Search the Community

@@ridgerunner There are pros and cons to each of these surgeries, but regardless of which you choose, how well you do will ultimately depend on you. I know two people who had bypass about 2 years ago. Neither reached goal and both lost control and gained their weight back, one is currently also in rehab (for the second time) thanks to her new alcohol addiction. So there's that bit. I flip flopped between the sleeve or bypass decision right up to the point where I needed to decide for insurance approval. I also relied heavily on nsaids for arthritis and any other pain in the wherever. In the end, I chose the sleeve for the options it offers, not only with meds (which my surgeon okay'd once I reached all foods stage tho I've barely needed them), but when my surgeon told me that there are more options for sleeve revision and basically none for bypass, that sealed the deal for me. Commitment scares me a little Also since the sleeve is next to impossible to stretch, I feel it will serve me better in the long term. Portion size has always been my biggest problem. At this point, I am thrilled with my sleeve decision! All that said, you have to choose the surgery you feel is best for you, but be sure to look at all the angles. Tons of people here have blown right past their weight loss goals with the sleeve. Forget about the statistics. The end result is up to the individual and how well one chooses to work their tool. Good luck!

You can and WILL Do this!! First, drop the alcohol. Maybe go back to the very 1st part of your journey: Protein drinks, counting and writing down everything that you put into your mouth. Move more and keep coming on here for some support from like minded peeps!! We are all here to help you. You know what to do because you have already proved that!! Welcome

You know where to start to get back on track, your health is more important than anything else, alcohol only makes things worst, you did it at the beginning of this journey and you can do it again, stay strong and focused, whatever happenes in your life wont get back to the way it was by drinking, its only 50 lbs to go you can do it Sent from my SM-G935P using the BariatricPal App

Tuesday, July 21, 2009 Look for the Smilemarkers A sliver of moon was showing in the sky the other day while I was playing outside with my grandson, David (4yrs). As usual he wanted to know why. I told him the moon wanted to play with him. Later he was drinking chocolate milk on the front porch and said, "The moon is drinking chocolate milk. He has a chocolate milk mustache." I love it when a four year old can use his imagination and make a joke. I love it when a four year old accidentally amuses me. David was riding in the van with his dad when he announced, "I want my crocs (sandals)." His dad stopped the car and asked him what he was wearing on his feet. David replied in all seriousness, "Dad, I'm wearing my toes." Children and laughter go hand in hand. I love being a grandmother and not having to do much of anything when I babysit but enjoy the kids. My two year old granddaughter loves to play hide and seek in her house. She always hides in her closet and she always tells me she's going to hide in her closet. When I try to go home she frequently tells me I'm hungry and I need to eat in order to keep me there. LOL. She already knows my weakness. There's a lot of evidence that laughter is good medicine. The Reader's Digest knew that before there were studies proving it. I use a lot of silly humor when I teach. To teach the ang sound I have a picture-card of a vampire with fangs showing. I'll put on my best Transylvanian accent, make my hands into claws, and say," I vant to bite your neck; I vish to suck your blood." The kids all shriek and laugh and are more likely to remember that ang makes the sound you hear in fang. I have a game that involves tossing a soft ball back and forth between me and a group of kids while saying math facts. I love to watch for the kid who stops paying attention and I'll look at another child while throwing the ball at the daydreamer who frequently gets hit by the ball which cracks everyone up and serves notice to pay attention. Today I was on Lapbandtalk, which has become my on-line support group and one of the women told a hysterically funny dream she'd had about another member of the group. Can't repeat it here because it involved partial nudity and showing off a well-shaped body part. Jokes were still flying hours later when I checked back in. Some of the best and funniest speakers I ever heard were recovering alcoholics telling their stories at open AA meetings. Some of the things they did and the situations they got themselves into were, in retrospect, hysterically funny. Without the humor, they'd have been too painful to tell. The funniest stories I tell on myself involve my ADHD and some of the things I've done as a result. Humor makes pain palatable. I'm not talking about sarcasm or angry ranting expletive deleted humor. Frankly, I don't consider that humor because it tends to be at other's expense. I'm talking about self-deprecating humor. Humor that gently pokes fun at the human condition but doesn't denigrate others. One of the funniest stories my deceased mother-in-law told involved driving off to work with her teeth on top of the car. One of the funniest stories my son tells is what happened when he tied our 6 month old 75 lb. Chesapeake Bay Retriever to a lightweight charcoal grill in my parent's driveway. Thank God for the passing motorist who chased down the dog and stopped him before the grill chasing the dog down the street caused the dog to drop dead of a heart attack. These stories and jokes we tell each other can only happen in community. We weren't created to live in isolation. And I firmly believe that God laughs with us. We're created in his image and he loves us with all our foibles so he must have quite a sense of humor. Humor is his gift to us, a gracelet that allows us to be refreshed, renewed, re-created and ready for the next thing life throws at us. So, even though food addiction is a serious disease, I try not to take myself too seriously. Life is a journey. Look for the smilemarkers along the way.

When I saw that you'd just posted, I was so excited. He's back!! I came to this place after you were long gone, but through random clicks on miscellaneous blogs, had come across one of yours. It touched me so much, that I then went back and read each and every one of them, amazed at your prowess with words, amazed at how I could relate to so much of your emotion. You have a succinct way of exposing your underbelly in such a shoot-from-the-hip manner. Then as I got to the end of your posts, and you said you had nothing else to say and was leaving, I felt saddened -- because you, like no other, get to the absolute heart of things for us all. I was hoping as I began reading your latest post that it would be filled with the halleluiah's and whoops and whistles from your most recent victory over the hunger demons -- but, of course, that wasn't what I found. Once again, I found a straightforward heartfelt post that we can all relate to in one way or another. I can very much relate to your relationship with alcohol. It's all so familiar to me - "Am I an alcoholic, am I not -- maybe I can just drink more like a lady if I try harder, maybe if I just switch to beer and lay off the hard stuff." All of that internal dialogue I was intimately familiar with for about 25 years. Five and a half years ago, I realized that the label didn't matter, it all boiled down to one thing: alcohol was prohibiting me from being the person I wanted to be -- somebody that I could be proud of -- and I quit. Yep, have not had a drink since. I was sick of it all, and finally found some internal source of power that told me to stop all the messing around and get to the task at hand -- changing my life and stop all the crap feelings telling me I had no choice in the matter. I found an online sponsor to help me with some of the AA stuff, and got on with discovering who I was without alcohol. I can tell you that it is all TOTALLY relevant and runs concurrently with our food issues. I know that many of us will spend our lifetime digging down there to find out the root of it all. The whole point of it is -- when you decide, really decide, that you want to make a change in your life, whether it be alcohol, overeating or other poor life choices -- you most certainly have the fortitude to do it. Just take the steps to make these changes, and they will happen. What I've discovered for myself is that life goes by so quickly. As friends and family members die, this realization is solidified for me. And I, for one, have decided that I'm not going to let another day, month, year, DECADE go by being somebody I don't want to be and feeling like I'm the victim. A very wise man (okay, my oldest brother) once told me years ago, "You're in a deep hole, waiting for somebody to throw you a rope, and you can't even see that there's a ladder right there next to you." May you find your ladder. And please keep posting -- you add such texture to this site. Cindy

Wow, I seems that ur going through a whole lot of different issues and drinking is ur escape , ur not alone lots of people are also go through the same thing they just don’t have enough courage to say it or write it out loud just as u have ! My husband is also shy and he drinks because he also feels he helps to loosen him up, however I try to tell him that I enjoy that person that he is and that he must learn to feel confident in his own skin and who he is without anything altering his personality, I would say the same for you!!! You need to get to know u and who u r without food or alcohol and learn to embrace that!! I am sure Ur a great person also surround Ur self with positive people and positive things!!!! Take care and I hope these words help!!! awill

Hey gal. I just posted on another of your posts and also sent you a message. BUt here is the liver shrink diet my doctor and nutritionist gave me to follow 2 weeks prior to surgery: Liver Shrink Diet Remember: Vegetables ar unlimited on this diet. (except potatoes, corn, Beans, and peas. Breakfast Protein shake or Protein Bar (You may use any shake as long as it has 220 or less calories and 10g or less fat/serving) Mid Morning Snack 1 small piece of fruit (if you have Diabetes add 4 oz low-fat yogurt) lunch Protein Bar (220 calories of less and 10g or less of fat) or Shake Mid Afternoon Snack 1 small piece of fruit (add 4 oz low-fat yogurt if you have Diabetes) dinner 3 oz meat (lean) - The size of a deck of cards steamed vegetables or salad with Fat-free salad dressing 6 unsalted crackers or 2 slices low calorie bread or 1 small baked potato 1/2 c fruit or 1 small piece of fruit Evening Snack 1 small piece of fruit (add 4 oz low-fat yogurt if you are Diabetic) (You may have non-caloric beverages on this diet) NO ALCOHOL!!!!!!!! Examples: Decaf. Tea, Crystal Light, sugar-free Kool-Aid, Water Follow This 1 Day Prior To Surgery: Clear liquids only including Jello, broth, juice, and any beverages listed above. Jello can be congealed, but do not put fruit in it it. (NO RED JELLO) & NOTHING TO EAT PAST MIDNIGHT (of course). This is just what my surgeon and nutritionist gave me. Of course everyone's seems different but I just thought I would give you something to go on. October 29th will be here before we know it!! We will both rock this band. :tt1:

Addictions come in all sorts of forms. The most common forms of addiction people think of are drugs and alcohol. And those are both, obviously, bad. There's other addictions too though. There's addictions to soda pop, bread, pasta, cookies, cakes and other pastries, food in general. I think most people that have gotten to "OMG I have to do something about my weight or I'm going to die" have some form of food addiction. I've been realizing, albeit way too slowly, that I am addicted to sugar. I may even be addicted to food in general. I was at the grocery store with my mom today and at the checkout are the candies. Reese's, Twix, Butterfingers, York Peppermint Patty, M&Ms...the list goes on and on. I nearly cried because I wanted some (and I really didn't care which one either) chocolate yumminess (that usually isn't all that yummy after I eat it) so badly. I am so glad I am going to be going to a therapist starting on Thursday. I HAVE GOT to get this crap under control before my surgery. I should already be at least 20 pounds down by now and I think I'm the same weight I was last month. I'm awful about not logging any meal that isn't good for me. I'll log all the ones that are right on track though. I don't even understand why I want the stuff. It doesn't taste good most of the time and then I feel all kinds of guilty after I eat it. Other times I'm just so depressed that I couldn't give a rats patootie what I eat, so I don't eat what I'm supposed to. Like tonight mom bought pizza for dinner. I could have run over here to my house and gotten the leftover chicken and broccoli from the other night. No carbs hardly at all. I could have been a good girl, but no. I just didn't care. I was tired, hungry, and depressed and so I ended up eating two pieces of pizza, a cheesy bread stick with marinara sauce, and a chocolate chip cookie since I figured I'd already blown the whole meal anyway. Now I'm just tired and even more depressed. How do you fight an addiction to food? I'm scared that I'm going to go from one extreme to the other. Going from a see food diet to a no food diet. I guess that's something for the therapist to deal with, huh? I hate this. I'm going to bed. Night night.

Unfortunately most Stevia based shakes/powders also contain a sugar alcohol to help balance the taste (plain Stevia can have quite a strong aftertaste) . So make sure you check the full ingredients list of any Stevia sweetened one.

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.

La banda es una ayuda para adelgazar. No es algo como milagro. Necesita Ud. escuchar a la banda durante la comida; en el momento que sienta "llena", hay que dejar a comer inmediatamente. Tambien, las drogas y alcohol debilitan la habilidad de hacer decisiones prudentes. No es tratamiento de ser adicta o no; es problema de decidir lo que es mejor para su salud. Lo siento si mi espanol no es muy bien -- hace mucho tiempo que escribo en su idioma muy bonito.

I had a two week pre-op diet of only liquids. It was the hardest thing ever!!! I had to get in 3-4 Protein shakes a day and 64oz of Water. I was allowed to eat sugar free Jello, pudding and crystal lights and Soup. I lost 12 or 14lbs. I did cheat also but it was on grilled chicken and broccoli! @ Badkness beer is not in your future. You can just forget about alcohol altogether for at least the next 6 months if not longer. The point of the pre-op diet is to not only jump start rapid weight loss but to also shrink your liver so it its easier to handle during surgery. If it's too big they will just sew you right up and be done without doing anything to your stomach and this will be all for not. After surgery the carbonation of beer will make you sick. Besides you will only be drinking 4oz at a time anyway. Start cutting down now!!

My date is 8/16 and I have been out of control. Not just eating but also drinking. I am hoping that I will be able to eat whatever I want in smaller quantities but I dont feel so optimistic. I have seen a ton of people saying that they cant eat pasta, bread, rice (all the things I love). I have also heard nothing good about alcohol consumption post surgery. I know that I am digging a bigger hole for myself to climb out of, but I will be climbing for the rest of my life since my stomach wont tolerate much food and I dont want to sabotage myself by feeling deprived. I know someone else that was recently sleeved and even though they are on the liquid only stage they are eating fried chicken, burgers and fries, and just chewing them well. She dieted to the day of surgery and said she is feeling super deprived. I dont want to be tempted to blow my new stomach out eating something crazy so Im just counting down and wishing the 16th would hurry up before I get any bigger.

If for no other reason than the fact that all alcohol causes dehydration, in the early days you should refrain. Again OP is a grown up...but we were told none for 3 months. I figure the band is more important to me than a drink...but then I got my party days under my belt a while back! LOL

My doctor said wait THREE MONTHS... I imagine alcohol will be painful on the pouch. I wouldn't do it!

I am withdrawling carbination alcohol Sent from my octopus using BariatricPal mobile app

it's a serious question as I try to live with someone who had this surgery. it does seem to me that many of the things I see and read on here, apply to any diet. isn't this surgery "tool" really nothing more then a diet? what is the difference? what is it that having major surgery does to your way of thinking, that just going on AND STAYING with a diet not do? I read on here that you've changed your way of thinking, the foods you eat, you give up carbs, alcohol & diet soda. you're willing to exercise. all of these things you'll do now, whereas before you wouldn't. you call no WL a stall, where as any diet calls it a plateau. what is the difference in your way of thinking, that changes because you had surgery?

VST is a forum for vertical sleeve weight loss surgery support. Those who have had the surgery, and those who are family, friends, and supporters of them are also welcome to come here, participate, learn, educate and be educated. Often, those who have never experienced being morbidly obese truly don't understand what it means to those of us who are, or what we have been through, both physically and mentally. They tend to be more sympathetic to the person who has an addiction to alcohol, smoking, or drugs. But the difference is, nobody needs alcohol, drugs or cigarettes to live, but we do need food to live. And, that alone makes our struggle that much harder. Momto6ix, in order for Rick to succeed, you need to be on his side, loving him and supporting him 100% of the way. I do applaud you for asking what foods are best to make for the party, and being sympathetic to his needs. Please refer to our food and nutrition forums at http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/forum/7-food-nutrition/ for some great ideas on what you can cook and he can eat. He is going through a lot of changes right now, physically and emotionally. If, at this juncture in his journey he doesn't feel ready to face certain situations, then respect that and support him. He has to learn how to handle the different situations he is going to encounter in the future, and he will. But right now, he is still new to all of this. Allow him the time he needs to adjust to changing his eating habits, learning to exercise, dealing with the changes his body is going through, etc. Also, keep in mind when your body is going through such drastic changes, you also have a lot of crazy hormonal/chemical changes going on. Eventually, it will all level out. He will learn how to deal with social situations where food is involved and he will be ready to start going out and living life again. Just don't expect it to all happen overnight. Lastly, everyone please remember our forum rules, primarily the one which refers to everyone being respectful of one another. We are all here to both learn and educate. The attacks are unnecessary.

I feel terrible for her. Her whole life has been one big fiasco after another and now, real, serious tragedy has knocked on her door. God bless her son and God give her comfort and wisdom during such a trial. I'm interested to hear the outcome as well. They've stated that her lawyer was the other person in the room, but my mind keeps going back to the fact that he (her son) came straight from the airport to her room. There is mention of alcohol on the plane, but I guess because of my own experience, I can't help but wonder if he suffered a DVT/PE from the plane ride. There was mention of vomiting excessively, so perhaps alcohol poisoning. I guess the truth will eventually come out. What a tragedy...:think

Hey, there, back up a minute. Do you really consider a problem with food somehow superior or more socially acceptable to a problem with drugs or alcohol? Addiction is addiction. Some of the finest people I know are veterans of twelve step programs, and yes, I met them while sitting in the rooms myself. The lap band is not a miracle worker; it won't change your attitude, your mental processes, or your addiction. You have to do that yourself and a twelve step program gives you a plan to follow and support along the way from people who understand exactly what you are going through. Give yourself a break. Don't knock OA till you try it. I wish you the best.

I don't drink liquor at all, so I can't speak to that. But, for me, wine=major heartburn and beer=painful gas. I try to avoid alcohol as much as I can.

I'm not touching any alcohol for a few more months, but I figure once I finally do, Guinness (or any other stout) would probably be a good choice. It's not carbonated like most beers.

Good luck to you all. If spouses do not want wls, then make sure as your emotions change from surgery that you assure them that you are still attracted to them and value their company. It might be tough from time to time, and they may feel insecure, jealous, angry at your changes and unknowingly or knowingly sabotage your progress. In my first marriage when I would diet and lose weight insecurity would cause him to bring home all kinds of goodies to tempt me or want me to eat out and get a 'garbage basket' appetizer, etc. Now he wasn't overweight, but an insecure alcoholic that figured if I lost weight I would leave (I left fat, because I couldn't take the alcoholism)

Interesting point...however everyone needs to eat..no one needs to drink alcohol

Just a thought but are you taking vitamins? Back to basics - protien and water. I am with you - boring. What about a 5 day break from carbs sugar caffeine and alcohol? Also for me logging is a must. Keep us posted.