Did a total of 25 days in alcohol treatment in-patient. (Insurance would not pay for the full 28 days as "I had made so much progress" per my counselor.)
I am feeling that I have learned a lot of new tools and am better prepared to deal with my addiction for the rest of my life. Working on the 90 in 90 (Kind of hard since I do live in a rural area, but have managed to line up meetings for every day of the week that are w/in 20 miles of me for every day, but Sunday's.). Have set up sessions with a therapist to deal with childhood/adolescent abuse and sexual assault.
Hoping to make some new sober friends in AA.....

Anne

WELL,MY SURGEON SAID TO START BRANCHING OUT WITH MY
DIET,I EAT CANNED TUNA,SALMON,CHICKEN ,BAKED LAYS,
BACON,NO RED MEAT YET,NO NUTS.SOME EGGS WHEN I
CAN TOLERATE THEM.tHE PROBLEM IS ALL SOLIDS DON'T GO IN
WELL.I FEEL SO UNCOMFORTABLE/NAUSEATED AFTER TRYING TO
EAT.IT'S LIKE A KNOT IN MY TUMMY.IT MAKES ME NOT WANT OT EAT.MY TUMMY GROWLS BUT NOTHING FEELS RIGHT GOING IN AND
SOME DAYS SOLIDS JUST WON'T GO.I WAS TAKING VITAMINS,MY
SURGEON TOLD ME TO STOP FOR A WEEK TO SEE IF THAT WAS CAUSING THE DIARRHEA.THERE HAVE BEEN SO MANY TWEEKS
AND ADJUSTMENTS.EVEN TRIED LIBREX TO SLOW MY GUT DOWN.
I STAYED ON MUSHIES FOR 6 WEEKS BUT STILL DID NOT FEEL GOOD.
I AM JUST PRAYING THERE IS SOME ANTI ANXIETY/DEPRESSANT THAT WILL HELP ME.I HAVE HAD A POST OP EGD TO RULE OUT
STRICTURE.I AGREE NOT ENOUGH HEALING TIME HAS GONE BY BUT I AM SUFFERING SO MUCH NOW IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S BEEN MY WHOLE LIFE.I AM GOING TO SEE A GI DR. TO SEE IF THEY CAN FIGURE OUT ANYTHING.I HOPE AND PRAY IT IS JUST A HEALING PROCESS THAT WILL COME SOON AND RIGHT NOW I NEED SOME WAY TO COPE WITH ALL THIS ANXIETY I HAVE ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH MY BODY.I DO GET 30-40 GRAMS OF PROTEIN A DAY WHICH MY SURGEON SAID WAS OKAY BECAUSE WE AREN'T MALABSORPTIVE.
SOME DAYS I DO HAVE TO MAKE A CHOICE BETWEEN LIQUID OR SOLIDS.I CHOOSE LIQUIDS.I HAVE TO STAY HYDRATED.I NEVERWENT AHEAD OF THE POST OP DIET. WAS TOO SCARED.

I am on Pristiq and Depakote. My thought process is that if I gain 10 to 15 pounds from them, but am able to function normally and my bi-polar is not destroying that ability in me - than that is far more important then the weight gain.

My fears were unfounded....Once I got over my pity party (took about 3 days), I realized that I needed to get sober for myself in order to be a better person for my family. They did come to visit me and we had to do "Family Letters" - which were letters telling each other about a variety of emotions. Both my children and my spouse did them to me and vice versa - very hard, but got so much stuff out in the open.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Anne

Trish,

You know I love your posts and respect your opinions. but what about those who don't pray or read the bible (example: agnostic jews?