Switching Addictions

I am having my surgery next month on the 18th.... as part of my preop I had to do a psych eval .... one thing the Doctor asked me about is if I thought I might switch addictions after my surgery as I will not be able to eat out of stress and boredom any longer.... I know this is an area of debate but there is not much info out there about switching addictions after weight loss surgery. I have heard some stories but wonder if anyone has any input on this subject?

I have no official information on the subject. I am looking for info myself. I am worried, I was an ex smoker, then I turned to food as my primary addiction after getting pregnant. I used to wake in the middle of the night thinking about cigarettes, now I do the same about food. It's so weird. I can only hope I can stay in therapy so that I can deal with these issues. My family is extremely supportive and will help me get the mental health support I need even if it's out of the home by a doc. Although I have only told my mom and my husband, I do at times feel very lonely in this process. Being fat is lonely too. Another topic. Anyway, I wished there was a book about this addiction changing problem. There are also other mental health issues relating to surgery that the psychologist went over with me. You are more likely to get depressed after surgery if you have had 1 or more depressive episodes in your life. This I believe was information that is known fact in the psychology world, not sure where the fact was drawn from (any surgery or lap band surgery only). I am so happy that the discussion of these topics are here. I am convinced that mental state has a lot to do with being overweight. I am sure like many diseases it will take researchers many years to figure out. Good luck.

Yes, I do have input.

Your doctor is right. Someone with addictive behavior....well, drink/drugs/gambling/food/etc....you name it. They will pick one or a combination.

The behavior will not go away.

Detox, right?

I picked up cooking, sewing, etc. And now I iron my underthings.

Hey, at least I'm being constructive! hahah

I was kind of hoping that I transfer my addiction over to scrapbooking and sewing rather than gambling or something else...LOL

Seriously, I was thinking the same thing, but I'm actually hoping that eating becomes such an annoyance that I find a suitable 'passion' to fill the void.

After I started researching this, I realized that I take huge bites, eat very fast, and tend to eat a large volume of food compared to otherpeople. So I started watching people. I have a friend who always leaves most of her food on her plate. I've watched my mother eat, and often wondered why she didn't just blow away she eats so little normally, and she takes small bites, puts her fork down between each bite, takes forever to eat. Where I would make a large sandwich with some chips and some sort of side like coleslaw or something, she'll make a small half sandwich and she's happy. I'm hoping that the behavior modification changes I have to make for this will actually teach me to eat like her! Turns out, she eats about the volume of what I'm eventually going to be eating after surgery, so I figure if I make her my role model, I might actually be able to use this tool to modify my behavior...

I'm hoping that it's a relatively easy adjustment if I go into this with the right attitude...
Sandy

It didn't take me long to realize that I needed something to replace eating as the primary "stress reliever" in my life. There was nothing better to me, after a long, hard day, than coming home to a huge plate of pasta, garlic bread, a glass of wine, and a few cookies for dessert. The effect on me was like a drug....calm, serene, almost a trance-like "high". Now, after a long, hard day..what am I to do?

The first few times I was OK. This is my new life. I had my healthy, small meal, and felt virtuous, and went about my night. By the 4th, or 5th time this happened, I realized I needed a replacement for my "food-induced high". I found a few things worked.

Preparing a nice dinner for my family was very soothing to me. Just working with the food was comforting to me. Also, a nice, hot bath works wonders! I make a whole spa night of it! Facial, body scrub, mani and pedi, deep conditioners, lotions..the works! It takes up the whole night, it is very relaxing, and I feel great afterward. I also like renting a good DVD. I make myself a cup of skim milk hot cocoa, and settle down with a good movie.

I am sure I will continue to find new things to help me get through those tough days.

Someone I work with who knows me, but not really well, mentioned this question to me as I was preparing for surgery. It seems his wife knew someone who had gastric bypass and was a food addict. She did transfer her addiction over to cigarettes.

It was something I never thought about, as I never identified myself as someone with a food addiction. I brought this up during my psych evaluation and was told that it can happen but that you have to be diligent in your desire to not only lose weight but to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

I noticed in the last few months, when I *do* become stressed over something unavoidable, my reaction to go eat something has been replaced...at long last!!!....with the compulsion to NOTE when that happens...and reinforce my NON eating behavior with some other pleasant reinforcer....

And I don't know really the true documentation of 'addictive' vs 'compulsive' vs 'obsessive'....nor does it really matter in the terms I use to explain to myself...I'm not so concerned with WHY it happens (overeating) but THAT it happens....and why now postOp I don't chug down zillon-quart milkshakes, etc....

I feel like there was a little swith that the Band had managed to activate, that never worked properly before.

I *CAN* eat like a normo....and enjoy it...

My new addictive behavior is aerobic gardening, now that spring is upon us....

I still get great pleasure from food. I have began cooking differently, and trying new recipes---especially vegetables---I used to fry dang near everything!! Now I buy higher quality food---and spend twice as long cooking it as eating it....but I cook in better ways, and am much more experimental. In the summer, I hit the farmers markets, and local produce farms, and am seriously looking forward to that again---I am tired of winter!!!

I notice food textures, and subtle seasonings more than I ever took time to do before. I don't eat a LOT of what I cook, I don't cook a LOT of anything anymore. It is just my DH and I, and he is very accepting of whatever experiment I place in front of him and call dinner!

I guess I am still addicted to food---I just turned it in a different direction, than stuffing as much as I can in my mouth----and I was reeeeeeaaally good at that!!! Hopefully someday I can be just as good of a cook!!

Kat

Thank you for all your responses.... it does help. I am concerned as a close family member had gastric bypass and is now an alcoholic. I talked to him about it and he said he needed something else to replace the food. He had no counseling before or after ..... That is one advantage I have is that my insurance has also approved a years worth of counseling for me along with the surgery. I cant stand drinking so I am not worried that will be my addiction ....I think I am more scared of the feeling of having to find "something" to fill the void. Thanks for listening........

I am glad my addiction transfer didnt lead me to gambling, drinking or smoking. I have found that I do now LOVE to go to the gym - now why couldnt that have happened before surgery??? I have also been reading ALOT lately. It takes up my time and keeps my mind off of wanting to eat just because.

I think the specific transfer to alcoholism is more common in surgeries like RnY and DS because they can get drunk VERY quickly with their rearranged anatomy...I'm SURE it happens with bandsters too, but there isn't quite as much physiologic incentive.

I don't really know how I feel about the idea of food addiction itself, but I know that a lot of people are compulsive overeaters and they do have to deal with the root cause of that or they are at high risk of either continuing and not losing weight (totally possible with the band) or transferring addiction to something else.

I am pretty compulsive about working out now, but I don't think it's really unhealthy, it doesn't interfere with the rest of my life. just the size of my butt, heh heh. I do love to shop, and that can be a problem since it is soooo gratifying to buy cute clothes in smaller sizes when you lose weight. I have to be very careful with that one and I try to only shop when I need something. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

That's great that you have a year of counselling preapproved! I don't think a lot of insurance companies have that much foresight. I'd definitely take advantage of that! The popular saying is that they put the band on your stomach, not your head...emotional eating and compulsive eating are NOT prevented by the band. But, the desire is diminished somewhat, and when you have weight loss happening, it reinforces your good behavior and helps you stay on track somewhat.

Good luck. These are very good questions to be dealing with before you have surgery.

Unfortunately, sugar goes right through the band. When I am stressed to the max, I still turn to sugar. Like yesterday for example, I was waiting to find out if my dad had lung cancer. The only thing I had in the house were different 100 calorie packs of stuff.

For the most part, I have gotten the exercise habit too. Exercise really helps me more than anything when I feel stressed. I get really upset when something interferes with my gym time.

I do know people who have turned to shopping. When they feel depressed or stressed, they spend money.

It's definitely something to think about. Oprah has had some shows on this.

I definately use food as a stress reducing tool but now it just doesn't work as well. Over the past few months I have been replacing food with exercise when stressed. Doesn't always work out but it can help sometimes.

Wouldn't it be cool if I switched to cleaning the house? lol

Me too! Somehow, that just doesn't seem likely!

I've actually become addicted to my ipod! When I'm stressed, I play an upbeat song, crank up the volume and sing at the top of my lungs. My family probably prefers that I eat but they'll have to get over it. LOL!