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Doctors' philosophy on this vary from a few weeks to never again depending upon their experiences. The basic issues are: Healing - alcohol is somewhat corrosive to the stomach lining so one needs to give things a chance to heal first, Alcohol tolerance - rapid stomach emptying means it tends to hit faster, and with less (i.e., a "cheap drunk") so care must be taken there, Transfer addiction - we can no longer satisfy whatever addictive tendencies we have with food, so it is easy for transfer that addiction to something else, like alcohol, drugs, shopping, gambling, etc. What was a casual habit of a glass of wine with dinner occasionally can easily turn into full blown alcoholism. Liver health - starting as morbidly obese, or worse, our livers are not usually in very good shape to begin with (hence the "liver shrinking" pre-op diets that are often prescribed) and the liver is further stressed from its role in metabolizing all that fat that we are rapidly losing. It doesn't need any more stress from ingesting a known liver toxin like alcohol (not a judgemental thing, just our physiology at work). My surgeon is also a biliopancreatic (livers and pancreas) transplant surgeon, so he is in the no alcohol as long as we are losing weight camp (and ideally forever) and indeed we sign a contract to that effect - he doesn't want any of his bariatric patients coming back onto his transplant table! Those are the issues in play, and some aspects bother different surgeons to different degrees, so they have different policies. Check with what your surgeon's policy is, and decide for yourself - we are all adults here.

my surgeon said no alcohol until 6 -12 months after surgery

Are alcohol allowed after gastric sleeve surgery? Sent from my ELE-L29 using BariatricPal mobile app

I’m going to a Halloween party next week and I want to have fun but don’t want to drink alcohol or eat .How can I enjoy the party without food or drink. I’m trying to loose weight before my pre op November 12

I think what you mix alcohol with also makes a difference. About 3 1/2 months out I tried a prickly pear margarita when we were on vacation in Santa Fe. Literally one sip and I felt hot and nauseated so I put it aside. We then ate and I tried again after 30 minutes with the same result. Now, I only drink tequila over ice, bourbon and water or vodka martinis and I have no problems. It does affect my ability to lose though..... I was a daily drinker before surgery and pretty much back to that at this point.

There are many ways to answer that question. For one thing, to some people sugar really is an addiction in the exact same way drugs or alcohol is. I am one of those people. I couldnt go a day without sugar and pretty much after every meal I would crave sugar like crazy. I remember one terrible Christmas we made dozens of cookies and I ate those damn cookies like they were crack for the next 3 weeks. I just kept thinking "this has to stop". So at that point I was definitely not able to moderate it. Now, 9 months post surgery I have completely changed my life. I have changed my coping mechanisms, I havent had any deserts and I work out regularly. I am debating the idea of having tiny amounts of sweets. Have I changed enough? Have I come far enough to be able to moderate? I honestly dont know.

Hello! This is my first time posting, I have been lurking for a while. I hope I am posing in the correct section!! I am from Canada, and was referred to the Bariatric Program in my city. I know that the USA and Canadian programs are similar in terms of requiring time with a dietitian, psychologist, internal medicine doctor etc. In April, I was booked for my first class in June. As a smoker (now ex-smoker!) I planned to (and quit) a few days before the orientation class. In the orientation class, immediately we are informed that being in the program or class isn't a guarantee of surgery (which is completely acceptable!), it is posted everywhere, and we are reminded of it pretty much all the time. I had an appointment with the Nurse case manager in August. She was great. In each appointment, you book your next appointment with another discipline you need to see throughout the program. I was then booked for a nutrition basics class for the end of August, then with the dietitian in September. The nutrition class I didn't find particularly useful (personally), as the things that we covered, I was already practicing. I was excited that the dietitian wasn't the type to roll in there and tell everyone they had to eat a certain diet. In the class (there was about 20-25 attending) she had said that they started doing the nutrition basics class because they felt that they often had to go over basics with so many people...they thought one class for everyone for the basics, and then when you meet with your dietitian, it is more individualized, and targeted to your needs. I was very excited about this, and it turned out the dietitian that was teaching the class, was who I was booked with in September. Then I rolled into the appointment in September (the day before my vacation - a cruise) for my first appointment with the RD. I feel like we immediately started off on the wrong foot. I had blood tests done (as requested) and I don't think she liked them. Everything on the blood tests were fine. Whenever I get tested for my white blood cells they come back 'slightly high', and it's been like that for years and I chalk it up to obesity, knee arthritis and the steroids I take for asthma. My family doctor is not concerned. The other thing was my triglycerides were boderline high (the rest of my cholesterol is good), and I have spoken with my doc about that and he is not concerned. She didn't seem to like that I wasn't running to my doctor about my white blood cell count. I felt like she was snippy about the triglycerides, even though my doc wasn't concerned. She looked at my food tracking (every day religiously for 6 weeks), and looked at one day. I eat 1 banana and 1 apple everyday during the work week. She started telling me about substituting berries instead of a banana. She also suggested that I walk around the buffet a few times on the cruise ship before deciding what to eat. When she asked how much wine I was going to drink on vacation (I stopped all alcohol for over a month at this point), and I said "Maybe 1 glass per day at dinner...?" that was the WRONG answer...and told me to try again. So I said...I guess 1 glass every 3 days....? Then she suggested I use smaller plates to cut my portion sizes. I left there...and my poor husband...I came home in a flurry of tears, and frustration. I didn't ask how to reduce my portions on vacation...I already know how to do that. I didn't ask her to help with with my cholesterol, I have a doctor for that. She wanted to know why I was taking Omega 3 ...and seemed skeptical of my answer that most people don't get enough, so I figure it would help to take some. I am still so discouraged by this. A few weeks ago I went to the psychologist. There was a questionnaire I had to fill out (essentially about being compliant after surgery). I told him I struggle with exercise now because of my knees...so he suggested yoga. Really? I am obese, with painful knees....if I have a hard time on the treadmill or on the elliptical, why would kneeling on the floor help...? Oh. because you do Yoga. Noted. I tried to create some discourse: The link to obesity and sleep is something I notice...I started to tell him I notice my appetite increases if I haven't slept well because it's like I need to stimulate myself to stay awake. And that turned into getting tested for sleep apnea. I don't have sleep apnea. He mentioned smaller plates to me again (it just seems out of context) So I am feeling like because I am not a total trainwreck, they don't know what to do with me. I totally get that people need more help than 'read a label', but I feel like I have spent a lot of time researching diets, weight loss, obesity etc etc for the better part of 10 or 15 years...and they have not taken the time to find out what I do know. I feel like if I say certain trigger words like 'tired' = Sleep apnea! Wine = Alcoholic! So I don't know what I am supposed to be doing. I feel like I don't know what they want from me. If they want me to lose weight, then I want them to say it. If they want me to stop this or start that, then say it, and have a purpose. I have read all sort of literature about WLS and Set points etc etc and when I go to these appointments I don't want to walk away feeling like they think I am obese because I opted for a banana instead of blueberries (hate them) all these years. I want to get more out of this, but I am also very tempted to just try and tune it out and tell them what they want to hear so I can get the surgery. I am just a number, and I somehow have to fit in their flow chart...not the other way around. Does anyone have any advice? I just feel super discouraged and criticized and not looking forward to another year of appointments every month feeling this way. Thanks for your help!

One word of advice: if they try to pass you off on it, ask for a liver panel (also included in a comprehensive metabolic panel). When I went in and asked them to check my gallbladder, they still weren't convinced, but to appease me they did some blood work and my liver enzymes were out of wack. The doctor asked me if I drank alcohol. He said either I'm an alcoholic or my gallbladder might be acting up. When the ultrasound came back showing problems with my gallbladder, the doctor apologized to me and said he should have listened to me.

The best thing I ever did preop was to give up the addictive substances. I knew I couldn't have them after surgery, and getting past the withdrawal and cravings beforehand made recovery much easier. So, I gave up caffeine, all alcohol, all sugar, all soda, all artificial sweeteners, colors, flavors. I hadn't eaten wheat (gluten) for years, so that was not an issue. By the time surgery came around, I felt clean and detoxed. I did not eat the jello or popsicles in the hospital. I brought my own broth, herbal tea, and protein drink. Turned out they did have some great tasting gluten free broth that was fine.

hahaahahaha! I think her advice is the standard BS claptrap spouted by most RDs whose job it is to toe the party line with old bs information. "Eat within 30-1hour of waking." Add extra meals to your rotation... Remind me again, aren't you doing pretty well maintaining your present weight? Do you ACTIVELY WANT to gain? If so, then yah. The party line advice is the quickest way to accomplish that. LOL. I would just chalk it up to opinions and asshats...we all have 'em. Right? Nod, say yes mam. Then do your own thing. Do YOU think you have an exercise, food, or alcohol issue? **** I "rawlk" or walk 1 hour a day and try for 7days a week. I don't always hit 7 days. I also try to do 20 minutes of core strengthening and balance work 2 x per week. I'm not as focused on getting this done as I am my walking. ***** And lastly, I'm crazy busy right now. And realized I hadn't logged my food since Saturday--until today. I probably won't go back and log in past days cuz no time. But I'm still sitting at 131.6lbs today. (I have been eating mostly the same foods each day so...basically my same top of the week routine. But I'm a logger through and through! Love it. It's mah jam!

Hello to anyone out there who is reading this. it has been 11 years since my gastric bypass and wow! I was reading my past entries things have certainly changed for me. I had the weight problem, lost about 90lbs, became an alcoholic, got divorced, remarried, moved to Houston, then back to Atlanta, became born again, through the peace and grace of Jesus Christ!, traveled monthly to RI to check on my parents, lost my brother and father in 2019, relapsed with alcohol several times, as of today I have been sober for 2 years!~~~~WHEW! So now I am married to Michael White, someone I have loved for over 30 years, I am living sober, grieving the loss of my brother, Chip 01/09/2019 and my Dad, Ray 09/06/2019. As for the weight, I am now 208lbs and not really happy at this weight, but Thank God it's not 275! The most important part of my journey is that I became a Christian, I would have been dead by now if I had not done that. I feel okay today, some days are difficult because I do not drink alcohol anymore, so I have to depend on God through everything...opps gotta run....

I do not and will not buy any foods or snacks that I like. I only have in my house the good foods and if I want to "binge" I can have 3 no sugar added Outshine pop cycles. I know what I like and I know that having it in the house gives is like pouring an alcoholic a drink. You just don't do it. Find an Overeaters Anonymous to help you deal with your food compulsion. You will find others with the same issues you have.

Hey everyone, I went to my PCP on 2/18/19. I weighed 298 lbs at 6 tall. I was huge. Depressed, sleep deprived, eating disordered etc. My Dr. recommended me to the options program at Kaiser. 12 weeks of weekly classes to see if I was ready for the surgery. During those 12 weeks I researched weight loss drugs, and went on Metformin every morning and Bupropion x2 a day. I immediately lost interest in food and over the 12 weeks lost 45 lbs. I'm not diabetic but very hypertensive and sleep apnea severe. They approved me with no out of pocket costs for the surgery tomorrow at 7 am PST. The reason I'm doing the surgery is that I have a 3 year old daughter, and I want to be around for her. I'm late 40's and sick and tired of being sick and tired. My Dr. requires a liquid diet for 2 days before the surgery. I had five fast food dreams last night and dreams about chocolate candy bars and dreams about triscuits and cheese plates, etc. I cant believe I didn't struggle for 12 weeks of losing 45 lbs but 2 days of no solid food and its a huge struggle. Clear liquid protein, broth and lots of caffeine. I got really irritable at dinner time tonight and was frustrated. Even after losing 45 lbs I still ate unhealthy and had trouble controlling my appetite and had serious unhealthy disordered food cravings etc. The frustrating part was after losing 45lbs the teachers in my weight classes and my pcp and my specialists were all like why are you doing this? You are now on the border of obese and look really good. They all tried to talk me out of it! My Bariatric surgeon was very supportive and immediately scheduled my surgery. I'm excited and nervous. The really hard part is that not eating solid food for the last 2 days has been difficult and made me want to regress and go back to junk food! I didnt and I'm ready for the surgery but I hope my taste buds change and I become much healthier and practice mindful present eating habits. I know the Metformin and Bupropion were temporary battles won but not the war - which is why I signed up and I'm ready for surgery. I have my sugar free popsicles, and Premiere protein clear gatorade looking bottles and my vitamins and crystal light sugar free. I'm ready to win the war and this is a battle I knowingly go into with open eyes and a clear heart. I hope the surgery really helps the anger and depression and manipulative hormones that emanate from my stomach when it doesnt get its fast food or junk food fix. I want to enjoy not having an appetite and eating small healthy portions of healthy food. I want to be the 190 lbs guy from my college days. I have broad shoulders and a football players body and played in college but really just get healthy again. Two things I enjoy in moderation is 1 cup of coffee a day and once a month having a drink of alcohol or two socially. I hope I can regain both of those in the year after the surgery. I don't care about the junk food, fast food, and sugary or fried food. I hope I don't ever want those again. (My stomach is talking now) literally 8 hours before the surgery! Mark PS I hope losing weight helps the sleep apnea and lessens it, since the cpap doesnt work very well. I also hope to stop the 4 blood pressure drugs I'm on as well.

Okay so backtracking momentarily on what potentially counts as “cheats” I’ve had a few pre-planned events PO (anniversary, vacation, holiday, wedding, family bday, family lake house weekend, big football games) On almost each of these occasions, I’ve indulged. What (to me anyway) is critically important is that it was PREPLANNED indulging. It wasn’t “accidental” it wasn’t “spur of the moment”. I knew ahead of time I was going to go off plan for a specified period of time and I enjoyed it and then immediately got back on plan because well.... I PLANNED it. To me, that’s the difference between whether we will run the program or the program will run us. As long as I’m going in the direction I need to go, I’m fine with it. This is the rest of my life and it will include feast/fast periods. I’m not ashamed to admit that I LOVE cocktails, beer, and wine and well over 3/4 of my indulgences have been alcohol-related. The last 3 weeks I’ve been completely on-point. I’ve been

I try to stick with decaf tea. Here is the reason. I used to be a huge coffee drinker. When I gave up sugar and caffeine, my energy levels stabilized and evened out unbelievably. No need for the morning wake up cup, no afternoon slump. Just really level throughout the day. It made me see how addictive both substances are, but also how much caffeine really is a drug in a sense. I like feeling energetic WITHOUT needing caffeine. I do have a regular tea in the mornings sometimes, especially the chai flavored ones, but then it is water for the rest of the day and herbal chamomile in the evenings. Every drink of alcohol damages tissue. Period. Once someone is down the road a bit, and the tissues are completely healed, a little wine with a meal once in a while probably won't do anything significant. Regular intake is dangerous, in my opinion, for the damage it can cause, and also the possibility of transfer addiction. Again, I don't want to NEED anything. After having no wine or alcohol for so long, I don't miss it at all. I realize the only reason I liked it was for the sweet aspect, going back to sugar. Alcohol also has a lot of empty calories. I can see no reason to drink again (for me). It has absolutely no nutritional benefit - (at least none that can't be derived from fresh food), and only the possibility of harm. I am trying to make my eating as clean and nutritionally dense as possible. Alcohol doesn't tick the boxes.

What is your experience with caffeine from tea? I am 8 months out and had maybe 2 oz of coffee with some milk for the first time. I was really tired and don’t plan on doing that regularly but I would like to have tea this winter. In your experience was the alcohol causing the ulcers from regular drinking? I would like to have a small glass of wine a few times a year but not tempted to even try it yet.

Well, it gives a different view on things. The author herself had years of therapy that didn't do zilch for her bingeing. She refers a lot to "Rational Recovery", a book that was written for people addicted to alcohol.

I had to do three visits and each one we discussed different things and I weighed in at each. My first visit was discussing goals they required us to meet before being cleared for surgery, like no caffeine, no alcohol, logging food, etc. We checked off which ones I already do and discussed how I would meet the other ones before my last weigh in. The other thing we really discussed was what a typical day of eating for me would be right now and what it'll look like after surgery. Nothing too scary! Have fun with it! Let us know how it goes 😃

Thank you @Bastian and @FluffyChix I haven’t answered I’ve been in a mood. My weight did a bit of a backslide after the colonoscopy and endoscopy. Three days of prep I got in less calories than usual but got my average protein in 52 grams. Colonoscopy day I only managed a packet of BariatricPal cappuccino (80 calories, 15 grams protein) the past two days I had around 60 grams protein. My weight was down the day of the colonoscopy but then backslid. My nutritionist wanted me to try new food I tried smoked salmon last night she said it was ok to try It was soft enough to not have a hard time going down. Tasted fine, I ate extremely slow. But I was nauseous and got a migraine. I admit my mom asked me to go out to dinner with her friends. The day after the tests. I had enough protein that day I had a few small bites of her sweet potato and a drink I sipped very very slowly, nothing with added sugar, some crushed ginger and lime, my first time having any alcohol for a long while, it wasn’t a sweet drink. I don’t usually go out I am terrible in social settings and all the loud voices in a restaurant, so that’s why I got a drink hoping to relax me, to numb the throat pain, even though I felt no effects from it at all. As for the colonoscopy and endoscopy they never give a option of what time it is. They also require I do prep the night before and the morning of or drink it five hours before the procedure. I had no idea that a noon appointment was their last patient. This was the only availability otherwise the wait was a month or two longer. You are right the stoma is the GJ junction, so then GE junction is gastroesophageal junction. How do they tear that during dilation of the stoma? No one talked to me because I wasn’t alert enough. So it was my fault I had an involuntary hiccup? Probably from having to try to do all the prep despite the Dysphasia. And then my follow up isn’t until November 27th! I’m just getting frustrated with doctors, with myself, with just about everything lately. This could just be a normal stall before it starts but I hate the backsliding, for me it triggers a sensation of ptsd and I feel like I can’t keep from going back to being fat even though I try so hard. I also feel like my metabolism is just so slow I’ll never be able to eat normal calories even after surgery that I’ll have to stay below 400 calories and stick to around 50 grams protein. My nutritionist wants me eating more normal foods and I’m afraid it will trigger more gain even if it’s within calories and protein. Never mind the swallowing issues. Not sure when or how to discuss the colonoscopy and endoscopy or if the doctors will even care. And I need to prepare for surgery on the 14th and hope I can keep my weight going down despite that. With my lifelong chronic illness constantly getting worse, and dealing with new unknown neurological problems, I can’t deal with setbacks with other things. Especially my weight. It may seem like a small thing to me it’s a big thing. But I have no control over much of my life it’s one medical thing after another and needs to work around fatigue and post exertional malaise. I don’t want people thinking it’s a pity party. I’ve had my mom accuse me of that. It’s just my reality. I feel rather stupid venting on a public forum on the internet again. I hadn’t done this in a while. I’ve got no one. My moms boyfriend seems to think because I “look good” automatically I should be perfectly fine and have no problems. I try to be a part of my mother and her friends sometimes but it’s not my place here it’s hers and her life. I just feel like the idiot with autism and chronic illness that no one wants to hear exists. So then I don’t get involved. When we moved here I encouraged my mother to take advantage of the opportunity to do so, and to get away from our life in NY so she could have a better life for herself. It was never for me. And the one thing I enjoyed most about being here, going on walks to photograph birds and critters and nature, is getting further away from being possible. I tried to tell my mom these things, she doesn’t want to hear it just says she is worried but she gets to go about her life. Of course she should. I say she is better of without me but she says she needs me. Story of my life. I’m never good enough. Again I rant. I’m Sorry about that.

@Brent701 I don't feel I can maintain this restrictive diet on my own long term that's number 1. Number 2 the RNY BYPASS does a lot more than just restrict the amount of food, it completely rearranges your system and changes your metabolism for the better and I believe I need all those things plus the Malabsorption for my long term success. Number 3 losing weight is not that hard. it's keeping it off and maintaining it for years to come that's where the surgery will increase my chances of long term success. In the past I've had traumatic experiences in life that have sent me completely off track where I would indulge in all things like bad carbs and take away and generally overeating plus I was an alcoholic for many years but gave that up. I still get cravings when I see things on tv like a nice big juicy burger or steak but I have to remind myself why I am doing this... Thanks for your response

watch out with the drinking. Not only can you sabotage your weight loss, transfer addiction is REAL. Alcohol tastes way better to me now that it did before surgery - so I avoid it like the plague. The last thing I need is an alcohol problem...

You probably didn't do a lot of damage to your weight loss, but the reason for no alcohol is to prevent tissue damage to the surgical sites. Alcohol can cause erosions and ulcerations - even years later. I know everyone makes their own decisions, but personally, I think it is best to avoid alcohol forever after WLS. I am a GI nurse and the worst ulcers I have ever seen are in WLS patients who started drinking again. It is pretty horrible. These tissues seem to remain fragile forever, and we need to do all we can to take care of them. I gave up sugar because I don't want dumping. I gave up coffee and alcohol because I don't want ulcers. Gave up soda, as I already had fatty liver disease, and soda contributes to it (diet as well as regular.) Gave up simple carbs because I don't want to be fat! BUT...... got a whole new life that is so precious and worth taking care of.

I was told no alcohol for 6 months. Couldn't even have on on my birthday.

I was a fan of fruity drinks and Long Island Ice Teas. However, as I did keto WOL for so long before surgery, I went to having an occasional diet coke and rum (technically keto friendly), HOWEVER, this was more of a once or twice a month thing before surgery. For me, since I"m only 8 weeks out and I'm in my THIRD stall AND I am a very very very slow loser even sticking to my dr's plan 100%, while I have had brief temptations, I know I'm 1) Not Ready to try this 2) Unsure if I should ever try it 3) Not willing to add something else into the confusing equation of why I am stalled yet again All this being said, I will not lie and say that I feel 100% confident that I will never have another drink. We are going on a Christmas cruise with my 89 year old MIL as she wanted the whole family to be together at Christmas and wanted it to be on a cruise...so we are all going. I have wondered about the possibility of having a drink at this time.. Unfortunately I will be only 5 months out at this time. I wish it was more like 1 year. I'm also unsure if I want to try my 1st drink, if I even do, on a ship with my whole family around...have no idea if it goes awry, how fast I could get to a place of privacy....you know? I have wondered what in the heck I would 'mix' any alcohol with and my eldest pointed out that my Premier Clear Protein Tropical Punch drinks would probably work...I was like "yeah, thanks for pointing that out...and now it is in my head". Only thing I know for sure is that for today, I choose not to drink alcohol.

All of us here are food addicts to some degree or another, or else we wouldn't be here at all. My question to you: Are you willing to take the scary steps to give up your addiction? You WILL lose weight with surgery - no question, and you will be given a grace period of 6-18 months in which to learn new behaviors and new ways to cope with stress and emotions. Are you willing to learn new skills? If so, you will be successful. The other warning for all of us is the issue of transfer addictions. We MUST learn new coping mechanisms or else risk other addictive behaviors like alcohol, drugs, gambling, shopping, etc. There is simply no easy way to overcome obesity and all the related issues without commitment and a willing heart. Counselling is very important for many, as this is uncharted territory for all of us. I can assure you that there are plenty of tools and resources available. The bottom line is whether or not you are willing to make the lifestyle and dietary changes. You cannot possibly figure out all the answers at this point - it is a journey of discovery. But if you are willing, the help is there are you will be successful.