Alcohol and the Sleeve

I haven't been around in quite awhile but now I have a question. I'm beginning to put on weight and it's because of the wine I drink at night. I didn't used to drink much. A little, and it made me drowsy and helped me sleep.

But I'm now finding that I am drowsy for awhile and perhaps might even fall asleep, but in a relatively short period of time, I'm suddenly wide awake again. Then because I like the taste of it, I'll drink a little more wine. What ends up happening is that I'll keep sipping the wine all evening because I love the taste, but instead of going to sleep, I am staying awake much later, thus, drinking more wine. I won't drink sugar-free drinks because I hate artificial sweeteners, but I swear if there was a calorie-free wine that tasted like wine I'd probably drink it!

I know some people have developed alcoholism after having gastric bypass because their body can no longer process the alcohol. But with the sleeve, we shouldn't have that problem, should we?

I'm really wondering is people with the sleeve DO have that problem, even though I can't figure out why we would. That's what it feels like to me.

Sounds like you need to put the wine down & walk away. I don't know if VSG'ers are more prone to alcoholism, but you don't need the added calories & you don't need it to get sleepy. Try an herbal tea such as sleepy time or chamomile or even a warm glass of skim milk or sf almond milk.

You're right. And I have sleepytime in the cabinet. I occasionally take Benadryl, which works well, but now I've read that early studies are linking it to dementia. Why is it that anything easy has so many side effects?

My doc told me to take melatonin but I had forgotten about it until tonight. It worked before. Guess it's time to find the bottle, or buy more! I've had insomnia issues all my life.

Just so you know sleepytime and benadryl is the exact same thing just marketed different and more expensive. Im a night nirse and on my days off i have a hard time flupping my schedule sometimes. I take 2 benadryl and it does the trick. Put down the wine for sure. Ive seen many even with the sleeve develop alcohol issues. Not surgery related but a coping mechanism. Not a good path to go down. 

sleeves are no less prone to transfer addiction than RNY.

Put it down n back away slowly:-)...seriously tho.

Tia

sounds to me like a therapist  might be helpful , sounds like a transfer addiction is starting and needs to be stoped quickly before it becomes a problem 

It's not the type of surgery that creates transfer addiction, it's the attempt to replace food as our "drug" of choice, with something else.  You probably need to take a hard look at the behavior and see what you can do to change it.  Therapy, OA or AA might be of help.  Also, are you snacking and sipping at the same time?  Alcohol can lower inhibitions and create eating behaviors that you don't want. Good luck! This will take some work, but anyone who's been thru surgery and had successful weight loss is up to it.  You can do it!

Alcohol causes rebound insomnia. Initially you'll relax and fall asleep, then you will be wide awake.

First of all you'll need to stop drinking. Melatonin can be helpful for your insomnia. Also do you exercise? You may find that your sleeping improves if you work out.

Lastly, I would suggest that you enlist a therapist to help with this issue. If you successfully kick this habit, a therapist may guide you so that you don't develop another transfer addiction.

Good Luck!

My program warns about the increased risk of alcoholism with the sleeve, and they ask about alcohol consumption at the yearly check ups.  I also noticed a tendency to over-use alcohol for stress-reduction and to sleep recently, and it worries me.  So I will give up all alcohol for a few months, and then it doesn't seem like a problem anymore, and the process repeats. 

I drink herbal teas as a substitute, and I enjoy them as much as the wine.

Good luck sorting this out.  If you find a remedy for the sleeplessness, let me know!

Carol

It's definitely time to address the wine problem.  As Grim says, "Start drinking as soon as you're ready to gain weight." I use Alteril every once in a while.  It's a combination of melatonin and tryptophan (the ingredient in turkey that can make you sleepy).  I found it on Amazon.  The only problem is that the pills are the nastiest smelling pills I've ever swallowed...but sometimes I just need a good night's sleep.  I also have an RX for Xanax for when I'm really desperate.  Good luck.