Alcohol after WLS

[Leather'nLace 187]

I'm gonna put this disclaimer up first: I'm almost 5 weeks out from surgery and am NOT thinking about drinking now or anytime in the near future.

That being said...

My NUT told me that after getting the sleeve, one's alcohol tolerance is really low. I don't drink very much...a drink at Christmas, a drink out at dinner with friends, etc. So, not drinking right now is no biggie at all. However, I'm curious, if and when I have a drink at some point down the road, how much of a lightweight will I be? Are we talking one sip of a Fuzzy Naval and I'm stripping my clothes off and licking the bar top? How bad is it?

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[leebick 448]

A friend who had bypass told me that after a year, she could drink a "taster" beer- that is, a 4ounce beer, and it'd last her all evening and she wouldn't have a buzz, but she'd feel relaxed. That was 2 years ago. Last time I saw her, she was back to pints and had regained a LOT of weight. I think for her that 4ounce beer was a slippery slope. If you choose to drink, be careful, for many reasons.

[Leather'nLace 187]

I've never been a drinker. If I never had a drink again I wouldn't think twice. I am curious how much of a lightweight one becomes as a result of the surgery.

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[ppressey24 254]

I'm gonna put this disclaimer up first: I'm almost 5 weeks out from surgery and am NOT thinking about drinking now or anytime in the near future.

That being said...

My NUT told me that after getting the sleeve, one's alcohol tolerance is really low. I don't drink very much...a drink at Christmas, a drink out at dinner with friends, etc. So, not drinking right now is no biggie at all. However, I'm curious, if and when I have a drink at some point down the road, how much of a lightweight will I be? Are we talking one sip of a Fuzzy Naval and I'm stripping my clothes off and licking the bar top? How bad is it?

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I was told that after the surgery, it goes straight into your bloodstream so thats why they say, if youre going to have a drink, do it at home. You may have been that person that could go and have a glass of wine and drive home after that 1 with no problem, but my girlfriend has 1/2 of glass and shes done for it.

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[Shaunie 123]

I'm 3 months out and have gone out for a couple of drinks! I used to enjoy beer but have decided to not drink because of the carbination etc. I enjoyed 2 classes of wine and new that was my limit! I don't drink often so for me that was a big night out lol. I'm not to sure about mixed drinks

Remember that is a lot of liquid calories

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[Icantbelieveit 955]

I was also told that it lasts 2x the amount of time in your system. So if you have 3 drinks, it will take 6hrs to get it out of your system even if you arent drunk.

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[Babbs 14,680]

At 2 years out, it doesn't effect me any differently than before except leaving my system faster (weird, right?). Any buzz I get from it seems to be gone much quicker than before. I have always been a lightweight because I don't drink very often. I can literally count on one hand how many times I've drank since surgery. Between any buzz that wears off to quickly and the empty calories I'm trying to avoid, it doesn't even appeal to me anymore

[leebick 448]

I found this on the Michigan State Appellate Defender Office's website. Not necessarily a "scientific" site, but this is a concise explanation of what I've been reading:

Gastric bypass surgery results in alcohol moving much more quickly from the stomach into the small intestine. Because 80% of beverage alcohol is absorbed in the small intestine, this surgery results in a much higher peak BAC than with the equivalent amount of alcohol consumed before the surgery. Additionally, there is far less gastric alcohol dehydrogenase available for the approximately 20% of initial metabolism of alcohol which normally occurs in the stomach.

Due to these anatomical and physiological changes, drinking after gastric bypass surgery is similar to drinking on an empty stomach, but creates an even higher peak BAC because there is almost no opportunity for the alcohol to begin to break down before entering the bloodstream. An even better comparison would be to look at the differences in oral consumption verses intravenous consumption. Because a gastric bypass patient has so little stomach left after surgery, alcohol enters the bloodstream almost as if it was injected by a needle.

This is borne out by the scientific research. According to one study, alcohol metabolism was significantly different between the bypass patients and the control group who had no stomach surgery. The bypass patients had a greater peak alcohol level, and it also took them longer to reach zero or no alcohol. The difference in peak BAC is significant. The bypass patients were at .08 or unlawful when the control group only had a BAC of just .05.2 This is a nearly 40% difference!

[Babbs 14,680]

I found this on the Michigan State Appellate Defender Office's website. Not necessarily a "scientific" site, but this is a concise explanation of what I've been reading:

Gastric bypass surgery results in alcohol moving much more quickly from the stomach into the small intestine. Because 80% of beverage alcohol is absorbed in the small intestine, this surgery results in a much higher peak BAC than with the equivalent amount of alcohol consumed before the surgery. Additionally, there is far less gastric alcohol dehydrogenase available for the approximately 20% of initial metabolism of alcohol which normally occurs in the stomach.

Due to these anatomical and physiological changes, drinking after gastric bypass surgery is similar to drinking on an empty stomach, but creates an even higher peak BAC because there is almost no opportunity for the alcohol to begin to break down before entering the bloodstream. An even better comparison would be to look at the differences in oral consumption verses intravenous consumption. Because a gastric bypass patient has so little stomach left after surgery, alcohol enters the bloodstream almost as if it was injected by a needle.

This is borne out by the scientific research. According to one study, alcohol metabolism was significantly different between the bypass patients and the control group who had no stomach surgery. The bypass patients had a greater peak alcohol level, and it also took them longer to reach zero or no alcohol. The difference in peak BAC is significant. The bypass patients were at .08 or unlawful when the control group only had a BAC of just .05.2 This is a nearly 40% difference!

That's the bypass surgery, also. We are all sleeves (I think) that responded in this thread. There is a malabsorption thing going on with the bypass that we don't have, so I think alcohol effects bypass patients even more. I know it does my hubby, even at 10 years out. Two beers at dinner, and I'm driving, lol.

[leebick 448]

Hmmm... I didn't think about that. On first pass I'd think that, as bypass patients are missing the beginning of their small intestine, they'd absorb less alcohol, as the majority of absorption happens in the upper small intestine. However, I'll need to read and look more (Yes, I am a nerd, and formerly a scientist, so I like this stuff! It's keeping me busy while I sip and recuperate from sleeve surgery on 9/15!)

[LipstickLady 25,682]

Everyone will have a different experience with alcohol but I'm much more of a lightweight than I was.

[Shaunie 123]

@@Babbs Thank you that was interesting. I'm a bypass patient!

[Leather'nLace 187]

We're going to Kona over Thanksgiving this year. I don't know if I'll have a drink, since I'll only be 3 months post op and am very protective of the calories that go into me and will still be actively in the weight loss phase. If I do decide to try a drink, I'll certainly be a cheap drunk!

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[BigTink2LilTink 723]

My experience, and this is mines and no one else so, take this information at your own risk. First time I had a drink of alcohol was literally 10 days post surgery. It was new years eve and I had like two sips of super cheap champagne and I was very tipsy right away. I didn't have another drink of alcohol of any kind until a good year after that event. What I have noticed that with drinking is that it does depend on the drink that I am consuming and I can go from tipsy, to buzzed very quickly depending on the drink and strength of said drink. Shots (tequila, rum, and whiskey) are indeed one shot and done sort of drinks for me now. If I go beyond one of those, which I think the most I have had so far almost two years out of surgery was 3 shots in one evening within a 15 minute span of consuming all three shots, and I was very buzzed (lightly drunk). It took about an half and hour to an hours for that buzz to go away where I could feel "normal" again.

What I have learned is that if I pace myself, usually only stick to one or two drinks max (on the hard stuff listed above), and sip them very slowly and moderately, that I can be alright. But again a mixed drink will now last me damn near an entire night vs pre surgery I could have K.O'ed quite a few of them before even feeling remotely buzzed let alone intoxicated. I personally don't like the get buzzed "high" quick feeling that drinking gives me especially if I am out at like a bar/public environment vs at home or at a trusted friends home.

When I am out, I will stick to drinks like hard ciders or dare I say a Mike's Hard Lemonades sort of drink. Beer I really don't drink much of anymore and when I do its usually a stout and again only 1 now. Stouts tend to be heavier beers than your light lagers, and with more yeast and hops makes for a more fuller tummy experience. Wine, I just had recently for the first time in years, it was a dry red wine and it did have a bit of the buzzy feeling to it but it was like 4oz and it took me a good 30 minutes to consume it. Tequila, especially patron, 1 and done. I know if I go beyond that then I'll be in some troubles.

Now I will be two years post op this Dec, and I can say that in the time post surgery I can still say that I have had less than 10 drinks in that time frame. I know how drinking for some of us can be a slippery slop to leading towards unwanted addictions and coping mechanisms. I get that, and I think its why I choose to wait so long to attempt to drink anything post surgery, especially after the NYE thing. But it is something that I have learned to enjoy, just on very special occasions and in the right situations.

[ocgirl15 667]

I am more of a light weight than before. I think there is a lot going on that causes this. 1) I weigh 85 lbs less. 2) instead coating my stomach with a large carb laden meal (fries, bread, pizza) I always drink on an empty stomach now. I cannot drink and eat the same time. That makes a huge difference. 3) my stomach is anatomically different and that probably contributes. So I drink much less and less often. But when I do it is nice spending less money!!!