Short Article On Alcohol Transfer-Addiction

Batwingsman
on 9/29/08 2:51 pm - Garland, TX

Bariatric surgery trades obesity for alcoholism

Before you belly up to the operating table for that bariatric surgery, take note that while you might be eliminating the consequences of one form of compulsive behavior — overeating — you may not be dealing with the underlying cause, and if that cause goes untreated, you could find yourself merely engaging in “addiction transfer” — and in the grip of some new and different compulsive behavior such as alcoholism, chain smoking, obsessive gambling or binge shopping.

An article in the Wall Street Journal notes that some bariatric-surgery centers and substance-abuse centers are, coming from different directions, seeing what may be a pattern of new post-operative addictions filling the void that food once did. Which may not be that surprising, since evidence is accumulating that the biochemical causes of excessive eating are very much like those at the root of alcoholism or drug addiction.

How frequently such post-surgery addiction replacement actually occurs is unclear — estimates among clinics and therapists range from 5 to 30 percent — but there seems to be a special hazard with regard to alcohol, given that 3/4 of all bariatric surgeries are of the gastric bypass form, which results in alcohol being more rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream and providing the drinker with an extra kick.

As experts cited in the article point out, surgery is a mechanical procedure. If the bedrock cause of the problem is psychological or neurological — and plenty of experts will make a case that it generally is — you’re only treating a symptom, not the condition.

(by Robert S. Wieder for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)

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Frank talk about the DS / "All I ever wanted to be was thin, like that Rolling Stones dude ... "

HW/461 LW/251 GW/189 CW/274 (yep, a DS semi-failure - it happens :-( )

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