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I've been worried about sliding back too. I've started having alcohol and notice that I eat the WRONG food when I drink. I missed having fun with my friends so I reintroduced alcohol, but I feel like it is stalling my weight loss. I want to find a good balance but don't know how to do that....I need to get back on track too!

I’ve decided not to tell anyone else for now (I’m preop). A big part is because of how my mom and sister reacted. I have a couple friends I have discussed it with and the rest of my close family who are very supportive. We just had family vacation and my mom made a point of pointing out all the things I was doing she thought I wouldn’t be “able” to do after surgery. Drink alcohol (I had 1-2 drinks a day) and have ice cream. Yep. Will I explain to people later? Maybe

I wish I could introduce you to my niece. She had bypass surgery in 2012 at the tender age of 20. At 1st she questioned herself about it and now after losing over 200 lbs she wouldn't have it any other way. She's happy she's now able to do things she never thought possible. The crazy thing is she eats like a grown man smoke and still drink alcohol. She has an amazing social life just like a young adult would. So yes you may have to give up the things you love for a short time but soon you will be able and free to do as you please without gaining any weight back. My poor niece wants to gain 10 lbs but can't because every time she put on a few pounds it fall right back off. She is now 26 and she's so in love with the new her. It's ok to second guess yourself but don't worry about it. You will have your life back sooner than you no it. This time it will be the new healthier smaller you. Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app

Totally normal to get nervous as surgery gets closer. But honestly the things you think you can’t live without don’t feel that important anymore. I know it seems weird to say you won’t miss alcohol, but I totally you won’t. You’ll be so busy with a million other things, you won’t even think about it.

Well I've always enjoyed getting a good buzz and have been known to have a few too many from time to time. But alcohol just never has made me feel as good as ice cream used to. Weird, huh? I totally understand the dependancy transfer situation. I imagine I could figure out how to do that. Not that I'm on self-destruct, mind you. But I am a girl who likes to have fun. Many of my friends like me better with a few drinks in me because I'm generally so darned uptight all the time. I'm one of those chicks who grew up needing to have everybody like me and so I've been bad about trying TOO hard, if you know what I mean. That kind of behavior often makes others uncomfortable and kinda feel sorry for you. Gawd, youth is wasted on the young! Thanks for the feedback, Jane.

Yup, those two things, the travel and the wilde beests, are the reason I haven't wanted to make the trip. But I dunno if I had the chance to go I probably would. Your photos of the Sex in the City party were very cute. You're a better man than I for being able to manage those shoes until the wee hours. Which brings up a good question: wine? I have teetotled since surgery because of all the stories I've heard. Plus my dietician says that alcohol is hard on the tummy. Have you had any problems? I have a tendancy to get drunk on small quantities (being part red Indian, ya know) so I've been afraid that I would totally make a fool of myself by waking up with a lampshade on my head and burn marks on my knees.

yes, cross addiction is very common. In many cases, we are "addicted" to food....we use it when we are stressed, sad, happy, depressed, etc. We use it to Celebrate and to soothe us in bad times. A big part of successful WLS is learning how to not use food this way. We have to find another way to deal with our emotions. And yes, in many cases, food is simply replaced with another addiction.... shopping, gambling, drugs, alcohol, sex, exercise, etc. This is where the psych eval, counseling and therapy comes in. You have to find a constructive way to deal with the mental and emotional aspects of your relationship with food. Alcoholism and drug addiction are definitely seen in post WLS patients.

Yeah, it seems normal to me that you're second guessing this, as it is a major decision. What I will say is that I really haven't had to give up much of anything. I can't eat as much as I used to be able to, of course, but I don't stop myself from having something if I REALLY want it. If I want chocolate, I have a small piece. If I want pancakes, I have half of one, which ends up being more than enough....I could go on. No, I don't eat these things all day, every day, but I do let myself have them occasionally. I do drink coffee everyday; I do better with the cold brew variety, as it's less acidic, and I use a non-sugary flavoring with stevia for sweetener, so I'm not adding a bunch of calories or carbs, but I DO get my caffeine fix daily. I wasn't able to have it for a while, while I was healing, but I'm now 7 months post-op and can enjoy my glass a day. I also drink alcohol now. Do I do it a lot? No. But I do allow myself to drink occasionally. I don't keep liquor at the house, because I don't need it that often, but when I go out with friends, I may have a drink. I do vodka and water, and I bring Mio to but in it, so I'm still getting a yummy drink, without adding calories and carbs. I really wasn't a soda or sparkling water drinker before, so I don't miss that. I'm 32, and I wish that I would have done the surgery when I was your age, instead of waiting.

I understand what you are going through and everyone has a different experience but for me, my only regret is that I waited until I was 44 to do it. Yes, there is a lifestyle change but it may not have to be as drastic as you think. About 6 Month post op, I started drinking alcohol again, carrfeine, carbonated beverages. The biggest challenge is just learning to adapt to the new way your body tolerates your intake. Best of luck to you!

It's completely normal to second guess any major life changing thing you go through; marriage, weight loss surgery, cosmetic surgery, buying a first home, even kids. I know once you're pregnant and about to go into labor, there's nothing you can do. But I seriously questioned am I ready? And many other questions. Some of the things you are worrying about can still be enjoyed after surgery just not in huge quantities. I'm a vape person and no longer smoke cigs but every now and then. I drink a pot of coffee every day. Sometimes (mostly) it's decaf. I will drink a diet coke here and there. I don't drink alcohol because I'm an alcoholic, but I have friends that do.

As I posted in another thread yesterday, a smart person in my WLS support group says, "The surgeon does the stomach surgery, but you have to do the brain surgery." My bariatric nurse talked a lot about "addiction switching," the phenomenon mentioned above where someone who used to be addicted to food "switches" to alcohol, compulsive shopping, or even drugs or sex. So in other words, therapy yay! It's just putting one more tool in your weight loss toolbelt.

Please don't consider this a lecture, more of a statement of fact. I come from a family of addictive personalities. For me and my sisters (though they have never been as over weight as I have) it's food; for my brother who is a recovering alcoholic it was alcohol, pot and smoking. He gave up the alcohol and the pot but can't give up cigarettes. He is the only smoker (well his adult son smokes) in our immediate family (our dad was a smoker). He had a heart attack at like 43 (had to have stints put in); and tried to stop smoking. But it has not taken. He can not stop smoking. So yes I know quitting is horrible and in my brothers case not happening (his wife does not smoke). If you have gone this far please try to stay with it. Can you speak with your PCP about the new perscriptions? Again I am not lecturing. My brother says that in all the NA and AA meetings he attends most people there chain smoke because it is the only thing they left.

If by a few drinks you mean 2-3 and you're two days before surgery, you're going to be fine. If by a few drinks you mean 10-12, it probably won't kill you, but it isn't the greatest plan. If you think about it, people who go into emergency surgery for far more serious surgeries generally didn't have the option to stop drinking well in advance of surgery and assuming they survive whatever unexpected thing tried to kill them, the alcohol they consumed before surgery isn't likely going to make it any worse, unless we're talking like binge drinking in which case, all bets are off. So...a few drinks, as defined by 2-3, a few days before surgery isn't a big deal. A night of keg stands, beer bongs, and tequila shots probably isn't the best plan.

Hello my fellow May sleevers! I don't think I have introduced myself yet. I'm in Detroit, Michigan and I am a band to sleeve revision. I was initially scheduled for a gastric bypass in March but I chickened out the week of surgery. My sleeve date is May 16th! I feel so much better about this decision. My docs office was a bit irritated with me but I have to do what is right for me! I have had my crap band for five years with little weight loss and I have been taking off and putting back on the same twenty pounds for the last six months. I'm just sick of it and I need to do something different. I've been trying to get myself ready so months ago I quit soda, carbonation, and caffeine. I also gave up alcohol almost completely (never thought I'd be able to do that). I've also learned to love yogurt which, until two weeks ago I could not stand! I made a list of what I will need and posted in a thread. I purchased my Vitamins, belly band, ear plugs, and eye mask for the hospital today. My goal is to get to the gym everyday until surgery so that I go in in the best shape possible. My doc does not require a liquid diet but I would really like to try to do one for a couple of weeks prior. I figure there can't be any harm in trying to keep my liver out of the docs way! My surgery will include gallbladder removal, band removal, hernia repair (caused by the crap band), and my revision to a sleeve so I am anticipating being in a world of hurt or as the coordinator at the surgeons office put it a "hot mess"! She has assured me they will get me through it. I look forward to sharing this experience with all of you and wish you the best of luck!

I knew it was coming. I knew I hadn’t lost any weight, or not nearly enough to be pleasing to myself. Sure enough, I’d lost a mere 5 pounds in the past six weeks. Despite the reassurances of the nurse taking my weight that almost everyone had the same difficulties due to the weather being so cold, I knew I could do better. My appetite had been on the increase, and consequently, my caloric intake on my FitDay.com report showed a gradual increase. So, I went in today for my visit, determined to have maybe a couple of cc’s just to nip that trend toward weight gain in the bud. Nope! Once these pounds come off, they are not going back on by golly! See ya! Buh-bye! I’d only lost 5 pounds, but about 4.9 of those pounds was pure fat! Now, that’s a reason to Celebrate. I might have lost more, but Dr. Baptista’s nifty machine said I had Water weight issues. Yes, I did, mostly in a swollen left ankle from doing too much this past weekend. Told ya it was a nifty machine. Finally, that incredibly handsome doctor with the soulful brown eyes and the talented hands (Get your minds out of the gutter! I’m talking about his surgical skills, thank you!) appeared. He seemed to agree that I needed a nudge toward the sweet spot. Thoughtful man that he is, he also remembered I’m needle phobic. He took the time to reassure me while swabbing my port area with alcohol. It was somewhat painful, but more weird than uncomfortable. I hate needles. I am a certified needle phobic with a tendency to faint when shown a hypodermic, much less have one coming at me. Sure, it stung. I expected that. I didn’t expect the second stab of pain when he found the port. I think he used a butterfly or something. My tits were in the way, and I have the good sense not to look down in case I do see a needle. (wry grin) Whew! No matter what, I was glad that part was over. Yes, I’d do it again, if necessary. I knew that immediately. It wasn’t THAT bad. He put some saline in. I was okay with it, and I could feel the change in pressure a bit. That was cool. Then doc had me drink some water and tell him when I felt “full” and when I felt the water go away. I never really felt full, and never really felt it go away. He said I needed more restriction. By the time I drank close to 16 oz of liquid, I had a whopping 4 cc’s in the band. Apparently, I needed more restriction than I’d guessed and that explained why I hadn’t lost. All my loss up to now had been low carb diet and habitual dieting, not a restriction. What a shame. I really thought I’d been close to my Sweet Spot. Oh, well. If millions of others can fiddle with their band until they find bliss, so can I. Well, I’m on liquids for the next couple of days. Fine by me. I’ll pop by Wal-Mart and get some more Meal Replacement shakes. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when I’m allowed solids again. I don't feel anything much when I drink a meal replacement shake, but I'm burping like an adolescent boy with a carbonated soda. :laugh:

I do think some therapy would be good for you; most insurances cover it based on your plan of course. I am sorry you have to go through this. But even small walks on part your lunch break can help and be therapeutic for weight loss and mental health. I hate to pry further and lord knows you don’t have to answer but even though he chooses not to leave, you can have a court order for him to leave being he is abusing drugs with your kids in the home. My mom went through this with my father (I was an adult at the time so no kids in the home) and because he was an alcoholic, the court made him leave. I find it heartbreaking that your kids have to uproot their lives because of your husband

You just pay for items that you use out of the fridge, 2 bottles of Water a day are free and sodas are $2. So not terrible...the alcohol is pricey, but we don't drink . When I get released from the hospital we are going to go to Walmart to get stuff so it will be cheaper. I plan on picking up a few extra gatorades and my mom will get Snacks and drinks. We could have walked there today...but we were EXHAUSTED and practically collapsed in the hotel beds for 3 hour naps.

Shoulder slowly improving. Weird. I went to the movies yesterday with friends and reeeeaaaallllyy wanted the free popcorn I had a coupon for. Well I didn't really want that small free popcorn. I wanted the giant tub of it. And I didn't really want the lousy crapcorn that movies have nowadays. I wanted the old real oil popped corn from my youth. And I didn't want the butter flavored chemical concoction they offer now. I wanted real butter. And even though I was truly slightly hungry, nothing healthy would satisfy my "wants". So I just watched the movie. When I got home later I was truly hungry, so I had 10 almonds and went to bed. I read somewhere to do an apple test to figure out if you are actually hungry or head hungry. Think, "Would one crisp apple satisfy me completely right now?" If yes, have one crisp apple. If no, it's not stomach hunger so figure something else out instead of eating. I'm on track and deliberately didn't go out with my friends for drinks after the movie. First of all I had taken a pain pill for my shoulder so alcohol is a no-no. Secondly, my Saturday night outings have no doubt slowed my weight loss. Wine has calories, and I'm not losing as fast by having it every weekend. So last night I passed. Tomorrow is my weigh-in followed by a rigorous outdoor day of walking (about three hours) with two other friends. So close to Onederland. Maybe tomorrow!?

Thank you to everyone who posted comments and shared their experiences. I have a better insight now and I really think that a 0 tolerance to alcohol while I heal is definitely the way to go! Thank peeps!

I asked my surgeon this very thing because I LOVE beer and a Rum and Coke. He told me to give up the carbonated drinks, he said it can make the new stomach feel really uncomfortable, and to be ware that alcohol will greatly slow down the body's burning of fat. He recommended that I wait until I am at, or very near, my goal weight before I reintroduce alcohol. Good luck to you!

You know that I could very much easily lie about everything you just asked me about. Right? Cuz answering those questions doesn’t prove anything really. But if I told you the truth, I got my lap band surgery in March 2015 in South Korea. Korea has different cultural views regarding weight so I was accepted as a lap band patient. I was in Korea because I was taking a semester off from college because my eating disorder was really causing me a lot of stress. I started out as 139. Believe it or not there are many patients much lighter than me who have gotten the bad. My surgeon takes extra care in making sure lighter patients lose weight extra slowly to not cause any harm to our health. I lost steadily at a rate of two pounds a month until I got to my lowest of 108 pounds. I came back to the states to finish my last semester of school. Because I don’t have a doctor in the states where I can get a fill, I got a slightly tighter fill than I would have gotten normally because I probably wasn’t gunna get another fill until next summer. Everything was smooth sailing after my surgery. Quality of life improved IMMENSELY. I was soooo happy with life, just feeling normal and in control of my life again. However, during labor day weekend I was in Michigan back home ( my school is in Chicago) and I was out having adrink with my friends. Some of my previous meal was still in my pouch so the alcohol that I drank wouldn’t go through. I started to salivate, get red in the face, tear up etc. so I had to go throw up. When I threw up, for the first time ever, I felt an extremely sharp pain in my stomach and I started to get rolling waves of intense pain all through that night. Now listen, I was back home just with my dad ( cuz my mom and brother were still in korea) and my dad DOES NOT know that I have gotten the lap band ( he would think that I am CRAZY). So I didn’t’ tell anyone and thought that the pain would subside the next day. I had to drive back to Chicago the next day for school. As I was driving back, the sharp pain intensified to a point where it was excruciating for me. I didn’t know what to do. I was 2 hours away from Chicago so I called a bariatric surgeon in Chicago (from google) and told him my situation. He told me to drive to the west suburban hospital near Chicago. So I drove two long hours where I was finally able to get my band completely drained. I still had pain so I had to spend the night at the hospital. The total of the bill that night was roughly 13000 dollars. The reason why I’m saying this is because I then realized that maintaining my band in the states was gunna be extremely difficult. What am I gunna do if this happened again? Get another 13000 dollar bill?!?? And fills in America are SOOO expensive. In korea a lap band fill is about 30 dollars with a free upper GI with every adjustment. You know that x ray thing where you drink barium and costs a fortune in America? Well that comes complimentary with your fill in korea. Because I travel back and forth from the states and korea at months and years at a time, I realized that the lap band will be not effective for me. And mostly I was scared that the pain would return from the band if I got it filled. Out of fear and desperation that my life would return to that out of control, binge-eating state, I have thought about getting the vsg. I talked with my surgeon back in Korea and surprisingly found out that a very small number of low bmi patients have gotten the vsg out of their own personal reasons as well. My surgeon explained to me that although we are very rare cases, that vsg has been successful and have also improved the quality of life for those who have gotten it. Anyways. I’m flying off to korea during thanksgiving break to have my band removed. After coming back to finish my finals for school, I’ll be flying off again in December and getting my sleeve on the 26th. The reason I posted this post was to hear some thoughts that experienced sleevers had because you can never do enough research about such an important decision like this one. The reason why I chose not to reveal the name of my surgeon is because I was afraid that ya’ll would look him up on google and write him terrible reviews and send him hate letters, because he REALLY doesn’t deserve that. He has been so compassionate and understanding about my situation that he realllyy doesn’t deserve any of the negativity. He is board certified. In fact he is considered one of the top bariatric surgeons in Korea, even a professor in the field of bariatrics at a prestigious university in South Korea. He is like a celebrity surgeon, appearing on TV often and such (I’m not saying that just because a doctor comes on tv they are good docters… all im trying to say that he is not in the least sketchy at all lol) NOW as you wanted to know the pricing of everything. I paid $8500 for my lap band I’ll be paying $4000 for the removal of the band and $8500 for the sleeve. Everything was self pay. Anyways that’s everything, bare and naked. You can take it or leave. I’m not here to prove anything. I just didn’t want ppl who honestly gave me frank and good advice thinking that I was some liar writing this post of my own entertainment. Anyways thanks for reading

I too bought the glogg. I have been adding a splash to my hot tea in the mornings. I love the fact that one of the ingredients in non-alcoholic wine. WTF??? wouldn't that be rotten juice then? Wine has alcohol....or so I thought. I was also told that the glogg is great added to a pork roast in the crock pot, I don't eat pork so I have no intention of trying it, but the lady at Ikea that was buying 2 cases of it swears by it. ~Mandy

There is an entire history from my hubby's mother/grandmother of the year mom. His parents divorced when he was 13, and his brother was 16. His brother lived with mom and my hubby chose dad. Mom was an alcoholic (brother is too), a chain smoker and very abusive to my hubby but his brother could do no wrong. Now that has transfered to the grandkids. The brothers kids are great, she spends time with them, attends soccer games and school programs. My daughter gets overlooked every year. I prefer it that way, she is not loving and kind like a grandma should be. She is overbearing and short tempered. She threatned to spank Abi a few years ago and I told her if she ever spanked my child I would press charges. We are her parents and should handle the punishments. We don't spank her, she gets her hands slapped or she gets timeout. Spanking simply doesn't work with an ADHD child. She says that is a cop out for us not wanting to be more firm with her. We have the pleasure of seeing her 4 times a year, the 3 kids b-day and the week before Christmas we all get togehter at my house and exchange gifts. I have the holidays in my home, I hated being taken to family's house after opening our gifts as a kid so I don't make Abi do that, we spend days before the holidays with extended family and friends. Then Christmas afternoon is open house around here. I make enough desssert for about 75 people and there is usually one a few small things left over. I tried to make a relationship wih DH's family. (they have never been a close family) and it worked for a while. Then 3 years ago Abi was getting old enough to understand what the gifts were, and what home means. So I put my foot down and said that holidays would be in our home, we could do other days with family. My wonderful DH's grandma tod everyone I was a black sheep and she disowned me and hubby. I was told that unless I planned to spend the entire day at her house I wasn't welcomed there anymore. She actually told me that I could not see my family on Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Easter. I told her she was being unreasonable and that is when she disowned us. Fastforward about a year, I was working in a very busy tattoo studio that was being put on the market for sale. She and her roommate decided to buy the place and allow me to run it, they were going to be there only to collect money and handle paying the utility bills. I worked for them for 8 months. I was expected to stay at the same salary, and commission rate but now work extra hours, do all the supply shopping, and clean the shop twice a month on my days off. When I asked for a raise or some help with the cleaning and shopping (these were never my job before) I was called moneyhungry and accused of trying to run them into the poor house. I worked 3 nights a week, 5pm to 10pm and sat from noon to midnight. I got $200 a week plus commission. My job was to manage the artist, order all shop supplies, help customers, do light cleaning and work the front counter. I made 50% of my piercings (industry standard is between 35% and 60%). I tried to talk to my MIL and her partner and explain that I was having to drive to my mom's house to care for Abi, and that was also taking serious time, and gas money and the shopping was also costing me gas money and time. I also had to pay for everything and wait for the end of the week to get reimbursed. I was totally stressing out, losing my hair, and my blood pressure was going through the roof. I started hating my job, a job that I had for 10 years and loved every day that I worked. One day my home phone rang and it was the busines partner, screaming about the price of papertowels, saying I was spending too much. I told her the comfort of the customers was very important to me and she said that the money was more important. I told her I quit and have never been back. The relationship with MIL has never been the same. She stood there crying while I packed my things in the shop. The partner called the police to make sure I didn't steal anything from them. It was such an ugly situation, I have never forgiven her for allowing the partner to treat me the way she did. She never defended me and never tried to make the situation better. Things are always tense now, and I suspect they always will be. I love my husband and can't understand how such a cold hearted woman could have raised such a wonderful man. I am gald to have him in my life and my mother loves him like a son. He says that he is the luckiest man in the world. He has a great MIL, and he always says I got the short end of the stick with his mom. Now that you know the story, you can see why her behavior is not surprising at all. It just sucks for Abi has to suffer. I have a girlfriend that is older and she treats Abi like a grandchild, and also a neighbor that loves her too. She is lucky, she has several people in her life that make up for the lack of a real grandparent on that side of the family. Sorry to ramble, but I feel much better now. ~Mandy

Before people start arriving, try to sit down & eat some of the turkey chili ahead of time. This may help you to better resist the temptations around you tonight. Keep Water in your hand to sip throughout the party, and be very careful not to overdo the alcohol. Since you're not even a month out yet, you don't have any way to know what foods might not sit well or make you sick. Good luck!

I'm done. You just HAVE to be right don't you? Or maybe you were her nurse. She wasn't going to aspirate, her freaking throat was dry. I came to this site for help and support during my surgery process. All I've found is: 1. People who like to complain. A LOT. 2. People who still want to have their cake and eat it too. Good god. If I see one more post about being 5 weeks out and wanting alcohol! 3. Debbie Downers and Negative Nancies. Get over yourself. Everyone has bad days. Your horror stories are not even told to educate, rather scare people. Want sympathy? Look it up in the dictionary. 4. High and mighty 'Veterans' with flippant responses. NurseGrace, no one was attacking you personally on your I'm sure 'fabulous' bedside manner. I'm a teacher. You don't think people attack my profession constantly?! I ignore it and take the constructive criticism to improve my self. One teacher at a time. I cannot stand this bickering and blatant disrespect people have for each other on here just because you sit behind a computer. I will go through this silently or find some other support. Good luck to you that really want to change their lives. Those who wanted a quick fix? Shame on you.