Call the Bariatrics police!

[LipstickLady 25,682]

Instead of asking a bunch of strangers on an internet forum, most of whom I suspect are NOT bariatric surgeons, why not ask your doctor?

Personally, and I am not a scientist or a medical professional, I assume that a liquid is NOT going to hurt your suture line, it's not going to slow your healing, it MAY irritate the incision because of the content (but I don't know/care).

Not all of the recommendations that are given by doctors are directly related to physical healing because this is not purely a physical fix. There are a lot of emotional, mental, and physiological components to weight loss after surgery (or any diet) as well.

You say you listen to your doctor, do your own research and then you make your final decision on what YOU think is best for you? (And this is not a dig by any means, just what I am hearing you say...) You also stated you are on your THIRD procedure? I don't know the whole story, the ins and outs, etc., but FOR ME, if I was on my third bariatric surgery, I'd stop listening to myself and start listening to my doctors, 100%.

[LipstickLady 25,682]

Nope. It wasn't.

In that case, I apologize.

Unnecessary.

[Chrystee 838]

Just because one can drink 6 glasses of alcohol weeks after surgery and be "fine" after does not mean one did not cause damage to their sleeve or self. This is when the slippery slope begins. Oh I had 6 glasses of alcohol and I'm good so it's ok! Let me try again! Oh I can have 6 glasses of alcohol and still lose weight so that means I did good today.

Some of these post are concerning indeed. Trust me I'm no alcohol police. I'm 3 months out and have had a glass of wine twice. And plan to certainly drink A glass of wine during special occasions and social gatherings in the future but I wouldn't have dare compromised my healing process by downing alcohol 2 weeks after surgery which is a critical part of healing.

My post is not to judge or make anyone feel bad because what is done is done this post comes from pure concern of some of the dangerous actions taking by some.

I agree..

Lol ppl are so judgie it cracks me up i knew they would come for me, everybody's an expect i see, and i only had a few sips wtf!!! Geesh like i said show me someone who has 100% played by the book, i could careless about the finger pointing because when you point a finger at me there's 4 fingers pointing back at cha HA !

I guess I'm not even sure why you would post the thread then? Especially with the title? You knew people would say something to you.. you knew it would illicit remarks and stir the pot.. I don't really get it.

[camkids 11]

I'm only 2 weeks post op, and have to say I haven't seen anybody being "judgmental", rather concerned would be how I would describe it. I'm still on liquids, and have been dying to advance my diet too soon, but thanks to the encouragement of veterans and others smarter than me, I haven't. I try to remember that this new tummy of mine will be either my best friend or worst enemy for life. How I treat it now will determine our "future". I would hate to sabotage my life with a lapse in judgement. Glad you didn't cause major damage, hope you will see this as a "close call".

[tracywag 27]

Thank you, but again, that only clarifies what Iv already stated. Is it dangerous to my healing process ? Does it effect my staple line ? Will it cause a leak? Will it irritate my recently cut up insides ? That's what i want to know.

And just for the record, I would have no problem never drinking again, I only ever do it 2-3x a year anyway and that's usually only on vacations, but I can't help it, I crave knowledge and education. I just want to know.

Mind you, this information is for people with whole functioning stomachs. Not fresh surgical lines, staples, and a stomach reduced to the point where a small ulcer could be major.:

Put simply, alcohol irritates your digestive system. Drinking – even a little – makes your stomach produce more acid than usual, which can in turn cause gastritis (the inflammation of the stomach lining). This triggers tummy pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in heavy drinkers, even bleeding. On the less serious end of the scale, drinking can make it more difficult to digest food and absorb vital nutrients. That’s because alcohol reduces the amount of digestive enzymes which the pancreas produces to help us to break down the fats and carbohydrates we eat (1).

• (1) NHS Choices website, Gastroesophageal reflux disease: introduction. The Information Standard member organisation. Last reviewed: 29/05/2014. Available at:http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Gastroesophageal-reflux-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx

[Band07 374]

Thank you, but again, that only clarifies what Iv already stated. Is it dangerous to my healing process ? Does it effect my staple line ? Will it cause a leak? Will it irritate my recently cut up insides ? That's what i want to know.

And just for the record, I would have no problem never drinking again, I only ever do it 2-3x a year anyway and that's usually only on vacations, but I can't help it, I crave knowledge and education. I just want to know.

Mind you, this information is for people with whole functioning stomachs. Not fresh surgical lines, staples, and a stomach reduced to the point where a small ulcer could be major.:

Put simply, alcohol irritates your digestive system. Drinking – even a little – makes your stomach produce more acid than usual, which can in turn cause gastritis (the inflammation of the stomach lining). This triggers tummy pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in heavy drinkers, even bleeding. On the less serious end of the scale, drinking can make it more difficult to digest food and absorb vital nutrients. That’s because alcohol reduces the amount of digestive enzymes which the pancreas produces to help us to break down the fats and carbohydrates we eat (1).

• (1) NHS Choices website, Gastroesophageal reflux disease: introduction. The Information Standard member organisation. Last reviewed: 29/05/2014. Available at:http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Gastroesophageal-reflux-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx

Thank you ! That is the most helpful comment Iv read on this entire thread ! Interesting and also thought provoking, makes sense too.

[Band07 374]

Instead of asking a bunch of strangers on an internet forum, most of whom I suspect are NOT bariatric surgeons, why not ask your doctor?

Personally, and I am not a scientist or a medical professional, I assume that a liquid is NOT going to hurt your suture line, it's not going to slow your healing, it MAY irritate the incision because of the content (but I don't know/care).

Not all of the recommendations that are given by doctors are directly related to physical healing because this is not purely a physical fix. There are a lot of emotional, mental, and physiological components to weight loss after surgery (or any diet) as well.

You say you listen to your doctor, do your own research and then you make your final decision on what YOU think is best for you? (And this is not a dig by any means, just what I am hearing you say...) You also stated you are on your THIRD procedure? I don't know the whole story, the ins and outs, etc., but FOR ME, if I was on my third bariatric surgery, I'd stop listening to myself and start listening to my doctors, 100%.

First of all, what kind of "support" forum would this be if anytime someone asked a question they were told to "not ask strangers" and "ask your doctor" I imagine the entire site would not exist or at least be minus a few thousand threads as that's what 90 % of us do here is ask questions to strangers.

Second, my situation is pretty simple, I was banded and not only lost all my weight but maintained it for 6 years but bands being bands, it needed to come out, when it did my surgeon made my "sleeve" very large due to all the scar tissue which made it easily stretch out ( I know you don't believe they stretch) and I gained 40 lbs so before it turned into more I had my sleeve revised to keep from gaining more and continue with my journey. Not one of those things was impacted by listening or not listening to my surgeon or anyone else.

Third, I started my questions because I found this thread interesting and because I noticed a lot of comments saying how dangerous it was and it sparked my interest even more. Like I said, I enjoy learning and research and i was looking for some helpful answers. Simple as that. Sure I could email my surgeon but i again won't get any actual research or proven statistics, he already advised I weight 3 months, 3 months is nothing, I'm not a big drinker, like I said, I was just interested in the topic and in knowing what others had been told, I wasn't trying to start a new battle in what already appeared to be a war.

[SlimJill 291]

Personally I spoke to my therapist before surgery about alcohol and decided I would not touch it until I felt I had replaced my addiction with something healthy... It's just too risky to me.

The way I see it is - alcohol never meant anything to me before surgery and I'm going to keep it that way!

Once I get to a point where I am healthy, happy, and alcohol is purely a social activity then I will experiment a little. The only thing I worry about is my 21st birthday will be approximately 6 months post op in October. Most people know 21st birthdays usually end up in young people getting sick, passing out, or ending up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning ... so the peer pressure will be strong to go crazy but I'll have to reign those crazy friends in and remind them I have something more important to me.

[LoreLu 79]

I love this forum. Y'all can be so funny at times!

[LipstickLady 25,682]

First of all, what kind of "support" forum would this be if anytime someone asked a question they were told to "not ask strangers" and "ask your doctor" I imagine the entire site would not exist or at least be minus a few thousand threads as that's what 90 % of us do here is ask questions to strangers.

You weren't asking a typical question. You were asking for research and specific medical proof/studies. Big diff.

[kdawgsmom 16]

My doctor said it can cause ulcers.

Okay, does anyone have any information stating that alcohol is dangerous too soon after surgery ? All I can find is "it can impact you differently" in other words you feel it a lot faster and of coarse empty calories and the risk of transfer addiction, but all that aside, I'm looking for actual research showing it is a risk to staple line ect. My surgeon had no stipulations on alcohol following the sleeve and in fact said "it's a liquid" you'll be fine, I had 2 margaritas about a month out. However, I recently had a revision so I'm looking for information in order to make an informed decision this time about if I would want to have a drink next weekend while out of town for the Holiday.

[ssourgirl 151]

Google "Alcohol after Bariatric Sleeve" and you'll find plenty of information on it. 2 weeks out and over a bottle and a half of wine as well as other drinks, probably not smart. A couple of ounces a few months out, probably not a huge deal.

[Band07 374]

First of all, what kind of "support" forum would this be if anytime someone asked a question they were told to "not ask strangers" and "ask your doctor" I imagine the entire site would not exist or at least be minus a few thousand threads as that's what 90 % of us do here is ask questions to strangers.

You weren't asking a typical question. You were asking for research and specific medical proof/studies. Big diff.

No, I was actually asking people to be responsible for the information they contribute by backing it up with facts and evidence instead of just pulling it out of their a$$ ! What the heck was I thinking !?!

[LipstickLady 25,682]

First of all, what kind of "support" forum would this be if anytime someone asked a question they were told to "not ask strangers" and "ask your doctor" I imagine the entire site would not exist or at least be minus a few thousand threads as that's what 90 % of us do here is ask questions to strangers.

You weren't asking a typical question. You were asking for research and specific medical proof/studies. Big diff.

No, I was actually asking people to be responsible for the information they contribute by backing it up with facts and evidence instead of just pulling it out of their a$$ ! What the heck was I thinking !?!

Ahhhhh...funny, your post didn't say that at all. I guess you are asking people to be mind readers, too. I assume from this point forward you will link "scientific research", "facts" and "evidence" to everything you post since that is what you are asking for?

Oh, and I'd advise you to not look for that from me. I am not a doctor nor am I medical professional. I can google almost any "fact" or bit of "evidence" that tells me what I want to hear.

Just because you read it on the internet doesn't make it truth. At least, last I checked.

[ShellMilliner 233]

First, responsible is following the advice of your doctor and the medical community (plain and simple), if you want facts ask your doctor to print off peer reviewed journal articles for your reading pleasure, I'm sure they'd oblige.

I was flat out told no alcohol for a minimum of 6 months, however, they prefer a year.

The main reasons:

1) Dehydration - alcohol WILL cause dehydration (fact). If you are not drinking enough Water this will compound the issue more than three fold and likely land you in the ER for fluids.

2) Stomach acid - Because there are less gastric juices to buffer alcohol it can cause swelling in the stomach lining. This happens even after healing, so why in the world would you even want to take an already swollen and irritated tummy and add fuel to the fire?

2) Absorption - Alcohol is much more readily abosorbed into the blood stream in patients that have undergone bariatric surgeries causing a person to get "drunk/tipsy" on smaller quantities. Consuming too much too quickly can cause alcohol poisoning (and for many people this can equal 2 drinks, shots, etc...). Again another trip to the ER.

3) No nutritional value and can lead to binge eating (poor choices). Alcohol is well known to lower inhibitions causing over indulgence in foods, alcohol and other vices.

Guidelines are put in place to protect both the patient and doctor. The risk of dehydration and stomach irritation is enough to keep me from partaking until I'm well healed. I want to give myself the best start I can possibly have on my road to wellness.

First of all, what kind of "support" forum would this be if anytime someone asked a question they were told to "not ask strangers" and "ask your doctor" I imagine the entire site would not exist or at least be minus a few thousand threads as that's what 90 % of us do here is ask questions to strangers.

You weren't asking a typical question. You were asking for research and specific medical proof/studies. Big diff.

No, I was actually asking people to be responsible for the information they contribute by backing it up with facts and evidence instead of just pulling it out of their a$$ ! What the heck was I thinking !?!

Edited May 19, 2015 by ShellMilliner