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Well, you are not supposed to drink alcohol for at least two years. My suggestion is to give up the smokes and give up the drinking as well since alcohol has empty calories and can bring up your weight very fast not to mention alcohol will not make you feel very well when you drink it. Be sure to read all the literature BEFORE your surgery.

Jewel, I found with my alcoholic ex and a few other dysfunctional people in my life that the best response is often no response. I think I might ask my husband not to tell me anything negative or any opinions my MIL expressed to him. Ask him to either keep it to himself or to refuse to listen and to direct his MIL to speak to me directly and to let her know he will not be conveying anything she says. It's not his job to be go-between. Id' express sympathy for the position he's in and ask him to support me by protecting me from her negativity by not even telling me she said anything. Walk away the second your MIL gets negative. Tell her you have to make a phone call or do homework or whatever. It is not rude to walk away from someone who is rude. I've found words like, "Oh, is that what you think." or "That's certainly one point of view." or even "You could be right." can also defuse negative people. Then just quietly continue doing what you need to do. Probably more advice than you need or want. But the more tools you have in your tool kit for dealing with her, the better you'll do with your food. Cheri

hello friends i went to my 1st consultation yesterday. i havent booked the date of the procedure yet, but im aiming for mid January 2010. i learned about the procedure and the diet before and after, so i decided to wait until after the holidays (my birthday aswell) to start the pre diet (new years res). but i have a few questions....... im 28 years old, no kids, and like to go out and have fun....... can anyone who has had the band for a while, tell me what its like to go out and drink alcohol (im not talking about often, or black out drunk or anything like that) night out with the girls???? also any smokers out there....they say no smoking for 2 weeks before and after.....i dont no if i can quit. anyone not quit and it matter in the procedure i dont want to get sick thanks.....and many more questions to come

WOW this is so wierd...my assistant and I were just talking about this very same thing! I quit smoking in May and still have awful cravings, but not when I drink. I gave up drinking alcohol and coffee for the first 3 months and a year ago I got a new car so I stopped smoking in it back then. My assistant asked if I plan to start smoking after the surgery and my first thought was YES! but I really don't want to for health reasons. I have gained 15 lbs since quitting so a lot of my reasons for wanting to smoke are at night when I want to eat due to boredom...I would rather smoke but then again, I really need to do something else. Plus, if my stomach is smaller, maybe I won't have that "need to nibble" feeling. Still, I wonder what I will actually do. It would be a shame to quit for so long to start back...again....I quit for 5 years in my 20s and started back after a divorce and increase in going out drinking. :thumbup:

I am not worried about alcohol ,, it's when I drink I want to have a cigarette. I had to quiet to have my surgery. So I can't drink but one are two drinks .Before I would want one. Did y'all quiet smoking and went back?????

patty: "440,000 people die annually from cigarette smoking, and the solution to it is very easy. Outlaw it like they do other things. That is 9X more than those without health insurance, yet noone gives a crap about those people who die. Absolutely NOTHING is being done about it. They force us to wear our seatbelts in the car, but they can't take away the cigs? And what about alcohol related deaths annually? There are so many people who die in the country from all sorts of things, that doesn't mean that the national government needs to make sure that these deaths don't happen. It doesn't mean that the feds need to take on the problem. To take on all that responsibility would be impossible. The national government was not created for these reasons." So what are you saying, patty? You WANT the Feds to control everything (taking away their cigarettes and your twinkies to save lives) or NOT ("all that responsibility would be impossible"). Can't you make up your mind? Or are you having a giant argument with yourself? patty: "I care about everyone. Jesus said, 'The poor you will have with you always.' This is just life." Sounds like you've interpreted that Jesus quote to mean that we shouldn't bother with the poor. They're here to stay and we can't be saving them all. Shucks, it's just too bad about them, but they don't work like everybody else so they deserve what they get. Jesus didn't mean that. You've taken something out of context to make your point. Jesus cared deeply about the poor. Far more than the rich people. You suggested that we give all the money that would be spent to the corporations. That's a telling statement, to be sure! At least you're open about your non-charitable views.

440,000 people die annually from cigarette smoking, and the solution to it is very easy. Outlaw it like they do other things. That is 9X more than those without health insurance, yet noone gives a crap about those people who die. Absolutely NOTHING is being done about it. They force us to wear our seatbelts in the car, but they can't take away the cigs? And what about alcohol related deaths annually? There are so many people who die in the country from all sorts of things, that doesn't mean that the national government needs to make sure that these deaths don't happen. It doesn't mean that the feds need to take on the problem. To take on all that responsibility would be impossible. The national government was not created for these reasons.

I also was told I was fat when I weighed 113 lbs in Jr High. I too use food as my drug of choice. I have an addictive personality. My family history is full of alcoholics. I eat for all emotions I have. I am thankful for this band. It's helping me get that all under control. I will be victorious. Linda in WA Banded 10/30/09

OK, long time ago and long story, but I got alcohol poisoning in college, called the poison control hotline and they said to sip on the juice from a can of peaches or pears (packed in 100% juice, not syrup). After three days of vomiting non-stop it's the only thing that helped the nausea subside. It's not carbonated either, might be worth a try...

I am a biker who is in a club, and the only thing we really do is ride and Party! I am about 10 weeks post op and down about 40lbs so far and I drink about once a week. I used to drink pretty heavy pre surgery, but now I am much more careful due to the calorie intake. I have stayed away from Beer and soda (hard since I love Burbon and coke) but have found whiskey sours to be just fine. I mix them myself, using crystal light lemonade and they are pretty good. If I'm @ the bar I just order a shot and a glass of water then I mix my own and has never been an issue yet. I would be careful right after post op, alcohol and meds don't mix well. Other than that, drink and be merry!

Hey everyone, I'm Angela. I'm a 31 year old nurse (You'd think I'd know better then to let this happen to me...). I've been overweight now for the last 12 years. Basically since I got married. The interesting part is that I lost the husband, but not the weight LOL. Too bad it didn't go WITH him. I'm 5'4'' and 250. My heaviest was 275, and about 4 months ago, I busted my ass at the gym, along with a diet (shake and whole foods plan) and got down to 221. I've since, gained it back. I had a consultation with Dr Paul Cirangle in San Francisco and it went well, I'm just not sold on the Band. It's invasive, it's surgery (although smaller then any other option out there), and it's "permanent". I feel like I should be able to succeed without the Band, however, obviously haven't up to this point. The one thing that Dr Cirangle said that resonanted most with me, was that the band helps you fill your stomach from the "top down" not the "bottom up". That made my analogical mind think "coffe pot percolating method", so its a "drip down" kinda picture. That made sense to me. I know I'm addicted to food, and unfortunately, unlike alcohol, drugs or even sex, you HAVE to have it to survive. So where that leaves me, I don't know. I'm an emotional eater and have portion control issues. Just thought I'd come here to see what I could find, and talk to some people who've been here too. Thanks, Angela

Newmom, I know what you mean about the incision being covered. I clean them twice a day with alcohol and cover them all! The big one is itching and seems scabbed over but not chancing anything. I had surg Dec 4. Glad you are finding protein you can tolerate. I have a whole box of samples for shakes that I can't stand. I should have gotten unflavored powder and put it in drinks or does that have a smell also? I'm just so glad I feel better every day!

It will open a can of worms, lol. I'm pretty hardcore about this, and I think that depends on how much you inherently like exercise. People get really shirty about it because, well, the truth hurts I guess. They dont like to be told that their nice easy routine is not going to give them the same benefits as something more challenging. Not that walking isnt beneficial! Can you consistently lose weight with eating less and a couple of walks a week?. For sure. It will slow and if you're really heavy, you probably wont get to a normal weight just doing this, it simply wont be enough long term. It also wont really give you what I'd term "fitness", although it has loads of health benefits and will keep you generally healthy, so if its what you like doing and all you want to do, go for it and dont torture yourself thinking you should do more. You can definitely get your BMI from 45 to 29, size 24 to 14 type results with this sort of routine. That might be all you ever want to achieve and Healthwise, that's stellar! Your cardiologist would be mighty pleased with you and your life will be longer and richer as a result. But if you want to reach a low BMI, like under 25, you want a good muscular toned body and to minimise flab from your weight loss, and if you really want to rev your metabolism so that weight maintenance is absolutely effortless and you can pretty much eat normally (your new normal, but still pretty much like other people, with some carbs, some treats, a bit of alcohol occasionally) then you will need more. I do sweat inducing, heart rate in the 80% max plus range, bootcamp and running style workouts five or six times a week. My easy days are a 4 mile jog in about 35 minutes, my hard days are full on boot camp, tons of sprinting, body weight stuff like chin ups, pushups, squats, lunges etc. The fitness its given me has given me an energy and vitality that walking could never ever come close to, I am a human dynamo now and I get SO much done in a day, and never get tired. Its awesome. I have great muscle tone, really nicely shaped upper body and I guess I've done the best I can with my well cushioned rear, my stomach is flat as a pancake, I can wear a bikini and look good in it at almost 43 years old AFTER 3 babies, my skin glows, what more can I say really. I cant recommend this sort of exercise enough, it pays handsome rewards and will make your weight loss and particularly maintenance journey much much much easier. But it takes a bit of willpower before you can learn to love it. I actually crave it now, to me walking is just a nice pasttime but not really exercise.

Hi All! It's been a while but I'm just checking and I'm glad to see that there are a few new people around and that everyone seems to be doing so well. Since my last fill I have finally joined the losing group of lapbandsters. For a long time I was really struggling with this but I may have found or am very close to my "sweet spot". I am now definitely not able to eat pasta, bread or potatoes. Rice for whatever reason I'm OK with. I totally envy those of you still able to eat perogies!! Having a polish grandmother that practically forces them on you makes it hard to not eat them. I am struggling a bit with getting protein in if for no other reason than I can not eat chicken or pork. They get stuck no matter how I seem to prepare them. Ground beef is ok, but I've never been a big eater of beef unless it was ground, never liked steak or anything. I'm finding that fish and shellfish are my best bet to get my protein in. Which is a big adjustment having come a typical north american family chicken is mostly what was served at out table. After my October fill I lost about 2 pounds which was a great start after my whole de-fill gain and plateau stage. Now since the fill I had in November I'm down about 5. Yippee! With the holiday season fast approaching I had thought I would have more trouble with all those tasty foods that really aren't good for you. So far so good though. I've actually baked a disgusting amount of treats to give out to co-workers and have no desire to eat any of them after the initial sampling to make sure they were actually worthy of being gifts. I've made it through three Christmas parties where I had a couple drinks at each, and let me tell you my alcohol tolerance is now about the same as a 12 year old. I'm back at the clinic between Christmas and New Years (the 28th I believe) for another check up so maybe I'll see some of you there! :thumbup:

Hello VegasAngel, Thank you!! I have not went to a meeting in quite some time, but I know I need to go . I have not got a token in about 3 years since moving back to KY. I have been alcohol free since October 13, 1984. That was 25 years on October 13, 2009. You have a good day! I am doing ok with my sleeve so far, The weight is coming off each day or so.

I go for my pre-op interview with the surgeon on Tuesday the 15th and am scheduled for surgery the 18th. Already started the diet. Im a little nervous, but more anxious to get this over with. I've already set my mind to commit 100% to this, including exercise. I joined the gym a couple weeks ago. This liver shrinking process has me a little concerned. I did have an alcoholic beverage or two the other day to calm my nerves. Will this have an adverse affect?

I think if I drank I would be flat on the floor too... with the lack of all the food that use to be in my belly to absorb most of the alcohol.. I can't even imagine. But I will have a little sparkling wine on new years... we'll see how that goes...LOL.

Hey, you guys still up??? Hopefully you are all tucked in and sleeping by this time... It's 1:30 here... I've been doing pretty well the last couple of days.. Actually slept all night in bed with DH last night.. He was shocked, of course!! So, tonight I went to bed but didn't take any sleeping or pain pills..... No pain tonight, so why take the dang pill........ Well, I rolled around for quite some time from 11:30 to 12:30 and then must have dosed off, but only to wake at 1:00 with aches and pains, but not my shoulder!!!! Go figure... I guess those pills have been covering for other things I wasn't even aware of!!!.... Anyway I had to read your posts and Apples, I surely do understand your need to vent a little.... I'm a very organized type and make plans and when someone messes with my plans I get grouchy!!! I'm glad you got all that off your chest.... Did you happen to tell DH he better not do it again for at least a week or two??? Hope this new day is a better on for you... Lori, hope you know what you're doing tomorrow... I don't like the sound of you cleaning for 8 hours this close to your surgery.... might hurt something..... I'm hoping you have the day off and enjoy it emmensely.... Janet, it sounds like you aren't having a bad time adjusting to this furlough day... If it wasn't for the money, it would be a good deal..... Just for your information.............. I hate coffee..........and everything about it... DH is addicted... He is a 37 year recovering alcoholic and evidentally drinks coffee like he used to drink beer and liquor.. I never knew him when he drank... But this coffee thing wouldn't be so bad, but he makes such a mess with it.. He spills making it, pouring it, drinking it........ And everywhere... the counters, the living room....(hard on carpets, thus another reason to consider something other for new flooring in the spring!!) the vehicles.... Maybe if I like drinking it I would be more tolerant... but I have never liked it at all.... Then when he tries to clean it up he uses my dishcloth and wipes, but doesn't rinse the rag so it makes it stained.. I don't have a decent looking one in the house anymore because of that... When he was gone for 15 months on active duty in Iraq from 12-03 to 2--5, it was the only thing I didn't miss about him... I even got to missing his dirty socks laying everywhere.....(That's a whole new vent, so won't go there....) So, there's my venting for the evening, too.... This site really is like group counseling... They sometimes tell you to write your feelings down and then throw it away... just get it out... I guess that's what we do here sometimes... Well, I'm hoping my pills will kick in soon, so nightie night everyone... Hope you are all snoozing away.... Til tomorrow.............. Julie

Quit smoking and do not drink alcohol at least 2 weeks prior to the surgery. Smoking and alcohol intake increase the risk of complications and may also slow recovery.

Married? How long? Is there support from your family? How long have you been at your current job? Anyone else in your family obese? Are your parents alive? Are they a healthy weight or have a drug or alcohol problem? Do you have a drug or alcohol problem? How much do you drink? Do you have children? Do you binge or purge? What do you think this operation is going to do? Have you thought about after the surgery and the restrictions and "rules" you are going to have to follow? Typical questions and I answered all of them honestly and as short as I could. I've never been to a psychologist so I was a bit nervous. I think they are just trying to see if you are in a stable frame of mind and have the support of family or friends. Good luck and don't sweat it!

Girl, you and I are in totally the same exact boat!!! Down to the same day of the surgery! I started the same clear liquid restricted diet on tuesday and my mouth is doing the same thing. Also, my sense of smell is really really weird. I was cooking my family their dinner and as the chicken was baking I seriously thought I was going to be sick. It smelled like rotten chicken. And the brocolli...blech. And I love my veggies. Weird. Are you getting that way around food? And yes, I'm so tired. I went to bed at 10 last night and that's not like me AT ALL. Then today I cleaned the house and decorated for Christmas and I was exhausted. I fell asleep on the sofa while my son was watching TV for about 15 mins. I was exhausted. Just a few more days is what I keep telling myself. Just a few more days. Did you notice you feel fine about an hour after you drink a shake and then the hunger pains start up? I've never had hunger pains like this. This really hurts to where I can't think what so ever. As for your headaches...yep, yep, yep. I notice that if I drink a big glass of Water the headache goes away. Did you give up caffeine cold turkey? That might be it. My morning shakes I've been putting 4 oz of cold coffee in a vanilla shake. It's pretty good and I get a little caffeine. Please feel free to PM me anytime if you need to chat. We can help eachother out. Oh! And gum, I've been chewing the heck out of sugar free gum. Even though my doc said no to sugar alcohols like what is in SF gum. But good grief. :eek: I did the broth one day and I can't do it. I'd rather have a shake.

My nutritionist said wine is okay eventually. Just have to develop healthy habits first which takes a few months. The concern is that alcohol can cause you to make bad food choices as well. But I must confess (whispering) I had 5oz. of Merlot today...shhh. But I included it in my food journal and the nutritionist will see it Monday. Ohhh I am gonna get it! Haha! But I walked 29 city blocks everyday this week, so there.

I have absolutely zero regrets about having sleeve surgery. I don't miss food, I haven't developed any further addictions because of the weight loss. And believe me, I have an addictive personality, and struggled with addiction when I was younger. I'm about to turn 33 so I understand your concerns. I did not have the classic co-morbidities even at 5'2" weighing 270 pounds, but I did have joint pain. No high blood pressure, no cholesterol issues, nothing except being fat, and knowing that if I didn't do something, I would for sure die early or live on medications because of my weight issue. I can tell you from my experience as a band to sleeve revision that I am so happy, and live my life to the fullest that I don't have time for any other addictions. I used to be a big drinker, bar hopper (before I was married), and was concerned that I would turn to alcohol to fill the void since I couldn't eat large quantities. But, guess what, I have not had anything to drink since my revision in June. I have zero desire to drink. I always loved to shop so that wasn't an issue either, but I can tell you that shopping is a lot more fun now. If you are concerned about other (called transfer) addictions, ask your surgeon if their program includes a support group. If they do not have support group see if you can find one on meetup.com in your local area. And, you can always turn to us here for help, questions or concerns.

Wow as usual lots of posts since I was here last and I just dont have the time to read them all, so apologies to everyone. Bo Bo, thanx so much for the nice compliment, that was really nice of you. Carrie you look amazing, you are some babe now aintcha!!! Fatpants and Homecare great to hear from you both xxx Adcol, firstly...welcome good luck with you're trying for a baby when you've lost your weight. Actually I was looking at your profile and you're not really much overweight for your height are you. But why does it say you are going for your op in 1969? lol I had to read it 3 times, and it does say that lol. My daughter has a band and has been pregnant and so has Mmm's daughter, so plenty of info around. I went for a fill with freddyboy today, he is a sweetie, but he said he couldnt put back in the 3 he took out in early October, he put in 2 and a quarter, which I dont feel is enough. he told me to stay on liquids for 3 days, to give my body chance to get used to the restriction again. I have gained 4lbs according to his scales, but I have been bad since I came home from my hols, eating and drinking anything, though not big portions, must be the alcohol. If I need another fill, I'll have to wait until after Crimbo now, seems unfortunate that I have to cough up another 90 quid, cos I'm greedy. Maggs I'm waiting for the pics of the new baby btw lol. Soon kids xxxx