SURVEY: PLEASE RESPOND

Good pm all,

I'm a regular on the VA Board and wanted to pop over here and post this message to everyone. To give some history I am a recovering alcoholic and have just hit my one year sobriety marker (25th August). I've struggled with Addiction Transfer after WLS. I'm extremely interested in helping others who are dealing with this as well. Please see below for my post. Also, please pop over and read my blogspot (listed in signature line) dedicated to this incredibly serious topic. :)

Please provide some important feedback, suggestions, concerns, etc. regarding Addiction Transfer. Please do so here in a reply or email at [email protected].

What suggestions do we have that we would like to see our surgeons, nurse practitioners, support groups, nuts etc implement in the weight loss surgery journey regarding Addiction Transfer?

What can we do to help them better prepare us as patients and them as doctor's throughout our journey to come TOGETHER and provide the best knowledge, support and care we can?

It's important that we come together as a community and really and truly give this a voice and do our best to provide one another with anything and everything we can to be as successful as possible during our journeys.

I appreciate everyone taking the time and effort to respond. This is an incredibly important topic of discussion and we will all benefit from the knowledge we will receive. So, let's be heard! I look forward to hearing from you!

Thanks!!

This is a great topic.  I am a recovering alcoholic who had over 6 years of sobriety, but I relapsed in December for about six months.  I will have three months sober on Monday, September 1.

I knew I was vulnerable to relapse when I first had my surgery, and I worked my AA program with gusto, but in December, I slacked off in my meeting attendance and self-care, and relapsed using alcohol to cope with the negative emotions that come up. 

My addiction awareness started 19 years ago, and I first began attending Overeaters Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous simultaneously.  I found the alcohol recovery to be much easier than the eating recovery, as food is a necessity for survival and moderation is next to impossible when the negative emotions came up.

My best suggestion to the medical professionals who provide WLS concerning Addiction Transfer would be patient education.  The facility where I had my surgery provides all their patients with a notebook educating on every aspect of the weight loss surgery, including recipes for each stage of the post-op diet.  Somewhere in that book should be a page dedicated to educating about addiction transfer and the need to watch out for certain drinking/drugging behaviors. 

I was already in therapy long before my surgery, and have been since, so I have been working on the emotional issues for a very long time.  Unfortunately, many who have this surgery are novices in the emotions department, and are most vulnerable to addiction transfer as a result.  I believe that requiring the psychological evaluation is good, but recommending therapy before and after would help considerably.  The book I received suggested it, but did not recommend it.  Big difference.

I hope this helps.  Feel free to ask me any questions, as I believe we need to support and educate ourselves, and these forums are a great resource for such a thing.

Hugs,
Trish

Hi Trish,

First, I thank you for replying. :) Next, I would like to ask if I can share your post as a blog on my blogsite? I would like to use your name to read "Submitted by Trish" if that would be ok. Then, I'd like to ask you if you would mind others contacting you should they want to talk with you? Lastly, I'm sorry you have been struggling. I imagine like me, you take each day as it comes and one day down is another day we're blessed to wake up sober and embrace it.

Thanks so much!

Hi there,
By all means you can share my post on your blog.  Also, feel free to PM me for my private e-mail address, and I will send it so you can refer anyone you think I can help.

Are you the same Kitty Kat who used to post on the Christianity Forum?  

I do try to take it One Day At a Time, and go with the flow.  Some days are more challenging than others.  I know one thing, if I drink, I am not capable of handling anything in life, so I must stay vigilant and work my program.

Thanks for your support.

Hugs,
Trish

Thanks so much Trish! I'll PM you after this reply. :) I am the very same gal! I've not been there in some time. Not for lack of caring or devotion to the Lord but more for working hard on this topic and reaching out in my community and such. There is a saying I've come across recently and its AMAZING!

"My worst day in sobriety is better than my best day drunk!"

You're welcome and thanks for yours as well. :)

I am so glad that it is you.  I think about you often, and had wondered what you were up to.  I am glad that the Lord laid it on your heart to work on this subject.  It is such an important topic, and happens to a lot of people with or without surgery.

When I first started attending AA, I started the worst of my weight gain.  I weighed 190 at that time.  The longer I stayed sober, the more weight I would gain.  My weight at surgery was 305.  Talk about addiction transfer.  I would have probably weighed more but I went to two eating disorder outpatient programs, and was in therapy and Overeaters Anonymous off and on for a very long time.

I may go back to OA for support someday.  Right now, I am staying active in AA, to ensure my sobriety.

Talk to you soon.

Hugs,
Trish

Hi Kat,

First let me congratulate you on your sobriety!! it's an amazing journey to go through the absolute lowest we can be to work our way back to sobriety. GOOD FOR YOU!  I've been sober 21 years now. I've not faltered with drinking, but unknowingly transered addictions big time w/out ever realizing that's what I was doing. I don't go to meetings often and didn't utlize AA when I should have. Doing this alone (with only some limited family support) is the hard way. AA is there for all of us and I wish I'd seen it that way back then. I DID follow the 12 step program, however, and it DOES work.  I've transferred my drinking to smoking (quit 21 yrs ago), eating, kink, shoes, jewelry, excessive shopping, etc. What stops me from taking that first drink? TOTAL FEAR of losing control of myself again. I know that one drink is too many and 1000 would NOT be enough. For me, abstinence works. I don't allow myself to be in a position where I'm at risk. (and that means using non-alcohol mouthwash, and avoiding eating anything cooked with beer, wine, or sherry! )

One thing I told my doc is that I planned on continuing therapy as I needed to figure out the triggers causing my compulsive behaviors. Those won't go away just because I had my plumbing re-routed! I'm still seeing a therapist and it's helping immensely!

I think surgeons should insist on ongoing therapy for at least one to two years post-op.  This is NOT a quick fix.  The drug of choice is the band-aid for things we're unhappy about. Without knowing WHAT they are, you can't fix the problem. I feel that most ppl take care of their physical health but totally forget or neglect their mental health.  I think there should be a stronger focus in the pre-op stages to help address the compulsive eating.

Feel free to have others PM me for my private email, and feel free to post this on your blog!

Marie

Hi Marie!

Thanks so much for your response! Thanks for the congrats! I'm very excited and happy. Taking each day and embracing sobriety. I am going to post this to my blog and I'll direct folks to to if they'd like to talk with you. Your points are wonderful & I'll be using them as well as other's thoughts and such in future talks and postings. 

Thanks
Kat :)