Alcohol addiction after bariatric surgery

Why do you want it?

The first question that pops up in my mind is: Why do you want it? I come from a culture that consumes one of the largest amounts of alcohol in the whole world! And I don’t drink it myself. Weird, right? Alcohol addiction is no joke.

Actually, it is not. I kept seeing for years what it looked like and what it caused. And, no, I am not talking only about hangovers. It is nothing fancy, trust me. Of course, I am not talking about you. If you want to have a glass of wine, have it. But still. No amount of alcohol is safe for you. And it doesn’t matter if you had bariatric surgery or not.

Special bariatric patients

The problem with bariatric patients and alcohol is that it can sit quite badly. You are likely to get drunk from one single glass and they say that the hangovers are pretty nasty. And that you inevitably get very hungry. I don’t think that this is something one would like to experience.

So in the long term, you are likely to consume many more calories than you are supposed to and it will inevitably lead to weight gain. So, why did you have the surgery in the first place?

People don’t know…

There is something much more important to state here, and many people are painfully unaware of something that is called addiction transfer. We used to be addicted to food. Now we can’t have it. So what will our brain do? It will find pretty fast something else that makes it feel good, relaxed, and numb. Alcohol is a perfect substitute.

The problem is that with a small stomach, you really need only a little. And the spiral starts spinning uncontrollably incredibly fast. To tell the truth, much faster than one would expect. And before you know it, you are having wine for breakfast. It is a very sad truth. This happened to so many bariatric patients that it is scary. There are tons of studies on this topic.

We need to know!

I wish our bari team would tell us this so that we can be much better prepared and count on the possibility of transferring our addiction to a new one. This is incredibly important. We have so many things going on in our lives that we can easily overlook a new monster growing behind the door.

So when people in the forums ask: when i can have my first alcohol? The likely answer would be: don’t play with it. It is not good for you. I would approach this substance as a very occasional treat.

Addict brain

Our brain is an addict brain. So we have to treat it as such. It used to associate food with pleasure, relaxation, fun, and relief. These are all good emotions. Now we stopped giving in the food. So it is kinda desperate. It wants its pleasures. That is why it is so hard to stop the cravings and not eat when people are offering things to us.

So when we start drinking alcohol, the brain very quickly realizes that the good emotions that follow are the same that it used to associate with food. So it starts to crave alcohol. And the spiral starts spinning.

It is a very simple mechanism. Substitution of food with alcohol. And the mechanism behind is the same. I have seen people saying: it was a question of weeks and it is completely out of control. I have no idea how to stop it. I talked to my team and they are sending me to rehab! Omg! I am no alcoholic!

Scary stuff

This is a really scary situation. You don’t want to get there. You have just tamed the food demon, and you are happily growing the next one, the same wild. As if dealing with the addiction was not hard enough. Why make it even worse?

I am not saying you absolutely must stay sober for the rest of your life. But be aware that you are playing with a potential forest fire. Knowing what can happen, you can act before it is too late.

Need for information

I think that the alcohol problem is the same topic as the increased fertility in women after bariatric surgery. They know about it, but as it is not directly related to the surgery, we are simply not told. And then disasters happen. I am not blaming the doctors, at all, who am I to do this, I just wish that the information package would come more complete to prevent future damage.

Everybody is so obsessed with the technical part, that they forget that we also have life after the surgery. It is not only about protein goals, going to the gym, and maintaining the weight. At some point, we will want to have some fun as well. So we have to be prepared and know about the pitfalls.

Spread the word

Please tell people who you think might benefit from this information. And if things have gone too far, and it can happen easily, act! Act now, before things get even worse, the addiction deeper and you will likely make a lot of damage not only to you but also to people you love. The help is there. Ask for it if you need it 🙂