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Eating in Restaurants and Drinking Alcohol with a Gastric Band
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by David Keogh, December 15th, 2013
A very common question we hear from patients when first enquiring about our gastric band program is “Can I still go out to restaurants and enjoy my meals?” It’s also quite common to be asked “Can I still have a few drinks?” To address both questions quickly, the answer to both is yes, of course!
Regarding eating in restaurants, there is no reason why you cannot do this! The gastric band is designed to restrict the amount of food you are capable of eating whilst providing a feeling of satisfaction having eating a small portion. If a patient is having issues with eating in a restaurant, their gastric band is probably slightly over-restricted and they should come into the clinic to have a small amount of fluid removed. There are very few foods that patients with gastric bands cannot eat. However, there are some. Almost 100% of patients cannot eat white bread after gastric band surgery. The reason for this is quite simple. White bread tends to bind itself together when eating it. It never really breaks down. The result of this is usually a small lump of wet dough, which can get caught in the band, causing the patient discomfort. Low quality steak and low quality sausages can do the same thing. With this in mind, you simply avoid choosing these foods when eating.
Regarding alcohol, there is no problem with having a couple of drinks on a special occasion. However, gastric band patients will be slightly restricted on what they can drink. People with gastric bands are unable to drink fluids which contain carbonated gas as it causes allot of pressure to build up under the band, creating discomfort. With this in mind, fizzy drinks, alco-pops and beer cannot be consumed after a gastric band procedure. In general, stouts, wines and spirits are no problem for our patients. It may mean having to slightly change from a vodka and Coke to a vodka and blackcurrant, but it is a small price to pay for the returns you get!
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