That is obviously not working for us.
*Disclaimer - “But, MM! You’ve been photographed with The Drink! How dare you preach about the drink! I’m going to drink it anyway! Nanananana!” Yes. I have. There are lots of photos, mostly Facebook-style, one time taking one sip and having a seizure! The others? Totally product placement. I did not drink. Do as you please, but here is my truth. I am nearly seven years post gastric bypass, and I choose to have a sip or three on social occasions. This includes: weddings, uh, once a year, and perhaps a drink at an event. I typically regret imbibing even a sip or three quite immediately. But, just like food: I have selective memory. I get the “just a taste won’t make me sick” idea and it fails me, my gut, my brain. Are we clear? And, to be clear as mud, the more I learn, the more I know, and opinions change. Also, I will sip. I am SEVEN YEARS post gastric bypass.
Absurdity, n.: A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one’s own opinion. (Ambrose Bierce)
“Why can’t I have a drink, MM?”
Because I said so.
Imagine if curing addiction were that easy? I’d like to see it done this way -
Early post op, you absolutely, positively do not need alcohol coursing through your new, altered guts. There is NO excuse for it. Zero. None. Zip. NADA. (I left out Zilch, ’cause that’s a product for mixing sugar-free alcoholic drinks.)
This should be common sense.
You just had your intestines surgically re-arranged. You have a fresh stomach pouch that needs to heal. Do you really want to send alcohol through your raw piping? You wouldn’t send certain foods through there, why would you consider something so caustic as alcohol?
Seriously, “OMG! I totally swallowed a piece of gum, will I die?” But, “Tequila is low carb!”
The months pass, and you’re no longer a newbie, and make you feel like you can handle a little drinkie-poo.
“I am an adult! I deserve it! Damn it I am going to drink if I want to, I had this surgery to be normal!”
You might start researching drinks, you might hit up the Google for “sugar-free alcoholic drinks” wondering what’s good.
You may ask your pouched peers when they had their first drink, and what it was, and did they “get sick?” You might consider, “What if it makes me dump? What should I drink so I won’t dump? How much should I have?” completely ignoring the actual nutrition of most alcoholic beverages.
You decide it’s time.
Because, it’s “Christmas! And, I just saw this
great recipe/idea on a
WLS website so it
must be okay for Bariatric patients.”
This is where MM has the DUH realization (again) that people do take advice from the internet. BLINDLY. EVEN. “So and so said it’s good for me, so I will do it!” It doesn’t even MATTER if the information sucks.
Please do not take advice or suggestions from non-professionals on the internet. We are typically only patients, peers, bloggers or sales people with zero medical expertise. You are a big girl, you can make your own decisions. People on the internet with big mouths can only offer suggestions, but you must make solid, rational decisions based on what is GOOD FOR YOU. What is good for you must include input from your doctors, nutritionists, and your COMMON SENSE.
You’re feeling a bit powerful, ’cause you have a TOOL. And since you had WLS, you HAVE POWERTOOLS
MM! This means you are magically cured from any and all prior addictive personality traits! You may feel that you “never had a problem with food anyway,” so you will maintain FULL control of yourself when tempted. You might tell folks you were never an addict, and you were just an over-indulgent eater. Super.
Your pouch and you head to a holiday party and you are at least, partially successful in avoiding the 12 foot buffet table filled with pastries, and then you see the libations.
You are socializing and talking, and fill your little cup up with some wine, maybe even half of what you might have drank pre-op, you sip. The first sip hits you like a bomb, it burns all the way down into your pouch. You feel like you swallowed a Brillo Pad, if even for a second.
Then, maybe your ears get hot, maybe your face flushes. In the average non-WLS person, alcohol takes ONE MINUTE to hit the brain. You have a straight shot from MOUTH > SMALL INTESTINE, guess how fast it hits your brain?
INSTANEOUSLY.
Whee. “I think I already feel it. Holy shit, two sips and the room feels a little, whoa….”
“When consumed by the gastric bypass patient, alcohol readily passes through the stomach pouch largely unimpeded and into the jejunum where, due to its large surface area, it is rapidly absorbed. Research has shown that gastric bypass patients—even those that are three or more years postoperative—have a more rapid absorption of alcohol and a peak in blood alcohol content that is considerably higher than that of someone with normal gastrointestinal anatomy. (Bariatric Times)
You might “like” this. This might be tipsy, tipsy might be good. It might feel really good.
For some people it doesn’t feel good at all, and they are quite turned off by alcohol post WLS. (Ironically, this feeling now bothers me, because it feels like an oncoming seizure.)
Perhaps you enjoy it and soon, you’ve finished that glass and “Maybe just a little more?”
The buzz you had a short time ago, feels like it’s gone, even if the alcohol is still coursing through your blood. You are still drunk. You might drink more to reach tipsy again.
Patients should be warned about drinking alcohol too quickly because even relatively small amounts of alcohol, such as two small glasses of wine (0.3 g kg−1) might produce unexpectedly high BAC shortly after the end of drinking. Also when other surgical procedures are performed on the gut such as gastric resection and gastrectomy, a more rapid absorption of ethanol can be expected. The present experiment with alcohol as a model substance might have implications for the absorption and pharmacological effects of other drugs or when prescription drugs are taken together with alcohol. (Wiley Online Library)
This effect of alcohol on our post bypass systems is dangerous. We may not have ANY IDEA how DRUNK WE ARE, until we are passed out, in a coma, or driving home and crashing.
“You’re too dramatic, Beth, that won’t happen to me.”
Sure it won’t.
We aren’t talking about binge drinking here (although it happens), this can occur with relatively SMALL amounts of alcohol. I am pointing to the casual drink or two that hits too hard. I could potentally kill myself with one martini. There is NO WAY that I can drink hard liquor in one sitting. MM + Martini = Fun Down The Escalator! BOOM!
...Gastric bypass surgery may enhance alcohol sensitivity by altering the rate that alcohol is absorbed or metabolized. Such changes in alcohol sensitivity and clearance significantly increase the risk for alcohol toxicity and its deleterious consequences (i.e., liver disease, cardiomyopathy, loss of muscle mass and strength, neuromuscular and cognitive defects, gastritis, pancreatitis, acid reflux, and specific vitamin deficiencies) (Bariatric Times)
You’ve stopped drinking, either because you’re toasted, or you are AWARE you have had enough and made a choice to stop. Make sure to give a warm welcome to hypoglycemia!
Alcohol use may also adversely affect the health of the bariatric patient by increasing the risk for hypoglycemia and its potentially negative influence on cognitive function and neuromuscular control. (Bariatric Times)
Recognizing and treating hypoglycemia with a gastric bypass is hard enough, and it is a known side effect of the surgery. However, recognizing a low blood sugar and treating it effectively while you aren’t AWARE of it? That is “fun.”
Drinking, especially binge drinking, can cause hypoglycemia because your body’s breakdown of alcohol interferes with your liver’s efforts to raise blood glucose. Hypoglycemia caused by excessive drinking can be very serious and even fatal. (Islets of Hope)
Those of us with diagnosed reactive hypoglycemia post roux-en-y gastric bypass probably shouldn’t drink at all. The risk of dropping our glucose levels so low, and not being aware enough to fix it? Sure a couple glucose tabs and crackers will help you, but again, NOT IF YOU AREN’T AWAKE, dear.
Another problem with hypoglycemia due to the excessive consumption of alcohol? HYPOGLYCEMIA LOOKS LIKE DRUNK. I live with this, I know this.
Generally, symptoms of hypoglycemia include:
Mild Hypoglycemia
- Increased or sudden hunger
- Feeling shaky, dizzy or nervous
- Pounding heartbeat
- Drowsiness, feeling tired
- Sweating (cold and clammy)
- Numbness or tingling around the mouth
- Headache or stomachache
Moderate Hypoglycemia
- Any of the above mild symptoms, plus:
- Headache
- Personality change
- Irritability
- Confusion and/or difficulty concentrating
- Headache or stomachache
- Slurred or slow speech
- Poor coordination
Severe Hypoglycemia
- Any of the above mild or moderate symptoms, plus:
- Loss of consciousness
- Seizures and/or convulsions
- Death
You make it through the holiday season, and navigated your way through a few drinks, and you seem to be okay with handling yourself and alcohol. But, maybe you find a new craving for that “glass of wine with dinner,” and it becomes a pattern. Two or three nights a week, you’re having a glass of wine (other libation…) and soon you’re having it nightly.
Maybe then, you feel that a little “mommies’ sleeping pill” might help in addition to dinner, and you’re sipping wine to help you fall asleep. But, remember, you are still a gastric bypass patient, and maybe you feel normal, look normal.. but… this behavior may quickly NOT be normal.
by Lysa TerKeurst
by Connie Stapleton, Ph.D.
by Marta Meana & Lindsey Ricciardi
by Margaret Furtado & Lynette Schultz
by Brian Davidson, David Fouts & Karen Meyers
book, so I'm anticipating this cookbook will be just as helpful and packed with great information. 
. These two books together will help guide you through your decision making process --- for which surgery to choose and for how to choose a surgeon and bariatric clinic. They will also help prepare for what life will be like post-op in terms of eating, follow up care and how to handle the emotional stuff that comes along with the whole journey. Remember to research ALL four surgeries. Know as much as you can about each one and understand which one is the right fit for you - they are all good surgeries, but not all are good for every person. 
