The short answer is NO. But it is the why that is most important! 

Let’s start off with what actually happens to the stomach after endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty or the gastric sleeve. With both of these procedures, the size of the stomach is significantly reduced to about 30% of its normal size. With the gastric bypass the size of the remaining stomach is even smaller, like the size of a hard-boil egg. 

With a smaller stomach after bariatric procedures, now every time a patient drinks alcohol, there is less surface area to expose the alcohol intake to an enzyme (protein) called alcohol dehydrogenase that helps break it down. Also the longer the alcohol stays in the stomach, the better its breakdown by alcohol dehydrogenase would be. But with a post-bariatric stomach, the alcohol travels down to the small intestine faster and thus gets absorbed quicker! This is why patients feel “drunk” faster after drinking even smaller amounts of alcohol. This however can have detrimental effects to the liver as post-bariatric endoscopy/surgery patients can develop alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis faster than patients without these kinds of procedures.

Now with more alcohol readily available in the body; it inhibits the absorption of thiamin and other B-complex vitamins, reduces activation of certain vitamins like Vitamin D, and stimulates the breakdown of Vitamin A, pyridoxine, and folate. Other nutrients that are depleted with excessive alcohol intake are vitamin C, Magnesium, Calcium, Zinc, Iron, and Potassium. These nutrients are really important for your immunity, heart, bones, central nervous system and fighting cancer and diabetes among other things. 

Therefore, needless to say, REFRAIN from drinking alcohol after your bariatric endoscopy/surgery procedure.  Experts recommend for at least 1 year. Thereafter, know that your alcohol tolerance will be drastically lower and that is OK. Your body doesn’t need alcohol and it will appreciate more you loosing those extra pounds. #saynotoalcohol #weightlossjourney #besafe #IGotYou