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That's funny, so does drinking alcohol.

Good to hear from Lisa and Bandista. I've noticed that my arthritis is generally better this year since I made some major f ood changes. I do get occasional (bad) flares, but they come and go pretty rapidly and are, I believe, correlating with stress. Anyway, when I'm not in a flare, I have a much better overall pain level than I did a year ago. What changed? I gave up fried f ood 9 months ago, all alcohol a year ago, and most refined carbs 9 months ago. I'm down over 20 pounds since last September. I'm not at goal but I'm slowly losing. I really wish I could get motivated to exercise. I really hate getting sweaty. There, I've said it. JustWatchMe

Alright Banstista that's what I have been talking about I don't care who's watching or what they think I dance like nobody's around , in fact I went with another friend ( Woman) & we went to this little hole in the wall restaurant & three was a blues band , I dance pretty much to anything & it's good fun sweat exercise , shoot I didn't drink any type of alcohol for almost 20 + year's then I had 2 glasses of wine now I know that's all I can handle LOL started to get that tipsy feeling SO I drank a lot of water & flushed it out but MY family is like your not home much anymore LOL cause I actually get out & do more now I think even though I'm living with them their starting to miss me LOL

Nerdy question here... Can someone explain why there's a change in alcohol's effect? Your liver is the same or even healthier, so it shouldn't take longer to metabolize. Alcohol's mostly absorbed in the small intestine. A smaller stomach may mean less is absorbed there and so more is absorbed in the small intestine, but again it's your liver that breaks it down. Based on the stories of how much more sensitive people become it's almost like the stomach becomes a lot more efficient at absorbing alcohol, but that doesn't make sense to me.

Nicolanz beat me to it...but I was going to bring up caffiene and tobacco. Many people are addicted to one or both of those substances, but I doubt all of those addicts steal, cheat and lie to get their fix. Some may lie to their spouses about not smoking, but who lies about coffee? If you do, you've got bigger problems than just being addicted. But the point is, addiction can certainly exist without these behaviors. I know more than one functioning alcoholic. They don't think they have a problem because they've never missed a day of work, or had a DWI, or wrecked their car. But they can't leave the house without a beer or 2. Where ever they go, they are drinking. They may never admit to "needing" it, but you won't catch them without it. Is that an addiction? I think it is but I'm no doctor. As for eating, here's what my life looked like for over 20 years. First of all, I never hid food or sneaked around eating food behind anyone's back. I never lied or cheated. But I ate all the wrong stuff. Basically, I ate fast food for every meal. I never cooked. If I bought groceries, it was cereal, cookies, chips, peanut butter and bread...not much else. The oven was for pizza box storage, not for cooking. I nearly set my apartment on fire once because I attempted to preheat the oven too cook a frozen dinner, but I forgot it was full of old pizza boxes. When I bought my meals at whatever drive thru I went to, I bought way too much. It was extremely carb heavy. My blood sugar must have been through the roof, and after a few years, I was on my way to being insulin resistant. If I tried to restrict my calories, I had massive blood sugar drops every 3 hours like clockwork. Anyone who has ever bonked knows exactly how that feels. That negative reinforcement trained me to eat before that happened...and specifically to eat carbs (sugar) because that was the surest way to avoid that awful feeling. I know now that eating those carbs caused the rise and fall of blood sugar, which caused my feelings of temporary satisfaction, followed by increased insulin production which lead to the inevitable crash...unless I ate again before it happened (which I trained myself to do). It was a self inforcing pattern that lead to massive weight gain and overall poor health. I made some poor decisions, in part because I didn't know any better...which is my fault, nobody else's. As the weight piled on, it became ever more difficult to give a crap about my health. After a while, you get to the point that you feel you're too far gone so why try? Again...I don't know if this was an addiction. It certainly fits the description of damaging behavior that I couldn't stop. Even when I made up my mind to have VSG I was still in the dark about this stuff. I thought I could have surgery and it would only allow me to eat half a whataburger per day. That 6 months with the nutritionist really paid off for me, she opened my eyes and lit a fire in me to educate myself on food and the damage certain foods caused. Now....if I could only have one....the knowledge or the sleeve, I'd take the knowledge. But there is no denying that the sleeve gave me a push over that insurmountable hump that I couldn't see around before surgery...a push that I continue to ride into a better way of living.

aaaahhh, Marybeth have your La Margaritas now because we aren't allowed to drink alcohol for at least a year after the surgery...or so says my surgeon. sort of sad too - never been much of a drinker but I was really enjoying trying out the variety of ways a margarita could be flavored...DInner's at La Casita, Wednesday the 20th at 6:30-ish for those of us who can do a central location. For those of us who can do a trip to the Becker/Albertville area or a return to the Maple Grove area...I'm seeing some interesting places in the immediate Albertville area - Space Aliens: http://spacealiens.com/albertville-mn/menu , D. Michael Bs: http://www.dmichaelbs.com/ordereze/Menu/0/Menus.aspx or Neighbors: http://www.neighborseateryandsaloon.com/# or we have several we can do in the Maple Grove area - 3 Square, Pittsburgh Blue, Granite City, Biaggis, Sawatdee, Claddagh Irish Pub, etc. Any thoughts? If we can do on Saturdays, that's good too... Share folks - what do you think? Later, Tyra

Day 21 - Week 3 Post Op - 212lbs (-10.4lbs from SW of 222.4lbs) Good morning. So today is one of the milestones: Week 3 Post Op. Just wanted to make a couple of key observations and I will probably post my food log for a tiny bit. It appears that the 3 week "stall" is alive and well perhaps? For the last 2 days, there really has been little scale love. It's been bouncing around between the same half pound--up and down. Yesterday I was up to 212.2lbs and today I'm back down to 212lbs. LOL. I realize that can be simple scale fluctuation. No scale is that accurate--even Tanita. I do have a slight feeling that all the sugar alcohols from my vitamins along with the 60cals/day that they provide is crazy making. And they may also contribute to the scale stuff. But I'm just gonna document and wait it out. It's not as if I have much option. LOL. I see the surgeon next week, and then see the RD right behind that appt. So I will def ask. The other thing that bothers me is the lack of consensus about volume. I continue to fear that eating too much volume, too early will stretch out my anastamoses. Fact or crap? No idea. But from 5 different references, each gives a different volume amount for 3 weeks. My RD (verbally at 3 weeks): 1/4c working up to 1/2c food + binder with diet--1-2oz protein, 1/4c soft veg or soft fruit, 1/4c starch; 3 meals per day; 2-3 snacks optional--1/4c-1/2c food depending on slider nature--1oz prot + soft fruit **This equals: 1/4-1/2c protein + 1/4c veg + 1/4c starch or fruit = 3/4-1c of food! . My Hospital RD (written diet) still alternates protein supplements with 6oz yogurt with a meal. Meal consists of 1oz protein + 1/4c soft veg on an alternating schedule. **This equals: 1/4 protein + 1/4c veg = 1/2c of food! . My Surgeon (verbally at beginning at 2 weeks) may advance to soft, fork tender foods stage, eating to tolerance 1-2oz protein + a couple bites of veg + a bite or 2 of soft fruits or starch. **So that's about 1/2c of food at 3 meals. (Plus I can have a snack.) . Obesity Coverage Website (thanks @Apple203)-Soft mechanical diet that actually per them begins week 4-5: (click to enlarge it) **This fluctuates between 1/4-1c of food per meal. . Big Ward: The doctor made a comment on I think Episode 7 that said up until about 3 months, you will be eating 1/4c of food at a time. . Dilemma: I don't really feel any restriction at 1/4cup. I can gulp (about 2-4 gulps before feeling a little discomfort and stimulation to slow down liquids). I can easily eat 1 large egg in less than 5 minutes! I do feel about 3 hours of satiety from 1/2-1c of food. But I'm only 3 weeks out!!!! I can eat this meal easily in 20 minutes: 2oz pan sauteed chicken tender=1/2 cup of food! 1oz brown gravy=1/8cup of food 1/4c smashed roasted cauliflower=1/4cup of food 1/2oz green beans=1/8cup of food This totals nearly 1 cup of food by volume!!!! . I can eat this meal easily in 15 minutes: 3oz Greek yogurt 3oz 2% cottage cheese 4g peanut butter slim powder 1/8c applesauce or 30g lite canned peaches . I just don't know if I need to MAKE myself limit to 1oz=1/4c of protein as per the example in Obesity Coverage image. Or do I go ahead and advance THIS SOON to 2oz per meal? I limited food to 1oz protein per meal yesterday and felt hungry all day. My meals only lasted me about an hour or two. Is it too early for me to feel satiety? Or do I have one of those cases where the surgery didn't help my hunger level? Do I have one of those stomachs that can handle eating more? I'm so scared of this! Yes, I'm having the crazies this morning. LOL. I just flat out don't know what to do. And it looks like the 3 weeks stall is here.

My doctor forbidden me any types of carbonated sodas ( coke,beer red bull and so on..... ) it's not good for sure becouse in time it will expand your stomach!! honestly i was addicted to coke and my favorite alcohol drink was vodka and red bull but now i simply can't drink it ( doctors orders ) i replaced it with orange juice and so far it's going pretty good ! i am one month post op lost 27 pounds my bmi was at 35.6 i started eating normal food ( mashed patatoes,rice , pita bread , i tried all types of vegetables so far and no problem ) i am really not attracted by junk food anymore ! i am actualy discusted it's becouse of that type of food that i had my surgery it made me the way i was ! the only thing i really miss is drinking whine and eating in the same time cant do it anymore but heck if that's the cost of being healthy and to get to my weight objective i can manage !! Mary i wish you good luck and try to cut those things your forbidden to eat ! replace the bread by pita and cut out the sodas you will see it will get much better ! mednar Congratulations !!! a real acomplishment ! best of luck to you all !!!

I'd be majorly confused too. I don't think anyone here is qualified to explain your symptoms or tell you if it's OK to drink alcohol (though with everything else going on, I'd say you should pass on the alchohol for now). Yours is an awful and unique situation and I hope your doctor can guide you through this as you heal and adjust.

I am a psychiatric nurse practitioner and prescribe these meds to people daily. Although some people do gain weight on citalopram most do not. Escitalopram (Lexapro) is the newer "cleaner" version of citalopram (Celexa) and I see even fewer people gain weight on it. When they do research on these meds they have to document EVERY possible side effect. I believe that much of this is people that are very depressed lose weight and when they begin to take these meds they "gain" weight but really are just getting back to a normal weight. Brintellix is a good medication but is a newer one and much more expensive (and less well covered by insurances than citalopram). Also it work on serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine, where citalopram works only on serotonin that is more implicated in anxiety (where the others are more implicated in depression and anxiety combined). The psych meds that are really bad for weight gain are the atypical anti-psychotics like Zyprexa, Seroquel, Risperidal, etc. These can be used for psychotic conditions and, more commonly, bipolar disorder. But not everyone gains weight on them. Anxiety meds that are worse for weight gain - paxil, remeron, sometimes prozac. In my opinion if you have uncontrolled anxiety you are more likely to "self -medicate" to feel better. That may be with food, alcohol, marijuana, other drugs (prescription or illicit), gambling, etc. Good luck!

I guess I qualify for this group since I am 7 months post op as of last Sunday. Overall, it has been pretty easy and I am ecstatic about the results to this point. I still have a lot of restriction and do not get super hungry and get satisfied very easily. Biggest challenges for me are some occasional snacking and of course, alcohol. I am fully aware that I probably would have lost a bit more by now if I did not drink at all but I am just unwilling to do that. It is what it is... Hair loss has been ongoing but no one notices other than me and my hairdresser. I have very thick, naturally wavy hair and I never use heat on it now. When it was longer I used hot rollers every day but now I just apply product and let it dry naturally and use a pick to fluff it out when it is dry. I always get in at least 80 ounces of water in addition to 32 ounces of regular coffee and about 6 ounces of PP shake per day. Since I am low carb it is essential to stay hydrated since ketosis also dehydrates you and I do not feel right if I do not drink enough water. I never drink sodas because I don't like them. I tried prosecco once on Thanksgiving and it was bad, the carbonation was painful and I was burping loudly for 2 hours. No carbonation for me. I do use Mio drops occasionally for variety, the berry pomegranate one is my favorite and it is especially good in hot water. We walk 1.75 at least 5 days a week unless it is raining and then I do about 45 minutes on the elliptical. I need to start more weight training and there is no reason since I have the bench and free weights right here. Really want to start doing yoga once I lose a little more.

Agree with Lil Diva and thsnks fir 12 steps remimder. I used to go to OA. A few times I went to this one big AA meeting where a number of people had years and years of abstinence. There was a table loaded with sugary white flour snacks and the cigarette smoke was over whelming. The recovery from alcohol was powerful in that room but got the impression that some folks had substitute addictions. In fact some OA members with multiple addictions said it was hard to go to AA because there was always sugared food there. Btw, the best book I ever read on addiction is entitled Addiction and Grace by Gerald May. It is probably not currently in print but would be available used. Very compatible with 12 step philosophy.

My dad passed away this past June. I respected him for the positive things that he did throughout his life. Hitting your kids is inappropriate behavior. His parents hit him and were both alcoholics so he really didn't have a good example to follow. I think perhaps people find it more acceptable when you call it spanking. But hitting is hitting and it's wrong.

Someone asked that in the seminar. My doc's only comment was that once we have restriction and are eating smaller amounts, keep in mind that the alcohol may affect us more strongly. .

I originally had joined dailystrength a few years ago with this handle. My bf was in active addiction to alcohol/cocaine/ prescription pills and i made it b/c even though his family had given up on him, hope still lived within me that he would come through it. Today he is 20 months sober after 30 years of active addiciton. Now, hopeliveshere, signifies my new start, i have hope that i will overcome obesity.

I drink. Vodka and soda, splash of diet cranberry May have two or three tonight as my Cubs go to take the World Series. Hell. I may have 3-4 if they win. Alcohol causes a quick buzz, and it's gone within 20 min. No other effects. I'm 7 mos post op. Had my first drink around 5.5-6 mos. one a week maybe? During this WS ru. Being out, have had several others a week lol No beer, only vodka. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

@@RJrocks, Replacement addictions are definitely a concern after weight loss surgery. The explanation is that if you are addicted to food and you use bariatric surgery to take food away, you become addicted to something else: whether negative such as alcohol, or positive such as exercise. When you said your surgeon said 1 in 10 patients becomes an alcoholic post-op, I thought that was crazy high! But then I found this: it may be the study he was referring to about alcohol use disorders (AUD). It says, “10.7 percent of patients reported symptoms of AUD” by 2 years post-op, and 1 in 8 had at least 3 drinks per day on a typical drinking day. The information is from the national Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS) study. Wow. I had known that alcohol abuse could become a problem, but not that it was so common! If I were you, I would ask the surgeon which patients are more likely to develop alcohol abuse, and whether you have those characteristics. I am guessing that the patients who develop alcoholism after WLS are the ones who are addicted to food rather than just have poor eating habits, or who use food as an emotional crutch. If you use food for comfort or to hide your feelings, you might want to think hard about what you can use instead post-op (besides alcohol), and how you can address your feelings in healthier ways. Good luck!

You are asking us to tell you if it's worth it, I think all of us post-op will resoundingly say, yes, it was worth it for us. The questions you might actually be asking yourself is Are you ready? The things you are worrying about are really minor when compared to the more energy, the better health, the longer life you might live because of the surgery, in my opinion. Also, I don't want to sound like a negative nelly, but it sounds like your worries may be hiding some deeper issues for you. Have you talked to your Psychiatrist about these fears? For many of us, it's an 'easy' road, but there are those out there also who have suffered complications, and their journey is different, and more difficult. The truth is, eventually you will be able to eat your favorite foods again, you will be able to drink alcohol, and if you want, you can drink while you eat. The other half of that coin is our favorite foods probably contributed to how we got to where we needed surgery in the first place, alcohol is a lot of empty calories, and sadly some people find it too easy to trade their food addiction for alcoholism, and drinking while you eat fills you up faster, makes your food digest faster, so you are hungrier sooner, and can make you really uncomfortable, and possible cause you to vomit. Having the sleeve is not like a magic pill. It doesn't make you skinny automatically, it is a great tool for encouraging you to make better choices, but if you're afraid of those better choices before you get the tool, you might not know how to use it once you get it, and that could make you more miserable. I don't think anyone can answer for you if it's worth it, because only you know yourself, but do be sure that you know yourself enough to know you are ready and can face the challenges, because this is a change for the rest of your life, it's not reversable, and yes, you will have to make sacrifices. I hope you can do some soul searching. Good luck on whatever you decide.

My name is Kendi and I definitely have an addictive personality. I am addicted to food and have to watch my alcohol intake. I could easily choose to go down the wrong paths, but instead I work at staying vigilant & supplement my addictive tendencies with healthier options. By that I mean that when I sense that my emotions are in a place where I could easily cave into my addictions, I have to consciously choose to replace my addictive behaviors with healthier activities. {Alas I have not reached the place of love & devotion to exercise as some of you have (I still have to FORCE myself to exercise Every da@n day)}, but I have learned to supplement my unhealthy desires into more positive activities like reading a book, doing some sort of art / creative work, sewing, etc. The latter activities help me unwind without harmful consequences (of course with the exception of possibly creating UGLY fashion but that's a different issue)... in reality, I am waiting for the day that I don't have to feel the struggle. I wish my brain would automatically choose healthy behaviors vs. addictive ones. I dislike feeling like I have to fight myself in order to overcome my automatic & initial tendencies... I guess what I am wondering is when do our new habits become the permanent lifestyle change we are all working towards?

Be sure to check your surgeon's guidelines. I had to sign a "contract" agreeing that I wouldn't drink any alcoholic beverages for one full year.

Your body does weird things with alcohol after surgery. You get drunk fast and sober really fast which leads to more drinking. Many people become alcoholics because of this. Be careful. Many people in my surgeon's support group have experienced this so no alcohol is suggested.

Well, if you look at my posts, you'll find a couple of heated discussions about alcohol. I have been a confirmed social drinker and disciplined low carb dieter for 40 years. I never drank during the week and generally followed low carb diet guidelines. I gained 75 pounds very slowly over 40 years by eating too much low carb food (nuts, cheese, dark chocolate) when I drank alcohol. I entered this journey knowing that I'd have to abstain from alcohol for an extended period of time. My program guide said 6 months, but in further discussion, it became clear that this was just a typical guideline - "your mileage may vary!" There are three issues to consider. 1. Damaging your surgery: The biggie here is creating a fertile condition for ulcers. Discussing this with the surgical team, I learned that the surgery effectively heals at 6 weeks and if you google around, you'll find some surgeons who recommend 6 weeks as the earliest green light. If you have ever had any kind of acid reflux, you should proceed with caution. I did have a glass of wine at 6 weeks with the extra protection of an extra antacid pill and plenty of Water and food before and after. 2. Your Liver: The kind of rapid weight loss we see through WLS puts a stress on your liver; as does alcohol. One surgeon mentioned this in the context of waiting until you're near goal to restart drinking. I was about 75% toward goal before imbibing and have continued to limited my daily and weekly intake. 3. Your Weight Loss: I have found that the top rated programs have the longest abstinence waiting period. I think this is for our own good, because alcohol is generally a empty calorie and many drinks have lots of carbs. In addition, alcohol can increase hunger, which makes it tougher to stay on track. I continue to log calories on days when I drink - including the alcohol. One doctor told me 300 liquid calories won't hurt my Weightloss, but potato chips, candy, and ice cream munchies will. My program closely tracks patient weight loss for life and uses our data to promote their effectiveness. If none of us every drink again, they're numbers would likely look better. I am about 4 months out and I've added 10 ounces of alcohol to my weekly 9,000 calorie diet since Christmas. To my surprise, it has not reduced my weight loss one iota. Now the biggie for you is RNY. I had the sleeve and in my orientation at Newton Wellesley, one of the top surgeons in the country (Sheila Partridge) recommended the sleeve for social drinkers and/or people who needed to take NSAID'S. She suggested that RNY patients should abstain from both! That said, I have heard from plenty of RNY patients on this forum who do drink. That's all I know...

I'm happy you got your test results and your surgery date is secure, I was away for a few days for my husbands work, I had one bad food and alcohol day but right back on track the next day, I'm glad you stuck to your pre-op diet at your meeting, how are you doing today?

Sorry guys I have been out of touch. I am busy at work since I hae gone back. I am one month post op today. I can start regular food next Friday. However, I have not lost weight since the surgery. My first fill is on the 22nd. Anyone else having the same problem? I haven't been cleared to exercise yet. Also, has anyone had any wine or alcohol yet? I am craving wine.

I am an expert on no one but me. I am over three years out and have had gastric sleeve. I lost all my weight in 9 months and have been maintaining since. My surgeon cut out the fundus (the stretchy part) of my stomach leaving behind the muscle so I have little to no stomach left to "stretch". I drink carbonated beverages, I use straws, I consume alcohol, and I am fine. That said, I could easily "eat around" my sleeve if I wanted to. I choose to follow my surgeon's dietary recommendations 90% of the time. If instead, I chose to eat ice cream and Cookies, I would/could gain all my weight back. If I make good choices, I can eat no more than 1/4-1/3 cup of food and I am full for hours. If I choose carbs, I can't eat much more than the above, but I can eat more sooner. Again. MY stomach hasn't stretched nor will it, I am quite confident. I can't speak on anyone else's.