Cocktails & Wine

[MoBariatric 29]

Hiring one I am one month post-op and I would like to know when did you all start drinking cocktails and wine after your procedure? My doctor said that I should avoid alcohol for one year... I respect and honor my professional doctor's recommendations. Thoughts?!?

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[catwoman7 10,922]

I had my first drink (champagne on my 20th anniversary) about two years after surgery. I had my second (wine) about two months ago, almost four years out of surgery. I was never much of a drinker before surgery either, though. Having to wait a year is pretty standard advice from surgeons. Keep in mind you're likely to get drunk way faster than before- I could really feel it after one glass of wine/champagne and was pretty bombed after two.

[delfie 81]

It is always so interesting to me how much programs vary. Mine said to avoid alcohol for the first 3 months, though in general it's not recommended after that. I really enjoyed my wine before surgery and don't expect to stop drinking it. But I do think when I start having it again, it will be on fewer occasions and in smaller amounts.

[Wickedwinner 140]

My dr recommended 3 months but basically said I could do what I wanted after 6 weeks. I waited three months and half a glass of wine and couldn’t drink anymore. It felt really weird going down and I didn’t care for the sensation. I’m 6 months out now and. Can tolerate wine (2 glass limit). I’ve tried some vodka drinks but they are hard because all the mixers I like are either carbonated or have too much sugar. One dirty martini gets me fairly buzzed but I’ve noticed that it goes away fairly quickly. It’s pretty weird.

I have the sleeve, not bypass.


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[GradyCat 3,692]

My doctor hasn't said specifically, only that it'll cause you to get drunk faster and to be careful. I don't drink alcohol so it's not an issue for me.

[Liz The New Me 281]

I was six month out when I had my Birthday Mimosa. I was only able to have half during the party and felt a little buzzed. Just listen to your body carefully.

[RickM 1,747]

Doctors' philosophy on this vary from a few weeks to never again depending upon their experiences. The basic issues are:

Healing - alcohol is somewhat corrosive to the stomach lining so one needs to give things a chance to heal first,

Alcohol tolerance - rapid stomach emptying means it tends to hit faster, and with less (i.e., a "cheap drunk") so care must be taken there,

Transfer addiction - we can no longer satisfy whatever addictive tendencies we have with food, so it is easy for transfer that addiction to something else, like alcohol, drugs, shopping, gambling, etc. What was a casual habit of a glass of wine with dinner occasionally can easily turn into full blown alcoholism.

Liver health - starting as morbidly obese, or worse, our livers are not usually in very good shape to begin with (hence the "liver shrinking" pre-op diets that are often prescribed) and the liver is further stressed from its role in metabolizing all that fat that we are rapidly losing. It doesn't need any more stress from ingesting a known liver toxin like alcohol (not a judgemental thing, just our physiology at work).

My surgeon is also a biliopancreatic (livers and pancreas) transplant surgeon, so he is in the no alcohol as long as we are losing weight camp (and ideally forever) and indeed we sign a contract to that effect - he doesn't want any of his bariatric patients coming back onto his transplant table!

Those are the issues in play, and some aspects bother different surgeons to different degrees, so they have different policies. Check with what your surgeon's policy is, and decide for yourself - we are all adults here.

[Boldilocks 312]

I'm 4.5 months out and am going to have my first drink tonight while watching the Eurovision Song Contest (most Americans don't have a clue what that is, but it's a big deal for us back home, LOL). I'm going to be in Ireland in 8 weeks (I go home for the summer every year) and my brother and I like to go out for a drink, so I'm looking to see what my reaction is to alcohol now and what my tolerance is.

I have a friend who had the sleeve 2 years ago. She gets buzzed very quickly, and then sobers up equally quickly (like in 15 mins). It's pretty funny to watch.

I'll report back tomorrow, LOL.

[rs 1,473]

I had my first drink about a month after surgery. No issues.

[MoBariatric 29]

Everyone thank you so much for for all of the sound advice!! I greatly appreciate it!

Mo

[MoBariatric 29]

7 hours ago, RickM said:

Doctors' philosophy on this vary from a few weeks to never again depending upon their experiences. The basic issues are:

Healing - alcohol is somewhat corrosive to the stomach lining so one needs to give things a chance to heal first,

Alcohol tolerance - rapid stomach emptying means it tends to hit faster, and with less (i.e., a "cheap drunk") so care must be taken there,

Transfer addiction - we can no longer satisfy whatever addictive tendencies we have with food, so it is easy for transfer that addiction to something else, like alcohol, drugs, shopping, gambling, etc. What was a casual habit of a glass of wine with dinner occasionally can easily turn into full blown alcoholism.

Liver health - starting as morbidly obese, or worse, our livers are not usually in very good shape to begin with (hence the "liver shrinking" pre-op diets that are often prescribed) and the liver is further stressed from its role in metabolizing all that fat that we are rapidly losing. It doesn't need any more stress from ingesting a known liver toxin like alcohol (not a judgemental thing, just our physiology at work).

My surgeon is also a biliopancreatic (livers and pancreas) transplant surgeon, so he is in the no alcohol as long as we are losing weight camp (and ideally forever) and indeed we sign a contract to that effect - he doesn't want any of his bariatric patients coming back onto his transplant table!

Those are the issues in play, and some aspects bother different surgeons to different degrees, so they have different policies. Check with what your surgeon's policy is, and decide for yourself - we are all adults here.

RS, thank you so much for explaining this to me... "Transfer addiction - we can no longer satisfy whatever addictive tendencies we have with food, so it is easy for transfer that addiction to something else, like alcohol, drugs, shopping, gambling, etc. What was a casual habit of a glass of wine with dinner occasionally can easily turn into full blown alcoholism." I would have NEVER thought of this, yes, I am looking for something to fill in my snack time!! WOW! but more importantly, when I do go out I more than anything want to be able to have a glass with my friends when I go out, which is maybe once every 2 months.

Thank you again!

[Boldilocks 312]

Ended up having a bottle of wine over the course of 3-4 hrs. Felt completely normal. I used to have a very high tolerance (I am from Ireland after all), so I don't know if that makes a difference - but I'm relieved that I can drink when I feel like it, and not get wasted very quickly. Calories will be factored into MFP, don't worry!

[rs 1,473]

Ended up having a bottle of wine over the course of 3-4 hrs. Felt completely normal. I used to have a very high tolerance (I am from Ireland after all), so I don't know if that makes a difference - but I'm relieved that I can drink when I feel like it, and not get wasted very quickly. Calories will be factored into MFP, don't worry!

@boldilocks me too. I had a high tolerance before surgery and it seems that hasn't changed post surgery. What has changed is that I can't take in as many ounces of liquid though. So now I order doubles. Still, I don't often get to the point where I feel intoxicated. Very surprising because I have read that post surgery the alcohol usually affects patients faster.

[Boldilocks 312]

12 hours ago, rs said:

@boldilocks me too. I had a high tolerance before surgery and it seems that hasn't changed post surgery. What has changed is that I can't take in as many ounces of liquid though. So now I order doubles. Still, I don't often get to the point where I feel intoxicated. Very surprising because I have read that post surgery the alcohol usually affects patients faster.

Yes, less ounces for sure! My brother and I would drink beer (ales, not carbonated lagers) when we go out, and I don;t think I'll be able to manage that! (Also, UK/Irish pints are 20oz, where they are 16oz here!)

[Lbtnew 89]

On 5/19/2019 at 3:19 PM, Boldilocks said:

Yes, less ounces for sure! My brother and I would drink beer (ales, not carbonated lagers) when we go out, and I don;t think I'll be able to manage that! (Also, UK/Irish pints are 20oz, where they are 16oz here!)

what ales were you able to tolerate without any issues ?