Creekimp13

Risk for Alcohol Abuse Intensifies after Bariatric Surgery: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/887243 Food for thought.

Q: Can I drink alcohol after surgery? A: Alcohol is not recommended after bariatric surgery. Alcohol contains calories but minimal nutrition and will work against your weight loss goal. For example, wine contains twice the calories per ounce that regular soda does. The absorption of alcohol changes with gastric bypass and gastric sleeve because an enzyme in the stomach which usually begins to digest alcohol is absent or greatly reduced. Alcohol may also be absorbed more quickly into the body after gastric bypass or gastric sleeve. The absorbed alcohol will be more potent, and studies have demonstrated that obesity surgery patients reach a higher alcohol level and maintain the higher levels for a longer period than others. In some patients, alcohol use can increase and lead to alcohol dependence. For all of these reasons, it is recommended to avoid alcohol after bariatric surgery. (American College of Surgeons, 2011)

Do you still have your gallbladder?

It's absolutely normal. If you look back through the pages, you'll find hundreds of posts expressing the exact same concerns. Be consistent, don't worry. This, too, shall pass.

I had my best friend's birthday during my liquid diet phase, and we always go out and grab dinner somewhere. We went to Panera's and I ordered their light chicken soup, and I just drank the broth. Was just glad to be out with my friend:) I have strategies for most restaurants now. At McDonalds, I eat half an egg McMuffin and a decaf coffee with fat free milk. At Applebees, I get the Chicken Mozzarella Caprese and eat less than a third of it and take the rest home in a box. At my favorite steak house, I get sirloin tip cabobs, medium rare...and take at least half home. At Panera's I'll now get light chicken soup, or a turkey avacado BLT half sandwich on sourdough. (and mostly eat the insides) Thai food, I'll get chicken pad ped MILD....eat a third, bring it home. There's always something on the menu that can work in a pinch. I also keep protein bars and Mio in my purse.

I drink so seldom I forgot about the alcohol rule. My kiddo made some homemade cherry mead and wanted me to taste it last week .... it had completely slipped my mind. I took a tiny sip...and that one little sip of mead burned like rubbing alcohol on a paper cut going down. It really hurt...and I remembered immediately that it was too soon. I took a big drink of water (which helped a lot) and looked up the alcohol rule. (and went...ah, crap!) I might repeat the experiment...next Christmas.

I take two kid's vitamins with 18mg's each. I had sleeve, though.

My advice: listen to your nutritionist. And good luck..hope things settle down soon:)

Awesome play by play Wendybird:) Congrats!

Everyone has to weigh the benefits vs risks and decide for themselves. Good for you for digging in and doing that work. Wish you the best no matter what you decide. (I love my sleeve and wish I'd done it years ago) Cool article you might enjoy: https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/12/7/16587316/bariatric-surgery-weight-loss-lap-band

VGS, I apologize if my post felt like a personal criticism. I'll admit I could have worded it more gently. I'm just absolutely dumbfounded that no one told you that putting 20 ounces into a 4 day old stomach...in 15 minutes....is incredibly dangerous. I'm also at a loss as to why you would not go to the ER if your medical group advised you to. You've just had major surgery. Difficulty breathing or pain with breathing is a documented sign of a leak. Why not be safe instead of sorry? I genuinely hope that you're ok and that the pain you are experiencing is minor and not a complication. Best wishes to you.

My experience has been the same as you guys... Everything has been explained to me in detail at appointments and I've been given everything in writing as well. I really thought this was standard. At least I hoped so. But maybe not?

My intent in expressing shock and horror is not to pass judgement. I now genuinely wonder if a certain percent of people were not well informed by their groups? If so...that's a dangerous blind spot their surgeons should be made aware of.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/262226.php

I'm seeing some folks recently who are consuming huge volumes of fluids in one setting, and trying solids...just days after surgery. And my instinct it to feel terrified for them....because this was warned against by members of my surgical team over and over and over....and diet instructions and checklist were reviewed with me by multiple people before I left the hospital. But it occurred to me that maybe my team just did an incredible job and that other groups don't do a very good job of educating folks after surgery? So here are my question for you all.......ok, it's a series of questions, actually.... Would really appreciate your input! 1. Did your team discuss your post surgical diet with you in detail before your surgery? 2. Did your nurses go over your immediate diet with you in your hospital room? 3. Were all stages of your diet given to you in written form? Did you understand when to start each stage? 4. Did anyone ever tell you not to eat or drink more than a certain number of ounces per hour? 5. Did anyone ever tell you what could happen to you if you ate foods that you weren't approved for yet? 6. Were you allowed to order a meal in the hospital, and if so, what did it consist of? 7. Did you have a clear understanding that the surgery was permanent? I know doctors are all different and we all go to different groups that handle information differently....I just wondered how well these basics were covered for you. Did you feel well prepared to monitor your own fluid and nutrition after surgery? Is a lack of basic instructions a common thing?

If you eat a cheeseburger two days post op, guess what will happen? 1. Mostly likely, you'll puke. Puking solids at two days post op is very dangerous. 2. You could get a piece of it stuck and end up in the emergency room having it surgically removed. 3. You could rupture your stomach suture line. Which means endangering you life, and spending weeks in the hospital unable to eat anything until it heals. I get that you're disappointed that your weight is up a little. And I get that you're hungry and frustrated. I've been there. Most of us have. That is no excuse for this degree of acting out and behaving like you didn't understand any of the limits you were committing to when you had the surgery. You chose this. You knew it was permanent. You knew that not following the prescribed diet could cause you injury. You need to stop this acting out immediately and start following your program to the letter if you want to heal and have a good outcome. There is no excuse for eating cheese and cheese crackers 48 hours after surgery and threatening to eat a cheeseburger. Is being angry about a temporary water weight gain really worth risking your life? Try to be patient with the process. It sounds like you're panicking under the realization that a significant source of comfort is no longer available for you...and that's understandable, but it needs to be addressed. Not judging you at all...just very concerned that you're about to do something you'll badly regret. I truly hope you feel better soon.

Splenda is encouraged by my group. Nearly all the protein shakes have sucralose in them including Premier Protein.

I eat a lot of Splenda.

What got me past my fears: 1. An endometrial cancer scare (obesity increases odds of getting this cancer) 2. A pre-diabetic blood glucose A1C 3. Arthritis that was limiting how far I could walk or how long I could stand 4. Wanting to do adventure vacations with my someday grandkids 5. Wanting to do more fun active things with my hubby and bestie 6. Wanting to live. 7. Wanting to be off medications instead of adding them. Everyone is scared of the "what ifs" involved in having weight loss surgery. Statistically, you should be more concerned about the "what ifs" involved in remaining obese. Obesity related cancers, heart disease, diabetes, mobility issues, stroke, etc.... scare me a hell of a lot more than a two hour surgery that I've done my homework on and have had safety tests to prepare for.

My doctor, and nurse and nutritionist all universally forbade us from putting more than 4 ounces of anything in our stomachs per one hour period...for the first two weeks after surgery. Right down to counting liquid medications as part of the 4 ounces we were not to exceed in an hour. If you're honestly putting 20 ounces of anything into a 4 day old surgically altered stomach in a 15 minute time frame...as you have stated, you're either trolling this board, or you have a death wish? Why on earth would you do that??? VSG, please ask your doctor what volume of food/liquid you should not exceed in an hour. This is important for your safety. Also, if your doctor tells you to go to the ER...go to the ER. Even if you think it's overkill.

Everyone's different, of course....but at 25 days I was eating 1000 calories a day and walking 8 miles per day and feeling great. You might be just fine and on a perfect track for you....but just to be safe, let the doc know how difficult eating is.

Not enough calories. Talk to doc and nutritionist. Wishing you the best.

Why wouldn't you be? Your body is starting to starve...and it's noticing. You've been on a severely calorie restricted diet and are expending many more calories than usual trying to heal. Some people are nauseated and don't have the sensation of hunger in the early days. Many others could eat their own leg off they're so damned hungry. I know I was. When you start to include more foods and get better nutrition...you'll feel better and overall you will have less hunger. But early days....hunger can be a bear.

Those are terrifc questions, genia. I don't think that seeing your PCP for your supervised weight loss will hurt your odds...but he/she really should do some research for you on the appropriate things to cover. Hopefully your PCP is willing. Your bariatric surgeon should be on board, too. At my visits, my dietician did a lot of documenting the kinds of meals I was eating and going over everything in my food journal (where I was expected to write down literally everything I ate). I was quizzed on portion sizes (dietitian gets out measuring cups and says....which one is an appropriate serving of veggies/potatoes/protein?) We were given resources and recipes, snack ideas, talked about the role of protein in post bariatric surgery diet....talked about vitamins and started taking them presurgically. The big thing...was getting weighed, and having a medical record of that weight.

Feeling guilty about eating is a step toward a different kind of eating disorder . Don't swap one for the other. (It happens!) Now...if you want to feel guilty about eating junk or not doing any exercise...you have my blessing. LOL. But if you're eating good healthy food in appropriate portions...you need to knock that off right now:) I think everyone stresses a little with this whole ordeal. You don't want all your efforts to be in vain and patience can be hard. Hang in there...sounds like things are going very well:)