Hey SDMB. Long time, no post. Hi all you gorgeous people, by the way
I had weight loss surgery a little over 10 months ago. I’ve lost 125 pounds and lately I’ve been drinking more than usual. Not a lot in overall terms (although perhaps this is a weak justification, I’m certainly open to criticism). I would say the equivalent of 3-4 drinks a night. Not every night, but more often than not. Never to the point of vomiting. Sometimes to the point of hangover, but I’ve never called off work because of it. Sometimes wine, sometimes rum and coke. I never really felt the need to drink before my surgery. And now I kind of… do.
I know enough about addiction, having previously been addicted to food and having plenty of family members who were alcoholics. And I figure this might be the start of something bad. But it feels pretty good and I’m having a hard time telling myself “no.” I’ve been writing a lot, reading a lot, and it’s a lot easier and more fun to do both when I’m not sober.
I’m not really concerned about this, but my husband is a natural worrywart and not prone to drinking himself. Perhaps I should be? I dunno. It’s not really affecting me in any noticeable way at this point–I’m not gaining weight, I’m not calling off work, I’m not beating my spouse or nonexistent children. I am drunkposting here, which I guess might be fairly obnoxious, but I’m not so sure I care about that.
Any passing fancies [or random bouts of virtual beating about the skull] are more than welcome
Can you stop for a week with no withdrawals? Or other symptoms? I have been around drinkers my whole life, from light social drinking to my crazy drunk aunt. I don’t drink for one reason, I don’t want to be my obnoxious brother or my crazy aunt.
Are there alcoholics in your family? My family tree is littered with empties from the night before. Check yourself now before it’s too late. You probably are not an alcoholic if your are asking the question. If you are not hurting anyone in any way I would say you’re okay. But do an assessment. It can’t hurt.
As someone who has looked into bariatric surgery, people developing other addictions after weight loss surgery is not uncommon.
I can’t remember all the reasons, but among some potential reasons are:
[ul]
[li]The body absorbs alcohol differently after bariatric surgery[/li][li]The reward mechanisms change in the brain after surgery[/li][li]Hormonal changes after surgery make you more prone to addiction[/li][li]People who have addictive attitudes toward food or who use food as a coping mechanism can’t do that anymore after surgery, so they get addicted to other stuff.[/li][li]A person’s sense of identity can change after a major physical transformation, making them more prone to addiction. [/li][/ul]
FWIW you don’t sound at all incoherent in your OP. I’ve gone through phases in life when I’ve overindulged for any number of reasons–celebration, stress, boredom, grief, etc. Then phases of light drinking, total abstinence, etc. I don’t think there is any wrong with using substances to enhance your life, as long as it doesn’t become a problem.
I’m guessing that it may have been hard to catch a buzz when you are very obese & it sounds to me like you may be experimenting with the new way alcohol affects you.
MHO: You need to discuss this with your bariatric physician ASAP. On top of it, those calories could play havoc with your weight loss, and it’s also nothing to be ashamed of, because the doctor has seen this kind of thing many, many times.
I think your husband is right to worry, transfer addictions is a thing for sure. I had a VSG in 2008 and have been on many different WLS forums - a massive weight loss is a huge life change and people frequently have trouble dealing with it.
divorce happens a lot, too.
you should ask for help, but not necessarily from your surgeon (they do surgery, that’s what they do). but from someone!
And, as I remind my mother, who has started back on her massive Diet Coke habit, you don’t need to be putting that much non-nutritive liquid in your stomach.
As someone who has a looked into it I believe that divorce mostly only happens if the person who got surgery was fat when the relation started.
So if you met and you were fat, now you’re thin, divorce can happen. If you were thin when you met, then got fat, now are thin again, divorce is less likely.
Again, my understanding. There are a lot of weird potential fallouts from baristric surgery (mental illnesses, addiction, divorce, etc).
Here’s another interesting factoid. Much of the cardiovascular benefits from surgery come from the surgeries impact on blood glucose, not its impact on weight. So if you are obese and have healthy blood glucose you probably won’t see as many cardiovascular benefits as someone who is merely overweight but has diabetes.
As a physician who deals with addiction a lot (both personally and professionally), those are definite danger signs. You’re at very high risk for serious problems with alcohol. Consider discussing it with a counselor with significant experience with chemical dependency, at a minimum.
First question—which form of bariatric surgery did you have? There have been studies that found that those who have the RNY/gastric bypass DO have a higher rate of problems with alcohol at three years post-op than pre-op—but the difference is not very large. Around three pre cent, if I remember correctly. That was not found to be true with the other forms of WLS that were studied. (I believe they only looked at the LapBand and the Duodenal Switch, because when the study i read was done, the stand-alone Sleeve wasn’t very common.)
But if you look at ALL ‘transfer addictions’, which include things like alcohol, drug use, excessive shopping, even excessive exercise, it’s…well, I wouldn’t say common, but it’s certainly not rare. I had the Duodenal Switch 14 years ago, and I’ve spent a LOT of time in on-line groups dedicated to bariatric surgery. I’ve seen a lot of people who did develop a cross addiction. Some of them managed to overcome it, and some crashed and burned. The fact that you think you might be starting to have a problem tells me that you need to seek help RIGHT NOW. I’m not saying you DO have a problem, I’m just saying that the sooner you address this, the easier it will be to deal with.
Some people (with all surgery types) say that post-op, alcohol hits them faster and harder, but that they also sober up faster. This sobering up faster can certainly lead to increased drinking, just to maintain the buzz. You also need to remember that alcohol contains a LOT of calories. Liquor averages about 70 calories per shot, plus whatever you’re mixing it with. Off the top of my head, I can’t give you the numbers for beer or wine, but still—non-nutritive calories.
There are several Facebook groups devoted to bariatric surgery that you might find helpful. There are ones that are specific to surgery types, and there are ones that include all surgery types. Some of them are very helpful, and some of them aren’t. (grin) But you might find it helpful to talk with a group of people who share a lot of your experiences with obesity and bariatric surgery.
I forgot I made this post! I’m back. And drunk. You all make very good points and I’m thankful for the insight SLASH tough love. I am worried about the eventual appearance of things that I know are signs of alcoholism – DTs and such, but I’m not sure how long those take to kick in.
It feels good to be drunk. And to be less fat. That is all <3
DTs are end-stage signs, and often the individual dies of other complications of the addiction before progressing that far. Waiting for those to show up before taking action is like waiting to call the fire department about a house fire until the top 3 floors burn down to the basement level.
Ask for a professional assessment sooner rather than later.
Stop drinking now. If you don’t have a problem it will be easy. If it’s not easy go get some help. And if you read this thread and make excuses and tell yourself you can keep drinking then you definitely have a problem.
So… aside from falling into a bottle… how’s life been?
Your 2nd sentence answered your question. The latest recommendations have changed from women being fine with 1 drink a day and that is a measured serving of alcohol, to less than 7 a week and not more than 1-2 a day. Your 3-4 drinks a day is a huge red flag.
I agree with all the other posters who have suggested a swift consultation with a licensed addiction professional, a subset of mental health professionals. Do it tomorrow. If it were me, I would bypass your surgeon. Cutting is what they are good at and that is what we need them to be good at, not talking to people at length.
Addiction professionals are very thoroughly ‘no shame-no blame’ people. You will be glad you did and so will your loved ones.
Let us all of know how you are doing. May the Force Be with You.
