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Hi everyone I am 3 month post op and i was told i could drink after 3 month and this weekend is my friends bday so i want to take some drinks low on calories such as vodka water or whiskey and water. Any suggestions? How im i going to feel? What can you recommend?

I was recently on a cruise to celebrate my surgeversary (March 22, 2016). There are sooo many choices of food, you will not have a problem finding something to eat. You shouldn't have a problem if you are avoiding alcohol and soda - those cost extra anyway... They always have water, lemonade available. at breakfast they also have juices available (apple, orange, cranberry). The thing to be careful of??? the buffet. The plate are large, so try to recognize what portion sizes are in relation to you hand.

I needed peace of mind over my hot sauce, chili, jalapeño, pepper addiction, so I called Inamed. While they're not dismissing that foods/drinks that cause acid reflux should be avoided, they said the main reasons for erosion (in baby talk) are: 1. During surgery, something could happen that needs to be repaired or cauterized - a little poke/tear/cut perhaps - that could go unnoticed by the surgeon. If the surgeon closes you up and sends you home, this type of unrepaired problem can cause erosion. 2. An infection from the original surgery can cause erosion. As far as alcohol, Inamed warns banded patients to stay away because of the empty calories, not because of erosion. Erosion from alcohol or spicy foods isn't on their warning list.

I asked my doctor several times about this. He told me that several things can cause erosion. He told me to totally avoid alcohol and spicy foods. He also said that having your band filled too much can cause this. Apparently, at the risk of sounding kind of elementary and ignorant, your band doesn't erode, but the inside of your stomach erodes where the bad is located. It's almost like an ulcer. I hope others can add to this.

DeLarla, I'm sure every doctor has their own opinion about how to minimize the risk of erosion. Mine was pretty head strong against alcohol and spicy foods since both of these things can irritate the stomach. They are two things that you wouldn't want to consume if you had a stomach ulcer. He also said it would be good to avoid citris beverages like grapefruit and orange juice because of the acid content. Again, these are things that my doctor went over with me several times, he obviously has a little different opinion than your doctor. I read about a German doctor this morning that wants his newly banded patients on liquids for 4 weeks after surgery, then 2 weeks of mushies after that. Oh my! That would kill me

I read people who have wls are more likely to abuse drugs or alcohol is this total crap or what? My brother found the article have you guys ever heard this?

My surgeon mentioned it on several occasions. Sees more folks become alcoholics with RNY rather than VSG. That's what his take was.

Yes, you can eventually have alcohol (in moderation) again. I brought alcohol back in around 3 months post-op. I strictly adhered to the 30 minutes before and after eating no drinking rule for at least a year post-op. I've relaxed that somewhat now, especially if I am eating out, but generally, I can't drink that much while I am eating without feeling bad. So, I more or less adhere to that, but I do have a sip here and a sip there. It is normal to have reservations. This is a big change. But there comes a time when you have to decide what is more important -- your health or these other things (certain foods and drinks, routines, etc.). I just bought a new pair of slim fit jeans in a 31X32 and a beautiful cashmere sweater size small. That means SO MUCH MORE TO ME than any food, drink or routine! Good luck!

Congratulations and best of luck. I haven't had soda since 5/1 and any alcohol since 5/3. Somedays that is a shock to me, most of the time I forget :-).

Thanks for the info...I think I will try it out. I am familiar with the 12 steps since I am a drug and alcohol counselor but with AA or NA abstinence is the answer but with food it's different??????

I was told by surgeon and nutritionist to keep away from alcohol for a least six months if not permanently. In some they said it causes dumping, but also we can get drunk very quickly, and that statistic shows that one in four bypass patients becomes alcoholic. Addiction transfer, and our faster absorption. To me that sounds scary.

My surgeons office said people can dump from sugar alcohol but I have had things with 29 g of sugar in them and haven't dumped yet so I guess it depends on the person! Sent from my iPhone using RNYTalk

My surgeon said to keep sugar alcohol intake fairly low, or at leadt keep aware of it She said that it will cause gas and therefore a lot of discomfort if you have too much.

So - my plan requires four nutritionist appts, and two are before surgery. The first one is in the large group pre-op and it was basically just an overview she came in to give, answering questions about alcohol, soda and other no-nos. The second one was an hour long and we had to pay for it. I had to fill out a 3-4 page form about my eating habits and what I hoped to get out of the appt, and if I had any questions for the nutritionist. She never once looked at my questions or concerns, and spent the whole hour essentially reading the post-op diet to me (which I've already read several times) and going over do-s and don't-s of weight loss surgery--all of which were in the booklet we were given to read - and told to read before hand. I did glean she knew her stuff about nutrition in general, and might well be very helpful after the surgery - and if i'm to see her again i'll call or write ahead and tell them I've read the material and need to spend the time otherwise. Long way around to saying - my pre-op NUT appts were a total bust. I wouldn't waste a lot of time and money before surgery seeing one, but once you've had the surgery and are closer to eating in a new way, and have more 'real time' questions and various things like taste, nutrients and amounts are becoming known - that might be a great time to see one. There was literally not one thing said in either appointment I had that wasn't in the reading material and on this terrific site from such great experts as everyone on here.

When I went out to a social gathering before I could drink, I would have water with a shot of cranberry juice in it. This made it look like a mixed drink, and it wasn't obvious that I wasn't drinking alcohol. I also had a glass of tomato juice but that might be a bit too harsh still if you are only 3 weeks out.

I was told to wait until six months post-op for alcohol in any form. I think I had a drink at 4 months out. If you're not back on solid food, I certainly wouldn't put any alcohol in the sleeve. Your staple line isn't completely healed and you might actually end up with pain or burning from the drink.

:clap2:Well today is better. I went for my first office visit since my surgery on Sept. 27,2007. I was glad to see my doctor. I was not so happy with him. I was hungry and felt I had left 2 messages and no one returned my calls. I wasn't in the state of emergency, no fever, nothing I felt I should call him on his cell about. But all in all I had left 2 messages. Sweet as he is, He turned it all around and said u know no matter what you can call my cell !!! Well I couldn't give a response so...He is very likeable and cute so what's a woman to do. I had lost 10 1/2 lbs so he was pleased wth me. I go back in 3 weeks for my 1st fill. He really shoots from the hip, no playing around kinda guy. Kinda harsh buts says he can't sugar coat any part of this or we run with it. Simple we use any excuse in the world to make adjustments for our crazy life style. One thing that he told me the day before the surgery, which I have to say kinda made me stand up and take notice was... He was talking to 2 other women besides myself, all getting the surgery & says look all three of yall ladies are wearing slip on shoes. So you can just throw them on and throw them off. Saying yall have made adjustments for your obesity. Which while thinking kinda pissed me off, but I had to be real or I will never get to the bottom of why I was ever over weight in the 1st place. Like he mentioned grabbing a chair without arms. I guess things we never really take notice of. My thing was seems like every time I went there everyone was larger than me. Yeah like me being 257 lbs. was small. What a joke, so I was justifiing me being severly morbitly obese. Just another excuse to excuse my lifestyle. Like a drug addict, well I only smoke a little weed or alcohol, I drink only on weekends, I'm not on the streets making an a$$ out of myself or beating my kids or the cops being at my house cause someone was out of control. Just all excuses to justify why we do what we do. By the way I do not do drugs or drink alcohol, lol So I know 1 thing for sure I have to get down to the real facts of why I seemed t not be happy , which I have loads of fun, or just seem to want to destoy my life. One thing about all this surgery, yeah I want the fine body, but my health was falling so much, I just want to be lighter & live so much longer !!! Now there I said the real TRUTH!!! :clap2:

This month marks my 2 years since surgery. I have lost 50% of my body weight since surgery and I am happy where I am at. My problem is...I am TERRIFIED of putting ANY weight back on. I think I am so concerned about it because if I tell someone I have had the surgery, they are like "oh, that's great, my so and so had that surgery but he/she gained all their weight back." I eat pretty good, no fast food, I don't drink alcohol, and I think on average I consume about 1,500 calories a day which I have been told I should be averaging about 800-1000 for being 2 year post op. I try to get 30 mins of walking in per day. I just don't know if I should have the fear of putting the weight back on or if I am over reacting. I step on the scale every day and I know that is not psychologically healthy. I need some guidance from someone that has had gastric bypass surgery and has successfully kept their weight off. This may be a stupid question, but do people that have had gastric bypass surgery put weight on faster than the average person with a similar diet? I really need a good mentor that can help me work through these clearly emotional issues I am having.

Basically, this is rationing to meet the needs of society. In some cases, it might be appropriate. Carrying the liver transplant patient analogy forward, some find the six-months abstinence rule offensive. However, a person can live without alcohol and will require anti-rejection drugs for life. If they cannot maintain compliance, they will die and the liver they received will have been wasted. There is a huge waiting list relative to the supply and living donation is more dangerous to the donor. Bariatric surgery does not require that another life be lost (i.e. deceased) or someone come forward to donate part of their own body. I believe one of the reasons follow-up for patients is critical for science is to provide evidence that supports practice. Would it be appropriate to deny someone a 2nd/3rd surgery? Perhaps -I don't know. We don't have unlimited resources and don't put enough efforts into prevention. Moving forward, how do we balance this? My fear is that those of us who struggle with obesity are viewed negatively and blamed for our own condition. I don't believe the answer is that simple, so I am not comfortable with a blanket policy without overwhelming science to support it.

I am new to the board and I was scheduled today to be banded on November 17th. I am a 5'9, 275 lb male with severe sleep apnea and NASH (non-alcoholic hepatitis) There was NO discussion about pre-op diet, just that I would meet with the doc the week before, and do labs etc for pre-op. My liver is enlarged and my bmi is 40, does everyone have a pre-op diet, or am I not big enough to have to worry about it? I am concerned that I will not get this done on time. Can someone fill me in on pre-op diets and whether everyone has to have one ( I would assume my liver size would need to shrink) Maybe Restless Monkey can help because it is the same doctor. Maybe they will call in a couple of weeks. Thanks Dr. Cavazos San Antonio Texas Center for Medical and Surgical Weight Loss

What I was told is that alcohol is empty calories...also because your stomach is now smaller and holds less food it will take you less to get drunk. Other than that a little wine here and there won't hurt you

Bariatric-branded vitamins are not necessary or better. Taking 2 Multivitamins a day from Centrum or One A Day, or their generics (from Costco, Walgreens, etc) are fine. Try to find a multi that does NOT contain both calcium and iron as taking them together impedes absorption of both, so then it is as if you didn’t take them at all. I take One A Day 50+ as it doesn’t contain iron and then I dose my heme iron separately (2-4 hours apart) from my multi and calcium citrate supplementation. My thyroid medication is also impacted if I take iron and calcium with it , so I don’t; instead, I take thyroid RXs first thing in the morning and vitamins at lunch, dinner, and bedtime. Works out great, which has been verified with excellent lab work results. If you find your vitamins are too big, you can use a pill cutter to make them smaller. However, I didn’t need to do this myself. The only modification I did in early post-op days was to take vitamins one at a time instead of as a handful of pills. As well, don’t stress out about taking or not taking vitamins in the first month as you have plenty of them stored up in your body and won’t go deficient right away. Ease into your new vitamin regimen if that works better for you. i found chewable and dissolving vitamins made me nauseous or caused me to vomit after bariatric surgery. I think this is because they contain sugar alcohols which are no bueno for me now. Lastly, my doctor emphatically said to NOT take Flinstones or children’s vitamins as they don’t contain the right types of vitamins and amounts.

yep I agree with thin. You have the rest of your life to drink alcohol. It is just too soon. I would say wait at least 6 months or so.

So this is just my random experience, but I thought that it might conceivably help someone else. I'm pre-surgery, and as instructed, I started all the best practices that you're supposed to do to get used to post-surgery life. I switched to very low carb, ate tiny little bites, gave up caffeine and alcohol, started taking my Vitamins, stepped up my exercise, etc. About a week into this regime, I developed horrible Restless Leg Syndrome. If you've never had it, count yourself lucky. It's a particular type of nerve damage and it makes you want to jump out of your skin. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't sit comfortably. I had the urge to run up and down the stairs constantly just to make the pain/crawly sensation stop. (I did in fact run around, went to exercise classes, yoga, etc.) It barely made a dent. Could it be the low carb, I wondered? Lack of alcohol? Was I really so addicted to a couple of glasses of wine per evening that I couldn't give it up without nerve pain? Yikes! I started reading RLS forums, and learned that there's often no solution, but some people get help from supplements. So I went to the cupboard to get my bariatric vitamins, looked at the bottle, and thought "Wait a minute! This started when I started the vitamins! It's the vitamins." I dumped the bottle in the trash, and within about four days the problem was mostly gone. By the end of the week it was entirely gone. So obviously this is an anomalous response to the vitamins. (They were the main Bariatric Advantage daily vitamins, FWIW.) Most people have no problems. But I did, and since it only takes about 15 minutes to type this up and might possibly help one or two other people, I thought I'd put it out there.

On the first day of ObesityWeek 2016, The New York Times featured a major story on obesity with the headline, “Americans Blame Obesity on Willpower, Despite Evidence It’s Genetic.” This was no coincidence. The story was timed to the release of a national consumer survey conducted by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) on perceptions Americans have about obesity and its treatment. Major national news outlets including People magazine, Medscape, Yahoo News, CNBC, MedPage Today and even Cosmopolitan covered the ASMBS/NORC Obesity Poll. The ASMBS Executive Council decided several months earlier to partner with the highly regarded independent research organization NORC at the University of Chicago to identify current views, perceptions, and misperceptions about obesity and its treatment held by the American public. Additionally, the ASMBS wanted to use the survey as an educational and public awareness platform to inspire national dialog on the diagnosis and treatment of obesity and generate national media coverage on the issues that interfere with the treatment of the disease. “The barriers to treatment go beyond insurance,” said Raul J. Rosenthal, who was president of the ASMBS during the time the survey was conducted. “We felt the survey could uncover other barriers including fear and denial about the disease and misperceptions about the safety and effectiveness of the treatments, including weight-loss surgery.” In addition to comments from ASMBS president at the time, Dr. Raul J. Rosenthal, The New York Times contained reactions to the survey from several obesity experts from throughout the country. Dr. Donna Ryan, an obesity researcher and professor emerita at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La. said, “It’s frustrating to see doctors and the general public stigmatize patients with obesity and blame these patients, ascribing attributes of laziness or lack of willpower. We would never treat patients with alcoholism or any chronic disease this way. It’s so revealing of a real lack of education and knowledge.” “Trying 20 times and not succeeding — is that lack of willpower, or a problem that can’t be treated with willpower?” asked Dr. Louis Aronne, director, Comprehensive Weight Control Center at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian. One problem, though, is that medical professionals can be as misinformed as the public, said Dr. Scott Kahan, an obesity medicine specialist who is an assistant professor at George Washington University and directs the National Center for Weight and Wellness, an obesity clinic. Doctors, he said, learn nothing about obesity in medical school, which might be why only 12 percent of those in the survey with severe obesity said a doctor had suggested surgery to them. “We are talking about people who are 100, 200 pounds overweight,” Dr. Kahan added. Dr. Caroline M. Apovian, the president-elect of the Obesity Society and director of the nutrition and weight management center at Boston University, echoed Dr. Kahan’s concerns about the failure by doctors to mention the only effective course of treatment. “If I said that was the case for cardiovascular disease and bypass surgery, you would say doctors are negligent,” she said. Major finding from the ASMBS/NORC Obesity Poll include: 81 percent of Americans consider obesity to be the most serious health problem facing the nation, tying cancer and ahead of diabetes (72 percent) and heart disease (72 percent) 94 percent think obesity itself increases the risk for an early death, even when no other health problems are present Most Americans think diet and exercise on one’s own is the most effective (78 percent) for long-term weight loss, saying it’s even more effective than weight-loss surgery (60 percent) and prescription obesity drugs (25 percent) 1 in 3 of those struggling with obesity, report that they have never spoken with a doctor or health professional about their weight Only 12 percent of those with severe obesity, for whom weight-loss surgery may be an option, say a doctor has ever suggested they consider surgery Only 22 percent of Americans with obesity rate their health positively, and half report being diagnosed with two or more chronic conditions 88 percent say losing weight through diet and exercise, especially with the help of a doctor, is the safest way to do it, while prescription medications (15 percent) and dietary supplements (16 percent) are perceived to be the least safe About one-third believe weight-loss surgery to be either safe (31 percent), unsafe (37 percent), or neither safe nor unsafe (31 percent), though 68 percent think that living with obesity is still riskier than having weight-loss surgery 62 percent consider obesity simply a risk factor for other diseases and not a disease itself 48 percent believe obesity is caused primarily by a person’s lifestyle choices and that the biggest barrier to weight loss is a lack of willpower (75 percent) For more information, you may find two reports associated with the survey: “Obesity Rises to Top Health Concern for Americans, but Misperceptions Persist,” and, “New Insights into Americans’ Perceptions and Misperceptions of Obesity Treatments, and the Struggles Many Face.” http://www.norc.org/Research/Projects/Pages/the-asmbsnorc-obesity-poll.aspx.