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I wanted to thank all the members that responded to my first posting. You made me feel welcome, and so positive! I am only speaking for myself when I say I know I'm like an alcoholic when it comes to food. I will always need the band and support just as many alcoholics need AA. For today, I have replaced overeating with excercise and learning to like myself. When I become stressed, tired or board and I overeat my band reminds me that this is no longer an alternative. If I continue to push the band it becomes irritated and constricts more. I know if I want to keep my band I have to work with it and know that it is part of me. Probably for the rest of my life.

Alcohol has absolutely no nutritional value. Food is supposed to keep us alive, not give us pleasure. Can you just do without? One drink can equal all you're daily calories.

One thing I can say for sure after reading these boards for over a year, is that everyone is different. So my advice is to choose the alcoholic beverage that appeals to you and drink it slowly -- the first time I had a drink was about 6 weeks after surgery. I ordered a skinny cosmo - a drink I had many times before surgery and considered it to be a fruity light thing - and it burned like I was drinking grain alcohol! I had to give it to my friend to drink, I could barely get down 2 sips. I found that I was able to handle wine soon after that, but if that doesn't appeal to you then you will find something that works for you. I am able to drink every kind of alcohol at this point and have been able to since 6 months out. I don't like beer and I stay away from carbonation because I don't love it, but I enjoy all kinds of cocktails, sangria and wine. You are on your own journey and it can be fun figuring out what works for you and what doesn't. It is a new world, enjoy it!

I have chosen to make this surgery, and the way I live my life now, a total lifestyle change. Meaning, I will eat/drink this way for the rest of my life in order to maintain my weight loss and not regain everything 5 years down the road. For me, that means all things in moderation. I lost 70 lbs several years ago, eating no carbs, drinking no alcohol, basically starving myself, and of course - it was not sustainable, and I wound up at 323 lbs. I am determined not to make that same mistake again. Unless you are a nun or have decided to give up your social life entirely, it's kind of ridiculous to think that you will NEVER EVER touch alcohol (or French fries, or a cupcake, or whatever) again. A healthy relationship with food is about making good choices as much as possible, indulging occasionally, and being active. That being said: OP, when I have a beverage I generally have a small glass of wine; but since that has been ruled out, my suggestions are.... Vodka with lime juice and a splash of simple syrup Vodka with light cranberry juice (sometimes the bar has it, sometimes not) Or, my favorite, a Bloody Mary ???? vodka and v8, basically I am 9 months out and 120 lbs down, and still dropping. I eat carbs and drink wine occasionally, as a treat. Has that made my weight loss slower? Maybe. Is this lifestyle something I can keep up the rest of my life? Absolutely.

I don't think anyone here that is seriously wanting to lose weight has the mindset that "just one is okay", whether that is about food, alcohol, drugs, or whatever vice one may have. With that being said, the vast majority of those having bariatric surgery had to jump through several hoops for insurance to approve them. One of those hoops were a psychological evaluation. I won't get into the medical criteria for alcohol addiction, but I think @@Roxie Malone can tell the difference between having a social drink vs drinking alcohol everyday because one cannot stop. Lastly, no one will be 100% perfect with their diet. It's not possible. Can you honestly say that you will never eat a piece of pizza ever again? I know I can't and I won't. The key is moderation.

My adult beverage of choice is wine -- either white or red, depending on the season and the food I'm likely to drink later. (The taste of the wine is still there for me.) In winter, I love single malt scotch. When I drink, I only have one drink (4-5 ounces of wine), and I don't drink every day / night, but usually do on weekends. I'm the definition of a social drinker (max of 1 drink a day). For those who care: http://alcoholrehab.com/alcoholism/social-drinking-defined/

I was prescribed Lovenox as part of my post-op treatment protocol. As others have mentioned, the needles are really small, 27 ga. normally. I don't even feel them. Regardless, the benefit far outweighs the minor discomfort. My pharmacy did not have any alcohol prep pads when I picked up my script (my Dr. sent me the script 2 weeks before surgery so I would be prepared when I got home). I went to Amazon and found them at a reasonable price and got a small box. Just remember to let the alcohol evaporate for a few seconds prior to injecting, to minimize discomfort from the alcohol.

I was reading somewhere about how having a glass of wine is good for you and could help you lose weight.. Well, I never drink wine because I just don't like it very much, and I certainly don't drink during the week when I have to work.. but last night I went and bought a bottle of Lambrusco and had half a glass... boy was it good.. then I had another half of a glass... I'm feeling really good now.. then another half a glass.. then I started playing WoW with my hubby.... and listened to music.. I started dancing at my desk uncontrollably.. I mean, I litterally worked up a sweat. I had the whole chair involved.. it was like a 20 minute intense workout.. went and had another glass... played WOW, kicked ass and won 4 battlegrounds... made stupid comments in game like "wine is so divine" and "dancing is fun".. people probably thought I was nuts considering most of the people on there are 16 year old nerdy boys... Didn't go to bed till 2.. woke up with red tongue and teeth ... and yes, I brushed them.. still slightly a pinkish hue even today. lol. But, I lost 1 pound. HA HA.. So now I wonder.. isn't there such a thing as transferred addiction? like what if I become some raging wine alcoholic playing WoW and dancing in my chair everynight?? Do I need help???? Because even as I type this, all I keep thinking about is the rest of that wine and how I want just one more glass tonight....after I work out of course. lol.

After the Prilosec last PM I still had a wicked cough while trying to sleep BUT no heartburn at all today. I spoke w/ the NP at my lap band center and she suggested I take the Prilosec daily for 7-10 days and that I go to full liquids for a few days as well as avoid caffeine, spicy foods and alcohol. Joan

I think where @MsMocie was going is that alcohol can be extremely hard on the mucus membranes of your upper GI tract. This in turn causes erosion, especially in areas of healing suture or staple lines. Erosion can cause ulceration of this healing tissue and lead to GI bleeds. Many GI bleeds can be life threatening and are very common in heavy drinkers. A newly healing suture/staple line mixed with alcohol can speed up this erosive process, so you don’t have to consume much, which is why there is danger in alcohol consumption those first few months. Please correct me if I was off base on where you were going @MsMocie. Hope that helps, Tek. 😊

When I was losing, I had the odd glass. I think the first was a gin at my cousin’s 40th at about 2 months but then I didn’t have another for months. It truely took me hours to drink the low ball & no effect. Alcohol just doesn’t interest me as much & I had at least one big glass every night before I had surgery. I find a lot of alcohol too sweet now even some red wines. I’ll have a glass of something if socialising now (but who does that much anymore) but it’s not uncommon for me not to finish it. Honestly I do consider if it’s worth the calories & it’s usually not. The concern about alcohol is the addiction swapping: swapping a food addiction, which can’t be easily satisfied after surgery, for an alcohol addiction. My dietician told me Esomeprazole medication does reduce the effects of alcohol (not the amount of alcohol in your blood steam). I’ve never seen reports of this but she was a pharmaceutical rep previously so ... shrug. I’m certainly not advocating its use for this if it’s true but it could also explain some of why you didn’t have any ill effects after if you are taking it.

I was put on a 4 week pre op diet, and the first 2 weeks went by not to hard at all, but the second two weeks oh man they were awful, i got just so bored having to eat basically the same thing over and over again, I hate eating the same thing like that, and then also the list of foods i was allowed...i didn't really like most of the veggies so it was really hard.. My surgery is on tuesday, and i've lost more then the required weight that they wanted me to loose so hopefully my cheating i did (was on the weekends when i was out and about mostly, and one of the days having to waitt 7 hours at the airport cause my mom's flight got delayed....ugggg cheating with gross vending machine sandwhichs just sucked but me and my husband were so hungry) doesn't hurt to much since i still lost the weight....but I know i should have been good, i just wish i had only had to do the 2 weeks that would have been so much easier cause it went by so quickly and i did so well those first two weeks.... They put me on the slim fast diet for the 4 weeks, had to do 4 instead of 2 because of how high my bmi is....unfortionately i'm not that much of a chocolate fan...(I mean yea i like chocolate but not as 5 meals a day...thats just overboard) .so yea slimfast products are like almost all chocolate especially the bars....i'm suppose to have 5 slim fast products a day including bars and shakes, and then i can eat 1 small meal, of 5 oz of lean meat and 2 cups of veggies. I guess the slimfast diet is better then just a liquid diet...but it still sucked.....I just started getting so sick to my stomach eating those dang slim fast bars, some of them are ok, when your craving a candy bar, but other then that, its not a meal fix its a craving for a candy bar fix......i found one of the shakes at least that i liked the cappacino one, but only suppose to have 2 of the meal items a day the other three had to be the 100 calorie basically candy bars...with only 1 g of protein, i don't know what thats suppose to do.......and reading about the surgeries getting cancelled cause the dang liver didn't shrink enough, it just seems pointless i don't think i would be able to go through with it again if that happened.....i'd think it wasn't meant to be, and i'd be extremely pissed....I may have cheated some, but i stayed away from mostly everything i was suppose to stay away from, i traded some of the meals with similar calorie and higher protein items, and for the most part stayed within the 1200 calories, and i didn't touch a soda not once, and i lost 5 % of my weight like they required plus an extra couple of pounds......so regardless of my cheating i think i did good, so yea for all who cheated....damn it we need food to live, we're not alcoholics who don't need the damn alcohol to live, but we need the food to live so its really alot harder to give up i think we have it the hardest of any addiction, you can't just stop eating.....you need food to live....so be proud of yourself if for the most part you did good, or you think you did good, and other then that, well screw it.....i'm just kinda rambling right now...its 2 in the morning and i don't usually stay up this late so who knows if what i'm writing makes any since...but anyways just a ramblings of a girl who wants a baby and is getting her stomach cut out to hopefully get pregnant......so anyways good luck to all you pre ops out there, don't give up, try to stick with the damn awful pre op diets....and keep your heads up high, and be proud of yourself for doing your best and taking this next step into a healthy better happier longer life

You know, I don't think my doctor mentioned a time period when I could have alcohol. He just said start off small and try doing it at home first because the way your body will react to it will be different than pre-op. I'm not a big drinker so this isn't an issue for me. However, this time of year for me is very stressful (end of semester grading) and it's usually the time when I do pull out the vodka. I'm a bit hesitant as my stomach is having a few issues with certain foods and I'm not sure if I really want to test it just yet. LOL

I'm 7 weeks out now and wanted to know when can you introduce alcohol into your lifestyle. Sometimes socially theres pressure to have a drink or 2 and i'm not sure if it's too soon for me to drink yet.

Since a lot of people, pre-op and post-op, ask about alcohol consumption, I thought I'd throw out my experience. Last night, we attended John's squadron Christmas party. I wanted to try a glass of wine. They had a decent assortment, and I chose a Kendall Jackson Reisling. I drank about 1/2 the glass before our meal while socializing, zero issues, no burning, pain, or discomfort. Then, ate, 3 bites of prime rib, 3 bites of the stuffed chicken, about 4oz of mashed potatoes with gravy, and 3 or 4 broccoli florets. After dinner, I had a few sips of coffee, then finished the glass of wine. I also took 3 small bites of cheesecake, and John ate the rest. Everything tasted very good, and around 9:30, I decided to have another glass of wine. Again, no ill effects, no burning, no pain, and I never caught a "buzz". Just a normal little relaxed feeling that I got pre-op from wine. I was really hesitant to try anything alcoholic, but am happy to report that I was able to enjoy a couple glasses of wine without issues.

This surgery is not a qucik fix, its just a tool to help us fight this disease. Its very challenging and not an instant fix. food addiction will be a lifeling battle just like for alcoholics, you have to be ready to fight the fight. But remember you cant do it alone, get to a local support group or jin Weight wathchers. They sometimes have a 100 plus group<but either way they will rally around you> we can still eat with a band so if we donthave help it can be overwhelimng. Get that appt asap, tell yourself you are worth it> frankly your dr needs to step up and offer resources,ask him what he can recommend. Also see a therapist who specializes in weight loss, that has helped me alot. I am surprised your dr didnt recommend gastric bypass instead of lapband.....but look at the bright side with the band you are in control. I own a rental in queen creek so I know where you are, maybe one day we can compare pictures after our success!

I have an alcoholic father. If there's anything I can do to offer support, please let me know.

Ok…. so they gave us six tips these people seem to have in common and I’m thinking most people won’t get past the first one. Just like knowing the sky is blue, this first tip will be just like being told it isn’t….but what if this nugget is really spot-on? Truth is it won’t apply to everyone but I’m going to attempt to explain why it might apply to way more than you think. Let’s get the next part over with (the posting of the list) so we can go ahead and get done with the screaming after reading the first rule. Rule No. 1. Don’t ever cheat. They never give themselves a break, not even on holidays or weekends. Rule No. 2. Eat breakfast. The National Weight Control Registry shows that’s one of the most common traits of those who succeed in keeping those pounds off once and for all. Rule No. 3. Get on a scale every day. Rule No. 4. Put in the equivalent of a four-mile walk seven days a week. Rule No. 5. Watch less than half as much TV as the overall population. Rule No. 6. Eat 50 to 300 calories less than most people. So rule 4,5, and 6 deal with the “stuff” we’ve heard forever….calories in/calories out. For years I never ate breakfast because every day for over three decades I woke up with the idea that I would go as long as possible without eating. Too bad no one was around to tell me in the 4th grade that I was destroying my metabolism. So check…Rule 2 is a given. Since finding out there are about approximately 2,000 steps in a mile, most days…Rule 4, check! Rule 5 done. Sometimes I watch TV while I’m walking so I’m not sure exactly how that fits in. Rule 3 is an absolute for me. “Hello scale” every morning…it just gives me feedback and it has no special monster powers. I’ll do a “part two” in order to cover this in another post because this one is for everyone still laying on the floor from a cold faint after reading Rule 1. My surgery was nearly 13 years ago and I’ve learned many, many things. Some beliefs that were absolutes changed and Rule 1 was one of them. I’ve told this before and I’m telling it again. Early on I would allow myself my one guilty pleasure ONLY IF I was able to get 5 pounds below goal. (It was a Quarter Pounder with cheese – insert my self induced shame). I was somehow able to stick to that but what I noticed was on the days I couldn’t have it, I wanted it! Eventually it became harder and nearly impossible to get 5 pounds below goal and after some period of time I also realized that I was beginning to forget how my “crack” meal tasted. Then I totally forgot and I didn’t even crave it anymore. Because I stopped eating it I had successfully rewired my brain to lose the cravings. I was also acutely aware the cravings would come right back if I ate another one…even one bite. Um….duh. That’s sort of like quitting cigarettes and having one just for fun after 3 years. I’ll say this again too. For me, the idea of taking a bite of something to get past the craving equates to giving an alcoholic a sip of beer to stop the craving. SOME of us can take these bites but so many cannot. If I had a quarter for every post-op that told me the M&M story, I could take a trip to Mexico. The M&M story you might ask? Maybe it’s because they are tiny…but the story always starts the same. “I was doing great for 2 years, 4 years, (sometimes even longer) and I ate one M&M. Really what could that hurt? Next it was two then three…then a small bag, a bigger bag.” Some call it testing the waters. They went such a long time without one single M&M and nobody died, they certainly didn’t miss out on anything of nutritional value and they were doing great until they decided they could try just one. In other words they never cheated during that time and most were at the weight they wanted to be or at least smaller than after they started the M&M’s. You CAN be abstinent from sugar and junk food and it is far easier if you have none instead of a little for those that struggle with not being able to stop. Again let me repeat….IF you can “eat just one”, go for it. I’m beyond thrilled for you!!! If you find you are not losing or you are in the process of regain, you could always try stopping any food you don’t wish to crave. Try it for a month but approach it one day at a time. When I’m somewhere and there’s a bowl of M&M’s, I look at it as if it’s a bowl of cyanide. Sugar put me in the prison of an obese body and at the end I would have rather died than spend another day at my heaviest weight. And really….if you were a drug addict would you allow yourself a cheat snort once a week? This is a great quote that applies. 100% is easy, 99% is a b***h. Not eating processed sugar and junk food 100% is so easy but 99% leaves a ton of wiggle room. It has became totally effortless for me to avoid these foods but please don’t misunderstand…..my journey is still something I work on every….single…day. If you still think this is utterly ridiculous, file it away for later. My favorite quote: There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance — that principle is contempt prior to investigation. It means don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. And just in case you might have missed this before… I’ll leave you with an oldie but goodie.. .

Glow... if i were in your shoes.... i would just tell him that i quit. How will he know the difference. Make your appt early in the morning. Spray your self down with perfume and rinse your mouth with mouth wash. I don't smoke, but everyone in the house that i grew up in did... so i'm use to being around it and it doesn't bother me. Althought quitting would be great, some people can't. Smoking is a personal choice and if you want to smoke..... then smoke. I still drink my Mt. Dew (i'm not giving it up) and alcohol when i want too. its my personal choice. Like i said before, my friend Paula smoked before and still does.... and she has been having her band for over three years.

you are worth the changes we need to do. we became obese because we never said stop to food, right? now you have a new challenge, you are worth it. take one step at a time, take a breath and see what happens. walking will help you get your mind off the weight gain, start now. keep in touch with the forum. we want to see you succeed, you can do it. drug addicts and alcoholics stop using, so can you. I have been drug and alcohol free for almost 29 yrs. if I had looked at stopping everything past one day or even one hour at a time in the beginning I would never have made it. the best thing I did was get and use support of a group. I trusted others who had gone through the same issues, it works. smoking is not good for you, it is a drug. take care of you, you are worthwhile!!!

Yeap, it's amazing the things we learn from ours and other people's experience. That's it, just give your stomach and aesophagus some rest for a couple of days, and the best thing for that is to stay on liquid+mushies, don't eat solid food for 48hrs. And most of all, don't drink wine when you have a PB episode or throw up, or slime - the wine (or any other alcohol beverage) will only irritate your stomach even more. niki

Wow. Good riddance I say. My husband lost 70 lbs taking a weekly injectible for diabetes before I had my surgery. I know he wanted me to lose weight too. I had the sleeve in Dec 2019, and lost 104 lbs in 12 months and am maintaining that weight eating and drinking what I want but in tiny portions. I eat healthier than I used to, but I definitely still eat things on occasion that I did not eat in the first year at all, and I had no alcohol for the first 12 months. I am lucky like that, he was very supportive and even did the shake diet with me in the beginning. He's a great cook and it was my love of his good cooking and my liking to eat that got me to 304 lbs in the first place. I ate it all willingly, but he cooks healthier for me now. After 30 years I can't imagine my life with out him. That guy wasn't the right one for you, be glad he helped you see that before he broke your heart or it cost you money.

I'm 18.5 weeks pregnant. I won't have any issues losing the pregnancy weight. I'll just low carb it again until I get the weight off. I gained a few pounds over the holidays and dropped those pounds in a little over a week just by cutting alcohol and carb consumption. As for the breakdown of weight gain with a pregnancy, this is what they've outlined for my weight gain: Maternal Fat- 7lbs Baby- 6-8lbs (average is 7.5lbs) Increases Fluid (blood volume)-2-4 ( a mother's blood volume typically doubles during pregnancy) Amniotic Fluid- 1-1.5lbs Placenta- 2lbs Breast tissue/mammary system weight increase - 1-2lbs Watch out for the ROSE procedure, it has an 85% failure rate. This is also discussed heavily on the obesityhelp.com Revision forum. ERNY (extended RNY, where they remove more intestine to start malabsorption again since intestinal adaptation has taken over at this point for you) is also an option. They will shorten your common channel by another 50-100cm. You definitely want to know before you agree to a revision if you have a pouch or stoma dilation because if you have actual mechanical failure with your RNY even a band over the pouch isn't going to do much because once the food passes through the band pouch into your RNY pouch, you will still be able to more food, and your malabsorption is gone. As for Jerusalem clinic, honestly, out of over 3 years on weight loss forums, I have never read of one patient having a RNY take down and revision to the VSG being performed there and honestly that is possibly why they are recommending the band over the bypass pouch to give you restriction again. Seriously, I can name 4 surgeons worldwide that are experienced with these surgeries, and with self-pay patients the cost just for the surgeon run upwards of 20-30k because it is such a complicated and exhausting surgery to take down an old RNY. I promise I researched revisions for months once I knew my band had to come out. The risks for complications especially leaks from scar tissue and adhesions literally quadruples with revisions vs. a virgin, unaltered stomach/intestinal tract. I had a leak with a band revision to VSG after only having the band for 8 months, and actually lost more stomach tissue because of the damage the band had done. My surgeon was experienced with revisions, and I happen to be a statistic of his that I'd like to take back. I was his first and only VSG leak so it can happen even with really experienced surgeons. I'm not slamming Jerusalem Clinic, but revisions are super tricky, complicated, and I would hate to see you fork out the money, get a surgery that is as high maintenance as the BOB procedure and then continue to struggle with your weight and be looking at or for another surgery. There have been RNY to VSG revisions performed due to reactive hypoglycemia symptoms and diagnosis after RNY, but again, it's a very complicated surgery with high risks. Just choose carefully, and continue to research your options.

I am still wading into this thread, but one of the things I've seen is this repeated insistence that "I have to drink, it's part of my job." Hey, you know, there are a lot of recovering alcoholics or other folks in the world with jobs that have a social component like this. As a result, there are plenty of great alternatives to have other than liquor which will allow you to "look" like you're participating, if that's the issue. For example, a bit of cranberry juice with Water on the rocks or shaken and into a martini glass with a twist of lime. Looks like a cocktail, has much less bad going for it than a drink. Basically, if you need *appearance*, then your fabulous bartender can create that for you with ease. You walk up to a bartender you know and say, "I need a great looking virgin cocktail with no carbonation and easy on the sugars." Done! So, when someone says, "Oh, but I need to have the actual alcohol," then I agree that's something else. I'm not going to go so far as to say "OMG red flag," but as someone who grew up doing peer alcohol education, I don't think it's terrible to say to someone, "Have you considered some non-alcohol options that might be healthier and let you have more than one "drink" a night?"

I chose to sever ties with my best friend of 7 years. She is diabetic, will not take care of herself, and can't stop eating or drinking alcohol, I had tried to help her on numerous occasions, I told her please don't end up like an ex of mine that almost died from diabetes because he would not take care of himself, I also asked her to please stop drinking, for her own health, and I told her that she was seriously hurting herself. At the end of our relationship, she was the biggest I had ever seen her, seriously, she was bigger then me. After my lap band, our relationship changed a lot, It seemed like her whole LIFE was centered around getting food, eating food, or securing food for later. I couldn't eat much of anything after my surgery, and at restaurants when I would go to eat with her, she would try to make me eat. She was trying to sabotage me, and I actually let her one time. I was so angry that I let her make me feel that bad, that I ended our friendship. If she wants to be fat and unhappy, let her be, sometimes you cannot help people help themselves.