Alcohol issues 4 1/2 years out

 

almost 4.5 years out...well a lot has happened. I lost 188 lbs. I lost more then I actually weigh now. I've done two sprint trialthons and 5 5K races. But...I have become an alcoholic. I traded one for the other. The past two years I've been to 5 detoxs ,2 rehabs (30 days each) 1 IOP (intensive outpatient) two DUI's. I traded one addiction for another. I remember years ago when I was 373 lbs wishing I was an alcoholic. I thought that would be easier since all you had to do was not drink. 

I have never got arrested for overeating or going through a drive thru. Anyway my point is I still if I had to do it over again have had the surgery. This is just a warning. Don't drink alcohol after surgery. I've come close to losing my family and my job and it has cost me 10's of thousands of dollars. The surgery worked as well as could have been expected. You just have to watch that cross addiction. Food is something I still worry about. I can eat anything now and I can eat way more than just a year ago. I have to be really careful. I can also eat a lot of carby stuff. Chips...ect. Just be careful.....

Join AA, get a physiologist. Find what's wrong. Stop drinking.  Throw out your stash, stay out of bars, stay away from other drinkers or you are certainly doomed. Get help NOW!

 

First, I want to thank you for your honest and candid warning to all of us. I won't insult you by telling you to "just stop drinking" because if it were that easy I am sure you would have done it already.

I am 2 weeks post-op  and I have become overwhelmed by the realization that I am a food addict, a compulsive overeater.  I know that you are struggling, but please know that you are not struggling alone. It sounds like you have sought treatment many times, but please try again, you are worth it.  Addiction recovery is not something that can or should be done alone.  This is not a hopeless situation.  

My father is a recovering alcoholic. He has been to rehab several times and it is now clear that relapse is part of the recovery process. He currently has 1 year of sobriety under his belt.  As an aside, for most addicts 30 days of inpatient rehab is not enough.  From watching my father it seems like 30 days is just enough time to get him feeling better, but not enough time to make any substantive changes. My father did 3 months and then went to an intensive outpatient program.

I have more respect for addicts in recovery than any other group of people, because those in recovery are required to live their lives with a level of honesty and transparency that most of us know nothing about.  The reality is that life is hard, very hard at times, but by taking it one day at a time (sometimes one hour, or minute at a time) recovery is possible.  

Above all else, please, please know that you are not alone, your situation is far from hopeless, and you are so valuable to the world. 

Much love,

D.

I wish there was a "Like" button.

Some people can drink in moderation after RNY, but there are, unfortunately, others who develop a transfer addiction to alcohol.  I'm sorry that you are in the latter category and that it has affected your life so negatively, but I really appreciate your willingness to share with others here as a warning.

I hope you are getting some quality help dealing with the alcoholism.  As a counselor, I know well that some counselors, programs, and treatment facilities are much better than others.  If not, please don't give up.  There IS help available.  Many people find that AA is a tremendous help.

Lora

Dear Gold,

Thank you for being so open and honest about your situation, and for caring enough about us to take time to post a warning. I'm currently 2 yrs and 3 mos out from surgery. I myself have had 3 glasses of very slowly sipped wine since surgery, and don't feel a relationship forming with alcohol that is any different than it was pre-op. I have read several posts from former WLS folks who never had drinking issues pre-op either, so I find you story concerning. Did you have one drinking occasion and immediatly become an alcoholic? I guess what I'm asking, is how did this present itself if you don't mind sharing that part of your story.

Thanks,
Kat

  I can only speak for myself but I know I cannot drink alcohol again. And I can only do this one day at a time. I'm coming up on three months sober. I see a drug and alcohol councelor weekly but I've only been to a few AA meetings. I know I should be going to a least five a week and I will. I recently got my drivers license back afer 10 months suspension. It was very humbling. I was in rehab from April 23 to May 23 of this year. I saw things a lot differently this time. I started looking at myself a lot more. 

This is not an excuse but when the drinking started I was having some very serious marriage problems. It was a trigger and I didn't prepare myself to have the resources to deal with these issues in a healthy way. I am again eating unhealthy again but I feel like a chane is coming. I'm a 190 lbs so I gained a few lbs since I got out of rehab. I have my gym bag packed and I'm going upstairs to make a healthly lunch for tomorrow. I can only do this one day at a time. I will always have addiction problems but I am facing that once again. I can and will live a healthy life. I deserve it. We all do. Things could be so much worse. I am healthy now. Last summer I did 4   5K races and two sprint Triathlons. I've never done anything like that before. The last race I did was last July 11th. I went to the same event this year and had to jus****ch. But it was humbling and motivating. I want to live in that world again. A healthy world. Where people want to take care of themselves and surround themselves with healthy people. I use the word "healthy" a lot as  you can see because I think that says it all. 

The drinking started out about a year after surgery at a NY Mets baseball game. It was progressive. I never felt I drank alcoholically before the surgery but I always had food to comfort me. I actually look forward to this challenge. I know I can do this. I don't need a substance or food to make me feel good. I can create that in other ways. 

In closing I would just say if drinking is not an issue in your life right now don't make it one. If it is making  your life unmanageable get help. And as others have said..AA is a great place to start. Please feel free to send me a message if you have any questions. Or just post here...thanks for listening, your kind words and support

Thank you so much for sharing and being so honest about your experience - you are very brave.

I wish you strength for your recovery process.

God Bless.

Dear Goldfish, I would like to thank you as well for being brave enough to share with everyone and I would also like to add some back up to what you are sharing as well. I am coming up next month August 22nd on my 2 years out mark, and though I am perfectly happy with my weight loss (other then loose skin in some places summer doesn't give grace too) I to worry about the drinking factor. I work every other weekend and am off sometimes 4 or 5 days in a row and on beautiful sunny days I work my gardens or gather with friends and family and am very active thanks to the loss, but the urge to have cold drinks is there and hard to detour from. You are right "Dont Drink Alcohol After Surgery", I have had 3 people that are my support tell me that you can become an alcoholic after surgery and they watched programs about it too. Also you can go back to eating poorly and pack away more food without even noticing it. I have halted in my weight loss already sitting at 183 lbs and I am only 5' .5" . Girls at work that had there surgery just a month before me are still looking great and are still losing. I am pretty sure my issue is a simple fix just need to start doing more with my time that cant involve alcohol, and start working out, spending some energy to build more, at least I hope this is the answer, I already have a brother and a niece battling a bad drug addiction my mom at 80 this year doesn't need anymore stress. I do wish you all the best with your battle, and you are worth it so am I and everyone deserves to be healthy, so don't give up stay strong and keep plugging away at this down fall one day at a time. I don't get on here every month but if you ever need to chat my email is [email protected] anytime I'm here for you. 

Don't ever give up! Keep trying until you beat this!!!