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The questionnaire was about your current/past mental health, eating habits, support systems, relationships and drug/alcohol abuse (if applicable). Then she/he goes over based on your answers.

After my first informational & NUT sessions, i started cutting back on caffeine, fast foods & other junk foods along with alcoholic beverages. I also started not drinking 15 mins prior to meals & not drinking until 1 hour afterwards. And not eating after 7 pm. All that was difficult initially but it was habit forming. with all of that, my post op transition hasn't been too difficult. While I didn't know about this forum until 5 mons post op, the handbook my center gave me prepared my tremendously. I must say, had I known about this forum pre-op, I think the horror stories would have added more anxiety for me. I have a habit of over analyzing. so I probably would've chickened out. Some folks like a lot of information, for me, less was better. I relied on the information in my handbook & informational sessions. This worked for me.

@amychar. I am trying the pre-op diet, but am not completely in compliance. I do drink the Protein shakes, but add either a banana or orange and use almond milk instead of Water. I am allowed 4 oz of lean meat/fish and a cup of vegetables. I usually eat more vegetables and sometimes have a little more than 4 oz. Usually 6. I also cheat and eat atkins treats...I try for only one a day but sometimes eat 2(110 calories or so, but they have sugar alcohol not sugar so they do not cause a spike in the blood). I began a modified pre-op diet right around the 4th of july and have lost 14 pounds so far, but the first pounds are easy as it is mainly water weight and reducing from 4,000 plus calories a day is not that challenging!!! I feel very weak, and want to take a nap like i am in pre-school!! I miss chewing and tasting soooooo much! I may not be the best role model or support person...hah!! It is just very hard. How are things going with you? Did you begin pre-op diet yet?

Easily tolerating 12-15 beers means your physical body may have a dependency issue, even if you feel as though your mind does not; the amount is excessive and you'll know if it's really a problem or not by doing one simple thing........Stop drinking. If you can easily do this and move on with your days and nights without a problem, then you're good and have nothing to worry about. If you cannot simply give up alcohol (all kinds) today and not be consumed with urges to drink so much so that you give in, you may have a dependency issue and need help. Only offering my opinion of course, as someone who has seen others battle with addictions to drugs and alcohol for years. Damage to your liver is possible after years of binge drinking, and 12 to 15 beers in one night (a couple of times a week) falls into this category. Liver function tests (LFT) is a blood test that can be done to somewhat assess the health of your liver, but you may need an ultrasound done. The good news is that no matter the circumstance, the liver is only one of two organs the human body has that's capable of regenerating itself. It is a very resilient organ and heals nicely once the offending thing (in this case, alcohol) is stopped. I'd suggest doing a liver cleanse of some sort, and giving up alcohol completely. Add lemon juice to your water and it'll also help your liver to function better and begin healing.

I have a question for Post Ops. Were any of you beer drinkers before you were Sleeved? I am a beer drinker now and I am scared that my liver might be to damaged to have surgery. I am not an alcoholic by any means but, when I was in my 20's I partied a lot with and loved Vodka (ouch!) but now I am in my mid thirties and a couple nights a week I do like to come home from work and have a few Ice Cold ones. I am a big girl and can put them away, I can drink anywhere from 12-15 beers and still be good to go to work in the morning. So with all that said is there anyone out there that can relate to this? And although I love my beer I am fully aware I will not be drinking it anymore very soon. I would rather have surgery have be healthy and live than drink beer and have a heart attack before I am 40. Is there a test or something I can ask to have to check my liver? I would hate to go into the OR and be woken up with the news that it didn't get done because I have cirrhosis. Maybe I am just panicking, I don't know.

I got my new date for March 12th! I stocked up on broths, and decaf teas, and ice pops, and Protein powders/shakes. I got my night gowns, alcohol wipes, tums, gas strips and spanx for after surgery - my dr said it would help to keep everything together afterwards, as well as keep my pants from rubbing against the incisions. The only thing I'm trying to figure out is how I can prepare pureed meals for my soft foods stage and freeze them until the time comes. Anyone have any good recipes or suggestions?

Hi everyone. I am going to see my surgeon for the initial visit on 2/1. As part of the prep paperwork for that visit I was given a "bariatric psych evaluation" question list to fill out and bring with me. It has lots of things that scare me about answering! First thing is it asks about past diets, how long, how much weight lost and WHY I stopped doing it. Has anyone had this? How did you answer? My honest answers are pretty complicated and there is no room to explain myself. Also, it asks a lot of questions about alcohol and drug use. I am a recovering alcoholic and addict but have been clean and sober for six years. Any advice? Answer honestly? Then there's the questions about depression, anxiety, etc. I think I'm pretty normal here and I certainly do have bouts of depression, particularly in the winter and then there's the usual depression associated with being obese, depression associated with chronic pain (knees and ankles) and then there's the fairly typical isolation and depression about not being able to do certain things with my friends and family. How do I explain these things, particularly when there is SO LITTLE space to respond! Any advice? I feel like the truth is that I have become obese and failed at multiple dieting attempts largely because I've been addicted to food! However, when I got sober I addressed many of the issues that led me to self medicate. AA has got me on a path towards recovery and self healing. I quit drinking, drugging and smoking. About two years ago I felt ready and able to address my food addiction. I started excersizing and going to OA. I lost 80 pounds "the old fashioned way". Then came severe knee pain and a subsequent knee replacement. I stopped riding my bike, stopped my long walks, swimming etc. I ballooned back up to 365. That was thirteen months ago and my knee won't heal, largely because of the weight. Thoughts? Help?! Sorry for the novel...

Hi there - I was re-banded in November 2011 having had a band for just one year 2005/6. Sadly for reasons unknown the band failed and started to choke me and so had to come out. We have tried to find reasons but apart from the fact that it may have been tightened too much too quickly none are apparent. Anyway it is now January and we are waiting for the band to embed well before a first fill in the Spring. I am not losing weight at the moment but am trying to develop good habits. I have been feeling a very slight sting now and again - mostly after eating and am just wondering if this could be the type of foods I am eating although I do try to eat mostly bland food. I think maybe if I cut out alcohol that might help too. Anyway - heres' hoping for a good result this time. I was banded in Bristol UK at The Spire Hospital and it was good to be reunited with my surgeon Sally Norton and Sharon Bates who knows everything. It was also good to get back in touch with fellow bandee Julie Hunter.

Hi Steven, and welcome to VST. Thank you so much for sharing your story. I wish people understood more just how difficult it is to lose weight. Smokers can quit smoking, alcoholics can quit drinking, but we cannot quit eating. We have to eat to live, so in my opinion, we have one of the most difficult of addictions to conquer. I wish you much success with your surgery and look forward to following your progress.

Ive heard no bubbly of course, as the carbonation is bad. Ive also heard keep the alcohol very light, as it effects your body differently.

I am counting all the carbs. I think it was the Atkins Diet that let you subtract fiber and sugar alcohol to come up with net carbs. Personally, I think nutrition science is quite fuzzy and so I am sticking to a more strict interpretation of "carb."

I'm new here and I have at least until January until I can get banded. I currently drink pretty heavily. I'm hoping that the band can help me curb the wine drinking as well as it does with foods. Is it possible that the band will restrict how much wine I can drink?

Hi Dina, That was one of my first question to the surgeon, he told me that alcohol should be very limited due to the calories. He did say though, that you won't have to drink as much in order get that happy feeling. Oh also said that I should no longer drink anything carbonated....beer...because of the chance of too much gas in my stomach causing the band to slip. Then he turned to my husband and said I'll be a cheap date! I'm with you, I love going out and having fun although, I'd wrather be skinny than buzzed. Good luck and keep us posted. Nicole

I've just finished the third week of my pre op classes. The thing that led me this is of course the obvious... I'm obese!!! But, the health and social issues that follow have finally made it too much to bear. I am a 60 year old grandparent who has never gotten on the floor to play with his grandchildren. I suffer from osteoarthritis in both knees which hinder my ability to walk across the room. I have diabetes, COPD, hypertension, high cholesterol, and I'm sick of being sick!!! I don't think I've had lifelong history of weight problems but I can remember being teased for being "fat" as a young child. This changed as I entered high school and started to played sports and then joined the Army. After the military I became an avid backpacker and got into rock climbing. During this time I keep my weight in check without problems. It should be noted that I did suffer from other self esteem problems... I was an addict and I think I used the alcohol and risky activities to mask my low self esteem. If I was great athlete I couldn't be a drunk? Or if I was a drunk... whatever was needed to cover up the real me and what I was feeling. After I got sober I got married for the first time and as things didn't go well I took to eating to cover up what I was feeling. After the end of this marriage I once again took to activity to hide out. I biked up to 200 miles a week, or would go days without eating. People gave me praise for losing weight but didn't know that I was going through my first major depression and couldn't eat or sleep. The bottom line is that I got down to a respectable weight again in a totally inappropriate way. Soon I got married again and things were good. I exercised at a healthy (non manic) way. Life was good and my wife soon gave birth to my first child. It was during this time that the exercise stopped and quit working to be the stay at home parent. Within the next few years I started to exhibit emotion problems and was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder. As the psychiatrists piled on the medications I became less active. I developed breathing problems and was placed on oxygen. Talk about a cluster ****, my body totally shut down. Over the next 15 years my health got totally out of control. During that time period I was hospitalized no less than 7 times for emotional and health reasons and no one was willing to identify my psych meds as a major health concern. Finally, 2 years ago I decided to go off of my meds after I start to develop some rather nasty neurological side effects from one of the psych meds. During the ensuing months I started to breath again and was no longer physically depressed. Luckily I now have a psychiatrist who sees that I had been over medicated all these years. Instead of being on a cocktail of meds that promote weight gain I am on only one. (Unfortunately this med promotes weight gain but it's the one that seems to work) It's been like waking up from a dream, there are literally years that I can't remember. My wife and family are happy that I am awake. So this brings me to the next chapter. What am I going to do to prolong the rest of my life. This surgery is the first step! With it I can be not only see what is going on around me but I can participate in it. And with the help of my higher power I hope that all will go right.

What a wonderful story about courage, strength and the ability to never give up. I love how honest you were about everything. I know that's hard. I've been there and never wanted to admit I drank too much alcohol or had a love hate relationship with food and my body! I'm 53 and after preparing for the last 7 months my surgery is on the 18th. I also have very painful osteoarthritis in my knees in which I can't even walk across the parking lot! We can do this just like so many other people have!! Good luck!

Today: 100s and 1000s (dare I say millions) are traveling to the legal pot Mecca of the USA : Colorado. They are arriving by plane, by train or even by camper to participate in what fondly has been named "Green Day." http://denver.cbslocal.com/2013/12/31/colorado-readies-for-green-wednesday-pot-sales/ Legally a person can buy up to 1 oz of pot, smoke it publicly and face zero consequences from it. Sounds like a big party to me. Or a train wreck. It could go either way. The questions (ignoring any moral implications of post use for the moment - I am opposed to use): How did such a law get passed in the first place? Must be some really good lobbying. Why would the state of Colorado want this? Is pot going to end up like alcohol and tobacco industries where big business lobby political parties to pass new laws in the name of Capitalism? How long do you think legal pot use will last? When do you think it will go nation wide? If pot becomes a legal commodity for consumers, I can see it being easy to buy everywhere from gas stations to Safeway with perhaps age restrictions. The price may come down. Today, it is going to sell for about 200 dollars an ounce from Denver pot stores where it is known to sell for 25 dollars on the street (according to some research). Government would be advised to lower the price in a fixed range if they want to clean up the street sales of it. After all, why would someone pay 200 when same quantity is available for 25 on the street corner? I admit that legal pot sales will probably have better quality controls then the illegal pot sales. Government would want to prevent the start of pandemics from bad fungus and that sot of thing (or would they, hmmm...) And before you write off this topic as being completely non weight loss related, check out the following article that claims pot use lowers the insulin response: www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/marijuana-and-weight-loss This thread is just a fun little discussion in "the lounge." No holy wars please. Just be honest and friendly with your responses.

I think they ought to legalize pot if alcohol is legal. Not much difference.....except pot has zero calories.

@@kbmerritt84, congratulations on getting a date for your surgery! I hope all goes well. @@Tiana Harris, Most insurance companies require some type of supervised diet. Mine required 6 months and by the time I got through all of the approvals and what not it was 9 months later. The good news about that is there has to be some good habits built in order to be successful. I used that time to change a lot about my eating and exercise habits. Although I only lost about 13 lbs during that period, I feel like I am better off now because of it. You have to learn to: 1. Chew your food like crazy 2. Eat at the table and not in front of the TV 3. Get up and get moving as much as possible 4. Don't drink 30 minutes before and after your meals 5. if you need a therapists help to deal with any food addiction issues, use this time 6. Cut out all Alcohol, Soda and Cigarettes if you use them. Thankfully I did not have to do this because I don't do any of these things currently. One every 4 to 6 months I would have a cocktail with my stepdad but I only saw him very infrequently so this was not a problem for me. Getting ready is a lot of work and I have learned that slow and steady wins the race! Good luck!

We actually had a little "smoothie party" after we got the Vitamix. We made some veggies smoothies, dessert smoothies (with frozen fruit), green smoothies, orange julius smoothies (with splenda), sorbet smoothies - you name it. There are TONS of smoothie recipes on the net. Name a veggie, fruit, nut, or flavor and there are lots of recipes. Also some excellent savory recipes for Soups and sauces. Frozen drinks (with or without alcohol). Salsa. Ice cream made with soy or almond milk. If you purchase a separate container you can make your own fluor from any grain. The versatility of this machine is actually quite impressive. Vitamix took a different approach to blending. Most blenders have sharp blades which require less power to do the blending. The problem is that the blades dull which results in excessive wear on the motor and eventual burnout. Vitamix blades are "dull" right out of the box. But they power the blades with a 2hp motor. The result is that it will liquify just about anything you can imagine to a perfect consistency. Many fruits and veggies don't even have to be peeled. A definite advantage from a nutrition standpoint since many of the Vitamins are in the peel. I sound like a Vitamix commercial! Lol. I really don't own any stock. But it's refreshing to buy a product that will do what it says it will do and do it well.

Funny you post this. I went on antibiotics last Thursday and have gained 6 pounds! I was away over the weekend and did eat more/worse choices than usual, plus some alcohol. However, I was thinking this seemed a bit high for a 2 and 1/2 day trip. ( I wasn't chugging cases of beer LOL) I am now wondering if the Amoxicillian has something to do with it....

I did not have and have not sought any mental health support. Everything I know about postop life has been "self-taught" from books, on line resources and talking to friends that have had WLS. I haven't felt any need for formal, professional support. At only 2 years postop I guess I'm still kind of a newbie, but I have passed goal, maintained for over a year and haven't had any problems adjusting to this new life. Success is just something I was committed to and mentally prepared for when I decided to have surgery. Even with the death of two of my dogs, the suicide of my best friend, and a cancer diagnoses for another good friend, I've managed to stay away from my previous food and alcohol laden coping methods. Life is hard no matter what size I am, but it's no longer all about food.

Wine is pretty good after a few months. Not something to abuse, but good to relax with. Make sure you know the time table for when to introduce according to your doctor. Mine said post 3 months if I recall correctly. Laura probably remembers my live post from the Italian restaurant in Jan 2013 where I was throwing it all in the wind with a 35 glass of fine Chardonnay at a very fine Italian restaurant. I was tipsy and having a good time with my wife after my first 1/2 glass and had trouble walking after one glass. It was a very full wine, so I think that matters when you choose one. Need less to say, I started in on a second glass and only made it one or two sips before getting an upset stomach. Waste of a glass. I think I probably drank it too fast @ 10 minutes. The effects wore off after 20 minutes. I had wine a second time @olive garden See, I do not discriminate as long as they offer the good stuff. Lol. One glass this time. Same drunken walk experience. This was in February 2013. Post 7 months. The effects wore off after 10 minutes. For the final alcohol test..ERM... experience, I tried drinking a Dangerous Dave from Dave's BBQ ( national franchise). It was basically a Long Island with a few other spirits thrown in. I was able to drink 2 of these which was very surprising. Needless to say, I was woozie for a good 3 hours after that and it did not hit all at once. Came in waves. Probably won't do that again, but it was a tasty mix. This was in march 2013. Post 8 months. I think wine is good to have, but for me, I will stick with 1/2 glass or less if it is full so I can still speak intelligently with others at the table and not fall over on the way to the mens. Lol. If it is lightweight like Moscato, then maybe I could do two glasses. Anyone care to share experiences with Moscato? Last time I had Moscato was at 2 am in a little cafe in Roma tucked back in an alley way. Per surgery at that time.

At my 6 week checkup I was cleared for alcoholic drinks (I'm not a big drinker, but asked because I had a family thing coming up) I was told wine and non carbonated things are ok in moderation, just watch anything with very sugary juices because of the "empty calories" also, no beer (carbonation) good luck!

immediately after surgery NO after a while...not a good idea. For one, since you're not getting as much food you will get drunk much faster and might not be aware of it. Also it's empty calories. you don't need alcohol to enjoy yourself

I'm not a doctor or nutritionist but I am an RN. I work at a detox/mental health IP facility. My sister had WLS 6 years ago. She was barely even a social drinker until about 1 year after the surgery. She now is a full blown alcoholic. I see it often at work too. No saying that you can't drink at all just be careful. A lot of us have a food addiction. It is far too easy to turn that occasional glass of wine into a problem attempting to fill a void. You just have to be really aware of what you are doing....