Alcohol

I am not a big drinker, however I always liked to pop a top when I fired up the grill or would go out to eat at a restaurant.

I just looked up the nutrition info for liquor, wine and beer. It doesn't seem to be to bad for you, and I missing something? I just knew wine had sugar in it, but that did not seem to be the fact. Even thought I never drank wine before and have never been much of a liquor drinker.

The light beer thing seems to be hard since we are not suppose to consume carbonated beverages.

What are you guys doing? Summer is getting closer.

Ken,

1.  The general guidelines recommend no alcohol for six months to a year.

2.  Alcohol will affect you differently post op than it did pre op.  You will get impaired quicker because it hits you blood stream quicker.  By the same token you can sober up faster.

3.  Your first time to experiment with alcohol you need to be at home!  Since you don't know how it will affect you you don't want to be out in public your first time.  Hard to bust a move if you are down on the floor from a sugar induced dump!

I can't reccomend any spefic alcoholic beverages since I'm a non drinker.  I am partial to water and good ol' iced tea, decaf if I can get it, in the summer time.  Hell, anytime.

Yeah, I am not a big drinker at all. I can do with it or without it no big deal. I guess my biggest question was how do you drink beer, when you are not suppose to have carbination? I told them in our class before surgery, that we would have to start drinking our liquor straight.

We glup down about a gallon of decafe tea with Splenda each day.

Ken,

I am 4 months out and will occasionally have a beer or two on the weekend.  I know every person on this site says 6 months to a year to never again but my Nut and Dr. told me that alcohol and carbinated beverages can be tolerated at the 8 week mark.  I say tolerated, not advised.  I know that the alcohol is empty calories and carbs, but if you plan your day accordingly, ie drink extra water to hydrate for the day, I really don't see a problem with 1 or 2 beverages. 

It will hit you harder and quicker, but I've never been so inebriated that I was rolling around on the floor.  I will say that you do get sober very quickly and then you get very tired, so be careful if you want to be sociable the whole night. You're gonna want to lie down and take a nap.

Just my 2 cents.
Todd

I think a lot of the nuts and docs feel they are just empty calories, ie, no nutrition and no value. I think the other issue is that of reduced ability to make good decisions while under the influence, ie, munchies, grazing, eating food you would not normally allow yourself.
Once you have passed 6 months or a year or whatever your doc says, it becomes a personal choice. As long as you are not trading addictions, it will be up to what you are comfortable with.

Best regards.

While you are losing weight your liver is bombarded constantly with all the horemones and waste stored in all the fat cells that are being burned up.  Your liver is currently working at capacity.  One of the hardest things on a liver is alcohol, so now you plan on adding gas to the fire.  The 1 year abstination of alcohol is for the health of your liver, it shouldn't be too much to ask for you to leave it alone for 1 year so you can be succesfull and healthy.

Yes when you finally do drink you will get drunk very fast as your body now has no place to store the beverages.  They go through your pouch, directly into your intestines and then right to your liver.  Give yourself time to be successfull, you won't regret it, but you might regret having that drink.

Like others have said...be real careful.  Along with the liver and the empty calories issues you really need to be aware of the cross addiction issue.  People will joke about this, but it really is a issue we need to address.  You were addicted to food...we all were...what happens when that addiction is no longer available.  Many many many (as high as 30%) of WLS people have cross addictions.  The most common are: exercise, alcohol, sex addiction, and drugs.  I am sure there are others.  Don't want to sound like a prude.  I do have a 1/2 oz of wine with my meals about once a month.  But for new post ops...go into this WLS thing with your eyes wide open.  How do we fill up our time and get our comfort when it has been taken away from us (food).  Brian

You mention three really good addictions, I wonder how I can get my wife addicted to the Sex?

Replace her.  :)

 When LOSTTXN  say try it at home first he's not kidding, I use to hang with the big boys but 18 months out I had done drunk and sober thing with the first couple of drinks.
But somwhere around aronnd 3-5, I blacked out and depended on my wife to get me back the the room and to tell me what kind of A-Hole I was.
NFG to have that hanging over your head by the old lady..

Bret