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It is made by Crystal Light and its in the aisle where the other crystal light is. There is a margarita and an appletini. I tried the margarita and it is amazing! No alcohol in it, but it tasted just like a margarita. It hit the spot.

Alcoholism is a switch over addiction. Some people use that to fill in the void that food used to fill. It's used instead of self-medicating with food. It happens quite a bit actually.

Lol the alcoholic thing made me laugh bc it's absurd! Lol. She does sound likemshenwas a little crazy herself.

Similar. My mom was dx schizophrenic (don't know about the hereditary aspect of that), and I put it down on my psyche evaluation. My psyche was nuts herself, though. She told me I would be an alcoholic, no options. I obviously got approval for my surgery and I'm not an alcoholic a year later, so I think you should be fine. As far as your being OCD, that's probably a good thing! That means you'll be very compliant with vitamins, exercise and meds.

One of my worst anxiety ridden fears is that someone will say something to me or the gate agent or flight attendant is going to take me out of line and tell me I need an extra seat. I've even had dreams about it.... it is one (of hundreds!) of the reasons I am doing this. I just don't want to live like this anymore. My husband and I were having a heart to heart talk a few weeks ago. I had kept the gastric sleeve thing to myself until I made a decision. When I finally told him he was very apprehensive. He said it breaks his heart that I loathe myself. I've never been and never will be the fat girl/woman who accepts herself and moves on. It is not possible for me. Fat has stolen my life. So my husband said most everyone has something they carry with them that has broken them a little ( his father was an abusive alcoholic). I started crying and said, yes, but you don't have to go through life with a giant sign wrapped around your body telling the world what your weakness is. Ok, not sure how I got off the actual subject here..... back to the subject - I dread flying - I am filled with utter terror that I will be humiliated in some way....

Actually the only way to stop an addiction is to quit it and never touch it again. I was a true addict too. I drank about 6 cans a day and quitting seriously sucked. Just like a drug addict or alcoholic can't have their addiction in moderation and remain in control of it, neither can we.

Just me, but I have spent enough time & money at McDonald's ( with 2 kids) to think I have earned a lifetime pass to use their bathrooms. LOL, BUT because I consider my association with food unhealthy, will be avoiding it like an alcoholic should be avoiding a bar!

Ever?

That's right nyquil has alcohol I wasn't paying mind. Do natural stuff hot tea with lemon. Rest

Nyquil has alcohol. My surgeon said no Nyquil. But please feel better soon.

Try vanilla powder in your plain NF Greek yogurt. It adds all the flavor none of the alcohol taste from vanilla extract. Add some splenda for sweetness and you have low sugar/carb/cal deliciousness

I have read that you will feel tipsy very quick. However, I had a little under half the amount of liquor that wouldve had me feeling it -- and only felt slightly woozy. I didn't try any alcohol until 5 mos out. Also be wary of wine it contains a lot of sugar and it could make you feel sick just from that. I hear they have skinny margarita mix with no sugar. My hubby works for a food distributor so I'll post the stats on that wenever I get a chance (: have a great weekend

Have any of you post ops been intoxicated?? Not that I plan to do that or anything but I'm only 23 and enjoy being a little buzzed every now and then. Of course not until I get the okay from the dr for some wine. What's it like??? Do you get sick easier from alcohol?? Drunk faster?? Just curious.

My Doc & Nut had printed in our manual (produced a cople years ago) "never" drink alcohol. In class, they had us turn to that page and scratch through the "Never", and simply write "avoid". They said no harm now and again, but don't make it a habit/new transference/addiction.

Sounds great. I have my work function on Friday night do can give you an update of my first experience of having some alcohol.

First off hi to the newbies to the thread!! I have had to read through a few pages to catch up...love having some aussies in here Yes I do drink alcohol. I drink socially, it is a rule I never drink alone. I had my farewell party last night before I go on my trip, and lets just say that being sleeved has not really hindered my ability to drink...well not much. My drink of choice is champagne, alright sparkling wine, but also do vodka. Over the night I would have consumed like a bottle and a bit, plus a few shots....sounds like a bit now. However through unfortunate trial and error have learnt the following things: - Dont eat and drink alcohol, ie it is one of the other for the night, its not like drinking Water, where 1/2 hour later you can eat...for me not so much with alcohol...have some food before you start - You get tipsy quicker - You sober up quicker - And cider tastes good but is not a friend anymore - And you pee more often This is just my experience tho. I think I had my first drink at like 6 weeks out at a social gathering but at that stage pretty much sat on it the whole night...obviously now, almost 11 months later it is a bit of a different story. There was another question out there around Snacks, especially early on I used to snack on: - Babybel/laughing cow cheese - Fruit cups (golden valley or weight watchers, either were my NUTs preference) - Yoghurt - Cruskits with cream cheese Snacks havent really changed much, moved from cruskits to wholemeal saladas, sometimes I have carrot sticks with a dip of sorts. And now I may a bite size chocolate bar, occasionally. Kelliv, agree with what has already been said, take it easy and listen to your body. It could also be a temperature of beverage. I remember early on drinking water, especially cold water was really uncomfortable, i then started having room temp water and also putting some low cal cordial in helped for some reason. The same with really hot stuff. Make things as thin as possible early on.

This is not the first thread that this has happened on. For some reason some people read responses and take them completely the wrong way. Some people seem to forget that on the internet you cannot see the body language or the tone behind a post and something that has been said with the best intentions is taken completely the wrong way. I think we all need to remember that when we post things on a public forum we will get some responses we like and some we don't. We just all need to lighten up and not take things personally. Going through this process is hard and some of the things that we have to do to get there can make us feel extra edgy. We are cutting backs on a lot of the crutches that we depend on. E.g food, sugar,carbs,alcohol,tobacco etc. All of those things can combine to make a person more on edge than they are normally. Just remember we are all working towards the same goal , some of us are there already, some of us are on our way but wherever we are in the process we are here to cheer you on and to help and guide you when things get tough.

I don't drink alcohol, so that's not an issue for me. I'm using to drinking with my meals, so if I'm out, I'm only taking tiny little sips of Water, just to not raise any suspicion amongst my fellow diners.

Nice one Scotty, good luck with your appt. A question for the post sleevers. Do you drink alcohol? How often? What do you drink? How much can you drink? Thanks in advance

1. I confess this thread makes me both laugh and feel sad in equal measure 2. I confess, I eat junk food and enjoy all 3 bites of it and then I am done til the next week. I dont deny my body anything anymore. 3. I confess even tho life is more challenging now, I love the person I have become over the last 11 months 4. I confess I am now a size 14/16 Aus (12/14 US) and am happy and comfortable at this size, if I never loose anymore weight or size I will be ok with it 5. I confess I have days when this journey is hard (physically and emotionally) but for everyone of those days I have 15 good ones....but really that is just life 6. Throwing in another one for good measure...I confess I drink alcohol and I like it too...life is about having everything in moderation.

It sounds like you have unrealistic expectations of the band. It is not supposed to make you feel full, nor is it suppose to restrict what you eat or how much you can eat. The only thing the band is suppose to do is help you to be satisfied with less food for longer periods of time. Satisfied meaning no longer physically hungry. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean you don't need another fill. You very well may. But if you are looking for a full feeling or for the band to restrict what you eat or how much, then you run the risk of getting over-filled. Being over-filled leads to slips and you definitely don't want that. Have you considered counseling? Food addiction is very real and very hard to overcome. I know I still struggle with it all the time. I have to constantly ask myself "Am I physically hungry or do I just want to eat?" Unlike drug or alcohol addiction, us food addicts can't just give up our addiction. We have to eat to live. I hope you consider counseling, it really can help a lot. Best wishes to you.

I'm so grateful to have found this site and have read a number of stories that made me feel less alone in my own struggle. Here is my story: March of 2008 I saw a weight loss surgeon who said all the right things to convince me I was too fat to lose weight on my own and the only way to have lifelong success was to sign up for WLS which required a thousand dollar deposit. I weighed 265 lbs at the time and in my late 30s was far too tired to try another diet and exercise program that would inevitably result in another 10lb weight gain. January of 2008 my employer switched to a new insurance carrier, I submitted paperwork in March for coverage for WLS and eventually got the definitive "no" in November 2008. Fast forward to October 2009, same doctor, same spiel, weight now 295lbs and co-morbidities presented to insurance carrier requesting coverage- denied. Februaury 2011, made a "lets just see" call to insurance carrier to find out if requirements were met........found out that one more year of a documented weight and BMI over 40 and the coverage would be extended! I put my ducks in a row and within 2 weeks of my initial doctors visit in February 2012 I was able to schedule my surgery for mid March. I was shocked to find my weight ballooned to 347lbs but thrilled when I lost 16 lbs pre-surgery in a short 12 days. I took 5 days off work, gave away all the food in my pantry and bought the cutest pajamas I could find for my 3 day hospital stay. I packed my bag on Sunday and even though I was nervous and exited I slept until 5am when I took a luxurious bubble bath and set out for the hospital @ 7am. In pre-op my precious daughter sat and prayed with me, my anesthesiologist joked about just turning the big 40 too, my surgeon came in and smiled, answered my questions, quelled my fears and prayed with my daughter and I. Nothing but blackness. I barely woke to find myself in PACU alone and asked for my daughter to be allowed in.."sure honey, which one is she?"..."hmm, oh, she's the one with pink hair!". My sweet daughter came in and praised God with me that I was breathing and everything seemed fine. Fade to black again. I'm in a private room now and my daughter is sleeping on the sofa. The nurse comes in, the IV is checked, "here's your button for the morphine pump. Any time you feel pain coming on you press it." I'm not in pain, I feel my stomach and it feels flat already, stupid, it must be the drugs. My surgeon comes in with his PA and he looks flushed, sweaty and triumphant, "eveything went wonderful! no problems, a textbook case if there ever was one." we smile and I joke about calling What Not To Wear to get a new wardrobe. I get up to the bathjroom as soon as I can. I'm anxious to see how I look and change out of the hospital gown. It's been 3hrs since surgery and i'm in my pajamas, robe and snuggly slippers and my daughter takes my arm and we begin our walk around the unit. I walk and walk, smiling and thinking what a good patient I am, no DVTs for me. My stay is uneventful, day 3 my surgeon smiles and says "time to go home!" I fill my prescriptions but I haven't touched the pain medicine and feel so powerful that I drive myself home. Then the horror begins. The first noght i'm home I wind up in the bathroom with forceful diarhea that comes in waves of gut wrenching spasms. Over and over again, just foul smelling liquid, I sit there too long and now i'm sick, I pull the trash can over and vomit clear liquid until I think i'm going to pass out. My daughter gets me to bed, time to take the meds and not try to do it on my own, I slump back and its daytime now. My head is spinning and the spasms come again, diarhea, vomit.... I step on the scale, smile in a drug haze and think wow i've lost 2 more lbs! Nothing is clear anymore, what day is it? what time is it? did I take my pills? was it a dream or did I really eat a piece of chicken from the refrigerator? why won't the nausea stop? why do the Protein shakes suddenly taste like dog butt? I can't get anything in, i'm trying to force 2oz popsicles down but when I finish one its back to the bathroom with waves of diarhea and vomiting. Day 6 post-op, I manage to take a shower with my daughter holding me up, pack 2 Protein Shakes and my giant Water bottle and trot off to work. I make it 2hrs into a ten hour shift and spend most of it in the bathroom vomiting blood...time to call the doctor. I talk to the nurse who tellls me to drink as much water as I can. I can't. I call and talk to another nurse who says to try a different Protein shake. I'm weak and sick and starting to lose it...I scream at my daughter "why won't you help me?". I call the nurse again, the PA calls me back "have you been able to take your meds and get some water in?" no, NO! It's been 11 days since surgery and now we're worried for some reason and my daughter has my bag packed and we're back at the hospital where they have my room ready and they put me back in a hospital gown. I don't see my doctor until Monday but Fri, Sat and Sun a variety of PAs mand other surgeons from the office come in and tell me things and they'll support me and some people have a harder time and just give it time, time time. Monday the first of many PICC lines come and the tests start. In 3 days I blew 11 IV lines. The PICC line sounds wonderful but they hit my ulnar nerve and the vein occluded and I went back to my room with an open hole in my arm, a second PICC and a gown covered in blood..how did that happen with a sterile drape? So I can't eat but they think I won't and they tell me all the reasons I need to and they threaten if I don't its time for TPN. I try, I puke. I try everything, Unjury- ick, water-gross, eggs-vomit, pudding, ice cream, sherbet, yogurt, Jello... the nausea wells up from my toes and never ends. The TPN starts on Tuesday, I leave the hospital 13 days later, Maundy Thursday, I beg because tomorrow its Good Friday and I can't bear to be away from daughter on Easter. Monday after Easter I have lost 8 lbs in the 4 days i've been home, somethings wrong. The doctor says to get a liter of Fluid and some Vitamins, it'll be ok, it's not. Friday the nurses come and set up the home TPN and show me how to do IV push meds, the saline, phenergen, saline, heparin, again, the zofran, again, 8 times a day. My house becomes and infirmary, boxes and boxes of supplies, dressings, medicine, saline, alcohol swabs, heparin. The dog can't be out when the dressing is changed, the TPN bag is changed once a day, add the vitamins, push the medicine. It takes a few weeks and the meds are doubled, the nausea just won't fricking stop. The TPN is my savior. another month, double the meds again, brief periods of relief, my weight stabilizes @ 317....I had WLS for this? I can't work, i'm constantly sick and besides I have a doctors appointment every week and another test, EGD, swallowing, emptying studies, another EGD, but nothing is wrong "everything is fine, it may just take time for you. You might be on liquids for 6 months" my doctor says... liquids? it's been 3 months and I can drink about 12 oz a day... liquids? i'm still on TPN?! It's been 4 months, I can't stand the TPN, we decrease the time and I try to eat what I can when I can. My weight is 318, d?@$ WLS! We double the meds, the phenergen is 4 times the dose it was when I had surgery, does anyone know this causes heart problems? We decrease the TPN, I can only eat right after I push the meds and I do it again right afterwards, then I pass out... weight loss is tough work, I manage to get down to 314. Somethings wrong, I feel sick, sicker than usual haha...my daughter is talking to the nurse at the ER, "no she feels really sick, her heart is skipping beats maybe? her blood pressure is up. look at her arm, do you think it's swollen? what's that black mark?" They tell me I have a UTI and send me home, its Monday. I can't breathe, i'm having a heart attack, I know it, its Wednesday and we're back at the ER, the doctor smiles and says its anxiety, take some Ativan and keep taking your antibiotic...are you kidding? I throw up the antibiotic, it stinks, I crush the Ativan and sleep for days. Its Friday and the nurse calls, "how are you" my arm hurts and its swollen, "GO BACK TO THE ER" I can't, I fall back asleep. Its Saturday and I can't find my wrist, my arm is a thick puffy balloon like they use to make balloon animals. My fingers won't bend, doesn't matter cause I can't feel them anyway, i'm sick, I vomit and try to push my meds, I get in 2ccs of saline and it feels like my arm is a water balloon...I push a cc and I think I see it literally filling up, theres a black gnarled line around my upper arm, looks like a barbed wire tattoo, thank God for WLS. I'm at the ER again, its Saturday night and i'm sure they'll admit me, they HAVE to pull the PICC and give me a new one, surely they'll see that, I can't breathe, please give me some Ativan and phenergan, i'm gonna puke again. A nurse comes in and says he's from Interventional radiology, doesn't even touch my arm but smiles and leaves, we hear him outside the door "you've gotta pull that PICC, it's really bad!" a tech comes in with an ultrasound machine and pushes on the outer part of my arm, over and over, slimy gel, pushing harder, my arm isn't quite so numb now, its killing me on the underside, my armpit aches and the inner portion of my upper arm feels like someone is firing a gun into it every time they touch me. "Good news!" the ER doc smiles and tells me its just a little superficlal blood clot...yay! all we need to do is apply warm compresses and it will go away, have some noroc for the pain...great, more crap I can't swallow. "What should I do if it gets worse? what if it swells up more?" don't worry "It's fine, no need to come back even if it gets bigger, warm compresses and you'll feel alot better" It's Monday and the weekend went by in a drug induced haze. I can't use my PICC, I crush the norco and ativan and try to stay asleep, no not asleep, blacked out, like anesthesia until the doctors office opens Monday. I tell the nurse, she sets up an appointment at Interventional Radiology for them to pull and replace the PICC on Tuesday, good, hopefully i'll die by then. Its 6pm Monday and I can't take it, I might be hallucinating, I know i'm dying, I moan and rock, i'm in the car, off to the ER again. I wait for hours while people scream and cry, everybody is taken before me, I pull my sweatshirt and cover my head, I moan and lick the blood from cracked lips, I can't even stand up to go to the bathroom and vomit, 4 hours later and they wheel me back. Nurse after nurse comes in to try to start an IV, "she's dehydrated and a tough poke" "I KNOW! she's so ill tho, what are we supposed to do???" check her feet, no veins, we're gonna have to go in thru the femoral.....God no, I can't remember if I have underwear on and they're gonna cut into my groan to find a vein. "Great news!" we found a cluster of blood clots under your arm, no not one, there are several vericose veins bulging out of your arm, the PICC went bad and they strangulated and now they have clots in them. You're gonna die if you throw one to your heart or lungs, we're starting the lovanox, you're gonna be fine. 3 days of terror, I'm admitted to the hospital and the doc upstairs decides she knows what I need, they pull the PICC from my grossly swollen arm and I beg for some dilauded "this isn't a painful procedure, you don't need anything for pain." and she teaches the student nurse how to yak=nk 4 feet of tubing and wire from my arm while I sob, my daughter cries and starts to yell. The doctor leaves, she won't come back or write orders, i'm sick, no pain meds or nausea meds, try some tylenol, f**** you. I cry and demand to see another doctor, I call my doctor and the oncall doctor screams at the charge nurse...they give me ativan and phenergan, my daughter yells and threatens, the nurses hate to come in my room. Wednesday morning is the first and last time I see my surgeon, he pops his head in and smiles "so your PICC is gone now, thats what happens" when you screw up and get a blood clot is what he doesn't say. I'll see you in my office next week and we'll talk about a feeding tube. What? I had WLS 4 and a half months ago... I cry and turn and face the window, I keep the shades down. I'm sick of this, I finally get to leave @ noon on Wednesday. I have a script for Warfarin and an order to have my blood drawn every day, I have no PICC line, no IV push meds, no TPN and my arm looks like I was going for a Popeye look. I sob on the ride home. When I go to the lab the next morning they stick me 6 times and still don't get enough to run the PT/INR to check my clotting times. I fall out of the car as I try to go inside, I just sit on the grass and contemplate throwing up on the lawn, I see the neighbor and when she waves I think I should strip off my clothes and just run shrieking down the street... I need a laugh, otherwise I just cry. I'm so depressed, I see my primary doc, he orders me oral nausea meds, a compression sleeve for my arm and listens to me cry. I tell him my heart is skipping a beat, he says "phenergan can cause permanent heart damage" f*** phenergan. It's 12 days since I left the hospital without a PICC. The last thing my surgeon said was that they couldn't find a reason for my symptoms, he even asked the doctors at a seminar in California and they were all puzzled, oh well, too bad for me. My weight is down to 300 lbs now, it was 312 when I left the hospital. I made the mistake of going back to the ER last week Tuesday because my chest hurt and I was coughing and that same shortness of breath and heart thing came back. they said I was fine and were sending me home when I looked the ER doc right in the eye and said "with all due respect, the last time you said I was fine I had a blood clot that almosgt killed me, please, can you just check everything to make sure i'm ok?" tears in my eyes, he smiles, lets run another test. Theres a shadow in my lung, likely pneumonia but we can't be sure the clots haven't moved. We'll keep you for observation but we won't admit you, you're probably fine buit we'll do some IV fluids and antibiotics to be sure. They take me upstairs, I know whats coming next, nurse after nurse tries to start the IV, IM pain meds, I ask for nausea meds at 6:30 am and by 2pm I still haven't gotten any. I can't stand it so I leave, they chase me and try to make me sign something saying if I die its my own fault. I get home and chew a phenergan, drink some lortab and pass out. My primary doc said he would figure out how to get me seen by a specialist, I won't return the calls from my surgeons office, if I could put a stop payment on his check I would but insurance has already paid his fee. Maybe he's right, there's nothing to explain my symptoms, I doubt that, my skin is grey and I look like a chemo patient because my long thick brown hair has fallen out in Patches and I have a kind of crazy eyed look to me. I'm hungry and thirsty, I think I look like I could be a victim of starvation but then I laugh because i'm still so fat. I knew the risks of the surgery, pulmonary embolism, DVT, sleeve leak, infection. I was a nurse for 10 years and took care of hospice patients who looked better than me. I signed on for a magic pill, a fantastic surgery that would finally help me get to a healthy weight so I could see my daughter graduate from medical school, get married and hold my grandchildren. I wanted to avoid diabetes and stop heart disease, funny how it all worked out. If you have experienced any of the pain, nausea, depression, sadness, fear, frustration, anger or disgust like I have, tell me your story and let me know i'm not alone, i'm not crazy and it does get better. :-)

Well, I dont consider bread, rice or Pasta things I "shouldnt eat"! So yes, I eat those things regularly. Well, I hate bread to be honest, but rice and gluten free pasta are on my menu regularly. Do i eat chocolate, cake, Cookies, alcohol - hell yeah! Which is probably why I maintain now instead of losing. I dont eat a LOT of them, but I do eat them. I am at goal weight and have been for a fair few years now. I ate way less of those things whilst losing. But I always ate carbs - never ever did a low carb diet and I lost weight easily. So whilst some people do need to low carb it, eating occasional rice or pasta is unlikely to affect weight loss too much.

I confess: I had my blood work for my 1 year appointment today, and I lied about fasting. I'd had coffee and a protein shake. I'm not sure why I had to fast in the first place and didn't realize it until it was too late. I'm worried I won't have a weight loss to show when I go for my 1 year appointment later this month -- it has been May since I've lost any weight. I think my sleeve has helped me lose all the weight I am going to lose. If I lose more, it will be because I stick to the plan as far as eating and exercising. I will not lose more without exercise. I have a hard time determining my portion sizes when eating food I make at home. I think this might be a place where I can improve my diet, so I've bought smaller dishes (4 ounce sizes) and a digital food scale to help me get more accurate calorie counts for home cooked food. I need to quit drinking alcohol. A frozen margarita sounds SO good on a hot summer day. I can easily pass up a 100 calorie snack, but it is harder to pass on an alcoholic drink. I think knowing the actual calories will make it easier to turn it down. When I learned those frozen premade margaritas have 300 calories, they lost their appeal. It is shocking that one drink can be a third to a half of the calorie count of my normal intake. I feel like my belly is getting bigger although my weight hasn't changed. I'm afraid to measure in case I'm right. I love it when someone asks me what my pant size or weight is, and they get this shocked look when they realize I am now smaller or the same size as they are...

I rarely cook at home even though I know I should do it more often. lunch is often provided at my job, and I have meetings, family and friends to go out most evenings of the week. I have had no problems adjusting. I bring shakes with me to work and eat more solid foods when I am with others. Drinking with meals isn't a big issue. Order Water and no one will notice if you drink it. I will often have one or two small sips with my dinner. It helps things go down easily. If you are talking about drinking alcohol, I don't have much advice. I've never been a big drinker. About being sick after eating too much - I've never had an episode where I run to the bathroom. You can tell when you are eating too much, but it does come on a lot faster than it did pre-sleeve. When you feel it, it can often be too late. For me, it doesn't require a trip to the bathroom. I just know that I am going to be uncomfortably full for a while, and I don't like that feeling which causes me to avoid overeating. Most of the time, I just wait it out. This may be a little gross, but I have stuck my finger down my throat on a couple of occasions because I had too much. I didn't want to be miserable, so I got it over with quickly instead of waiting for it to pass. I've never vomited that I wasn't the one controlling it. I hear people getting what they call 'the slimies,' but this hasn't happened to me.