WLS & Alcohol

Sandra N.
on 4/7/08 9:05 am - MN

My dear friends! I read this on the Grads Boards and HAD to share! Please read!!!! If you've had WLS and drink ANY alcohol -- know that you probably are damaging your health.

If someone handed you a glass and said, "here, drink this -- you'll love the taste and the feeling, but it's laced with a small amount of poison." Would you drink it, over and over again?

please read this excerpt from a paper written by Cynthia Buffington, Ph.D., Director of Research for The Obesity Wellness Center. I was in the audience when she first delivered her findings in this paper. I changed my view of WLS and Alcohol forever.

"Metabolic changes that occur with massive and rapid weight loss may also increase the clearance of alcohol by a secondary pathway of alcohol metabolism that substantially increases the risk for liver damage while, at the same time, makes an individual more sensitive to the toxic and cancer-promoting effects of pollutants in the air, industrial solvents (such as those in household cleaners), and certain drugs.

Alcohol use can also cause brain damage, a loss of consciousness or even death by reducing the supply of sugar (glucose) to the brain. Muscle, heart, liver and other tissues use fat and sugar (glucose) for fuel. The brain, however, needs sugar to function. To avoid a depletion of sugar, the body stores sugar in the form of glycogen. Glycogen stores, however, can be depleted in a short period of time with prolonged work or exercise, fasting or a diet low in carbohydrate. Furthermore, alcohol reduces the process that allows sugar to be stored as glycogen.

The bariatric patient, particularly in the rapid weight loss period and if on a low carbohydrate diet, may have low amounts of stored sugar (glycogen). Drinking alcohol could deplete those stores and cause blood sugar levels to decline. The body, however, has another mechanism to maintain appropriate amounts of sugar in the body. This process is known as gluconeogenesis and is a chemical pathway that converts certain components of protein, lactic acid and other substances into sugar. However, alcohol reduces the production of sugar by this process and can, thereby, cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)."

Read the full article on this subject by clicking here.

http://www.wlscenter.com/UseOfAlcohol.htm

PLEASE -- DON"T CONSUME ALCOHOL IF YOU HAVE HAD WLS. Not only putting yourself at risk BUT also adding calories adding to weight gain!

~Sandie~ -147!!WLS:12-12-06:Preop 268,Ht.5'4",BMI 44.9
Click on link to see my journey!!!
http://www.onetruemedia.com/my_shared?z=2bfaca5561a1d558fceb
87&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url
"Do unto others as you'd have done to you"~ The Golden Rule to Live by!
You are what you EAT and WHO you hang out with! Choices=Outcome~ what's YOUR choice??
I'm not perfect but I am going to die trying!!!

Connie D.
on 4/7/08 9:17 am

RNY on 08/29/07

Great article Sandie....thanks for sharing this. Makes sense to me. We have been hearing this all along. Now that I have read it it seems more real and much more dangerous then I even suspected. Love ya.....connie d

Sandra N.
on 4/7/08 9:24 am - MN

RNY on 12/12/06

I agree!!! More dangerous then we have realized! I mean WOW! It inhibits are absortion of vital nutrients, causes low blood sugar and worse case cause liver damage! Take care of yourselves!!!

~Sandie~ -147!!WLS:12-12-06:Preop 268,Ht.5'4",BMI 44.9
Click on link to see my journey!!!
http://www.onetruemedia.com/my_shared?z=2bfaca5561a1d558fceb
87&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url
"Do unto others as you'd have done to you"~ The Golden Rule to Live by!
You are what you EAT and WHO you hang out with! Choices=Outcome~ what's YOUR choice??
I'm not perfect but I am going to die trying!!!

(deactivated member)
on 4/7/08 10:33 am

RNY on 12/19/06

Hmm....must be for me?

Sandra N.
on 4/7/08 10:38 am - MN

RNY on 12/12/06

Hey Hon! I posted this for everyone as I learned something from reading this from the grad board and wanted to pass it on! I am not pointing fingers! I am guilty off drinking post op.......no more tho! Hugs!

~Sandie~ -147!!WLS:12-12-06:Preop 268,Ht.5'4",BMI 44.9
Click on link to see my journey!!!
http://www.onetruemedia.com/my_shared?z=2bfaca5561a1d558fceb
87&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url
"Do unto others as you'd have done to you"~ The Golden Rule to Live by!
You are what you EAT and WHO you hang out with! Choices=Outcome~ what's YOUR choice??
I'm not perfect but I am going to die trying!!!

Farrah W
on 4/7/08 11:13 am - Tallahassee, FL

Revision on 08/28/09

I can count the number of times i've had a drink since WLS on less than one hand, but I wanted to share something from 2 weeks ago. A friend suggested I try this wine. Now, I hate the taste of alcohol, and most wine is too bitter - thus the not drinking it. Anyways, she poured a very little bit in the bottom of a glass. I took a sip and it wasn't bitter. I took a total of 4 sips and I finished what she given me. 5 minutes later I started getting dizzy. The room started to spin. It kept getting worse. I tried to stand up and could barely stay standing. I had a headache. It was insane. I went to eat some bread to soak it up and get it out of my system. I felt like crap for about 45 minutes. I doubt I will ever drink again. It was too scary. Just my $.02.

Please spay and neuter your pets!

Sandra N.
on 4/8/08 9:11 am - MN

RNY on 12/12/06

I agree! One thing they fail to mention is that drinking alcohol can cause weight gain in post ops. Also, the fact that it states drinking alcohol will restrict how much you absorb your vitamins EVEN MORE then what happens anyway. And then there is the blood sugar thing. I am not sure if this applies to just a drink once in a blue moon but I KNOW it applies to those who do every weekend and or night. I guess that is where WE chose to risk it or not. TO each their own! I know I'm not risking my health over one drink!! Hugs!

~Sandie~ -147!!WLS:12-12-06:Preop 268,Ht.5'4",BMI 44.9
Click on link to see my journey!!!
http://www.onetruemedia.com/my_shared?z=2bfaca5561a1d558fceb
87&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url
"Do unto others as you'd have done to you"~ The Golden Rule to Live by!
You are what you EAT and WHO you hang out with! Choices=Outcome~ what's YOUR choice??
I'm not perfect but I am going to die trying!!!

Sandra N.
on 4/7/08 11:35 am - MN

RNY on 12/12/06

Thanks for sharing! I don't blame ya! WOW what an experience! Hope Florida is treating ya well! Hugs!

~Sandie~ -147!!WLS:12-12-06:Preop 268,Ht.5'4",BMI 44.9
Click on link to see my journey!!!
http://www.onetruemedia.com/my_shared?z=2bfaca5561a1d558fceb
87&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url
"Do unto others as you'd have done to you"~ The Golden Rule to Live by!
You are what you EAT and WHO you hang out with! Choices=Outcome~ what's YOUR choice??
I'm not perfect but I am going to die trying!!!

NicoleLynn
on 4/7/08 11:43 am - Minneapolis, MN

RNY on 12/04/07

Thank you for sharing this, it is really good to know just how much alcohol can affect us after WLS, I had never heard of the things the article mentioned. I will definitley be staying away from alcohol.

"When you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

Sandra N.
on 4/7/08 11:48 am - MN

RNY on 12/12/06

Hey Hon! I never knew the EXACT reasons why they said to avoid alcohol, I just thought it was because empty calories and we get drunk faster. NOW after reading this WOW!! Better safe then sorry!!! Hugs!

~Sandie~ -147!!WLS:12-12-06:Preop 268,Ht.5'4",BMI 44.9
Click on link to see my journey!!!
http://www.onetruemedia.com/my_shared?z=2bfaca5561a1d558fceb
87&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url
"Do unto others as you'd have done to you"~ The Golden Rule to Live by!
You are what you EAT and WHO you hang out with! Choices=Outcome~ what's YOUR choice??
I'm not perfect but I am going to die trying!!!

WLS & Alcohol

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