Support for those w/Alcoholism after surgery

Hello All:

I had gastric bypass in 2004 with terrific weight loss results. I was on the boards here often for about 2 years and now I check from time to time. I found the over 50 forum and my  surg. date forum invaluable to my weight loss success.

For the past 1 1/2 years I have had problems with alcohol. I accept that I am now an alcoholic.  I joined AA, last March,  relapsed and recently rejoined.

I attribute my alcoholism directly to my surgery for 2 reasons. 1 - the transfer of addictions, 2 - the difference in the way I now process alcohol. I drink get high and it passes so quickly that I drink more and the same process continues.

Working the 12 steps helps but I think we need to support each other as wls people. Our experiences with alcohol are different than most AA members. Therefore our treatment needs to be somewhat different, or rather more inclusive of our post surgical situations.

Anyone interested in giving support and sharing experiences here with me and others would be helpful. Maybe together we can help each other stay sober.
Thanks for reading.
Pat

 Hi Pat,
I can relate to you in so many ways, for me it is pills and do to that I chose to stop drinking.  I went to inpatient detox and almost all the women their where post gastric bypass patients.

I check this board several times a day.  Feel free to e-mail if you want.

Lea

I agree w/ you 100% - I too had surgery in 2004 and had no problems with alcohol until a couple of years ago (About the same time my youngest son graduated from high school and left for college.)
I know w/o question that a large part of my problem is transfer of addiction. In the 1980's I used every drug under the sun (Wanted to feel like I was at Studio 54!!!) In the 1990's, I used food in an addictive manner. Once I lost that ability, I had to find something else and too old to do illegal drugs - so turned to legal most deadly of substances - alcohol.
I use this forum a lot for support. In addition, another person who posts here a lot turned me on to a couple of on-line AA type forums - which are helping too. I think that we do need to offer support as those w/ wls have some additional issues that other AA members.
Anne

Hi Pat,

I had WLS in Jan 2003. I lost 178 lb in 15/16 months and became pregnant with my 2nd daughter. I delivered her in April 2005 and by July my addiction transfer from food to alcohol came to be. From July 2005 to September 3, 2005 my addiction transfer went from sips of drinks to a full drink to several drinks to 20+ drinks in less than 3 hours in ONE night. I nearly died and one would THINK I would have stopped. That wasn't the case.

Being an all or nothing gal I cannot have a drop to drink PERIOD if I WANT to have it all but it would take several more months, my having written my story for an online magazine (WLS Center dot com - Barbara Thompson), having fall outs with those I thought were friends and supporters (trust me this was a tough, eye opening experience not to mention painful) to be published nationally & internationally (People Magazine & Woman Magazine in the UK) and having my story told to millions & millions of people (even if it wasn't the full picture), to finally realizing that my addiction was going to be the death of me if I didn't stop.

I continued drinking until Aug 2007. I was at the beach with friends for the weekend following my birthday as I participate in EVERY year & things clicked. I haven't had a single drop to drink since. I'm 17 months into sobriety & its a struggle still. Lately, its been a daily one but I'm still sober, still fighting & still working to remain sober for the rest of my life. Its not easy but with support and accountability it CAN be accomplished.

Accepting we are alcoholics is an important step in our recovery. I do NOT blame my alcoholism on my weight loss surgery. In fact, my addiction to alcohol came about after WLS because food was not as easily used but alcohol was. I agree we as post-ops process alcohol differently than non-ops, that the high fades quicker and we can drink more & more building a very high tolerance to it thus leading us further into addiction. Its incredibly important to support one another. Its still a subject that doesn't get nearly enough attention/recognition.

I agree our treatment does need to be different. I believe some of the first steps to better treatment is the realization that weight loss surgery doesn't cause us to trade one addiction for another. What causes us to trade one addiction for another are underlying, unaddressed mental and perhaps physical & emotional issues often times that were present BEFORE we had WLS. For example, in my specific situation alcoholism is hereditary in my family. I'm quite aware of it and its long lasting consequences personally & in familial terms as well. Because I have not had food as a crutch since having WLS I turned to alcohol.

WLS didn't make me an alcoholic. It simply made it easier to extend my addictive behavior into another addiction other than food. Mental health is incredibly important with dealing with addiction transfer. I truly believe us as WLS patients are truly unprepared for the mental & emotional journey that we are taking when we have weight loss surgery. There certainly needs to be more emphasis placed upon it & what better way than those of us who have been there, done that.

I sincerely hope & pray for your continued sobriety and that of others here. I'm in this journey of sobriety as well. I intend on doing what I need to, to remain sober and to improve my life. Its really important to remember that we have to take each day as it comes. We are promised right here and now. Another significant point to be made is that we ALL need support, encouragement and love in our journey. We need to be open, honest & willing. That last sentence is something I've recently been playing again and again in my mind. What a powerful statement.

Please PM me if you'd like to talk more. I'm here to be supportive & encouraging.

All best!

Edited to add a couple things:

1) You can find more info on my blog. www.the-butterfly-chronicles.blogspot.com.

2) Daily Strength dot org is another site for help.

I'm going to PM you with some other details.

Pat -
Thank you for your message.  As a new person to OH and a new person to AA, I was glad to see that there were others out there who were balancing recovery from alcoholism with WLS. 

I have been going through the pre-operative testing phase of WLS since 9/08. When faced with the idea of giving up drinking, smoking and caffeine prior to surgery - I began to question myself as to whether I was an alcoholic.  My bottom came in October 08 and I have been sober for 80 days.  (90 & 90) is on the horizon. 

Though my AA sponsor and family are supportive -   many have serious reservations about me tackling smoking cessation (quit goal 1/24) and then WLS (April 09) so early in sobriety.  The way I look at it is this-  My higher power has placed a great opportunity in front of me -  Time in which I am receiving unemployment, am able to receive great support through 12 step fellowship daily and Cobra insurance which covers WLS.... and a time to really be honest with my self on a new level.    I want to be a sober, healthy and happier me. 

Thanks for being there-
Tisha

Hi Pat,
I am Trish, and I am an alcoholic.  I differ from most here because I was an alcoholic prior to my surgery.  I have been in AA since 1989, and have had periods of sobriety as long as 8 years one time, and 6+ years the last time. 

At the time of my WLS, I had over 5 years of sobriety.  I was working my AA program well, and doing well in all areas of my life.  A year ago, in December, I relapsed and began the downward spiral into the Hell of alcoholism.  My bottom is ugly, and I have struggled for the past year to get more than three months put together. 

What has not helped is that I have lost my two brothers suddenly since my surgery, and have also learned some serious things about myself in my psychotherapy. 

Most recently, I have been in an outpatient rehab program, and have been so resistant to it, I can't stand it.  I first spent 5 weeks in an intensive outpatient program, which met three times a week, for two and a half hours each time.  After that, I transferred to a weekly group that is an hour and a half long. 

I have yet to make goal weight, and really do struggle.  If I don't drink, I find my eating is worse.  I have pushed the limits of my sugar intake to learn just how far I can go without dumping.  My exercise has slacked off, and I am not making my protein goals at all. 

I have found AA support online by joining a Yahoo group that is called AA2.  I have a terrific sponsor, who has 16 years of sobriety.  I am really blessed with support and encouragement.  I just hate feeling the feelings and dealing with life on life's terms. 

I would love to be part of the support we have here more actively.  Please feel free to PM me if you wish.

Hugs,
Trish

Hi Trish and Pat,

My husband and I had WLS in 2/03 and we were basically teetotalers at that time.  I used to spend hours on this site in the beginning, but haven't posted in a very long time.  We began drinking a little about 2 years post op and have managed to both become raging alcholics for the past two years.  I can completely relate to so many of the stories that I've seen here and on-line.  My wonderful hubby ended up in the hospital for a week with pancreatitis right after the first of the year.  Dried out in the hospital (no-one really knew at that time how much we were drinking) and we swore off the bottle.  That lasted about 8 days and we have slowly been working our way back into the same pit.  A week after I got him home from the hospital, he got his first DUI and totaled our pickup.  A few more days of sobriety and we're back at it again.  I've been fortunate to not have gotten a DUI, but we both know we have to do something. 

Trish, you mentioned an out-patient rehab program.  How did you find the program you're in?

Well, good luck ladies.  It's early in the morning and my dh and I have vowed once again to not drink today, but lunch is still a few hours away.  btw, my hubby has a very well-paying professional position that affords me to stay home.  I'm afraid we're going to lose everything we hold dear to us.

Anyways, any direction you can send my way will be a help.  I'm going to check out the AA2 sight also.

Take care,

Cindy

Hi there,
I found the outpatient rehab program because I am active in AA and my son had been inpatient at a lot of the rehabs in our area to begin with.  Contact your local hospitals and ask about alcohol treatment programs in your area.  The hospital social worker should be able to direct you.  Also, go to www.aa.org and start learning about Alcoholics Anonymous.  Get to a meeting immediately and see if you can make some contact with the people there.  That website for AA has a link for AA meetings, and you can find a meeting in your area.  You can also read the AA Big Book there.

Feel free to PM me if you need more information. 

God bless.
Trish

I learned something interesting in my court mandated DUI Risk Reduction Class (yes - me too.. m too)

There is an "invisible line" or switch (they tell you this in AA too) that one crosses when they go from being a problem drinker to an alcoholic.  I learned in this class that part of that happens from continuous drinking above one's tolerance level.  Think about it.  My tolerance was NIL due to how I processed alcohol.  So every time I drank a little bit, I got drunk, and it was over my tolerance level.  The brain adjusted and began to depend on that effect.

I got sober in 2006, had a relapse and will have gotten a year once again this March.  I think part of it is indeed transfer, but part of it is physiological too.  Plus I think there is just a component of "ism" type personality too, and I certainly fit there.

You are in good company here!

Love all you guys,
Michelle

Pat,

Hi, your exactly right, I did the same thing.  Mine wasnt' with alcohol but was with pain medication.  It started out as nothing but soon I realized that I could get more done and not eat as much if I kept taking this.

Well that has gotten me into a lot of trouble.  I do think my whole personality has changed.  I had my Gastric in 11/03 and I feel like I'm more depressed/anxiety etc.

My husband said he would take back my 280 body to have the same person back.  Its sad..  But I'm in a 12 step program and taking Suboxone, its helping.  I'm checkign on psy. to see for the depression and I'm getting back to eating right.

Hugs,