I'm preparing myself for admission to a 45-day rehab for alcohol addiction post RNY gastric bypass. This is not the first round of treatment. I had my gatric bypass 10/1999 in San Diego CA at the facility operated by Drs Clark and Wittgrove. By nine months post op I lost 106 pounds and maintained that loss through 2008. However, during that time I also began experiencing and struggling with a dependence on alcohol. Dr Clark explained that once I physically adapted to my new physiology, I could re-introduce various other foods and drinks, determining whether they would compel the infamous "dumping syndrome". Sugar was a definite "no consume", but when I went to my family's traditional Sunday brunch several months post op and slaked my thirst with a flute of champagne, I did not experience dumping syndrome. All I felt was a "super high" from the sip I took. After that, the game was on. My addiction began in earnest. Dumping Syndrome I was warned about. There were no flags waved before me about the possibilities of alcoholism and alcohol addiction. I am waving those flags now! I first went into treatment April of 2008. I did not complete the relapse segment of treatment because I had scheduled reconstructive surgery for a work related injury. The surgery schedule overlapped that final stage of rehab. I think God walked with me through those years because I remained sober until my mother began dying in late 2016. It was then I began drinking volumes of wine that increased to the equivalent, on average, of 4 bottles of wine a day. Occasionally, I thought drinking vodka a better alternative than drinking wine. Don't ask me why. The mind of an addict. I returned to wine. Drug of choice. Drug of self-destruction. One day I decided to try and find out why and and how my "take it or leave it " attitude toward alcohol became a "can't live without it " condition. On the internet, I discovered that, as gastric bypass patients, we are unique. In the same way that we each do not necessarily experience dumping syndrome, we do not experience the effects of alcohol the same. Post gastric bypass, my physiology became hyper receptive to the effects of alcohol, particularly the initial high produced from its consumption. I believe there is no way on this planet that I am unique in this experience. I want others to know, as I now seek treatment a second time on June 13, 2019, that if this is happening to you, don't wait, don't blame yourself, it's your body reacting to the changes made. Be totally honest with those treating you. Only then, hopefully armed with what I'm writing here, can you get the medical help, psychological treatment and ongoing care that will make you whole. Sent from my SM-G975U1 using BariatricPal mobile app
