My doctor said I should be ok to enjoy a vodka now and then. He advised me that it would hit be a lot faster now then before.

Your thoughts??

mine told me to wait a year before drinking any alcohol. But evidently surgeons must have different opinions on this...

I spent some time last Halloween weekend with a friend of mine that absolutely loves Vodka. She made me a small drink that consisted of vodka and some kind of juice. I can tell you it hit me hard really, really fast...as in within about 5-10 minutes after drinking it. But I also came down from the buzz fairly quickly as well...maybe 30 minutes after the drink.

I've always been a bit of a light weight though since I very rarely drink alcohol.

All the surgeons I have met have said no alcohol. Ideally ever.

Karl.....only you know what it'll do to your quality of life.

If enjoying a vodka drink with your wife on a date night enhances your relaxation and makes it easier to stick to the plan the rest of the week then so be it.

If, however, the only thing better than one vodka on a date night is several on multiple weeknights then you have to decide.

Our surgeons are our trusted advisors, however, we reserve the final vote for ourselves.

It will hit you much harder, yes, but the primary reason surgeons don't want their patients drinking for a year or longer is because we are very vulnerable to transfer addictions right now. Someone with alcoholic tendencies can easily be pushed into full on alcoholism if they use it to soothe themselves during this crucial time while we are learning to give up food. So I guess my thoughts are that if you want 1 drink and you are sure you can have that one drink and be happy with it, then by all means, have fun. If you worry that it could become a problem for you or if it has been in the past, maybe give it some more consideration. It would be so sad to go through all this hard work just to develop an addiction and have your life fall apart because of it.

I cannot imagine drinking a shot of vodka now. I take a liquid supplement with 12% alcohol and 1/2 T dose gives me a buzz.