Cross Addicting

I just wanted to pop on here and let you all know, That I'm proud that you opened up on here......It's very hard to admit to addiction, any addiction....

I feel our MN board is quiet because people don't like hearing problems, etc.....I've lost a few friends myself for posting , blogging, Face booking my issues,  and some couldn't handle it I guess.....I had a rough year last year.....It has nothing to do with drugs or alcohol, basically Mental issues.....

I was reaching out for HELP, any help......Some tried to help, some stuck with me through thick and thin, and some just disappeared out of my life.......We all have issues of somekind, and I hope, we all someone we can count on.....

If any of you ever need someone to talk to, vent to, I'm here.....I may not be much help, but I'm a good listener.....

Good luck to all of you......We will win our battles......For me God and church has helped......

Love, Kelly

Where to start. Cross addiction is more the norm then most will either realize or admit to.  Cross addiction was the norm in my family growing up and it really sucked.  When I heard about Jess I was saddened for the lose, even though we never had the pleasure of meeting.

Hi Fred ...haven't seeen you here in awhile...other then your post about Jess.

I am glad you took action and are now heading in a healthier direction. Cross additions can be brutal. You were wise to reach out and get some help. Congratulations!

Hugs....connie d

My name is Traci. I'm not an alcoholic or do drugs, but I somewhat enabled Jess in her addictions. I was there to witness her using certain finances that were meant for specific things on alcohol instead. I would try talking to her about what I felt was a 'problem', only to drop it and not push the subject or talk to her brother when she would get so upset over it. My fear was that I was going to push her away and she'd pull Jackson away from us. I didn't want to "ruin" our friendship, and so continued to help her out, take her shopping and running errands, etc, which almost always ended in picking up more alcohol.

I don't want to potentially enable anyone else to 'feed' another addiction.

I did enough research pre-op to be familiar with the notion of "cross-addiction", and I would hope everyone looking into WLS does the same.

With the term out there and plenty of instances of it here, it is obviously a very real issue for WLS patients to recognize and acknowledge.

However, I don't think it's fair to suggest that the majority of WLS patients will experience it - I certainly haven't, and I know plenty of other post-ops who haven't, either.  An addictive personality is an addictive personality, whether or not a weight problem is involved.  If someone has an addiction pre-operatively, you darn right they better be aware of a transfer addiction post-op! 

But to suggest that the majority of WLS patients will experience that?  That could potentially scare someone who is so terrified of trading one problem for another, into deciding against WLS, even if they do not have a pre-existing potential for such addictions.

It is right to make everyone aware of the issue.  I don't think it's right to suggest that everyone is doomed to it.  We are all in charge of our own lives, and if anyone has such an issue, it is up to them to grab it and wrestle it.  I'm so sorry Jess lost her battle, but it was her battle. 

Just my two cents, not intended to flame anyone.

Hi Darla,

Statistically speaking I have read that 1/3 of all people who have had WLS will cross addict to drugs or alcohol or gambling or sex.

I did not say that the majority of folks will cross addict but 30% is a large segment of the WLS population.

I too am sorry Jess lost her battle.  And you are right, it was her battle.  However, the colateral damage is intense for everyone involved.

Not everyone is doomed to addiction.  Those of us who are will either get treatment, go to Jail or die.  I just wanted to put this out there so everyone can see this.

Thanks for your two cents Darla.  We need to put it all out there for everyone to see that there are many sides to this issue.

fred

And just to clarify, I didn't mean to imply it was your suggestion, Fred. 

I was just afraid that if only those who are struggling with an addiction reply to it, someone less knowledgable might get the impression it's wide-spread. 

And statistically speaking, I have to wonder - is it just 30% of WLS people, or would that percentage apply to the general population as well???

(Kinda like that email, supposedly written by Ben Stein, that asks - if 70% of arrests in urban areas are of black people, is it justifiable to consider that racial profiling if 70% of the population in that urban area is black???  Does that make sense?)

I think it also depends on how you look at what caused us to be morbidly obese in the first place.  I think many of us had or have food addiction.  If that addiction is not treated, I think cross addiction is more likely. 

At one point I read (on this board) a published article that stated that less than 1-3 % of obese people were obese due to heredity or  "medical" issues such as low metabolism, disease, etc.  If that is true, then 99-97% of us had some type of an eating disorder - whether it was addiction (compulsive eating) or something else.  

I think the most scary thing about the alcohol use is how hard it is on our bodies after bypass because alcohol isn't broken down much in our intestines.  It hits our liver more "full strength" than other people.  I would assume that those with lap bands don't have the same effects as thos of us who had bypass, but I'm not sure.  And I know nothing about alcohol effects after the DS surgery either.  But alcohol use after gastric bypass, especially anything more than very casual use, and when we are ingesting other prescription and over the counter drugs is really hard on our livers.

I think it's wise to really consider if alcohol use is worth the risk.  I never considered myself an addict or someone with an addictive personality prior to surgery, but it didn't take long after surgery to figure it out.  I would like to spare anyone the difficulty of addiction if I could.

 

I don't know if anyone will ever see this because this post is so old.  I had a RNY in 2000. However I do see a common trait that once the honeymoon is over we are forced to look at what was eating us.  Until we do that We continue to give power to obesity rather then ourselves.  A person may not have a cross addication but may suffer in other ways such as depression anxiety.  If you re one of the lucky ones then I am very proud of you. If you are one that is struggloing then seek help with whatever the concern is.  So to all  of you I would suggest just keep puttinng one foot in front of the other.  There are good times and there a rough times.  Otherwise we would not call this a journey.