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My doc said 4 months before any alcohol. Every surgeon is different tho, some people have to wait a year. While I probably will enjoy an adult beverage every once in a while, they are just empty calories. For me, hitting my goals are more important than a beverage, even if I do miss them.

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mine said 6 months before alcohol - but I agree with cataro - empty calories - not sure if I'm willing to use up my stomach for that - maybe when I hit my goal weight?!?!

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I was told two months after my last surgery. Both my doc and nut drink wine and they said it was fine as long as I understood how it would hit me (some people get drunk easier so you want to learn that at home...I don't have that problem) and more importantly, I have to account for it in my daily goals. I have wine regularly and always make sure it fits within my calorie and carb goals. I also don't drink fortified wines nor those sugary cheap ones (like coolers). Stay away from white zin...cuz it's gross :P and because it's cheap and often has added sugars. A decent glass of a white or red will have about 3 to 5 carbs in a 4oz glass. No carbonation (sparkling) wine until your doc clears you for that! And of course your doc might feel different than mine does, but that's my scoop...and 3cents :)

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Mine 2 months also but I was 7 weeks out at Xmas so tried a week early and it was fine ... it will be a once a fortnight thing for me - and I don't even feel guilty about it!! Everything in moderation is the key :)

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I was never given a timeline for alcohol. I'd wait until you're at least done with the special diets post op.

Alcohol will hit you harder than prior to surgery - or at least, it does most of us.

In the beginning, I sincerely doubt you'll be consuming even remotely close to 700-900 calories a day, let alone what you'd been eating pre-op. There is nothing wrong with the OCCASIONAL indulgence.

You have a choice: treat your sleeve like a diet or treat your sleeve like a tool that can help you learn moderation for life. If you choose the first option, remember that you still have to learn how to eat in maintenance. If you choose the second, maintenance becomes infinitely easier.

In any case, always be wary of transfer addictions. Freshly sleeved we can't eat our emotions and there are numerous threads on VST about transfer addictions - to alcohol, in particular. So remember that the long term goal is control over food and our emotions, as opposed to letting food and our emotions control us.

Do not feel bad for asking this question, OP. For every question you ask, you'll get as many varied responses as their are people on the internet. You have to choose what sounds right to you and what you can live with, but ultimately it's your choice and it's up to what your body will tolerate.

~Cheri

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I have drank since a month out. I haven't slowed down weight loss wise at all; except for the stupid choices I make food wise. It's all good!! My surgeon says go back to liquids if you wanna lose again.

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And @clk that opinion only matters if you've ha gastric bypass. We haven't had intestine removed any intestine, so the absorption isn't at ALL like them. We CAN drink. Just not that fast... ;)

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And @clk that opinion only matters if you've ha gastric bypass. We haven't had intestine removed any intestine, so the absorption isn't at ALL like them. We CAN drink. Just not that fast... ;)

No, I definitely can't drink like I used to drink and it has nothing to do with malabsorption. It's entirely to do with the length of time the alcohol is in my stomach before hitting my bloodstream. Much like sugar can dump post op if you consume too much for the body to process before it hits the intestine, the same can happen to alcohol. Body weight also has something to do with it, as I'm 100 pounds lighter now.

The more sugary the drink, the faster the reaction.

I seem to metabolize it much faster - I can get completely tipsy from less than 1/2 of one drink or a few sips of beer or wine but within an hour I'm fine again. I used to easily consume two or three mixed drinks and only feel a buzz. One night I drank a mixed drink rather quickly and could hardly walk when I went to stand up! I was never this much of a lightweight before.

You'll see a mix of responses, OP. A lot of people report that they're lightweights post op, but some people handle the same quantities of alcohol post op as before.

Be mindful of it and be careful at all times because where I would have been perfectly fine to drive somewhere after one glass of wine at dinner before, I could not possibly do it now.

~Cheri

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I just had a big glass of Long Island iced tea and a margarita. And now I'm home drinking vodka and cranberry juice. It's obviously a person-to-person basis. I am fine, and I drink rather quickly most of the time and I'm cool. Of course I've been drinking for awhile. I'm sorry :( hope everything works out for you!! Just don't substitute your eating addiction for alcohol!! I've done that and it's a rough road!!

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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      1. LeighaTR

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

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        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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