Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum. I had gastric sleeve surgery, six years ago. I noticed immediately that I can't drink as much, but after 6 years I can barely handle one drink, without getting a headache, high heart rate and feeling very tired. My main question is, why has this taken 6 years to happen? I was ok on small amounts, for the first five years.

It's just a guess, but this sounds like a condition called Sudden Onset Alcohol Intolerance. If my guess is correct, It's probably not related to your surgery as this can happen to anyone.

There are lots of potential underlying causes for sudden onset alcohol intolerance, some of which are related to other health issues and some that aren't. Feel free to look up the condition if you're curious. Obviously seeing a medical professional would be the best course of action if it concerns you, especially if you're concerned about the other related health conditions like allergies, endocrine disorders and Crohn’s disease.

Not to sound "preachy", but at the end of the day, alcohol is a poison. For most people, their bodies work hard to process the poison and remove it from their systems. At low doses, it can do this reasonable well. At higher doses, it gets overwhelmed and this is what causes a "hangover".

In your case, it's not even being able to tolerate low doses. You may need to take this as a sign you need to stop ingesting it.

4 hours ago, K77 said:

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum. I had gastric sleeve surgery, six years ago. I noticed immediately that I can't drink as much, but after 6 years I can barely handle one drink, without getting a headache, high heart rate and feeling very tired. My main question is, why has this taken 6 years to happen? I was ok on small amounts, for the first five years.

I wouldn't know.

I have no experience with "small amounts".

I don't begin to understand the causation, biology, anatomy, genealogy, etc, etc, etc.

All I can say is that I had my WLS at a time when my wife and I were both seeing an uptick in our drinking. Perhaps to mask the problems in our marriage....perhaps to make the best of things.....perhaps we simply enjoyed it.

The WLS, gym work and new way of eating were working wonders for my health. Initially this was met with approval and it seemed to be really helpful in calming the stormy seas of our marriage.

I was firmly committed to keeping the weight loss train chugging ahead. After healing from the surgery I began drinking. No beer, but high grade tequila and vodka with skinny mixers. Without the benefit of meals, the impact was much deeper than simply sipping beer and then having dinner.

This was 7-ish years ago.

Fast forward to today. I've been alcohol free for the past 6+ years.

It simplifies things. It is one less variable in daily life.

It is simply easier for me to abstain than it is to have something else to measure, to control, to monitor. Right now monitoring my diet is enough.

I don't know much about alcohol and I'm quite sure my surgeon and his staff all said to avoid it, period. LOL, to me listening to that noise at the time.

I can say this....it is refreshing and good to not have it be part of my life. I face things head on and get to solving issues right away vs sulking and sipping on them over a night or two.

Strong coffee is a much better substitute for me.

Get some professional alcohol-specific guidance on this matter. IT can improve the trajectory of your life.

Don't try to wing it and solve this on your own. Get the right advisors onboard and helping you make the best decisions for you.