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I get dizzy often too. My blood pressure is low and my PCP attributes my dizziness with my blood pressure. Asked me how much water I was getting and when I told him, he flinched, like I was drinking too much. He told me to increase my sodium intake. I did a little, but decided I really didn't want to do that because I'm already a big salt user. Yesterday I had appointment with PCP and she wasn't even concerned with my blood pressure. It wa a little lower than previous appointments with my other PCP. She told me I had the blood pressure of a 15 year old....... Hang in there and if you have been drinking alcohol, remember to increase your water intake to cleanse your body of the toxins....... Cheers to everyone!

Just want to add my vote. I am 8 months out and 110 lbs down, I have The blood tests and blood pressure of an 18-year old, this week I have fainted and fallen twice when getting up quickly from laying down on the couch. I have bee pretty lax about caffeine and alcohol lately. I am going to watch that and follow this thread. This can be pretty serious. I fell hard the last time. If I had hit something on the way down it could have been real serious. Sent from my iPad using VST

I couldn't handle chewable vitamins after surgery. They usually contain sugar alcohols (chemicals ending in -itol like xylitol or malitol), which are artificial sweeteners. They give me gas and make me nauseous now. This is not an uncommon reaction after bariatric surgery.

Okay, I hope I don't sound like a lush but how soon after surgery did you try alcohol? I was going to try in 2 weeks (4 weeks out from surgery) a little glass of wine. As I have posted before, I am going to work in Africa in July and will be socializing also. I will be working in the country's government offices and the embassy so it will be dress up /suits type stuff. From what I've seen other places, the after work drink is still popular in that type of an environment. Will I be able to tolerate a glass of wine at the 6 week mark?

I am a slow loser due to alcohol consumption. I am now limiting my intake to 4 drinks a week, mostly staying away from week days.

I have wine on occasion with no problem. Not very often though, maybe twice a month? (except when I was on that cruise in Nov; we had wine every night with dinner! lol) With alcohol I try to watch for both calories and impaired judgement -- i.e. I've heard many people say that they end up eating more at dinner when they have alcohol before or with the meal. At support group someone mentioned that they enjoy a glass of wine before dinner when they eat out with friends because they are tight and it relaxes them enough that they don't have problems with anything getting stuck. I'm not tight enough to have had anything get stuck anyway, so I can't corroborate.

Seriously listen to me. You can do this. What you tell friends is that you are dieting. Truth. You are changing your life. Truth. You have a diet plan of no soda, carbs, sugar, alcohol. Truth. My husband and I did this. I too felt I was not being truthful but I know in my heart my husband was right in making me promise this was our business and no one elses. People love to talk and they would be talking about us if they knew. I have lived my life too much like an open book so this was hard for me. My husband has a 30 year old son who has not said a word about his dad losing 60 lbs. Hang in there, you can do this. Hey, you are getting healthy while you recover from that hernia (like we both had) surgery and losing weight. Best of luck!

You can dump from sugar free foods sometimes because they use sugar alcohols in place which will make you dump just like sugar if you are prone to dumping. I found that out one night with sugar-free Italian ice :/

I have a lapband, but I understand your pain. I want to tell you, failing to lose has many causes--I know, I lived on less than 1000 calories a day for years and never lost an ounce. My lapband didn't help me lose much and my first doctor wouldn't give me a fill. So I found another who did. I am practically wheelchair bound (can only hobble around the house). So I started to lose--slowly. the big help was I didn't regain what I lost. One thing I've never heard a doctor explain to me is that excessive hunger can be giving you a message. So many diets I went on ended with me lying in bed, weak and starving within weeks. What I didn't realize was that my body was telling me those diets weren't nutritionally what I needed. I've tried low fat-high fiber, low calorie, vegetarian, all raw salads, lot's of nuts, praying the weight away, self-hypnosis, bodybuilding, lots of exercise...you get the idea. All of them failed because I wasn't listening to my body. When I got so hungry I would eat nails if there was ketchup to put on them, my body was telling me I was on the wrong diet. This isn't a normal,"Gee, that looks tasty." But was more like a weak pathetic cry from my bed that I was dying and had to eat. I kept experimenting and discovered a ketogenic diet helped, but I gained everything back quickly. As I worked with the keto diet, I learned I wasn't drinking enough water, and I wasn't sleeping enough. But the high protein with lots of greens was definitely a better choice than the others. Then I got the lapband, and the slow weight loss with no restriction was discouraging. But it was a tool. And once I got restriction, I used that tool. I mostly stayed on the ketogenic diet. Lots of protein was just a necessity for me. The fat I ate made the diet more enjoyable. The lapband made me eat small bites, or I spent days puking. If I got sick, I had to reduce what I ate because sickness caused my stomach to swell, and I puked. Over the last ten years I've lived on the ketogenic diet, except for two years when I lost control, (I gained 50 pounds and found I had cancer. I believe the sugar cravings after being in control so long were a result of the cancer.) Back in control, and the 50 pounds went away. I've managed to lose 160 pounds. Not a large amount, and I still have over 100 pounds to go. But I am happy not to be the woman I was. I don't know if the ketogenic diet will help you, but I'm sharing my experience to show you have to experiment to find the right diet. And you have to sleep enough to lose weight. So, get the junk out of your house--the chips, crackers, cake mixes, candy, soda, snack food, juices (fruit juice is just liquid sugar water with a few minerals, eat whole fruit instead), and the alcohol (You can go back to 1 drink a day after you've lost weight). And start the eating pattern you feel best on. Just practice eating a healthy diet for a bit. Don't eat much at a time and keep any easy to snack on food (like grapes or nuts) in the refrigerator. Then start working your tool. go longer between small meals, see what happens when you delete starches, or what foods change how you feel. I had to stop vegetarian because beans make me uncontrollably hungry(love those beans, yumm, yumm). Your body is unique, and just because you haven't found what works for you doesn't mean you're a failure. It just means you haven't found the balance of diet, sleep and exercise that works for you. The important thing is NEVER GIVE UP. After 10 years with the band, I'm revising to a sleeve this spring. I love my band, but there is evidence it doesn't do well after 10 years or so. I feel I will do even better on the sleeve.

I just walked in the house and the first thing that crossed my mind was head to the kitchen and decide what to have for supper. I stopped myself and said why are you going to the kitchen your not hungry it's just what you are used to doing. Much like spending 10 minutes looking for your cigarettes then realizing you haven't bought a pack in 2 weeks because your quitting. I have been fat all my life, I have smoked since I was 11 that's 35 years. I have abused alcohol and or other drugs from the age of 14-35. Today was the first time I realized to change these behaviors all require the same things. Not only do you have to change the behavior you must change the vicious cycle that got you there in the first place. Such as not making food so important. Knowing that difference between wanting something and needing something. Well I don't know if this is the right forum for this and don't know if this qualifies as a success but it is a success to me. Just in case here are my successes I was banded on 1/21/13 and have lost 17 lbs. I have not bought a pack of cigarettes since Feb. 11th. I was bumming one here and there but have not touched one in over a week.

Has anyone started drinking after surgery? If so, how long did you wait? Sent from my iPhone using VST

I don't drink carbonated alcohol, and I count it in my daily calories, but once in a while I have a drink. Normally wine or white russian (CALORIES!!)..those are casino days when I'm not planning to eat anyway.

It's so easy to shift the blame of a surgical complication on something else, so the stats will never be accurate. For example, if you have a hip replacement, and then develop an infection, the infection could spread, and you could become septic, resulting in organ damage or shut down. Your COD would be kidney failure, heart failure, septicemia, etc. not "hip replacement surgery". Or for us, say you become dehydrated because of severe diarrhea and you can't drink enough because your sleeve is so small. You decide not to go to the ER for fluids and you die from kidney failure. Your COD would not be "WLS". Or you do actually have a direct complication like a leak and you chose to go to another doctor for treatment. Your original surgeon would not include your complication in his stats because he never treated you for a leak. And again, what do they consider a complication when collecting their stats? Only leaks and strictures? How about depression, GERD, constipation, diarrhea, alcoholism, gall stones, etc?

When I was first starting out my RN gave me the riot act over having surgery.told me that I would most likely become a drug user or an alcoholic. They do only see the negative parts....but remember a DOCTOR is doing the surgery! If they didn't think it was healthier for you then being obese then they wouldn't be doing the surgery in the first place!

You looked great!!!! That looks sooo fun! How did the alcohol do on your tummy???? I'm frightened of it, but I would love to have a drink again soon lol.

Amid concerns for artificial sweeteners, more products are coming into the bariatric world that contain either stevia or monk fruit, which are naturally derived sweeteners. Stevia is actually a shrub. Monk fruit is an Asian melon and may be listed as luo han guo on the ingredient list. Several powder and liquid forms of water flavors now use stevia. These are easily available in grocery stores. Stevia can be plain stevia or listed as Truvia, which is a combination of stevia and erythritol. Erythritol is a naturally occurring sugar alcohol and will have a few calories. For powder forms of water flavors, look for the Crystal Light Pure and the Great Value version from Walmart. Crystal Light Pure does have four grams sugar per half-packet, so some patients may not be able to tolerate this product. In the liquid drop form, brands to look for include MIO with stevia, Great Value version, Skinny Girl, Sweet Leaf and Stur. Add enough of these products to taste right for you. Too much can get super sweet in a hurry. For protein powders, look for Jay Robb and Syntrax Nectar Naturals. Even yogurts are joining in the natural sweeteners trend. Look for the Greek style yogurts Chiobani Simply 100 (has stevia and monk fruit) and Oikos Triple Zero (has stevia, look for black label). Experiment with different stevia or monk fruit sweetened products to see what you like.

Mine was an hour long conversation. She touched on multiple subjects.....she was trying to see if I had an addictive nature (cigarettes, alcohol addictions), mental illness, and did I fully understand what was involved, and that VSG is not a quick fix.......it's interesting to see how these appointments vary from dr to dr.

I believe it is all in the brain. I truly and finally felt what it was to be normal for the 3 months I was on Phen Fen, which of course was taken off the market. While on those drugs, I had no compulsions to eat, my body told me when I was hungry. I am in mourning that it proved harmful and was taken off the market. I have no compulsion to drink alcohol, I have no compulsion to gamble or take drugs. My compulsion is to eat. I pray one day the answer to obesity is solved. Certainly lifestyle has a huge part. We are some of the richest people in the world, with regards to food availability and 'soft' lifestyle. I am trying very hard to train my younger children to get lots of exercise and eat properly. So far, so good. I see one of my children with the same compulsion to eat sweets and carbs. So far she is thinish and she is kept busy. I pray, she didn't inherit my compulsions, my brain chemicals, whatever you want to call it or all the above. But I see the behaviours in one of my children and not in my other 2. Such a complex issue.

I think most addicts will trade one addiction for another. I have two (well three) examples. The first, a friend of mine moved to San Diego and got addicted to snorting Crystal Meth. When she came back to the east coast, she wasn't able to access it as easily as she did when she lived out west (it was so bad she was fedexing money to her dealer and of course no drugs would come back) so she started drinking a lot. It was so bad, her husband almost put her into rehab for alcoholism. Another friend of mine was addicted to cocaine, had to give it up because it was costing her her life and her family (her daughter was taken away from her by her ex-husband) she cleaned up her act and then got addicted to smoking angel dust, which she is still doing to this day. I think if someone has an innate addictive personality you do end up "switching" for me (the third example) the itch will always be there to eat crappy food, but I feel like my new addiction now is buying clothes. I'm an online shopping fool! It's such a great rush, but after you feel bad. The other day i went to Victoria's Secret was fitted for bras and bought about $500 worth, the minute I left the mall I thought to myself "wtf I'm just going to have to get new ones in six months!" but then the other side of me goes "hey it's $500 you can't take that money with you when you're dead"

I am in my early 20s and just got the band. I was similarly concerned about how it would change my social life. I am only a few days into being banded, but I think the real changes for me on this topic came about a month ago, before I had the band. The truth is, you can have fun in moderation. I am a big drinker and social eater and often plan outings surrounding these things. The thing I have found out from being on my preop diet and being restricted in eating and not drinking is that people don't really care if I am eating fatty foods or drinking alcohol with them. As long as they can do those things, and I am not making my not-participation the focus of what is going on, then no one really minds. The bigger change will not come from your friends, but from you. You will have to learn to be fun and jolly and entertain yourself without the food/alcohol. No one is going to care if you order a Soup instead of a Pasta dish, or if you have a cranberry juice instead of a vodka tonic if you are still being fun and normal. Your friends like you for you, not for how much you can drink or eat. It is a hard transition though. I have added other things to my social life too, like doing-non drinking activities, like seeing a movie or going kayaking with a friend or going shopping, as a replacement to some of drinking/eating related things. I also went to a BBQ at my friends house where people could bring food but I provided food that I knew I would be able to eat without feeling deprived (I brough lots of grilled veggies, veggie burger and crab stuffed mushrooms and propel zero-- no one cared what I was eating or that I wasn't drinking and it was a ton of fun. I enjoyed myself way more not feeling guilty about over eating or worrying if someone counted how many chips I had had and was judging me and I felt the need to drink less). It will be different for every person though. These life changes are good ones. The sooner you start the sooner you get the band you will be able to have control of your life, feel good about yourself, and show other people how confident you are. Being able to have fun without alcohol is an awesome skill, and being able to having conversations and socialize without using food as a crutch will only make you a better friend. I just work hard not to make my new eating habits or band anyone else's problem. It requires planning and has changed my life, but for the better. I have had to really look at what is available on menus before getting to a restaurant and I always carry something that will curb my appetite in a pinch (although there are some fast food options that aren't awful, just look at nutrition and do your best to stay high, Protein and low carb). These things aren't hard though. I think it is good you are asking these questions and if you aren't ready to make some changes inside yourself with how you cope with social situations (not drinking or eating your way through them) then it probably isn't the time for you to get banded. It would be worse, in my opinion, to get banded now and feel like you are failing then to wait until you are mentally ready to give up some of the social comfort and let your friends still have it. The band won't be a cure for any of your bad habits or mental reasons for eating, so those changes need to either come first or you need to be prepared enough to fight them when the cravings come. Doing the 6 month preop nutritionist consults, meeting fellow bariatric surgery patients, being on this site, watching youtube videos, reading blogs and meeting with a therapist have all helped me realize that I don't use food in a normal way and in some ways that hinders my social life more than it helps. This is all just me though. I don't know if it relates to you, but as a young 20 something, the sooner you are happy, the better. It just might take more work mentally if you don't want to change your lifestyle 180 degrees, because the triggers and reasons to eat will still be there after the band. Good luck deciding and feel free to message if you have more questions.

My surgeon begrudgingly told me a glass of wine would be okay here and there. I drink about every other weekend. Like she said before me, you just have to consider how many calories you are pouring down the hatch. Check with your surgeon again. He may have some reason in your health history or medications that he may not want you to mix with alcohol.

I was not told anything about alcohol..., only no carbonated drinks and no drinking right before a meal, during the meal, or after the meal. I sure am not encouraging you to go against what you were told. But as I always told my kids, so what if you're drinking lemon water while your friends are drinking alcohol... I mean that .... So what? You won't be the first to not have a drink and you won't be the last. I have a few friends who are recovering alcoholics and they socialize all the time. When going out to eat, share a salad or an entree with a friend. Order off the appetizer menu. Order a cup of soup. There are so many options. Get out there and enjoy your life!!!!!

This may sound dumb as hell, but I almost wish I'd get stuck ONCE, just so I know I have the band!! On the other hand, I've always been afraid of stuck, PBs, etc., so I'm careful most all the time. But even still, I have gone a bit brain dead from time to time, and still…..nothing stuck. Is it my anatomy?? The only thing I did have happen, was at a party two weeks ago. I drank mucho plenty of wine, and ate whatever appetizers were out. I ate a little bit of the dinner (chicken & salad), but mostly wine and finger foods. They had karaoke, and every time I took a breath to sing, little burps came out. No one heard it, but it was so frustrating. I had that issue for a good hour or two. I only have that happen after drinking too much. Eating too much doesn't cause it, but throw in the alcohol, and I become a little burp machine

Anyone can go to a party. Its whether you go to a party and can stay strong. Rule of thumb so early out? If it is nutritionally bad for you? Don't eat it - it'll make you feel awful. Try and identify the 'better' options around the table. Or better still, eat before you go to avoid having to eat whilst you're there, drink something with no carbonation, avoid alcohol and enjoy the company and surroundings. Doesn't always have to be about the food, so make the company, surroundings and music your focus instead. If it gets tough? Leave early. Your friend will be happy that you showed and you'll be happy that you socialised but managed to stay strong. A party is not an interview with the firing squad! Well, it shouldn't be! Best of luck

It's a surprising, but common error for folks to read on message boards of one or two persons' WLS experiences and then extrapolate from that to "all WLS patients' experiences." As in ... "everybody who has WLS has complications / regains all their weight / becomes anorexic / loses their teeth / becomes an alcoholic / gets divorced / can't eat real food / whatever." FTR, at 15 months post-op (sleeve) I've never thrown up once. I average 90-100 grams of Protein a day. I still have a protein drink about 5 times a week. It's just food. Like milk. Like chicken, burgers, eggs and Beans. BTW, my sister who has never had WLS also has a protein drink for Breakfast during the week. She finds it convenient.