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Eh... i asked my surgeon about alcohol and carbonation post op and she told me you have to live your life. If you think you will never have anything sinful you’re just setting yourself up for failure. She also said carbonation is fine for some and hard to tolerate for others, but it’s not harmful to your pouch. She said there is a lot of misinformation out there on the topic, many times used as scare tactics to keep people from drinking full sugar soda.

I tell them I had surgery, follow a high protein/low carb diet and don't drink alcohol (much).

I like sweet drinks. I never really cared for the taste of alcohol.

Now is a good time to share a picture of my grandson who spent last weekend with us. He always has a great time at Gram's house. Having a drug addict/alcoholic grandma has its perks.

Well take it easy on the exercising in that heat. I can't imagine that as we rarely get over 90 usually we are around 70 - 80 in the summer months. Is there a nice non alcoholic drink you make?

Oh yeah! Alcohol!! LOL I drink hard cider, wine, beer ... I get tipsy a lot quicker though, and I learned the hard way that it's a lot easier to overindulge ...

Pat COOL pictures. Bet your place is breathtaking. Love the tart cart Donna, sorry about your visit. I know what you mean about the drinking, I have 2 brothers who are alcoholics (my dad was one too). Its really something they need to do for themselves (sadly). How is your Dad, what did the hospital say? Sherry, the band is wacky LOL !!! Congrats on the 39 lbs WHOOT!!!! The reason people do liquids after they have a rough pb is because the esphogus is usually irritated. I get food stuck alot but thats because I go to fast. If your having a hard time you might want to wait to get another fill....only you can tell. I was supposed to get one this past week but I'm waiting until June 16th... I'm afraid of going to tight too. Cindy, sorry your aunt is making things ugly. Its rough enough when some one you love passes and yet to put up with that crap just sucks. No tickets ??? just kidding Voice lessons........ how cool !!!!! you should be proud. I wish folks would use their time to support than to call each other names...it really is sad (on the troll thread and such). We went swimming today, water was chili but it warm up and you got used to it after a while LOLOL !!!! Oh well...good night folks. Have a great evening and well, we'll be back to the grind tomorrow. Hugs and :kiss2:

I had my first drink at 3 months out. It was a glass of wine and it hit me HARD. When you do have your first, don't have it while you are out, have it at home so you can see what impact it will have on you. I am almost two years out and I still get loopy after a beer or two and I lived in a sorority house for two years -- I can (could!!) hold my alcohol. I cannot eat after I drink or vice versa, so if you do feel buzzed, don't plan on food sobering you up like it used to and don't plan on being able to drink Water to pass it through faster. Another reason to have your first few drinks at home. Wine and other sweeter drinks give me heartburn that feels like death is trying to claw it's way out of my chest. I do like a bloody mary, or a vodka cranberry or vodka lemonade either made with 0 calorie "juice". I am not advocating drinking against your doctor's plan, but I am saying that if/when you do, do it smartly (is that even a word??) and cautiously.

I think there's so much conflicting information because we all hear different things from our surgeons, nutritionists, etc. We're also individuals and that counts for a lot of variations. 1. I was told never any NSAIDS mainly because they can cause ulcers. I'm a bypass patient, but I've heard some sleevers say that they can take NSAIDS occasionally with an acid reducer. I don't know if that's true or not because I didn't get the sleeve done. 2. One of the many reasons I was encouraged to get bypass instead of the sleeve is because of my GERD. I'm almost 3 months out and so far, so good. 3. This varies highly! I was a carb addict before surgery and I was really just starting to phase bread, Pasta, rice, potatoes, etc. out of my life during the pre-op diet phase. I still don't trust myself though. I don't think I can personally eat those kinds of things in moderation, so for me and my team, they’re off limits. Also, I've heard that for some those types of foods can expand in the stomach and cause discomfort. 4. I've heard the statistics about addiction transfer. I've also run across posts (all across the Internet) from various people talking about how they got addicted to alcohol after surgery so I think there's at least some truth there. 5. Not everyone experiences dumping. Or some do early out, but then they're able to eat or drink anything once they're further out. I don't eat sugar except in dairy, so I don't know if sugar will make me dump. But greasy foods (even things that are lower in fat) don't agree with me at all. Overall, there are a few things that seem universal (eat Protein first, drink your fluids, take your Vitamins, etc.) But this journey is so individual and you never know where you'll end up on the spectrum until you have the surgery.

Hello! This is my first time posting, I have been lurking for a while. I hope I am posing in the correct section!! I am from Canada, and was referred to the Bariatric Program in my city. I know that the USA and Canadian programs are similar in terms of requiring time with a dietitian, psychologist, internal medicine doctor etc. In April, I was booked for my first class in June. As a smoker (now ex-smoker!) I planned to (and quit) a few days before the orientation class. In the orientation class, immediately we are informed that being in the program or class isn't a guarantee of surgery (which is completely acceptable!), it is posted everywhere, and we are reminded of it pretty much all the time. I had an appointment with the Nurse case manager in August. She was great. In each appointment, you book your next appointment with another discipline you need to see throughout the program. I was then booked for a nutrition basics class for the end of August, then with the dietitian in September. The nutrition class I didn't find particularly useful (personally), as the things that we covered, I was already practicing. I was excited that the dietitian wasn't the type to roll in there and tell everyone they had to eat a certain diet. In the class (there was about 20-25 attending) she had said that they started doing the nutrition basics class because they felt that they often had to go over basics with so many people...they thought one class for everyone for the basics, and then when you meet with your dietitian, it is more individualized, and targeted to your needs. I was very excited about this, and it turned out the dietitian that was teaching the class, was who I was booked with in September. Then I rolled into the appointment in September (the day before my vacation - a cruise) for my first appointment with the RD. I feel like we immediately started off on the wrong foot. I had blood tests done (as requested) and I don't think she liked them. Everything on the blood tests were fine. Whenever I get tested for my white blood cells they come back 'slightly high', and it's been like that for years and I chalk it up to obesity, knee arthritis and the steroids I take for asthma. My family doctor is not concerned. The other thing was my triglycerides were boderline high (the rest of my cholesterol is good), and I have spoken with my doc about that and he is not concerned. She didn't seem to like that I wasn't running to my doctor about my white blood cell count. I felt like she was snippy about the triglycerides, even though my doc wasn't concerned. She looked at my food tracking (every day religiously for 6 weeks), and looked at one day. I eat 1 banana and 1 apple everyday during the work week. She started telling me about substituting berries instead of a banana. She also suggested that I walk around the buffet a few times on the cruise ship before deciding what to eat. When she asked how much wine I was going to drink on vacation (I stopped all alcohol for over a month at this point), and I said "Maybe 1 glass per day at dinner...?" that was the WRONG answer...and told me to try again. So I said...I guess 1 glass every 3 days....? Then she suggested I use smaller plates to cut my portion sizes. I left there...and my poor husband...I came home in a flurry of tears, and frustration. I didn't ask how to reduce my portions on vacation...I already know how to do that. I didn't ask her to help with with my cholesterol, I have a doctor for that. She wanted to know why I was taking Omega 3 ...and seemed skeptical of my answer that most people don't get enough, so I figure it would help to take some. I am still so discouraged by this. A few weeks ago I went to the psychologist. There was a questionnaire I had to fill out (essentially about being compliant after surgery). I told him I struggle with exercise now because of my knees...so he suggested yoga. Really? I am obese, with painful knees....if I have a hard time on the treadmill or on the elliptical, why would kneeling on the floor help...? Oh. because you do Yoga. Noted. I tried to create some discourse: The link to obesity and sleep is something I notice...I started to tell him I notice my appetite increases if I haven't slept well because it's like I need to stimulate myself to stay awake. And that turned into getting tested for sleep apnea. I don't have sleep apnea. He mentioned smaller plates to me again (it just seems out of context) So I am feeling like because I am not a total trainwreck, they don't know what to do with me. I totally get that people need more help than 'read a label', but I feel like I have spent a lot of time researching diets, weight loss, obesity etc etc for the better part of 10 or 15 years...and they have not taken the time to find out what I do know. I feel like if I say certain trigger words like 'tired' = Sleep apnea! Wine = Alcoholic! So I don't know what I am supposed to be doing. I feel like I don't know what they want from me. If they want me to lose weight, then I want them to say it. If they want me to stop this or start that, then say it, and have a purpose. I have read all sort of literature about WLS and Set points etc etc and when I go to these appointments I don't want to walk away feeling like they think I am obese because I opted for a banana instead of blueberries (hate them) all these years. I want to get more out of this, but I am also very tempted to just try and tune it out and tell them what they want to hear so I can get the surgery. I am just a number, and I somehow have to fit in their flow chart...not the other way around. Does anyone have any advice? I just feel super discouraged and criticized and not looking forward to another year of appointments every month feeling this way. Thanks for your help!

I can totally relate to this!!! Oh, and for the record, I saw that post the other day too and I agree... It's fun to say "oh thanks! I've lost 40 lbs" but now at 75 lbs lost, I am really embarrassed, which I didn't see that part coming. I'm in pharmaceutical sales (which is known to have the stigma of very pretty/good looking people in it ) and I'm like you... I was not prepared for my "story" that I was going to tell people. Nobody said anything until I had dropped about 45-50lbs and then out of nowhere, some of my doctors and nurses I see weekly all started the "what's your secret?" (To which I always want to respond with... Well funny story, I had 75% of my stomach removed! It works wonders!) hahaha... Anyway, in the beginning, I started to overthink it or wonder if they could tell I was lying or if they suspected I had surgery. Now, I have the same story everytime... "I've cut out sugar, carbs, caffeine and alcohol as much as possible, I lift weights 5 days a week and I run/walk a lot. All of these are true! Practice your story a few times in your car on the way to work... Keep it consistent... Also, my advice is to never give people exactly how much weight you've lost... I stopped telling numbers after about 52lbs ...I always say "oh I only weigh myself every few weeks and try not to obsess about the number but just go by how my clothes fit!" I had surgery on December 17th of this past year and if people start to ask when I started dieting, I tell them September/October so my weight loss seems more realistic. Nobody has questioned me once! Here is a before/after and here is one from last weekend.

I went for my post op (8 days) last Friday and was concerned about the look of my incisions too. I had taken off the icky, bloody strips off of the outer ones and replaced them with some band-aid butterfly things. BAD idea. 2 days later I went down to my Mom's armed with supplies and had to say "help me Mommy! Fix it" I was in such pain and the darn strips were giving me some sort of reaction and it HURT. The strips took the skin off so now I have raw spots on either side of the incisions. One even blistered! Gads. So I asked the Dr. about it the next day and he said the healing looked fine and that he preferred no bandaids and that at this point nothing was going to come open anyway. I will have to trust him. He also said not to use alcohol but a vaseline type or baby oil to take off the strips. Sat. I was so uncomfortable around my port incision that still had the strips on it (that were gross from the Neosporin) that I took them off too. It feels so much better now. I think the strips were pulling and I was getting a rope-y feeling along the cut. Still looks a bit gruesome, but feels much better.

religon is not just there for comfort as others have stated,its about beliveing and haveing faith,im not sure i would take on what brad said[due to if you where a commited christian,you do not get devorced and remarry,even though i am aware this does happen due to abuse/alcohole/affairs,but i dont think he worked hard enough on his marrige to jen a.]sorry,he hasnt really remarried[just liveing in sin,yes im aware other people dont see it that way,my opinion only...]

Wow! I never knew that before.... This is interesting. Will you tell me more? This poor woman was my best friend in university and she was my only bridesmaid. She was both brilliant and very, very beautiful. Now her health is ruined and she looks like a street person. At one point she lost all her hair and at another point she went blind with cataracts. She has been rushed to hospital because she was vomitting blood and she now has advanced osteoporosis and walks with canes - when she does walk at all! For a little while she was on welfare. She now takes handicapped transit to work. This woman is eleven months younger than I am. She always used to be a party girl even though she performed well in university and has held some pretty interesting jobs. She has the worst taste in men though! Underperforming and uneducated alcoholics with anger management issues. I have kind of drifted away from her over the years as a result of her men and her drinking. I guess this is too much information considering that my inquiry had to do with understanding anorexia, eh?:phanvan

I have to be so weirdly vigilant. Example: Most days I can't do anything but drink my calories until around noon to 2PM. Today, I had a shake. Just got hungry to the point of slightly light headed, and ate (slowly) a can of tuna. a whole can. And it's only 10:30AM. that's so unusual. So now I'm up to 500 calories already today. So I need to have a light late lunch and then dinner. I'll be perfectly fine, but it's not my usual no brainer routine. I just have to keep an eye on everything. It's not as obsessive as just eating all day used to be, but I have to keep a part of me separate, as a watchdog. Oh, here's another odd one. I can't eat much if I slouch in an easy chair. I can eat enough if I sit up straight in a dining room style chair. and I can sometimes unstick a stuck thing if I hold my arms straight over my head. (Barbara taught me that one.) It's still a learning curve. For me, general calorie awaremness and counting helps. Eating healthy things helps. Portion control helps. I don't think I'd lose any weight with portion control alone or I'd be eating lots of bacon, cheese, ice cream... I doubt if I'd lose if I went to Mexican restaurants much, or if I drank alcohol. Hate to waste the calories. But I know people who do portion control and eat and drink that stuff and are doing well!

Well, got back on the bike yesterday. Saturday was a mess. Apparently your body doesn't like you when you've "detox'ed" for 4 weeks then decided to fill it up with bad stuff like alcohol. I had the worse head ache, and my old body just ached. Not to mention I figured out another reason the weight wasnt moving. My monthly friend came to visit yesterday (gggrrr) :-( soooo Im sure THAT was been messing with my weight for the past week as well. I was crampy, bloated and grouchy all weekend. sooo much for fun. But I did get on my bike and pump out over 4 miles yesterday. Only about 20 minutes of riding, but I felt it was a good healthy "jolt" to my aching old body. Worked some of the bad out... Will be back on the elliptical tonight... need to get my crunches on too. I usually do a monthly pic at this time. I think I will wait till the end of the week -- hopefully, not so bloated and will have a few more days to tone some more things up before the dreaded PICTURES!! I feel tired.:faint: -- I do NOT want to be at work right now!!

Once I learned how to disguise the taste of alcohol I was able to enjoy it, but I pretty much stopped drinking a while back.

Good morning!! I hope all has a safe and happy new year! I still am thinking of hopping on a plane and going to see Pamela and K.C.!! Judy drive safely!!!!!!!!!! Have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Haydee, I am working this morning also, not feeling the going to work, it is a short day for me, but....... I mix the gumdrops in the batter. I can post the recipe if you want, it is good, my grandma used to make them, then the recipe was lost, then in a old cookcook we found the recipe again! Michelle, have a great new year, are you getting snow again? Laura, how is Carson doing with the teething? I have heard rubbing their gums with alcohol works too, although that just doesn't sound right does it?????? I hope you and Russ have a great new year!! Ok off for a shower and then to work!

Maybe it's your turn of phrase... "Just like I wouldn't advise an alcoholic to just have a shot on a rare occasion, IMO, this is a dangerous thread." Maybe it's your overlooking this statement: "There'll be no 'Hail Mary's' or 'Our Fathers' and flagellation will NOT and should not be forthcoming" and coming forth with a statement of this nature: "Bottom line folks, I don't want to see any of y'all crying 6 months from now that the scale isn't moving, yet these same behaviors are continuing. If someone is struggling with weight loss 6 months from now, I'm going to point them to this thread.' I understand the genuine motive behind your post - and it is laudable. However, due to the primary reason this thread was composed, I found your well-intentioned post ill-placed. If people have chosen to not delve too deeply into 'why' they have chosen to consume something and 'how' it made them feel afterwards - that is their prerogative. The core tenet still remains, that it's a place where there is no judgement - rightly or wrongly - for the occasional strays they have. There is comfort in knowing you're not alone in your struggles - it is what makes us human, after all. That, I believe, is objectivity...

People feel they can criticize our method of losing weight there's a real lack of compassion for food addicts u have rehab for drugs and alcohol I feel like this our "rehab" so to speak much the same as drugs and alcohol if u don't work the program u will fail as obses ppl we can sometimes take a lot of crap that others wouldn't take the ppl with all the negative " opinions" are often the biggest offenders of shaming us and acting superior to us well if we lose weight what are they going to be able to insult us about? I've had ppl in my family say things to me like well "just don't eat so much ... Really? if it were that simple no one would be overwieght or offering to "cook my meals" lol that almost made fall over laughing considering I've been cooking since I was 10 yrs old taught them to cook fed them as children and adults still do who do they come to for holidays party's etc? Me! it's not a matter of not being able to cook or not understanding nutrishion it's a matter of wanting to eat too much food too often much like drugs and alcohol it's an addiction the skinny ppl just don't seem to get it

Good Morning! I’ve been doing a lot of thinking after my post yesterday. Yes…I was a little offended by the comments that were made to me about my struggles with my eating. <O:p I know a lot of us want to find out the reason why we eat so much that it has created our weight problems. I do too, but I believe I could never find out the true reason. I think one doctor might say it was because of this reason and another might say for another. Heck, since I was a 9 month old baby doctors were saying I was too fat and telling my mom to put me on skim milk. <O:p I am not super obese, but I do like to eat. I have controlled my weight some or I would be. I just like food! I like to cook it and eat it. I do believe that our senses control a lot of it…which trigger hormones that tell us to eat. <O:p 1. It could be because of a medical condition. I am diabetic that I can’t process the food intake like a skinny person 2. It could be because I see, smell, and taste food that I am overweight. <O:p3. It could be that I don’t get enough exercise because my internal body doesn’t use the food I consume as energy…etc. <O:p What I eat has this powerful ability to influence on me. We all know too that carbs trigger something to make us hungrier and I love my carbs! Even when we are stress…our bodies react by telling our brains we need this and that. <O:p Obviously, we have to eat to survive. It’s not the same as an alcoholic or drug addict. We can’t take the drug away and it will all be better. I could wear a clothing pin on my nose all day…LOL. <O:p It’s not that we don’t have the will power or that our physics are so weak that we can’t control our hungry. I don’t think I had physiological problems at 9 months old. I think we all have physiological problems to some extent. I find the best person to talk to about a problem is some who is going through what you are going through. I hope that you guys are my support? <O:p I can't think of myself as thin because I never have been! I know the band is working…I am far from eating the way I use too. I am just the type of person that has a hard time waiting for anything. I want to wake up in the morning and be thin. <O:p Thank you for support! We are all in this together or we wouldn’t have gotten the band! <O:p

Oh that wasn’t my first drinking with a post-wls bod. im 3 years out now and drink quite regularly (bring on the concerned comments, I’m ready!) my fIrst attempt at alcohol was 3-4 weeks post. I had maybe two sips of red wine and it slightly burned a little and I swear I could feel it travel down my intestines. With so little drank, it had no effect on me. second attempt was closer to 2 months post had a few sips of a sugary soju drink and I had a several hour long dumping episode. Not pretty. I probably had 5 or so PARTIAL drinks my ENTIRE weight loss phase. It got me tipsy quickly even with small amounts of less than 1/3 a drink, and I could tell I wouldn’t be able to drive….but I also sobered up really quickly. fast forward to now and i can drink maybe 2 drinks in succession (like in under an hour) and be pretty toasted…if I nurse the drinks over a period of time I can keep from getting too drunk. And I still sober up really quick. oh and I mostly stay away from sugary mixers if I can help it…

One of the people who is closest to me in my life had a 5-6 year bout of drug addiction spiraling down from drinking to stronger and stronger drugs culminating in 2 rounds of detox and rehab. My friend has been clean since the first WTC bombing. I remember it that way because I drove almost 200 miles to the rehab for a "family member" week-long visit and was on my way home from the rehab when it was announced that the WTC had been truck-bombed. We used to debate and argue before that final rehab over who's addiction was worse. My friend's addiction to alcohol and (other) drugs or my addiction to food. We both agreed that not taking the "first" dose was the easy part. My friend could on occasion go for days without a drink or a fix, but one drink, one lousy beer and it was off to the races. In my case, I could go all day without eating and I didn't feel hungry, but as soon as I broke fast, my appetite was stimulated. I went to a surprise birthday party one night for different friend. I had done all the cooking for the party, but did not eat for the first 3-4 hours. As soon as I put that first potato chip in my mouth, it was all over. Even though some people ate and drank continually for the 4-5 hours of the party, I consumed more in the last hour than anyone had consumed in the whole night. Another similarity that by drug addicted, alcoholic friend and I both shared was our excuses for breaking our endeavor to control our addiction. We gave in to Celebrate, we gave in to commiserate, we gave in to be sociable, we gave in when we wanted to be alone, we gave in because we were happy and we gave when we were sad. Food addiction's biggest difference from drug addiction is that drug addiction is illegal. Food addiction's most important difference from alcoholism and (other forms of) drug addiction is that the alcoholic or addict doesn't have to take that first drink or fix. They can postpone that first drink or fix for "one day at a time" or if they are having a bad day, for one hour at a time or one minute, whatever it takes to get them to postpone it. My friend has postponed her first fix for 13.5 years. We, however must take our first fix (food) at least everyday, if not 3 or more times a day. That was the crux of my debate with my friend before the successful rehab. We have to give in and then maintain control after we give in. Ask an alcoholic to have one drink every day and see how long before they are binge drinking. But we must do the equivalent of having 3 drinks a day, everyday, spread out through the day without succumbing to our addiction. Alcoholics and drug addicts do it with support groups like AA and NA. We need support groups also. Lapbandtalk.com is a form of support group. But some of us need more structured groups similar to AA. Do not be ashamed to seek them out. I don't know if members of Lapbandtalk.com share phone numbers for “help me please, I am starving” calls. I wish there was a service like that available.

Linda, I was just taking care of a pt that was sleeved 5 years ago and was going through severe DT's when he decided to quit drinking. He ended up in my ICU intubated for 2 days. When he started coming around we talked for a while, said it started slowly because he was bored and didnt have anything to do with his time in the evenings and weekends and then it gradually escalated to a bottle of vodka a day. Good for you that you recognized it...I can see this being a problem for us nurses when we get home after a bad day and cant eat bad food to self medicate....so we turn to alcohol instead. Like I said good for you, thank yoi for sharing.

People with the TAS2R38 genotype have a heightened sensitivity to bitter taste. Their genetic makeup includes a gene discovered in 2003 that controls the presence of receptors for a bitter-tasting compound called 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP). Scientists believe that the presence or absence of this gene can help account for individual taste preferences and eating habits. A study published in February 2005 found that children who had this gene were more partial to sweet beverages and foods than those without it (though this effect seemed to wear off by adulthood, when race/ethnicity was the strongest determinant). Researchers theorized that these children may be less likely to find vegetables palatable, which could limit their intake of important nutrients. On the plus side, an earlier study suggested that those with the TAS2R38 gene were less likely to indulge in underage alcohol consumption, experiencing it as more bitter and irritating than do those without the gene. Nutritionists hope that this type of information will help improve dietary planning for children. We were just discussing this on another thread I am on regularly. It was a subject on a Nova Science program. It was common among the group of us, that those of us who disliked broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts as kids, were also the ones who disliked bitter alcohols. And some of them who really liked those foods, even find swishing VINEGAR in their mouths to NOT be horrid! There were of course exceptions to the rule--but it was kind of interesting...... Not of course as interesting as hot handy men, or sponge baths given by hot handy men, or giving sponge baths TO hot handy men......deep, deep sigh.......