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Wow this makes me feel like an alcoholic! I have a couple drinks a day and feel great with it (usually whiskey but I'm not too picky). I can drink beer (especially lighter stuff like bud and PBR) but it takes me forever to suck down an IPA now, which is my favorite.

I know what you mean about the cold...this winter will be much colder due to the loss of my winter "padding" but I will freeze my a$$ off before wanting that padding back!! I haven't tried beer yet, but I was a complete oddball and waited until I was one year post-op to drink any alcohol, and I've so far only tried wine. It definitely hits me harder now, so I have to be careful! Cheers to your new healthy life!

When I get that tase in my mouth I just drink more fluids. I have started brushing my teeth so much my gums hurt. As far as the sugar-free hard candy, it's a good idea if your body can handle it. Because of the sugar alcohols in the candy it gives me tons of gas so beware. I chew on gum sometimes now, and that helps a little, but gum can sometimes make you more hungry. As I'm writing this i just thought of those listerine strips, maybe that will help. I know it stinks, everytime my boyfriend wants to give me a kiss I get so nervous that he will smell my stinky breath. He never says anything but I am sure it stinks. I don't know what to do with myself either. Luckily I have my 2.5 year old daughter to keep me busy. The hardest time is during her nap, that used to be my scarf down everything in the house time. I just bought the first season of friends and I put it in our travel dvd player and watch it while I walk on my treadmill. I'm actually starting to enjoy it. It has turned into my "me" time. Good Luck hun you sound like your doing really good, this whole dry mouth stinky breath thing will be worth it in the end.

are 2 oatmeal Cookies 9 days prior to surgery going to cause your liver to be inflamed and hazardously large for surgery? It's quite unlikely. Without being a surgeon, that just stands to reason. As others have said, so long as you don't make "slip ups" a habit during these tough 14 days, you should be fine. I had a low BMI and my surgeon put me on only a week of pre-op surgery to shrink my liver. My habits were not great on my liver prior to surgery, I enjoyed alcohol frequently, not to mention some other things. My surgeon said my liver looked perfect during surgery (I asked! I figured it was large and blackened, LOL!) and it was nice and small and easily moved out of the way. Just keep on your diet, and remind yourself that you will never ever be this hungry again! This diet is to assure that you have the easiest, complication free surgery as you possibly can in regards to your liver allowing your surgeon to have full access to your stomach. It's good that you are concerned, and realize you messed up and asked. I am sure out of the many VSG patients out there, there are plenty of people who don't control their urges to cheat during this time and figure it's no big deal. Better to be safe than sorry, and better to have the easiest possible surgery you can.

It took me about 7 months. I attended a public seminar, watched 2 videos, met with the surgeon, went to a public nutritional and behavorial seminar, went to support meetings, met one-on-one with the nutritionist and social worker, had a chest xray, had an abdominal ultrasound, had an endoscopy, had a stress test, had extensive blood tests, got approved by insurance, had sugery scheduled, had pre-op blood tests, had a pre-op class and met with the surgeon pre-op. Because of my drinking, I had to quit alcohol and go to AA meetings twice a week. I had to get a form signed at each meeting which had to be faxed in to the social worker. This set me back about 2 months. Because alcohol is so toxic to the stomach and detrimental to weight loss, I had to prove sobriety before I could move on. It was very difficult. I had to finish each step to schedule the next one. I kept on top of things and this was the fastest I could go. I possibly could have been ready in 5 months if I was sober already.

Empty calories. And the effect of the alcohol loosens inhibitions and may cause/allow you to eat things that you normally would avoid. I know a bariatric nurse who says that alcohol will slow weight loss for 3 days. If I really really really want a drink, I'll have one. I do avoid carbonation. Most of the time I'm happy with having a sip of my husband's drink. Everyone has to do what is right for them. For me, I wanted to get my weight off quicker. Now that it's mostly gone, I'm a little less strict on myself. YMMV.

I have beer from time to time. I find it easier to drink than soda. It will sometimes give me the hiccups. Which is terribly embarrassing. Sipping one beer and HICCUP! Oh well. I just recently went to one of my surgeon's support groups (surgeon was not there). A patient going through screening says his nutritionist is now saying alcohol is ok 1 year post-op. I cannot remember what he told me this late in the game.

My doctor never said I could'nt have alcohol. I am not now nor have I ever been a drinker however. If I was given the choice between 200 calories of alcohol and 200 cal. of cake there would be no competition.

I eat those mints by the handful. They're sugar free and I can't imagine they could hurt you, except for the fact that they contain sugar alcohols, Sorbitol, etc. which are powerful laxatives in sufficient quantity, but for many of us, I doubt that's a problem :>).

a) 70 gm of protein is not horribly excessive but it's more than the daily recommendation, which is around 46 to 50 gms. The center I went to recommends NO SHAKES (once you get past the liquid/soft stage right after surgery and are eating normally, that is). Liquid calories, except for up to 16 oz of milk a day, are just out, period. My guess about the morning shake, and you can ask your doctor about this, is that many bandsters are super tight in the morning; too tight to eat solid food without getting stuck or horking. That varies from person to person though, so you'd want to eat solids if you are able. The protein + veggies recommendation sounds standard. It's your life though. You choose. I think the saying is, if you follow 80% of the guidelines, 80% of the time, you'll be successful. i.e. most people don't give up dessert forever, rather they choose to have a small amount once in awhile. Same with bread (which a lot of people get stuck on), or alcohol Best wishes on your sugery and new lifestyle!!

My plan says no alcohol ever. You wouldn't want to end up in the ER because because you vomit blood from taking one sip. True story according to the nurse who runs the support group I go to. Either way, I'd wait till at least a year out before even trying any kind of alcohol. You're still healing. Even at 3 months we're still healing. I wouldn't risk anything that could potentially upset your stomach. Especially not in public. Plus you need to be careful about transfer addictions. A lot of bariactric patients become alcoholics. I can attest to the transfer addiction. For me it's shopping.

So today is my 3 week surgiversary. I have lost 22 pounds and have gone down one jean size so far. I am still eating soups and yogurts because of the tight feeling I get when I try to eat anything thicker. I have really started to want a glass of wine. Just to relax some nights. But Im scared. Everything I read says 3 months or more. Socially it has been weird too. Some people ask why Im not drinking alcohol anymore or at a meeting when lunch is served, I have to make excuses. One friend always declares how bad something tastes in my presence as to make me feel better about not being able to eat whatever she's eating. So there has been lots to get used to but at night when I get home and I see how nicely my cheek bones are becoming defined, I don't care about the excuses or the giant chocolate chip cookie I wasn't able to enjoy. I had my surgery in Monterrey, Mexico. I live (because of work) in Mexico City. I will be going home (to Chicago) in a week to see my family for the first time since the surgery. I know they are going to look me up and down for changes. Hopefully, they can see them right away. I fear hearing...you look the same. Anyway, these are just my random thoughts I have been having. Stuff I don't bother telling my friends because the novelty of my surgery and it's little issues has worn off for them. Happy holidays all!!

I was at a Christmas party last night and had a couple of drinks (Malibu Rum and Pineapple Juice). I have never been a big drinker. I may have something twice a year. I didn't find that it hit me faster than before, but I was very careful to sip slowly. My doctor said I could have alcohol in moderation but that I needed to be very careful because it would take much less for me to get drunk. I never liked the aftereffects of drinking so it isn't something that I miss.

Rubbing alcohol!

Okay, It's December 9. One month to the day when I was scheduled for my Lap Band surgery. While I didn't lose much weight on the 2 week pre-op diet (only 6 pounds!), it did get much easier. By Day Four I had none of the hunger I'd been feeling on the previous few days and I wasn't cranky. I dealt with those feelings by going to bed early- nice perk to not having kids! I stayed at just around 1000 calories, flew down to South Carolina to shoot a friend's wedding, had no cigarettes (I will fall back into old tendencies when I'm around friends who smoke:() I had no alcohol, and brought all of my shakes and protein bars with me. I even worked out in the hotel gym- I've never done that!! My one transgression was a small slice of wedding cake and I knew I'd be okay being almost to surgery day and knowing how compliant I'd been. I was so busy in the ten days leading up to surgery I didn't allow myself time to be nervous. I packed my overnight bag, got my paperwork and healthcare proxy together, showered with the special soap and went to bed. The next morning E (my sig other) drove me to the hospital at 7:30. My surgery was scheduled for 9:30. They got me into the recovery area and gave me a gown to put on and I got on the bed/gurney and they brought me a warm blanket. I forgot about those! The only other time I'd been to the hospital was a few years ago when I had a kidney stone. I got to the ER and they put me in a similar type of room, and that warm blanket was like the comfort of a mom. I was glad they brought me one this time as it was a little chilly, and I'd forgotten how soothing it is! E was looking very nervous and I reassured him everything would be fine. Cindy, my nurse, put the IV port in my arm and took my blood pressure and did some other things. Even though it was two hours between arrival and surgery time, it all went so quickly. The anesthesiologist came by to introduce himself and explain what he'd be doing, Dr. Schneider (my surgeon) came by to say hello and before I knew it I was about to be whisked away to the OR. Before they took my bag and locked it in a locker for safe keeping, I remembered to put on the lip balm! They had given me some kind of sedative because I remember being really relaxed as I entered the ER, and there was the anesthesiologist with a mask he put over my mouth and nose and asked me to take a couple of deep breaths. I took the very deepest breaths I could and the last thing I remember is him saying "wow, I don't think I could take a breath that deep!" Of course, what seemed like seconds later, I was back in recovery with my nurse Cindy. The first thing that came to mind as I was coming to was, "Did they put it in? What happened?" and then being a little freaked out because I couldn't breathe- that would be the breathing tube. I gestured wildly about the tube and they pulled it out, which was quick. It was a little scary waking up with that thing in my throat! I had a weird feeling. I felt like something had gone wrong. Then again, I'm all messed up on drugs so what do I know? Cindy touched my arm and told me there was a complication and the surgeon would be by to talk to me about it. I asked if they didn't do it and she confirmed they didn't. I am woozy, confused, and now terribly disappointed and weepy. What the hell happened? (and how did I kind of know it even though I was under anesthesia- weird) Well... I flatlined on the operating table. Asystolic. For 30 seconds "give or take", according to Dr. Schneider. Poor E. He got a text from the surgeon about what happened and while they successfully "brought me back", he was still freaked out, sitting in that waiting room. They brought him down and I asked him what happened and he just told me everything would be fine. HE, did not look fine! Dr.Schneider came soon after that. He sighed, smiled, and said "You gave us a bit of a scare there! But you gave the observing interns a good show!" He explained that they had just started; made the incisions, filling abdomen with CO2, when my heart rate kept dropping....and dropping....until nothing. They gave me Atropine and Dr.Schneider did the chest compressions to get the drug moving through my veins to my heart so it would start working. As I said, he did this for about 30 seconds until my heart began beating again. (Phew, right?!) At that point they made the decision to not continue with the surgery, even though he said they could have. He decided to err on the side of caution as he did not know why my body did this, and wanted to rule out any cardiovascular abnormalities, etc. and felt that was the safest thing to do. As he explained all this to me it I felt enormously relieved that a.) I was still here! and b.) I had a surgeon who made good decisions. E was on the verge of tears thanking him for the job he did. My hospital is a teaching hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School, so they had a cardiovascular team including several fellows review the "tape" (your heart rate readout throughout the procedure), the reports and asked me numerous questions about my family history, any heart issues in the past, etc. I have a family history of heart disease, but I know my heart is healthy because I've had lab tests, tests for arrhythmia/murmurs, and an ultrasound of my heart a couple of years ago when I was worried I was having a heart attack (turned out to be GERD) and all tests showed I have a healthy, normal heart. I was kept in the Recovery Unit for several hours while all this was going on and the more I came to, the more I wish they had moved me to a room; there were people all around me (some I could see because they were across from me as opposed to on the other side of a curtain) being wheeled in and out for surgeries, coming back, waking up and retching into pans....it was a little crazy. Cindy took excellent care of me and gave me sponges on sticks to suck on, then later ice chips. E sat with me until I told him eventually to go home and get some rest and let the dog out. I didn't get taken up to a room until after 6 pm. They kept a heart monitor on me all night that was hooked up to the nurses' station and was recording. In the morning the team reviewed it and found nothing abnormal. When the surgeon came in to visit me, he asked me a bunch of questions about fainting: Do I faint easily or often? Do I get light-headed and feel like I'm going to faint but don't? When and why have I fainted in the past? Well, I did have a few episodes this past summer come to think of it. I felt super lightheaded and came really close to passing out. Couldn't put a finger on why, so I kind of just brushed it off. This happened on three different occasions this summer. I also fainted from the kidney stone episode (the pain was brutal and I think I passed out from that), and before that, when I broke my leg/ankle and when I got sun poisoning as a kid. Their conclusion was that I had what they call a "Vasovagal Response". Huh? Apparently the Vagus Nerve is a major nerve that runs from the brain to the abdomen. Among other functions, it contributes to regulating the heart rate, and can react to a trauma, such as (though I was unaware of it) the pain caused from cutting into my stomach wall. It also may have happened when they tilted the table. My surgeon said I was his first patient to do that, but statistically it happens in about 1 in 300 patients. I don't understand it fully, but they did say I would still be able to have the surgery, and that they would plan for it this time. My understanding is they are going to raise my heart rate before beginning the surgery to compensate for the drop that will likely happen again. It may even drop to zero again (I really hope not), and they've assured me they will be prepared for that and once my heart rate is stable they will follow through with the banding. It was such a disappointment to be sure. It was also a major inconvenience as I left my contract job to have the surgery, thinking I would be ready to work again at the beginning of December. Now I am not having the surgery until 12/21 and I did not plan on that financially. I had chest bruising from the chest compressions and the three incisions to heal from- all that pain and nausea and no band to show for it! I also will be banded right before the holidays and while this kind of makes me a little depressed that Christmas won't be the same at all (I mean, I'm going to feel pretty crappy and I can't have even one cookie!) But I suppose this is trial by fire: I've always cooked up a storm and ate whatever I've wanted (and drank too much!) during the holidays, and I'm going to have to learn what it means to enjoy traditions without the food element. The few people I've told about the surgery have been more freaked out than me about what happened. I think they think I'm a little crazy for rescheduling and trying again. But I have to make this decision rationally, not emotionally. I trust my surgeon. He was an ER surgeon for years before becoming a bariatric surgeon, and he's done hundreds of Lap Band surgeries. I live in Boston, where some of the best hospitals in the country are. I've done my due diligence and I'm not turning back now. And you know what? **** happens. I could get hit by a bus tomorrow. With all the information I've been given I know I'm being smart about my decision. I am still at the weight I was at a week after surgery. I think the fact that I've maintained is pretty good. I could have had a good month of getting in those last suppers! They told me my liver looked great, and since I haven't gained any weight, I am doing the preop diet for only one week this time. I already shrunk my liver so I'll be doing it to get my mind in the game and to lose some motivational pounds. Am I scared this time around? A little...well, definitely more anxious. I was so calm and collected going in on November 9. I had no idea what could happen back then! But I am determined to be happy, healthy and live up to my potential. I've spent too long being uncomfortable, unhappy and knowing there was a better life out there for me, and have come too close to give up now!

This was really difficult for me as well, especially since I ended up having a bad reaction to the tape... i literally just sat there and picked at it and used whatever I had around (lotion, conditioner, rubbing alcohol, etc) to try to get it off. I was really careful and only used tiny amounts since my skin was already so sensitive, but I had to get it off! Honestly in the end all I did was pick it off and then gently washed my skin after. I actually liked when the lint/etc stuck to it because it made it easier to see and to pull off. Good luck!

Same thing happened to me and it lasted for weeks... just wouldn't come off. I tried everything from alcohol pads to acetone (nail polish remover) to goo gone! In the end, the only way for me to get it off was to keep scrubbing it in the shower and as soon as I got out (and was still warm) tried rolling it into a clump and picking it off slowly. Good luck! I know it really sucks:(

alcohol wipes.

My surgeon said I was OK to drink alcohol, but to be aware of the empty calories.

I wonder if caffeine affects us faster and more intensely now, like alcohol does? I used to drink coffee all day, up to bedtime. Then I went on some meds for fatigue and had terrible RLS (restless leg syndrome) so I managed to cut down to a cup or two in the morning. Now I've tried drinking coffee twice, only about 1/4c. in my morning Protein shake, and I got such a case of the jitters! Like I wanted to throw up. No other sources of caffeine, except for the tiny amount in the diet Lipton Green Tea with Citrus that I live on. Maybe I have detoxed from coffee? I've been drinking it for almost twenty years. Who would have thought it was possible?

My doc said that an occasional drink is ok, after the first three months. In my nutrition seminar, the dietician cautioned that a significant number of bariatric patients experience a "transfer addiction" and replace a food addiction with alcohol.

I have a glass of wine a few times per month...actually, Dr. Paul O'Brien, affilitated with True Results, said a few glasses of wine per week is ok, even a glass daily is ok... Since banding, I've been to teacher happy hour and had an alcoholic drink each time....the first (my usual pre-band) was a margarita/sangria mix, but post=banding it was WAY too much!!! I've also had a spiked sweet tea and that was good...but it did hit me fast!! Now I just drink a sangria and have them add extra fruit to it, and drink it very slowly. Good luck!

When I told her I was going through with the band, she said no alcohol ever again. Then explained the liver stuff. Then said "I'm basically trying to to put the fear of God in you"....mmk.

The way my surgeon explained it in my educational seminar. Bypass patients metabolize alcohol differently and will feel the effects much faster. Band patients do not. He does not like his bariatric patients to consume alcohol because of the calories that have no nutritional value. My opinion is next: As far as ruining your liver, yeah, alcohol is hard on it, but so is tylenol. Was that a general statement about alcohol's effect on everyone or bariatric patients in general?

Ps. I am not and alcoholic. Lol. Just enjoy a drink once or twice a week.