I rarely come here anymore, but I noticed a reply to a post of mine back in April, and felt I needed to respond to it. Please read and take it to heart. Especially newbies. Thanks.

"Just got an email letting me know there were replies to my old thread from last April.

I am an alcoholic - I was fooling myself to think I could control it.
I am on day 102 of sobriety, and am finding it easier now to concentrate on my health and nutrition now that I got that monkey off my back.

There is a lot of theory out there and research to that effect that having gastric bypass surgery can 're-wire' people's systems enough so that they more quickly become alcoholics. We don't have the digestive enzymes to break down the alcohol as effectively anymore - much like the studies that were done that show native Canadians or Americans don't have - and I don't know about south of the border, but alcoholism is RAMPANT in the native population up here.

I have also recently found out I was using alcohol to regulate my insulin and blood sugars - I am Hypoglycemic. And, I had a previous addiction to nicotine in the past. Getting surgery was - for me - a guarantee that I would develop alcoholism. It was just a matter of time, and unfortunately I took that first drink 3 months out.

Alcoholism is a progressive disease, and gastric bypass puts it into warp speed.

My advice would be to NEVER *NEVER* pick up a drink after surgery. Ever. And if it's too late and you already have, never take another. And if you even THINK you're drinking a 'little too much' stop NOW. You could be one drink away from that slippery slope of alcoholism. I am just glad I stopped before I hit rock bottom. Because with our new system post-surgery, rock bottom could be 6 feet under.

Please take this to heart.

I wish the medical community could really start warning people what could happen regarding alcohol. Simply asking someone if they drank a lot prior to surgery isn't enough. We can lie, or you can tell the truth like I did: "I am a once in a while party binger, or a few drinks with company and nothing for weeks/MONTHS after". But nonetheless, 3 years post-surgery I was a full-blown alcoholic.

Good luck to all of you.

Diana"

01/06 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY

"As individuals and as a fellowship," Bill W. continued, "we shall surely suffer if we cast the whole idea of planning for tomorrow into a fatuous idea of providence.  God's real providence has endowed us human beings with a considerable capability for foresight, and He evidently expects us to use it.  Of course, we shall often miscalculate the future in whole or in part, but that is better than to refuse to think at all."  HAVE I BEGUN TO BELIEVE THAT I AM ONLY AN ACTOR IN A PLAY WHICH THE MANAGER DIRECTS?

 

TODAY I PRAY

May I make prudent use of the foresight and power of choice which God has given me, to plan wisely, one Step at a time, without becoming a slave to apprehension, regret or anxiety.  I pray that God's will be done through the exercising of my own will, which He, in His goodness, has given me.

 

TODAY I WILL REMEMBER

God wills my will to be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi
Not sure if you still need more info. Definitely make sure your surgeon knows. Depending on what you are having done your Meds may not be absorbed as well as before surgery. If your Meds are timed released (eg XR or XL). You may have to switch to the regular type. Some/most Meds can be 'compounded' by a pharmacy into a liquid form as well.

Best of luck
K

Hi Ann

I had the same concerns with my Cymbalta and Busbar and Klonipin.  I stressed to my surgeon how important it was to get at least these medications of all the meds that I take.  He just told me to remind him on the day of surgery and he would put it in my chart.

I didn't get meds until the day after surgery, which was fine - I only missed one dose.  Before I could even say anything to the nurses about my meds, one of the doctors was running after the nurse to get that medicine into me asap!!  They were able to provide a smaller pill (had to take 2) that was smaller.

Also, during my pre-op, I stressed to the nurse how important it was to get the meds and I was able to take all my morning meds with a little bit of water.

Good Luck with your surgery!
Kelli

REFLECTION FOR THE DAY

 

The success of The Program, I've been taught, lies in large measure in the readiness and willingness of its members to go to any lengths to help others tyrannized by their addictions.  If my readiness and willingness cools, then I stand in danger of losing all that I've gained.  I must never become unwilling to give away what I have, for only by so doing will I be privileged to keep it.  DO I TAKE TO HEART THE SAYING,  "Out of self into God into others..."?

 

TODAY I PRAY

 

May I never be too busy to answer a fellow addict's call for help.  May I never become so wound up in my pursuits that I forget that my own continuing recovery depends on that helping -- a half-hour or so on the telephone, a call in person, a lunch date, whatever the situation calls for.  May I know what my priorities must be.

 

TODAY I WILL REMEMBER

 

Helping helps me.