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Hello everyone...my sleeve is scheduled for October 21 pending insurance approval. Can anyone enlighten me as to whether alcohol is well tolerated after being sleeved? I love my weekend drinks and would hate to give this up for life!

I have been at this weight for about 2 months. My problem is liquid calories. I drink too much alcohol. I don't need a fill. I am going on vacation in 2 weeks and I go for a slight unfill next week. Once I return, I immediately am going to go back in to get me to 3.0 ccs again. How do you recommit yourself when you are close to goal? My goal is to only have a couple drinks a week after vacation. What are your thoughts?

I'm glad you have realized that drinking was not helping you live a healthier life. This might sound kinda harsh, but I don't mean it that way. Everyone in life goes through stress and disappointments, at one point or another. We really have to decide on not using those times as excuses. We have to learn to deal with those times, not with food or alcohol, but figure another way. Anything, going for a walk, reading, taking a soak in the tub or a craft of some kind. Also staying with a support group will also help. I wish you all the best. You can do this!!!

Thank you. You helped me feel encouraged. Right now in life I can say my number one reason to really want to lose weight at this time in my life is health. I could not say that a few years ago. So ok, I will start there. I just quit drinking alcohol a few days ago because my body can't do it anymore and I feel the best in a long time. Everyone tells me I look so refreshed. The calories i got from 1-2 bottles of wine a day was outrages. It's going to be a hard road because that was a routine i did after work. Working night shift has also taken a toll on my body. Beginning Sept i have switched to day shift although I will take a huge money cut.But my health is suffering with high blood pressure and sleep apnea. You are the first person to even discuss all this with. Thank you. I feel I just released a load. I need support so bad or I'm going to dye. Thank you

I looked up those Steaz and it kinda sounded to me like they were carbonated. Are they?? Also, FunnyDuddies- I wonder if those might be available online somewhere. I really miss my diet cream soda and that vanilla cream sounds like it might be a good alternative. Also, the ginger ale might be a good mixer for alcoholic drinks. Thanks for the info guys! I used to LOVE trying all the new sodas that came out. Kristin

Right after I got approved the Doctors office called and wanted to know if I wanted to do it the next week.I needed time to get my head right.I was still like a deer in the headlights from getting approved.Take your time this is not something that you just jump into.It takes alot of mental preparation. I found out it is best to stop taking all herbal sups and asprin, ibuprophin, tylenol, alcohol ,smoking at least two weeks before surgery. Do you have a support group in your area? If so go take to them see what life is like after WLS.Take time ti get your self prepaired for this LIFE CHANGING event. My surgery is Thursday I have been approved for two months.

Hi, this is a topic that was requested of me to write this post and ask for help by my therapist. She believes many of you will relate to, even if you don't post back....I'm reluctant because: 1. It's a heavy topic for me to post on the internet, to people I will never know. 2. It's exremely painful for me to even venture in this territory. But it is something that is at the core of my where and who I am today, as a someone fighting to lose the psychological pounds I have put on over the years. I was brought up in a highly dysfunctional family (to put it lightly), and there was sexual abuse, emotional deprivation and abuse, alcoholism, parental fighting and divorce, self-harm, para-suicidal actions and more things that I can't access right now. I was raped and beaten repeatedly by a boyfriend in high school, my best friend comitted suicide, I married a wonderful man who is also an alcoholic, and last year, my Mother passed away from breast cancer. It was engrained into me as a child that I was fat (I wasn't even heavy or plump till a year after marrying my husband in 92) and utterly worthless. Most of me believes that to this day, but thanks to all of the therapy I'm in, medications and recently Al-Anon, I am learning that I might not be worthless. "might not". My reason for writing this...I feel majorly worthless right now (I'm in a tough place in therapy AND my go to, bad food, has been taken away from me, by choice) and am having a bloody hell of a time fighting all the negetive "voices" in my head, and adhering to my diet. I was banded 5 years ago, gave up on it 4 years ago and got unfilled, then found myself back in the Doctor's office wanting to try again, three months ago. For two months I did very well, losing 20 pounds. Feeling that I understood my relationship with food, eating very well. I thought I had it in the bag. But this month, I am deliberately buying junk food to sabotage myself. I want to "hurt" myself by eating junk food. Obviously I am not in a good place. My baggage got me to today, and frankly I am proud as hell to have made it to the age of 46. Albeit a confused 46. My therapist wanted me to ask of you how some of you overcame those negetive voices, hurtful relationships with food and became a successful Bandster. I'm not looking for "atta-boy"s or "you-poor-girl"s or "you-can-do-it"s...I'm down but not out. How do you fight the inner demons that make you reach out to bad foods for a coping mechanism? I mean, I know the tricks, but they're not working. I know that some day, I will know that answer, but it will take a long, long time. I want to be a successful Bandster like I was the last two months, now. You guys are doing so well, how do you do it? Can you even relate or am I just a freak? Bless you for reading my post, and I'm sorry if I annoyed you and please do not pity me. I'm just looking for support...

when getting lotions, be sure to look at the ingredients. Any lotions that contain any sort of alcoholwill dry out the skin, and will cause scars to not dissapear the way they should. If you see alcohol, stay away. Any other lotion without alcohol, that contain vitamin E is great for your skin all over. I also use a soap that I get here at a local shop that contains goat's milk. It has so many great properties, nd leaves the skin feeling soft and smooth. I also sometimes use a soap with olive oil in it, but the goats milk is by far my favorite.

Hi Dawn and Mrs. Rhonda I would love to get in contact with both of you. I havent been doing well lately. I just got out of the hospital after staying there for 5 days for acute pancreatitis- Not fun. The only good thing about it is now I need to be on a low fat diet for the rest of my life and no alcohol... so I guess that gives me a head start on things..lol

Wow I never knew that! And you know what's funny, I'm the type of person on a flight I have to drink alcohol to wash down my xanax (I have a HUGE fear of flying) and I noticed the last time I was on a plane, it took me forever to finish a bloody mary. Also, fyi, if you don't live in a higher altitude area, that will mess with your restriction. We went on a cross country trip, and when we were at the Grand Canyon (alt 10,000 feet), I couldn't even eat ravioli! I felt like crap! And on top of that it was TOM which restricts me even more. My dad goes "you know the altitude may have tightened your band up" he was right because when we got to Las Vegas, I was fine! Have fun in San Diego! Good luck!

And realize that alcohol will affect you so much more now. You are not eating as much to slow down the digestion.

I had 1 Cosmo last night and was hammered. I had 3 sips of my 2nd one and had trouble walking so I put it down. Be VERY careful, alcohol is very different on the band. Much stronger. And yes count those calories! On the plus side, with alcohol being so high cal and not nutritional, at least we don't need much at all to get a buzz. P.s I waited a month before my first drink and only drink for really special occasions cos getting drunk makes me wanna eat!!

I drink in moderation but not frequently ...not changed since I had my lap band. But. The others are right ... Empty calories, plus the feeling and ability to be able to consume more food may lead to self sabotage if you cannot keep in control. Foods'my demon not alcohol ... So happy days

I was told no alcohol for 6 months after my surgery because beside being empty liquid calories, it's a gastric irritant. My 1st drink was at around 8 months post-op. I was on a business trip and ordered an appletini. I felt fine until I tried to stand up.Oooof!

Well its been about 2 1/2 months since surgery. All is well. I run 2 miles everyday, no longer drink alcohol, only water, no coffee, etc. I feel great I have lost a total of 80lbs. and counting. I have only had one fill of 3cc's. I have found that eating with this restriction can and is difficult. I have spit up food on about 6 occasions. It seems to mee that I need to leave off that one last bite, before it throws me over the edge. Question, is that PBing. I am scheduled for another fill on the 15th of June, I do not think I will ask for anymore. I am loosing quit rapidly, and do not suffer from hunger. Either way I love this band, and most of all, I love how I feel. I am working out like I used to. No more excuses. I will say that the band is only 1/3 of what I am doing. It is only a tool. The rest is will power, exercise, and dedication. I have gone from a 52" waist to a 42". I will reach my goal weight in the next few months. Best thing I did was deciding to be proud of my decision. I have never lied or hidden what I have done.

coffee was one of my pre-op concerns. I'm a huge coffee drinker. I didn't do coffee until... about 3 months out? Even then I was drinking one coffee mug daily of the 50/50 half caf stuff. I don't remember a brand but I think it might've been Folgers? My husband would fix his coffee in the morning before work and then fix the coffee pot so mine was ready to brew when I got up. On the weekends it was kind of hard waiting "in line" for the coffee pot so I guess within the last month, he's been telling me it was my coffee and he was drinking mine but he was gradually weaning me over to regular coffee. I honestly couldn't tell a difference. When he finally started weaning me was when I got cleared for red meat & alcohol by my doctor so he figured full caff coffee would've been fine too. I had 0 problems. I'm finally back on regular coffee, thank the gods, and all's well. I have my coffee with 2 equal packets and 2 tsp of powdered creamer. I kind of feel sad whenever I pass the cold cases at the grocery store and see the new flavors of liquid creamers which I used to love. But whatever right? I've got my coffee after doing without for several months.

No sermon from me. I had wine within 90 days of surgery and have enjoyed it, beer and even cocktails with no problems since. Notice I said problems but didn't say issues. I've noticed small issues. The following is my own weird personal experience. YMMV. Alcohol just doesn't bring the same effect as it did before the surgery, so the buzz factor is gone. Wine brings a very vague buzz but it's over so fast you almost don't notice it. Real beer containing alcohol: no buzz at all yet near beer, eg Odouls etc, causes a slight buzz! Go figure! Cocktails bring a buzz but it's weaker than before and not fully pleasant. The "fun" of drinking is gone, I think never to return. So if you drink alcohol for the buzz you might never get it. If you drink for the chill and taste like I do, you won't miss any satisfaction. Drinks are still cold and still taste good. But there's no more "there" there. No lie, tonight after a sip of lambrusco, I found myself thinking, you know, this tastes like black cherry juice so why not just start chilling and drinking that. That's how weak the buzz is with no more fundus. But again YMMV. Use alcohol with caution.

Ewww...really? I can't stand licorice either and I have never noticed this aftertaste with the brand that I use. It's very clean tasting, kind of reminds me of sweet n low. I use the Nu Naturals Alcohol Free Stevia. There is a vanilla flavored one that looks almost exactly the same, but I prefer the clean taste. If I want vanilla, I'll add it myself. I get it at the health food store (can be very hard to find) and it costs about $8 a bottle. At first I thought that was a little pricey for such a little bottle, but I've had the same bottle for two months, and am only about halfway through it. Here's a link. Be sure to check out the reviews. A lot of people mention the lack of aftertaste. http://www.iherb.com...59-ml/4460?at=0

If you have sleep apnea, they'll want you to get a CPAP/BiPAP machine and start using it consistently when you sleep. It may slightly delay things (my doctor wanted at least 30 days of no caffeine/alcohol/cigarettes, and consistent CPAP use), but I don't know that they do anything differently per se. The big thing is: if you have sleep apnea and you don't know it, you WANT to know it before surgery. First off, it can totally wreck your sleep, which in turn means you may heal more slowly. Second, involuntarily tossing and turning in your sleep to find a position which gives a clear airway, right after surgery, would suck.

I've never heard of the product. Sounds chemically. Lol. Nonetheless, I'll look it up. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App It's a sugar alcohol, like most anything that has -itol in its name (maltitol, xylitol, etc.) that has some fraction of the calories of regular sugar relative to sweetness (not zero calorie, but less than normal sugar.) It's not unreasonable to go without the fake or zero-calorie sweeteners, but it does help to track your intake long term to keep your accounting straight. As others have noted, particularly later on toward maintenance when one can eat more, be aware of cravings that can come with sugar consumption (and some of the artificial ones too) so pay attention to keep your weight under control long term.

I have a horrible sensitivity to sugar alcohols, so my NUT has me using Carnation Instant Breakfast with unflavored Protein powder added as an alternative. I could also add the powder to broth and have it that way. Sent from my SM-G900P using the BariatricPal App

I consulted two surgeons prior to having my sleeve surgery. I was actually in two different programs for 2 months each. The first surgeon was very strict on everything. He spoke in terms of "never" in regards to carbonated drinks, alcohol, certain medications and etc. He was also in the first 5 years of his practice in bariatrics after being a general surgeon for much longer. The second surgeon who I actually used...was further along in his experience with bariatric surgery. He also was very clear on certain aspects but also left certain things open for me to test and evaluate.

Hi Sherry. I've gone through a lot of the same stuff you have. One thing that helped me some was that my band was too tight so I was not bothering with solid foor, and making up for the lack of calories with ice cream. But that was only part of it. I figure I'm like an alcoholic. I'll fall off the wagon, but the first goal is for it to take less time each time to get back on the wagon! And I've really had to manipulate my surroundings. If I eat anything in front of the TV, I go into a trance and just keep eating. And if I sit in front of the TV, I'm not active so that doesn't work either. This food thing is complicated, isn't it? But we'll get there........

Sugar is probably one of the prime factors in today's epidemic of obesity and diabetes. There are many more artificial sweeteners and natural sweeteners available on the market today. As a result, I believe it is possible to reduce your intake of sugar substantially. But it requires an understanding of what products to avoid. There are natural sugars found in fruit juice and milk which are good. When it comes to fruit juice, I look at the ingredient label and verify (sugar, corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup does not show up on the top five elements listed). If these appear, this is a sugar added product that should be avoided. Otherwise the fruit juice only contains natural sugars which is acceptable. Artificial sweeteners such as Splenda and natural sweeteners such as Stevia are good substitutes. Splenda is good in baking because it is spoon for spoon replacement for sugar in recipes. I use products that say "no sugar added". For example I still drink a hot cup of cocoa during the winter. But it is a "no sugar added" cocoa. I noticed that the grocery stores are even stocking "no sugar added" ice cream now. I also use Adkins products, such as Adkins Treats. These tend to use sugar alcohols for sweeteners. I was diabetic prior to surgery and I am very sensitive about my blood sugar levels. So I periodically measure my blood sugar and these products satisfy my sweet tooth without driving my blood sugar level up. Generally when I buy a product, I first look at the "nutrition facts" label and under Total Carbohydrate label, I look for sugar. If sugars are above 2 grams, I look at the "Ingredients Label". This tells me if processed sugars are a prime ingredient or if it is natural sugars. As a general rule, any ingredient ending in "-ose" is a form of sugar to be avoided. [The exception to this rule is sucralose which is Splenda.] Also corn syrup, corn solid, high fructose corn syrup, cane juice also should be avoided. If any of these ingredients appears in the first five ingredients on the food label, I avoid this product.

What a powerful story! Thank you so much for sharing. I've just begun my journey -- at 55. My mom died at age 56 of alcoholism and I made up my mind I didn't want to die at age 56 of my own addiction. It sounds like you have worked very hard, and you have found peace -- and health. I'm so happy for you. Thanks again for sharing.