Recovering alcoholic

AnneCFB · April 24, 2008

Hi,

Through the help of AA meetings and the 12 step program I have been in recovery from alcoholism for the past 4 years. Since giving up alcohol, cigarettes and other mind altering substances my weight has sored which has led me to getting banded.

I am getting banded on 21st May and I am worried that it the surgery might not be enough. I am worred that my eating habits are more psychological than through hunger.

Does anyone have any advice they can give me? Will banding be enough to overcome this?

Thanks

Anne xx

wonnalose · January 6, 2009

hello youre story sounds similar to mine have been sober just a little over 3 years stopped smoking a little over a year and a half ago. was overweight the whole time. got banded sep 17 08. I still stuggle with head hunger. Maybe if journaling like writing down how much and when you eat. i know its hard for me to make a habit of new things. My sponser {a.a.} thought i should wait on being banded . Ive lost 44lbs so far sorry I dont know the metric conversion. Hope this helps

derbin247 · January 30, 2009

Hi i am an addict... two years clean and quit smoking a year and a half ago as wel... i am nervous about the head hunger as well... what do you do to pass it?

moonbeam · April 24, 2009

Hey. I'm in AA as well. Just passed my 5 year "birthday" I quit smoking 2 years ago, and quit the pot 3 years ago. food is my last addiction and it's the hardest cause you can't go cold turkey. I got the band last Tuesday. There have been a few evening (my binging hours) where I had foods I should not be having so soon out of post op. I didn't get sick from them, but managed to stop before I brought on a world of hurt with a real binge. I believe the head games for us food addicts will be the real challenge. The band is a great tool that will allow us to really really rethink how and what we eat, but as my sponsor said, we all play whack a mole (the game where you hit a mole down and another one pops up) with our addictions. That empty, what do I do with this time that I would normally spend drinking, smoking, getting stones, or eating. Its created a void, or rather it's show us the void that brought us to these behaviors in the first place. I believe it's up to us to find a healthy way to fill that void. A new craft, exercise, a class of some sort. Any type of healthy passion. This is a rocky one for me too.

funnychik · June 15, 2009

Hi,
Through the help of AA meetings and the 12 step program I have been in recovery from alcoholism for the past 4 years. Since giving up alcohol, cigarettes and other mind altering substances my weight has sored which has led me to getting banded.

I am getting banded on 21st May and I am worried that it the surgery might not be enough. I am worred that my eating habits are more psychological than through hunger.

Does anyone have any advice they can give me? Will banding be enough to overcome this?

Thanks

Anne xx

Hi. I am sober over 3 years now and I was worried about the same thing as you are. I was banded on 4/22/09 and so far I've had no problems. The behavioral thing is what I was worried about the most. What I've done is to increase my AA meetings and keep busy. Much like i did when I was newly sober. I am now starting to find out that if I use the AA principles and focus on my health and spirituality, everything else is just easier. I'm also very pleasantly surprised that i can enjoy the taste of something good and good for me, and not overeat it. I am on real food now and I feel like I can do this. Once you progress to real foods, I think you may find the same thing.

moonbeam · June 15, 2009

Hi there.

I am just over 5 years sober and had the very same thoughts as most of you. I was banded April 14th, 2009. I'm still waiting to hit my sweet spot or feel any restriction whatso ever, but I'm sure that once I get there it will most definitly be helpful. I do use food for comfort, but not feeling full until I've consumed an entire big bag of chips or several helpings of any food certainly doesn't help the situation. I'm looking at the band as a tool to help, not the solution. I also upped my AA meetings and I've started to get some counselling on disordered eating. Seems we all play whack- a - mole with our addicitons to one extent or another. Food is a tricky one because we can't simply abstain.

Bmaz · June 22, 2009

Hi all- I am a sober alcoholic and sick of the whack game. I was banded May 11, 09. No restriction since I've healed, but I have a much greater awareness of what I eat and WHY I eat it. Banding has yanked that "eating for comfort rug" right out from under my feet. I'm so ready though- if I'm uncomfortable or bored or stressed, so be it! I just pray I don't think of new and different ways to self destruct- ha! Beth