Post op alcohol consumption (C'mon fellas)

 Alright fellas, time for some much needed advice!  

A little background here:
I had Roux En Y on February 7th of this year and am doing pretty well.  So far I have followed my surgeons instructions and she seems to be pretty happy with my progress.  Im in a quandry and need some help.  My best friend is getting married on May 14th and his bachelor party is on April 16th and im facing some alcohol demons.  I never had any addiction problems or anything but I want to have a few drinks over the course of a few nights.  I also want to enjoy a little buzz for his wedding......

Question is, and I am looking for total honesty......  Should I give in and have a few drinks for those activites?  Secondly, what types of drinks should I be consuming?  Im a big fan of scotch so I figured scotch with water wouldnt hurt anyone.  Anyway, thanks in advance for your advice but the suspense is killing me waiting to enjoy a buzz with some good friends.  

Anyway, hope all is well in WLS land and look forward to your answers.

My Doc wanted me to be at least a year out before trying wine.  A couple sips of wine and I am really feeling it.  Alcohol will hit you much harder and quicker, it is also unpredictable in the way it will effect you.  What did your surgeon's office tell you about alcohol?

Jim

Sorry to be a buzz kill, literally, but like Jim I'm voting "no".

Not saying that you are on the wagon till you are in the hearse but at just a few months out it is not wise.  One it could result in an ulcer of your new gizzard.  Two, empty calories.  No protein in alcohol.  Thirdly, adds work to your already taxed liver that is in overdrive metabolizing your lard. 

"Mechanically" speaking, your former stomach and it's contents acted as rip rap and slowed the alcohol getting to your blood stream in your small intestine.  Now with less space and food in the way the beverage passes staight through to the small intestine where the alcohol is absorbed into the blood stream.  You will get a very intense, all be it short lived, buzz on very little alcohol.  Being cheap drunks and costing next to nothing to feed makes us very cheap dates!

On a cautionary note if you do opt to drink at six months or a year out, depending on what your doc has to say about it, first time be AT HOME!  You'd hate to have a dumping episode or make an ass of yourself in public first time you indulge.

Well, here's my vote and you won't like it either, I'm afraid.  It's too soon. Your guts are still in an uproar over the surgery and do not need the additional load brought on by alcohol at this point. Be the designated driver or if you can't handle the night without the drinks, stay home. After everything you have put yourself through, it's just not smart in my opinion.

Aaron:  Do your best friend and yourself  a huge favor and volunteer to the be the "designated sober" driver, monitor, videographer (if you dare) or whatever he needs you to be, but booze at this point seems like a dangerous course for you.  You made a brave and necessary decision to have WLS - your friends will appreciate and honor that courageous decision - if they give you **** about it, well, I'm not sure they're your "friends." 

No one, I mean no one, likes Scotch me than me - and at 65, I enjoyed it to the max, usually with wifey every night - a couple (read 4 or 5) drinks (read doubles) - some snacks to go with it, and all of this leading up to a big dinner - and resulting in diabetes, high blood-pressure, sleep apnea, and 425 lbs.  I suspended alcohol consumption Oct. 1, had sleeve surgery Nov. 24, and I am just under 100 lbs. lost today.  BUT - I've also lost diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea and the lethargy of being so overweight. 

Will I drink Scotch again?  I think so, but not next week in Myrtle Beach with my golf buddies as I treat them to dinner for being one of my primary support groups.  They understand that I need to do what's right for me; they're my friends.

Perhaps I'll wait until the end of April when wifey and I are in the ***** Canna at a nice resort - where the drinks are included - maybe, maybe not, don't know yet.  Maybe I'll wait until our tour of Italy in September -- I love Scotch, but right now, it's just not on my program.  Good Luck!
Pop-Pop 

 Again, you may not like this, but you asked for honest advice...I am with the others above, your time table is a little too soon.  And as we all always recommend, when ever you are going to try something "New" post-op, try it at home, near the bed and crapper...just in case.

Now, all that being said, can you ever drink scotch again, yes.  I am 11 months post-op as of yesterday.  I have an occasional glass of wine, an occasional beer or half a beer.  With the carbination, I can usually only handle 1/2 then it gets warm and scanky.  And, yes, I've even had scotch, rum, vodka, and tiquilla (not all at the same time...please!!!).  I am a Jameson man meself and enjoyed a few drams on St Paddy's day!  We were at friend's house and wife did drive home as I was feeling the buz after just two wee drinks.

You will find a little goes a long way very quickly.  

But, give yourself time to heal.  And as I believe Don put it again, your liver is still doing over-time.  Be nice to your body!  You've worked very hard to get healthy.

One of the best things about this Men's forum, is that we will be straight with you!

Well, you asked for honesty and I'll confess that I had a few drinks this month while at our annual company meeting. I'm 5 months post-op and had a little wine with dinner and a couple of screw drivers.

This was done at the hotel where we were staying and driving was not involved.

I didn't dump or get sick. Peter Pouch handled it quite well. But, boy the affects of alchol really hit me hard and quick. I can't drink like I did before surgery.

I also gained some weight during the week on the road and I attribute that to the alcohol consumption. It really threw my weight loss goals into the crapper for a week and there was nothing beneficial in having those drinks.

Personally, I think it's way too soon for you to be consuming alcohol with your new pouch. It hasn't totally healed. I agree with the suggestion that you be the designated driver and sober friend at the party.

Will I have another drink in the future? Probably - but not in the near future. My weight loss and good health is far more important to me than a temporary buzz.

And now, for a dissenting opinion...  OK - not really.  I totally agree with what the others have said.  It's too soon, and you need to get more used to your new life before allowing alcohol back in.  It's not a "forever" thing, but you don't want to give yourself a setback.

Lastly, as others have mentioned, make sure you're at home when you try drinking again for the first time.  It would be terribly embarassing (and quite possibly ruin the entire evening for you and your friend) if you made yourself really sick...

Do the "designated driver" thing for your friend.  If he's truly a friend, he'll understand why you need to do so, and he'll actually appreciate the fact that you care enough to watch out for the other guests.

Hey there everyone! I appreciate your feedback and may have to continue being a good kid..... I live in a college town as well so the majority of my friends are usually at the bars on the weekends. I went to the bar recently and just "hung out" and boy was that weird not having a drink. Anyway, I guess I will have to wait and thanks again for all the comments.

 Hey Aaron - when you last posted, "You live in a college town..." I noticed CHICO.  I graduated from Chico State back in 1983!  Back in that day, CSUC was the #1 party school in the country according to Playboy magazine.  I guess things haven't changed much.   We used to hang at the Madison Bear Garden.  At any rate, living in Chico, you will have plenty of opportunity to drink again once you've healed up.  Keep up the great progress and good luck!  Mike