ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION

Hi all! I got this information from the BCSI Newsletter and thought I'd share it with all of you. Muah! Alcohol Consumption We often hear these questions: Do weight loss surgery patients absorb alcohol differently than "normal" people? Can weight loss surgery patients get drunk more quickly than "normal" people? Can weight loss surgery patients get drunk on less alcohol than "normal" people? The answers to these questions are: 1) Some do; 2) Yes; and 3) Yes. As a rule, weight-loss surgery patients should avoid alcoholic beverages. There are a number of reasons why. First of all, alcoholic beverages are often high in calories. Excess calories can easily be consumed by drinking them without thinking. Another reason for the extra caution is that many alcoholic beverages are also carbonated. All carbonated drinks should be avoided regardless of the type of weight-loss surgical procedure you've had. For a gastric bypass patient, the biggest potential physical danger from alcohol is not the caloric intake. The most immediate danger results from the speed with which alcohol can be absorbed into your bloodstream. It is VERY unpredictable in a gastric bypass patient. Sometimes you'll be fine, and other times, you can go from stone cold sober to passed out drunk in 5-10 minutes. And the amount of alcohol that it takes to accomplish drunkenness can also be VERY unpredictable. When we published an article in the eNewsletter several months ago about the dangers of alcohol consumption, we received responses back from several people who have had this type of reaction to amounts of alcohol that would never have been large enough to concern them prior to their surgery. They reported that they went from sober to very drunk on 1 or 2 small drinks and that the effect**** them very quickly. If you are going to drink alcohol, make sure that you NEVER drink on an empty stomach. We suggest that you only drink after FILLING your stomach with good SOLID food. This will delay the passage of the alcohol from your stomach to the small intestine. The worst case would be for you to drink alcohol when your stomach is empty AND your small intestine is also empty. Any drink taken in this condition would immediately flow from your mouth all the way into your small intestine with virtually no pause along the way. Your original stomach has a valve, called the pyloric valve, located at its outlet. The pyloric valve is designed to restrict the flow of the stomach's contents and release it slowly into the small intestine. Therefore, the rate at which alcohol could be absorbed into your bloodstream through the small intestine was limited because the supply of alcohol into the intestine was restricted. Unless you've had a Vertical Banded Gastroplasty, a Vertical Gastroplasty / Duodenal Switch, or a Lap Band procedure, that valve is no longer in the pathway from your mouth to your intestine, so it can't restrict the flow of liquid into your intestine anymore. If you've had any of the Roux-en-Y or Fobi Pouch procedures, the only way you can slow down the flow of liquid into your intestine is to block its path with food in your pouch. YOU have to understand your system and limit the rate by your conscious thoughts and actions. As you know, alcohol in the blood stream impairs a person's ability to think clearly. It should be easy to see how a person at a party could go over the edge into full drunkenness, unconsciousness, or could ingest a lethal dose of alcohol without realizing the danger, if their initial drink flows through their system and is available to be absorbed into their blood stream too quickly. The safest course is to stay away from alcohol altogether. The second safest course is for you to have a "designated observer" with you who understands your gastric system and *****mains sober and can keep an eye on you and caution you if your ability to make wise decisions becomes impaired in any way. Key Points to Remember Blood alcohol level is the measurement used to define intoxication. The level of alcohol in your blood is the key factor that impairs your mental and physical abilities. Regardless of how much alcohol is consumed or over what period of time it was consumed, blood alcohol level is blood alcohol level. A gastric bypass patient can become intoxicated on less alcohol and can become intoxicated much more quickly than a person with a "normal digestive system. This is due to the smaller volume of your digestive system and the lack of built-in restrictions in your system. Oh, by the way, be careful with cough medicines and night-time cold remedies which often contain high concentrations of alcohol.

Interesting info. Thanks for passing along.

thank you for the great infomation....see ya at the meeting..