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Coffee and Alcohol

J

Jamie-Sue30

Member
So I should be having surgery (Roux en y) next week and just had a couple of questions. I know that coffee and alcohol are supposed to be a nono, but is that forever or will it just be for a certain period of time? I love my coffee. I don't drink a lot, one cup a day usually. I also enjoy having a glass of wine with dinner once in awhile. Will I have to give these up forever? Thanks! :)
 
Hi Jamie-Sue, Welcome. Ciffee is just a temporary set back and I think afetr 2 or 3 months you should be healed up enough to introduce it back into your routein, just remember that coffe is a diuretic so it tends to dehydrate people so you may want to make sure you get enough water. Alcohol on the other hand is a nono for some people like myself and others have no problem, that choice will have to be yours. I made the choice to start drinking and within a year I was having problems stopping and it started to affect all aspects of my life, in otherwords a full blown alcoholic, but that is me and we are all different, there has been studies that show it is more common in men than women so chancer are you will be ok just watch for symptomes of a problem. :cool: Tom
 
Hi Tom,

Thanks for replying! I am actually a nurse on a surgical floor and take care of bariatric patients for 2-3 days after surgery. I just don't know the long term stuff, like after the first 6-8 weeks. I know that a lot of people become alcoholics after bariatric surgery. Infact, one study said that as many as 1 in 4 people become an alcoholic after bypass! Crazy statistics! I just hope to be able to tolerate a glass of wine after awhile. I don't drink very much now and doubt I will drink very much after..just occasionally. As far as coffee, I know the risk is to do with caffeine causing ulcers but I wonder if eventually that risk will decrease? I usually only have 1 cup of coffee per day so I'm hoping it will be okay. I am seeing the surgeon soon for my second appointment before surgery and hopefully I can ask her these questions. Thanks for the reply! :)
 
Jamie-Sue, Welcometo the forum. I wanted to also thank you for being a nurse and especially for taking care of bariatric patients :) There is such a shortage of nurses here in Michigan that a lot of the Detroit area hospitals actually bus them in from Canada on a daily basis. They provide direct transportation from Windsor to Detroit. A lot of X-ray, ultra sound, MRI and other technicians also come here to work from Canada because of the shortages in these areas as well. Back to your concerns. I was allowed to drink decaf but chose not to until well after 5 months post surgery and I now drink half-caff. The potential of alcohol addiction goes deeper than just being a light drinker or someone who thinks they can control their intake. More specifically, alcohol addiction replacing food addiction. It can, and has, happened to peope who rarely or ever drank alcohol prior to surgery. I strongly suggest to proceed with caution if you choose to drink wine with dinner after surgery and it would be better to abstain entirely. By all means discuss this with your surgeon, nutritionist or a psyhchologist who specializes in treating bariatric surgery patients. I'm not trying to lecture you by any means but since I grew up surrounded by alcoholics and suffered mentally and physically for many, many years this matter is very close to my heart.
 
Jamie-Sue, I agree with Pat but also I think there must be a physical reason for alcohol addiction after bypass. Possibly something to do with malabsorption issues and not being able to process alcohol as efficiently as before surgery.
I'm having the vertical gastric sleeve done, not the bypass. I also only drink occasionally. I would be interested in knowing if any sleevers out there had any problems with alcohol post-op.
I am also an occasional coffee drinker and was told that as soon as dehydration is not a huge problem, can go back to a cup a day (I usually drink less than that).
I have also been told that soda is now OK after surgery, where before they were saying never again. Have you heard anything about drinking soda post-op?
And BTW, welcome to the forum!
 
According to my surgeon, stay away from soda. The CO2 gas that is released will expand your pouch. I used to drink a very large amount of soda and stopped drinking it more than a year before my RNY just to make sure I could live without it :) Almost 5 months post surgery I decided I wanted some diet orange Crush. I poured a very small amount in a glass and stirred the bubbles out. The anticipation was killing me. I took a few small sips and then WHAM...I thought my pouch was going to explode. Apparently I didn't stir the bubbles out well enough. The orange Crush started bubbling back up not unlike a volcano *LOL* Not worth it!!!
 
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Hi Jamie-Sue,

I only have a Lapband but my dietary restrictions were that I could have decaf coffee or tea only, not too hot and sip it slowly. It has not been a problem so far. They even gave me hot tea in the hospital. NO carbonated beverages at all are allowed unless you let it sit until it is perfectly flat. Like Pat I started early with that and have not had any since before surgery. It will stretch your pouch. I do enjoy a glass of wine every once in a while. At first I couldn't tolerate wine but that passed after about four months. I too am a nurse and have cared for bariatric patients in their homes (removing drains and minor wound care when needed). Every once in a while I think I would like a diet coke but haven't given in to the desire.
 
The gastric sleeve, lap band, and Roux en Y all have different requirements. With the sleeve and lap band there aren't as many restrictions. With the roux en y, a small pouch is cut in the stomach which becomes your new stomach, they then attached part of the small intestine to the pouch. When they do this, they bypass the duodenum and first part of the jejunum which is where nutrients are absorbed. Alcohol is typically stored in your stomach, but the pouch doesn't store anything anymore so it basically goes right into the blood stream. This means that the effects of alcohol come on a lot faster, with very little alcohol and last for a lot longer. I was just wondering if eventually this wouldn't be an issue. I have no issues with waiting for a certain time period before having a glass of wine with dinner, I mean at least a year..but it would be nice to eventually have that option back again. The sleeve has less food intolerance's then the gastric bypass.

Because I'm a nurse on a surgical floor and take care of gastric bypass and sleeve patients, I have a great understanding of the anatomy of the surgery and also what happens for the first few days. It is long term that I need to understand better. It is all so scary. I'm getting so nervous. :(
 
Hi Jamie, This is Tom again. I wouldn't worry about alcohol and a glass of wine with dinner or while out dining. I was warned before hand that alcohol may become a problem and it did, with that knowledge I got help, it does not lead to alcoholism for everyone but knowing it, you are armed with the information to be on the lookout for any signs and symptoms. I was in denial for a few months but I also live alone and was able to isolate myself until my life started to spiral out of control, then I got help. So for now don't worry about it because it won't do any good anyways, just keep on track with what you need to do to get ready for surgery and the rest will work itself out. :cool: Tom
 
Jamie-Sue, Do you attend support group meetings? The one I'm involved with has a nice mix of newbies, people almost ready for surgery, and post-ops. You might be able to get some of you questions answered by some long-time post-ops.
 
Tom I definitely plan to wait for a long time before I attempt any alcohol at all. Who knows, I may not even want it. I'm sure I will be worrying about a lot more important stuff once I finally have surgery.

I have attended some preop support groups. They have a mix of people recently done, close to being done, and years post op. I just don't like asking questions in front of large groups of people. Crazy I know. :)

Thanks for all of your help. I am liking that I have this group to turn to.
 
Hi Jamie- Sue I dont drink because like Pat I grew up with Drunks all around me and I know in my heart of hearts if I started to drink I would go down that same path now that Food isnt such an addiction(Still have a problem with those damn potato chips) As for drinking with dinner my Doc said I have to want up to 45 min to an hour after I eat to drink any thing because my body wont absorb the nutrition from the food I eat. To this day I still can't drink any thing for about an hour it hurts. As for soda its a real NONO!!! Don't do it, it's really not worth it. Coffee I love it and have about 20 oz. every morning but I need to use Triva, sugar and the cafien will make me dump and thats really no fun. I tell you even with all the side affects of things I would have My Rny sugery again any time, Life is GOOD!!!!!
 
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