How long after surgury.....

OK I am still researching and looking for the right Dr but have decided that this is the way I am going to go, VSG that is. But how long after until I can drink a whole beer, either all at once or just at all, or should I say will I ever be able to? How about a 20oz coffee?  Or 20 oz anything? I love coffee. As for food goes, I hope I will never be able to eat a whole large pizza again.  I am really looking forward to eating a single grape and feeling full (you know what I mean eating very little and feeling full). Jack

You probably won't be able to drink alcohol for at least the first 3-4 months.   It really depends on what your doc says.   I bugged my doc and he let me try wine at 3 months and it didn't bother me so I incorporated alcohol into my diet from that point on.   20oz coffee or water?   You'll be able to drink that immediately.... with a catch.   You'll have to drink that 20oz liquid substance over a period of an hour or two especially the first few months when your body is still healing.    I can regularly chug 12oz or so of water at a time now.   At first it was only around 2oz at a time which can be aggravating.  

Whole pizza?  Forget about it.  A piece or two of pizza?   Do-able. 

Don't get me wrong, Im not an alholic or anything (im in denial - HA HA).  Just wondering will I ever be able to chug a bottle water ever again.  Like after you run, do you sip water or can you chug it.

Like I said I never want to be able to eat a whole meal ever again. I was just using beer as an example.  Water or any liquid, sip or chug down the road.  Just want to know what I'm gettin into. Either way I still want the surgury. 

I don't know much about VSG, but I can tell you most people after any WLS learn to evolve a new sense of what a "normal" sized meal is. And it's a lot smaller than what you would think before surgery. I was freaked out when they told me I'd be eating only 6oz meals at a time right after my surgery. I thought, "how can anyone eat that little and survive, let alone be satisfied." But you learn to do it, and it becomes the new normal. For me, a 6oz coffee is plenty big, and I wouldn't dream of trying to down 20oz in one sitting. So I expect the same thing will happen to you. You will probably learn to think 6-8oz of coffee is a perfectly adequate amount in one sitting, even if it seems impossible now.

Jack like you I worried that I would not be able to drink water quickly after surgery.  I am a little over three months out and it is not a problem.  I drink water, chew the ice, and swallow.  I have never had a problem with water.  I have not had a beer yet but I have had a few small glasses of wine.  I take it easy on my RNY and it takes it easy on me.  Good luck, no worries!

Hi Jack - I had the VSG a little over a year ago.  I can easily enjoy a 20 OZ coffee or (fat free) latte and do so every work day.  It takes a little longer to drink than it used to but I enjoy it as much as I ever did.  I didn't drink coffee much for 3-4 months after surgery.  Just didn't have an appetite for it until then. Alcohol - this is an important one.  Surgery radically changes how you react to alcohol for most WLS'ers. After surgery alcohol is absorbed much faster than before - probably because it passes quickly through the much smaller stomach to the intestines where the is a lot more surface area to absorb the alcohol. One drink will likely go right to your head.  BTW, Stanford did a study this past summer that you should read. I've included a link to a story about it below. My recommendation is to be prepared for not drinking much after surgery.  The carbonation in the beer may not sit well with you either.  I drink a glass or two of wine or 1-2 drinks (max) about once a week and am fine. any more than that and definitely have some degree of hangover the next day. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/19/BAGHNQHKS51.DTL&hw=stanford&sn=003&sc=500 That stuff being said, the benefits for me of having my VSG far outweigh having to reduce the amount I drink.  Now I'm a cheap date, something I never was before! ;-)