alcohol amnesia

[hopelesscase]

Just felt i needed to share this with you. Prior to my bypass i could drink with the best of people on social occasions, wine was always my preferred drink and im thankful that i still like it. One thing that never happened was although on occasions i would have one glass to many i always remembered what i had done.

Since my bypass i have really become so sensitive to alcohol. 3 small glasses of wine and im on my way to being drunk 4 i am drunk and if i have one more suffer from amnesia from that point on. each time it has been drunk over a period of time not all knocked back within an hr.

Luckly its only happened twice and both times i have been with the most fantastic of friends phatgirl who has ensured my saftey as it really is a scarey feeling not to be able to recall what you have done compleatly. And from the few things i can recall im sure i would of ended up in a situation i wouldnt of been comfortable with when sober.

My resolve is now if going out is to just have 2 glasses of wine no more and then go onto oj or water.

becoming a cheaper date by the day at this rate!!!

 

[phatmomma]

Thank heavens for phatgirl! I'm so glad you realised your limits, the thoughts of what could happen if you didn't have a good friend to watch out for you are frightening! A good lesson for everyone to take heed of me thinks!!! xx

 

[IRJ]

Ive not had a drink since the 6th Nov where as before i drank at least 60 pints plus shorts a week i always said i would have my first alcoholic drink St Georges day which is a massive social event where ime from and usually involves a very long day drinking having fun, BUT ive been told on numerous occasions by my dietician to try alcohol before then to see my reaction but to be honest ime terrified of drinking, i enjoyed a drink as said before and everything that goes with it but realise i cannot drink the excessive amounts i drank before thankfully and i really dont miss Lager etc though would fancy a decent red wine which will be my preffered drink along with halfs (HALFS) of Guiness if my body accepts this and so i may have a drink of wine at home this easter weekend to see the affects, its funny really and summed up nicely yesterday i was in the executive boxes watching Manchester United and it was free ale and food all day, i had 3 tablespoons of chicken curry with rice, 3 bottles of water and 2 cups of tea and really enjoyed my day driving home after wheras before i wouldnt have been able to stand having abused the hospitality i am a different person now and alcohol DOESNT rule my life i have a new lease of life i have smashed my yearly targets at work already and i have a new relationship, my life is very happy at the moment and i dont intend it to cease has it would have done last yr, sorry for the long boring story but the moral of it is when youve had the surgery enhance it, work with it, enjoy it and you will reap the rewards.

 

[gillabean]

IRJ, what a lovely upbeat post! Isn't it great not to be ruled by appetite and thirst! I think it makes us nicer to be around as we're no longer pushing to the front of the food queue.

 

[ChefClay]

Ive not had a drink since the 6th Nov where as before i drank at least 60 pints plus shorts a week i always said i would have my first alcoholic drink St Georges day which is a massive social event where ime from and usually involves a very long day drinking having fun, BUT ive been told on numerous occasions by my dietician to try alcohol before then to see my reaction but to be honest ime terrified of drinking, i enjoyed a drink as said before and everything that goes with it but realise i cannot drink the excessive amounts i drank before thankfully and i really dont miss Lager etc though would fancy a decent red wine which will be my preffered drink along with halfs (HALFS) of Guiness if my body accepts this and so i may have a drink of wine at home this easter weekend to see the affects, its funny really and summed up nicely yesterday i was in the executive boxes watching Manchester United and it was free ale and food all day, i had 3 tablespoons of chicken curry with rice, 3 bottles of water and 2 cups of tea and really enjoyed my day driving home after wheras before i wouldnt have been able to stand having abused the hospitality i am a different person now and alcohol DOESNT rule my life i have a new lease of life i have smashed my yearly targets at work already and i have a new relationship, my life is very happy at the moment and i dont intend it to cease has it would have done last yr, sorry for the long boring story but the moral of it is when youve had the surgery enhance it, work with it, enjoy it and you will reap the rewards.

That's ok for you IRJ supporting Man Utd!, as a Coventry supporter we always need a drink before and after every match! Lol Seriously good advice though and certainly not boring! - Paul

 

[Lisa J]

That's ok for you IRJ supporting Man Utd!, as a Coventry supporter we always need a drink before and after every match! Lol Seriously good advice though and certainly not boring! - Paul

What about poor me.......I'm a palace supporter, 10 points deducted, administration, best players sold, manager left and in the bottom 3!!! :cry:i really need a drink!

 

[IRJ]

I know and to rub it in ime off to Munich Tuesday to watch us in EUROPE only joking (not about Munich) its just the way i feel at the moment very content and i just wanted to share that to people who are thinking or just about to have the surgery because my life was in total turmoil last yr, thanks for your comments and good luck to everybody else.

 

[hopelesscase]

Thank heavens for phatgirl! I'm so glad you realised your limits, the thoughts of what could happen if you didn't have a good friend to watch out for you are frightening! A good lesson for everyone to take heed of me thinks!!! xx

Very much so julie. The more i think about it the more scary it really is.

Since my bypass it is probably only about the 8th time i have had alcohol but usually it has just been a glas of wine or 2 when out for a meal. like i say 2 will be my limit so i dont become a liability to my friends...

 

[Mazza]

That's ok for you IRJ supporting Man Utd!, as a Coventry supporter we always need a drink before and after every match! Lol Seriously good advice though and certainly not boring! - Paul

Hey Im a Coventry fan too and yes watching the leicester v coventry match last weekend there was drink involved. Sorry to hijack the post

 

[phatgirl]

It is scary Carole to think that you could have been in a bad position and not even remembered:sigh:. I haven't experienced it personally but it has definately made me think about how much I drink when out. This shoud be a word of caution to others that they too might be in that minority who drink that one drink too many and poof no memory! As I said to you Carole, I have heard of this happening to other bypassers on an American website I sometimes visit, so everyone just be warned that it can and does happen to people. Just be sure of your own individual reaction to alcohol before you venture out without the reasurance of a good friend or partner!

Nic

 

[hopelesscase]

It is scary Carole to think that you could have been in a bad position and not even remembered:sigh:. I haven't experienced it personally but it has definately made me think about how much I drink when out. This shoud be a word of caution to others that they too might be in that minority who drink that one drink too many and poof no memory! As I said to you Carole, I have heard of this happening to other bypassers on an American website I sometimes visit, so everyone just be warned that it can and does happen to people. Just be sure of your own individual reaction to alcohol before you venture out without the reasurance of a good friend or partner!

Nic

whats more scary is how little i had!!!

 

[hopelesscase]

Had a fab night out last night i decided not to drink alchol at all so just had OJ with soda and ice. Had a fab eve lots of dancing and male attention and i can remember it all!!!!! lol

 

[phatmomma]

Had a fab night out last night i decided not to drink alchol at all so just had OJ with soda and ice. Had a fab eve lots of dancing and male attention and i can remember it all!!!!! lol

That sounds like a typical night out for me Carole except i swap the drink for diet coke usually (not for much longer lol)... I am the dancing queen oh yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh....

Happy Easter x

 

[hopelesscase]

Oh if there music i have to dance!!!!

you too julie have a good one!!

 

[Mark01/05/2009]

Carole you know me, I like a drink....

I do find though that if i mix my drinks, I lose alot of my memory. But if i stick to wine I am generally ok and would class myself as "drunk" after a bottle. 2 bottles and i am smashed.....

I have totally stopped drinking beer now (because of the fizz) but previously if i mixed wine and beer, again I would lose alot of what had happened during the night.....

Does make it fun tho ;-)

 

[hopelesscase]

i used to be able to manage 2 bottles and remember everything!!! but i suppose i just have to accept that being pint sizes im never going to manage a pint of wine again.

Like i say if it wasnt so dangerouse being a woman id happily drink to oblivion but nt being able to remember how i got home let alone who with well thats now a no no !!!!

 

[karenlouisemee]

Very scary. i personally dont drink at all i dont like the taste or the affects it has on me so i stick to fruit juices

 

[Twiggie]

This is very scary! I'm another one who likes a drink, although I've cut back a hell of a lot in the last few months, but would think nothing of drinking 2 bottles of wine in an evening and still remember everything that happened.

Now I find I'm quite happy to just drink a glass or two of wine with a meal so I'm hoping this will continue post-op, but having read this think I might just stick to soft drinks if I go out!

 

[phatgirl]

Please don't take this thread as a 'anti-alcohol' thread, I don't think that was what Carole was saying at all. I think the point was that even though she is a long-term bypasser, she can still be surprised by her body's reaction to alcohol. The warning was to those who do drink, don't assume that you know your reaction to alcohol because you have tried a couple of drinks because your body can surprise you. Take care and if you are planning to drink multiple drinks do it at your home first or with a dear friend you trust before venturing out without a net in a territory that can get VERY dangerous. That said I drank double southern comforts all night, I remember everything about the night and was in control. That is not to say the others could or should do that but that also does not mean people should give up alcohol altogether if they don't want to do so.

Here is the point I want to make - Life after gastric bypass is all about moderation and knowing your limits, it doesn't have to be about giving up things you enjoyed in your life before. Make wise choices and minimize your risks by doing a trial run at home so that your body doesn't offer you a surprise in public that can be potentially embarrassing or dangerous. Indugence is still possible, just make it well thought out indulgence!

Nic

 

[IRJ]

Nic this is the problem i have i was advised by my dietician to have a drink at home over Easter but i didnt i promised myself that i would have a drink on St Georges Day which is a major occassion with about thirty of us all going out getting merry at least and i intend to have a drink that day but that would be 25 weeks without a drop of alcohol and ive been advised not to do that in case of a bad reaction, prior to my bypass i was a heavy drinker and ime petrified of turning back to alcohol though i dont think i will due to the way i feel now and when i do go out i will drink red wine, halfs of Guinness and plenty of water in between.