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The people who are not obese do not know how it feels to be obese. Just like if you are not a different race that gets targeted you don't know how it feels to be in their shoes. Feel like an outcast treated as a less of a human being what gives them the right? Where is my rights as a man our society it is ok to be a junkie alcoholic who abandons their children than being overweight

Hum, Phyl, ulcer? are you taking a new med? food allergy? I deserve the ass-kicking. I'm tired and when I'm tired I eat. I did check out my CPAP and my apnea is down to 2, huge decrease. When I did the sleep study, it was 56 to 100 per hour. Got it down to about 5 with the CPAP, now down to 2 with the weight loss. The resperatory theropist says that I can try to wean myself off. But I'm affraid to. Plus let's get real, I love the white noise and the moist air. Power was off most of the afternoon so got a few boxes unpacked. Wind blew over 4 powerlines and flipped a semi. I figured I'd be out of power for days but they must have gotten a temporary line up. I sure hope the semi driver is okay. Had a knockdown drag out with DD#4. So tomorrow we are sitting down and writing house rules. If she doesn't follow she either pays rent or leaves along with her dog. DD#5's dormroom mate got caught with alcohol so DD also got a disciplinary notice and has to go before the dorm board. She has moved out of the room and is staying at the 'innervarsity' house, the campus church group that she belongs to. Don't know if DD was aware of the alcohol or involved, but hopefully she learned something from it. Need to find some dinner of sorts. Had a piece of cheese and 3 crackers when I thought the power was going to be out. So I don't really need anything. I think I will go for another latte instead. Well best get busy...on something. TTFN

Here is my plan on maintenance. I was worried about it too since my Dr never really gave me any guidance. I have to eat 800-1000 calories a day and work out at least 2 times a week to lose 1-2 pounds. So after I get to goal I am going to keep working out (I hope) and raise my calories to 1200-1300 a day. Then I am going to weigh myself every.single.day. If I gain more than 5 pounds I will go back to 800-1000 calories until its gone. (I have a daily fluctuation of about 3 pounds due to Water, salt, etc. So I will not change anything unless I gain 5). If I continue to lose I will go up to 1400-1500 calories a day until I find what my body needs to balance my weight. If I cant get as many calories as I need I can always do a slight unfill which will allow me to eat more, but I have found that as I lose weight, the fat under my band goes away and my band gets looser anyway. In the past when I dieted I was starving and I knew when I stopped what I was doing that I wouldn't have the strength to start back. (Adkins, diet pills, ww, etc.) So I never could maintain. It was like an alcoholic once I started eating "normal", I couldn't stop. Now I know I never have to stop what I am doing, I will eat like this forever but just add a few things to up my calories. I hope this helps.

Thanks for the replies. :thumbup: I knew the alcohol would be less likely a problem. The smoking thing I was more curious about, and your response, Besty, is dead-on for a habitual smoker. I come from that rare breed where for me it really is a social drug just like alcohol, though, so I don't have the build-up of lung damage from smoking. I don't know how fast lung damage occurs from it, but I'm guessing it's not too much from 4-5 cigs/day for 4 days. :thumbup: For perspective, IF I do smoke over this trip, it will only be the second time in 2010 that I've smoked at all. I don't get out a lot, LOL! So I'm not worried about going through hacking or withdrawal or any of that. Your comment does tell me what the surgeon is concerned about regarding smoking, though, which is helpful. I wasn't sure if it was because of the nicotine possibly constricting blood vessels, or what. I'll ponder how the information might apply in my case as a very infrequent social smoker. :smile: I know that the cigs and alcohol aren't necessary to have fun.... If that was the case, I'd only be having fun a few times a year, and that certainly isn't true! It's pretty much something I only do around a particular group of friends, and I don't see them often. Now I think I'm probably more concerned about not stopping my BC early enough.... heheh

Be careful about sugar-free candies with sugar alcohols--they cause some people serious intestinal distress.

You don't have to have fun with cigarettes or alcohol! However, choosing alcohol would be the lesser of the two evils. :thumbup:

Careful with the Werther's. Lots of us are very sensitive to the sugar alcohols in them, and this can become more of a problem postop. I discovered the mini Werther's preop and was SO excited---until I discovered that 1/3 of the "serving" had more sugar alcohol than my poor gut could tolerate. Horrible cramps and diarrhea ensued---which is likely something you don't want to experience. So, take it slow with them until you determine whether your body has difficulty with sugar alcohols. Some people have no problem at all with them---but for others, they are misery.

Go for the vodka, no beer. Also, I would just say to be careful because the alcohol will effect you a lot more if you are eating very few calories. And, it can also make your band feel tighter the next day (because of dehydration). I just went to Vegas last weekend and was drinking a lot more than normal. I ended up so tight I could barely eat. The good thing is I still lost weight, but definitely not the healthy way to do it! LOL

I'm a month post op and I've always had a ritual of friday night bar hopping with my girlfriends. I've drank that last couple weekends and have been absolutely fine. I eat well and work out, and I'm losing slowly but surely. So I don't feel the need to sacrifice the alcohol.. just like the others said, avoid beer and carbonation.. i prefer vodka and will usually have it mixed with something light.

I waited over 6 months before even thinking about drinking alcohol. I had a glass of wine at that point and I have had a couple more since. It is just too high cal and I have enough trouble getting all the good fluids in anyway, so a drink is very rare with me.

Hey gang, I am back. Still hurtin from my last fill. I can't keep anything down but fluids. I think I am gonna stick with protein shakes tommorrow and try foods again the next day. I tried fish for dinner and it wouldn't go down, chicken for lunch, eggs for breakfast. None of it went down. My weight is though. If I can't get something down after monday I guess I'll have to get an unfill. I really don't want that to happen. I want to be able to use my band. Before my fill I was wide open now I am so tight. I am sleeping alot again. Don't know if it is from not eatting or if I am getting depressed again. Probably the latter. Just gotta get through this last week of school before I have a melt down. With this new level of tightness I find that I am feeling the same way I felt after surgery. I miss food. Now it is stronger cause I am losing sight of my goal. Back in my post op days I was high on the thought that I would be thin one day. So I was not bothered by my longing as much. I am just confusing myself so don't know if yall will even understand my ramblings. I am just a little down by my last checkup/ fill. Doc says I am a carboholic and just as an alcoholic can't allow themselves 1 drink I can't allow myself 1 carb loaded meal. I need to quit making justifications to eat carbs. I feel like a failure at this. My last 2 visits have been this way. I am losing the momentum I had and not making much progress lately. I did contact the therapist that works with my surgeon. Hopefully monday I will get a response.

I don't think that the alcohol will be an issue at all. As long as you stick to real moderation, you don't have to worry about it affecting your weight or impacting your liver in any lasting way. The smoking is a bigger issue. It really is strongly, strongly recommended that you not smoke for at least four weeks before surgery. While even a couple of days of not smoking produces some benefits (reduced carbon monoxide levels, for example), quitting for less than 4 weeks before surgery may actually increase respiratory risk from anesthesia. I know this sounds insane, but it makes sense if you consider that when you stop smoking, your lungs increase their production of mucus as they heal. These extra secretions help you hack out the crud from smoking----and in the long term are beneficial. But they're not beneficial if you are combining them with anesthesia, abdominal pain that prevents coughing to clear the secretions, and so on. Smoking 2 weeks before surgery really ups your risks. Quitting for 2 weeks before just isn't enough. I'm a former smoker, and know that drinking and smoking often go hand in hand; when I quit smoking, I had to give up drinking for quite a while. If you can't separate the two, that'd probably be the safest route for you to take.

I would also think about the calories in alcohol. It may or may not be worth it to you. Mixing with crystal lite will save calories over cran.

I was told by surgeon and nutritionist to ingest no alcohol (or caffeine) for at least six weeks while healing post-surgery. Beer is also in the carbonated beverages category and my doc and nutritionist both said I may never be able to drink a beer again without problems due to the carbonation. Good luck.

I had my surgery april 7th and am doing great sticking with my liquids now on soft mushy until may 5th yay. but im wondering about drinking alcohol im not talking about a whole bottle of vodka but just one or 2 mixed drinks like i like vodka and water with crystal light or vodka and cran? what about that or what about miller lite? im not sure and never thought about bringing up to dr until now and its the weekend. can i please get some advice.

Wow I had no clue about alcohol. My doctor didn't mention alcohol at all. Are we supposed to avoid it? I am not a regular drinking and only drink a few times a year but when I drink, lol, well, I DRINK! :tongue_smilie: I assume that is not something I can do anymore? What about 1 mixed drink. Would that be OK? I only do mixed drinks.

I am neither a regular smoker or regular drinker. The two do tend to go hand in hand for me, but usually it is weeks or months between my 'party' nights out. I don't drink or smoke at all when not in these sorts of social situations, and I do neither to excess when I do go out. Once every year I go on a campout with a group of people that is pretty much a party group. I've been going to this event for over 10 years and it's my one time of year when I get to let my hair down for a few days. This year, it happens to fall over Memorial Day weekend, which is right before my 2-week pre-op diet. I am going to TRY not to drink more than a beer or two each day or smoke any cigs at all, but I know it's going to be difficult around this crowd. I'm wondering how much effect a few days of less-than-perfect behaviour with the alcohol/nicotine thing might have, or would the two weeks of following the pre-op diet to the letter be enough.... *sigh* I'm also not going to go off my BC pills until 2 weeks pre-op (as the idea of dealing with feminine hygiene while camping is not a good one), and I hope that 2 weeks will be good on that too. Argh, I hate second-guessing all this. :thumbup:

Just to clarify, I was not implying that your surgeon is lying or that you shouldn't trust him. I believe this is going to fall under the same category of "per my surgeon" kind of like the soda post sleeve thing, or pre op/post op diet guidelines. Only 30% of RNY patients dump, so maybe we can hope that percentage will be considerably less with VSG. I agree with the motility/transit time. But, look at the consistency of the foods discussed here that caused those issues. At 5 months out, I could have 1 glass of wine, and I was pretty well toast. Now, give me about 4-5 heavy poured rum/cokes, and I might catch a buzz. I do not drink on a regular basis. I might have a glass of wine once a week. By glass, I mean 4oz of a nice Riesling. So, it's not like I've been knocking them back and have built my tolerance back up. It's just different now for me. Obviously, liquids (ice cream/alcohol) are going to hit our intestines faster, and that's where the absorption of glucose occurs. Since it's liquid sugar hitting our intestines, I'm sure some of our bodies are gonna be pissed off. Luckily, I haven't had those issues. So, for me, I can see how the liquid sugars could hit the intestines quicker and cause dumping symptoms because there is very little digestion of sugars by the stomach when they hit the pyloric valve. Plus, our sleeves are much smaller than that big ole stomach we had before surgery that allowed all that ice cream to sit in there for a bit before moving on as quickly. If we saw consistency of dumping with carbs (these stick around a little longer in our tummies), or other high glycemic index foods, I think it make more sense to me. Again, let me say that I'm not arguing, just giving my thoughts on the subject. Also, if we look at people that discuss the dumping symptoms or nausea, it's with liquid sugars, cake icing, ice cream causing these symptoms. Now, I'm all interested to find out if DS patients have this issue with dumping. I mean they have the sleeve, a little rerouting, and some switching going on. So, I'll talk to a few of the DS'ers that I know on OH, and find out. The little bit I do know about DS, they do not dump based on the same theory that the sleeve keeps the pyloric valve intact. Do you dump every time? Do you dump on carbs? Like pizza crust, potatoes, other carbs? I know we've talked about your issues with ice cream and some super sweet slider food stuff, but I don't remember if you get the same symptoms with carbs or maybe fruit? Does regular milk cause you issues as well?

I did a little research and most of what I read concurs with Tiffykins response -- the conventional wisdom is that there IS no dumping with VSG. However, stomach transit time is dramatically reduced with VSG (which is one reason why alcohol can affect us so strongly). Dumping isn't just the result of no pyloric valve, it's the result of basically zero transit time into the intestines for the RNX crowd. If our stomachs empty super-fast post-VSG, we could get all of the symptoms of dumping, even with an intact pyloric sphincter. So I think it's possible that there could be a bit of "dumping lite" with VSG. Of course, we're not SUPPOSED to be eating high-sugar foods or drinking alcohol, so you could argue that even this "dumping lite" might be a blessing in disguise, forcing us to eat healthier! Again, I'm not a doctor, just going off of what my surgeon told me.

please feel free to add your own! this one is about Water, and since we drink so much, I felt it was appropriate. :001_smile: To paraphrase W.C. Fields, "I don't drink water, because fish screw in it." To my friends who enjoy a glass of wine... and those who don't.. As Ben Franklin said: In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria. In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated that if we drink 1 liter of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli, (E. coli) - bacteria found in feces. In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop.. However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer (or tequila, rum, whiskey or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through a purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting. Remember: Water = Poop, Wine = Health Therefore, it's better to drink wine and talk stupid, than to drink water and be full of shit. There is no need to thank me for this valuable information: I'm doing it as a public service!

And Phyll....Yes, you can make a shake out of Merlot. Just make sure to not ruin it with too much ice. You would hate to screw up the alcohol content!

You know how when you are on a diet and you begin to crave foods you haven't eaten in years....How do you combat those thoughts and feelings? I'm looking into this and thought I was ready until I started reading more. I've heard some people go to alcohol as their comfort instead of food?:thumbup:

Yes, I am now down 100 pounds and I feel fabulous and very proud of myself. I know that I personally would not have ever lost all this weight on my own. I am forever grateful to be blessed with my band. I have not had any problems with my band in this entire year. The first 6 months I ate exactly the way I was instructed by my surgeon and followed the rules to the T. I have come to realize that I can achieve similar results once I calmed down a bit and stopped worrying about my band failing. Do I cheat once in a while? YES! I drink alcohol more than I should and I do have sweets on occasion. The only way I can successfully eat bread is if it is toasted. I still cannot eat dry meats or eggs but I can live with that. pizza and Pasta are also very difficult and cause me much discomfort. What I crave most is a big juicy hamburger but I know there is NO WAY I will ever be able to eat one with my band. I can only eat approx 1/2 cup of food at a time. I can easily forget to eat during the day. I never feel hunger anymore but I do get a queezy stomach if I go too long without eating. Some days I don't get all my Protein in but make a bigger effort the next day. I have found that getting all my Water in is the most important rule to follow for ME! I have suffered through bouts of dehydration and periods of not not being able to eat because my stomach swells around my band from lack of hydration. If I follow this one important rule it seems that everything else flows smoothly. I am by no means suggesting that anybody stop following the band rules, this would be a bad idea. What I am suggesting is that those of you who are still uptight and worried about your bands failing, just relax a little and don't be so obsessed with your bands. Get out and move and enjoy your lives. There is so much more to living than eating!

Emotions???? I don't know if I can put into words how I feel, but here goes. Surgery tomorrow. Woke up feeling very sad, and tierd. This confused me. I should be excited. Now whats wrong me. Maybe I am crazy. Well I guess I can try to explore these feelings since I can no longer turn to my best friend (FOOD). Well I am a little nervous about the pain after surgery. I have Fibromyalgia, so Doctor said pain is worse for us, and recovery usually twice as long. I have given birth to 5 children, 4 no drugs, heck the Dr. didn't even make it in time for birth of my son. Not good, very painful. Baby was 10 pounds 1 oz. Survived that, getting banded will be fine. Next emotion- Feeling sad? I am going to miss my friend. We have been through so much together. Drug and alcohol addiction,(been sober 16 years) Divorce, quit smoking(defiantly ate my way through that one) Losing my mom, and 5 kids moving out and starting their own lives, and so much more. We won't even get into all the good times. Why does popcorn with extra butter make every movie just a little bit better? Is food really my best friend? NO!! I have gained 147 pounds eating my way through life, which of course has caused numerous health problems. Next emotion? Trying not to get to excited so I won't feel let down if surgery doesn't happen tomorrow. Well that one is just dumb get over it! I then decide to come here so I can write down how I feel. That in itself is weird. I don't blog, heck I don't even journal. But oddly enough it seems to help allot. I log on and I am so surprised people not only read my blog but they left comments!!! While I am reading them I get tears in my eyes. Tears of joy :confused: People care about me and my feelings. Now that's a new feeling. Their support and words of encouragement are truly amazing. One person was even spot on about me taking care of everyone else but me. I have said these very words. I have been a wife since I was 18, and a mom at 19. It has never been about me, and I think its about time!! This has left my kids wondering what about them. They want to know if we will have still have family dinner every sat. and many more questions about them. Whatever. It is time they see me as more than a short- order cook. Hey I like that feeling:lol: So I have explored each emotion instead of eating. Outcome? I feel nothing but excitement. I am having life changing surgery in exactly 24 hours and 3 min from right now!!! :thumbup:How blessed am I!!!

Emotions???? I don't know if I can put into words how I feel, but here goes. Surgery tomorrow. Woke up feeling very sad, and tierd. This confused me. I should be excited. Now whats wrong me. Maybe I am crazy. Well I guess I can try to explore these feelings since I can no longer turn to my best friend (FOOD). Well I am a little nervous about the pain after surgery. I have Fibromyalgia, so Doctor said pain is worse for us, and recovery usually twice as long. I have given birth to 5 children, 4 no drugs, heck the Dr. didn't even make it in time for birth of my son. Not good, very painful. Baby was 10 pounds 1 oz. Survived that, getting banded will be fine. Next emotion- Feeling sad? I am going to miss my friend. We have been through so much together. Drug and alcohol addiction,(been sober 16 years) Divorce, quit smoking(defiantly ate my way through that one) Losing my mom, and 5 kids moving out and starting their own lives, and so much more. We won't even get into all the good times. Why does popcorn with extra butter make every movie just a little bit better? Is food really my best friend? NO!! I have gained 147 pounds eating my way through life, which of course has caused numerous health problems. Next emotion? Trying not to get to excited so I won't feel let down if surgery doesn't happen tomorrow. Well that one is just dumb get over it! I then decide to come here so I can write down how I feel. That in itself is weird. I don't blog, heck I don't even journal. But oddly enough it seems to help allot. I log on and I am so surprised people not only read my blog but they left comments!!! While I am reading them I get tears in my eyes. Tears of joy :smile: People care about me and my feelings. Now that's a new feeling. Their support and words of encouragement are truly amazing. One person was even spot on about me taking care of everyone else but me. I have said these very words. I have been a wife since I was 18, and a mom at 19. It has never been about me, and I think its about time!! This has left my kids wondering what about them. They want to know if we will have still have family dinner every sat. and many more questions about them. Whatever. It is time they see me as more than a short- order cook. Hey I like that feeling:lol: So I have explored each emotion instead of eating. Outcome? I feel nothing but excitement. I am having life changing surgery in exactly 24 hours and 3 min from right now!!! :thumbup:How blessed am I!!!