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Please do, that is why I changed Dr.'s as well... I was seeing someone at a clinic I visit off and on because I hadn't chosen a 'real' PC and each time I went in for weight loss appointments, the lady made me feel like crap. If she doesn't want the money my insurance will pay her with, so be it. Even though we are bigger people, we still deserve compassion and respect for our problems. Some people will never experience food addiction and so it is hard for them to wrap their mind around it. For example, A long time ago, I had a conversation with someone I love dearly about my food issues and they asked me why I didn't just "put the food down." I about went crazy when they said that, which is why I am also being very selective in who I will tell. I don't need to be insulted over my weight issues. You wouldn't belittle an alcoholic or a drug addict, so what makes us any different?

In answer to sleeve 4 me: Nom I don't take any special meds now or drink any alcohol (never have), I do, however, drink with meals. Having been trying to stop that again and I think it does make a difference. Have lost 3-4 lbs in last week and half from no junk. Doing a "Daniel Fast" right now with my church so my diet includes more carbs but they are GOOD carbs (whole grain etc) and beginning the year by this plus the elimination of junk food has caused me to start losing. Going to try to follow more closely original guidelines and lose the pounds gained plus want to try to get off another 5-10 (so I will have a few to play with!). I'll let you all know how it goes. I have found that it does make a huge difference WHAT I eat and still have good restriction. I can eat little dense protein and things like beans fill me up very quickly. Gonna be HEALTHY! Love having all of you as sounding boards!

Oh I just thought of a negative - I hate it when you get stuck while you're out, and find you need a toilet quick smart to PB, and your mouth is filling up with saliva like crazy, and you can't get there fast enough. It's happened to me twice - once I didn't quite make it to the toilet. Suffice to say - embarrasing! Another negative (or maybe it's a positive) - if I am getting 'full' my nose starts to drip. Anyone who's close to me sees me start to sniff and they all look at me like 'ok, stop eating NOW'. Oh and I can't get falling down drunk coz trust me, you don't want to get alcoholic poisoning with the band. Puking from the bottom of your tummy is NOT fun. It can lead to needing an emergency unfill. Again, not sure that's not really a positive though...

Just a thought on this topic, could it be maybe one reason we are restricted form alcohol is known to cause dehydration? Also I think I would be worried if I did erronously ended up inebriated and risked vomitting, but not sure if that would be a risk. I rarely drink myself and if I have a glass of wine, it is typically with dinner.. It will be interesting to see the effects

I have occasionally have had a little bit of alcohol since the sleeve surgery. I didn't have any until about 5-6 months after surgery. I have had a small glass of liquor (irish whiskey or tequila) straight - and it takes less than 1 oz. for me to get a buzz. Good that I have practiced those tiny sips! I also have had about 1/4 cup of beer or wine twice. I only drank the 1/4 cup because that was when I felt a buzz and stopped. I haven't noticed any ill effects - but I did have to account for the calories in my daily totals.

Thank you everyone. I did the best thing you can do when you are upset and went to my mom ) I am movin on regarding the food and alcohol and for my friend she knows I love her and I do believe she is still with me

I have a glass of wine occasionally. I think the first time I had it post surgery was at around 5 months. Yeah, you definitely feel the buzz a lot faster; I don't know if it's the lower body weight or the fact that I'm such an irregular drinker--I'm talking maybe a glass of wine once a month or so. I do drink margaritas on occasion, as well, and find those kick my fanny pretty fast (so have to be very careful). If you tend to drink while there is food around, be very cautious about over-indulging because of lowered inhibitions or just not paying attention to what you eat. I actually can use that to my advantage sometimes--if I drink a few sips of margarita and chill for a few minutes, I can actually eat a bit more than usual (I think things just relax in my tummy a bit?); for me, this is not a bad thing and can be a really good thing, as my sleeve is still really small and very picky. If you're still in an active losing phase, maybe it's not such a good thing and is another reason to be cautious regarding alcohol. Also, remember the dehydration factor. Alcohol can cause dehydration, so if you're having any trouble at all getting in your Water, subbing alcohol for some of that liquid probably isn't a smart idea.

What I read is that rapid weight loss puts a lot of strain on your liver, and alcohol strains it even further, so the combination is just not a great idea. There's also the fast inebriation effect you mentioned, and the possibility of a transfer addiction. I think all three factors combined is why so many surgeons advise against alcohol, at least for awhile. Personally, I've just never given a hoot about drinking, so the extra empty calories and carbs for something I don't miss aren't worth it. I'd much rather have a mini Reeses pb cup! To each her own.....

I'd be interested in knowing the science behind why not to have alcohol after surgery. I just think it would be lovely to be able to have an adult beverage with hubby in the evening occasionally. I know you can get inebriated more easily, and it also is reputed not to stay with you as long. My physician recommends not drinking any alcoholic beverages for six months after surgery. A few questions: Does it interfere with your wound healing? Does it impact your liver adversely? Does it slow down your weight loss? Looking forward to hearing from everybody!! C2

Happy new year people! So I was totally going to see if anyone wanted to do coffee (think that was mentioned a couple of months ago by someone, heh) when I was back in NZ but it was super busy for the three weeks I was back, so... yeah. Hi Pockets! I've had my band for 7 years as of last December (I'm 26, I got the band when I was 20), and it's worked really well for me. One thing that I thought was rather major that they DIDN'T tell me about when I got it was the potential for indigestion/heartburn when you get to your goal weight (or rather, just past the sweet spot on the band). I don't know about anyone else here, but I had never had indigestion before I got to my goal weight a few years ago, and every time I've had it since it has hurt a hell of a lot - not sure if this is because it gets aggravated by the band or not, but either way. Heather (at Dr Fris' office on the North Shore) just sort of shrugged it off and we agreed that having the band tight enough to help me stay at around 56-57 kg (just above my 'ideal' weight, think my 'ideal' is 55kg...) was too much, so now I just aim to stay around 58. I've also noticed that it tends to be triggered by stress half the time - I moved to Europe, no one here knew, I got indigestion several times; I told a friend at work, no indigestion since. Go figure. There are, of course, other complications like slippage, etc, but like Laura said, I found the benefits have far outweight the risks. Actually, Dr Fris told me that a patient of his had moved to London, the band slipped, and he flew all the way back to NZ to go to Dr Fris rather than get it fixed in Europe. That suggests to me that any problems caused by that are manageable on the short term at least! Oh, like Laura and AJ said about the band not working/changing habits, I remember discussing the band with a neighbour who told me a friend of hers got the band, then while still on the liquid diet was melting chocolate so she could drink it... Needless to say she never lost any weight... People who don't know much about it (or don't want to know...) tend to think it's the easy way out, but it is just a tool you can use, like listing everything in the weight watchers book or calorie counting or some such. Like AJ said, you can sabotage it (like with the chocolate drink mentioned above)... On the flip side though, it is a rather strict tool as if you forget about it and take a big bite of a sandwich or eat too much too quickly you will definitely know about it (more so the further along you get). Changing your eating habits takes a bit of getting used to - I still find that I have to pay attention when I visit my family as I wasn't living at home when I got it so they never slowed down their eating along with me (my ex-bf did, really appreciated that! Funny thing is he still eats slower now - when he has time to, anyway, heh) - old habits die hard I suppose. Other little things I've noticed are that I've turned into a bit of a light weight on the alcohol front (I used to be able to handle it really well, my tolerance has halved I think - I don't drink very often, but when I do, anyway. Mind you, the nutritionist at Dr Fris' office also told me to drink a glass of wine a day...)... I've also noticed that flying long haul can really mess up my eating patterns now - flying from NZ to Europe or vice versa generally has me surviving on one or two meals a day for a few days, compared to three plus Snacks... Just little things, but it's interesting when you start noticing the non-weight related changes. I really like that if anything happens the band can be adjusted or, if needed, removed. I like that there is the option if needed, though considering how much my abs/stomach hurt after the surgery to get the band in there I think it'd have to be something pretty serious for me to get it removed, heh. Ok, I've rambled on for ages... Ahem. On the other front, I went to Dr Fris' office when I was back in NZ (the same day I flew in, no less!) and got a top up - I hadn't gained as much weight as I thought, thank goodness (scales at a specialists office here said I was 65...! Dr Fris' scales said 60... Argh.). Had half a mill of solution added - tiny tiny amount, but talk about feeling it... Fortunately I could use the long haul travel excuse when visiting friends... This is the first time I've had to totally rely on Heather for advice as usually my intuition regarding the band is really good, but I just haven't been feeling it lately. It felt loose and I was hungry a lot of the time, but then I went to Bremerhaven on a work trip two weeks before coming home and I was barely able to eat for the entire weekend (epic stress = no food apparently!). It took a little while to settle as well, as usually I'm back to normal within a couple of days (I've never had to do the liquids after inflation thing), but I was feeling a bit restricted all the way up till Christmas... Guess this was a fine line inflation, really, but it's feeling pretty good right now. My grandparents did a full roast meal for my family the night I left NZ and I managed my usual serving of that fine, so that was good. Now I just need to get the running sorted out again and try and get my knees to stop screwing up and I'll be good to go (or rather, stay at the same weight, or perhaps fit into my favourite pair of jeans again - I fit them at 58kg or less, lol) again. Heh. Actually, on a more light-hearted note - I'm familiar with the problem of not being able to fit some clothes because they weren't a large enough size (some - I was size 18 at my heaviest, 96kg - this was mostly preventative surgery because the pattern was 'gain weight no matter what I do' and the only way appeared to be 'up'... But I did have a couple of instances of not being able to buy stuff I liked cos it didn't go to size 18...)... Now I've discovered that if I'm not careful and, say, get to my goal weight (which I'm not planning on, I decided a couple of years ago that 58 is where I'd rather be), I will be too small to fit clothes from Kathmandu and Bivouac, which is where most of my clothes are from... Oops. Aldesa - I'm with Laura on this one, that sucks! Are they able to do anything about it? Laura - go you! You can do it! What's your goal weight again? And how far away is your 21st? Hmm. I'm making a nice big pot of Soup and I can't remember how long it's been boiling for. Oops again. Forcing myself to eat something before I pass out again. Yay jet lag!

Hi Tlmiller2971. The death of somebody close is bound to bring up a variety of emotions. You recognised that drinking so early after your surgery was not wise, so just forget what happened and think forward. Don't be too hard on yourself. Give yourself time to grieve for your friend. My only advice is for you to try and separate the feelings of loss due to your friend's death and the feelings linked with the lack of food and alcoholic drinks that would have been your crutch pre-surgery. You will have to find a way to cope differently from now on. Sorry for not being more helpful. I send you a big hug.

Thanks Everyone!!!! I am now almost exactly 6 months out from banding and down 85 pounds as of this morning!!! For those who asked how I'm doing it - I will be honest - i've done very little exercise - my guilty little secret is that i will "kick in the workouts" when i start hitting plateaus - which according to everyone on here are more common the less you weigh and closer you get to your goal. I still drink alcohol too - usually only one night a week - during my Sat. family poker games - and it's vodka with water/ice and a 1/2 pack of crystal light. The biggest help to me - I think - is this: I am on 800 calories per day per my surgeon. About 1 x every week to 10 days i go up to about 1200 calories for that day (possibly a little more or less) then go right back to the 800 calories per day thereafter. My weight loss counselor from my insurance company said that "mixing it up" like that every once in a while promotes weight loss because it shakes up the body and avoids the body getting so used to the 800 calories per day that it starts plateauing (spelling? LOL). I don't know the science behind it or whether that is a medical fact - but i'll tell you i truly think that's why i'm doing so well. Fills help too - i had no restriction at all for the first 4.5 months - it was pure will power. I have restriction now and cannot overeat even if i want to. BEST OF LUCK TO US ALL ON OUR JOURNEYS!!!!! !

Thanks Christy! I will be honest - i've done very little exercise - my guilty little secret is that i will "kick in the workouts" when i start hitting plateaus - which according to everyone on here are more common the less you weigh and closer you get to your goal. I still drink alcohol too - usually only one night a week - during my Sat. family poker games - and it's vodka with water/ice and a 1/2 pack of crystal light. The biggest help to me - I think - is this: I am on 800 calories per day per my surgeon. About 1 x every week to 10 days i go up to about 1200 calories for that day (possibly a little more or less) then go right back to the 800 calories per day thereafter. My weight loss counselor from my insurance company said that "mixing it up" like that every once in a while promotes weight loss because it shakes up the body and avoids the body getting so used to the 800 calories per day that it starts plateauing (spelling? LOL). I don't know the science behind it or whether that is a medical fact - but i'll tell you i truly think that's why i'm doing so well. Fills help too - i had no restriction at all for the first 4.5 months - it was pure will power. I have restriction now and cannot overeat even if i want to. You'll get there - congrats on your upcoming journey!!!!

Sorry to sound harsh, but this is surgery, with small-medium but significant risks (including death - depending on how good your surgeon is). Have you considered getting a personal trainer? At a BMI of 37, its not that hard to lose weight, and a personal trainer can have you fit and looking good within a year or two. I found having someone/something to motivate me was all that i needed. Also, a personal trainer for a year is likely to be cheaper than surgery, and you will be healther in the long run. Also, as a side note, I know BMI is not that good an indication of how "fat" someone is, its really the skin fold test. Anyway, i think if you start by eliminating all alcohol and pre-packaged foods from your diet, you might be surprised how effective it is. I know its hard. I had a BMI of 30 about 4 years ago. I didn't have any co-morbidities. I set myself a diet plan. 2 weetbix and milk for brekky. 1 medium apple and small tub of plain/natural yogurt (in one of those snap packs - try to find the one with the lowest sat fat and free sugar) for a snack. 2 sandwiches with wholemeal bread, tomato, lettuce, beetroot, 2 hardboiled eggs, gherkins/pickles and 2 thin slices of honey roasted ham with no butter (the key is no butter). One more apple for a snack. and whatever roast or Pasta (no cheese/olive oil/pesto etc.) for dinner. The other key is 0.5 to 3/4 of an hour of solid exercise per day. This means sweating and pushing until you're breathless - this is where the personal trainer comes in. Do this, and you will lose a lot of weight within 6-8 months and be very fit. It will be easy to start, but a lot harder after the 1st week, and hard for at least 2 or 3 months to come, and during this time you will lose a lot of motivation. But push through and you will feel happy that you didn't do the surgery. I don't like to say how much weight I lost (it was a lot) but that shouldn't be the main goal. I always told myself that If i become fit, the weight will come off by itself. Before i started, running 300 metres was a struggle. After half a year, i was running 3 kilometers non stop, an improvement of 10 fold. Last year, I ran the melbourne half marathon, and this year, I am playing in the glen iris open championships in tennis. P.S. the food doesn't seem a lot, but eat it slowly, and you will realise that it is.

I was fasting and no alcohol. I dont know why its back up some.

Were you fasting for a full 12 hours? And no alcohol for 36hrs? You can sometimes have a falsely elevated reading if you were not fasting. Sometimes it's just heredity and not your diet. Don't get too worried! (I work in family practice as a nurse)

I feel you, banded bob, I really do. I work a job that takes a lot out of me and causes me extreme stress, but the money is good, so I keep going in for more. I don't do much booze anymore because of the effect it had on my triglycerides. I'm doing prescription anti-anxiety medicine because the shrink figures now that I am of a healthier weight, the stress will be what prematurely kills me. Stay away from the drinks that involve fruit juices - lots of empty calories there. If you need a mixer, diet cranberry juice is not too bad and will help save some of the calories. I have only had alcohol 4 times since I was banded 6 months ago (OMG, it is 6 months, isn't it) but when I had it I was in a social setting, so I ordered only an appetizer, that I shared with the person next to me, and the alcohol was allowed to have its full effect on me. Also, I mixed hard liquor and beer, which is always interesting. But I've always been a two drinks under the table kind of girl...

My Dr. said no caffeine and no alcohol for 3 months and no carbonated beverages ever. I made it to 4 weeks post op before I started drinking half caffeinated coffee. Since I'm almost 5 weeks post-op, I went through the holidays freshly sleeved. I would have killed for a glass of wine but oh well. I don't drink soda but I do like beer with pizza and Mexican food. Bummed about that one.

Although you will ultimately lose more weight when you cut the alcohol out of your diet, if you must, and I like to have one socially or every now and then, I stick with gin or vodka mixed with sugar free cranberry and a splash of OJ, or Crystal Light. Low to zero carbs, and 1 or 2 won't kill your efforts. But this sparingly. I do not do anything carbonated, beer, champagne, soda, etc...it just puts too much pressure on me and it is openly frowned upon in banding. My big concern that I see across responses is that people feel the need or even desire to deal with stress(work, family, school, etc) and correlate it with drinking. To be drinking 2-3 drinks 4 or 5 times a week....no matter how you put it, is A LOT. Stress should never be the reason you drink. I bet you use to eat when you were stressed, and you see where that got you. You have just substituted one thing for the other and I'd rather be fat than a drunk. I am neither...goodbye 120lbs, hello size 6. Stress is ultimately alleviated with relaxation techniques(hobbies, me time, sleep, rest, etc) or exerting it out physically through exercise. So why not kill two birds with one stone and when you are stressed from your so many figure positions, take your unhappy behind to your fancy gym or equipment, work the stress out and lose weight as a result. Drink if you like socially but definitely do believe that you need it to relax...scientifically it just doesn't work like that. I don't earn six figures or more as I am a public school teacher(so I should). I also am a special education teacher, so I teach students who are the lowest in the school and are emotionally and behaviorally difficult. I sometimes complete 15 hr days, plan until midnight, up back at 4 to be back at 7 doing it all over again. I am also working on my second masters/last rank. So I know stress.....

Ok ..So I was banded December 1, 2011 and i kept talking about how I was not hungry and able to eat only small portions, even a month after surgery...... Well come to find out, I had 2. (something) cc in my band ??? At the time of surgery they said that they did not put anything in my band WRONG! The procedure is that once it is implanted, they put fluid in to make sure it is working properly or something then remove the fluid. BUT i guess they left some in ... Anyway on yesterday they put in 1cc so now I have a little over 3cc. i drank my water and I was fine and I left. I even went home and ate a coffee mug of light low sodium vegetable soup with no problem. I was SO SCARED of what i though was going to be a huge needle.... NOT I layed down on the bed and she started to clean the area with an alcohol swab....At this time I ws sweating bullets and breathing like I was having another kid....i had my eyes closed tight and was biting my bottom lip so hard I think I tasted blood... She said "ok, now pretend you are doing a small situp" i did it and said just tell me when you are gonna do it.....she said I did, I opened one eye and looked at her then I opened the other eye and said is that it ? She said yep, now sit up and sip this water and tell me how you feel (all while this needle thing was still in me (just in case she needed to remove some) I took a few sips and was fine, so she removed it, and told me to go back to the lobby and drink half the bottle if i did with no problems I could go. I had no problems so i left!!! So all you first time fill people dont worry! Well I take that back every facility is diffrent, so I just hope you guys have people that know what the heck they are doing because True Results here in Houston is GREAT!

Been drinking sodas since I've been about 3 months out. I'm out now heading into 3 years. They are diet sodas of course and in the beginning I would always defizz mine and take it really slow. . now i don't defizz but still take it really slow. I also have my coffee, alcohol drinks and everything else. . . I'm living my life and am lovin it. . AND LOOK GOOD AT THE SAME TIME! yAHOO!!!! Good luck!

I think alcohol and not exercising as I should have contributed greatly to my slow losses. I have found that alcohol stalls my weight loss. If I drink on the weekend I can count on not having a loss that week no matter how well I have eaten. Since I recently stopped the drinks on the weekend my loss has picked up a bit. So try to monitor yourself and see how your body responds to the alcohol. I have found that in all the many different threads about this topic different people do different things and some can drink regularly and have no problem whereas others like myself just can't mix alcohol and dieting, sadly. I can go for a cool vodka and Crystal lite right now. I had to put it aside for now though I want to reach my goal at last.

Bob -- The one thing I miss about being at goal is that martinis are a no-go these days! I can't handle that much alcohol without my weight's help. I primarily drink wine these days -- first, because I really enjoy it, and second, because of the lower alcohol content. I might start with one (seriously though, only one) mixed drink at a nice dinner or a party, but generally, I find that I have a better time and can stay out longer if I stick to wine. One thing I've noticed too is that wines with high acidity don't work that well with the band (they bother me more now.. maybe because the wine is spends a little time in the pouch, instead of going straight down). So, I find that big reds are great and, while I still enjoy Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Torrontes and Albarinos, a French white Burgundy (read: Chardonnay) is always a safe bet. I hope that helps! I'm 3+ years out and drinking isn't an issue. Just be sure not to drink so much that you are hungover to the point of being sick, or to drink so much that you sabotage your weight loss. Cheers -- and best wishes for your success! Catherine

I thought the holiday’s with the band would be easy Well no ……I ate so much less than I would normally ( I ate less that 1 slice of pizza when everyone around me was on their 3rd slice) tried to make good choices but the holiday food got me Turkey, Ham ,cold cuts, Italian food, Chinese , Cookies , chips (not at the same time) In addition to Christmas and new years I have my birthday on dec 30- tried to eat a time bit of steak on my birthday and ending up throwing it all up (does not taste good at all coming up Most of the time I was ok with a couple of bites…..had a few restrictions some gagging but for the most part stopped when I thought there would be a problem. It is so hard to eat my tiny plate….slowly when others are devouring mounds of food and drink Always the last one at the table..wanting to eat more but unable because I knew the pain would be unbearable…found myself hungry a lot ..then would eat something bad then pain Felt sorry for myself .mad at myself and the world and other time happy with the band The worst part was the alcohol--- i used to like the flavored beers (lemon, lime ect) can’t drink them now because of the carbonation……even mixed drinks I like with soda so not too much to drink…mostly sober in a room full of half drunk people …not so much fun Am having a hard time getting back to normal….miss food want to eat but know it will cause pain Maybe I should so back to liquids for a few days and restart my system On new years I weighed in at 209.4 --- from 230+ before surgery aug 22 its working I know it will get better but its hard Bad foods that go down real easy Snapple Lemonade Chips Cereal (sugary ones) Peppermint candy canes Cake

this is just gonna sound wrong cuz im a girl.. but im only 3 weeks out i know i shouldn't be drinking but its really hard not to when you work in a bar.. im not downing shots by any means, but ill have a shot and sip on it for a while or a drink and sip on it.. I found out why they tell you not to drink.. IT MAKES YOU GAIN WEIGHT! lol.. Damn.. so i will stop drinking for now until im a while out cuz i don't wanna hinder my losses.. However i do have to admit.. that it didn't really bother my stomach and i think im part of the few that alcohol doesn't really affect me any differently than before. i have noticed tho that it burns of quicker.. but i dont get uncontrollably drunk or anything.