Just wondering anyone still drink a few glasses of wine or anything like that after surgery? I have not had mine yet and just wondering...... I do not drink a lot but I do like to have the every once in awhile social drink..... Anyone else?

hi, my dr.told me to wait until 6 months out. but i had a glass of wine at 4 months and it was fine.
i`m now 5 months out and las weekend i had 2 cosmopolitans and i was fine. just be careful, and try it in home first.

My mom drinks a glass of wine about twice a month... she is a year out now, but I think she started drinking again around 6 months.

Great Thanks! I was just wondering I am ready to make this life change I just still want to be able to go out with friends and have a couple of drinks like I do now with them. It makes me feel much better that I know I am not the only one!

I'm about 3.5months post-op and I've had a couple drinks here and there.  I don't drink beer, but I've had a couple wine coolers and mikes hard lemonade.  I tried some rum and diet coke, I got ****faced in about 3 minutes... it's funny how you get drunk instantly with RNY... but you sober up just as a fast.  The wine coolers and mikes has sugar in it so it didn't take much to trigger dumping syndrome if you're sensitive to sugar.  Plus alcohol has alot of calories in it so drink in moderation is the best advice as to not derail your goal

You're such a woman...WINECOOLERS??? c'mon man! ;-) Just messin with ya. I drink Arbor Mist all the time and I ain't ashamed.

Okay...THAT was funny!

you can drink, jus****ch it because alcohol is converted into sugar.  also, it will hit you MUCH faster than before!  i love me some red wine!!  but, i notice that half the time i'm already feeling the alcohol before i'm even done with the first glass.  so, be careful!  it will hit you faster, and you will also sober up faster.  hope this helped!!

Just a little hits you fast. Be careful don't over do it. I waited 10 months.

This is an issue that I feel is more relevant for people like us in their twentys who are undergoing, or have undergone Weight Loss Surgery. For many of us, drinking is part of our culture. At the very least, many of us enjoy drinking socially, and for some of us it's a big part of our social culture. That's why I think it's so important that we talk about it and understand it so we can avoid some of the pitfalls. Every surgeon has different advice. Some will tell you to avoid it completely, but most will caution you to wait for a number of months and then to procede with caution. I've personally struggled with finding my limit lately. I will admit It has been ugly at times. My tolerance is signifigantly lower at times, and unlike some others, I don't think I sober up more quickly, rather it takes longer. To be sure my judgement is impaired, and I think that has a lot do with why I often don't stop when I have had enough - which to me seems to be about two drinks. Often one or two turns into four or five and before I know it, I'm litterally passing out on the floor. I've decided I need to step back and really watch it. It's unhealthy, dangerous, and unfair to my wife who always winds up having to be the designated driver.  I've attached an article from Stanford University about a recent study they conducted on the effects of alchohol after gastric bypass. It was a small study, but as far as I know is the only one that has been conducted on this topic so far. Enjoy! Stanford Report, June 20, 2007

Gastric surgery makes people prone to getting tipsy

 

BY TRACIE WHITE

• Printable Version

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An Oprah Winfrey-inspired study done by researchers at the School of Medicine has found that patients who undergo gastric bypass surgery to lose weight will get drunk faster and take longer to get sober.

"It may sound strange, but Oprah really did inspire this study," said John Morton, MD, MPH, assistant professor of surgery and senior author of the study that was presented June 14 at the annual meeting of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery. Referring to an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Morton said, "After the Oprah show 'Suddenly Skinny' aired in October 2006, I got question after question from patients asking, 'What happens when I drink alcohol?'"

Morton has performed more than 1,000 gastric bypass surgeries and routinely warns patients to be cautious when drinking alcohol after the surgery. But following the Oprah episode, which explored possible dangerous effects of alcohol on post-surgery gastric bypass patients, the overwhelming concern from his patients motivated Morton to research the scientific data on the topic. When he couldn't find much data, he decided to conduct a study with Stanford medical student Judith Hagedorn, who is the first author of the study. The study will be published in the official journal of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, SOARD (Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases).

"I've heard the anecdotes of a patient who will drink one glass of wine and get a DUI, but I wanted to know if there is really a difference before and after surgery," Morton said. "It's an important question for patients."

The study shows scientific evidence that supports cause for concern, Morton said. To measure the effects of alcohol, researchers gave 19 post-operative gastric bypass patients and 17 control subjects 5 ounces each of red wine. They were told to drink their wine within 15 minutes. Each subject then had their breath-alcohol level measured every five minutes until levels reached zero.

The gastric bypass patients reached a breath-alcohol peak of 0.08 percent vs. the control group's peak breath-alcohol level of 0.05 percent. The bypass patients also took significantly longer to return to zero, averaging 108 minutes vs. 72 minutes for the control subjects.

"The bypass patients have a fundamentally altered alcoholism metabolism," Morton said. "They reach a higher peak more quickly and take a longer time to return to zero. Also, the patients aren't really aware of this. The Oprah show did us a favor by pointing it out."

About 150,000 Americans a year will undergo gastric bypass surgery, which can be a lifesaving procedure for morbidly obese people who are 100 pounds or more overweight. The surgery reduces the stomach to the size of a walnut so that patients can't eat as much and feel full after about an ounce of food.

The episode of the Oprah show discussed how patients feel faster alcohol absorption after gastric bypass because of their smaller stomachs. This physiological change could also contribute to a psychological problem referred to as "addiction transfer." In the case of gastric bypass patients, the addiction of binge eating, an issue for many morbidly obese patients, can be "transferred" into an alcohol addiction.

Gastric bypass alters a number of physiological functions in the body that may explain this change, in particular a decrease in the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase. That enzyme is most responsible for alcohol metabolism and is also most present in the liver and the stomach.

Another cause for concern, Morton pointed out, is that not only do patients get more relaxed socially from drinking alcohol, but this relaxation also happens inside the body. The lower esophageal sphincter tone decreases and gastric emptying increases when alcohol is consumed, potentially allowing patients to eat more food.

"Patients have to be careful with alcohol," Morton said. "They'll become tipsy a lot easier. Please don't ever drive after drinking. Also, they need to know the potential for weight gain from alcohol."

In addition to the alcohol study, Morton has completed a second gastric bypass study that found an improvement in cardiac risk factors in adolescents who undergo gastric bypass surgery. The second study was presented June 13 at the meeting of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery in San Diego.