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I am not here judge others. I think the comments posted in this thread may be insensative tobut I get the message. SInce being banded I have made a choice to eat healthy, avoid alcohol and all fast food and follow my dr's orders to the letter. I am down 70 lbs and am 13 weeks post op. But I will tell you I have a friend who was banded a few weeks before me and she eats and drinks pretty much what she did before her surgery just a much smaller abount. She is being semi careful and trying to make healthy choices most of the time. But she is a foodie... she loves the tast, textures and everything about food. She has lost 45 lbs....25 lbs less than I have. Still a very good loss... it just may take her more time than me. Thats not a bad thing .... just different and it drives me crazy when I am sitting at my desk eating tuna and cottage cheese and she has a piece of last nights pizza!!! But its not my place to weigh in with an opinion.... so I remember what Mother said... if you dont have something nice to say..... and keep my mouth shut.

I am a lite drinker, I drink vodka maybe once or twice a month and I was wondering if that would be a problem, I didn't want to ask my surgeon because I didn't want him to think I am a drunk lol.

3.5 weeks post surgery. Went to our state fair tonight and was really sad that I couldn't eat any of the food I love having at fairs. I really wanted a corn dog, and cotton candy, and funnel cake, and alcohol, and, and, and.... We didn't stay long because I was sad plus I still haven't returned to full energy levels since the surgery. Just feeling down and wanted to share.

Hello everyone. I'm 6 weeks post-op and have a horrible cold. I'm wondering if there's any over-the-counter medications anyone knows of that are safe to take? My doc is out of town & I've been sick for 3 days already.. I'm worried about the alcohol & sugar in a lot of the OTC meds.. Thanks!

@@leag78 Don't take this the wrong way; I don't know you or your friend. But almost all of your replies seem to be defending her or your friendship. Almost as though you have to convince us that she's a good person. Or perhaps convince yourself? Someone can have great attributes and only have one flaw; for example if i have a wonderful husband who helps with the house, rubs my feet every night before bed, and surprises me with random gifts and flowers for no reason those are great attributes. But if the one bad thing about him is that he's completely unfaithful to me and will cheat on me given the opportunity, do those good things about him outweigh the bad? WLS is a long, hard road. I'm pre-op and already having issues with my social circle because of my changing eating habits and my avoiding alcohol. My friends don't invite me out anymore, I guess they figure whats the point if she can't eat and drink with us? Also, when I do go out people are always pushing me "one little drink won't hurt. Don't you have a cheat day?" They're excellent people, always there for me when I need someone and have opened up their homes to me and made me feel like family. But pushing me to drink when I'm under a doctor's care not to is just wrong. Offering me food I can't have and trying to justify it by saying "everybody deserves a cheat day." is not supportive to what I'm doing. It's going to be really important that you have support for your choice to have WLS and the journey you're on. If your friend isn't supportive or if you're afraid your friendship with her will change because of your decision, then the best way she can support you is not to stand in your way. I'm not suggesting you stop being her friend, but perhaps you won't be able to rely on her for support as much as you were hoping considering how close you are.

I know it can be tough. Look at it this way - it's like being an alcoholic and having to face up that you can't go hang out in bars anymore. Yes, food is something comforting and what we are used to, but it's also the root of why we had to consider having surgery to help fight the battle. The other day I had a realization that realistically I'll never go to an all you can eat buffet again. it would be a complete waste. Does it make me a little sad? Sure, but when you sit back and think that sort of thing is why we have such an obesity problem in this country to begin with. As to foods that I really miss I know most I'll be able to enjoy some again in due time. For me I obsessed over quantity rather than quality. Binge eating was my biggest battle and needed something to combat it, so that was my reason for choosing surgery. It isn't uncommon to second guess things, especially during this period where we are so limited on what we can have. Way I look at it is that I've punished my body for a good 35 years so a few weeks of penance on my part is going to be worth it in the end!

There shouldn't be anything in them that stalls you unless you are eating the ones with sugar alcohols. I don't buy those I stick to their original line. I'm just happy to not have to live on protein shakes!

Please talk to your doctor, but alcohol in any shape would be a very bad idea that early. You are not even close to healed at that time, so drinking is a huge no as far as I'm concerned. I was told that drinking was off limits for minimum of 6 months, but highly discouraged for the rest of my life due to the effects. Like, have a glass of wine or a weak mixed drink on special occasions but steer clear of it as a regular thing. After you're a year or so out, it may still hit you VERY hard as you have less stomach to process it, so it filters right into your bloodstream and you'll feel very drunk super fast on a very small amount. I've heard stories of people going black out drunk from just a few glasses that used to not even get them buzzed. And besides that, alcohol is empty calories and super high carb. Very, very bad stuff to try that early. It most likely will make you feel pretty bad and minimum make you stupid drunk, and very likely could make you sick. But yeah, ask your doctor.

Alcohol should definitely not be in the pre-op diet. Alcohol is known to cause liver inflammation that lasts up to a couple of weeks.

Haha, yeah, sometimes things just feel like they should be done now. Had that feeling about a few things lately. Good on you for raising the money too! I was just having a chat in another forum with a Dutch man who's getting the surgery done soon - comparing differences in insurance paying for these sorts of things... Huh, lucky you got a bank loan... My bank wouldn't give me one last year. Which reminds me, need to email them. I remember Dr Fris being really relaxed about the first few weeks. Probably a good way to be though - your body gets put under a lot of stress having a rubber band stuck around your stomach so it pays to take some time to get used to it. (Actually, because I got it done before Christmas he actually told me he wasn't bothered if I put some weight back on. Heh.). Once you're off liquids it is a lot easier... And hey, 5 years down the line and that summer holiday is just a blip, so even the memories of it get better. Hmm. And now you're making me want mashed potato... Lol. You can still eat rice, but be careful with it cos it fills you up real fast. Probably don't try it too soon, and pay attention to how much you're eating (remember the example I made of a friend thinking I was bulemic? ... Yeeeah. Hehe.). To be honest I don't think there's much I can't actually eat, it's just the amounts that have changed. I have even had garlic naan when friends and I have gone for Indian food - though only a tiny strip of it. You appreciate the taste/texture/all the other characteristics of the food a lot more when the amount becomes a lot smaller. It is a bit hard when you're restricted to only liquids or something. You can actually get pretty creative. A friend of mine recently mentioned a 'Moroccan-spiced autumn vege soup with orzo'. I haven't looked up a recipe but probably best to wait till you're back on solids before trying anything that is chunky (like I'm guessing this is) or orzo (or other pasta). But I've discovered looking up different recipes to test out is fun. You could try making your own smoothies for breakfast, too, perhaps? All I know is I was pretty damned sick of optifast by the time I was off liquids... Heh. Of course, that doesn't help being sick of soup, really, but... It won't last forever! Haha! Yeah, the port does feel really weird. My mum kept poking me in the stomach for a while... Did think of two other things today that I've noticed throughout the time I've had the band (amourette, would be interesting to see your thoughts on this, too) - 1) Energy efficiency - much more energy efficient now, mentioned this before as well. My body is a lot better at using the energy it gets now, which is really good. 2) Don't go hungry for too long... I found I'm walking a very fine line now of being hungry vs being full. Sure, I can't eat much, but I can't go hungry for long either. I usually keep snacks on me - a muesli bar in my bag, for instance, or pretzels in a draw at work. I was away with others for a conference once when back in NZ (about 3 years ago now) and I couldn't eat much of my lunch (a potato salad) and didn't have any snacks on me. We went to the beach for the afternoon and it was probably 7 hours till dinner... Walking around looking for a restaurant turned out to be the last straw and by the time I ordered dinner I was so low on energy I almost fainted. Fortunately I'd also ordered an orange juice which came out almost immediately and that helped me wait for dinner to arrive. You don't want to over eat, but I know I can't /not/ eat either. I've only felt the same way twice since when I didn't keep suitable snacks nearby and nowhere near as strongly as that time on the conference. Sort of makes the 'small meals often' thing ring quite true. Semi-related observation: Actually, my stomach seems to be really sensitive now days - I get stressed, I can't eat as easily. I go on a plane, can't eat as easily. Try sitting down for 33 hours of flying - all I managed of my last meal on the plane was the tea and a bit of a roll. Found when I was in Amsterdam in February last year that put 33 odd hours of flying + stress of an interview together and I had a week of surviving off about one to two meals a day, could hardly eat anything for the first few days I was here - Jet lag really messes up my appetite as well. Things change a lot. My alcohol tolerance seems to be a bit lower, but then I don't drink all that often anyway, so could just be because of that. My tastes seem to have changed as well, but that could just be an age thing or something. Good to hear you managed work!

What if you could eat anything you want and still lose weight? That sounds wonderful, doesn't it, but is it even possible? My brother is a highly intelligent man. This was proven decades ago, when IQ tests (performed while his teachers and parents tried to figure out why he was a miserable little bugger) showed a genius level IQ. I know that sentence sounds unsympathetic to my brother, but we were all miserable - our parents, his teachers, me, and my brother. The decades that have passed since then haven't given him any more common sense or made him any less miserable. A good example of that is his reaction when I first talked with him about my weight loss surgery. This highly intelligent and (by then) well-read man said, "Wow! So, you have the surgery, and then you eat anything you want and you still lose weight!" Well, no, I told him. Not really. In fact, nothing like that. During the 6 years of my weight loss surgery journey, I have (over and over and over again) witnessed bariatric patients who came out of the operating room after surgically successful procedures still wondering why they couldn't eat anything want and still lose weight. Their disappointing weight loss was and is a perpetual puzzle to them because somehow they had not grasped that behavioral change is required for weight loss success. It's easy to label those patients as stupid or ignorant or deluded, or to blame their bariatric team for failure to properly educate those patients about what would be required of them both pre- and post-op. All of those things could be a factor. In March 2012 I attended 2 sessions of a required pre-op nutrition and education class. My BMI then made me obese, but not morbidly so. I had gained weight after a complete unfill and was preparing to say goodbye to my beloved band due to medical problems aggravated by my band, planning to revise to vertical sleeve gastrectomy in the same procedure. The dietitian leading the class was a perky, pretty 20-something girl, adorably pregnant, who had clearly never struggled with her weight before. Her slightly condescending attitude was hard to take, but about halfway through the class I thought I could understand her attitude. She had just named a long list of foods we should not eat after surgery (including fried foods, candy, baked goodies, soda, alcohol, salty snacks, etc.) when I heard a woman nearby say bitterly, "I don't know. That seems like an awful lot to give up." Since I had known the before and after of WLS, I was strongly tempted to respond to her, but I held my tongue (wisely, for once). I don't know just why so many people think that WLS is magic, that you can eat anything you want and still lose weight; that you don't have to give up a single food or behavior or attitude in order to succeed. Maybe we can blame that kind of thinking on the media, or maybe we can blame it on the deeply-entrenched denial that tends to go along with obesity. But the fact is, you can't eat anything and still lose weight unless you're dying of cancer or AIDs or some other fatal disease, and probably don't want to eat a single bite of anything anyway. And I'd trade dying of cancer for WLS sacrifices and success any old day, wouldn't you?

I'm your gal on this one!!! I had my surgery done in Germany (I live in Hawaii) while on a year long trip! After the surgery I took the train back to Amsterdam for 3 weeks, then started traveling FULL TIME for the next 4 months! And my loss was steady and good. It wasn't always easy because I couldn't find a lot of things in Europe that we have here and sometimes my energy level would wain. But I would recommend packing some Protein liquid shots and mixing that with Water or juice and some Protein powder and Protein Bars so you be sure and get your protein in. There is always yogurt in Europe so that worked for me for Breakfast (and the upside is you won't be interested in the pastries after your surgery). Italy was a tough one, so I always found a place that had minestrone soup; I think I was the only tourist there that had no Pasta, pizza or wine! But the gelato is divine. The toughest part will that you will be eating very little and cannot take the leftovers with you usually; and so many of the restaurants are locally owned and they seem so hurt when you don't eat! I would suggest a little flexible cooler and put things that you know you can eat in it for the plane. For me, I always had to have some saltine crackers or pretzel thins to help keep my stomach settled. I never worried about calories while traveling; it was all about protein and what my tummy could tolerate. Just eat slowly and forget about the alcohol for now; it probably won't taste good anyway. I am chronically A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF A SLEEVER on my Sunday blog, which is sort of a travel / weight loss blog; you might want to take a look at the link below and look at months Nov -Feb and you will see I was in many different countries and I made it work! I am now 10 lbs from goal..... Good luck; and you'll do just fine!

Yay you are on the losers bench now how'd it go for ya? Was it scary? Did you have major nerves going in? Oh a wonderful non traditional was to treat my nausea that my recovery nurse did, was put an alcohol pad on my nose, so as i could sniff it! Worked wonders!!!

Alcohol can cause bleeding so that soon out could be dangerous. You could also get sick and ruin your night. Good idea to wait. Sent from my KFFOWI using the BariatricPal App

Alcohol can cause bleeding this early out. In addition, it can cause dehydration (which is already a risk after WLS). Please be careful.

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 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!

Is it for pain control or recreational? If its the latter you might want to talk to your psyche consult about what you get out of it and if you can get to a place where it isnt really a benefit anymore. I'm not judging either. Ive had to make the same decisions about whether I want to keep alcohol in my life post op. These aren't easy decisions. At least your choice is calorie free!

I can't stress enough to STAY OFF THE scale. I only weighed about 6 times in the first 3 months. The NSVs are way more important than numbers. But if you want to compare, here's my numbers.... 0 pounds lost at 11 days 17 pounds at 7 weeks 30 pounds at 3 months. I've read so many posts about people whining over losing way more than that. It astounds me because I was thrilled and encouraged by every single pound I lost along the way, no matter how fast or slow. Of course dropping pant sizes and being out of pain and crossing my legs and my rings actually becoming too big we're all way more exciting. I still surpassed my surgeon's goal by over 20 pounds and my personal goal by over 10 pounds. And no matter what your rate of loss, if you are eating healthy then you are not failing. My plan was very simple.....60-80g Protein everyday. Minimum 64oz Water everyday. Vitamins everyday. Plenty of veggies as I could eat them, a little bit of fruit. Stayed away from white carbs (pasta, bread, rice, crackers, alcohol, sweets) until I was within 10 pounds of goal.

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

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

Hello hello ~~ I bet it must have been a great great transformation and a decision worth EXCITELY SHOUTING for.:eek: But *shhh* , tell you something. Other than my parents no one I knew knew. Part of it is because I wanted to "surprise" them a year later, another part of it is, it's hard to go "drink crazy ( as in alcohol )" "eat crazy" and "spend so much time going to parties or karaoke" when I have to be VERY FOCUSED to exercise after work (9-5). And "other" reasons too. Sigh. :thumbup: You're like the only "close" person that "knows" i'm "going" to have a band. Haha, isn't it ironic? :thumbup: Don't want anyone close to me know I'm going to this LIFECHANGING surgery, yet posted this thread to see whether there's someone in Toronto that's "close" to me. I'm with SWLC, in mississauga. I reallllllllly want to lose 100 pounds, I should say I can't really imagine "going back to what I was" (or lighter). Haven't really "bonded" with anyone in SWLC yet, though I would consider myself moderately active in the forum. Great resource from other patients, I also look forward my banding experience to be a positive one. Actually, "hoping" to lose 100 pounds - I am even slightly "afraid" of it, cause... over the years I gained so much, so much stretch marks across my stomach ( not even red ones, they are all plain color now, even worst ). It bothers me to think to SPEND :eek: extra more on plastic surgery after this surgery. Sigh. Well one step at a time i guess. Ay, can you be my Mentor/buddy? :ihih: I tried to look at the "support" section for buddy/mentor, but sigh, none "near" me. I'll cheer you on for the rest of 15 pounds, and you'll cheer me on for my 100 pounds? :lol:HAHAHAHA sounds like a deal? hahahah

I went to a friend's for xmas dinner at exactly the same point post op. I got to sit the whole time obviously so I hope the standing isn't too long for you, but if you make an average/good recovery I think you'll have no problems at all. Bet you're looking forward to some major last minute alteration of that bridesmaid's dress too (and please can we have a photo in the OOTD thread in the lounge?? I'm a bit obsessed with weddings). I'm sure you'll enjoy it. My dietician cleared me to have a glass or two of bubbles at my dinner but might be worth just checking with your team if you intend to drink any alcohol. And - definitely the chicken, just a tiny portion. And then hide most of that under the salad/veg, LOLOL!!

I am just starting the process and am wondering if once all healed and on solid foods if you can have alcohol drinks. I am not a big drinker but occassionaly like some margaritas with girlfriends. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I should have started this yesterday, but it was a bit crazy around here then. On Sunday, my niece (she's 36) called to let me know her father died. He'd been an alcoholic, from a family of alcoholics, as long as I've known him. My dear sister died in 2003 from complications of Redux(part of the phen-fen family of drugs). So I had little to no contact with him in the intervening years. My brother-in-law's family has been of no help with planning or even being supportive, while that should come as no surprise...but the sheer selfishness they've exhibited is amazing. Ugh, I could go on forever about that...... But, I won't bore anyone with my epic ranting about them. For my pre-op diet I'm supposed to drink three protein shakes totaling no more than 600 calories altogether. They have to have no more than 10 carbs and at least 15 grams of protein each. I also get a meal of no more than 400 calories a day. This is a standard low-cal but now too low carb meal, I'm allowed a serving of whole grain w/ the meal. My day should be 1000 calories and 100 grams of protein. I did pretty well yesterday, I got in 906 calories and 115 grams of protein. Although my niece would say that I was mad at the world and weirdly forgetful . Today is better, I'm not mad and I think I'm doing well memory-wise (although I can't be 100% sure).