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Hi all, I celebrated my 6 months surgiversary last Thursday. I made the goal I wanted: 70 lbs. lost post-surgery in 6 months. The six-month checkup went well. I've been trying hard to stick to Kaiser's guidelines and they are working for me. I'm now cleared for 1-2 alcoholic drinks per week. Yahoo! I'm going to start out with a small glass of port, probably this weekend. I'm planning on enjoying Thanksgiving this coming week, but I hope not so much that I dont' lose. I've lost every week since surgery and I don't want to break that streak yet! Lynda My Christmas Goal also includes reaching the following goals: 154 lbs.: I'm a NORMAL BMI!!!! and I have 19 lbs. to goal 154: I've lost 100 lbs total - 32 pre-op and 68 post-op. I'm in the Century Club! 152: I've lost 70 lbs. post-op 149: My number starts with 14. I haven't weighed this since the mid-90s. 146: I've lost 10% of my total body weight for the fourth time since the operation. I have less than 10% of my body weight to go to goal, so it will be my last 10% loss. 145: 10 lbs. to go to my final goal! 144: My Christmas goal and I've lost 110 lbs. (32 pre-op and 78 post op). 9 lbs. to my final goal!!! Christmas Goal: SW-157.9.............CW-150.4...............Christmas Goal-144 Oct 28: 157.9 Nov. 4: 155 Nov. 11: 152.8 Nov. 18: 150.4 Nov. 25: Dec. 2: Dec. 9: Dec. 16: Dec. 23: Christmas:

I think this is the most important episode for anyone looking into having WLS or for anyone who has already had it. WLS is NOT a magic solution. I've noticed many of the showcases on this show start out thinking that, then they get smacked upside the head with reality. Some face the demons and straighten it out - while others, like last night's Penny contain their pacifiers. Living with a co-dependent person such as herself and her husband is a detriment to truly beating any addiction. Whether it be drugs, alcohol or in this case food. IMHO, anyone who has become obese has some element of food addiction. How can they not? Until everyone in that position embraces this fact, they will always fall off the wagon (including myself). She was playing his love for her against him, and he fell for it hook, line and sinker. He likes the life they're living, based on some of his commentary on the show. He expressed that he hoped she didn't expect all of them to eat on a diet. He is complete denial too. I was in awe at how much! I couldn't believe the excuses coming out of both of their mouths. They truly do live in a "fantasy world". Someone on my FB mentioned that she revised to RnY. If that's true then she's getting a second chance and I pray she gets it right this time. However, it's not likely because she thinks all of her troubles will be over by fixing her stomach. It's really our brains we need to work on simultaneously.

Had surgery yesterday when I woke up from surgery I was super nauseous, my throat was so dry they gave me anti nauseous medicine still didn’t work they put something behind my ear gave me more medicine then I smelled some alcohol from hospital. Finally felt better for pain in taking Tylenol I request lowest form of pain meds I’m not hurting at all. My stomach doesn’t hurt where the operation was done only the top but it’s gas I could actually feel it bubbling I’ve burpped a few times feel much better. Today I’m supposed to drink haven’t been allowed to drink anything yet since surgery it was yesterday morning right now it’s 7 am in New York. I did brush my teeth last night and this morning made my mouth better since it was dry.

okay, so many of you may be wondering where on earth Ive been, and what Ive been doing? Well it has been a bumpy road to tell you the truth...I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which I am still trying to find a cheap therapist to really evaluate me again because I really really dont think that I am. I moved back to my hometown due to excessive partying, overspending, and lack of school work. I have to pay for my own college now, which is not a result of losing the money this year, we really could not afford another year at a 4-year university. I am going to finish out my Associates at the community college I attended in High School, I only have a year left, then I can take that degree and hopefully get a job that can help me pay for my Bachelors. I havent given up on my education whatsoever. I moved back to my hometown also to get my life straight, and to chill out with the party scene. I only go out on the weekends, which I only include Friday and Saturday night. Im doing really well with my drinking as far as not doing it as often as I used to, Im very happy for that, I was on the road to alcoholism. Now for the bad...Im very depressed since I moved back, I am trying to get a good job here in hopes of getting back to Corpus Christi ASAP! No real good bites so far but Im trying. Recently I was diagnosed with having multiple, large Ovarian Cysts which I will have checked again in June as well as a cancer test, just to be sure. Im a little scared because I am displaying MANY symptoms of the known cancer symptoms, however that doesnt necessarily mean I have it. I am infertile, but its only temporary, for about 2-3 years, which Im too young to have children right now anyway. Recently, I had the worst weekend in a LONG time, and I just cant help to think it wouldnt have happened had I been in CC. It started Friday night....... Friday night I called and had my friend (Mando) buy me and my friend some beer...Ive known him for about 7 years! And when he got back he charged me an extra 6 dollars for getting it for me, which is ridiculous because he was already at the beer store buying for other ppl, BUT not to be the Bitch, I just paid it. My friend and I went to use the restroom, came back and EVERY SINGLE BEER was GONE, disappeared from the fridge! My best friend's BF and his friend let me have their beer so I was cool, but I figured out Mando took our beer, which is ridiculous! So we are all boozing, having fun, and all that left at that party are the two guys that live there, their friend, my friend and her man, and Mando and I. Im a little tipsy, and when Im that way I dont get mad at anything or anyone, I love the world, so Mando and I are talking or whatever and he's like lets go to my house and grab another CD, I trust him because Ive known him FOREVER, never would have touched me when I was bigger...he made a pass at me and I shot him down. Then next thing I know he gets me in the car and drives off too fast for me to jump out...he took me to someones house and raped me...I fought back best I could without causing too big a scene....last thing I need is the Mafia after me for ratting him out....I cant really do anything about it....ofcourse you all are going to say I shouldve reported it, but gangs here are scary, hes not in one, BUT they would back him because he is mexican and Im white...I have to live here another year, I dont need my life to be miserable, or worse, ended. Then Saturday night, no body knows what happened Friday, nor will they ever, mind you Im still upset about the previous night, the only reason I went out is because I knew he wouldnt be there, someone starts running their head asking me what did mando and I do the previous night....I got pissed off and just said, "absolutely nothing." Then some other guys made some lude comments about women, which pissed me off....I went to another party with other friends and get a phone call that all my old neighbors (whom I lent a lot of money and other items too, they used me til I had nothing left), stole some decorations and stuff off my door in CC....I got pissed off, got into with all of them, BUT it felt so good to let it all out. My Saturday night was mostly ruined.....THEN Sunday I got a phone call from a lawyer in Corpus and they wanted to hire me onto their firm starting at secretary, then moving up to Paralegal! Had they called 2 weeks ago, I would still be in CC and none of this would have happened. Also, I called Dr. Spiegel's office this morning, and Ive got to tell you, they have the worse customer service EVER! I havent been in town, and I need a fill BADLY! Im gaining weight. Im going to be in the area on Thursday, but they couldnt do it, so I was like well, I can wait as long as the 20th of May......they couldnt get me in til June 11! Thats too late, thats a 2 hour drive for me and gas is almost $3 a gallon! I cant afford a trip JUST to get a fill, I had other things to do in the area before the 20th, now I have to make 2 freakin trips! They used to would be be able to get me in within a week or week and a half! Im so pissed and upset about the situation! So there's my life for the past little while, if youve read my previous posts youre probably wondering what about the boys? WELL........I got rid of the bartender, the breakup issue was actually my fault, lol, however it was funny! The stripper and I still talk every now and then, but its strictly that, I had started seeing the bartender's friend (which probably wasnt the best of ideas lol) but had to end it when I left, however he still calls me and checks on me whenever he has time.....AND through the magic of MySpace, a waiter that had flirted with me at a restuarant a little, but I didnt pick up on it, found me and without being creepy told me that he thought I was gorgeous the first time he saw me, and thats why he picked up the table! It wasnt even in his section! AWWWWW! lol He's actually a good guy! I wish I was back in CC, he knows Im not there and he wants me to come back so badly! I want to too. Hes super cute, in the Navy, and so far a gentleman, however they all are at first lol! So there it is..........sorri so long

Jodie being bipolar does not make you crazy. You are the one who keeps using that word. Plenty of people here have given you advice to try and help you but you seem to just want to do your own thing. Fine, do your own thing if that makes you feel better. There are plenty of people in the world who can't afford everything they would like. However for some if they know it is necessary they will do everything in their means to get it. My point is that if you really wanted that fill you would save up money for it. You would find another job, you would do something other than complain. The meaning of alcohol having empty calories is that they are just more calories to burn that give you no nutritional value. If a beer has 120 calories and the "typical 19-20 year old" has 6 beers, that is 720 extra calories you have had for the day.

lol that was too funny jenny I actually havnt gone to my Doc in a long time I mentioned it after the first few months and was told it was normal and that it would go away eventually and to swing my arm around and use heat pads and hot Water bottles and stuff but no joy. Sometimes its not to bad other times its extremly painful Strangly though sometimes it will start when I drink alcohol aswel!! Ufortunatly we dont have walmart here in Ireland humming bird but I'l have a look and see can I get some online anything that will help Thanks

This is some of the most valid, straight up honest advice you are likely to receive here. The VSG is great, but you have to own your part of the responsibility. Im a year out and restriction is lessened. On the weekends, im very likely to cheat and have alcohol or a food that is indulgent, but during the week i am eating small and mostly protein. Its worked for me, but i can see where it wouldnt be hard to fall off the wagon. Im currently in a 4 lb swing back and forth, but i can live with it, because Im the same weight i was when i graduated high school, 30 years ago.

That would be hard! I did 25g NET carbs, so I didn’t count fibre nor sugar alcohols…

:think :think :think :think :think My mother as we were growing up after every meal we would hear her in the bathroom throwing up. She was and is a glutton. (That was back in the early 50's through the nineties.) We thought she had a bad stomach, but since have figured out it was bulimia but then it didn't have a name. She would eat so much then purge everyday. Couldn't have been figured out by kids. In 1996 she had a very bad heart attack and required bypass (FIRST SURGERY)which is usually fairly routine these days. After she was released from the hospital she called me the next evening and said please come over..I hurt so bad in my back I just can't stand it. Anyway, I called the Dr. and he said get her into the hospital immediately. I did and after having her breast bone sawn in two the breast bone instead of mending back together had died. She had necrosis of the sternum. They had to remove the bone (SECOND SURGERY) and then after that..which took a very long time that evening. They wheeled her into the hospital room after her recovery time. I stayed with her so the rest of my family could go back to their jobs and during that morning everytime she moved slightly in that bed...blood flowed copiously from the wound that they left open since it had to heal from the inside out. When a change of nurses came on duty she came in when I called them to change the bedlinens for the unpteenth time she asked me how long the bleeding had been going on and it had been all day. She looked at the chart and realized they kept pumping blood into her and it was leaking directly out of the heart. Someone had punctured her heart during the surgery or after when they debrided (sp) the dead tissue that morning after surgery. DON'T FORGET THIS IS HER THIRD SURGERY! She has since 'recovered' but she is among the living dead. She lives to eat and has senility that makes her very forgetful and nasty to all of the family. She genuinely wishes she were dead. Anyone interested in living like that?... keep on eating and you too could be one of the living dead. I wish this story wasn't true but it is and very heartbreaking to all of us. Any questions or disbelief? I swear to God it is the reality of our lives and hers! Ask a heart surgeon if you don't believe this can and does happen! I beg everyone to read and heed...She has lived this way since 1996. People it is 2006. A long and unhappy 'Life'. By the way, I weighed more than her at the time of her 'pseudo death'. PS: FOURTH SURGERY In 2002 she had an episode of what we all thought was gall stones...Nope! She was opened up and her gallbladder could not be removed because it and her liver had grown together and had turned into what the doctor described as woody like. Never was a drinker so it was not from being an alcoholic. I am guessing that he was calling it cyrhosis of the liver. She is still among the 'living' with that problem.

Holy crap!! Literally! Ha! Thankfully your husband can laugh at the situation! I don't blame you for wanting to drink on your wedding night and being 8 months out, who would have thought that you would have had that reaction?! Any experiences with alcohol since then?? I'm dying to know!

Would you say cut some slack to a person who brought in alcohol when there was a recovering alcoholic in the house?? I'm not saying they can't eat it, there's plenty of places other than the house they can have it.... just don't bring it home.

This thread is causing me to rubberneck. Just when I am ready to look away, something new catches me. On my doctor's plan alcohol after a month is permitted if it isn't carbonated and if the patient wasn't a heavy drinker before. The plan says nothing about Cheezits or Catholicism, however. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

From what I've heard, at least from my surgeon (not sure what yours would say), after a year, once in a while drinks are okay, but be aware that because you have a smaller stomach, the alcohol will hit you differently. You won't need as much to get a buzz. It's also calorie-dense and dehydrates you, so keep that in mind as well.

Hey all! I had sleeve surgery on 6/25, tomorrow I see my surgeon for my 1 week post op and I’m containing the urge to weigh myself until then. 

I spent 1 night in the hospital, was able to get in enough fluids and was discharged the next afternoon. I live about an hour away from the hospital where I had surgery and summer traffic in the area doubled the time it took to get home. I was glad to have had a pillow in the car (after reading another person mention it to help going over road construction & such) it definitely helped with the stop and go traffic car jerking my hubby fought to drive me home. 

Everyday has gotten a little better with everything from pain to sleep, I slept for 5 solid hours last night before waking up (it’s killing me to sleep on my back, I’m a side sleeper normally). 

My incisions have been the most tender things once the gas pain dispersed. Mainly my large incision and the one to the right of it. But they are healing well with no heat, inflammation or anything concerning. 

I’m not taking real walks yet but have made sure to walk around the house often (every hour or so when awake) But today felt like a giant leap in energy as I got an itch to organize and unpack some things in my kitchen and did it before getting too tired out. 

Makes sense I get worn out quick as I’m on a watered down juice diet since surgery. But after my checkup tomorrow I will start 1 week of shakes on Thursday, followed by 2 weeks of soft foods, before moving into solid foods after my 1 month check up. 

Important side notes- I had my first BM 4 days after surgery. I attribute this to adding daily liquid Probiotics to my regiment (add to my first Water in the morning) when I came home (it was cleared through my program) & it helps promote healing. After all 70% of your immune system comes from the bacteria in your gut good,bad, or ugly. 

-I also dilute concentrated Protein with some water to get some protein in even while drinking mainly juice and I think this has helped with everything from having some energy to not feeling nauseous. 

Both of the above products are non-gmo/vegan/organic/no sugars/no sugar alcohols in them. I can’t wait to see the scale at my doctors tomorrow 😍




I tried shots,burned way too much. Cranberry and vodka. Or in my case, double shots of vodka. I logged every single calorie of my cranberry and vodka drinks in that night, and coming out around 500-600 calories in just alcohol alone was not one of my proudest moments. I had factored the alcohol in before hand and tweaked my diet accordingly but still. I have not had the urge to drink that much since. I suppose I had to get it out of my system. Kind of like my few bites of bread that I no longer crave either lol. As long as you don't make it a habit, one night if getting **** face wasted isn't going to kill you. If you start hardcore partying, you would face some serious problems. And yes, I had as much fun as I did before. Though the drunk feeling was a bit different. It's hard to explain. I can't drink as much as I could pre op though. I did keep up very well though, but looking back; other helped me drink my drinks, and I couldn't finish one. I instantly felt the alcohol though. Like I drank a few sips, and under 5 minutes later, I could feel it kicking in. 1 drink later and I was buzzing

Try finding an AA meeting in your area. It is SO COMMON for WLS folks to turn to alcohol. You are not alone.

i was a DIET ANYTHING finatic.. i quit when i started my pre op diet- along with quitting smoking- it was a habit for me just like smoking was- i miss going to the grocery store and picking up a diet coke for the ride home, or on the way to work, from work, at work...but i FEEL better- i have gotten rid of so much JUNK in my diet:smoking, alcohol, junk food, diet soda- and i feel good- ive lose 25lbs since I started my preop a month ago (was just banded on 2/27)- Even after the 6 months i dont plan on drinking diet soda any more- its NO GOOD FOR YOU!

You mean like lemon extract and the like? Aren't they alcohol based?

And if the government, an entity that feels entitled to regulate every other aspect of life for its citizens, should not be responsible for its most defenseless members (children and elderly), then whose job is it? Let's punish that baby because its dad spends his money on expensive rims instead of providing health care for his child. That makes perfect sense. I was not advocating publicly funded health care for the general population - just for those who have no other source of health care. How does the state "educate people in making good choices" when there ARE no choices? In the example I gave Jodie, what choices did you have for that young woman? Borrow from her parents...beg for help from churches. Is that the best the state can come up with? If being poor is wrong, maybe everyone who doesn't pull his/her own weight financially should just be executed. I'm sorry, but I will never be able to harden my heart to those less fortunate. I was raised by a single mom who very rarely saw any support from my alcoholic father. Yes, my mother had lots of help from her family and I don't know what would have become of us if she hadn't. And she had a college education, but it was still tough. My mother made most of my clothes and took in ironing to pay for my dancing lessons. I guess if I were growing up today and got a free lunch at school, someone would say, "She doesn't need that free lunch; her mother can afford to send her to dance class." What arrogance! I don't really like entitlement programs either. I worked with those people every day for 15 years and I know that too much of it saps ambition. But for such basic human needs programs as WIC and free school lunches, I just think it's small and mean-spirited to begrudge those things. It's food, for heaven's sake. And if memory serves from my own days in public school, not very good food, at that.

If you add just a tiny little bubble of air to the injection so that the bubble goes in last, it acts like a plug so the drug doesn't run out. I'm talking about a TINY bubble. (Tinnyyyyyy bubbles......<g>) You can also just hold an alcohol swab to the site for a minute or so with a bit of pressure. But that causes more bruising thus the air bubble. Just ask the nurse when they show you in the hospital.

It doesn't do that to everyone. It doesn't do that to me for the most part. I'm no expert...but it seems to me (just like alcohol) everyone has their own reaction to it.

Do they do alcohol tests? Are you worried about a nurse being drunk when you are in the hospital? And what about prescription drugs? Highly prevalent in the medical/nursing community. All of these studies note that the main drugs of choice for nurses are depressants/opioids/narcotics; marijuana is NONE of those. Sullivan, Eleanor J., Leclair Bissell, and Doris Leffler. "Drug use and disciplinary actions among 300 nurses." Substance Use & Misuse 25.4 (1990): 375-391. "A survey of 300 U.S. nurses recovering from alcohol and other drug dependency was conducted to describe the effect of drug use on job performance and related disciplinary actions. Subjects reported experimentation with or dependence on a variety of drug categories. Many visible effects on job performance were reported but only 23% reported disciplinary action against their nursing licenses. Females and older nurses were more often dependent on alcohol, while younger nurses and males reported narcotic dependency with greater frequency. Narcotic use was significantly related to disciplinary action." Trinkoff, Alison M., and Carta L. Storr. "Substance use among nurses: Differences between specialties." Journal of Addictions Nursing 10.2 (1998): 77-84. Dunn, Debra. "Substance abuse among nurses—defining the issue." AORN journal 82.4 (2005): 572-596. Trinkoff, Alison M., Carla L. Storr, and Mary Patricia Wall. "Prescription-type drug misuse and workplace access among nurses." Journal of addictive diseases 18.1 (1999): 9-17.

I kow this is an old thread, but I'm disturbed by the misinformation I've seen on these sites re: cannabis. I stopped smoking two weeks before surgery, and started smoking again about two weeks post-surgery. I don't drink or smoke cigarettes -- this is my relaxation/meditation/recreational substance of choice. I NEVER get hungry when I smoke; never have. In fact, if my stomach is upset for ANY reason, including hunger, smoking makes it feel better right away. Usually helps with headaches as well. I, too, am energized by it, more social, more focused. I think a lot of people who comment negatively have 1. never smoked weed 2. never smoked it responsibly as an adult 3. never smoked high-quality weed 4. have only ever read crap scare-tactic "studies"/propaganda about it and/or have insulated themselves from the real science on it. Marijuana is not addictive, toxic or detrimental to neurons; it is not a nervous system depressant (like alcohol). There has never been a recorded incident of marijuana overdose. According to a 2012 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), lifetime, moderate marijuana smoking (defined as at least one joint per day for seven years or one joint per week for 49 years) was not associated with adverse affects on pulmonary function. [1] Marijuana use is not associated with increased prevalence of certain types of cancers, such as melanoma, prostate cancer, or breast cancer. [2] Marijuana use has never been associated with higher prevalence of tobacco-related cancers such as lung cancer. [3] and [4] Investigators have concluded that using a vaporizor (very common these days) is even more "safe and effective." [5] and [6] Anecdotally, it has had ZERO negative impact on my post-surgical health, healing, energy, or appetite. In fact, just the opposite. ___ [1] Pletcher et al. 2012. Association between marijuana exposure and pulmonary function over 20 years. JAMA 307: 173-181. [2] Sidney et al. 1997. Marijuana use and cancer incidence. Cancer, Causes & Control 8: 722-728. [3] Hashibe et al. 2006. Marijuana use and the risk of lung cancer and upper aerodigestive tract cancer: results of a population-based, case-control study. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention 15: 1829-1834. [4] Marc Kaufman. "Study finds no cancer-marijuana connection," Washington Post. May 26, 2006. [5] Hazekamp et al. 2006. Evaluation of a vaporizing device (Volcano) for the pulmonary administration of tetrahydrocannabinol. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 95: 1308-1317. [6] Abrams et al. 2007. Vaporization as a smokeless cannabis delivery system: a pilot study. Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics 82: 572-578.

Do they do alcohol tests? Are you worried about a nurse being drunk when you are in the hospital?

What is the rule about drinking alcohol? I think I read somewhere to wait about 6 months after surgery. Is that correct? In the past I averaged one drink every month during social gatherings. Has your doctor recommended anything to you about this?