Just wondering what everyones experience was like. How much & what did you drink? Did you feel more inebriated than you would have before surgery? How long after surgery did you have your first drink?

I'm only 13days post op but I'd really like to have some wine at a wedding in september....I haven't asked my doc how long I have to wait before drinking yet.

I have a hard time believing any baritric Dr. said it's ok after 12 days or ever 3 months...One person even admitted they never asked their Dr, which would indicate they did not listen or their program was very poor with information. The main concern with alochol is ulcers, not even the extra calories. Also carbination from beer. Your stomach is not fully healed even 1-2-3 months out.

WLS defiantly altered the way my body processes alcohol. I had quite a strong constitution pre op... But not anymore!! Two glasses of wine and I'm ready for bed these days. So I find I don't really bother much, it's not enjoyable and the hangovers are a killer!

Its been 3 months since my surgery and I just had a glass of wine for the first time the other day. It went great! I drank it slowly and didn't rush. I was scared of drinking more cause I was driving that night and wasn't sure of how it would hit me, but it was fine. Didn't get buzzed or anything sooo that means I could have a little more I honestly don't know how people have dared to do it before waiting at least 3 months for their stomachs to properly heal… I suggest waiting.

I'm 1 month post op. I had a vodka cranberry the other day. I took2 sips and my stomach felt so hot I stopped drinking it. Before the surgery I use to drink 3-4 no problem.

In the early stages I had a hard time getting in my water and protein. There is no way I could've drinker any type of wine or liquor ... I would think it would burn my stomach and hurt but just not that into drinking ... Good luck everyone

Food addiction often turns to a different addiction such as alcoholism.

Easy Andrew, indeed! I never drank and became overweight. Still don't drink.

And also to the other not everyone who is overweight is addicted to food!

Why do we generalize and why do we use the words addiction and alcoholic so loosely??

My oh my.

I'm trying to understand why wine would be a problem or anything under 7%. They gave me hydrcodone and it has 7% alcohol.

I didn't have a drink until I hit 6 months post-op and got the okay from my doctor. I've never been a big drinker so it wasn't big deal to me to abstain. I've since had 2 drinks at a wedding, a glass of red wine with dinner and one of the couple signature cocktails (Malibu, Sprite and Blue Curuaco) at cocktail hour. Then this weekend I had a Lemon Drop Martini on a date night with hubby. I do not feel it hit me any harder than when I used to drink on occasion prior to surgery.

My doc & my dietitian recommended no intoxicants for 12 months post-op. That is probably edge-case recommendation, but I'm not much of a drinker anyway, so I'm going with it (six months post-op, so far).

They explained a counter-intuitive reason for avoiding it, which has stuck with me. I didn't get to where I was by being completely free of obsessive tendencies. It is quite common for folks to transfer their food habits to other self-medication options and obsessions. Obviously, alcohol is one easy ride to climb onto, so for that reason I'm pretty much staying away until I'm a little more secure with my new life.

I've had a couple of tastes - literally a sip from my wife's glass. But that's it. I'm a fan of whiskey, but so far, I've completely set that aside since my surgery. My very nice collection sits in the case untouched, for now.

My Dr. Told me to never drink alcohol after surgery, and my NUT told me after 1 year. I know it stretches the stomach as well as soda.

Jesus people you realize you are not supposed to have any alochol for like 6 months right? where the hell did you people get this done? They clearly do not have high standards if you were not informed on how long to abstain. I get not everyone will wait 6 months but some of you waited like 2 weeks...You realize you will sabotage your entire surgury by drinking right? Booze is a big reason why we were all so fat. the smallest stomach in the world will not stop you from gaining weight if you drink your calories.

Easy there trigger. That's a lot of absolutes and assumptions out there, and although caution is always advised, testing with any new thing to consume is always good. "Sabotage your entire surgery?" Where the hell do you get your information? I notice you didn't say HOW it was supposed to accomplish this ""SABOTAGE!"". Don't fear-monger.

You also make an assumption about calories. True for some choices, but not all. I drink a bourbon on the rocks (top shelf Knob Creek) maybe twice a week since week 7. Do your research on bourbon, scotch, and tequila. (I'm not going there for a long while) I started with ONE TINY SIP. waited a full hour for my staples to magically and hysterically melt, violent vomiting, a new addiction to alcohol, and a trip to the ER. None of that happened. Not even nausea. Nicely the bourbon lasts longer. Strangely, my favorite brand Dewars has completely changed taste in my mouth, and I have to go way high quality for a smooth taste experience.

Avoid absolutes that come from YOUR medical, NUT, and doctor choices.

Its very disturbing to me that not one response on here pertains to any information about your liver? Did any of your doctors discuss with you the information about the effects of this surgery and your liver function? Let me let you in on a story. The gastric sleeve is currently a "trend" where I live. Women that are 30lbs overweight are flying to Mexico and getting it done. None of them are abiding by the post op rules. You know what we are seeing, women coming in non responsive because their liquid diet/low calorie diet and alcoholic beverages they are having are killing their liver. We have buried 2, one in her 20's and one in her 30's. When you get any kind of bariatric surgery, your liver is working over time. The largest reason aside of eating up your stomach, to stay away from alcohol, is to keep yourself from going into liver failure. A liver isn't easy to come by, and as soon as they pin point it was "elected" (you chose to drink when you were told not to, generally speaking it is 6 months and no carbonation), you are off the list for a transplant. I think that more physicians need to start showing the horrifying results of bariatric surgeries that aren't taken seriously. I worked in bariatrics, I have seen the positives and negatives. Please, put the fact that you are screwing up your diet second to the fact that you are putting a tremendous amount of stress on your liver that is already working OT. I like my alcohol, don't get me wrong! Just be faithful to your surgery, make it worth it!

Its very disturbing to me that not one response on here pertains to any information about your liver? Did any of your doctors discuss with you the information about the effects of this surgery and your liver function? Let me let you in on a story. The gastric sleeve is currently a "trend" where I live. Women that are 30lbs overweight are flying to Mexico and getting it done. None of them are abiding by the post op rules. You know what we are seeing, women coming in non responsive because their liquid diet/low calorie diet and alcoholic beverages they are having are killing their liver. We have buried 2, one in her 20's and one in her 30's. When you get any kind of bariatric surgery, your liver is working over time. The largest reason aside of eating up your stomach, to stay away from alcohol, is to keep yourself from going into liver failure. A liver isn't easy to come by, and as soon as they pin point it was "elected" (you chose to drink when you were told not to, generally speaking it is 6 months and no carbonation), you are off the list for a transplant. I think that more physicians need to start showing the horrifying results of bariatric surgeries that aren't taken seriously. I worked in bariatrics, I have seen the positives and negatives. Please, put the fact that you are screwing up your diet second to the fact that you are putting a tremendous amount of stress on your liver that is already working OT. I like my alcohol, don't get me wrong! Just be faithful to your surgery, make it worth it!

THANK YOU!!!! This is dead on and 100% true! It isnt about staples "magically melting away", its (quite literally) about organ donation! This topic seems to be commonly breezed over. Alcoholism is the most commonly traded addiction for bariatric patients. Instead of food... its alcohol. Your post bears repeating!


5' 5"
HW: 259
CW: 235
GOAL: Healthy and hard 140-ish?

10 months post-op here. I'd suggest toning down the rhetoric just a tad.

I was advised / directed to observe 12 months off of all intoxicants. I've been good with that. I've had a few sips from my wife's glass, but nothing more than that, really. Funny thing is that I did some rather successful cultivation and infusions this year since it became legal to do so in my state. Great results, but I've avoided trying ANY of it. Really looking forward to January when I can allow myself the space to do that.

On the technical / education side of things, I was informed that the recommendation to avoid intoxicants for the first year post-op is for a few reasons. First is that most of us didn't get to a pre-op condition by living a balanced life. And if we're going to successfully avoid using food as "medication" or for anything other than nutrition, it's very easy to transfer that pre-op behavior to something else. Intoxicants are an easy substitute to fall into, and a year of avoidance can help us find other more healthful habits, instead. As for me, I've been written a lot more music this year, among other things.

Second is that alcohol is very caloric (or calorific for our overseas friends). So taking in those empty calories isn't going to help us down the path of reduction, especially if one is already finding it challenging to take in sufficient protein and water to keep up with targets. I don't know about you all, but that's still something I have to be very mindful about. Protein and Water. That's a mantra I've had to internalize.

Third is that alcohol and other intoxicants can lead us to "let go" of our self-control and discipline around what else we're putting into our bodies. And some of those behaviors contributed to our getting to our pre-op states, to begin with. No point in going back to them post-op, at least without some mindful examination, first.

For those three reasons (and others any of us could come up with), I have found the 12 month abstinence target is an easy to remember / explain rule of thumb ("I had some surgery in January and I'm off of alcohol for a year." - You'd be surprised how often the conversation / questions stop right there). It's a bit of a drag sometimes, but "eyes on the prize" seems to win out when I'm doing my in-the-moment evaluations.

Best of luck and healthy outcomes to you all!

Top: 320

Pre-op: 296

10 months post-op: 225

Goal: A long and healthy life. It's not so much about the numbers for me.