This was posted yesterday on facebook. Mary was a WLS in Ontario

I know a lot of you are wondering what happened to Mary to cause her death. I am friends with someone in her family and it is with their permission that I am posting this information to hopefully prevent this from happening to someone else who has had the surgery. Mary passed away from alcohol poisoning due to drinking too much. As you all probably know we do not process alcohol the same way as unaltered people do and it goes straight to our liver at full strength. It does not go through any filter or anything. Therefore it can affect us much quicker. For anyone who has had alcohol since surgery you probably have noticed that you feel drunk much faster than prior to surgery but that the drunk feeling leaves very quickly as well which means that you think you are sober and able to handle even more alcohol. The problem is that the alcohol is still in your system and affecting your liver. It is very sad that someone had to lose their life over drinking which caused alcohol poisoning. Please reconsider having that drink(s) because this CAN happen to you. None of us want to see anyone else pass away from this when it is preventable. I will admit that I have the odd drink from time to time but I do not drink excessively and never will. RIP Mary!!!! My heart is breaking for your family!!!

Karen Faubert-Newman - Chatham

Thank you for posting this Pat.  There have been many times that I have been tempted to have a glass of wine, but so far I've only had a maximum of 1oz.  From now on I think I'll stay away from even a small amount after reading this.  It's just not worth jeopardising my liver.

Did Mary post on this forum?

I do feel the need to clarify this post as it has been posted repeatedly and different groups and it leads to the wrong understanding of what happened.

Mary did not pass away because of alcohol poisoning.  Written this way it makes it seem as if it is a one time event that caused her death and people will suspect that It was aKin to binge drinking.  This was not the case and the poster had a recognized drinking problem and was trying to get help for it from what her friends have posted.  

There is a huge alcohol problem in the weight-loss surgery community. Huge. Whether it is because people start to become more social and start drinking or have transfer addictions, 1 1 out of 10 wls patients report drinking problems by 2 years out.   It is one of the most  scary and underlying problems in our community.  I have seen total nondrinkers become drinkers after surgery!

The problem is that before surgery we have a pyloric valve. That valve that slowly releases alcohol to the liver. This is how alcohol is supposed to be metabolized, slowly so that the impact of the liver is minimal. After Roux-en-Y that valve is taken out and alcohol goes directly to her liver. The liver cannot handle alcohol in the high doses and when it has to work overtime that's when basically when it will be overused and will start to die.

I have now seen three cases in our local support group of people that have passed away due to alcohol consumption. It is no joke. I've had many personally message me through Facebook or whatever telling me that they are drinking a bottle of wine tonight for instance.  And I know quite a few that I've gone through rehab through Renascent in Toronto  

If you're drinking prior to surgery please don't get surgery. And if you're struggling with alcohol now please get help. We have seen too many Mary's. And one is more than enough. It was scary and terrifying to see this happen in our community and I am so saD for families affected   One that I know of has said that it is a terribly painful death and if we can prevent any of these in the future it would be a great thing

Thanks for clarifying this. I thought it was important to post as a caution to those who were unaware of the consequences.   

WLS is a great tool and has given me back my life but I also know that unless I keep up the program I will be back where I was only with other issues as well.

Would you include VSG as well?

Thanks for elaborating Dawn.

My sister passed away 6 years ago from alcoholism. She hadn't had WLS. But I did see what an ugly, horrible, slow way it is to die. 

Every time I see a new postop ask when they can have a drink, a chill goes up my spine. They never, ever think it will be a problem for them. But for some of them, it will be.

I hope some folks learn from this.

Thank you for the detailed post. 

I had RNY 8.5 years ago. Before the WLSI was a social drinker.  I could have one, 2 the most if the evening was long.  And almost never if I was the driver. 

that changed post op RNY.... alcohol become my drug to help with gut pain. Severe gut pain. when I wanted to eat- I needed wine... I even  would say jokingly: " I can be hungry or I can be drunk - today I chose to be drunk..." 

I was drinking daily.... I knew I had to quit... and I did... I still miss my wine if my gut gets twisted (I have IBS-C) ..but I no longer reach for wine... I saw what it did to me... I did not like me when I was drinking... but I did not get RNY to become an alcoholic...

I am managing my IBS with proper diet and meds.  I found a great team of docs who are helping me ... 

Hello. I just read your post and it sounds so much like me. I had a couple of questions to ask you. I am 5 years post rny, lost 162lbs, regained 45. The last year or two I had slowly taken up drinking.I realise that it is now a habit and I rely on it to keep my stomach pain away, life in general seems easier is I can "deaden" the pain a bit. Well, I decided to take a break and stop drinking all alcohol.I am only 4 days in, and everything I eat hurts my pouch and my bloodsugar keeps dropping. I am not sure if this is how life will be forever without any alcohol or will things eventually level out. Im not having any withdawal symptoms persay, just lack of energy, bloodsugar drops and stomach pain. (And increased trips to the restroom) Did you experience any of this and did it get better? Any suggestions? Thank you very much for posting!

everything I eat hurts my pouch and my bloodsugar keeps dropping. I am not sure if this is how life will be forever without any alcohol or will things eventually level out. Im not having any withdrawal symptoms persay, just lack of energy, bloodsugar drops and stomach pain. (And increased trips to the restroom) Did you experience any of this and did it get better? Any suggestions?

Yes to some - no to others. BS - yes, alcohol can affect that a lot. It can cause destabilizing effect. That's why people who drink and try to stop - may have problem with that. Your drinking may have been partially caused by low blood sugar- hypoglycemia. Even mild. I know mine was. When I stopped drinking - it was become so visible, that I had a few severe Hypoglycemia episodes. "Passing out from it" episodes. But that is now a history. And the weight gain it caused - trying to deal with it and trying to lose weight was close to impossible.

The think that worked for me was nut butter. Even 1 the of nut butter (nsa- no sugar added) helped with BS and not gaining too much weight for it.

Pain ,- that unfortunately is here all the time, at times. I have days that pain is every time after I eat any dense foods.

Google SIBO, ibs-D, plus FODMAP diet. Read about it as much as you can. I have SIBO and ibs-C. Plus candida.

Now I control my pain and symptoms with diet mostly, plus every once in a while- maybe every 6-8 months or so - I need RX antibiotics plus anticandida rx to have 2 weeks treatment to keep SIBO under control. I am there now. I rather not eat that eat and hurt at times. O well. I am traveling now, but when I get home - I need to deal with that.

I found a gastrologist doc who is familiar with SIBO, leaky gut, etc etc. Not every of them know or understand that conditions. Hope you find one that does. I had to fire one and find someone who "gets it" .

By now - you probably have some food allergies. Get tested. Leaky gut may cause semi-reversable food allergies. I had to be very careful with some foods for 2-3 years, complete avoidance, but now I can have some of it and not feel like I am dying. Some I still can't and probably never should have (allergies to whey and other dairy proteins)

I had to increase fats and proteins. I had and still do mostly - eliminated grains, most fiber, most foods that are on high FODMAP diet. When my SIBO is under control - I may risk having a piece of bread, or a few bites of some veggies and not be in severe pain. But - like now - even some foods that I could have little of - cause severe pain maybe 10-20 min after I eat. Pain that can last 30-40 min, or 2 hours. Enough pain to have me lay down on the bed with my knees to me chest. Pain enough to reach for pain pills.

There is medication- hyoscyamine sulfate - that can be prescribed as sublingual pill for gut cramps. I don't leave house without it. But that can often not be enough. I don't even butter with one - when my gut starts screaming -i take 2-4, depends on the pain and twisting. In the past I took 1 or 2 after almost any meal. Had to. But modifying my diet, plus SIBO treatment changed that. I don't like the side effects (dry mouth) but it is better than pain.

If the pain can't be mitigated with diet - you may have hernia (I had 3 surgeries to correct 3 abnormalities in 5-6 years post op RNY) or adhesions that restrict the flow of food and cause pain. Diet will change the symptoms so much.

I get pain if I eat bread or eat some high fiber vegetables, or some fruits. But dense proteins, as long as I chew that well - and have with no onion, it garlic or sauce - I am fine. Some nuts actually help with the pain, and gut movement. Others - high in carbs, will hurt.

Get a very detailed food diary. Record every bite and symptoms after - up to 24 hours after.

Read on the stuff I mentioned - do your homework.

Then if you need my help with figuring out your diet to help your symptoms- pm me.

I am still figuring out my system. Plus - the bacteria in our gut change and adapt -when I think "I've got it" - my gut laughs at me and throws me a curve ball. So not right.

Now I say "I've got it today" , I'll figure things out tomorrow as it goes.

Hugs.

Thank you for this informative response. I'm not a member of your boards (I'm in the US and over on the RNY board) but I am a consumer of alcohol. This was the first clear explanation I've found. It makes sense/meshes with the other information out there but somehow you've explained it far better than others.

One of the oddities for me has been that I don't feel intoxicated when I drink. I think now I understand what is happening - I'm taking in small amounts (1/4 oz) with long interludes between them which is letting my brain recover without the buzz but the alcohol is still piling up in my liver. I've been limiting myself to small amounts of red wine, with several alcohol free days between them. I worry about my liver, and your explanation of what is happening has helped me better understand it.

I'm not pledging to abstain here and now, but you've definitely pushed me to reconsider my choices.