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you are too funny! Thanks. Yes, it will be funny to bump into him in about a year from now when I'm down 100 lbs and show him!!! Do I miss him, yes, but I miss being having that "person" in the house. I must add that I watched him become an alcoholic the last 4 yrs of our marriage and he is still to this day. 2 yrs ago he got a DUI and just this past Feb got arrested for public intoxication, so he has gone downhill. Lost a corporate job over his drinking. With that being said, I'm glad its over from that aspect. He was never abusive, just was out drinking every night and it led to an affair which devastated me. I didn't have the surgery to get skinny and show him by no means, I was tired of feeling sick and tired all of the time and knew something had to change or I was going to die! I watched my dad die of heart disease from early obesity, his latter yrs he had lost his weight on his own but I didn't have the will power. I treat this Lap Band as a tool to help me. And your 3 yr old, wow, I doubt very seriously if I could haul her around, lol. Heck a sack of potatoes is hard enough, ha ha ha.

I think the specific transfer to alcoholism is more common in surgeries like RnY and DS because they can get drunk VERY quickly with their rearranged anatomy...I'm SURE it happens with bandsters too, but there isn't quite as much physiologic incentive. I don't really know how I feel about the idea of food addiction itself, but I know that a lot of people are compulsive overeaters and they do have to deal with the root cause of that or they are at high risk of either continuing and not losing weight (totally possible with the band) or transferring addiction to something else. I am pretty compulsive about working out now, but I don't think it's really unhealthy, it doesn't interfere with the rest of my life. just the size of my butt, heh heh. I do love to shop, and that can be a problem since it is soooo gratifying to buy cute clothes in smaller sizes when you lose weight. I have to be very careful with that one and I try to only shop when I need something. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. That's great that you have a year of counselling preapproved! I don't think a lot of insurance companies have that much foresight. I'd definitely take advantage of that! The popular saying is that they put the band on your stomach, not your head...emotional eating and compulsive eating are NOT prevented by the band. But, the desire is diminished somewhat, and when you have weight loss happening, it reinforces your good behavior and helps you stay on track somewhat. Good luck. These are very good questions to be dealing with before you have surgery.

kamicola, thanks for all the info, you sound like you know what you're talking about. I was originally sent to an endocrinologist when my gen practitioner thought I had pcos and also was found to have high blood sugar at that time but she said my thyroid was "normal" and put me on metformin and said "don't think that you're going to lose weight on this drug". I was like well I didn't but okay???? She had a really bad bedside manner and I had this feeling she hated fat people, I don't remember why I got this impression because it was a few years ago but I remember the feeling. Anyway I ended up losing about 20 pounds after that because I went on a diet drug that I don't remember anymore. Went back to her and she didn't change anything but they did take a blood test every time I went in and that was a big twice! My gen pract. had then written the Rxs for metformin. Then, probably about 5 years later I decided to have lap band surgery and my surgeon was pretty thorough and he sent me through all sorts of testing. It was the blood test that I had done through them that caught the thyroid issue. I've heard there's a thyroid test that is very expensive and many don't have that test done, maybe that's what the one that caught the problem. I did a follow up with their endocrinologist and she's the one that put me on synthroid and I told her how I had been on metformin but my gen pract. took me off and didn't renew my prescription because I had lap band surgery (still hadn't gained it back yet) and she's the one that thought that was weird and I also told her how I never tested my blood sugar because no one told me to or how and was never given a kit. Anyway she whips one out and shows me how to use it and tested it right there so now I have one. Unfortunately she never wanted me to follow up with her but did order some tests so I made an appointment anyway. Probably because I went there for pre-op to lap band and she possibly thought I'd see another endo or something, I have no idea but my script from her for synthroid runs out in a couple months so I'll have to find another doctor because she moved to another office much further than I want to travel. Sorry for making this so long and I hope I'm making sense and not just rambling. OKay, I had surgery the end of last August and have put back all the weight I had previously lost on Medifast prior to surgery. I don't know why I totally screwed this up but you've said and so have others that I need to see the endocrinologist. I understand that I should take this into my own hands and find a new one, which by the way, there aren't that many endos here for some reason, but do you think this could be related to my weight gain? I can get on the scale one day and be five pounds heavier, it's awful. I tested my blood sugar yesterday and fasting was 125 but I kept it down most of the day with just one spike in the 250s and that was 2 hours after lunch which was mostly Protein. I don't drink any sugar drinks and rarely alcohol. Anyway hate to lay this all on you but you seemed to know a lot about this and God knows when I'll get an appt. with a new endo. Thanks for listening, brandyII.:regular_smile:

I have read that alcohol consumption makes the band tighter but I don't know why or how to solve excessive tightness. Good luck!

Terry I was (and am again) drinking one glass of wine before dinner - more days than not. But just to be clear, I did not drink wine (or anything alcoholic) until one year post-op. I was diagnosed with the ulcer at about 13 months post-op. So, did the wine have anything to do with it? I really don't know. The doctors were aware that I was drinking wine and they didn't know either. Some doctors advise their patients not to have alcohol for a period of six months following the surgery. So one year would appear to be on the conservative side. The anastomosis (which is where the ulcer was) should have been completely healed after that period of time. I was slightly anemic and a stool test picked up a little blood. There was never any pain or any other symptoms, just the anemia. Following the endoscopy and the diagnosis, my surgeon increased my Prevacid from one capsule (30mg) to two a day. That was it. No other treatment. A second endoscopy about three to four months later showed that the ulcer was completely healed. I went back to my glass of wine and blood work was spot on at my 18 month check-up. Sunday will be my two year anniversary and I have an appointment with my surgeon on Tuesday. Lab work is already done so I'll know the results on Tuesday. Ulcers are one of the more common complications following bypass and are usually the result of bacterial infection (H. pylori) as opposed to food (or drink) related causes. But that doesn't mean that alcohol is not an irritant and was not/could not be a contributing factor. It appears to be a difficult question to answer except in extreme cases such as alcoholism or family history of ulcers.

I went to Dr. Oh's seminar the other night - and I was not impressed. He spent the least amount of time discussing the lap band procedure. He spent more time discussing gastric bypass - which I am not interested in. Well, during the discussion he said lapbands are not good for "sweet eaters" because you can't have sugar, milk, or alcohol for the rest of your life. I asked him afterwards if that is true - because to me it doesn't seem like a way to live the rest of your life. He said this is a last resort - and no sugar because then you will have cravings for it. He also said his patients have fills every month for the first year. One question asked by someone at the seminar was regarding the amount of food eatten at each meal - the doctor responded 1-2 ounces! This just doesn't seem reasonable to me.... that's nothing. I am not sure this is the right decision for me... I was so nervous/excited about the seminar and then came home feeling this may not be the best option for me. Also, I posted the above under another thread and heard from someone on this site..the same thing about Dr. Oh. I didn't even mention his name in my post - she asked if I was from WA state...when I told her yes, she asked if it was Dr. Oh. She said Dr. Srikanth was better - but she cannot have hers done for about year either - per her insurance. I was going to look into Dr. Srikanth - but have not called yet.... I wonder what is unethical about him.... curious. Still not sure if this is what I need to do for me..but, I am checkin it out.

My surgery is the 14th! I am super nervous. I read somewhere, can't remember where, that a nurse told a sleever that when she got nauseous to sniff an alcohol pad. She said it took the nausea away instantly. So I got me some alcohol pads packed for that reason. It is worth the try at least. Also, when we get home, sucking on a lemon gets rid of nausea I hear. I am getting so nervous. Trying to read success stories. So far, everyone says it feels like you have been hit by a Mac truck. Also at first, they say, what have I done to myself. Then later nobody regrets it! So I am focusing on the later! Good luck and try the alcohol pads! You never know!

Thanks for the fast reply. I found some other info that stated pretty much the same thing. I may need to find some other non-carbonated alcoholic beverage for my nights out. It will be very difficult. I love a cold beer after a long week at work. Where I live, everyone drinks beer! I will talk to my doctor about my concerns. -Lori Waiting for my insurance approval......

<p>I am seriously considering getting banded. I have already done all the testing, except the psychological testing, which I go to next week. I am starting to get a bit anxious. I have also been thinking a lot about my social life. I am no alcoholic, but I like to go out 1-2 times a month and drink beer with my friends and family. I usually drink about 6 beers. Is this something the band will not tolerate?</p>

I am actually afraid of EVER eating ice cream again. First, I would have to say that chocolate ice cream has always been my favorite treat, even when I was previously thin. However, I developed a very bad habit of dealing with work stress by stopping at Baskin Robbins on my way home from work. This developed into an addiction as I stopped 5 times a week for over 2 years. That is the single biggest thing that caused me to gain 60+ pounds in two years and grow to 243. I am almost 8 months post sleeve and I have not had a single bite of ice cream. I am so afraid that, like an alcoholic, if I allow myself that first bite, it will start me down the path of weight gain again. The good news is that I don't crave it or even miss it. I LOVE my Protein shakes! I use unjury chocolate splendor powder in skim milk and I add about 2-3 inches of frozen banana, ice and a little powdered Peanut Butter. Blend away, and I feel like I am having a milk shake. This is better than Baskin Robbins because it tastes delicious and it is a healthy choice. Is anyone else afraid to even have a small amount of certain trigger foods?

Be careful of quantities, too. I was pissed after downing one McEwans the other night, which I drank very slowly by the way. I think the small quantities I've been eating might have made me more sensitive to the alcohol, I don't know. It was a good lesson for me. I would also take heed of what Carol said about judgement being affected. I would hate to be eating at the same time and not chew well enough and ruin my night through a big PB.

I gained 100lbs in recovery for an bulimia so I mean this just isn’t true.  You speak about weight gain, and consumption as a compulsion and love affair as if they are inherently the same things and they just aren’t. No one calls alcoholism a love affair with booze, nor is a love affair with food is not inherently the same thing as binge eating disorder or the compulsive eating, addictive behaviors you describe. That’s not love that’s disordered eating and to many people who experience it it feels more like a prison than a romance. Further there are plenty of reasons people gain weight or struggle to lose not limited to medical issues or life long yo-yo dieting socialized in people since childhood resulting in an insurmountably low bmr. It also ignores the idea of a body’s set weight which numerous medical studies have pointed to as a valid hypothesis and part of why wls is one of the only weight loss tools with long term sustainable success. Let’s try to be sensitive that everyone’s story and struggle respect their own personal reflections of it.

I came to the conclusion that I am a food addict after reading several books These books also tell one how to deal with the addiction. Boiled down to the basics: one must avoid trigger foods just as an alcoholic must abstain from alcohol. The usual trigger foods are are sugar, flour. white potatoes, rice, and processed food. "Processed food" is anything in a bag or box in the center aisles of the supermarket. Shop the exterior aisles where one finds fresh produce, meats, poultry, dairy, and frozen vegetables. There is a withdrawal period that is uncomfortable, but after a couple of weeks the cravings for the trigger foods diminish. Unless one of the trigger foods is sitting right In front of me, I no longer have difficulty avoiding them. I have lost 93 lbs by cutting out these things, 70 lbs prior to RNy revision surgery and another 23 lbs to date post surgery, I recommend these books Food Junkies: Recovery from Food Addiction by Vera Tarman Weight Loss Surgery Does Not Treat Food Addiction by Connie Stapleton Why Diets Fail (Because you're Addicted to Sugar) by Nicole Avena & John Talbott

My PA told me that you are more tight in the morning because of the stomach being a muscle that has been "idle" all night. One thing that I noticed about the band and myself is that I can eat A WHOLE LOT MORE if I have a drink or two. I think the alcohol relaxes you, and your stomach as well. But like the saying goes, this is my experience, we are all different. Birdee!

1 what was your doctor and hospital Dr. Beeman Kahlil - Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF), a Sutter Medical Affiliate El Camino Hosptial, Mountain View, CA (3.2 mi from my house!) 2 do you have Anthem Blue Cross covered thorough a covered California Plan? Or through a work plan? I have Anthem Blue Cross through my job at a start up software company 3 what medical requirements were there? I am required to explain in depth that I have tried to diet for at least 6 months. My doctor was EXTREMELY thorough in my consultation appointment, where we talked about my diet attempts. BMI 40 or 35 with health issue Pre and Post Op Nutrition - no 3 or 6 month requirement Psych Eval 4 what medical tests were required? Usual blood work - CBC, thyroid, liver, Hep B, and a few others. There was only one that was fasting (CBC). I was happy to know that I didn't have to do a fasting glucose test. (Your doctor will probably recommend that you begin taking a Multi Vitamin, D3, B12 and Iron - if they don't, you should see another doctor) EKG - super simple, literally takes more time to undress and put a gown on (makes sure your heart is healthy enough for surgery) Chest X-ray - to make sure your lungs are clear and healthy (helps the anesthesiologist) Upper GI with Barium - this is to see the shape of your esophagus, stomach, and small intestine (This sh*t is NASTY. The smell is pleasant, but the taste is REALLY thick and chalky. Other than that, simple.) 5. Did you have to do a supervised diet? No. Not official. My doctor prefers you start weaning yourself of bad foods - sugar, carbonated beverages, caffeine, alcohol, fried foods, etc. I don't consume most of the before mentioned. I started drinking 3 shakes a day and one small meal (Protein, veggie, whole grain). 6 how long for approval? Not - sure (will report back after July 8, 2015) 7 what was good about them? n/a 8 what was bad? n/a 9 what should we know to watch out for if anything. Come prepared and educated. You are YOUR OWN BEST ADVOCATE.

I have been cath'd . I do not know what kind of adhesive they use for that thing but it took alcohol swabs to remove it. Adhesive remover did not work and it pulled each and every hair under it. The last time I went under, I asked them to shave my leg where they were going to put the stabilizer, but they just left it off. It was so much more comfortable that way, as long as the tube was not pulled by anything.

Discovered I'm now seriously lactose intollerant along with artificial sugar and sugar alcohol. My whole plan for weight loss is out the window. The final straw is my Dr said I should be losing more than one lb per week. Anyone have similar symptoms? Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using BariatricPal mobile app

Wow!! Your success in losing weight is VERY impressive. Please don't let the stress of this situation cause you to relapse. As others have suggested, get your Mom and go to a support group and/or counseling. That is the biggest treat you can give yourself at this time. What many people don't realize is that overeating is an addiction, just like alcoholism or drug addiction. And it is much worse in many ways - you can stop drinking and stop using drugs but you need to eat to survive. As the child of an alcoholic I grew up escaping the stress of family life with food. My father has been sober for 24 years now - but I am still struggling with my addiction to food. It has taken me years of counseling and group therapy to get to the point where I was ready to make the committment to lose weight. You have come way too far to relapse now. You are almost at your goal.

I don't know when ACOA started? I don't know if it was around but I know ALANON, and I remember my little sister went to that. I went to OA to see if it would help me from gaining weight. I was 125 pounds at the time, lol. But I just remember going to the meetings and driving home in tears don't know why but this was before I discovered therapy and antidepressants so who knows. I too have suffered with having children and not know how my past would affect my parenting style or what "bad" things I'd pass along to my children or my husband pass onto them as well. He has has alcoholic brother but not parent, his dad died when he was 6 so who knows. Anyway my youngest is the issue when it comes to taking on those traits as far as I know more so than my eldest but I'm sure it's all going to be another bumpy ride into my future. But I'm not an alcoholic, brownieholic is more like it. But all the other garbage that goes along with being an ACOA. Anyway it's good to talk to you and you seem to know a lot about this. I guess I never really attributed alcohol to all my problems but I guess it probably had a lot to do with it. Thanks brandyII.

Not all alcohols are the same. Cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol are good alcohols, they are fatty alcohols and emollients and in a complently different class than straight alcohol or rubbing alcohol. CeraVe contains cetyl alcohol which is a good alcohol. Which is why dermatologist recommend CeraVe, for people with dry skin. I wouldn't put the body lotion on my face though, they make a line of face products.

My liver wasn't fatty because of alcohol LOL it was fatty because of fat! But it's better now! I was very obese and I'm sure that's why he put me on the diet; all surgeons are just a little bit different! :tt2:

I did very well. Water was difficult at first because I was so full from even the tiniest bit of Protein. My surgeon and nut actually customize the plan for people based on their sw, gw, history of weight loss, and eating habits. For me, there were very few restrictions... the one I'm still following is to abstain from bananas and carbonation; all other restrictions are gone. I gradually added in caffeine (one cup/day as per my nut), alcohol (maybe twice a month, one drink), carbs (less than 40/day, about to go up to 80), 100 g of protein (started at 60), exercise (every day at first, then vigorously 3-4 X week for 45 minutes), sleep (very important- this really affects your metabolism and most plans I've seen don't address this), Vitamins. Since the restrictions were fewer at each stage and since I came into this with pretty good eating habits, by the third month I was basically off the leash to do what I wanted provided I met protein/carb goals. I kept a glass water bottle with me and knew that I had to empty it 3X every day to get in the water (I still use it). I tracked everything I ate. I began by walking every day and then transitioned into running and biking. I'm no athlete but I actually like exercise now! My other tip is to have a good relationship with your scale. My surgeon also had guidelines for that. Daily weight for two weeks so you can see your progress, then every 4-5 days until the 4th month, then once a week... once you hit gw, once every two weeks. I wish that I had followed this protocol but I didn't until I was about 2 1/2 months post op. The scale can make you crazy!

I've worked in drug and alcohol treatment for the past 30 years, currently running a long term residential program for men returning to the community from the county jail. What has been amazing to me since I had my sleeve done 1/22/18 are the similarities between my emotions and thinking and those that client have expressed they struggled with early in their recovery. Acceptance is a b***h, whether it's acceptance of my addiction, acceptance of a medical condition or acceptance that my days of eating a 16 oz steak are over. There is a very old reference in AA's Big Book that goes once a pickle, never a cucumber again. I have told this to clients for 20 years but it didn't settle in for personally until yesterday when I was feeling resentful after seeing a burger king ad and realizing that I could never sit and eat the hamburger. I got angry and resentful and even told myself that it was ok to have piece of ham because I deserved it. Yeah, that entitlement lasted about 1 minute which is how long it took for me to throw up from the cramps I was having. I'm working on embracing/accepting my "pickleness" today. What I has seen over the years is that acceptance brings serenity.

Its getting really bad. My brother is 43 years old. He lives with my parents for the last 2 years or so. He is unemployed. He drinks about 2 5th a day. He does have a drivers license but that will be revoked soon since he has been missing his driving classes. He has had multiple DUIs, bicycle crashes, ambulance rides, detoxes, rehabs, etc. etc. The longest time he has been sober the last couple years is approximately 2 months. My parents need to get a grip. They have told him numerous time they will evict him, take him out of the will, etc. Nothing has helped. How can a person hit rock bottom when they have a place to live? How can you see them killing themselves right before your eyes and not be able to do anything. Nothing has helped. My parents sent him to rehab twice in the last year.

Sadly, this is something your brother has to want; no one else's want matters. My uncle is an alcohlic, who is killing himself.. He DOES have a job, makes great money, just bought a new SUV & a brand new big house on a golf course.. you'd think he'd wise up to it.. he use to be a personal trainer, through the years he has put on a lot of weight, and he is drunk every waking hour, parties every day of the week, drinks in gross excess.. but anyway, last year he was diagnosed with diabetes.. and they gave him insulin. Doctor TOLD him he is going to die SOON if he doesn't stop the alcohol. He didn't listen. He didn't take his insulin either. So he keeps packing on the pounds, and drinks non-stop.. he has several DUI's, his latest one he is still going to court for (he didn't take the plea, and is going to a jury trial--which I think was a stupid choice).. Anyway, about 2 months ago, everything finally caught up to him.. somehow he got a sore on his foot (his feet were horrible looking, we kept telling him he would lose them.. again, didn't listen) and this sore ended up 'growing' since diabetes have the hard time healing and what not.. it ended up getting to be about 1.5" deep. The doc told him, he may have to cut the hole out of his leg, or cut the foot off. It FINALLY clicked. He stopped cold turkey, and this is the longest he's ever lasted.. 46 days.. He goes to AA, and he's obsessed with it right now, hes always going.. and he asks us (who don't really drink) what you do when you don't drink..so we've made a point to invite him everytime we go out and do non-alcoholic activities.. movies, dinner, etc. Didn't mean to make this so long, but we've tried interventions, cried, begged, pleaded, etc.. and it took him realizing (not being told by his doctor) he was about to lose his foot.. to get it together. Hopefully it lasts, good luck to your brother.. hopefully he finds his reason soon.