Gastric Bypass Surgery Support Group

Gastric bypass (GBP) is any of a group of similar operative procedures used to treat morbid obesity, a condition which arises from severe accumulation of excess weight in the form of fatty tissue, and the health problems ("co-morbidities") which result. If you are considering gastric bypass or have had it, join the community where we share our experiences and find support.

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pianodiva 01/18/2016

Hi all,

So after surgery we're not supposed to have wine and we're to stay away from bread. I'm doing just fine with both of those--but when I went to church last weekend I was served Communion. I was given a 1/2" square cube of bread and a tiny glass, probably a 1/2 ounce, of grape juice (we can request either wine or juice but this place knows me well enough to not bother giving me wine anyway).

Being brought up Catholic, I didn't want to refuse the bread, but I didn't want to jeopardize my stomach either. I also had no way to dilute the juice so I could drink that, so I had to turn the entire thing down. A fellow choir member saw my distress and offered to give my host and juice to the birds outside.

For those of you that go to church, how do you handle Communion?

ratsack 01/18/2016

well my son said something to me at church on Sunday about it. nothing magical in communion and if you believe and trust in Jesus as your lord and saviour then nothing will keep you out of heaven. not even missing out on communion as it is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible that communion is essential for salvation.
I will however be taking it each week when it is offered. if i dump then so be it. it is only a symbol to remember Christ's sacrifice, so if you don't have it I am sure he wont mind as long as you remember Him when the others are having it.
Thus ends today's lesson

sweetconfusion 01/18/2016

Most catholic churches I have been to serve the hard flat "disk" as bread, if this is the case where you are CHEW extra well but you shouldn't have an issue. Wine and Juice you will need to learn as you go bc everyone is different. I cant do either one

How far out are you from surgery? I your not in the "eating stages" I WOULD AVOID BOTH

akgirl48 01/18/2016

I am Mormon and so is my surgeon. We have bread and water for sacrament and I asked him. He suggested that I not take the sacrament for my first two Sundays and then take the smallest piece of bread and chew, chew, chew. It worked just fine. That was the best piece of bread I have every had, maybe it was because it was the sacrament, maybe it was because I haven't had bread in so long. I think people will be fine. Heavenly Father takes care of us. Good luck all church goers.

soulsearcher83 01/19/2016

If they know you, and it sounds like they do, can you request that they bless your own wine and bread substitute? Like ask for water instead of juice or wine. I'm not sure of a bread or cracker substitute. It's been a while since i went to catholic church but i remember as a kid letting it dissolve in my mouth. Check with your doctor if it's ok to do that at your stage or maybe someone else on here has a good substitute?

soulsearcher83 01/19/2016

Or bring a bottle of water to water down the juice and ask for a smaller amount of juice.

Lcat4 01/19/2016

I can't imagine that small of amounts would cause a problem. Just melt the bread in your mouth first

SgtSmith 01/22/2016

I didn't have that issue come up real soon after surgery. However I did communion with no ill effects since then.

imjj4short 01/23/2016

For the first month after my surgery, I didn't partake. Then, I started taking the smallest piece of cracker and the juice. I drink water before and after communion and chew the cracker to a liquid. I dump easily, but haven't had any problems. If you can't control the size of bread they give you, is there someone you can share it with?

JJ

pianodiva 01/23/2016

Thanks, all. I keep a water bottle on the organ bench next to me and am costantly sipping through the service, much to the amusement of my choir members. If I keep that up and request grape juice instead of wine, as well as melt/chew the bread thoroughly, I should be okay. I'm five weeks and one day post-op and still in that stage of constant worry that anything new will make me get sick. It's happened twice already and I don't want it to happen again--especially in church!

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