Alcohol?

[TracieSue 36]

I know this is a big no-no, and I'm not a big drinker anyway, but why is alcohol so bad post-op? Is it because it takes up room in the pouch where the good stuff with Vitamins and nutrients should go? Is it because the pouch is sensitive to alcohol and the healing process is impeded? Is it because the sugar content will more than likely cause dumping? Maybe it's all of these things, I just wanted some feedback so we could help each other make educated choices instead of just following the rest of the herd. Or even worse drink alcohol without knowing what can happen!

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[SeaShells82 96]

All of the reasons you list are valid but there are 2 other big ones that should be mentioned:

1) Especially for bypass or DS patients, the re-routing that occurs during surgery means alcohol hits your bloodstream very quickly and will be very undiluted when it gets there. 1 drink can easily lead to unsafe blood alcohol levels and severe impairment because the normal absorption pathway has been altered. Sleeve patients aren't immune either because of the small volumes of food their sleeves can take. They're basically drinking on an empty stomach - all the time. Not a good (or safe) scenario for anyone, regardless of the type of surgery they've had.

2) It's also really easy to swap one unhealthy coping mechanism for another when food is no longer something that can be turned to in times of stress. There are even some studies that show an increase in the prevalence of alcoholism among post-op WLS patients. This obviously isn't an issue for every patient but it is a very real problem for a lot of people who choose to set foot on that slippery slope post-op.

All in all, drinking is not something that most surgeons support (generally not for the first year or so in sleeve patients and not ever for bypass and DS patients). Every surgeon is different though so if you have questions about your particular plan, I'd check with your team.

Hope this information helps.

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[AmandaRaeLeo 2,145]

I am almost 4 years post-op and drink occasionally.

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[TracieSue 36]

SeaShells82- VERY good points made and I forgot about your #1 point so thanks for filling in an important gap! I'm glad you responded and you write very well. I didn't see any mentions of alcohol, and it's a pretty pertinent subject, so we may have saved someone from making a miserable mistake by bringing it up! Take care of yourself always

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[SeaShells82 96]

I'm glad it helped TracieSue - there is SO much information being blasted at us during the pre-op stage that it's easy to forget something. Best of luck to you on your journey

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[catdaddy 232]

Hey guys,

It's now to late for me because I'm now an alcoholic. Just to let you know it's intoxicatingly easy to fall into it if you go that way. You really don't want to do this. I've read that a GBP patient can easily fall into it but I ignored it. Now I have to figure out how to fix it. No need to preach because I'm not ready for that. I just wanted to let you know for me it was way to easy to fall into this.

[TracieSue 36]

Oh, catdaddy! I'm so sorry!! I would never preach to you, I just hope you find your way out and soon. God Bless you and keep you, and take care of yourself always

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