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Can You Drink Alcohol After Gastric Sleeve Surgery?

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Alcohol after bariatric surgery

If you’re considering having gastric sleeve surgery in Tijuana, you might be wondering if drinking alcohol after gastric sleeve is okay. This is a common question the weight loss surgeons get.

So in this post, let’s discuss the gastric sleeve and alcohol connection, and if you can drink it.

What Is Gastric Sleeve?

With a sleeve gastrectomy, about 70% of your stomach is removed. Your new stomach is much smaller and thinner. This causes you to eat less, which ultimately helps you lose weight.

Can You Drink Alcohol After A Gastric Sleeve? Issues To Consider

Nausea from alcohol

Drinking alcohol after your bariatric surgery can cause nausea. If you start feeling this sensation that you’re going to be sick, stop drinking the alcohol immediately. Take anti-nausea medications, drink water, and lie down.

Also consider eating ginger and getting some fresh air. If alcohol continues to make you nauseous, you should stop drinking it.

Vomiting

Vomiting is not an uncommon occurrence after gastric sleeve surgery. However, alcohol can exacerbate this issue. While it may not cause lasting damage to your stomach, if you vomit due to alcohol, it could become swollen and inflamed. This is going to cause unpleasant side effects including pain.

Also understand that you can get intoxicated faster when drinking alcohol after your gastric surgery. Vomiting should be avoided when it’s not necessary after your gastric sleeve operation.

Extra intoxication

Understand that you’re going to be losing a lot of weight very quickly. In addition, you won’t be able to eat as much food. This causes two intoxicating effects.

Number one, there’s less food to alcohol ratio. That means the alcohol will have a stronger effect. Aside from that, since you don’t have as much weight to carry around, you’ll get drunk faster.

If you have alcoholism or difficulty staying sober, contact a friend. Ask them to help you stop drinking or check in with you. An occasional drink isn’t the end of the world. You should not make it a regular habit or overindulge. And never drink alcohol when you haven’t eaten anything.

Alcohol abuse

Understand that obesity is often caused by addiction. Alcoholism is another type of addiction, except instead of craving food, you crave the sugars or the intoxication from the alcohol.

Now it’s not necessarily true that obese people also have alcohol addictions. However, the type of mindset that allowed you to become obese could blur over into alcohol abuse. So keep a careful watch on your alcohol intake.

If you feel like you have an issue, contact your surgeon, therapist, or sponsor.

Healing

When the body has to process alcohol, it heals slower. More energy goes to relieving your body of this toxin instead of going to enhancing your tissues that are still recovering from surgery.

So can you drink beer after gastric sleeve surgery? Perhaps, but it’s not a good idea.

Dehydration

Alcohol dehydrates you. It’s important to drink a lot of water and fluids when you’re first recovering from weight loss surgery. This is particularly true in the first several weeks and months. Alcohol takes away from this timeline.

Acidity

Acidic foods and drinks like coffee, alcohol, and soda are not good for your digestive tract or your healing process. Furthermore, they can cause GERD, acid reflux, and heartburn. Not only is that uncomfortable, it can eventually cause more chronic issues with your gastrointestinal system.

Read more about what to consume after your surgery here.

Should You Drink Alcohol With A Gastric Sleeve? – Summary

Drinking alcohol can be done in moderation and very rarely. However, when you’re first healing, it’s best to leave alcohol alone. You’ll be able to experience weight loss, a lifted mood, better energy, and even an enhanced love life. But alcohol can take away from your ability to feel better as you’re adjusting to your new youthful body.

Learn About Alcohol After Gastric Sleeve Surgery in Mexico

Contact Dr. Jalil Illan Fraijo to help you lose weight rapidly. With the right Tijuana Gastric Sleeve Surgery, you can begin to regain the energy you had decades ago. If you have further questions about alcohol or other foods that you can consume while recovering, feel free to reach out and schedule a consultation today.

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