I'm telling....

ON MYSELF! 

I did something that I shouldn't have last night.  I haven't been to work since the end of July because I was out of work a month before surgery with some other medical problems going on (stomach/GI problems).  So I haven't seen any of my co-workers in nearly 2 months.  Last night a group of them were going out to the one bar that some of them frequent.  Being that I didn't see many of them in a long time, I figured it would be a good opportunity to go out and do some socializing.

I got myself a glass of water, and was sipping that for a while.  But then they ordered a bunch of shots of this stuff the bar calls Big League Chew, it has bubblegum vodka in it and a few other things, and tastes just like bubble gum.  It's my favorite shot to have.  So I sipped my little shot glass of it.     But now I'm mad at myself, because I know that alcohol is supposed to be a big no-no for at least a year after surgery....  So I have to make sure that in the future I just avoid the bar all together. 

David

David I am glad that you told on yourself. Not only is alcohol a BIG no no for the first year, it is something that you want to consider seriously. I cannot tell you how many people trade one addiction for another, and for some reason the WLS pop tends towards trading it for alcohol. I have 4 patients on my case load right now that are dealing with this issue. Please consider it carefully.

After I got home last night, I was upset with myself for being so stupid and going to the bar in the first place..  I was kinda bored, and figured it would be a good way to get out of the house and see some of my co-workers..  The past few weeks I've been trying to make sure that I'm eating right, and pushing myself to exercise more every week, and so far I've had fairly decent results..  And then I go and do something stupid like that.   

But in the end, I'm only human.  So I'm just going to make sure that I learn from this stupid mistake, and make sure to avoid the temptation in the future!

David,
I am also glad you were man enough to be honest with yourself and us about this.  As Nicole said, it is easy for WLS patients to go from food to alcohol.  I was already an alcholic, sober five years when I had my surgery, and a year out, I slipped into a two year relapse.  Be super careful with that post-op. 

HUgs,
Trish

The worst part is that I knew that I shouldn't have gone to the bar anyways..  This is totally a self diagnosis, but I'm fairly certain that I have social anxiety.  And I'm also extremely shy.  Normally when I would go to the bar before surgery I'd be double ******* Jack & Cokes, sometimes I'd have 6 or 8 drinks in the first 30 minutes.  I would always be in a rush to get drunk, because I knew that once I got drunk I wouldn't be worrying about what other people thought of me, and I'd be able to be very outgoing and fun (I'm a happy drunk)..  Now that I can't get drunk, I am not able to be that happy-go-lucky carefree person, and the bar honestly wasn't any fun.. 

Luckily I was able to totally avoid Jack & Cokes, but I wasn't able to resist the temptation of the one bubble gum shot..  So I proved to myself that I just have to avoid the bar, no matter how much self control I think that I have.

David,
I always drank to get drunk, and it ruined me in the end.  I ended up in the mental health unit of a hospital in January, and they sent me to rehab. 

Try attending a few AA meetings and see if you can relate to any of the stories you hear..
God bless.

Trish

Here is a good tool I use for red flags with food, alcohol anything. If you are giving that substance a job it was not meant for then you may be using it i a dysfunctional way. For example: Food is for health and energy. It can even be for pleasure, and that is ok. But when the food starts having the job of,  soothing your nerves, entertaining you, comforting you, numbing you that is not a job it was intended for.  Alcohol is very social, some people think it tastes good. and it can be nice to have a slight buzz. BUT if you have to get drunk before you can even talk to people then of course you are giving it a job it was not intended to have,,,and that is to be your back bone, your personality, your social persona. Not only are you giving it a job that it was not meant to have, you are also setting up a false precident. That drunk guy is not you. Better to be you and shy, then drunk and a phoney.

Hugs to you. this is a very good lesson

Nicole, love this lesson.  Thanks for sharing it.