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I had a single glass of wine ???? at 4 weeks while on a date night with my husband. I sipped on it for an hour and enjoyed it immensely. I have no intention of giving up alcohol completely, but I have greatly reduced my intake. No more drinking during the week or even every weekend. In social situations only, which isn't that often.

Slow and steady loss is probably much healthier, anyway - you're still well on your way. Dr. Fox mentioned at my first fill (and I had already found this out) ".. as far as alcohol, you ALWAYS have an empty stomach now". His nutritionist also mentioned that I would now be cheap date. How true.

What procedure did you chose and why did you chose it over the other options? I chose gastric bypass. After researching the 3 main types of WLS and consulting with my surgeon, we agreed that it would be best given the amount of weight I needed to lose and my lifestyle and diet at the time of the consultation etc. What was the general reaction from family and friends? Initially my parents were apprehensive about it. I took my mom with me to my first appt and I explained the procedure and the pros and cons to my dad. They came around and are two of my biggest cheerleaders. My boyfriend was supportive from the start and he is in the pre-op phases of WLS himself. All of my friends have been supportive and excited for me. Surprisingly a lot of them already knew someone that had WLS. Most of them gave that attempt at flattery "Wow really you're not even that big!" which I know is mostly their way of playing nice but nobody was against it or tried to talk me out of it. Everybody who knows about it has been nothing but supportive and excited to watch my journey. What was the biggest surprise during the process? How relaxed I was going into surgery. How minimally uncomfortable and in pain I was after. How long was your recovery? I took 3 weeks off from work but truthfully I could have gone back after two. But I was very fatigued during those first few weeks and having difficulty with getting in my liquids and with some foods. I didn't want to be sick at work. How fast did you lose the weight? I've lost 66 lbs so far. I lost 30ish in my preop and the rest since surgery 8 weeks ago. I'm averaging about 3 lbs a week, sometimes more. How has your life changed since having the procedure? I no longer need to shop in specialty stores for clothes. I enjoy exercise more. I'm more confident. I'm happier. I dont wake up with back and knee pain. I don't huff and puff on a walk or hike like I used to. I'm appreciative of little victories, like touching my toes or being able to cross my legs comfortably. I no longer feel trapped in my body or enslaved to food. My social life has slowed down unfortunately. A lot of my friends are foodies and love to go out and eat and drink and party and I can't eat the way I used to with them, and though alcohol isn't prohibited, it's not recommended since gastric bypass patients have increased absorbtion of the alcohol and because it's mostly empty carbs/sugars, i choose not to drink. To be honest, I'm a little afraid to. Would you do it again? In a heartbeat! Any regrets? Only that I didn't explore this sooner. Or visit the world famous San Diego Donut Bar What should I be aware of? Just because your body restricts your food intake doesn't mean your brain will follow it. You will still want foods. Things will trigger you. You'll test the waters. Know what affects you. If you're choosing RNY, know what makes you dump. Know what you're "i'm completely full can't eat another bite" feeling is. That one extra little bite can be the difference between your meal being done and your meal being spit back up and wasted. Don't compare your progress to others. Some people seem to lose 10 lbs overnight. Some people go over a year and don't hit their goal. Your journey is your journey, don't try to put yourself next to others. What, if any, foods do you miss that you can no longer have? Regular sushi rolls (with rice, sauces etc). It sometimes is hard to find a place that can do riceless rolls without having to show them a picture or without being charged extra.

I'm curious for the replies also. I have surgery in July and in January I'm going to a 5 star All Inclusive Mexico resort for my wedding. Same thing I didn't know about the surgery when we decided. However it was where I met my fiancé so the destination picked itself. Normally I would be up for partying all day long in the pools, and enjoying the delicious food..I've taken a different mindset because there's no other way to do it, and I'm going to make my vacation all about looking fantastic in awesome new outfits and picking alcohol more carefully. I'll also need about as much willpower as possible to stay away from cold beer and tequila, my vacation favorites. I've just got my fingers crossed that habit will have set in by then and I'll be okay without the normal binging that comes with vacation. Plus I gain about 10lbs every vacation I go on, so I won't have to deal with that this time

All the best for your surgery, hope to see you back soon on the forum. I am due for surgery on 15 July but till now my doc has not advised any diet control, may be because in general he knows I do not smoke, drink alcohol and am purely vegetarian.

Everyone is different. For me, not much has changed in terms of alcohol. I can have few drinks just as I could pre-surgery. I don't notice getting inebriated any quicker. Same issue applies, however - alcohol calories will make it harder to lose weight. If you want realistic answer, I'd say take it slow, listen to your body, and accept calorie trade-off. I probably had first drink couple months post-surgery. I probably only drink once every couple weeks. But except for the calorie issue, I think I could have drink everyday if I wanted.

I think you need to be done with that part of life first. I was like you, a "heavy hitter". I partied like crazy until I was 34. Then I realized I would eventually die from it. I am a recovering alcoholic of 21 years and I would not advise even thinking of the operation until I was completely ready to give up that part of life. I never could have made that judgement when in my 20's. I don't recommend you make it now.

Hi I am 6 months post op and have just had my first drink of alcohol, I had about 7 sips of rose wine and the I started sweating profusely but was shivering all over and felt sick!! What was that and has anybody else had the same happen to them? Thanks in advance.

Hi! We share the same band-date. Change is hard sometimes, especially when it comes to something this big. I have been on the other (thinner) side and you are going to be SO happy. Not only are you going to look great but more importantly you will FEEL GREAT!!. I have hid behind my weight because I fear the unknown. I can tell you it will be a rebirth of sorts. Surround yourself with only positive things and people. You deserve this and all the good that follows. It may be like some who, when they give up a bad habit, find they have to move on to healthier relationships as well. A recovering alcoholic shouldn't hang around "friends" who hang out in bars. Whoever doesn't support you doesn't understand. Aside from your family being scared for you, embrace everyone who supports you. And give it time. This is a mental thing as much, if not more so, than a physical thing. Keep us posted!!

We are all of us fat, super fat I might add. How did we get here? Because we became powerless over food and our addiction to it. I will say I followed my doctors orders. But I am not surprised when I see someone come here looking for an "enabler". As an alcoholic will look for another drink or a drug addict will look for another fix even if it can mean the chance of death. A food addict will look for a way to get a meal. Some do better than others. But I know all of us go into it wanting to do better. I will not judge I will listen, understand and try to guide. If the person truly does not want what I have to offer, then at least I tried. I will then move on to the next person that does. I know it can get frustrating, there are times when I just want to tell someone "ok you know best, go ahead and eat that pizza at one week out" But really I have my own recovery to deal with and I can't help save someone who's not ready to save themselves.

Hello! And Amen. That's exactly my point! If you want to sabotage yourself...fine! But don't come on a "support" forum telling others what they can get away with bc you decided to do what you wanted. After all we are all food addicts of some sorts and this is a disease. Most of the battle is mental. I equate this to a drug/alcohol addiction support group. If one of the substance abuse patients said openly in a group I used and I'm fine so you should too they would be kicked straight out! So cheating stages or instructions shouldn't be encouraged here either. And that doesn't make me holier than thou. That makes me self aware of my challenges and addiction. It means I'm committed to my recovery and lifelong battle with this horrible disease.

Day 1 and 2 were pretty bad. I'll be honest. I smacked a nurses hand when she waved a alcohol pad in front of me! Get out of my way I'm gonna puke! The Zonfran wasn't working at all, so it turned out to be that I'm REALLY sensitive to dilaudid, so when we changed the pain med the nausea went away and never came back.

Hi Willow Blimey, 8.7kg is brilliant. I'm so very pleased for you, and also pleased that the dietician is too. Way to go...... Mince and minced turkey sounds lovely after soups, and yeah, I can understand her warning, see how it goes, monitor it closely. After my daughters bypass her taste buds changed, before surgery she loved coffee and savoury stuff, but since she can't abide Hot drinks. But she also has no hunger, or inclination to eat either. So she has to be careful, and set her alarm on her phone to remind her to eat. Although you would think being a mum she has routines, she has always put the children and her husband first, and after she saw to everyone else, she would just grab something to eat, therefore not having a proper meal, or meal times. So the long and short of it is she now, because of her alarms, eats better, and then feels better. But, her friend who has had bypass surgery too is replacing the food addiction with alcohol..... My daughter is so worried about her. Started back at Water workout class yesterday, bit achy today, but booked again for next week. When this chest infection has cleared completely I'll be back to two classes a week. Must say I do enjoy it. Cutting down on the naughty stuff also, getting ready for healthy eating again. Now the weather is getting so nice I might too start walking again. Keep up the good work Willow, your such an inspiration

I am 5 weeks post-op and am cleared to eat anything I want (OK, no alcohol, no carbonation). I have been doing really well all along, didn't have the 3 week stall, feeling pretty good, eating most meats (well-chewed), etc. About a week ago, I started feeling "full" almost immediately when I eat. My full feeling is actually pressure-pain behind my breastbone. I'm beginning to worry about this. I am to the point where about the only Protein I can eat is cheese and cottage cheese. I've been mincing any meat and moistening it with broth, but I still can only get down about 1 tablespoon before I am uncomfortable. I do OK with liquids, so I've resumed drinking my Protein shakes, but have found that the milk-based ones fill me up pretty quickly, too; I am able to drink an entire 8oz of water-based Protein drinks but only about half of the milky ones. Should I be worried? What should I be worried about?I feel like I'm so far post-op that I shouldn't be calling my surgeon with this, but I don't know. I have an appointment with my Nut in a week and am hoping this straightens out by then. I am thinking of going back onto my liquids diet for awhile, to see if my insides smooth out a bit (I have plenty of turkey broth, hahaha, given I cooked a 14 pound turkey yesterday!). It just seems like I'm going backwards in my ability to tolerate different foods. Has anyone had this experience, or have any advice/suggestions?

I had nausea the day of and day after surgery. The nurses had me sniff alcohol swabs and it went away! Amazing! I've had none since the day after surgery.

What I meant was I've seen bad reviews about Dr MCCarty. Such as abusing alcohol and drugs, just wondered if they were really true

I have been banded for 10 years. Had the weight off for 8 years and then BAM, retired and last year of work was a nightmare with the boss from hell. I know, that is not an excuse, but here I am again trying to lose this 35-40 pounds gained from stress eating. Getting back on this website has helped me get my resolve to do this again and I hope that this helped you with knowing that we all slip one time or another and we can do this again. I believe that obesity is a disease like alcoholism, the only difference is that you can quit alcohol but you cannot totally give up food. We need to have control at all times and it is definitely HARD TO DO.

Hi everfeels9, Your situation sounds remarkably like mine. I gave up beer when I got banded and went to wine then vodka etc.. like you. It got to be a self sustaining cycle and I finally realized I was no longer in control of it. I finally reached out for help and surprisingly it was more difficult that I thought it would be. I seemed to think that making one phone call to a doctor,mental health center/detox would be all that was needed and all would be fixed. For me it required persistence, self realization and discovery and talking honestly about my problem and loss of control. There are some medications that can help make things a bit easier (naltrexone/vivtrol) but there is no magic pill that does it for you as I have no doubt you are aware. I was down about 55 pounds and feeling much better weight wise but much worse in other ways at my 1 year anniversary of being banded. With the help of nurses at the surgical weight loss dept were I went for followups as well as doctors and counselors I was referred to I will be 8 months sober as of next week. I have also lost an additional 25-30 pounds since then and have reached a normal weight for the first time in almost 18 years. I highly recommend talking honestly to your Dr./Nurse who you do you band followup appointments with. They have invested time and work in helping you to this point and if they are as committed to your success and holistic well being as they are where I was banded they will hopefully work with you to help with this issue. Cross Addiction should be nothing new to them and with honesty and a commitment to your own success you may be able to work together with them to lose the alcohol and get back on track to weight loss success. Best of Luck and send me a PM if you would like to discuss further.

I have been banded for 2 1/2 years. I have been an addict/alcoholic for 33 years. Last summer I lost my mind and got deep into drugs and alcohol again.:smile: I all but stopped eating lost a lot of weight this way, but do not reccomend it. Went to rehab again and finally started working the steps. I now have almost 7 months clean and sober. I have gained 10 pounds but know I can get it back off. My goal is 150 was at 155 at my sickest point. This time I plan to do it with exercise and diet oh and my higher power.:thumbup:

Wow, this thread is old. Since I have last posted to it I have now picked up my 31 year medallion in Narcotics Anonymous. I think the reason so many here have trouble from this is they look at alcohol as a seperate problem. AA teaches that unfortunatly and I believe it kills manypeople. Addiction is a disease. It is not, "I have a problem with alcohol, ________ "fill in the blank. Alcohol, weed, sexual issues, herion, gambling, eating, pick your posion, is like switching seats on the Titanic. I am glad I am an NA member, we look at it all as addiction, an all encompassing disease and don't split them into categories. I laugh when I hear, "I'm clean and sober" that's like saying, "I'm sober and sober", or "I'm clean and clean", one disease. plain and simple. This is just my experience, and I am not trying to make light of anyone on here. I respect everyone's situation, I just think to seperate things into little boxes can be fatal for some people. God Bless everyone of you and I wish you well on your travel. PS I have gone from size 54 pants to size 40 pants since being banded, I do not weigh.

Good Afternoon....I am a recovering alcoholic and my sobriety date is September 29th 1996. woohoo!! I love my band and I knew there had to be some of us out there. Love to all fellow alocoholics. Lori

This is something I too have been worrying about. I am no way going to give up alcohol either and wine makes me drunk really quickly. I Don't really like Vodka with fruit juices so will try the flat coke route. I only had my first fill last night so am a bit scared of everything at the moment, cos last week I could (and did) eat or drink anything! Trish

Add another voice to the "too many carbs" chorus. I have done the low carb thing in the past and it really will get things moving better than low fat, especially if you are at all metabolically "challenged." Carbs are carbs, period. Some may be metabolized more slowly than others, but the end result is the same. So sugar-free foods don't really make a difference if the carb count is the same. Plus if the sugar is replaced with sugar alcohols, they can give you diarrhea. :omg: Another factor to consider is that since Protein foods are denser, they actually fill you up faster and keep you satisfied longer. The chicken and asparagus are great choices, but try an egg instead of the bagel (you could even make an omelet with egg or egg white (which I personally can't stomach) and a little low-fat cheese - don't use fat-free, it replaces the fat with too many carbs, plus it doesn't melt!). As for the pineapple juice, you may as well be drinking sugar water! Try a Protein shake, or better yet Isopure to drink instead. It tastes sort of like Crystal Light but has 50 grams of protein per bottle. On to your Snacks - the pretzels and trail mix, again, too many carbs. A few nuts a couple of times a week add some protein, Vitamins and minerals and will give you something to crunch on, but dried fruit is packed with carbs and useless calories and pretzels have pretty much zero nutritional value. Oh, and it would be better if you cut out the Pasta too, but if you do eat it at least there are whole-grain pastas out there now that are better choice. The carbs/calories are a bit lower because of the increased Fiber content. And they really don't taste any different that regular pasta IMO. Don't forget to drink as much Water as you can. It's supposed to help you feel full (doesn't do a thing for me), but beyond that it actually helps boost your metabolism so it should give you a little jump start to get losing again. We all have to learn to make better choices. The band is just a tool - make it work for you! Good luck!

Hi Brandychick, I'm a vodka and diet coke girl myself and if I have it in a tall glass with lot's of ice, it goes down no problem. Sorry but there is no way I am giving up alcohol !! Hope this helps, Take care, Donna x.

Hi, I have not yet seen anybody talk about the lack of fizzy's in their diet?! And by this I mean that I was told that I could not have anything fizzy post-op. I have also experienced that fizzy drinks causes me to blotter out and feel really uncomfortable. Gazes have nowhere to go??? Anybody out there having similar problems? When I came back home after the op, one huge problem was what to drink if we went out socially. I am not big on orange juice and let's face it it isn't a low fat option! Coke is out of the question and so it lemonade! We experimented down my local pub with various drinks! My tipple is Brandy...like you wouldn't have guessed that! LOL. Very hard to make a long drink with a non fizzy option. After various unsuccesful (and sometimes hilarious or disgusting!) attempt, I am now having Brandy and coke but I flatten the coke first. That's ok when I am in my local as they put it in a pitcher and I have a great band of friends who take it in turn to stir the coke until it is flat. Sometimes a bit dangerous when some lovely landlord decide to put sugar in to flatten it quicker!!!! Do they not get the meaning of diet pepsi!!!!! Very annoying when we are going around town or when visiting friends. I normally end up carrying bottles of already flat coke with me! I also found that however well the coke is stirred, there are still remnants of fizz in it and it eventually still makes me feel blottered. My surgeon says that I should not find it a problem as I should not be drinking much alcohol as it is fattening...one I gave up my food, not my alcohol altogether as well!....two, I still need to have a soft drink option when socialising...or should I stay home as well!!!! Any kind soul out there who would like to share their wisdom on the subject?