Alcoholism after surgery

[My350z06 48]

Be fore I get into the nitty gritty of this post let me tell you about my background. I had the sleeve done on 11-2012 and was by far the best decision I ever made. I will advise anyone with a weight issue to proceed with this procedure. I weighed in at 393 pounds the day of surgery and after two and a half short years I got down to 218 lbs ( dream goal is 210). I have been large all of my life (311lbs in 10th grade) and at 38 years old I felt great about myself. I was losing 8-10 lbs a week at my prime and slowly stopped as I was able to consume more food but nothing to be alerted about. I noticed at my smallest weight I was very weak and kept telling myself I need to get stronger if I was going to maintain this weight.

Before my procedure I could not control my food intake but had no alcohol issues at all. If I had 3-4 drinks a month and that would be a lot for me. Food was my deal back then not alcohol. So about two years ago I went out with the boys and one of them bought me a beer. I was like what the hell, I'll have one (first in 2 years). It took me about an hour to drink the entire bottle. As time went on I notice that the one beer turn into a six pack in a week then into a 12 pack over a weekend. I slowly started drinking regularly and with that I slowly started to put weight back on. I took a step back to evaluate what was going on just to find out that I was still consuming the same amount of food that I did before but my weight was increasing. The concern now is that the alcohol is taking over the place of the food issues that I had. Having a food issue pretty much all of your life was normal to me but now trying to figure out if you have an alcohol problem is what I am struggling with. How did this happen and why all of a sudden now? It took everything in me to get myself to have the surgery and now I am facing another hurdle to get over. To this day I am still struggling on this issue an I can't stress enough that if you get faced to introduce alcohol back in you diet please DON'T do it. You may think you have control but chances are you won't. This is a small reach out to anyone that may have had a similar issue. Please reach out if you think you may have any advice or a similar story.

Thank you for your time

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[Hiraeth 515]

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. I think it's very likely that you have emotional issues that you need to see someone about. The reason is because, at first, you were overeating. Now you have found another way to comfort yourself.

Do you actually crave the alcohol now? Or are you doing it to feel something?

[clc9 644]

My surgeon mentioned this happening to some people as a caution. Many of us have addictive personalities to start with or we wouldn't have abused food to the point of being so overweight. You take away one addictive coping pathway and sometimes another one takes its place. He said the only patient he's had who regretted surgery was one who became a drug and alcohol addict who's wife then left him.

I wish you all the best. You beat one problem, you can beat another! I'm just sorry you have to in the first place.

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[jellybean12 65]

Hello -

My closest friend has surgery about 10 years ago.Lost a lot of weight. About 4 years ago one beer became two, two became 4, and so on. Just like you are describing. Sad to say that a rough home life expanded the situation and she became a very unhappy alcoholic and still struggles. I know this is not uncommon, for all the reasons others have said. Plus I think our bodies are just wired for "addiction" sometimes.

It truly sucks. And I am sorry you have to struggle with this. But, like someone else said, you have done it once. You can do it again. Don't let shame keep you from getting the support you need. Life is too good. Don't give up on having what you want.

[JamieLogical 8,727]

It is incredibly common to swap one addiction for another. WLS means we can no longer sustain an addiction to food, but there are plenty of other vices out there to turn to. That's why there has to be mental/emotional work along with the physical change of surgery.

I have always feared alcoholism as it tore my mom's whole family apart. So I have always had strict rules for myself around alcohol. I never drink when I am upset/depressed. I never drink alone. And I never drink at home unless it's a special occasion (like a party or friends/family are visiting).

But my addictive personality has led me to other things, like video gaming addiction and exercise addiction.

[aqua24 35]

I think it is great that you brought up the topic and shared your experience. Our program has stressed to us that there is an extremely high rate of alcoholism after wls. They said people who rarely drank before are being admitted to inpatient treatment programs with 1-3 months of their first drink after wls.

It is an important topic to discuss. Thanks for sharing. I wish you all the best.

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[SeaShells82 96]

I think it's great that you've recognized an emerging problem before it's able to derail the amazing progress you've made. I'm a nurse and one of the tools we use to assess for potential problems with alcohol is called the "CAGE" assessment. It's 4 quick yes/no questions and can be a great way to gauge whether or not someone might have a problem.

C: Have you ever felt you needed to CUT down on your drinking?

A: Have people ANNOYED you by criticizing your drinking?

G: Have you ever felt GUILTY about drinking?

E: Have you ever felt you needed a drink first thing in the morning ("EYE OPENER") to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover?

Two or more "yes" responses mean the possibility of alcoholism should be investigated further by a medical professional.

I hope this information helps. food is a way of self medicating for many of us and when that is taken away, it can be very easy to adopt other unhealthy coping mechanisms. Best of luck to you on your journey (and to anyone else who might be reading this and struggling with a similar issue).

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[cajrich85 15]

I'm also dealing with this issue. I had surgery July 9,2016. I was losing pretty steadily, but this past month has slowed down a lot. My dad is an alcoholic, and I've always been a "drinker". One of my first questions after surgery was..."when can I drink vodka again?" Now though.... I don't feel like I'm a drinker, I feel like an alcoholic. I'd rather drink liquor than eat food. (Since we can't do both at the same time) I also don't want to not drink ever again, sooo I'm having a hard time deciding to seek help. This is definitely complicated and scary and something all wls patients should consider and think about prior to surgery.

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[Treadmillwalker 486]

During my six months of preoperative classes we heard this can be an issue. Our society accepts going out for a drink as part of our social norms. Vodka has names and flavors like "birthday cake." Schnapps and whiskey all come in fun flavors. I know that I can't drink hard liquor because it changes my personality. A glass or two of wine on a night out works for me with glasses of club soda and Protein (cheese) in between. The first step is recognizing your limits and we what is an issue.

Banded 10/12/16

Edited December 22, 2016 by Treadmillwalker

[My350z06 48]

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. I think it's very likely that you have emotional issues that you need to see someone about. The reason is because, at first, you were overeating. Now you have found another way to comfort yourself.

Do you actually crave the alcohol now? Or are you doing it to feel something?

Thank you for your response. I don't crave it. I didn't crave food before but I didn't know how to control how much I was taking in.

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[My350z06 48]

Hello -

My closest friend has surgery about 10 years ago.Lost a lot of weight. About 4 years ago one beer became two, two became 4, and so on. Just like you are describing. Sad to say that a rough home life expanded the situation and she became a very unhappy alcoholic and still struggles. I know this is not uncommon, for all the reasons others have said. Plus I think our bodies are just wired for "addiction" sometimes.

It truly sucks. And I am sorry you have to struggle with this. But, like someone else said, you have done it once. You can do it again. Don't let shame keep you from getting the support you need. Life is too good. Don't give up on having what you want.

Thank you. I will get through this. It's nice to know I am not alone.

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[My350z06 48]

I think it's great that you've recognized an emerging problem before it's able to derail the amazing progress you've made. I'm a nurse and one of the tools we use to assess for potential problems with alcohol is called the "CAGE" assessment. It's 4 quick yes/no questions and can be a great way to gauge whether or not someone might have a problem.

C: Have you ever felt you needed to CUT down on your drinking?

A: Have people ANNOYED you by criticizing your drinking?

G: Have you ever felt GUILTY about drinking?

E: Have you ever felt you needed a drink first thing in the morning ("EYE OPENER") to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover?

Two or more "yes" responses mean the possibility of alcoholism should be investigated further by a medical professional.

I hope this information helps. food is a way of self medicating for many of us and when that is taken away, it can be very easy to adopt other unhealthy coping mechanisms. Best of luck to you on your journey (and to anyone else who might be reading this and struggling with a similar issue).

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This is great information. Thank you for your support

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[Hiraeth 515]

If you don't crave it, then that's actually a good thing. The alcoholics I knew of, actually craved it. What makes you want to drink?

[My350z06 48]

I'm also dealing with this issue. I had surgery July 9,2016. I was losing pretty steadily, but this past month has slowed down a lot. My dad is an alcoholic, and I've always been a "drinker". One of my first questions after surgery was..."when can I drink vodka again?" Now though.... I don't feel like I'm a drinker, I feel like an alcoholic. I'd rather drink liquor than eat food. (Since we can't do both at the same time) I also don't want to not drink ever again, sooo I'm having a hard time deciding to seek help. This is definitely complicated and scary and something all wls patients should consider and think about prior to surgery.

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I think for me I drink the alcohol because it was easier to do then actually having a meal. I still struggle to this day on certain meals but I have no issues having a drink to fulfill my needs. It's been 4 years since surgery and I have not had one soda because I would be miserable if I did it but I can pound down a 6 pack with no issues.

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[Hiraeth 515]

I'm also dealing with this issue. I had surgery July 9,2016. I was losing pretty steadily, but this past month has slowed down a lot. My dad is an alcoholic, and I've always been a "drinker". One of my first questions after surgery was..."when can I drink vodka again?" Now though.... I don't feel like I'm a drinker, I feel like an alcoholic. I'd rather drink liquor than eat food. (Since we can't do both at the same time) I also don't want to not drink ever again, sooo I'm having a hard time deciding to seek help. This is definitely complicated and scary and something all wls patients should consider and think about prior to surgery.

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I think for me I drink the alcohol because it was easier to do then actually having a meal. I still struggle to this day on certain meals but I have no issues having a drink to fulfill my needs. It's been 4 years since surgery and I have not had one soda because I would be miserable if I did it but I can pound down a 6 pack with no issues.

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What about Protein shakes? They're filling and are great for avoiding food when you don't feel like chewing.