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Doctors' philosophy on this vary from a few weeks to never again depending upon their experiences. The basic issues are: Healing - alcohol is somewhat corrosive to the stomach lining so one needs to give things a chance to heal first, Typically we see a few weeks to a few months sited for this. Alcohol tolerance - rapid stomach emptying means it tends to hit faster, and with less (i.e., a "cheap drunk") so care must be taken there, Transfer addiction - we can no longer satisfy whatever addictive tendencies we have with food, so it is easy to transfer that addiction to something else, like alcohol, drugs, shopping, gambling, etc. What was a casual habit of a glass of wine with dinner occasionally can easily turn into full blown alcoholism. Liver health - starting as morbidly obese, or worse, our livers are not usually in very good shape to begin with (hence the "liver shrinking" pre-op diets that are often prescribed) and the liver is further stressed from its role in metabolizing all that fat that we are rapidly losing. It doesn't need any more stress from ingesting a known liver toxin like alcohol (not a judgemental thing, just our physiology at work). My surgeon is also a biliopancreatic (livers and pancreas) transplant surgeon, so he is in the no alcohol as long as we are losing weight camp (and ideally forever) and indeed we sign a contract to that effect - he doesn't want any of his bariatric patients coming back onto his transplant table! Those are the issues in play, and some aspects bother different surgeons to different degrees, so they have different policies. Check with what your surgeon's policy is, and decide for yourself - we are all adults here.

So. I had my first appointment with the surgeon this past week. We have agreed on a sleeve gastrectomy. He said the surgery would happen in about 1 month since I'm self-pay. I have an appointment with the dietician next week and with the psychologist the week after. I'm nervous and excited. It's all I can think about. It's all I want to talk about but I'm trying not to drive my husband crazy. I thought this might be the place to talk. Anyone else out there in the same boat that wants to gab it up. I keep perusing these forums and reading all of the posts. I want to engage. Sent from my Pixel 2 using BariatricPal mobile app

Depends. I can remember being advised not having alcoholic beverages for about 4 months or so and that we should try with caution because one can get drunk really quick. For me, it can hit like a hammer, depending on the beverage. However, this is only the "technical site of it" so to say. That one can have alcohol after some weeks or months doesn't mean that one should drink alcohol regularly (WLS or not).

I was given the following reasons to refrain from alcohol: (1) empty calories (2) can contribute to worsening GERD (3) metabolization of the alcohol may have undesired effects with your new digestive system (4) risk of transfer addiction. I was not told never to have it again, but to use caution before proceeding. I rarely had alcohol during weight loss phase, I would guess probably less than 10 times the entire time, and these times wouldn't even be an entire regular "serving". It was always dry red wine or gin/vodka with soda (less calories and less carbs). I once had a couple sips of a flavoured soju like 2 months post op and ended up on the bathroom floor for over an hour. Not pretty. I can get tipsy/drunk reeeaaalllly quickly (and on much, much, much less than pre-op). But I also sober up astonishingly quickly as well. 1 drink and I'm def affected. 2 drinks and I'm drunk. But about an hour later I'm totally back to normal again. I'm almost 2 years post op now and I drink fairly regularly (particularly since COVID started!), though I still stick to red wines and spirits with no sugary mixers for the most part (with the exception of Kahlua, an important ingredient in espresso martinis) P.S. I am NOT advocating drinking to all, especially if your team advises against it. Everyone is different and should aim to know their limitations and stay within them. Some may have more trouble with this, which is probably why lots say to just stay away. It can become a slippery slope.... Edited to add: I just realized the title of this thread was for bypass. Oopsies, I'm a sleeve, and I think it may be a bit different, between the two: alcohol will bypass a portion (or all?) of the small intestine in by-passers and go directly to the the large intestine, which results in different alcohol metabolization rates...

Congratulations, self payer here too! I had my surgery about two weeks ago, time flies right by. Make sure to take plenty of before pictures, weigh yourself, and try to measure everything. I'm down about 22 pounds and I can actually see the results at this point. [emoji4] I'm so excited for you! Sent from my Moto Z (2) using BariatricPal mobile app

How many meals a day are you eating? I was meant to eat a max 1/2 cup six times a day, initally depending on what I was eating I couldn't eat half a cup and certainly couldn't do six times a day along with trying to get water in

I just wanted to update for those who are headed to surgery soon. I am one week and a day since sleeve surgery and I’m pretty much feeling 100%. I didn’t really ever have pain from the wounds. I did experience gas, I wouldn’t call it pain but it was very uncomfortable. It lasted about 24 hours and got better with walking. I had minor pain when I left the hospital but Im a single mom with a one year old and it was hard not to pick him up. I had to lift him onto the changing table, give him baths, etc you know regular mom stuff. That pain subsided pretty quickly too and I didn’t have to use pain meds much. Being on liquids again for another 2 weeks is the worst part but it’s not unbearable. It was difficult for me to get a protein shake down this first week. They just felt heavy and sweet and weren’t setting right but I kept trying different ones and found ones that I could tolerate. Protein water has been a life saver. I found some sipping soups yesterday that have been helping me feel more satisfied. I also talked to my surgeon’s office and they told me I could try some Greek yogurt and that went well today. I went back to work day 6. I’m a teacher and all my student are virtual for now so I’m basically just sitting in front of a computer all day. I was feeling really tired like I needed a nap midday and then super exhausted when I got home from work but not today. Today I felt great. You feel better every day. I’m just so excited to start seeing results. I have lost 11 lbs since surgery.

Well I am at 7 months out from my surgery now. I think I am on track as I just passed 80 pounds lost mark. Hair is starting to thin 🥺 so guess I am going to be one of the stats of people who lost hair. I was hoping it wasn't going to be me, but what else can I do. My birthday is coming up and I am excited but also it's weird 2020 so not having a big party like normal. All partying will be virtual via zoom. One thing that has also happened is the shorts I bought 2 months ago at beginning of June are very baggy now and can almost just fall down by themselves- so I've had a super productive summer. Dang that's just crazy. Thrift stores around here aren't open and I wish they were so I could just shop for some properly fitting clothes in the interim sizes. I've been doing Yoga for the past 13 days every day, it's a 10 minute morning yoga challenge I found on Youtube and I really feel like I'm getting stronger by adding it to my workout routine. I feel like I am also stretching and becoming way more limber than before. What's new with everyone? How are things going in your journey? Got any new exercise routines you're doing, any new activities?

Last summer when I started thinking seriously about bariatric surgery, I had trouble finding info on the timeline for Kaiser patients in the DC/MD/VA area. So for anyone who's interested, here's the process (and my timeline): Got a referral from my primary care provider (9/3/19) 1/2 WLS class with a nutritionist (9/19/19) 1/4 appt with a nutritionist (10/23/19) 1/2 Surgeon-led bariatric info session @ Holy Cross (11/12/19) 2/4 appt with a nutritionist (11/22/19) 2/2 Surgeon-led bariatric info session @ Holy Cross (11/27/19) 2/2 WLS class with a nutritionist (12/20/19) 3/4 appt with a nutritionist (1/16/20) 4/4 appt with a nutritionist (2/12/20) Got approved for surgery (2/14/20) Appt with surgeon @ Holy Cross to schedule surgery (3/3/20) It's designed to be a six-month program starting with your referral and ending with the appt with your surgeon to schedule surgery (with variety of mandatory classes and one-on-one sessions spread out over the course of those six months). Here are some of the other requirements you have to take care of before a board will review your medical record and approve you for surgery: Ideally, you lose some weight, but there aren't a set number of pounds you have to lose. Behavioral health evaluation H-Pylori antibody stool test Sleep apnea screening Write a letter to the surgeon about why you want to have surgery Although my nutritionist is at South Baltimore County Medical Center, the only two bariatric surgeons currently available for Kaiser patients in the DMV are at Holy Cross in Silver Springs. My surgery will likely be at Largo Medical Center, and once it's scheduled, I'll update this post but I've been told to expect a six to eight week wait. I hope this helps!

Yeah definitely going to take all the time I need to sort myself out