow their directions to a T, your approval will hopefully be much less stressful this way. 2. Find a solid support system. Do you live at home/with a roommate you're comfortable with? Do you have someone able to help you? Even at 25, it had rough days where I really appreciated the help. Not to mention you are young and your hormones are probably going crazy anyway - this is going to make that even worse. Having a shoulder to lean on is irreplaceable. 3. Get used to the diet pre-op. I think this would have been a huge struggle for me when I was younger. I had far less self control than I do now, and I think having a period of time pre-surgery where I was going through the diet to understand the phases would be helpful in creating structure. This includes being able to resist alcohol/other peer pressure stuff. You might have a better backbone than me, but it would have been hard for me to not drink for quite a while when my friends went out. I think if you just make sure you are 100% sure what you're getting yourself into - go for it! Enjoy being young while you're young =) I hope everything works out well for you! Let us know how it goes.