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Other meds you take can screw with your liver enzymes. Hell- chemo for the RA gave me the liver of an alcoholic without even drinking. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi, I am having surgery on Tuesday (yeah!) and I am worried about my liver. Prior beginning my lap band journey, I used to drink a lot (not to the point of having a problem, it was just more a part of my life). My liver function levels were all good at my pre-op and I have been following a pretty low-carb diet, but I am still worried. Has anyone else been through this and did the banding go OK for you? Thanks!

Here are some questions: How much follow-up care do I get from you (nutritionist)? What foods should I avoid? Which are the best healthy Protein options? How many calories does one need daily? how many grams of Fiber do we need daily? What type of blood work I need? Does drinking fruit juice count as a serving of fruit? How much alcoholic consumed is the limit? What do you think are the keys to long-term success for the lap-band?

Be aware if there are artificial sweeteners in your protein powder. The Alcohol Sugars (sorbitol, manitol and some others) can cause diarhea in sensitive people. I am one of those and get a pretty violent reaction if I use too much. Splenda (sucralose) and Equal (aspertame) usually do not. Most sugar free candy, jello, popsicles, etc have sugar alcohols in them.

It is always good to lose some weight prior to surgery but I sometimes think that surgeons are a bit unrealistic when they require you to lose up to 20 pounds before WLS. Most of us are food addicts in the first place which is why we are seeking the surgery to begin with and I think that should be taken into consideration. We would never expect an alcoholic to go without a drink for 3 or 4 weeks before being allowed to go to rehab so why would a surgeon require so much weight to be lost? I understand that the liver needs to be shrunk just prior to surgery but that could easily be accomplished with the loss of 5 to 10 pounds in the last 2 weeks prior to surgery. Requiring so much to be lost causes those of us with food issues to go into panic mode and begin bingeing and results in weight gains not losses. In my opinion if you don't think this is something you will be able to handle in a healthy way I would advise searching out another surgeon who's requirements are a bit more reasonable and that will allow you to lose a minimal amount of weight without causing you so much stress that you end up gaining. Oh, and for the record I was only required to lose a few pounds the last week before surgery which I did and my surgeoun said my liver looked perfect because of it. I did a diet of liquids for breakfast and lunch with string cheese and cottage cheese for snacks and for dinner I had a low carb meal of a meat, veggie, and salad.

So my mom told my sister that having the sleeve will be such a drastic change that I won't be able to handle it and she doesn't understand why diet isn't working for me. I'm just frustrated. I thought my mom was supportive but I guess she's not. She lost 100 lbs a few years ago, BUT she gave up food and transferred her addiction to alcohol. She still eats lots of sugary foods and counts fat content, which doesn't work for me...I'm happy she lost weight, but sad that she doesn't support me and that she continues to drink.

LOL! That's so funny about thinking about eating the little girl's popcorn! I can relate to feeling sad about not being able to eat like everyone else. But I want to look at it the way alcoholics look at drinking. But at least alcoholics can go cold turkey. I think that might be actually easier than the way we have to do it. We still HAVE to eat, just not as much. Can you imagine an alcoholic being told that they can have 1 drink a day but that's it? How many do you think would actually recover? This is going to be really hard I think. But I know I can do it. I just need some help. Stay strong, we're worth it!

You might also look into aversion therapy, since smoking is a combination of chemical addiction and behavior/habituation. Aversion is what the Schick-Schadel centers provided 20 years ago or so and used a minor shock (like from a 9V battery) to replace the pleasant sensations you get from smoking with unpleasant ones. My wife went through it (a few sessions within a week) and has been smoke free for the past 20+ years. I don't know who does this these days as Schick Shadel seems to be into alcohol and drug addiction treatment these days, but it's something worth checking out if the chemical/drug based solutions don't work.

No alcohol and no more diet colas. Cleaning up the act to make the best of this surgery. It works!

Yess. So after all this preparation I have been scheduled for June 14th❤️. I am so excited. New chapter coming soon. I'm relieved I only have a 1 day clear liquid prep day. Do you think I can tolerate alcohol by the 4th of July? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App Instagram: @bsweetness snapchat: @b-sweetness

Is it ok to eat those sugar free snacks like cookies ect? It says no sugar but has some sugar alcohol. Please let me know!

Im still pre-op, surgery scheduled for Aug 2. Im going on a cruise in June. I would appreciate any suggestions from those who have experienced this. Im not eating any bread, drinking any alcohol or soda. Advice please?

I have read a lot about quitting smoking for surgery, anybody else have give up beer? I have been a beer enthusiast for a very long time and am concerned about kicking the habit. Can you ever drink alcohol again ?

After yesterday, I'm definetly adding Ice Cream to my 'I will never eat again' list..This is along with chocolate and alcohol - which I stopped drinking about two years ago (being a diabetic, it just wasn't worth the suffering for me). I know, also being a diabetic, chocolate shouldn't have been in my 'diet' anyway.. nor ice cream for that matter, but yesterday I gave in and after not being able to down the turkey, I wanted to feel part of the meal and went for the ice cream... this morning I realised my error.. its just way too much of a slide food - should come with DANGER on the side for us sleevers.. Has anyone else made any major life decisions this Easter?

My insurance denied me because the counselor in the pysc eval said that I have post traumatic stress disorder that stems from my childhood and being raised with an alcoholic father. I sleep walk and talk but am not suicidal and do not think about death. Is their anything that I can do to get approved. I don't really think that within 1 hour and some questions, it is fair that he label me with PTSD. I was really looking forward to this and now I feel my chance is gone. Any words of advice?

After all is said and done after surgery....was about 6 months for me....it took me that long to figure out what I was doing, learned to "Listen" to my band, and felt securely in the Green Zone.... THEN I started to drink alcohol, including Beer....but I know what I'm doing....I do not think it would have been a good Idea when I was first starting out and learning my lessons, developing my new Lifestyle....and I was on a good, steady consistent weight loss journey.... Also, there is very little I can eat that is co-operative with my band in the way of fast food.....Wendy's Chili is a favorite, but not much else jumps out at me....

I am expecting my lapband surgery sometime in March. I have so many questions...of course. But I'm most worried about the 2 week liquid diet I will be expected to follow. Did ya'll have the same diet? Was it awful? What types of things did you drink? Also, has anybodies doctor said anything about consuming alcohol after surgery? Thanks for any info you can give.

Do you usually have to wait for an appointment after your doctor orders one of these or can you do it immediately? I have an appointment with my PCP tomorrow at 2:00 to have him order the upper GI and a drug/alcohol screening. I will have to go to the local hospital to have the upper GI done. Should I go prepared to do the upper GI tomorrow (no food after midnight, etc)?

I just left from Vegas. It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. At the buffets, I chose the meats first, and then ate vegetables. I just had a spoonful of desert. Even at a burger place. In took the meat off and ate that. The only issue I had was not drinking so close to eating, and if course the drinking alcohol. I realized that I am now that I can only drink 1 1/2 glasses of wine .

I am wondering hoe alcohol is tolerated after the la band surgery. I'm not a lush but I do enjoy going out and have drinks with friends. I know that alcohol has many empty calories but other than that ha anyone had any complications with alcohol and the lapband?

He said that his doctor was very mad at him and told him that he had probably stretched it out but he didn't go get it checked out. I don't think he cares....doesn't want to give up his alcohol enough. Oh well, I was just curious.

Sugar alcohols aren't 'bad' in terms of what they can do, weight-wise; your body will not absorb them. BUT--and it's a big but--they can wreak havoc on the gut. Many, many people are very sensitive to them---and even those who are not particularly sensitive generally have to limit their intake of sugar alcohols lest they experience cramping, gas, and diarrhea. Preop, I bought a box of Werther's mini butterscotches--the sugar-free kind. There are 5 in a serving---and eating just one (for a total of <3 mg sugar alcohol) made me so so so sick that I won't even touch the stuff now. Your mileage may vary---many people don't have problems, as long as they are careful with their intake. Hopefully, you'll be among them. But since you're so freshly out of the OR, I think that, in your shoes, I might postpone experimenting until you feel up to ...well, dealing with possible consequences. I'd hate for you to add cramping and diarrhea to the mix at this point. I'm glad you're doing so well postop--have fun at the movies!

No beer. Beer is carbonated just as is soda . Regular consumption of beer (or soda) could stretch out your pouch. As for mixed drinks and wine, they are fine in moderation but you have to remember that alcohol is empty calories -- no nutrition -- so regular consumption of alcohol could undermine your weight loss.

10 days? That is pretty soon to be falling back to bad habits. It probably will not hurt you but remember alcohol is empty calories. The other thing to remember is you cannot drink it until after 30 minutes, so you probably will be drinking on an empty stomach, this will increase the effects of the alcohol. If you are going to drink you still need to treat it like anything else you put into you. It goes into you daily calorie count. Check the calories, you will probably say no to that margarita once you see how high it is. I do occasionally have a drink now but when I do it is bourbon on the rocks or strait up, no mixers for me. I love wine and beer but both are so high in calories that I usually stay away from them.

Crod; A few things come to mind. First, congrats on your success. MANY Band Patients do not make it to those last 15. You have done very, very well. First, you said you exercise, but you did not specify what KIND of exercise you do. In a later post you agreed that you should start doing cardio. If you have not been doing much or any cardio up to this point, then you really have not been working out. Cardio is KEY to losing weight. You should spend most of the hour you dedicate to exercise on cardio, with your pulse in the correct range. That might be all you need to shed those pounds. Also, you said that you ate correctly %99 percent of the time, but you did not specify what exactly that means. To many people on this forum, "eating correctly" means having only ONE Snickers instead of 3. I have stated many times on this forum that it is the constant, small decisions we make in what we eat that will determine whether or not we are totally successful. I seem to continually get into arguments here with people on the subject of alcohol. I won't open that debate here, but in fact those couple of glasses of wine that many people have at dinner or bedtime might be inhibiting their weight loss. I saw a post recently where one member (LeighaMason, I believe) had difficulty losing her last 10 or 15 pounds. When she cut out her glass of wine, the weight came off. It is NOT always a matter of Calories in/calories burned…..different types of food have different effects on your METABOLISM. Alcohol is one of them. I am not suggesting that this is your problem, but I would encourage you to take a serious look at what you are consuming. Culturally, we are very conditioned to think that certain things are "good" for us, when in fact they are ONLY good for the people who SELL them. Milk, for instance, is one of those foods. We are the only creatures on earth who continue to consume milk after we have been weaned from our Mothers, and with all of the hormones and drugs that the dairy animals are given to promote growth (and profits), there is a good possibility the Milk we consume can be, in fact be having a detrimental effect on us. Most of the positive nutrients in Milk are destroyed during the homogenization process, so you're not getting much nutrition from your Milk, but you ARE getting some fat, calories, and other things that are NOT desirable. You can get all the Calcium you need from a small serving of vegetables. So, I would encourage to you take a close look at what you are eating. There might be some things that you can change that will make a difference. You have done very well, so you must be eating fairly well. I suspect, though, that adding in as much cardio as possible in the exercise program will be of great benefit, in a number of ways. Cardio is tough to get going on, but after you have done it for a while, you will begin to look forward to it. Best of luck; keep us posted! S.