Why is alcohol that bad for you after surgery?

[t1018ross 116]

I had the gastric sleeve surgery on May 7th. Before surgery I liked to drink wine several times a week. Usually white, sometimes red. After surgery, didn't touch alcohol for 8 weeks. But tonight I've had 3 glasses of white wine. It's only 3 carbs per 5 oz. and around 100 calories. I ate Protein for every meal and didn't snack at all. My total calories for the day including the wine are 700. Can someone explain to me why this would be considered "bad"? I'm not looking for judgement on the wine, just truly curious as to why alcohol is considered a bad thing.

[it'sonlythefirststep 141]

I think it is the not knowing how it will effect you. How fast it will be absorbed since you are really not suppose to eat and drink at the same time...

[anonbaribabe 236]

1 minute ago, it'sonlythefirststep said:

I think it is the not knowing how it will effect you. How fast it will be absorbed since you are really not suppose to eat and drink at the same time...

This is what my surgeon told me. He said that it will likely affect me more quickly and to be careful when drinking. He by no means said, however, that I can't or shouldn't drink.

I've also seen that some surgeons differ on when alcohol can be consumed after surgery. I only have to wait 6 weeks, but have seen that others say 3 or 6 months.

[t1018ross 116]

10 minutes ago, it'sonlythefirststep said:

I think it is the not knowing how it will effect you. How fast it will be absorbed since you are really not suppose to eat and drink at the same time...

I agree with you, which is why I tried it at home and waited the 30 minutes after eating before drinking any. One glass definitely made me more tipsy than it used to. I'm just curious as to how it affects weight loss. I enjoy drinking wine and have missed it more than coffee! Lol. It would be nice to be able to drink it occasionally without the guilt that I'm ruining my weight loss and sleeve.

[RickM 1,753]

The issues regarding alcohol and WLS are the following:

Healing - alcohol is corrosive to the raw stomach tissues that have been exposed during surgery, so we need to keep away from it while the stomach heals. Surgeons differ in their opinion as to how long that should be, from a few weeks to a few months.

Liver health - starting out obese or worse, our livers are often in pretty poor shape (hence the "liver shrinking" pre-op diets that some surgeons impose). Further, our livers are further stressed by their role in metabolizing all that fat that we are losing, and doesn't need any further stress from ingesting a liver toxin like alcohol (that's not a moral judgement, just basic physiology.) Surgeons vary widely as to how much this bothers them depending upon their backgrounds and WLS philosophies (short term vs. long term.) In my doc's program, we are under contract to not drink as long as we are in a weight loss phase (call it a year, though ideally forever) - with his "sideline" as a liver transplant surgeon, he doesn't want any of his bariatric patients coming back onto his transplant table.

Transfer addiction - to the extent that we are/have been addicted to food (a very individual thing) that we can no longer satisfy, courtesy of our WLS, we can be prone to transferring those addictive tendencies to something else - alcohol, drugs, gambling, shopping, etc. So, a casual drinking habit pre-op can (and often does) morph into full blown alcoholism.

[t1018ross 116]

2 minutes ago, RickM said:

The issues regarding alcohol and WLS are the following:

Healing - alcohol is corrosive to the raw stomach tissues that have been exposed during surgery, so we need to keep away from it while the stomach heals. Surgeons differ in their opinion as to how long that should be, from a few weeks to a few months.

Liver health - starting out obese or worse, our livers are often in pretty poor shape (hence the "liver shrinking" pre-op diets that some surgeons impose). Further, our livers are further stressed by their role in metabolizing all that fat that we are losing, and doesn't need any further stress from ingesting a liver toxin like alcohol (that's not a moral judgement, just basic physiology.) Surgeons vary widely as to how much this bothers them depending upon their backgrounds and WLS philosophies (short term vs. long term.) In my doc's program, we are under contract to not drink as long as we are in a weight loss phase (call it a year, though ideally forever) - with his "sideline" as a liver transplant surgeon, he doesn't want any of his bariatric patients coming back onto his transplant table.

Transfer addiction - to the extent that we are/have been addicted to food (a very individual thing) that we can no longer satisfy, courtesy of our WLS, we can be prone to transferring those addictive tendencies to something else - alcohol, drugs, gambling, shopping, etc. So, a casual drinking habit pre-op can (and often does) morph into full blown alcoholism.

Thank you for your response. It makes a lot of sense. I'm not planning on drinking every night, but it is nice to drink every now and then. I wasn't a heavy drinker before surgery and don't plan on becoming one now. I have read about the transfer addictions. Your information makes a lot of sense as to why we shouldn't drink (at least at first). Thank you!

[SouthernGirl76 74]

16 minutes ago, RickM said:

The issues regarding alcohol and WLS are the following:

Healing - alcohol is corrosive to the raw stomach tissues that have been exposed during surgery, so we need to keep away from it while the stomach heals. Surgeons differ in their opinion as to how long that should be, from a few weeks to a few months.

Liver health - starting out obese or worse, our livers are often in pretty poor shape (hence the "liver shrinking" pre-op diets that some surgeons impose). Further, our livers are further stressed by their role in metabolizing all that fat that we are losing, and doesn't need any further stress from ingesting a liver toxin like alcohol (that's not a moral judgement, just basic physiology.) Surgeons vary widely as to how much this bothers them depending upon their backgrounds and WLS philosophies (short term vs. long term.) In my doc's program, we are under contract to not drink as long as we are in a weight loss phase (call it a year, though ideally forever) - with his "sideline" as a liver transplant surgeon, he doesn't want any of his bariatric patients coming back onto his transplant table.

Transfer addiction - to the extent that we are/have been addicted to food (a very individual thing) that we can no longer satisfy, courtesy of our WLS, we can be prone to transferring those addictive tendencies to something else - alcohol, drugs, gambling, shopping, etc. So, a casual drinking habit pre-op can (and often does) morph into full blown alcoholism.

You summed that up wonderfully.

[Creekimp13 5,841]

If you're eating 700 calories and 300 of them are wine...and you don't see this as an issue...you might have an alcohol dependence problem. Just sayin.

[sillykitty 10,787]

Three weeks post op, I went on my first business trip. It was a big wine and dine event, and then I stayed the weekend over, laid by the pool. I drank each day, beer, wine and/or Mai Tais. But I logged everything, and averaged over those 7 days, 700 calories a day. I came back and in the week since I had last weighed myself I gained more than 2 lbs.

Now, it could have been the 3 week stall, it could have just been restaurant food vs. the very basic food I was eating at home. It could have been the transition to "real" food. It could have been 700 calories vs, 400 calories I was consuming prior. But it could also have been the alcohol (and mixers). Those were purely unnecessary calories I was consuming. Honestly, I was pissed at myself. After that point I have had the very occasional glass of wine, but I am determines that I will not be consuming liquid calories going forward. I want this weight loss too badly to sabotage it.

This has been an awkward and challenging decision. I do a lot of entertaining in my job. My industry and my company have a big drinking culture. I also miss a nice glass of wine with a good meal. But if I'm willing to undergo surgery to remove most of my stomach, I'm willing to make other sacrifices to get this weight off.

[GotProlactinoma 458]

I’ve gone a year now since surgery and haven’t tried alcohol. Besides surgery, I reset my diet to not include sugars, or very very little. If I were ever to have a drink at a social gathering, what would be the least sweet at all? I couldn’t handle straight up scotch or vodka, I am not a drinker. Obviously no beer or wine. What cold be diluted with lemon juice and Water, say? Just wondering. If I don’t find anything palatable and not sweet, I might never drink again. Oh, maybe a Bloody Mary. Sounds yuck though.

[sillykitty 10,787]

1 minute ago, GotProlactinoma said:

II reset my diet to not include sugars, or very very little. If I were ever to have a drink at a social gathering, what would be the least sweet at all?

Vodka soda with lime or lemon

[Born in Missouri 1,264]

@RickM. If grades were being assigned to comments, your comment would receive an A-.

I was going to give you an A, but I didn't want to risk you getting a transfer addiction involving perfect grades.

[it'sonlythefirststep 141]

7 hours ago, anonbaribabe said:

This is what my surgeon told me. He said that it will likely affect me more quickly and to be careful when drinking. He by no means said, however, that I can't or shouldn't drink.

I've also seen that some surgeons differ on when alcohol can be consumed after surgery. I only have to wait 6 weeks, but have seen that others say 3 or 6 months.

My surgeon said 6 months so I have a few months to wait. End of Sept beginning of Oct. looking forward to a Sangria

[t1018ross 116]

9 hours ago, Creekimp13 said:

If you're eating 700 calories and 300 of them are wine...and you don't see this as an issue...you might have an alcohol dependence problem. Just sayin.

Um, your response is incredibly rude. You don't know me AT ALL. How could you possibly get from my original post that I have an alcohol dependence problem?? I gave you ONE day of information and not even full information of what I ate, just the calories. I had white wine, on one night. Not a nightly thing at all. I've read a lot of your posts and they've always been friendly and you've always given good advice or feedback to questions. I'm truly shocked and disappointed by your judgmental response.

[GreenTealael 25,593]

Drinking calories with no nutritional value and replacement of addictions but if none of these things affect you negatively ( i.e. You factor the cals into your plan and track everything meticulously, you have no substance abuse concerns -be very honest with yourself here- you should be fine to enjoy occasionally and responsibly under the directions of your medical team)