Ok so I am a 21 year old college student. I don't party everyday but I do drink with my friends on the weekends. I am not going to lie sometimes I get drunk and sometimes I just get buzzed...the truth is I feel like I'm at the age where your suppossed to live it up and enjoy life to fullest. I feel like my weight is starting to hold me back. So I am hoping to get banded in the next couple weeks. But my question is can you still enjoy a few drinks after being banded? Your opinions and advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Jade

Sure you can. The carbonated stuff is usually off limits for most of us but there are other choices out there. Be mindful of the calorie content of your choice, I go for Vodka and sugar free cranberry juice myself.

Alcohol has no different effect on me because of the band either. Some say that they get drunk faster but I really don't see why that would be except that as we lose body mass, alcohol might affect us differently. I guess because with the band I can't drink as fast as I used to so maybe that balanced it out because I don't get drunk any faster.

i am 22 and i had that same question. my doctor told me that it shouldn't be a problem. he told me that i might get drunker faster and the carbonated drinks might make my feel nauseated.

the only other problem i can think of is that alcohol has a LOT of empty callories. one night of drinking could potentially set me/you back quite a bit. but i have decided that if i do decide to go to the bar, i have to work out twice as much the next day.

I'll just give what guidelines I was given by my surgeon before I even had the procedure.

-no carbonated beverages- as I recall, not only will it cause discomfort, you run the risk of stretching your pouch, and increase the possibility of your band slipping. Some people still choose to risk it, but I personally choose my health over the fizzy stuff. I've been without soda or anything carbonated for a year, I feel better, and don't feel that deprived.

- no alcohol for a year. Alcoholic drinks can be LOADED with sugars, which makes it easy to gain weight if you drink them on a regular basis. On rare occasion, I've had one drink, but not until about 6 moths post-op, and even then, in the past 6 months, I've had maybe 5-6 drinks.

Just remember to do things in moderation, since drinks can be so high in sugar, and because liquids go down easily, it's easy to overdo it.

I am also a fellow college student and enjoy drinking as well :thumbup:

I've been banded since March 2009 (have lost 52 pounds woot woot!) And I have had noo trouble with alcohol. It might get you buzzed faster but that's about it. Beer is a bit harder to drink but honestly I haven't had much trouble with it either and I enjoy beer pong quite a bit.

Probably the biggest draw back is the empty calories, but just excercise and watch what you eat and you will be fine. Also you can opt for low cal drinks like vodka, if you can't take it straight have it with a zero calorie rockstar, that way you won't feel as guilty

I drink about every weekend and haven't really had problems, listen to your body, don't overdrink, and have fun! You will be losing weight make the best of it!

I am also a college student and before my surgery I would drink on the weekends. I was banded two weeks from tomorrow, and on Friday night I had about a half of a water bottle of wine. Probably not a decision endorsed by doctors, but I had no problems. And I didn't get drunker any faster than I did before. Although, granted, I spread that drink over about three hours. I wouldn't want to start drinking beer or anything though so soon after surgery. I feel like the carbonation would hurt.

I got banded about 2 months ago and I just tried alcohol this past weekend. I asked my doctor if I could try beer and he said go for it so I did. I drank about 3 beers and a jager redbull and I was feeling pretty good. Before the surgery it would take about 6 beers before I would feel anything. I guess its good now that it's cheaper at the bar.

Alcohol is one of those hot button topics like soda, caffeine, etc.... You will get responses all over the spectrum. Some will tell you nothing is off limits others will tell you that blood will shoot from your eyes if you ever sniff the stuff again... :cursing:

YMMV... Personally, I preferred to get a good chunk of weight loss behind me first because alcohol is not just empty calories, but very dense since it has 7 calories per gram. I don't drink very often but when I do I drink pretty much whatever I choose - beer included. Carbonated beverages don't cause me any trouble - so long as I drink slowly. Chug a carbonated beverage while your band is sufficiently restricted and you'll quickly be schooled in a physics lesson. :scared2:

Well I have been banded for almost 3 months. My doctor told me that I could drink but no beer or carbonated beverages, which is like smirnoff, red bull with alcohol, etc. I have been to the bar once and I drank a Margarita and that was it and then I went to eat about a month ago and decided to try a Margarita. It went down ok and I didn't feel any different than normal. Me being a selfpay patient I am not willing to risk messing up my band or strectching my pouch so I refuse to drink carbonated beverages even though I would so love to have them. I think it is ok to drink but you have to be careful b/c of the calorie intake. I had my daughter 2 months before I turned 21 so I have not been much of a partier. I mean I go out 4 or 5 times a year to the bar but that is it. I just have other thinks in life that are more important to me than drinking & partying. There is nothing wrong with drinking though as long as you are careful about it. Good Luck to you!

How soon after surgery can I drink? Because my 24th birthday party is on the 21st, my surgery most likely being the week before (my actual birthday's on the 30th), and I really wanted to go out the night of my birthday party.

How soon after surgery can I drink? Because my 24th birthday party is on the 21st, my surgery most likely being the week before (my actual birthday's on the 30th), and I really wanted to go out the night of my birthday party.

That seems a little soon to me. You Dr. may say something different, but I know for me personally there was no way I could have drank a week out from surgery. I still felt sore and weak. Also something to consider, you will only be on the liquids stage which means you'll basically have nothing in your stomach and alcohol would effect you a lot more than normal. I would use extreme caution.

How soon after surgery can I drink? Because my 24th birthday party is on the 21st, my surgery most likely being the week before (my actual birthday's on the 30th), and I really wanted to go out the night of my birthday party.

I understand where you are coming from. A week after my surgery was halloween.. die LOL I went to a party with my friends and was good and sipped Water the whole night. I'm 25 days post OP now, and last thursday I had 2 glasses of wine at the bar (we all go out for karoke) and I was fine. But I really wouldnt test it TO much a week after, everyone is different but I was worried. If you do choose to drink a week after surgery I would keep it super minimul, something like a glass of wine or vodka with a low calorie mixer. Definitely no carbonation. Good luck and happy birthday! :w00t:

I'm getting banded on January 4th and my 21st birthday is in August, so about 8 months after my surgery. I'm in college but really don't drink too much anymore cause I was CRAZY freshman & junior year lol. My goal for me is to not drink until my 21st because I want to look my best and it'll just be a real celebration! Good luck to you! Live it up & have some fun however you decide to do that! :thumbup:

I am a biker who is in a club, and the only thing we really do is ride and Party! I am about 10 weeks post op and down about 40lbs so far and I drink about once a week. I used to drink pretty heavy pre surgery, but now I am much more careful due to the calorie intake. I have stayed away from Beer and soda (hard since I love Burbon and coke) but have found whiskey sours to be just fine. I mix them myself, using crystal light lemonade and they are pretty good. If I'm @ the bar I just order a shot and a glass of water then I mix my own and has never been an issue yet. I would be careful right after post op, alcohol and meds don't mix well. Other than that, drink and be merry!

I manage a bar in Hollywood and the temptation and offer to drink is everywhere. I am only 3 days banded but have no intention of having any carbonation at all. I am getting married in April and i'm going to pour my champagne glass well before the reception so it goes flat and i can enjoy it. It boils down to simply wanting to be healthy or wanting to be social. All my frineds know i got the lapband and are very supportive.

Wow! This post is so similar to a post I made today but I feel like these answers are much better than the ones I was getting. My health is important to me, but I've been holding off on the surgery due to the fact that I feel like I will only be young once and I'm being selfish and don't want to give up my partying. I've been talking to many people in their 40s and 50s who are all looking at my like I'm stupid for wanting to still have fun. My 21st birthday is in 2 months and I'd love to be able to drink. I know this sounds stupid but alcohol is such a big part of my life. My friends enjoy it, I dont want to be the one who's always left out or making my problem affect everyone else. I don't know what 21 year old doesn't have a social life that includes partying. I have other things in my life that I enjoy, but on weekends this is how my friends and I have fun and socialize and if im being 100% honest with myself, I'm not ready to give that part up. I'd still love to drink once a week, I read above that many people still do. I understand that it's a lot of empty calories but I am almost positive that the amount of calories I will be taking in with the lap band combined with exercise, I would have no problem losing weight. Anyone who has gone through the same thing, or thinking about going through the same thing, please message me or add me! I'm very concerned and need to do something about my weight & understand that takes lots of commitment and changes. At the same time I'd love to still have a somewhat decent 21 year old social life. I'd like to hear if that is something someones been successful at doing with the lap band. This has been one of the only things holding me back and if I saw this post a while back and realized I could still have a social drinking life with the band, maybe I would have started this process a lot longer ago.