Hello all. I am 52 and had my sleeve surgery on September 1. I am down 60 pounds from my first consultation appointment. I seem to be a bit stuck but really it's probably my fault. I am not working out as often and getting back in to some bad habits. I have 29 more pounds to go. I am drinking adult beverages again and having no adverse effects. I know it's empty calories but old habits die hard. Trying to stick to a vodka and crystal lite but sometimes wine sneaks in. Anyone know what the evils of alcohol are after this surgery besides slowed down weight loss?

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Some surgeons recommend no alcohol at all post-op because of the risk of addiction transference. Many WLS patients are at a high risk for developing other addictions post-op, once they can no longer maintain their addiction to food. If you find that it is hard for you to control your drinking or stop drinking, that might be some cause for concern.

Physically, there's no real risk to your sleeve from alcohol. You may get drunk faster and your impaired judgement might cause you to eat more or eat the wrong things.

Plus, as you pointed out, it's empty calories.

What I was told is that alcohol is empty calories...also because your stomach is now smaller and holds less food it will take you less to get drunk. Other than that a little wine here and there won't hurt you

So I know some will come in here and say "no, stay away!" But I'm not one of them. I'm a traveling salesman and I had my first cocktail about a month post op. Empty calories? Yeah, but we all know that. Stay away from beer, gas pain will hurt and it's like drinking liquid bread. I haven't had wine...but I stick to 3 cocktails since I entertain clients often (and the 4th meal drunken eating has completely stopped for me). Whisky Sours, Long Island's without the coke (tastes like lemonade), and hurricanes are my chosen poisons.

Let's be honest though, alcohol can be a slippery slope (transfer addiction). As with everything post-op, moderation is key...if you let history repeat itself and alcohol contributed to your weight gain then the surgery was all for nothing. If that's not an issue...cheers!

Alcohol is certainly not beneficial in the direct sense of weight loss.

I'll say this, though.....I've lost almost 170 pounds and enjoying myself. If that means having some Tito's vodka on the rocks with a splash of cranberry then so be it.

I'm going to have fun and enjoy myself.

Turning loose and relaxing a bit helps keep me on track. I stay fairly strict on the "Protein first & normally only" eating.

On a cruise this week and killing the lobster, shrimp, steak and Breakfast Proteins.....but also having fun. Making sure I get some productive gym time in daily, too.

This is a hotly, hotly debated issue. Recommendations from surgeons and counselors are all over the place on this one and range from:

(1) avoid all alcohol post-op forever (complete abstinence) to

(2) avoid drinking for [3-6-12-18] months post-op (time varies greatly, depending on the surgeon) to

(3) educate yourself about the dangers of transfer addictions, the potential for ulcers, how alcohol could (?) reduce nutrient absorption, and (because of faster absorption of ethanol) expose you to dangers from dis-inhibition, accidents, and even alcoholic poisoning.

My own experience with alcohol was that I didn't waste empty calories on any alcohol until after 6 months post-op. At that point, my surgeon's practice recommended I raise my average daily calories to 1,200 and I felt I could "afford" an extra 100 cals/day on a glass of wine.

I've 19.5 months post-op now, have lost 100 pounds and am maintaining easily at 135 pounds.

I am a "social drinker" -- defined (for women) as having no more than 1.5 ounces of spirits or 5 ounces of wine per day and no more than seven drinks a week. It's working for me, at least so far. I do keep an eye on it, though, and would be willing to change what I'm doing (drink less or not at all) if alcohol were to cause me any problems.

If you feel like your need / desire to drink is growing, you may want to take a step back and consider (with or without the help of a therapist) what's going on and whether you're developing a pattern you don't want to continue. You would know that better than anyone else.