About to have lap band surgery—I have a couple ?? About drinking?

[90invjcc 0]

How has the lap band effected anyone’s consumption of alcohol, in particular beer? I’m a huge craft beer fan and the thought of me never being able to drink a beer again (or so I’m told......) because of the carbonation, seems like a hard thing to sacrifice. Did any other beer drinkers out there experience the same sort of issue? Can you really not drink beer or do you just have to take it slow and drink very slowly and just sip it?

Also, are there just issues with the consumption of alcohol in general or is it really dependent upon what u drink in particular??

Any feedback you could provide would be EXTREMELY helpful!!!

Thank you all,
Joe

[loulou12 0]

Hi, I don’t drink beer but have found that my ordinary drink of prosecco is a no no. I tend to have a spirit with a diet mixer and normally leave it a few minutes to go flat to consume. Everyone is different though. Hope this helped

[Matt Z 4,139]

14 hours ago, 90invjcc said:

How has the lap band effected anyone’s consumption of alcohol, in particular beer? I’m a huge craft beer fan and the thought of me never being able to drink a beer again (or so I’m told......) because of the carbonation, seems like a hard thing to sacrifice. Did any other beer drinkers out there experience the same sort of issue? Can you really not drink beer or do you just have to take it slow and drink very slowly and just sip it?

Also, are there just issues with the consumption of alcohol in general or is it really dependent upon what u drink in particular??

Any feedback you could provide would be EXTREMELY helpful!!!

Thank you all,
Joe

When I had my band, I had no problem drinking anything at all. The lap band did literally nothing to prevent my drinking, nor were there any changes in my tolerance for carbonation.

I mean, I legit, I had zero problems drinking the 3 liters of Hefe seen in the photo...

[Jessibird 32]

I'm confused, if it doesn't prohibit you from drinking like that what does it do? Does it prohibit food consumption only?

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[Fat Vegan 2]

The reasons for avoidance are:
1. Because alcohol is laden with empty (useless) calories.
2. Because the carbonated drinks can dislodge the band.
3. Even if it does not dislodge the band it expands the stomach making it hold more (hence why restaurants serve all you can drink soft drink refills), so you can eat more.


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[labwalker 1,177]

If you want to lose on the band, you have to count carbs, Protein, etc. Adding carbs and the calories from alcohol is not good. 14 grams carbs, maybe 150 cals? Adds up fast. I had to give up sugar and all forms of bread to keep losing after five years on the band.. My diet is now 1200 cals max, 80 grams protein and under 100 grams carbs in order to lose about 1/2 pound a week. After the first round of dropping pounds you have to work for each additional pound.

You can easily drink around the band, there is no restriction from the band. And, it will flush foods from the pouch, causing you to be hungry sooner, and maybe eat more than you need,

Edited June 23, 2018 by labwalker

[Awkward customer 5]

On 23/06/2018 at 4:13 PM, Jessibird said:

I'm confused, if it doesn't prohibit you from drinking like that what does it do? Does it prohibit food consumption only?

Sent from my SM-J700T using BariatricPal mobile app

I also find fizzy drinks are consumable with a band in practice, although too much of the could be a problem depending on how much restriction you have. But: a key point here: the band does not "prohibit food consumption". It does not guarantee weight loss. You have to work with it. With a band at ful lrestriction, I found burgers and french fries impossible to eat - with the french fries and the bun the burgers are in being the problem. One bit of a burger - and I would have to vomit. And I don't think it is like normal vomiting: because you have a restricted entrance to the stomach, you can find you want to vomit something up but it won't come. So there is an unpleasant side to a gastric band. But it does stop you from eating that type of food in bulk. At maximum restrictions, I found bread, potato chips and the skin from chicken impossible to consume. But there are plenty of calorific things you can eat that will go down very easily. The more liquid or mushy something is, the easier it is to consume. But if you eat solid things like chicken and potatoes, you will find you can't eat as much in one go as you did before. That said, if you have lots of little meals throughout the day, then you can still consumer large numbers of calories. For me the band was a last choice in life: I got it done knowing that, and I'm prepared to accept some difficulties to get it to work for me.