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Most things in life are OK in moderation. That includes food, alcohol, shopping, gambling...etc...etc. I could go on for days, but the fact of the matter is that this is all a learning experience because if we were all able to "control" ourselves and all of our things in moderation we wouldn't be on this board.:biggrin: So, with that....I have indulged twice since being banded. Prior to healthy lifestyle, I could easy drink a small bottle of wine at a holiday or dinner party. Since the band...half way through the first glass, I am buzzed. I like my new life!

I am experiencing the same problem right now. Prior to my surgery I never thought I had an alcohol problem, I never really drank that much but now it seems like I need to have a drink every night because it helps me relax and unwind. I'am trying to find other ways to help me cope when things get difficult for me.

I would say you're fine, but understand that I'm not an expert. I can tell you, however, that most people are effected quite differently after surgery by alcohol. I drink only about 4 times per year but since being banded I get pretty tipsy after about 1/2 of a drink. I'm quite the light weight! LOL Have fun and be safe!

Sheesh, lighten up already! We have to have normal lives. Yes, we know the occasional drink or cookie is not good for us, but the operative word is occasional. I also heard that a little alcohol goes a long way, so I'd say drink v e r y slowly and follow with a glass of Water. Do more talking with your friends than drinking, pick a DD, and enjoy yourself.

I have been told to wait at least 6 weeks before consuming alcohol, but I was also told that about excercise. I'm not much of a drinker so it doesn't matter to me if I could or not. I do however want to begin an excercise routine.

hi there this has been a topic in my shared medical appt many times i would suggest you speak with a therapist to help you thru this i have heard in my group many post op patients who substituted alcohol for food and just swapped out addictions you have identified that you need help and support which is a huge step so congratulations!

So its been almost 4 weeks. I'm feeling awesome. I have lost 20 pounds (some from the pre-op diet). I walk at least 3 miles everyday...even weekends. I'm eating exactly what i'm supposed to and I even got my first fill yesterday.... I'm going to one of my favorite bars tomorrow night and I just want a drink! Cape cod! Every time I ask my Dr or some other professional they always say "For successful weight loss alcohol is not recommended". Duh...I am fully aware of that! I just want to know that if I have a drink (or 2) will I be OK? How will drinking effect me now? Any stories, suggestions, or comments would be awesome! Thank you!

I am having lap band surgery on Feb. 11, 2010. I have a get together this weekend, it is around three weeks from surgery, would it be okay, if I had some beers and or wine. I wanted to know how long does the doctor usually say you must stop alcohol before surgery.

Mrs Bahuna - Good answer 'for health reasons'. I will use that next time someone tells me I did not need to get banded. Hopefully, that will shut them up. Nawlinz - I'll try it toasted next time. Would be nice not to be scared of eating bread! Amazed I have lost nearly 2 kilos in a week - and I thought I had not felt any restriction. Can you guys tell me what you do about alcohol - when you go out - do you drink wine? How does it affect you being banded?

It does not take a long time for your body to become dependent on alcohol. Alcohol is a physically addictive substance. By stopping abruptly, you can die if not properly tapered or detoxed. It can cause tremors, seizures, spike in blood pressure, and many other major medical issues. Please talk to your doctor about this. I do not know how much or how long you have been drinking so I am speaking in general......

Hey Sunny Day, red wine (as it's known for being healthy) or vodka and Water, then add drink mix (bring your own no sugar drink mix, i.e., Crystal Light, Hawaiin punch etc.). Yep, stay away from the regular mixed drinks...way too much sugar on top of the alcohol calories. I'm newly banded and on two occasions, I've had this. Right or wrong, there's lots of social occasions and that go to drink just makes sense for me (or, of course, abstain w/water and lime/lemon) Good luck to you!

This forum is a "rants and raves" forum. That is what we do here. On this forum there are many controversial issues being discussed. The debate is about those issues. When I speak about them, you hear my point of view on them, whether right or wrong, not necessarily my of view on what people should be doing in life, like good deeds, caring for the sick and feeding the hungry. Conservative do not feel that taking care of the sick, feeding the hungry or those other things you mentioned are sinful. Where do you get that? But, if you want to know how I participate in these things, I will share them. They are high on my priority list. I contribute to my church food pantry and local food pantry often. I have taken in children to care for them. (I did 20 years of Foster care) And have adopted 3 abused and neglected children. I teach a local girls club class. I have taught Sunday school. I write weekly to a young man in prison, and I give to the prison ministry that is set up by men in my church. I donate to the clothing drives. I support missionaries in many countries. I support the Teen Challenge Program in CT that helps drug and alcohol addicted people. I have cared for the elderly for many years and bring entertainment and services to them. I am not a sit back and complain Christian. I try to do what I am able to do for my community. I do not believe that I am lying when I make a blanket statement about liberals. Jesus called the pharasees and Saducees 'hypocrites!' in a blanket statement. Did he mean 'all' Pharasees and 'all' Saducees were hypocrites? Or was he giving a generalization of them? As for being afraid to examine evidence that is contrary to my belief sytem, there is none. The bible is God's word and I believe it. I will never put any of man's writings or words ahead of or above His. I have looked at many things that people have written that they feel out trumps what God has to say, but I don't believe any of it. I am not afraid to look into it at all. I just don't believe it over what the bible says.

Hmmm--this sounds good-- outside. I've never seen a recipe like this before. It's nice to have things that you can just grab. Especially when you're on the go like I am. And I think that recipes like this one are less likely to cause stalls like a lot of those processed low carb products. I can do fairly well on the Atkins protein bars so long as I don't have more than a few a week. The Drinks work better than the bars because they don't have the sugar alcohol like the bars do.

Exactly, I guess I'm used to unwinding with something. Be it with food or with alcohol. I will have to learn a new way I'm just haven't found it yet.

You're totally not alone with this. I can't keep alcohol in the house because if it is there, I will drink it. I really like to relax and not be so stressed. It's not that I'm addicted, it's just because I lack an outlet. I'm really trying to find outlets like playing basketball on an intramural team at U of A and exercise. Sometimes, though, I just want to relax and it's difficult to find an outlet... It kind of feels good to know that I'm not the only one...

Sorry to hear you are suffering, I am suffering too and I think it is acid reflux. I went out Saturday and had one alcoholic beverage, ONE! And I haven't been able to eat since ... I just forced my lunch down ... couldn't drink my protein drink yesterday morning, but got it down this morning. I forced down a Lean Cuisine for lunch toay and my esophagus is burining a little ... I'm going to start drinking cold liquids in about half an hour. Hope you feel better soon.

*sings* Blame it on the a-a-a-a-a-alcohol... :cheers: :w00t: liquid Courage!

Hey Sabrina, and welcome to VST. You've had a heck of a journey thus far. As for my band complications, I had a flipped port from early on, and it caused a lot of pain and discomfort. The tubing was actually tugging on my stomach in addition to all the other wonderful "band" issues. So, I was able to revise to the sleeve. As for your concerns, I was not released to drink alcohol until my 3.5-4 month post-op mark. I have a glass of wine a couple times a week. It doesn't get me drunk faster unless I drink it quickly, then the drunk wears off, and I maintain a nice relaxed feeling. I'm 7 months out, and I indulge in a soda once a week, once every other week. It takes me 2-3 days to drink a soda because I don't drink it all the time. Some doctors are absolutely against them. Mine happens to believe that they are just wasted calories and that it will not stretch out the remaining. We do not have a pouch like RNY or band patients so it's a little different. My post-op diet for the sleeve revision was 2 weeks clears 2 weeks full liquids (I did a week doc progressed me to mushies) I did mushies for awhile with some soft Proteins for 2-3 weeks then onto regular food. You'll need to stick to the post-op diet because healing of the staple line is completely different than with your band surgery. Food particles, seeds, and chunks of stuff can get in your staple line causing infection, irritation and lead to a leak. I had a leak 2 days post-op revision, and it wasn't fun at all. I was in ICU for 5 days, on a ventilator, and had a slim chance of survival. The leak was successfully repaired, but I was on a pic lin in my arm being force fed 1800 calories a day through a TPN bag for over 2 weeks. I didn't have anything to eat or drink for 22 days. NOTHING no ice chips, no Water, nothing at all. Just my opinion, I think 6 weeks out is way too early to consume alcohol. Your stomach has been traumatized, and will still technically be healing. I've heard people talk about stomach burning, but wine (Riesling) hasn't bothered me at all. Keep us posted on your journey, and I'll be looking for updates.

Happy Birthday Melissa(one day) ! I hope you had a good one! How's the wl going? Me, not good this weekend. DH brought sweets home yesterday and we were like two alcoholics. We ate them till they were gone. Then I went to see It's Complicated today, and yes, ate some Whoppers. What is wrong with me? By the way, the movie is really funny.

Welcome Sabrina! I'm sorry to read about your horrible experience with the band. I can't really speak personally to your questions. I know with my recovery, as a new wls patient, I would have been just fine going on a cruise 6 weeks post-op, but wouldn't plan on eating normally at that point or drinking alcohol. As for drinking, I don't do it personally, but I've read about others who do further out and have no problems. My nutritionist/surgeon said carbonated drinks were out after surgery. According to them there is a slight possibility that carbonation can stretch the pouch, but no research has been done to agree or disagree with this. Hopefully some people will chime in soon that has more personal experience with your questions. Good luck!

True, but that is not what qualifies it as an addiction. Some people have an addiction to sex, gambling, shopping, etc...none of which will cause death if the addiction were withdrawn. Even with alcoholism, life-threatening physiological responses aren't always a fact. It depends on how long that person has been an alcoholic and how much they've been drinking. My brother, 4 uncles and several cousins are all alcoholics. At some point in their lives, they all just went cold turkey without life-threatening complications. At this stage of their addiction, it would definitely be life threatening. I think that is a very good point even for those with an addiction. Addicts don't just quit their particular demon. They get group and individual support. They have a mentor who looks out for them and who's there during their moments of crisis. They get therapy to learn behavior modification. Changing our behavior is just the beginning. Unless we figure out what sets us off, we'll continue to go round and round with our weight. It's great aversion therapy. I made a cherry kuchen to take to a homebound acquaintance's home when I visit this afternoon and I timed it so that it would be out of the oven after I'd eaten lunch because if I try to eat a piece of that now, after I'm full from lunch, Hilda (my band) is going to slap me hard. I'd make a lousy spy because I'd do just about anything to avoid pain. :w00t:

Elfie, I'm willing to accept that. I don't have a particular issue with carbs; while I may want and crave them, I don't experience any sort of physiological reaction when I eat (or do not eat) them. I do eat "cleanly," and avoid refined carbs to maximize my health and loss. But it's not to avoid symptoms. I think there are probably as many different answers to WHY as there are people. My point was that for ME, identifying what's going on in my head is useful when I'm trying to change my behavior. It's not required--I can white-knuckle any kind of change. But for long-term success, I do better if I'm able to say, "Oh, I've just hit the 30-pound down mark, and the last time I weighed this little, x, y, and z were going on. Wow, that was uncomfortable; I wonder whether approaching this weight again is stirring up feelings that are causing me to get in my own way." Obviously, that does not mean that other things (types of foods eaten, and so on) don't require change. It just is helpful. I made the distinction between alcoholics and addicts in that, while it's great for an alcoholic to recognize what triggered his/her disease, once it IS a disease, that knowledge is relatively useless. If you withdraw alcohol, life-threatening physiological responses occur, and medical intervention is required. I hadn't considered that for some, banding might represent a similar sort of medical intervention to help treat carb addiction. Interesting to ponder.

It isn't different and that is why the medical community now recognizes there is such a thing as food addiction. You're also comparing from two different angles. A food addict is addicted to food and there is a physical dependence as I explained in my previous post. You said, "if you don't overeat you don't experience physical and neurological changes that threaten your life." Guess what. Neither does an alcoholic. It is only when the alcoholic is in the throes of his addiction, or withdrawing from it, that he does...as does the food addict in the throes of their addiction and/or their withdrawal from it. *You* may not be a food addict. As I said in my previous post, there are many reasons for being overweight and not all of them are necessarily a result of an addiction. As part of my doctoral degree, I was required to go through therapy myself and I know that my relationship with food absolutely meets all the criteria of an addiction. That 'revelation' is actually what led me to WLS. I agree that not everyone's will be an 'addiction', but in the meantime we should not be making judgments about someone else's relationship with food. First because most here are not trained in behavioral modification therapy or any other type of therapy and even those of us who are only see a fraction of a person's true thoughts and feelings in these posts. .

A food addiction is physical. If I eat *any* type of carbs found in Pasta, Beans, rice, bread (basically any flour product whether it be whole grain or refined), I set up a chemical reaction in my body that physically craves more of these carbs. I went on Atkins for 5 months and lost 70 lbs. The first week was the hardest. I was literally going through withdrawal. I had all of the physical symptoms of withdrawal as well...nausea, lightheadedness, headaches, etc. After the 2nd week of absolutely no carbs, I was fine. No cravings, no 'compulsion' to eat. The *first* bite of carbs I put in my system and it was downhill from there on a rollercoaster binge. So I learned not to eat carbs...at all...and I lost 70 pounds. At some point it just became too much to avoid all carbs. So no more weight loss. Fortunately, I didn't gain it back though because I increased my activity to compensate. However, I deal with it from another angle -- diabetes. The only way to keep my blood sugar levels within a normal range is to either give up carbs completely...or take insulin. No surprise I'm on insulin. The band helps me deal with my carb addiction because I physically cannot eat the carbs except in tiny quantities...and yes, when I sit there and finish my 1/4 cup of potatoes, rice, a roll, etc...within 30 minutes my body starts screaming "MORE!" and the only thing that stops me is knowing that if I do, I will get immediate, painful feedback. We (therapists) call it 'aversion therapy'. Like the drug they give alcoholics that makes them nauseated and feel sick if they drink while taking the medication. Calling something an 'addiction' doesn't make it an excuse. It's just an explanation for the behavior. If calling it an 'addiction' is an excuse, then the same applies to alcoholism, gambling, shopping or any other 'addiction'. Just pull yourself up by your boot straps and fix it. Fortunately, we're coming out of the dark ages and recognizing that people can be addicted to food and it's not completely about willpower or self-control. It's about a physical craving. This may not be true of all overweight people. Some people eat to bury their pain. Some just eat the wrong things or aren't active enough. My mom dropped 75 pounds and has kept it off by doing nothing more than kicking her 12 cans of Pepsi and bag of chips a day habit and getting off her butt. She now drinks diet-pepsi and rarely eats potato chips and stays active. Some of us have a physical addiction. In any case, until we each find the reason for why we overeat, we'll always be fat. Just ask the people who've been banded for years and still are. .

I'm with Betsy on this one. I have a problem with alcohol, gambling and food. None of these are addictions for me. They are compulsions. I hide behind them or use them to fill in voids in my life. Finding a non-destructive hobby will definitely curb all of the above. Calling it an addiction is just a way of justifying your actions to yourself and others. Deb, You did great for a couple of weeks but were you depriving yourself of the things you now crave? If so, that is where the problem lays. There are no bad foods when eaten in moderation. It sounds like you may have been trying a little too hard. Meet in the middle and eat at a rate where you will lose half as much as you were over the last couple of months. You'll still lose weight, yet you won't be depriving yourself as much.