Question:
Alcohol Abuse
Since my surgery I have noticed that I have become a heavy drinker. It really hasn't effected my weightloss so far. I am just wondering if there is anyone out there that has gone through the same thing and want any advice that may be offered. Thanks! — posprudence (posted on November 9, 2007)
November 9, 2007
Yes, I have. She drank so much she passed out face down in her pillow and
died. She left two kids and a husband. Please get this under control
before it is too late.
— Carlyn M.
November 9, 2007
Hi Cassandra, I haven't experienced this myself, but based upon other posts
I have seen, if we aren't careful, we can substitute another addiction for
our food addiction. As has been said so often before, they operated on our
stomachs, not on our heads. Many, if not most, of us, require therapy
after our WLS to deal with our struggles. I urge you to reach out and get
this help. You can start with the therapist who did your psych eval and
get guidance from him/her. Please do!
— Jasmine130
November 9, 2007
It may not yet have affected your weight loss, but there is the concern
that your are fikking up on the alcohol and not eating what you should be
and therefore nor getting your necessary nutrients. Did you drink before
the surgery on a regular basis?Because another concern is that I wonder if
you have replaced your reasons for overeating with alcohol instead of
dealing with them and finding more reasonable and productive ways. I would
suggest that you contact the psychologist you saw for your preop eval ASAP
to discuss your alcohol abuse and explore possible reasons for this! Good
luck, and please keep me posted if you'd like to talk. My e-mail is
[email protected].
— obeseforever
November 9, 2007
It's called Cross-Addiction. Subsituting alcohol (sex, shopping, exercise,
etc.) for your loss of using food to cope, deal with stressors in your
life. Me, personally no. My very good friend is a full fledge alcoholic and
it's scary to see her in action. Truly. You need to get help
(mental-therapy-therapist-AA) to deal with the underlying issues of why you
drink and/or in the past ate. You have to get to the root of your addiction
before you can fix it. Please seek help. I see my friend fading away to a
former shell of herself (two kids, husband and is cheating and it's
just....NOT GOOD). Good luck and my thoughts and prayers are with you and
your family.
— jammerz
November 9, 2007
I agree with the other posts, and want to add that you made a courageous
decision to undergo WLS, presumably for your health, and now you are
killing your liver. We just spent six months living at a transplant
hospital, and trust me, you do not want to lose your liver. WLS doesn't
even compare to what we experienced and what many other transplant patients
experience. I thank God every day for my son's transplant and that he made
it through.
— Carlast
November 10, 2007
drinking is a big no no. Your liver processes it quicker now and cant
handle the overload of toxins. Someone I knew died from this after wls.
You need to get a handle on this quickly. You have already went through
alot to get healthy don't sabotage it with drinking. Good luck and good
health
— JohnK334
November 10, 2007
My daughter and I both had WLS and have both experienced the problem with
alcohol. Once you start drinking you don't seem to have the ability to
stop until you pass out. I have tried all types of different types of
alcohol, beer, mixed drinks, wine, and they all have the same effect. I
never had this problem before the surgery. I used to be able to have a
couple and the switch to soda, but not now. The only solution seems to be
not to drink. Good luck.
— rose2rose
November 10, 2007
A few things to keep in mind as you decide how, and to what extent (if
any), you can drink alcohol.
First, after RNY we metabolize alcohol differently. We do tend to get
drunk much more quickly (it is not broken down as easily before entering
the intestine and there is less food in our pouches to absorb it). Many of
us do tend to get drunk much faster on much less alcohol, but many of us
also feel that we sober up more quickly (not that this has ever really been
tested).
Secondly, the rates of true "cross-addiction" are minimal.
However, you need to appreciate that you were likely using food for some
sort of emotional or comfort factor before, and you can get a similar
release from alcohol. This can cause lots of problems. Whether or not
your alcohol consumption slows down your weight loss is really irrelevant
if your use of alcohol is interferring in your relationships, causing you
to feel uneasy, or getting you into situations that are either dangerous
(like drunk driving) or stupid (like drunk driving).
Listen, post-operative life has lots of golden moments, but there is also
(for many of us) a daily grind of being conscious of our eating and aware
of our food demons-- alcohol can be particularly tempting (particularly if
we content oursevles by only drinking zero carb liquors or low-carb beers)
to ease us through these stresses while providing something of interest to
our palates.
Given that you must be worried about your drinking, think about talking to
a professional who might be able to help you assess your alcohol use and
figure out ways you might be able to reign it in.
— SteveColarossi
November 10, 2007
As a Support Group Leader, I realized that I had a couple of people in my
group that where starting to drink quite heavily. I bought the subject of
"Trading Addictions" out openly in Support Goup and I am glad to
say that the 2 that I knew of has quit drinking completely. One has openly
said in Group that I was the one that made her realize what she was doing.
Don't go down that slippery trail. I am a recovering Alcoholic of 15 years
and quit long before surgery, so know that lifestyle and how easy it is to
slip into. Just stop and think. If you are asking about it in this Forum,
it says that you are conserned. Think hard about it. - Judy
— jk_harris
November 11, 2007
I agree with most of the answers you have been given. I stopped drinking
alcohol because i either got smashed on one or sometimes I could have 7 and
nothing would happen. My surgeon said that some people totally bypass the
absorption of alcohol. But the calories were killin me so I gave it up all
together plus it not good to substitute one addiction for another. I hope
all goes well for you....
— Diva4Him
November 13, 2007
Stop now! It will become more of a "compulsion" than an
addiction. You will not be able to control yourself. Please, I know - it's
absolutely nothing like when you drank before the surgery. Please stop now
before you can become dependant on it to the point that you can't stop!
— jengrz
November 23, 2007
Prior to my RNY in 2000 I wasn't much of a drinker. At about 6 months post
op I started experimenting with alcohol. I found I got a buzz quickly and
just as quickly lost it. I played around with it more and more and within
3.5 years I was a full fledged alcohol dependent alcoholic. I could not go
more that a couple hours without alcohol in my system before withdrawal
symptoms (tremors, nausea etc.) would kick in. My liver was suffering and
my kidneys started failing and yet I couldn't quit. I'm happy to say that
I found a way back out through AA. I've been sober over 3 years now. I
wasn't aware of cross addiction when all this started but I am well versed
in it now and whenever I tell my story I include my weightloss surgery and
addiction transfer. I also caution new post ops to use caution regarding
alcohol. I hope my experiences can perhaps prevent others from falling
unwittingly into the same trouble. Had I known then what I know now I'd
like to think I wouldn't have even started drinking but of course there is
no way to know that for sure. If you'd like to talk about this further
offline please feel free to drop me an e-mail.
— Kellye C.
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