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I'm 7 months and a week out, and I still am losing 4-5 lbs a month. I have 29 lbs to go to goal. I have not exercised, honestly. I'm kinda mushy around mid section b/c of that...thinking about taking up pilates. It has been a lot of years since I exercised so it is a big thought at this point. I focus on Protein, but I don't count so much like others. I know I could do more...but someone told me when I was thinking about the surgery that they just ate less of their normal diet and lost a lot. That has sort of worked for me as I'm not much of a counter. The big changes I've made is I rarely ever drink soda or even alcohol, I am a Kool-Aid junky and a sunflower seed freak...this came after surgery. I buy the Lance brand of seeds which is low salt. I now sip all day long on something or another I made at home with no artificial sweeteners, only Agave or just less sugar) and I really enjoy my drinks more now. I think I used to live in a dehydrated state, so this is so much better for my health. food wise, I eat less fried food, hardly eat junk food, can't stand french fries from McD's or really that type of food in general. But in many ways I just simply focus on grilled protein and eat less. I can eat more on somedays than on other days, for some reason. Pretty happy with the results, but also realizing the last 29 lbs are going to be slow and I may need to get moving. But heh, bought a pair of size 8Petitie Ann Taylor Slim Cut jeans yesterday to celebrate! Haven't seen a pair of 8's in like, at least 25 years. Probably one of the biggest problems is keeping enough clothes in my closet that fit. But it is a fun problem to have. For every special occasion I have to shop. For work I have to shop. For play I have to shop. haha That has been fun. But by losing slow and buying tight I can get them to last the season at least. I am one of those people who wouldn't have lost the weight otherwise. I never dieted, never yo yoed. So yes, I'm grateful.

Here is just some information that is probably already out there. Please let me have your thoughts/opinions on this. Apologies if there are any errors, again just give me a heads up. My surgery is with Prof Fried he comes well recommended and certainly seems to be an expert in the gastrointestinal/gastroentrological field. Though I am a little concerned that there is no specific suturing device being used! I checked out the doctors in Mexico, USA AND INDIA and most are well versed/good at the procedure, they tend to use the correct number and size of incisions to go in laproscopically i.e. 1, 10mm and the others 5mm; they also look at the individuals stomach to determine the narrowness of the tube/bougie size, ranging from 32f through to 42f, possibly there are larger bougies out there; though some stick with one tried and tested bougie size usually 34f to prevent stomach twisting, slippage into chest cavity, reflux etc. Prices vary with the USA being the most expensive around $9,000-$13,000 dollars unfortunately that is also where some of the better surgeons are, I suppose you the old adage "you get what you pay for," is true; through to Mexico and Europe being mid range around $ 8-9000 dollars and approx ? 6,500 if you consider the higher end of the exchange rate, this would include price of flights and accomodation and finally India being the cheapest, around $ 5- 7000 approx ?4000- ?5000 British pounds again depending on Rs/currency fluctuations and which clinic you attend including flights and accomodation. Most take a full medical profile but not all and follow the NIH (National Institute of Health) or British equivalent (NICE )guidelines re. BMI and Co-morbidities. Many good surgeons also perform an thorough OGD endoscopical check to ensure that there are no nasty surprises lurking within your abdomen that could cause future discomfort or pain, i.e. ulcers and hiatal hernias. I understand patients are advised accordingly and any size of hernia is fizxed/sutured up accordingly to prevent further heartburn/reflux. I understand that by and large sutures are made of varying non absorbable materials i.e. PDS and that the surgeons tend to apply at least two layers of Prolene running sutures using the Endoflip device by Crospon, again not every imbrication surgeon is authorised to use this device as it isn't being marketed everywhere yet and you will need to check, i.e some clinics in India and Europe are using the old needle thread holder and grasper. The stomach retains viability and therefore the procedure is reversible, the few that have had a reversal have been due to early complications such as prolonged nausea that has affected the individual and may have had an impact on the stitches? There does not appear to have been any dihension, loosening away or give in the stitches thus far. Furthermore though there have been some concerns about the stomachs elasticity it is thought that as the greater curvature, the elastic part, is being reduced and folded into itself and that the remaining inner sleeve is both smaller/narrow and generally considered to be the firm part of the stomach, that stretching of the stomach or dihension of stitches, shouldn't really be an issue as long as you try to stick to the dietary guidelines and stop eating just before you feel full. Pre op guidelines tend to be similar to other weight loss surgeries and are both dependent upon your surgeon/clinic and BMI. Though I always think it is is a good idea to try and shrink your liver. Post op dietary guidelines are as follows: 1st and 2nd Week after TGVP Clear broth or Soup without vegetables or meat and not too creamy. Low fat, sugar free yogurt. Skimmed milk. Natural fruit juice or pureed soft fruit (apple, banana, pear, etc). Vegetable juices. Low calorie drinks. Sugar free Protein supplements, with skimmed milk. Water ( 6-8 cups / 2.0- 3.0 liter a day). In between meals we recommend that you drink vegetable juice, milk, fruit juices, and water, to ingest sufficient liquids and prevent dehydration 3rd and 4th Week More liquid/pureed diet included in your meals during week 3 and 4 after the TGVP, to assist in adapting to smaller stomach How can I prepare a pureed diet? This may be a challenge for you. You will need a blender or food processor. The food has to be blended until reaching a Gerber or applesauce consistency. Avoid spicy flavours; they may irritate your stomach. Use the following list to give you an idea of what you can eat on weeks 3 and 4: Liquids or beverages, and milk. Good options: Tea, non-carbonated drinks, natural fruit juices, Crystal Light, coffee, water, skimmed milk, low fat and sugar free yogurt. Limit or try to avoid: Artificial fruit juices, soda, alcohol, all carbonated beverages, iced tea with sugar, milk or yogurt products with nuts or seeds, chocolate milk, sweetened condensed milk, whole milk. Fruits. Good options: Applesauce, pureed pears, and bananas. Limit or try to avoid: Canned fruits or fruits with syrup. Vegetables. Good options: Pureed vegetables, vegetable juice. Limit or try to avoid: Raw vegetables, canned vegetables, vegetables that cause discomfort (gas forming). Soups. Good options: Broth, cream soups make with skimmed milk, egg drop soup, low sodium bouillion or consomm?. Limit or try to avoid: All others. Starches. Good options: Mashed potatoes. Limit or try to avoid: Bread, Pasta, rice and all other starches. meats or protein supplements. Good options: Pureed chicken, fish, tuna, veal, beef, low fat cottage cheese, baby food meats, mashed or pureed tofu, pureed egg or egg substitute, sugar-free Protein shakes like Designer’s Protein, Boost Breeze, no sugar added Carnation Instant Breakfast. Limit or try to avoid: Peanut Butter, others. Fats, sugars and others Good options: Sugar free gelatine, sugar free popsicles, pudding. Therafter general recommendations are as follows: Eat three small meals a day and limit snacking in between meals. Eat slowly and chew food until it reaches a mushy consistency (15 to 20 times per bite). Stop eating or drinking right before you feel full. Eat only good quality foods. Drink low calorie liquids. Drink enough liquids /about 2.0 – 3.0 litres per day . Drink after eating. Exercise moderately, however not sooner than 2 weeks after TGVP procedure. Limit: Others. Note foods high in fat, acid, sugar and stodgy foods are to be avoided due to calorific content and problems with bloating and digestion, as well as their potential for heartburn and reflux. Carbonated drinks are to be avoided because they contain too much fizz and cause an explosion type effect in your stomach causing problems with gas and of course they are also corrosive and there may be some concerns that their explosive effects may have an impact on stretching the stomach?!! Though if you do desire these they appear to have been known to be consumed in small quantities or after the drink had been left to breathe for a couple of hours thereby disposing of some of the bubbles. Most hospital keep patients for approx two days to monitor them. I think there are some really good surgeons and these are as include, Dr Daniel Cottam, Dr Sunil Sharma, Dr Mahinder Narwaria, Dr Brad Watkins, Dr Lopez Corvala, Dr Jose Rodriguez etc apologies to anyone I may have missed off my list. Anyway I could chunter on forever, however my little ones are demanding my attention. I hope this information helps, please do not take it all as read and set in stone this is just my own research, the whole point of this site is to get better equipped by talking to experts who are willing to give up their valuable time and assist with putting this procedure out there and others intending to or that have already undergone the procedure. Finally the procedure remains in its infancy and like the sleeve we have no longer term data or comparisons of longer term weight loss, or health issues or reduction in ghrelin levels to go on, though it seems to be working. Warm Regards Cake is my favourite food

My weight has gone up about 5lbs too. Last night I was out and my feet and legs were visibly swollen so I think I am retaining a lot of water for some reason. At this point I'm just waiting for my fill and I'll see what happens then. Right now, I'm very afraid that I am on just another diet and it's not going well. I'm eating much less than I used to eat plus I'm not drinking any alcohol or diet soda or chips or any of that other stuff so I think I should be dropping a ton just from that. I'm gonna chill for now but after next month if this mess keeps going on I'm officially pissed.

Hello, Regarding plicated stomach, we've had this for years in the Nissen fundoplication patients without incident. For gastric plication, it is interesting that the stomach looks like a perfect tube on endoscopy (I scope all of my plications in the operating room when we're done) and it looks like a normal tube on upper GI (drinking barium and taking x-rays). Barium doesn't get back in the plicated part of the stomach. That stomach is not going to cause peritonitis because that is caused by intestinal perforation and there is no cutting or stapling of the stomach involved. Basically, the stomach is normal - just folded in on itself. Bacteria wouldn't grow anymore likely than it does now. Typically, if you culture stomach Fluid, it is sterile due to the acid and low pH. (Side note, there is a bacteria called Helicobacter pylori that lives in the stomach lining but that is a separate topic - I always treat patients for H. pylori prior to plication). This plicated stomach will make acid and drain any food or liquid as it does now. Regarding stomach cancer, gastric cancer is quite rare nowadays and you tend to see it in high risk patients such as patients who smoke or consume large amounts of alcohol. Without risk factors, gastric cancer is quite rare. I always perform an endoscopy (stomach scope) prior to plication surgery - I do it in the OR after anesthesia so it's pleasant for patients - so that I know we're not missing anything in the stomach. If a gastric cancer should decide to grow in the plicated areas it would be more difficult to see on a subsequent scope. The folded area does show up on CT scans. At least you still have access to the stomach for endoscopy. For example, in gastric bypass, the stomach is completely inaccessible to any endoscopy so plication at least preserves endoscopic access. There are major differences between "stomach stapling" and plication. Stomach stapling is a lay-term that typically refers to VBG or vertical banded gastroplasty. That was a procedure that stapled a small pouch at the top of the stomach. Plication reduces the entire capacity of the stomach along its length by imbrication and not stapling. VBG was notorious for weight regain later and most surgeons have abandoned this as a result. What little gastric plication data we have, it looks like sleeve gastrectomy data showing in excess of 60% excess weight loss even after two years which is excellent and right up there with the most successful weight loss operations we offer. Also, if operations like gastric bypass dilate over time, this is a big deal. As I'm typing this, the OR nurses are preparing our next patient who is having band over bypass surgery. This is an involved laparoscopic surgery requiring a lot of take down of scar tissue. If a plication dilates years later, you could simply place additional sutures or you could band the plicated sleeve or for that matter you could do any operation because the stomach is still normal and intact. Plication is still considered experimental because we don't have any long-term data in the U.S. but it is such a wonderfully simple operation I do not anticipate any major surprises with it down the road. I really like the plication, I have patients losing weight really well with it and I think it will be a big deal as more people find out about it. I also see the insurance companies really liking the operation since it is inexpensive to perform (no expensive staples or medical devices). When I first started doing band surgery when it was FDA approved in the U.S., no insurance companies covered the band. We published our experience in the surgery journals and this data led to insurance coverage of the band eventually. We will publish our plication results as well and at some point you will see insurance coverage, but that is a ways off at this point. Insurance companies love data. I do too and I love helping people lose weight. Brad Watkins MD

I searched the forums and only saw threads about constipation. I am guessing my recent vacation had caused me some problems because I replaced Water with soda/alcohol and Fiber with sugar in a splurge. I haven't gained weight but definitely messed up the digestion pipes. Due to the lack of bathroom visits and the strain I have developed a very painful, large, external hemmorhoid. PrepH makes it feel better but I have had it for about 2 weeks and it is not shrinking . I am to the point that I do not want to use the restroom because it hurts. Any other home remedies I can try as I do not want to visit the doctor for this issue if I do not have too? Or is this still within the normal timeframe for the ailment to heal on its own.

I agree with the excersize issues....you're right. As kids, and younger adults even, we would hit the baseball/basketball/hockey surfaces without giving thought to stretching or warming up....BUT, our bodies were younger, and did not require the same tuning up as they do now...also, it's been a long time since we've excersized at this level, so there may be SOME logic behind SOME of the things we're being advised to do in prep for a workout HOWEVER, excersize should be fun, and varied. That's what keeps us interested and motivated. I have NEVER worked out in a gym in my life, ever! Tomorrow, I start with my first session (12 booked) with a personal trainer. I need to learn "how" to excersize, and "how" to use the equipement ect. After those 12 sessions are done, I'm going to be on my own, and making my own program with some help....I'M TERRIFIED of this part of my journey, but I know I need to burn fat, build lean muscle, and increase my cardio....It's just.....scary. I've seen the results from RyansGirl (on this form) and she has ROCKED the gym...and the results are hard to ignore. I want some of that!!! Cheri, I'm SOOOOOO GLAD to hear your stall has broken. It's such a relief eh? You know, one thing I've noticed (perhaps it's THE secret) is that when I up my calories, I loose more weight in the following week. Typically, I'm using VODKA, with Chrystal Lite (no cals) and on a Saturday night, will have 2 of these over the course of the evening. Then, like magic, the next 2 days, I'm down 3 pounds. Last Saturday, I repeated these 2 drinks, and today, I'm already down 4 pounds. Mind you, I'm having a hard time getting up to 600 calories without the vodka, but with the Vodka on the Saturday night, I clock in at about 750 calories (on this one day alone) and it seems to send the messege to my body to say "okay, we have calories, you can burn some fat". Weird eh? Oh well, I'm not advocating alcohol, but hey, it's working, FOR ME. I'm so glad to see everyone is doing well, and are pleased with their sleeve. I'm VERY, VERY happy!! And seeing big time results in the measurements!!! Be well!

Just a fly by... Cheri~ OMG........ that is so so sad. What a tragedy. Hang in there. Hugs. Julie~ I am thinking about you! I hope someone there can think outside the box and find a solution. hugs More car drama. I left to go to MY work... and DH was leaving 15 min after me. I shut my phone off since I was going into a meeting. His car wouldn't start. ALL the cases at the surgery center were waiting on him to arrive. (the CRNAs cannot start until MD is on premises). I felt bad b/c I was just in orientation and could have left but phone was off. DH took a cab. Now, you city folks won't find that odd at all- but we live in BUM FUDge. There is ONE cab company..lol.. and it has one car and one driver. It took them 50 min to pick him up and he smelled of alcohol. After I got out of orientation I came home- had car towed by AAA (starter they think) and then drove my car to hospital and had Hertz pick me up- went there to rent a car. Now have to take Nels to TKD, have a friend pick him up and take boys to dinner, b/c I have curriculum night at his school. (DH is on call tonight.ughhh) The joys of life. I still always say, if this is the toughest stuff I deal with all day............ then I am doing OKAY! : ) My Dad is having a rough time this week. He had to go to the oncologist b/c he's not able to eat or drink much the last two days and has had REALLY bad diarrhea for a couple weeks. Usually he can keep up with fluids but now he can't. His potassium is really low and he's had two days of IV fluids with K+, but my gut tells me he needs to be admitted. Crossing my fingers he's ok. He said last night he is glad he didn't let them take the port out b/c all his veins are shot. SIGH. peasout............Laura

I looked at the Pure Protein bars today at the store and they had 9 grams of sugar alcohol. If I ate one of those, I had better plan to stay home alone for quite awhile. Sugar alcohol and I do not get along well at all so I avoid it like the plague. The Oh Yeah Bars are not something I ate when I was losing. I eat them now, because I figure it's better than eating candy.

Fine, maybe a little constipated now. I started the slow shuffle the day after surgery as much as possible and used gas-x like crazy and the kaopectate stopped the sugar alcohol runs and I did try just one pop today to see and it did cause some running, so, for me it is definitely only those ingredients so far. My BM's have become solid. I will find out tonight if milk sugars will do me in. I had been using chicken stock or Water in my cream soups and light soy milk in my Protein shakes and cream of wheat, tonight I am making cream of mushroom with 1% milk. I also mix cream of wheat (its on my list) with most of my cream soups for bulk, as my swelling resolved pretty fast :thumbup: and physical hunger is rearing it's head. I didn't like having the runs and I didn't check with my doc about the otc meds for it, as it was the weekend. Everyone is different and that will go away eventually!

I'm the camp of "If I'm gonna have a carb, let it be sugar and not a sugar alcohol that will make me feel like I'm going to expel an alien out of my rectum." I looked at buying Oh Yeahs on Ebay, but they have a pretty unimpressive nutritional profile. 210 calories, 13 g fat, and only 14 g Protein. Zone bars are a better choice, they have half the fat for the same amount of calories/protein. But I'm afraid to buy them as they were one of my binge foods pre-surgery. I tried some called "Protein 32." They have 32 g protein and something like 280-320 calories (took out the garbage with the wrappers already). When I had half the bar, it was fine. The 2nd time I had an entire bar over the course of an hour, I thought I was going to die. They must expand in your stomach or something, because I felt extremely full about half an hour after I had the last bite. The taste was fine, though - not as good as some of the lower-protein bars, but I'm not expecting a bar with 32 grams protein to taste like a Snickers, anyway. I liked the fudge kind, if anyone wants to give it a try.

I think my prob was due to the sugar alcohols in the sugar free popsicles (Chrystal Light) I was eating. I stopped eating them and that prob went away. I'm six days post op, not counting surgery day. And I took 2 Tbs Kaopectate and that seemed to help until I figured out it was the popsicles.

Oregondaisy....I had to laugh at your post, atleast now I know I'm not the only one that sugar alcohol does that too.

I believe that the Pure Protein bars have sugar alcohol in them which gives me horrible gas. I'll have to look on the label next time I am in a store.

Ok So i'm almost 8 day's into liquid diet Pre-Op. I actually made it through the weekend yay! Caffeine withdrawel headache has subsided compeltely but sunday i had a total meltdown and had a cup of caffeine FREE coffee with fat free skim and a splenda.. so if that is cheating then i'm sorry but it was heaven and really helped me throughout the day . I've not had any food thats not on the list of liquids and i don't plan to, but my weekend needed that ! I have givin up smoking from 2 packs a day to zip 0, alcohol, and food and caffeine. I think i'm doing great! woot woot.. surgery next monday 9/20/10

Ice packs with cloth covers (or wrapped in a tea towel). They helped with some of the abdominal internal swelling and discomfort. Personally I did my grocery shopping before surgery. I got some ice pops and fudge bars that were sugar free, only they had sugar alcohols in them and after surgery I got the side effect of ingesting those. So I am basically eating ice chips instead of popsicles. If you don't have it, a hand held shower head in case you have an accident and don't make it to a toilet (sometimes you just can't move fast enough). I also took off my bandages after 48 hours and one of the steri-strips was stuck to the bandage, so I had to have hubby go get butterfly bandages (the nurse OKed that) and the nurse told me to stay out of the shower for a few more days! So moral of the story, leave the bandages alone until you absolutely have to leave the house and HAVE to take a shower for decency's sake. I also was unable to do anything close to the floor for a few days. It hurt to crouch or bend over, so I couldn't feed the cats or clean the litter box or pick up anything (clothes, shoes, books) off the floor (that's what hubbies are for). Also, if you have pets that like to crawl on you, don't sleep where they can ambush you. It hurts like the dickens. And super loose clothing across the ab area. I wore denim for the first time 6 days after surgery and it hurt bad! (I got 7 incisions). And two or three boxes of gas-x strips. I went through the first box the first two days and had to send hubby for more. And BEFORE you leave the surgery ward, call where your prescription is and MAKE sure they can and will fill it for you. I was released after close of business and after a grueling hour ride on bad roads, the pharmacy wouldn't fill it because they needed more info from my doc, so my first night home was painful. I should have gotten the script a couple of days before surgery, so we wouldn't have had to go after the surgery. Out of EVERYTHING that was the WORST thing that has happened so far.

Ask for a Skinny Girl Margarita next time they are approximately 100 calories. Or you could do Vodka and Crystal Light, bring your own packets in your purse. Instead of Cranberry Juice Cocktails. Get the alcohol with no juice and add Crystal Light packets.

The incidence of gout in more prevalent in people who are overweight. It is therefore strongly advised that your weight should be kept within the recommendations for your gender and height. Drinking lots of fluids (excepting alcohol) can flush out the troublesome crystals. However, following a low purine diet to avoid too much uric acid being produced is an important factor. Foods that are high in Purines and which therefore should be avoided include: Offal, Game, Beer, Sardines, Scallops, Herring, Mackerel, gravy, yeast, and meat extracts. Foods that have a moderate amount of purine in them, and therefore can be eaten in moderation, include: Fish (including shellfish and eels, but excluding those listed above), meat, poultry, asparagus, bran, cauliflower, cereals, eggs, meat, mushrooms, oatmeal, poultry, wheat germ and wholegrain breads. Low purine foods, of which there is no restriction, include: Vegetables, Soups (without meat extract), low fat cheese, nuts, tea, coffee, fruit juice, sugar, and soft drinks.

Ah, I miss the 4 am Denny's runs after those "19-year-old male with profuse vomiting, alcohol ingestion" 911 calls! These days, when I'm away at school all day, I pack hardboiled eggs, small yogurt containers, Protein shakes, and a couple of wheels of Babybel cheese - Gouda is my favorite, it's quite soft. I don't know if you are doing a low-carb thing, but I also like fruit. Right now, I've got plums and persimmons in the fridge.

I can eat anything...just some foods go down better than others. This past weekend I had an actual sandwich. Cheeseburger with bun. I ate half, took my time and it went down fine. My first since being banded because I was too afraid to try, but no problems. It seems like all that worry I had about not being able to eat what I wanted was for nothing. But I'm glad it's the way it is. The only things I refrain from is products with carbonation and I limit alcohol because it tends to give me heartburn.

You will not be limited as much on foods as you think. Just junk food and high carbs. The hardest time is the first 3 weeks and it gets better. So what that you can't pig out all of the time. Don't you hate yourself after you do it anyway? Learn to like fine foods and not gross unhealthy foods. I think you will find that you miss food less than you think you will once you are banded. I am just not as hungry anymore. I am sure drug addicts and alcoholics get stressed before going into rehab. We are food addicts and the fear of not having our food fix can be great. Break your addiction!!!

My nut told me no alcohol for a year. Many surgeons say the same thing as a precaution. They don't want you to develop a transfer addiction. A co-worker of mine became an alcoholic after her gastric bypass and she passed away from liver disease three years after surgery. That's enough to get me to listen to my nutritionist. AniO

I was given coffee in the hospital on day 2. I have had my usual mug of coffee every day since, with no problem. I did wait a couple months for alcohol.

Thank you Tiff and iowagirl. It's a great idea to have my first drink at home to see how I respond to it. I'm going to double check with my doctor though since you iowagirl were told no alcohol till four months. Again, thanks for your input and God bless you all!

I was sleeved one week ago today on Sept 1st and have had coffee every single day since - although I switched to Decaf coffee. In fact I was given decaf coffee in the hospital even. My nutrionist counts it as part of my daily Fluid intake so long as it is decaf and anything added to it is either sugar free or fat free and limit it to 2 cups per day. But really I prefer mine black anyways. In fact when I went for my first appt with the nutrionist and we were going over my list of can and can't haves coffee was not listed and I specifically asked her about it. Truthfully there was nothing on the can't have list I couldn't live without but I was upfront and told her there was no way I would give up coffee. Over the last two years prior to surgery I had given up white carbs, Desserts, cigarettes, candy, soda, alcohol (except for special occassions) and fried foods. There was simply no way I was giving up my coffee because I was having surgery to be healthy, not be deprived of every single thing I enjoyed and she agreed. She even pointed out studies that show regular coffee drinkers, regardless of whether it regular or decaf have lower rates of colon cancer. My stomach tolerates it no differently than before surgery - thank god! Cause I LOVE the stuff! However she told me no alcohol until 4 months after surgery

I waited a few months to have alcohol, and the first time it did hit me fast and hard then I was sobered up quickly. As the months have progressed, I can easily drink, catch and maintain a good buzz. I was advised to stick with white wine first, or vodka and some sort of juice. I drank wine, and still stick with wine for the most part. An occasional mojito, and my fave is rum/cokes when I'm out on the town. My tolerance is now back to how it was pre-op. I can't remember when I had coffee, but it was around 2-3 months out. Today, I drink 20-24oz of coffee sweetened with Splenda, and full fat creamer every morning. I recommend testing the waters with alcohol at home first to avoid an embarrassing situation out in public. Sip, sip, sip is my advice for the first time. I have found that creamy, rich drinks like white russians/mudslides kind of make me queasy, and not feel so great. So, I'm sticking to the light liquors, and wines.