I like to go out alot with my girlfriends and i enjoy the occasional martini or two. I was wondering how soon after being banded would it be ok to have one....

Thanks...

hey!!

i have not had any alcohol to drink since my surgery. it's just a personal choice i've made because i know that mixed drinks tend to have a ton of calories. my nutritionist said that i should "waste calories" on liquid. i'm a Water & crystal light girl.

i know this doesn't quite work if you are going out for drinks...but, i once saw or read (i can't remember) about a fun "faux cocktail" to have with girlfriends...you take a pitcher (for presentation purposes a clear glass pitcher is best) and then you fill it with water and slice some fruit, like strawberries, kiwi, etc, and put some at the top of the water...then you chill it for a while...then you poor the chilled water with the pretty sliced fruit into martini glasses and enjoy....they were really cute. i have yet to do this, but i've been wanting to!

I wasn't given a specific amount of time to wait...that I can remember anyway...but I'd say I didn't have any wine or anything for a couple of months...I'm thinking a martini isn't gonna hurt you, but I suppose it'd be best to check with your Doctor just in case they have specific rules and I was a bad girl =)

As far as physical complications go, I couldn't see any and I haven't had any problems whatsoever with the occasional drink. I rarely ever drink, though.

Keep in mind, though, that 1-2 glasses of red wine or beer is actually good for the heart.

For what it's worth.

Ummm, I'm under the impression you're not allowed to drink at all after surgery!

Ummm, I'm under the impression you're not allowed to drink at all after surgery!

Can you? Unless there's another reason why you shouldn't, there shouldn't be a problem.

Should you? Small amounts are okay. It's high calorie, so keep that in mind. That and if you eat anything with it your body is going to store all of the calories because your body is ONLY worried about getting rid of the alcohol.

I'm not a big drinker, but I did ask my doc about this because I noticed I'm a total light-weight now! I literally had about 5 sips of a glass of wine and couldn't drink any more because I was already feeling it. I've read that you should wait 1 year, but my doctor just laughed it off and said he's heard that from other patients and advised me to (of course) watch my liquid calories and be careful! :biggrin:

The only thing you really -shouldn't- drink is beer because of the carbonation. Like everyone else already said, the only consideration is the liquid calories, it's not going to do any damage to your body.

My doctor and program guidelines stated that I shouldn't have alcoholic beverages until my doctor cleared it.

I am a little less than one month out from surgery and last weekend I went out clubbin and did shots(tequila & washington apple) I can't remember how may I had but it was several. I didn't have any problems. The weekend before that I was at a party and had a few mixed drinks (crandberry and vodka) without any trouble. I wasn't thinking and grabbed a beer and that didn't go so well... I just felt like I had to burp but could for a bout 15 minutes (pretty uncomfortable) but then I let out a wicked burp and felt better. Needless to say I will be much more careful to avoid beer.

Now what I will say is be cause of the high calories in alcohol if I go out drinking then the next day I run an extra mile and try to tack on an extra 25-30 minutes to my exercise routine. It kicks my ass but I reason it out in my mind that if I want to party I am going to have to pay for it.