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I had a few sips of scotch around 3 months out or so to test the waters. I've since had a few glasses of scotch (2 or 3) and a number of beers, one night I consumed 8 bottles at a club. Not that I'm advising anyone do that though. Best to feel out your tolerance at home (and to make sure you don't dump from the alcohol). I can say that I'm a little disappointed that I can drink... just one more thing I shouldn't really be able to do, but can. So it's going to be more will power now since I know I can drink if I wanted to.

Hi all: Went out with a group from work last night and was able to enjoy myself drinking my delicious, delicious ice water with lime. But I'll admit, I really wanted to order a manhattan. I've only ever been a 1-2 drinks a week kind of guy, but I really enjoy those 1-2 drinks. Have you started drinking? When did you start? How did it go? Anything to worry about? I was something of a margarita connoisseur, but I'm worried about the sugar content. I've heard you can drink, but you may feel the effects very quickly. What should I be thinking about here?

I am awaiting revision from band to sleeve so I can’t speak to your sleeve issues but some things I learned from the band may help you. First, one thing the band folks say is “they banded your stomach, not your mouth”. So no matter what surgery you choose, unless they develop one that actually zips your lips closed when you try to eat something, all the work is going to have to come from your brain and your choices. The way the tool works is that you shouldn’t feel actual stomach-based “I’m hungry” feeling after eating if a small amount if food. But you will always be able to outeat your tool. The key is to eat your planned meal, then quit and go find something else to do. You don’t “eat until you feel like stopping” because if you’re eating for reasons other than hunger (like stress, emotional upset - all totally understandable, just behaviors we are trying to change) then you can always out eat the tool. FYI, while the other surgeries *may* prohibit you from eating the “bad” foods, as you’ve learned yourself, that isn’t always the case. I’ve read of people who would melt a quart of ice cream and drink it that had RNY or if they truly can’t eat, they trade food for alcohol, drugs, shopping, sex or another addiction. So treating the underlying problem is really the best thing you can do. If you find yourself with lots of appetite, you might be able to look to your food choices to help you. I wouldn’t have believed it had I not experienced it but the carbs, sugars and even sugar substitutes really do influence that “I’m eating and can’t stop” feeling. Last spring I tried a diet program from Dr David Ludwig called “Always Hungry”. It’s a modified slow carb program which has you eating mostly unprocessed foods, with the eliminated items being sugar, potatoes and your “whites” - rice, wheat etc. Yiu can eat whole grains in the 2nd phase as tolerated. The first 2 weeks is something of a detox from the bad carbs. There is a book by the same name that explains it all. Anyway, I was astonished at how well this worked for me. I used to take my coffee with A LOT of sugar and did so the majority of my life. Now I take it with a little splash of maple syrup (about a half tsp). Had you told me I could do that 3 years ago I’d have cried laughing. This is the nutrition plan I plan to follow once I’m all recovered from surgery. I’ve already learned that oatmeal ramps up my appetite so for me I just don’t eat it. I already kicked my sugar obsession and will probably end up making my own protein shakes after surgery because the premade ones are too sweet. I had a pretty expansive palette beforehand but now I enjoy foods like brown basmati rice and beans of all kinds. Snacks these days are hummus and cucumber instead of chips and I feel so much better. Whole fat milk and cheese cane back into my life and it’s so much more satisfying. My new love is quinoa and I’ve made it 4 different ways in 2 weeks. My whole family enjoys that. This has gotten quite long so I’ll shut up now :) but I hope you consider changing your thinking about your tool. Weigh out your meal, savor it then go find something else to do. Think about changing up your macros and eliminating those high GI foods that trigger the munchies. The number one rule of Always Hungry is “be kind to yourself”, try adopting that in the spirit in which it is made. Let go of what you did. You can’t change that. But every new bite you take is an opportunity to choose better for yourself. Good luck.

I have EmblemHealth GHI and they had a six month requirement of medically supervised nutritional monitoring and counseling, but no weight loss benchmark. I was 4 months in when, in June 2018, they revised the criteria to eliminate the requirement. The major bariatric organizations and institute (See, e.g., American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery's Updated Position Paper on Preoperative Supervised Weight Loss Requirements (March 2016) have all come out with position papers saying that these types of requirements serve no medical benefit, are not supported by any scientific evidence and only delay necessary treatment--which can harm patients (particularly those with co-morbidities like Type 2 diabetes). If you (or anyone else) is denied coverage because you have failed to meet this arbitrary and ridiculous requirement, you have a very good basis for challenging the denial. This requirement only serves as a barrier to necessary treatment for patients who stand to benefit from it. The new position advocated by most major institutes and associations is that surgery should be determined based on the BMI you present with at your initial consultation with the bariatric surgeon. EmblemHealth is hardly a trailblazer when it comes to loosening their approval standards and criteria, so if they did away with this requirement you can best most other companies will be revising their policies in the near future. I would definitely fight hard if any body's carrier denied coverage based on your purported failure to meet this arbitrary and pointless requirement. Although this may be slightly off topic, many insurance companies have other similar absurdities in their requirements. For example, many require that you do not have an active eating disorder. With few exceptions, every person who has a BMI over 35 (and definitely if you're over 40) likely has an active eating disorder (binge eating, carb addiction etc.) likely has an eating disorder (binge eating). This should not be a basis for denial of coverage. Putting these two condition for approval together and you have nothing but a hardened barrier to treatment that is not imposed on any other medical condition. If a person has an addiction to drugs or alcohol, most insurance companies provide in-patient coverage for detoxification and rehabilitation. Could you imagine if insurance made that coverage contingent on the addicts ability to prove they stayed off their drug of choice for 6 or more months before they would cover the cost of rehab??? In the case of obesity, diet and exercise alone does not work for the morbidly obese, so why impose a requirement that they lose 5-15% of their body weight as a condition for surgery. Worse yet, some carriers require patients to show they they failed a to lose 5% of their body weight after 6-24 months of supervised medical dieting. This creates a perverse incentive for a morbidly obese patient to go through counseling, but ignore the advice and not lose weight (all the while allowing their health to deteriorate). These types of requirements need to go. Do what you need to do to qualify for the surgery you need--but fight your ass off with the carrier if your denied coverage based on these arbitrary (but strictly enforced) requirements.

Here's what you can expect. You're going to be asked a serious of questions from either the HAMD or MADRS test for depression. You can look up samples online. A lot of people that suffer from obesity and have a BMI that qualifies them for surgery also suffer from depression. Many also have addictive personalities and abused food, drugs and/or alcohol in the past (or may be presently abusing). Having a history of depression or addiction does not disqualify you from surgery, but the psychologist need to show that you are being treated and that you can handle this procedure. They need to know that you have a support system in place to help you with this transition. Having this surgery is not going to cure all your problems--it's just going to make you thinner and PHYSICALLY healthier. If you gained weight because you have underlying issues, those issues need to be addressed (and you need to show that you are continuing to addressing them). That covers you for mood disorders, but they are also screening for other issues including personality disorders (borderline personality for example). People with borderline personality disorder (and other personality disorders) don't do very well with surgery or the changes that occur after surgery. If you are suffering schizophrenia, you may also have issues post-op. This will likely show up in your medical history, but you'll be screened anyway. If you have bi-polar depression, you can have problem coping with this surgery and many of the anti-psych drugs used to treat bi-polar depression cause weight gain, and that would need to be taken into consideration. I am not sure that any of these issues alone will disqualify you from surgery, but you're going to need to show that you're conditions (if you have one) is well controlled for at least a year and that your treating physician believes you are psychological prepared to handle the stress of surgery and the changes that it may bring. Aside from questions that are probing for the above issues, you'll be asked specific questions to determine whether you have considered the consequences of having this surgery and how it may effect your life. I would just answer these honestly. This is what I said in my interview (paraphrasing) 1. Why do want weight loss surgery? (asking to make sure you have realistic expectations and have a healthy outlook on this process) I don't want to have weight loss surgery. I wish I didn't need it, but I do need this surgery to become a healthier person. The cosmetic benefits are secondary. If the surgery just made me a healthy person, but I stayed just as fat as I am now, that would be fine too. However, that's not the way it works and I need to lose this weight to be healthy. Being fat is one thing, being sick and dead is another entirely. 2. If that's the case, Have you Tried Dieting and Exercise to lose the Weight? Absolutely, I have been dieting most of my adult life (or was between diets). i can lose weight, but keeping it off has been a problem. Most recently I went on a strict doctor supervised diet where I lost 40 pounds, but could never get below a certain point. I did everything by the book but just hit a plateau. After two months, it became frustrating and I started to slip. Within another 6 months, I gained back the 40 pounds I lost and then some. That's been the story of my life. Dieting and exercise just doesn't work for me or almost anyone that has more than 70 pounds to lose. That's not my opinion, that's what virtually every study shows. 3. Why do you think you gained this weight? Everyone is going to have a different answer, but in my case I gained the weight a little at a time. I was thin as a kid. Even in my early 20's, I worked out every day and watched what I ate. I even had a six pack for a while. Once I started working, that disappeared. I started gaining a few pounds every year. Then I would diet to lose the weight and it would creep back on quickly after I fell off the diet horse (with a few extra for good luck!). I am now 44, so if you take a normal person my height with a normal weight at 24 and add 4 pounds a year on average you end up being me. It wasn't noticeable at first, but it sneaks up on you and suddenly you realize you're the fattest guy in the room. (obviously, this doesn't apply to everyone--but that's how it happened for me). 4. Can you commit to changing your lifestyle after this surgery? Absolutely. It's not going to be easy. Nothing about this process is easy, but I either commit to change or I am going to have a very short life. I have two little girls and they need their daddy to walk them down the aisle when their time comes. I also need to do this for myself. I love being alive and I want to feel healthy again. 5. How does your family feel about you having this surgery? My wife is nervous, but supportive. My mom is behind this 100% and my dad is very nervous about it, but he supports me too. I have told anyone else in my family. I think they would support me, but I just don't feel like they need to know at that point in time. 6. This type of surgery can change the way you feel about yourself and the people around you. How do you think it will effect your relationship with your wife? I believe it will improve our relationship. My wife is a thin person, who watches what she eats. I know she loves me, but she's not happy that I am heavy and she is scared about the effects that being a diabetic may have for me. Being heavy (and diabetic) also can, in my case, cause sexual side effects for men and I think that losing the weight can only help me in that regard. I think you get the picture. Don't lie, but they want to know that you understand what you're getting into and will be able to handle the difficulties and changes that come from surgery. Good luck!

Hi! I am scheduled for surgery on this coming Monday August 27th. I keep waiting to be terrified or super nervous but I have been cool as a cucumber during the majority of this journey. I started the process for my approval in October of last year and was originally scheduled for July 27th. I ended up having to reschedule due to financial issues but it's worked out for the best. I will say that I was the most nervous at my initial doctors appointment because I wasn't sure if it would be something I could do. Am I too young? (just turned 22) Too light? (250 at 5'5'') Can I deal with the radical lifestyle changes including no alcohol for 1 year+? To help with this, I made a list of questions that were most important to me and had my surgeon and nutritionist answer them all. I also came here and to Obesity Help and just started going through all of the forums. Good, bad and ugly I wanted to know EVERYTHING. I think that looking up horror stories and worst case scenarios helped calm me since they were the exceptions and not the rule. I also took stock of my own personal situation and realized that I am in pretty good shape so the odds that I will have a major complication are slim. I don't know your health history but it might help to compare yourself to some of the "worse off" people on these forums. Some started at well over 500 lbs and have been able to successfully lose and keep the weight off so the odds are definitely in your favor. Further, I fully intend on being 100% compliant and happily tell my surgeon that if I die its because he killed me (ER life has given me a morbid sense of humor). Maybe it'd help to make a running list of pros and cons in a journal over the coming months. Anything good and bad related to having the surgery should be written down and compared. And if you make it to December and cons outweigh the pros, you can always reschedule. Surgeons and thus surgery will always be there as an option so don't rush into it if it isn't the right time for you. Sorry for the long post but I'm at work and this is one of few unblocked sites lol.

Missouri-Lee's Summit, I always enjoy your fact-filled post. I never thought much about the healing process, but it is incredibly interesting. To the OP: I have eczema flare-ups on my feet. When it happens, it is excruciatingly itchy. I once itched so much, that the doctor drew a line around it in fear that it was a flesh eating disease. I spent an entire summer trying everything from soaking it in alcohol, anti-fungals (It looked like ringworm), steroids, benadryl both oral and topical and just about anything else. I would suggest 2 things. If your doc will allow it, you might try benedryl oral. I'm not positive if that will help, but it's worth a shot. The second thing is an ice pack. Works like a charm. For me, I would ice it until the ice pack became lukewarm. The effect would last for the entire duration of the ice being on it, plus another hour or so. I would check with your doctor's office first because I think the ice pack reduces blood to the area, which slows healing. Just a few thoughts.

Most of the bariatric literature on thiamine deficiency surrounds gastric bypass, but it seems sleeve gastrectomy is not immune to this problem despite that, theoretically, sleeve gastrectomy experiences fewer malabsorption issues. https://www.soard.org/article/S1550-7289(18)30222-3/fulltext Nutritional deficiencies are a recognized complication of bariatric surgery. Thiamine deficiency has been reported as a possible consequence of both restrictive and malabsorptive bariatric procedures. Most of the reported cases occurred after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery; fewer were described after biliopancreatic diversion, vertical banded gastroplasty, or duodenal switch. Adults who have a high carbohydrate intake derived mainly from refined sugars and milled rice are at greater risk of developing thiamine deficiency because thiamine is absent from fats, oils, and refined sugars. https://www.soard.org/article/S1550-7289(05)00726-4/fulltext Thiamine was the first vitamin B to be discovered. It is absorbed in the proximal jejunum and is mainly stored in muscle as thiamine pyrophosphate. It has a biological half-life of 9-18 days. Patients who experience persistent vomiting after bariatric surgery are at risk of developing thiamine deficiency. Mild deficiency should be suspected if patients complain of apathy, anorexia, restlessness and generalized weakness. Prolonged deficiency leads to beriberi and/or Wernicke’s encephalopathy. The most common presenting symptom of thiamine deficiency is a pins-and-needles feeling in one’s extremities despite normal vitamin B12 and folate. The average time from surgery to onset of thiamine deficiency symptoms was 9 months. Persistent vomiting, alcoholism, and non-compliance with vitamins are all contributing factors to thiamine-B1 deficiency. Treatment for those suspected of thiamine-B1 deficiency: 50-100mg of thiamine twice daily. https://www.soard.org/article/S1550-7289(11)00050-5/fulltext

This will not be popular but I would put the wine away. At only three weeks post op you are not able to eat enough to meet your nutritional needs. Alcohol has zero nutritional value whatsoever. I am eight months post op and eat between 800-900 calories a day. I cannot imagine 30 percent if my intake coming from alcohol. It isn’t all about calories, it is about what you feed your body too. Good luck on your journey!

Hopefully you won't identify deeply with it for the rest of your life. People are different and everyone's boat is rocked by something else but it always gives me the creeps when people relate to themselves as some kind of disease. "I'm an alcoholic". "I'm a diabetic". 'I'm a food addict". "I'm a WLS patient". ___ Have you ever heard someone say "I'm a lymphomic" or "I'm a myocardial infarctionist"?

Maybe I should clarify that at my one month post op I was cleared to resume normal activities as tolerated. You know the saying opinions are like a-holes? This goes for doctors too. If you read these forums you will see just how different pre-op and post op diets/rules are depending on the surgeon or practice. As for beer "eroding" my staple line; Would you say the same thing if I said I drank a fountain coke? I could understand your worry if I had said I drank a six pack. The fact is beer is heavily carbonated, and like soda, we are to refrain from it because it is empty calories and can cause excessive gas - which you have after surgery anyway. Why on Earth would I do that? Because I am a normal human being and being social is part of that. I am not swearing off alcohol for life and I wanted to see how it effected me since I was cleared by my doctor. Thank you for your judgmental concern.

Why would you have a beer? From what my doctor told me, alcohol is abrasive on the staples, and the little bits of flesh that were stapled can erode and you can get a leak in your stomach that can be life threatening. I cannot imagine why on earth you would risk it.

I do not but I am only 8.5 months post op. I do not drink alcohol and have not for years so that’s not an issue for me. If I eat out I order an ice water, sip it a bit before my meal comes, then I leave it there when my meal arrives. If anyone has noticed they haven’t said anything. I am sure plenty of people enjoy a glass of wine with their meal now and again.

I sometimes do when at restaurants or when invited to dinner (think alcoholic beverages). I try to not making it a habit.

To the weight loss surgery patient slider foods are the bane of good intentions and ignorance often causing dumping syndrome, weight loss plateaus, and eventually weight gain. Slider foods, to weight loss surgery patients, are soft simple processed carbohydrates of little or no nutritional value that slide right through the surgical stomach pouch without providing nutrition or satiation. The most innocent of slider foods are saltine crackers, often eaten with warm tea or other beverages, to soothe the stomach in illness or while recovering from surgery. Understanding Slider Foods The most commonly consumed slider foods include pretzels, crackers (saltines, graham, Ritz, etc.) filled cracker snacks such as Ritz Bits, popcorn, cheese snacks (Cheetos) or cheese crackers, tortilla chips with salsa, potato chips, sugar-free cookies, cakes, and candy. You will notice these slider foods are often salty and cause a dry mouth so they must be ingested with liquid to be palatable. This is how they become slider foods. They are also, most often, void of nutritional value. For weight loss surgery patients the process of digestion is different than those who have not undergone gastric surgery. When slider foods are consumed they go into the stomach pouch and exit directly into the jejunum where the simple carbohydrate slurry is quickly absorbed and stored by the body. There is little thermic effect in the digestion of simple carbohydrates like there is in the digestion of protein so little metabolic energy is expended. In most cases patients in the phase of weight loss who eat slider foods will experience a weight loss plateau and possibly the setback of weight gain. And sadly, they will begin to believe their surgical stomach pouch is not functioning properly because they never feel fullness or restriction like they experience when eating protein. The very nature of the surgical gastric pouch is to cause feelings of tightness or restriction when one has eaten enough food. However, when soft simple carbohydrates are eaten this tightness or restriction does not result and one can continue to eat, unmeasured, copious amounts of non-nutritional food without ever feeling uncomfortable. Many patients turn to slider foods for this very reason. They do not like the discomfort that results when the pouch is full from eating a measured portion of lean animal or dairy protein without liquids. Yet it is this very restriction that is the desired result of the surgery. The discomfort is intended to signal the cessation of eating. Remembering the “Protein First” rule is crucial to weight management with bariatric surgery. Gastric bypass, gastric banding (lap-band) and gastric sleeve patients are instructed to follow a high protein diet to facilitate healing and promote weight loss. Bariatric centers advise what is commonly known among weight loss surgery patients as the “Four Rules” the most important of which is “Protein First.” That means of all nutrients (protein, veggies, complex carbohydrates, then fat and alcohol) the patient is required to eat protein first. Protein is not always the most comfortable food choice for weight loss surgery patients who feel restriction after eating a very small amount of food. However, for the surgical tool to work correctly a diet rich in protein and low in simple carbohydrate slider foods must be observed. The high protein diet must be followed even after healthy body weight has been achieved in order to maintain a healthy weight and avoid weight regain. Feature courtesy of BariatricPal.com

Your doctor is a Healthcare Provider. Emphasis on the PROVIDER. My PCP wasn't convinced that surgery was the way to go for me either but I insisted on it. I didn't want to take diet pills - I didn't want the potential side effects and they aren't effective long term. Go in with an arsenal of information about how WLS is the most effective weight loss solution, how it is a safe procedure, how you are informed about the sacrifices that you'll have to make when you get it (no more binging, gulping, no NSAIDS, limited caffeine and alcohol) This is what I had to do. It was a 45 minutes appointment of him telling me what to do to lose weight followed by me telling him that I've done all that in the past and continued to get heavier and heavier. I told him that I had no indication that my future would look any different than my past because I'd DONE all that. I didn't want to try again only to be 10 years older and 50 pounds heavier and back to looking at weight loss surgery. He is to provide healthcare for you. He WORKS for you. Be determined. Let him know you are well informed about the healthcare choice you are wanting to make and that you need his help. Tell him straight up if he isn't going to help you with the healthcare choices you've made that you will find another healthcare provider to fit your needs better. Good luck!

Ok so I have a real question for all of my fellow cheaters: Say you knew before surgery that you were probably never going to be an exercise fanatic Running/biking/hiking on the weekends or never giving up chocolate/alcohol/donuts... Whatever Is it then a cheat or is it just your lifestyle and you lose what you lose taking into account your lifestyle?

Drinking alcohol daily in excess. The thought of drinking now leaves a nasty taste in my "mental" mouth. haha

After goal, all the sex and sizzle of rapid weight loss and comments are gone. Things get normal. My interests change and evolve over the years. Things that I used to do. large amounts of alcohol and food at parties/holidays laying around the house Watching the food network and my 600 pound life going to bariatric group negative people in my life - Poof they are gone people pleasing

@ Palomabella, my precious, you have ME! Yes the self-same oldest presurgical person on Bariatric Pal. You're worried at 56, sad to say I could be your mother, I'm 16 years older yet.Yep 72, I'll be 73 the day after Christmas. But I am marching forward, head held high, well maybe my neck is frozen in that position, but I don't think so. 3 weeks from yesterday I will have my surgery. Its a toss up whether I'll resemble a shar pei or basset hound afterward. I might have a body,only,Jabba the Hut could love but it beats being dead all hollow. And if I look like an Irish Setter with mange, so be it. At least,this winter I can pull on a knitted or crochet hat, I must have 2 dozen lying around, I went on a craft binge a couple years ago. And by spring new hair will have sprouted, maybe I'll get my birth curls back, I was a very cute infant with curls all over my head. My mama said so, went,to her grave,believing,i was the greatest thing since sliced 🍞 bread. I probably will look like something the dog dug out of the garbage and just left there. I have very fair skin, strawberry blonde hair, I probably will look like Ronald McDonald after an alcoholic weekend with dark circles under my eyes. Now you couldn't look THAT BAD! I will probably be holding onto my son's arm, flinching as I walk but I will have a s***-eating grin on my face, I've proved all the nay-sayers wrong. I could do it, I did do it and by golly I'm going to rock the rest of my years. This is a new lease on life for ME! Now don't you want to join me? Gonna be like nothing the world has seen , I need a Thelma for my Louise, are you game?

No alcohol for at least 6 months.

I suggest reading every food label. If you are not making it from scratch it will have unexpected macros. Those carbs/sugars can add up quickly and you want to know if they are naturally occurring, added, sugar alcohol, fiber or net count. Safe Journey

Hi all, I was supposed to get a MGB done but I changed my mind and opted to go for a sleeve instead. Although my doctor suggest MGB I am certain I can make the Sleeve work for me. But I do have a few questions: 1 - For someone who does not have a history of reflux - how likely am I to get it post opt? Would the type of good play a factor? 2 - Alcohol. I plan to stay away from beer what so ever but what about enjoying some occasional whiskey or vodka? 3 - Would 'dumping syndrome' be a menace? Look forward to hearing back from you all.

I've had my lap band for about 5 years now. At first I was loosing weight slowly (due to other separate health problems) then last summer, i lost a huge amount of weight very quickly due to extreme stress, and where my port is I was having discomfort, so i went to my new doctor who told me I had to gained weight and that would help with the discomfort, but did not want me to gain too much. I am 5'9 and I was 135lbs and he told me i needed to be at 160lbs. He is not my original doctor that did my surgery and fills. We moved to a different state. Over the last 5 months I (reluctantly) have gained the weight the doc told me to, and even though some of the port discomfort is gone, I now have constant heart burn and acid reflex and pain under my ribs after i eat (I had my gallbladder removed last year) or drink too much I do not drink any alcohol, soda or things like that mainly water tea sometimes and coffee and food has been getting stuck more than it use to. It is extremely hard for me to get back into the doctor, but do see my family primary monthly. I am wondering what type of tests should i ask my primary to order to make sure everything with the band is ok. And if anyone else has had similar problems and what helped. I'm thinking of trying the apple cider vinegar to help with heart burn acid reflex but am open to trying something

Mine had me give up caffeine, alcohol and carbonation. Told me to practice "eating in order" protein first, then veggies and then carbs if still hungry. Make sure and include a fruit or veggie at every meal. Oh, and not to drink my calories and aim for a minimum of 64 oz of water a day. Also to practice not drinking with my meals.