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Booze???

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los in it

Well-Known Member
I was told by my team around 6 months but not to because its wasted calories .....I had a very weak red wine at Christmas .....lush ! been having a weak g&t lasts a whole night so I now really enjoy it but im now a cheap date 2 glasses and im a proper tipsy lady!
 

siana58

New Member
Alcohol=empty calories, no nutritional value, enlarges the liver and the abdomen, reduces immunity....I could go on. I love my vino but why risk it after going through such a big op?
 

MayraF

New Member
My doctor did say 6 months but I'm not a big drinker so didn't care. Pre op a glass of wine made me giggle like a little girl as I only drink at Christmas or birthdays. After the op at month 5 I had an Irish coffee with only half a shot of whisky, as I'm always freezing and thought it'd warm me up... It went to my head so fast and hard, my boyfriend found me sat on the couch naked and sweating as it was so hot!!! :D so be careful as it seems alcohol affects you more after the bypass.
 

shelleymarie

New Member
4 Weeks, wow that is a very short time. Most people aren't even allowed to have anything but purée for the first 4 weeks, let alone start drinking alcohol. Your pouch won't be anywhere near healed. Then you've got the fact you will be consuming so few calories it's going to hit you like a ton of bricks. It most likely will post op anyway as it hits your blood stream very quickly. I won't harp on about this every time some mentions alcohol on this site as not everyone is going to have a problem with it post op, the majority of people who have wls can enjoy a drink after surgery but there is a real risk of cross addiction, especially if you enjoy a drink before surgery. I've just never seen anyone been told they can have a drink as early as 4 weeks before. This is a bypass yes? are you NHS? I would do a little research on the risks when you are looking at when to have a drink post op. My team advised to wait a year, I didn't wait that long and you can see what happened to me if you look at my previous posts but I really do think at 4 weeks you will still be struggling to get enough water in you, if you have a drink that early on you are not going to be able to get proper nutrition and hydration that you need to heal and yes so many empty calories when you will be in prime losing phase, you don't want to miss that window. It doesn't last for ever. Best of luck with your surgery. Maybe have a bit more of a chat with your team about alcohol post op (they really should give you a heads up on the risks).
 

Maximoosh

New Member
Yes it was a bypass and it was private by professor David Kerrigan (widely considered to be one of the best in the country). One of his team said that after 4 weeks i can have a glass of wine and just to drink it slowly and mix with water. Im going on holiday with my wife on the 1st of april (4 weeks post op) and want to able to have a drink when we go out. I dont plan on getting wrecked and I used to drink pretty heavily 4 times a week (just being honest). My dad had the same done a couple of years back and was back drinking within a couple of weeks, it surprised me that people were talking 6-12 months on here.
 

siana58

New Member
I'm really surprised at the 4 weeks, personally would think it quite dodgy so soon post op and wouldn't bother. Can't see the point of not being able to eat properly but hitting yourself with loads of sugars in the form of booze? Surely it defeats the point of having the op, even if it is the odd glass and watering it down.....trying not to sound preachy because I love a drink but it's now sacrificed for the sake of my health and weight
 
Hey Maximoosh,

I do agree with the others about drinking too soon after your op (you probably didn't want to hear that?!). Just be very careful at this stage. A friend's workmate had a bypass done and drank alcohol too soon and was violently ill and ending up in hospital again.
Aldo, flying also dehydrates the body, especially also having alcohol at about 30,000 feet, so keep well hydrated on the flight with loads of water!!

I'm very new to this forum but one think i have seen on here is that everyone is SOO supportive and we all want each other to do really well as we all have our reasons why we have all ended up here, so I hope you don't feel too bad about the comments about you drinking so soon after surgery... We all care!!

Good luck and have a great holiday x
 

shelleymarie

New Member
You might not plan on getting wrecked but it could happen anyway. Try it in a safe place first. I could easily drink a bottle of wine without feeling more than tipsy before the bypass. After the surgery after two large glasses and I was in black out. Broke a rib, my nose and got a black eye (not fun, and my 3 month stint in rehab wasn't that great either, cross addiction is a *****, that's why it's recommended to wait, not just because of healing and empty calories) It can affect you differently. If you do drink that early, have lots of water before and after. Be safe and good luck.
 

Maximoosh

New Member
Thanks to you all, i really appreciate all the comments. I get that everyone is different, I did the op as I have a baby on the way and was just fed up of being the fat one! I have a group of mates who (and im probably worst for it to be fair) completely take the piss out of each other for everything (wouldnt have them any other way) but being 18 stone in a group like that was pretty tough so After every diet failing I just thought "balls to this" and found prof Kerrigan. I have lost over 2 stone so far so am very happy with the initial phase but just want to be able to get my social life back on track ASAP. I love going out to bars and restaurants with my friends and not being able to as im the only one not drinking isnt much fun at all.
 

Yvessa

Well-Known Member
Maximoosh, I am concerned that you're talking about this as if you'll have the surgery and the weight will just drop off. Life will change postop - it has to or not only do you not lose the weight, you will put your health at massive risk. There are people on the forum who are left fighting for their lives after the op. Your social life will change; sure you can still have a drink, once you're ready, but eating and drinking the way you are preop will not work. Weight loss surgery is NOT a cure. It is only a helping hand - you still have to do the hard work. So all those diets you're fed up of? You'll still need them. Getting your social life on track? You'll need to find a different way to enjoy the company of your friends. Being a great dad to your baby? That will be easier, but only if you lose the weight.
 

shelleymarie

New Member
Absolutely Yve. How many people on here go back to weight watchers and slimming world or use apps to count their calories etc. Lots and lots. We can still put it all back on or not even get it off in the first place if we don't change our habits and learn to get honest with ourselves. It's one of those things that looks easy to say when you're a few years down the line but it's only experience. Sometimes you have to learn the hard way, I know I did but if any one gets any thing out of what I say it can only be good. I wouldn't wish the consequences of my monumental screw ups on my worse enemy.
 

nicola1723

New Member
I don't like to sound harsh, but if alcohol is such a huge part of your life that you don't want to change, was surgery the right route?
As Yve said, the operation is a tool to help, not a cure, you have to be prepared to work with it. I don't drink at all and can still have fun when I go out. The weight loss and my health is more important to me than my social life.
 
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emma-louise

my new life!!
12 months was advised by our surgeon..
Alcohol to bypassers is lethal,it's no fun,it takes minutes to take effect and can be quite scary if you drink too much.
4 weeks is ridiculous...your body is still healing.
I'm over 4 yrs post op and alcohol still scares me,so hardly touch a drop due to the nasty effects that come with it.
 

Paula Garner

Well-Known Member
12 months was advised by our surgeon.. Alcohol to bypassers is lethal,it's no fun,it takes minutes to take effect and can be quite scary if you drink too much. 4 weeks is ridiculous...your body is still healing. I'm over 4 yrs post op and alcohol still scares me,so hardly touch a drop due to the nasty effects that come with it.


I'll second this. Almost 3 years post op and alcohol still frightens the life out of me. 4 weeks is way too soon in my opinion.
 

shelleymarie

New Member
I'll tell you one more story. Whether it will help anyone or not I don't know but I kind of feel like I've got this information in my pocket and if I don't mention it I could some how be responsible for someone else going through hell. I know that's not true and what ever anyone does is their own responsibility but it still feels that way but anyway when I went to the doctor about drinking too much she referred me to the local drug and alcohol clinic. They asked me to attend a support group, so I did, the first day I was there I met a lady who told me she had a bypass and afterwards when she drank (didn't wait the 6 months her surgeon suggested) she enjoyed how fast she could get drunk, bit like me - oh this feels great, 2 glasses and I'm pissed. I looked at her, she was about 18 stone. I said didn't it work? and she said yes, it did but i just kept drinking and eating until it all went back on. I had lost most my weight by then so she said she was jealous, I didn't really care because I was waiting for a liver scan, my LFT's were so bad I was terrified I was going to die of liver failure. My case is quite extreme. I think it's just important to have a healthy fear of weight regain and alcohol post bypass, be aware of it sort of thing but if you think about it. In that support group there was 5 alcoholics and two had a bypass (both enjoyed a drink pre op but didn't drink alcoholicly) and one had regained all her weight. Scary stuff.
 

siana58

New Member
Slightly off piste as the initial question was about the odd drink but there are quite a lot of studies about people swapping food addiction for booze post WLS. If people self medicate with food and don't address underlying issues then good addiction is likely to get replaced. I know that when I drink I eat crap and get too tired to do anything.......
 

siana58

New Member
Years ago when I worked for Nhs, in the days when they used to wire peoples jaws shut so they couldn't eat I had a patient with a wired jaw who used to liquidate doughnuts with a pint of cream and some rum, and suck it up through a straw. I think of her often when I am tempted by something I shouldn't have. The behavioural side of WLS is a steep learning curve for us all...
 
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