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How does alcohol relax the band? I've noticed this but it must constrict the tissue around the band..interesting.

I was wondering about sugar alcohol and if anyone has experienced any negative effects or dumping? My dietician never mentioned anything about this. It was kind of a comfort knowing I didn't have to give up sweets completely because of the sugar free chocolate I've seen in stores prior to having surgery. Lol. I mean I know moderation is key but has anyone been told any specifics on this stuff?

After I got down to goal weight, I thought it would be ok to drink on weekends. I was aware of the higher risk of alcoholism after WLS, but not that there was any increased risk of damage to your liver or anything. Now there's this: https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20190620/drug_alcohol_deaths_soar_after_weight-loss_surgery#1 What a bummer! Oh well, one more reason to avoid empty calories. I tracked down the original article. It turns out most of the reported deaths were from drug overdoses rather than alcohol. They also didn't delve into causation vs. correlation. Big title, but not much real information. If you're interested: https://www.soard.org/article/S1550-7289(19)30143-1/fulltext

I’m heading to Juarez to get sleeved by Dr Rod next week. I’m a little worried, because I do consume more alcohol than I should, but I think I’ll be ok. I had the orbera balloon last year and lost about 20 lbs, but gained it back as soon as they took it out. I’m excited and nervous for this surgery! I’m just looking forward to getting my confidence back. Anyone else going to be at hospital Angeles next week?

Wow- you've had a lot to deal with. I hope it's calming down. I've been struggling too, and have started seeing the pych in my clinic. She suggests approaching this like a project at work. Figure out what the specific tasks are and start doing them. Breaking down "Getting on track" to acutal steps so it is doable. For example, I had started having a glass of wine a few nights a week, and worse eating M&Ms all day at work. Among other things, but I decided to focus on that. My plan was no candy, and no alcohol unless I can truely say it's a special occasion. One week later, I've had neither and am down about 5 pounds. So, pick one or two things to start with, and focus on them maybe?

Good Morning All, I met with the dietitian for the 1st time yesterday. She was awesome! She gave me a list of goals that I have to have met before I meet her again next month. No more carbonated beverages (goodbye to my BFF, Diet Coke), no alcohol (no problem), work toward eliminating caffeine, 1 Protein shake a day and DIET, DIET, DIET! She told me I need to lose around 10-15 lbs before surgery but I can't lose more than that or I'll be below 35 BMI. This is going to be tricky! The diet is very strict and I don't see how I will only lose 10-15 lbs. I feel completely motivated! What a great way to break the Diet Coke and sugar habit! I know it won't be easy and I already warned my husband that I may get cranky, but I CAN DO THIS!

Pain. Possible damage to your sleeve. The possibility of the alcohol hitting you so hard you pass out. I still can't have shots at 2.5 years out. Half a mixed drink or a glass of wine makes me pretty tipsy. A full cocktail and I probably couldn't walk straight. Then of course the calories. You asked for the repercussions so that's all I'm gonna say.

Have patience young grasshopper. In time you will be able to consume alcohol again (if you really want to), occasionally and in moderation.

This is a press release put out by the Center for Consumer Freedom. Here is information about the CCF: Guest Choice Network, the predecessor organization to CCF, was formed in such a way so as not to appear "owned" by Philip Morris, to address the lack of interest restaurant owners had in Philip Morris's "Accommodation Program," and to have a broader appeal to industry than just tobacco. GCN was designed to "create an aggressive mentality by [restaurant] operators [to oppose} government smoking bans," according to a letter by Rick Berman to Philip Morris [2073148834] In a 1995 letter to Philip Morris (PM), Rick Berman (of the public affairs company Berman & Company) proposed that PM form an aggressive front group called the "Guest Choice" network to motivate restaurant owners to aggressively fight smoking restrictions while appearing to be acting on their own. Berman said to PM, "...if you want to gain more ground quickly for the smokers' rights issue, the [Guest Choice] program must create a proactive, aggressive mentality by [restaurant] operators regarding government smoking bans..." Berman described how hiding Philip Morris' involvement would allow the group take more aggressive action: "Additional benefit -- if externally perceived as driven by restaurant interests, there will be more flexibility and creativity allowed than if it is 'owned' by Philip Morris. The American Beverage Institute, which opposes overly aggressive DWI laws, enjoys this profile."[1] PM took Mr. Berman's suggestion and formed the "Guest Choice Network," changing its name in recent years to the "Center for Consumer Freedom," which in addition to fighting smoking bans also fights the organic food movement and lobbies against lowering the legal blood alcohol limit for drunk driving. For more information: http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_Consumer_Freedom

I agree that the alcohol won't help your liver. Also the sugar and carbs are not likely on your preop diet. You will get to have alcohol again when your surgeon releases you for it.

i dont know what they do but i remember i used to always get diarrhea after eating one of dem low carb bars with sugar alcohols.

Well they told me to cut out sugar, salt, and greasy foods. They said I need to shrink my liver. This isn't part of the pre-op diet, just a warning due to my liver size. I've been doing good really, cut out the major daily sugar I intake.. cokes. Also been watching what I eat, but I am PMSIng and craving chocolate, so I got the Russell Stover's sugar-free coconut bars. When I did Atkins back in the day, I used Ketosis strips to check my Ketosis (I was a little obsessed with those things..) and when I ate sugar alcohol it did not seem to affect it. I'm not talking about gorging, I just never knew the affects of Sugar Alcohol outside of Atkins. And yes, sugar alcohol/malatol does cause diarhea, but normally only in large quantities. I binged on a bag of sugar-free gummie bears on Atkins and paid for it all night!! In less than a week I have to start the SSS diet of Sandwhiches, Soups, Salads.. and then 3 days pre-op I am to do the clear liquid diet, and day before the magnesium and Protein shakes.

Thank you for your response. I don't know if there is any validity to the whole pre-op diet/liver prep/cleanse idea or not, but my doc doesn't have any special pre-op diet and he's a liver specialist who does transplants when not doing bariatrics, so he tends to be rather anal about liver health (as in no alcohol period during the 12-18 month weight loss time, etc.) Or, maybe he's just more skilled in that area so that whatever minor differences such pre-op treatment makes is insignificant to him.

I was told no alcohol for at least three months. You are still healing from surgery; I'd pass on the wine.

Hi all! I was sleeved 11/21/14. All was going great and i made my weight loss goal by about 10 months in. However starting july 2015 i have had one peculiar side effect: chronic throat infections. Not talking like little scratchy throats. I am talking requires IV fluids with steroids, then oral levaquin and steroids for a minimum of a week. I am now in the middle of my 6th infection in a year. Docs keep chalking it up to having a 3 year old. But neither she nor my husband catch what i get. I can only conclude that it has something to do with my sleeve. Something to do with the loss of good bacteria, the overuse of PPI's (they have me on pantoprazole still), the diet slipping (i *may* have enjoyed too much alcohol of late - all celebratory). Is it maybe an absorption issue? I don't know exactly. All I know is I have to figure this out. Wondering if anyone else has had this side effect? Anything that has helped? I am getting my ENT and a new GI on the case this week cause I have had enough.

The original poster of this thread has slipped into cross addiction, a.k.a. addiction transference. Cross addiction is a widespread occurrence in the bariatric surgery community. Now that they cannot overeat, many weight loss surgery patients pick up another addiction (e.g. alcoholism, thrill seeking, shopping, smoking, gambling, risky sex, gaming). Basically, bariatric surgeons alter our stomachs, not our brains. Thus, people who misused food still have addicted brains and personalities after bariatric surgery. Only professional help can sufficiently address one's addictive tendencies. Wine certainly results in weight regain, especially with the quantities described, due to empty non-nutritive calories. In combination with a sedentary life, it's a perfect recipe for regain.

Yep it's serious, I can be so easy to switch one addiction for another and alcohol is an easy one to switch to. It's readily available, easy to get down ie liquids go straight down, there is some research out there saying that WLS patients get to feel the effects of alcohol sooner / more intensely than non WLS peope bbcause of the changes made to our digestive system. This has been a really big issue for me and has caused me a significant amount of heartache, suffering, pain and depression. I never thought I would talk about it openly but hey, I this is a support group. I might start a new thread tomorrow and tell you guys about my true story and see how I feel getting it off my chest and to see what help I can get and understand if there are people out there who have been through or are going through similar things as me who I can help to learn from me and my mistakes. OK post tomorrow when I have more time on my hands. Sorry WV Chef, not wanting to detract from your story or questions. You seem to have experienced similar issue to me regarding the increased alcohol intake. You do loo amazing though and I hope you're proud of your achievements. You're obviously one strong lady! Please feel free to PVT me if you want to talk about ongoing booze issues post op or anything else :-) Thanks guys, John

Same thing happened to my sister. She went out of control after her lap band with her new sexy figure. She was married with 2 kids and now she's divorced with a 26 year old boyfriend. She went out every night and just changed as a person in general and she drinks all the time. I tried talking sense into her to get a hold of herself but she's stubborn and knows everything. So yes I believe there is a connection there between alcoholism and the surgery Sent from my SM-G935V using BariatricPal mobile app

a few issues to unpack here - 1 - to answer your question, i think the hysterectomy is the primary culprit for your recent weight gain. because it's known to do that, AND because you've been drinking this whole time up til now without gaining. 2 - gaining 13 (or more) pounds is the least of your concerns. probably the biggest thing in the field of bariatric science right now is the risk of alcohol (and drug) addiction. before i got my surgery, my surgeon stressed to me (rather disturbingly) that alcohol addiction is the ONLY thing that keeps him up at night. it is a huge concern for him. it's so big, that i think it might eventually threaten the viability of the surgery. if the statistics and research keep bearing out what it has been, it's possible that they "outlaw" the surgery. why? well we all know that alcohol "hits" you harder, and longer. anything that has more dramatic effect is more easily to be abused. however, there's a mystery element going on. a recent study found it's NOT just about our new anatomy. i.e. it's not just that alcohol isn't cushioned by the stomach anymore and dumped right into the intestine. they did a study where they took two groups of rats - one with normal anatomy, and another that had a gastric bypass - and they administered alcohol into these rats intravenously. so they bypassed the entire digestive tract and made the rats equally "drunk" through IV-administered alcohol. they shockingly found that the rats with the gastric bypass ended up significantly more addicted. what does that mean? basically they don't know for sure yet, but there is something about the surgery that increases the susceptibility to addiction and substance abuse. something about the surgery changes the brain to make this the case. which is also the reason that those with gastric bypass get addicted to things like cocaine and heroin. those don't go thru the digestive tract either. this is different from "transfer addiction". that is not what's going on. so what to do? i'm in the same boat because while i wasn't an alcoholic before surgery, i was getting there. and unfortunately now that i find myself nearing my goal weight, i have started drinking again after a good 5 months off. and yes, i notice it's much stronger and more effective. so i'm worried as well. aside from finding a very sweet person on this website who has partnered up with me to support each other in our addictions (mine being alcohol, hers being a particular food), there's another strategy i'm going to try... it's called naltrexone. it's a prescription drug that has been found to have profound effects in curbing alcohol abuse. take it once a day and it basically neutralizes the "reward" signal in your brain when exposed to drugs and alcohol. so eventually you can look at a glass of wine and have zero interest in drinking it. more and more physicians are wising up to this powerful tool and prescribing it to their patients (as opposed to just telling them to join AA). i've decided i'm going to make an appt with my doctor and ask for it. i did not go thru this surgery to go from one hell to another. i want to nip it in the bud. here's an article on how naltrexone can help: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/04/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous/386255/

This is why the doctors and NUTS say to never drink because it is very common and very easy to replace one addiction with another and apparently alcohol is the biggie and many become alcoholics. I'm not judging you or putting any labels on but I would suggest you find a way to stop drinking altogether. Obviously because it is bad if you can't control it and also because of those pesky calories!!! A whole bottle of anything is not good -- count the carbs and calories in that and add it to the food journal that you are still keeping (I know, you probably aren't but need to get back to) and see if all those fit in to your days' calories, carbs/proteins. Best of luck to you and keep us posted. We are pulling for you.

Get help now! Call your surgeon. Transfer addiction is serious! My program requires complete alcohol abstinence for life!!! It is so common and you need to get sober to take back your life. Best wishes to you! Good job reaching out! Sent from my SM-J320R4 using BariatricPal mobile app

I started my weight loss journey in Sept 2008. Had absolutely NO complications or problems and lost over half my weight in 3-4 months. I weighed 247 on the day of my surgery and quickly plummeted to a sexy 125!! Felt amazing and looked it too! However, 5 years later I had picked up a brand new habit!! I started going out...like to bars...which I had never done in my life ( I was married w/ kids so this wasn't acceptable) anyway, Now, I was divorced and had alot of free time on the weekends. Had a wonderful job, gaining new friends, hobbies etc. However, I also started drinking. Would never have more than 3-4 Captain and Cokes but my god they were delicious to me!! I had never drank before nor did I drink much soda. I quickly found myself drinking on the weekends while out with friends. Long story short, 2 years later I got a DUI !!! The first and ONLY person in my family that drank much less, get arrested. This killed my spirits, and I felt I had let my family down so I swore off alcohol. Fast forward 2 years...no job, new relationship that required a move 3 hrs away from everything I had ever known, only to find he was an alcoholic who was also physically abusive when drunk (strangled me on numerous occasions)...I started drinking again (along with him and only at home) just to get my mind off the fact that I was so far away from my family and other miseries. I am now on my own, doing very well, great job, my own place but have now started drinking wine (a whole bottle of Pink Moscato) a few nights a week. This didn't really start until this past April when I had a full hysterectomy....Thankfully, I have never had a hangover, never get sick and am actually really productive around the house..(which isn't a bad thing) I guess my question is, I have gained about 13 lbs since this time last year ( my job is sitting for 12 hrs 4 days a week) when I am home ( I live alone) I am just sedentary and don't really have any energy to do much of anything ( severely anemic and get Iron infusions every week ) so do you think it is the Wine that is causing the weight gain, the Full hysterectomy, the desk job or just a combination.??? I would really like to stop any further weight gain and any answers would be appreciated.

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, at least 20 percent of cancer deaths are linked to a poor diet, including the consumption of alcohol. The Canadian Cancer Society says that 30 to 35 percent of all cancers could be prevented by a combination of eating well, being active, and watching our weight. “Eat your veggies and your fruits, because the antioxidants they contain may protect you,” Chernoff says, pointing to kiwi fruit, strawberries, broccoli, bell peppers, papaya, sweet potatoes, pink grapefruit, guava, watermelon, carrots, spinach,and oranges. Also crucial are whole grains, which are high in fibre. They’re a source of selenium, which protects cells from oxidation and helps boost the immune system. Think beyond whole wheat bread, Chernoff notes, and explore ancient grains such as spelt, quinoa, bulgur, and millet. “Skip the alcohol, or at least cut back to a few per week and not on the same day,” she adds.Leslie Beck links diet to the prevention of illness in Foods That Fight Disease: A Nutrition Guide to Staying Healthy for Life (Penguin, 2008). Along with sharing recipes, the Toronto nutritionist gives advice on Vitamins and minerals that could protect against cancer. Vitamins A and C may protect against lung cancer, for instance, and folate might guard against colon cancer. Vitamin D could reduce the risk of breast, colon, and prostate cancers,while vitamin E might help prevent prostate cancer. ------------- Unlike most supplements, these products are made from organic foods, not synthetics. Visit the Naturally Nova Scotia website for more information. ----------- mukesh11 Natural Vitamins - Natural Vitamins

I have a cup that I make Water with Mio in daily and it has a straw that I use. I eat pretty much whatever I want, just smaller portions as others have said. I have had alcohol a few times, keep a case of diet caffeine free soda here and have one a couple of times a week, and, in general, eat regular food for my meals. If I'm going to the gym early in the day, then I'll have a Protein bar for Breakfast. If not, then I have an egg and a piece of sausage for breakfast. I don't feel like I'm "on a diet". This is just my new reality and I like it. Being down 100 pounds and looking better in my clothes helps a lot, too! I also just bought myself a Keurig (part of my Century Club gift to myself) and I've been enjoying my decaf coffee and tea from it.

Ah oh!!! I didn't blog yesterday. So update is I didn't workout yesterday or today. Went out last night from 8pm through 4am. I surprise myself sometimes and drank alcohol too which is the first time in a while so it got to me. So I spent most of today sleeping off the alcohol. I'm working out tomorrow. Row endurance class. No workout today either. Wins: went to grocery store and resisted the urge to buy icecream. It isn't good for my body. Second win is I did my guided meditation on Wednesday night. Yay