One year after surgury I began to have major problems with alcohal abuse and ended up in a treatment center where I found many other bariatric patients.  I believe the dangers of alcohal is not properly addressed in pre surgury counseling.  Has anyone else gone through this experience?

 Hopefully you will get some responses from others with the same experience.  I'm pre-op and don't have a problem with alcohol, but I have read sevearl threads on this topic and I can tell you that you are not alone!  You might want to search this forum for alcohol and see what comes up.
Congratulations on recognizing that you had developed a problem and good luck with continued sobriety.

I was told in counseling that your trans-addictions may include alcohol abuse & shopping (most common) there are others. First step to to figure out why your doing it. WLS doesnt fix your brain. It just alters your stomach. It happens to alot of us. I'm having an issue with it myself and I was told about it. Just get the help you need and dont dwell too much or you may start drinking even more,

Good luck!

May I make a suggestion?  Along with the treatment center,  you might want to try AA.

Atted any support group, and the topic of transfer addictions is often heard.  Alcohol abuse, abusing illegal or script drugs, gambling, shopping, sexual addiction, extra marital affairs--these and many other issues can be considered a cross addiction.  I'm sure you surgeon likely warned about alchol issues post op, whether is was a cross addictive issue or it was just an unwise idea due to it's quick and harmful effects on a post op body.  Yes, there have been more than one post op discuss alcohol abuse issues at the support meetings I attend.  One woman worked at a counseling center also explained that a good percentage of her bosses client's were bariatric patients.  You know the dangers of drinking now, and you need to take the steps to avoid repeating this cycle. DAVE

 I personally is not experiencing this but I learned about transfer addiction after weight loss surgery from a personal trainer that was training me.  I will say that it is hard to beat the addiction but it can be done.  I also saw a therapist who I talked to about the fact that I did not want to go through the transfer addiction.  I recomend that you not only go to AA but also see a therapist to find out what is causing addiction and also go to some weight loss  support groups.  Feel free to message me if you need support.  Remember each day is a struggle.

Transfer addictions post WLS are frequent, and recognizing that you have a problem is the first step.

As is often said, they operate on our stomachs, not our heads. Which is why I strongly support therapy along with surgery, preferably an eating disorder specialist.

Good for you for getting yourself in to treatment! And I think you're right that the possibility of transfer addictions is not emphasized enough pre-op.

You will probably find more support and info here on the main board bc it is so common. This is a group you can join but it is nit very active: www.obesityhelp.com/group/crossingtotransferaddictions/

I am a nurse and I would love to work with the bariatric community bc this has been my life for 7 yrs now and I have learned so much about the changes people go through. So now I am thinking of going back to school for my NP in Mental health so I can work with post ops and try to support them through the process.

I guess I was lucky. My pre-surgical consultation and the nutritionist and psychologist I had to speak to all really pushed on the need to quit alcohol completely.
In the support group with the doctor, he also made a big point of this. There was a lot of resistance from people in the group--I'm not sure they went home really recognizing what was said to them--they want to be able to drink and didn't want to hear anything else.