Caffeine and Alcohol

[NYCGIRL000]

I am two months out...My nutritionist told me I can have caffeine now but only two cups per day and my dr said alcohol is fine 5-6 weeks after surgery. So far I've only had 3 sips of a white russian. I'm scared I'm going to get sick and I used to drink wine every night! I'm just scared alcohol will make me sick so I'm trying to test it slowly lol

[sraebaer]

I drink caffeine and alcohol, but I'm 4 years out. At the beginning it was no alcohol, but I did have a cup of coffee a day right after surgery. Doctor never said I couldn't.

[A Fairly Odd Panda]

Hi there! o/

My surgeon said the reason why we are told to get off coffee 2 - 4 weeks pre-op is not because it has harmful effects, but because patients have withdrawal symptoms. Patients were needing to receive caffeine intravenous while still in the hospital recovery ward because some of them were so addicted they were going through severe withdrawal. Additionally, caffeine is a diuretic and can dehydrate you. I can tell you right now, in these early months post-op it is a struggle to get in the fluids you need already. Compound that with a diuretic, you are setting up for problems. This is why they say to ween off of caffeine. It is ultimately to assist you in making the journey easier.

Now, I am about 6 weeks post-op and I do drink caffeinated tea. I have not yet tried coffee. Tea holds just fine, but I don't drink it daily. Caffeine is an addiction just like smoking, booze, food, etc. It is much easier to ween off of it than go cold turkey.

Booze is another matter. Alcoholic beverages have calories but 0 nutrition. You will have very limited space with which to fill your body with proper nutrition. Alcohol is devoid of nutrition and is also a way to dehydrate yourself. Also, because of the reduced amount of stomach acid, its effects will hit harder and faster in most people - especially bypass patients. It has also been found that up to 25% of bariatric patients fall into alcoholism for many reasons. They no longer can emotionally cope using food so they turn to drink. Additionally, post-op patients have a higher DUI risk because that small bit of alcohol. I am not saying you will do this - I am only repeating what I was taught in my mandatory pre-op classes and the seminars I attended to prepare for this journey.

I have not tried alcohol and I likely will not for a while. Even then, I will tread very carefully.

Hope this was helpful!

[Tommy1969]

I think the main reason they don't want you to drink alcohol is because of the calories. Just need to be smart about how many you have in my opinion. I was a relatively heavy beer drinker pre-op. Now I have an occasional vodka with diet lemonade. Believe it or not I have also made frozen drinks with the premier protein shakes and vodka as well... kill 2 birds with one stone... I do know that this will slow my weight loss but personally, I need a drink every now an again to relax...

[NYCGIRL000]

Alcohol is fine if you do it on occasion and count it in your carbs or calories, whatever you are doing. Unless your an alcoholic I dont think anyone who had this surgery is going to make it a daily occurrence...I may have a couple drinks once a month if that and I used to drink wine daily. I just dont have the taste for it anymore like i used to.

[ghost_ryder]

There are more reasons than that Tommy. Because the stomach is mostly removed, part of the stomach that creates to enzyme that breaks down alcohol is removed also. This sends straight alcohol to the blood stream instead of diluted/brokendown alcohol. This alcohol then damages the liver more easily because of the enzyme is missing. And lastly, most bariatric patients are "addicts" and can sometimes replace one addiction for another when they cannot satisfy the person with food. Most people are perfectly fine because they can physically only drink so much but...don't go driving afterwards because your BAC will be significantly higher than pre-op because of the missing enzyme.

[ghost_ryder]

http://bariatrictimes.com/alcohol-an...ypass-patient/

[NYCGIRL000]

This is true!!! My sister had gastric bypass 11 yrs ago and became a raging alcoholic! Another reason I'm scared to drink! I don't know how she is even alive. She lost everything... Job... Family... So sad

[Kimsterama]

I wrote a reply but it got deleted for some reason! Here it is again! Wow!! Thanks for ALL the GREAT replies!! I drink 2 cups of coffee a day but it's great to see the reasoning behind giving it up before surgery. I will do my best, and replace the coffee in the am with a protein drink, see how that goes! As for alcohol, I can take it or leave it, I do enjoy a few drinks once in a while, and to see the reasoning behind it, I think I will rather have solid calories in my belly than alcohol! so that makes sense! Thanks again for ALL the GREAT replies!!!

[sraebaer]

I think the main reason they don't want you to drink alcohol is because of the calories. Just need to be smart about how many you have in my opinion. I was a relatively heavy beer drinker pre-op. Now I have an occasional vodka with diet lemonade. Believe it or not I have also made frozen drinks with the premier protein shakes and vodka as well... kill 2 birds with one stone... I do know that this will slow my weight loss but personally, I need a drink every now an again to relax...

Yes, that's exactly what my doctor told me, empty calories. (Not to mention you can no longer drink as much as before!!)

[klecko]

Over 3 years since my surgery. Never an issue with coffee, beer, ect.... Started drinking coffee day after surgery. Beer about 4 months.

[southernmom]

I waited until 2-3 months out before I started drinking coffee again. I have always been a big coffee drinker. When I started back, it was half milk/half coffee. I didn't want to risk irritating my stomach. I'm now back up to three cups a day without any issues. (Not black) I haven't had any alcohol in almost a year. I tried a glass of wine a few months ago, and it really upset my stomach. My doctor told me to wait a year, and I'll be approaching that date in a month. I may try again at some point, but I don't really miss it. I haven't tried any soft drinks, because I know that they are against the rules. I was never a big soft drink drinker anyway.

[jamma]

Almost a year out and I still cannot drink carbonated beverages at all which includes beer. I started coffee about a month post op. Started slowly, and now I'm drinking one cup of BOLD coffee and am a happy camper. I drink mixed drinks and wine with no ill effects except it slows (stops) weight loss for me and I have to keep it to a minimum because the alcohol really takes affect FAST! It also makes me crave other carbs, and that is not a good thing.

[mellowjoy]

Follow your doctor's guidelines. That is the person you'll have to get help from if things go wrong. You don't want to be in the position to tell him/her that you ignored their advice. Personally, my doctor let me have coffee as my first drink in the hospital post op. He said if coffee was the worst thing I abused after surgery then he would be ok with that. I drink 2 cups of coffee every morning and I may have an after coffee decaf after dinner in the winter.

Take care of your new stomach and it will take care of you.

[Sarcastic_Bard]

After a few months I started drinking coffee again, and I have a cup or two a day. I rarely have an alcoholic beverage, and when I do it's non carbonated and I take a while to drink it. I haven't had soda pop of any kind in about two years. I drink a lot of water and iced tea, and G2 when I need to replenish the electrolytes (I jog 25-30 miles a week so I really have to be careful about electrolytes and hydration).