Am only 13 days post op and have no plans to drink alcohol in the near future but I am curious about how long one should wait before having a glass of wine? I have an event in April and at that time I will be 6 weeks post op. I am going to be asked to have a drink and I really don't want to let on that anything is different as I have kept this surgery pretty much to myself. Do any of you out there think it will be ok to have the wine?

I'm not sure if 6 weeks is too early or not, but I know that alcohol isn't banned later on. My surgeon said I was fine to drink on my birthday (my 21st...) and that was at about 4.5 months out.

I would be worried about the acidity affecting your sleeve... I would be worried that maybe your sleeve won't like it.

To be safe, I would just ask your surgeon. If you can't then you can't.. there are lots of reasons why people don't drink... like medications... or you could take the wine and not really drink it.

I am pre-op and I enjoy drinking now. I do not drink daily but my husband and I are social and we drink a couple of days a week.(Atleast, once a week.) I think 6 weeks may be too early. That is just my opinion. I will probobly at some point partake again but I know it will not be until I am closer to goal and I will try it at home with hubby before I try it in public just to see how it affects me. As far as keeping the surgery to yourself, just tell anyone that is trying to encourage you to drink that you are on a med that prohibits alcohol for the time being. Just a suggestion. Hope it helps

I am about 9 months post-op. I had a 3oz margarita at a party in November at 5 months. I will tell you it hit me far faster than it had ever before. Also my nut and surgeon both suggest waiting a year before drinking alcohol, as it can slow weight loss since it is liquid calories.

On the other hand if you decide to have a drink, remember that you don't have to drink a coctail at the event. I have found getting a glass of cranberry juice generally throws people off at those functions. Plus I don't have to explain anything I'm not comfortable explaining to strangers.

Good Luck!

I am 4 months out and I haven't have a sip and I am not planning.Maybe after 1 year post op I will. I guess this is a very personal decision and is always good to talk to your surgeon about it

I am 5.5 months post op and I haven't had any alcohol and I don't choose too. When I go out, I don't explain anything to any one and no one really cares anyways. It's mostly our anxiety that prevents us from being ourselves and I am proud of my decisions. I don't need to play the social rules game and I don't tell them about my surgery either. This is me and I choose to be me, I'm normal...... Go to these events and forget about your sleeve, think healthy and smile because you look fantastic! You are beautiful! SMILE!

I am normally the " drinker " of the bunch so I will have to respond to my non drinking but I am a terrible liar. I will most likely ge he drink and just not drink it or order a juice and try to pawn it off as a cocktail. I do not want anything to derail my weight loss alcohol is not that important! Thanks to all for your suggestions!

I say FAKE IT!!! You can fill your cup up with anything colorful to throw them off. I wouldn't risk anything going wrong. Not even for one glass.

I had a little champagne on New Years and did not have any problem. I would not have a lot but if they give you some in a glass I would nurse it slowly. It does have calories.

I went to a crab feed 2 weeks out from surgery and had vodka cranberry, no issues at all. It was mostly cranberry and I sipped it for a long time. I think if you just have one small glass and sip it over a period of time you will be ok. We are not in a prison, we are talking real life here, we are going to be in situations where we are around alcohol and need to learn how to handle it in our own way. Best of luck on your decision.

Kimmy thank you for your post. I do love reading this blog but sometimes it is hard to find the someone who has the same opinion as I do, I am a new yorker and almost every thing we do here involves alcohol, am not saying I HAVE to drink but I was hoping to see someone who actually did drink and how they reacted to the alcohol.

I have had drinks and that is with my surgeon's permission. I am just at three months out and have had no complications.

Check with your surgeon, and if all is well, definitely try it at home. Sipping a glass of wine does nothing to me, but mixed drinks do hit hard. I think because they go down so easy. I have had three mixed drinks (mixed with diet juice) in one night (over a period of hours) and that was really pushing it. Before surgery that would have been no big deal. I have heard of other people being even more sensitive.

Definitely try it at home first, if you can.

I have had alcohol on several occasions since my surgery. The first was at 3 weeks out and I had two glasses of wine over the course of about 5 hours. I made sure to get in all my Protein that day using my shakes and then actually budgeted the calories into my plan for the day. Just be sure to make sure it's not a really bubbly wine. I drank Riesling. The second occasion was about 6 wks out and I drank a margarita on the rocks and a vodka cranberry. (those were not budgeted in but I actually lost weight the morning after.) I will say the only issue I have had was the frozen margarita I tried to drink last weekend. I got down about half of it and was sick to my stomach. I guess it's all the sugar in a frozen drink. Whatever you choose to do is up to you personally! Good luck to you!!

Kacy

Sent from my iPhone using VST

Yes I will certainly sip one from home first I would not want to be embarrassed! Thank you guys!!

I waited for 3 months and have had no issue. I probably drink once per week now. It doesn't seem to have slowed my weight loss down at all.

Glad to hear I am not committing to being a tea totaler for the rest of my days as this sounds like too much of a sacrifice. I enjoy having a few glasses of white wine with my hubby on some weekends and don't want to give this up. Thanks for the info.