How Do You Prevent Replacement Addictions?

[Alex Brecher 10,494]

You may already know about the risks of replacement addictions, or even be fighting them yourself. The theory is that food is an addiction for pre-op bariatric surgery patients. Weight loss surgery helps you break your addiction to food, but it leaves a hole and puts you at risk for other addictions ranging from drugs and alcohol to exercise.

Replacement addictions may be more common than you realized. This article describes research that found that 21% of gastric bypass patients in one study developed alcohol abuse problems over the next seven years. That is one out of every five gastric bypass patients!

Being aware of the risk can help you avoid the pitfalls. You can also try to prevent negative addictions, such as drugs and alcohol, with positive ones. For example, you can fill the “food void” by taking up a new hobby such as gardening or art, or spend more time volunteering or exercising.

Are you concerned about replacement addictions? If you are a post-op patient, have you developed any? Have you taken any steps to prevent them? If you are a pre-op patient, have you been warned about them? Are you planning any steps to prevent them?

[Introversion 1,876]

I am 2 years and 1 month post-op. I've developed a compulsion for running and other forms of cardio exercise in the context that my nephrologist recently instructed me to "moderate my exercise."

My recent bloodwork indicated a persistently high creatine kinase level. This is a sign of muscle breakdown, even though I consume an average of 120 grams of Protein per day. Thus, the good nephrologist advised me to moderate the amount of exercise I get since I might be over-exercising.

I also do more online shopping these days, although not compulsively.

[Katie Struthers 29]

I have heard of other stories of weight loss success where people just turned addiction into something else, ie. shopping, exercise, etc. I'm not gonna lie. I've wondered how I'm going to fill the void now that I can't eat what and when I want to. lol

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

I think a lot of time is wasted on trying to prepare people for avoiding addiction transfer and a lot of other mental and emotional post-op issues are actually ignored. No one ever tries to prepare someone who has been obese their entire adult life for the changes of longer being obese. Losing weight isn't a magic pill to problem solving.

I think the best way to avoid addiction transfer is to be in a good place before hand.

I also think by ignoring a lot of other issues that come with losing a massive amount of weight, they are ignoring why people become alcoholics after weight loss. A lot of people are dealing with depression for various reasons, including an inability to cope with their new looks, lack of support from other people and levels of attention they have never experienced before. Then a lot of people were not social before when they were obese. Now suddenly they are out more and partying. It is easy to lose control, that is a social and behavioral issue more that just a simple post-op issue. It is part of adjusting to a new identity and lifestyle and some people really struggle. There is little support for those kind of struggles since most people think losing weight should solve all of peoples problems.

I was worried I would develop a shopping habit. Thing is I was already a compulsive shopper pre-op. Post-op I hate shopping. I can't shop online anymore, not even for jewelry. I have dropped more than 2 ring sizes. Necklaces even hang different on me. I have to try on every single article of clothing. Shopping went from being a relaxing joy to being a complete pain. It takes forever just to find a dress. I might have to try on 10 to find 2. Regular sizing has a lot more variation than plus sizes, so it is harder to know your size, add a changing body and it is a disaster.

[MBird 298]

You may already know about the risks of replacement addictions, or even be fighting them yourself. The theory is that food is an addiction for pre-op bariatric surgery patients. Weight loss surgery helps you break your addiction to food, but it leaves a hole and puts you at risk for other addictions ranging from drugs and alcohol to exercise.
Replacement addictions may be more common than you realized. This article describes research that found that 21% of gastric bypass patients in one study developed alcohol abuse problems over the next seven years. That is one out of every five gastric bypass patients!
Being aware of the risk can help you avoid the pitfalls. You can also try to prevent negative addictions, such as drugs and alcohol, with positive ones. For example, you can fill the “food void” by taking up a new hobby such as gardening or art, or spend more time volunteering or exercising.
Are you concerned about replacement addictions? If you are a post-op patient, have you developed any? Have you taken any steps to prevent them? If you are a pre-op patient, have you been warned about them? Are you planning any steps to prevent them?

Not concerned about replacement addictions. I don't like alcohol, tastes like crap. I enjoy wine but won't try that until a year out maybe.

I would love to get addicted to exercise again. I used to spend 2 and a half hours in the gym 5-6 days a week, cycle there and back. That's a fabulous addiction as it combated some mild situational depression and kept my energy high.

I find the study interesting, it's the same for people who have food addictions. I would hear often of people in OA at the meetings I attended, say they were now abstinent of their food addiction, but now battling alcoholism.

I always shake my head when people are defensive regarding food addiction in these forums, obviously many people are addicted to food or a kind of food, or element in food, such as carbs.

Half the battle is recognizing it, owning it, and abstaining.

[MBird 298]

I think a lot of time is wasted on trying to prepare people for avoiding addiction transfer and a lot of other mental and emotional post-op issues are actually ignored. No one ever tries to prepare someone who has been obese their entire adult life for the changes of longer being obese. Losing weight isn't a magic pill to problem solving.
I think the best way to avoid addiction transfer is to be in a good place before hand.
I also think by ignoring a lot of other issues that come with losing a massive amount of weight, they are ignoring why people become alcoholics after weight loss. A lot of people are dealing with depression for various reasons, including an inability to cope with their new looks, lack of support from other people and levels of attention they have never experienced before. Then a lot of people were not social before when they were obese. Now suddenly they are out more and partying. It is easy to lose control, that is a social and behavioral issue more that just a simple post-op issue. It is part of adjusting to a new identity and lifestyle and some people really struggle. There is little support for those kind of struggles since most people think losing weight should solve all of peoples problems.
I was worried I would develop a shopping habit. Thing is I was already a compulsive shopper pre-op. Post-op I hate shopping. I can't shop online anymore, not even for jewelry. I have dropped more than 2 ring sizes. Necklaces even hang different on me. I have to try on every single article of clothing. Shopping went from being a relaxing joy to being a complete pain. It takes forever just to find a dress. I might have to try on 10 to find 2. Regular sizing has a lot more variation than plus sizes, so it is harder to know your size, add a changing body and it is a disaster.

You hit the nail on the head with sussing out issues before the surgery. I think a lot of that is attitude and awareness of what to expect

Addiction support groups are good for hearing a myriad of reasons why people became unhealthily addicted, a seriously honest inventory is taken by these people who want to change their lives for the better so they can enjoy it again. They open up and in doing so share hope and examples for others to regard. They get to the bottom of what is depressing them and some seek counseling or therapy, which I personally feel a lot of people who have this surgery could do with.

Sadly too many people don't care about figuring their issues out. It's easier to complain and fill the void with something to stuff down the pain. It's true a lot of people think weight loss is a fix it all, but it's just one cog in the wheel, life still has to be lived and that reality for some, plus the failure of the reality to live up to fantasy expectation, is just too much for some to carry. One still has to confront his or herself and their life regardless of what the scale says or what dress size one wears.

The addiction stems from anger and avoidance. The same thing that helped them become an unhealthy weight in many cases.