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I know I am new here and it might not be my place but...... I honestly think you should seek help for your alcohol addiction... Then if needed consider lap band. To be honest the lap band just sounds like a way to make you feel better about drinking.

Some of you have looked into this too deeply. I drink because I like it! perhaps I am addicted now, if so, I do not care. Getting the band is too lose weight. There is nothing deeper than that into this. My question is purely function. Can I drink with the band? Not should I stop drinking because you all think I drink too much. Thanks to those who were kind enough to give me honest answers about drinking with the band. I will have the surgery soon. An alcoholic is anyone you don’t like who drinks more than you do. I am a drinker with writing problems. Always remember that I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me. Alcoholism is the only disease that you can get yelled at for having. Alcohol is the anesthesia by which we endure the operation of life. When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading. I drink therefore I am. Alcohol is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. Reality is an illusion created by a lack of alcohol. I can’t die until the government finds a safe place to bury my liver. Irish coffee is the perfect Breakfast because it contains all four adult food groups: fat, sugar, caffeine and alcohol. I’m not as think as you drunk I am. Not all chemicals are bad. Without chemicals such as hydrogen and oxygen, for example, there would be no way to make Water, a vital ingredient in beer. There are better things in l

Aside from the alcohol lecture, which I'll spare.. Here's a better answer for you.. 3,000 calories should NOT be your daily intake. My starting weight was 333lbs, and according to a metabolism test my first doctor gave me, if I ate 3,200 calories or less a day I would lose weight. Well, it's wrong. It takes me eating 1,400-1,800 calories to lose 1lb a week. If I throw in some days of under 1,000 calories I'll lose 2lbs a week. So lets assume you drink 400c of alcohol a day (that's if you cut it in half!).. and you'll aim for 1,500 calories a day (more or less, depending on your doctors orders).. you have 1,100 calories to eat 3 nutritious meals. It can be done, but are you dedicated to doing it? The band isn't going to magically make you make good decisions. If you mix coke in something for just one drink, you're now down to 900 calories! What if you drink like you do now, you're alloting 100 calories per meal. That's not very realistic. And to humor the idea, you're not an alcoholic.. Many people find new 'treatments' to their obesity when they have WLS. Like Alcohol. So if you don't think you're an alcoholic now, you're very high risk to become one after being banded (or any other WLS).

I agree with the suggestion to talk to your banding doctor honestly about your alcohol consumption, and it's affect on being banded. I was told last week by the psych I'm seeing that when she had even a glass of wine, her weight loss stalled for 3 days(she is banded also). I have been stuck since May, and realized that's when I started having a couple of glasses of wine a week(well, along with other bad habits for weight loss). Not enough calories to be that big an issue, but I stopped a week ago, and I'm down 5 pounds this week. So, I have to think there is something to it.

You, my friend, sound like a chronic alcoholic. You need AA. You may not want to hear it but that's what is necessary. No doc is going to band you until you get that addiction under control.

Hi everyone, or should I say anyone:frown:? (Doesn't seem that anyone reads my blogs.) Oh well, they are still good for me to reflect. I am having some difficulty with having NO RESTRICTION! I didn't feel that I was overeating, although I haven't been writing every mouthful down, and when I got on the scale this morning, well, it says I gained 7 lbs.over the weekend!:willy_nilly: I KNOW EVERYONE'S FIRST THOUGHT. It is water retention. The problem with that theory is I have had VERY SWELLED ANKLES ALL THE TIME, in the past. I have not had this problem ever since surgery which has been an unexpected, wonderful surprise. One would think that if water retention is back, so would the swelled ankles. They are not. Soooo, let's do some self examination. On the positive, I joined the gym and I am committed to it(worked out on Friday& this morning):thumbs_up:My diet...uhhm, ok.... I enjoy social drinking on weekends. Haven't had any since surgery, until... Stayed home Friday night, had 2 white russians(with 1% milk), just looked up the cal count~each were 350 cal:sneaky:. I made spaghetti for supper~homemade sauce using splenda to sweeten a little/60, low carb noodles/190cal, and venison hamburg(its low in fat/180cal). I have no restriction, so I ate probably much more than should of but still less than my old self. Saturday>I made eggs and bacon/240cal(I had my granddaughter overnight & she doesnt eat much but LOVES eggs&bacon), then had spaghetti leftovers for lunch/430 cal. I ate a baked chicken breast for supper/200cal, then we went out to our club with friends and I drank. Trying to keep cal/carbs low, I first had a diet coke&rum(1st time since surgery that I drank soda, no excuses, just forgot)70cal. My hubby reminded me then and I was glad because I HATED the drink. Next I drank a Bay Breeze(coconut rum, pineapple jc, cranb jc), I love sweet drinks and thought this 1 would be kinda good for me. Because it's sweet, I also thought it would be extremely high in calories, looked it up, only 160 cal. Then my g/f bought me 2 "applesauce" shots:crying:, 150cal ea. By this time, I was really in the drinking mood so I had my hubby go to Rutter's(a mini mart)to get diet iced tea. I asked and was allowed to bring in our own drink to mix with the clubs alcohol. So I had "diet" ice picks rest of night(about 6 shots of vodka)=around a whopping 500 more calories. So, now that I do the math, I added 1030cal just from drinks!:sad:Before we left, I ate 2 hot dogs they had on the grill(because they looked sooo good and were a buck/300cal)2200cal all together. On Sunday, we went BACK to the club for a "shrimp feed". I got a doz steamed shrimp/60cal, shrimp salad/220cal, potato salad/160cal, 1c shrimp bisque/240cal and a red beet egg/80cal. Then I got 1 drink because someone had it and it "looked good", a dirty girl scout(coffee liquer,cream de menth, baileys& vodka with milk)/340cal.(It was delicious) It makes the fact that I drank 2 full glasses of lemon water not mean much:sad_smile:. Later that night, I had more of my leftover spaghetti/430cal. And for snack, I had another pop/100cal. WOW! Not to mention the things I may have eaten & just don't remember. Ok. I get why I didn't LOSE. But really. Is all the above 7 POUNDS worth??! Actually, I am soo embarrassed when I write down my calorie intake. I did not realize what I do to myself. I go back to my job after 3 wks off on Wednesday. I go for my first fill on 11/25, 2 days before Thanksgiving. I NEED the RESTRICTION. That is soo obvious. Drinking may be out of the question. Maybe I will "reward" myself with a drinking night out after every 50lbs lost. I am not sure yet. But I MUST GET MYSELF back on track...even before the fill...I cannot afford to go backwards. Do I intentionally sabotage myself? I am sooo good at analyzing everyone else(they always come to me for advice) but am HORRIBLE at it for me:embaressed_smile: Any advice?

at first I tried alcohol pads, which only moistened the glue and made it stickier. but baby oil def got it off!

I think this is yet another case of the Food Monster fighting against you. Mine keeps telling me that if I am going to go through all this trouble anyway and strictly dieting, why CANT I just keep going on like this and forget about the band? The answer for me is...because I can't. I have tried. I keep on for awhile and then I quit. So, now I am placing those Food Monster thoughts in the adversary category of my brain and liken them to the alcoholic who hears "oh, one more drink can't hurt you. You've been sober for 6 months. You have a handle on your drinking and you are not an alcoholic like the others. You're cured so now you can drink socially." No I can't.

I am scheduled for sleeve in one month. I'm lifelong obese, was banded 7 years ago. I haven't told my family yet. They will not understand. They are cross fitters and health preachers. Although everything they do is not healthy. As many do, they deal with stress with alcohol, prescription meds,over exercising..... That is not a criticism. They don't understand emotional eating or food addiction. I also don't understand and often beat myself up for being so fat. I guess I'm asking if anyone else felt this way before having the sleeve and how you are dealing with it after the surgery. I want to be healthy, active and involved in life. /URL] Sent from my VS986 using the BariatricPal App

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

I agree with you. That's my experience. I got to a point that alcohol wasn't affecting me. That was dangerous. I'm still learning to deal with that. Alcoholism among weight-loss patients is a very real danger. Good luck!

Discussed ad nauseam: https://www.bariatricpal.com/search/?q=alcohol&sortby=relevancy&search_in=titles You'll find both sides of the argument explored and talked about in agonizing detail and breathtaking recklessness.

I don't drink often but when I do I just drink hard liquor on the rocks or with water. I have never been a beer or wine drinker really. I will have a few sips of wine with a meal if it compliments the meal. My alcohol tolerance is exactly the same. Insanely high. I couldn't get drunk if I tried.

If you are losing weight, you do not need a fill. My doctor believes that you only fill when you need to jumpstart your weight loss. On the other hand, your idea that you want to enjoy the holidays is a little scary. We are like alcoholics in that when we had the surgery we mentally and physically committed to never and I mean NEVER binging again. NO MORE "ENJOYING" the holidays. Enjoyment comes from the faces of people who admire the new you, the one who doesn't need seconds or thirds anymore. I strongly encourage you to read my archived blogs at Michaelwasfat. blogspot.com I can help you if you need it and you can write to me at michaelwasfat1@gmail.com btw- I am 5 1/2 months post-op and have lost 91 pounds out of my target loss of 101. I can help

Here in just a short few weeks I'll be turning 21, also going to be 3 months post op. I'm not a big alcohol drinker anyway.. but I'm going to a casino for the night for my birthday. Can I have a glass of wine while I'm there? How fast do you get drunk? Sleeved

I believe most surgeons (but check with yours for sure) say to wait at LEAST 6 months. That's how long I waited. Alcohol is harsh on the stomach and empty calories. Trust me, I still have a beer or spirit every so often. So I'm not saying ever again. But again, check with your surgeon/NUT. How fast you get drunk is dependent on each person. With the sleeve, your stomach empties of liquids much quicker, so the alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream faster. You will feel it much faster than you did before. Pre-op, it'd take 6-9 shots of Patron Silver for me to even feel a buzz. Now it takes 1 on an empty stomach, 2 if i'd had anything to eat in the last hour or two. Pace yourself. Do not take shot after shot or drink after drink.

Great thread. People talk about transfer addiction to alcohol and drugs (and maybe sex), but rarely other things. Many people have "addictions/obsessions" that never had surgery and don't realize their hyper-focus on those things. So it's great that you're willing to take another look at your situation to discern if it has become an unhealthy focus in your life.

Correct. Liquid in food doesn't count, strong coffee doesn't count,alcohol definitely doesn't count - it dehydrates rather than hydrates but a lot of things do. And checking with your own doc is always a good idea.

I was sleeved August 2nd...doing great! 45 pounds down so far, got the clearance to eat almost anything on Friday (nuts, alcohol, and carbonated beverages still no-no's). No nausea, no slimies, incisions all healed, no problems except an intense craving for diet coke that is only partly satiated by crystal light..sigh. I love that there is a forum for us August All Stars!!! I am going to have fun reading up on how everyone is doing!!! Glad to be here!!!! ~Jane

Sugar alcohols are not good for you at all. Especially that high of an amount. They also often cause dumping syndrome in WLS patients- but everyone's different.

My doctor tells his patients to not consume alcohol for 1 year post surgery. It is really common to replace the food addiction with an alcohol addiction and you want to give yourself the best outcome possible. It is possible to go to a party, have a great time and not drink any alcohol.

Living with addiction is hard, I kept trying to fix things only to realize I could only control myself. I hated who I had become, I let myself become consumed with his alcoholism and lost myself completely. This was the beginning of my weight gain, the more out control his drinking became the bigger I got. Use this time apart to get clarity, who are you, who is he, do you value the same things, you'll rediscover yourself. When you are clear about yourself you won't get sucked into his drama, its his not yours, your yelling and name calling keeps you stuck in his game. Who knows what time apart will give him, just know your boundaries and limits so that if you do reconcile the rules are clear. I divorced and my ex died from his alcoholism.

Congrats Brian, on starting to look at ways to change your life! I really encourage you to have an open conversation with your parents. I know they must also be very concerned about your fatty liver and are probably wondering how they can help you. I really like @Stella S's suggestion to get your PCP to hook you up with a nutritionist and maybe even someone like a physical therapist or trainer to get you started on a weight loss/exercise program. At the very minimum, your insurance company is going to want to see a 3-5 year history of your weight loss attempts. Even if you don't qualify for surgery until you are 18, you need to have doctor verified weights and also verify that you've worked with them to try to lose weight on your own. So start building the behaviors and history that will benefit your future self. There was a very important study done in Sweden on obese teens. It's important to note that the surgery helped resolve many obesity related diseases in the teens (including fatty liver resolution). But it's also important to note that up to 25% of the teens had to complications that let to more surgery or hospitalizations and vitamin deficiencies. Here are a couple of articles about this study: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170105213120.htm https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-01-good-long-term-results-obesity-surgery.html The thing is...that WLS only works long term if you actually change the behaviors that got us obese in the first place. In the early days, you will lose because of the surgery. It's like, even a blind squirrel will find the nut! But unless you really are focused on diet and lifestyle from then on out (tracking your food in a daily diary, weighing and measuring foods, making super healthy food choices at every meal, not sliding back into eating sugar and other carby crap, not drinking liquid calories or booze), the chances are good you will regain 50% of more of your previous weight. And even more, you will need to take vitamins on a set schedule and drink a set amount of liquids every day--for life. Those are pretty adult responsibilities that even a big majority of adults can't handle. You also really should avoid alcohol for life as well--and with a fatty liver, it's going to be really important for you to do the same regardless of having surgery. It sounds pretty depressing right? I mean, you're a 15 year old kid (male)...how do you NOT go to the kegger in college? How do you not pound down burgers and fries with friends? I'm bringing this up, because these are issues you MUST consider prior to surgery. Are you emotionally capable of choosing the road less traveled in order to experience health and a long life? Can you really exercise that type of control and maturity in the face of peer pressure? "Oh, that won't happen to me" belief will not protect you. It will happen to you. You will face these dilemmas. I hope you continue to process all the information and take initiative to start working with your family doc and a nutritionist/trainer and see if you can get a handle on things to start reducing your fatty liver. If you're drinking already...quit. I'm adding you to my prayers!!! ((hugs)) And I really believe you've taken the first step in working on a success plan for your future!!!

I enjoy a cocktail everyonce in a while.... since my Jamaican Rum and DIet Cokes are a thing of the past and I am not fond of the taste of most hard liquor I struggled on what to drink. I found Citron or Manderin Vodka mixed with Water and a splash of regular cranberry with a lime is actually very refreshing and good. I tried the splash with the diet crandberry but it left such a bad aftertaste I couldnt stomach it. I estimate the "splash" of cranerry is not much more than a teaspoon full so It wont kill me. Make it look the color of a light pink flamingo!! 2 of those and I am feeling it.... and to think I used to think I had a high tolerance for alcohol. LOL Just dont forget to count the calories in your food diary... Vodka is about 60-80 calories per ounce

I am 2 years post-op on RNY. I asked the question to my nutritionist "Why do people lose a lot of weight after surgery only to gain it back?" She said it is because they graze (snack). So I guess if I was going to give some advice to someone who is 7 years post-op, it would be 1) continue to follow the Protein, Fluid and Vitamin requirements of the program. 2) If you are going to graze, graze on protein and fats. Fats have the ability to stop hunger. Stay away from carb Snacks. Also stay away from processed sugars. I use imitation sweeteners like Splenda, low calorie natural sugars like Stevia and natural sugars (fruits and milk). When it comes to snacks I rely on Adkin's treats (sugar alcohol). I also make my own whipping cream using Splenda and place a heaping spoon of it on a cup of coffee each day. Its is a good way to add a little fat to my diet. I have lost 110 pounds and my weight has been very stable. In meals, keep a good balance between protein, carbs and fats.