RE: Am I going to become an Alcoholic ?

October 24, 2006

I watched the show and thought it was very insightful. Thing is, we have to

figure out what caused us to over eat to begin with. I thought Carnie

was very forthcoming. I too have felt at times that I was the poster girl for

this surgery. I'm so convinced it's a positive surgery that I don't want to

share any of the negative sides of having this surgery. Anyone else feel this

way? I am over 3 years out and am just now realizing that I have some issues

to deal with. Still food for me, but all in all, we do have to be honest and

figure out why we are where we are. I didn't, in any way, get the idea that

we are all headed for alchoholism, but I did become even more convinced that

we need to find out the reason we are overeating before we can live a healthy

life.

What does everyone else think?

Suzanne H.

High Point-Dr R

7/17/03

270/160/280

October 24, 2006

I watched a lot of the show and found it very interesting, although I

didn't see the whole show.

I am 6+ years post op and I have witnessed a lot of what the show was about

by various people I have met who have had the MGB. One of my friends lists

" divorce " as a side-effect in her patient letter. The MGB and WLS in

general, changes one thing...the size of your body, if you are lucky! It

doesn't change anything else. The same stinkin' personality, lousy husband,

nasty job/boss/kids you have don't go away. Living as a thin person DOES

give you more choices in the world, no doubt about it. I am " assumed " to be

a competent lawyer now when I walk into the room where as before I had to

work like hell to make everyone in the room comfortable with my size so they

would accept me for the task at hand...You should have seen me negotiate an

agreement with a room full of Japanese men in Tokyo when I was 300+. It

took some resources to say the least.

I think the point of the show and I have seen this over and over is that

addiction doesn't know its name...so if you can't eat because you will throw

up...the addiction looks for another outlet unless you treat the addiction.

Before I ever had the MGB YEARS ago, I spent 10 years in Overeater's

Anonymous...as Flo would say, " I yam what I yam... " Those meetings change

who I am. I don't go to meetings anymore but they were a very important part

of my journey. I am not and never have been a good " dieter " ...when I diet,

my addiction finds another outlet, usually spending...or something like

that. For me the challenge of life has been to live in the gray...to

neither diet nor binge, to neither spend every cent I make nor hoard it

(something not so likely to happen). I drink very little because I have so

much alcoholism in my family, I KNOW it is genetic, it's horrible for a WLS

patient and I have seen many of us get off track so easily with alcohol. I

have seen many of us think we are just so darn cute we can't believe it too.

Some have left miserable marriages that needed to be left and some have left

good men and women because they now thought they could do better. I spent

YEARS in therapy trying to understand my addiction to food. I never bought

that my body was broken...I thought it was entirely me. Now I feel

differently. For me, obesity is a hydra caused by many, many different

things. Some of them are arguably within our control and some just aren't.

We didn't get to pick the gene pool. I also know that the MGB has allowed

me to see the cycles of my eating and to realize that this too shall pass,

usually. It also makes me realize that the disease of obesity will never go

away...my head is my head and when I see a piece of cheese cake my first

thought will be... " , if you don't eat this...they MAY stop making it

and this will be the last chance you EVER have to eat it...now do you want

to DIE WITH THAN HAPPENING? " I don't pay so dearly for indiscretions any

more...my body doesn't hold me as accountable as it DID, it still DOES hold

me accountable, it's just a kinder gentler accountability.

We have the power to chose if we are going to drink or not. We don't have

the power to choose if we are going to be alcoholics or not if we drink. I

don't want to take that chance. I started having a glass of wine with a

friend over the last year or so on our regular Tuesday night outings...that

was up from my 2-3 drinks at the beach per year...then I started having a

second glass...then I said, " no thank you " ....not worth it. I don't really

enjoy the alcohol all that much but I have an addictive personality, I come

from the most addictive family in America and it just isn't worth it.

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=41044/stime=1161735856/nc1=3848489/nc2=3848569/nc3=3848642>

If you have the MGB and you think your only problem is that you are fat, you

are probably going to be disappointed. If that were the case, there would

be no unhappy thin or beautiful people. It's called the human condition. I

can tell you however, that I would much rather fight my problems in my new

body than the old fat one...was I the same person? Yes and no...Yes because

I knew who I was...I didn't know at 20 but by 40 I had pretty much figured

out that I was a worthy person who just happened to lose the war on obesity.

No because what I send out to the world is so different now. I am a nicer

person. I don't have my defenses up waiting to deflect the first attack that

I am sure is coming...and sometimes I am even wrong and that is ok. Life

after the MGB is like a rainy day at the beach...it just doesn't matter, you

are at the beach...

Ok, I am rambling now, so I will stop, but those are my thoughts on the

topic!

V

October 24, 2006

I kind of liked the lose sex and gambling as a by product of WLS

vaga_bondlady <globetrotter@...> wrote: I just watched Oprah

and she had on women who had the by-pass surgery

and they all had trouble with Alcohol.

Why are they drinking anyway ? We were told no Alcohol !! One of

the women was Carnie and I know she had the RNY, but still,

they shouldn't have been drinking anyway !!

I don't even like liquor..well, maybe a little wine but never drank

much of it anyway. But apparently one of the other ladies on the

show didn't drink prior to surgery either and then she became an

alcoholic after surgery !! GO FIGURE !! I guess this is all about

trading one addiction..i.e. food for another...alcohol. Apparently

all these women are now in therapy to deal with the new people they

have become since surgery, so do I have to start therapy now ?

Just wondering....

Pat s

Tarpon Springs, FL

Dr. P/ Houston

06/14/06 - NOW

265 - 206

---------------------------------

All-new - Fire up a more powerful email and get things done faster.

October 25, 2006

I haven't seen the show. I hope she didn't choose people that had problems just

to make it " interesting. " What a disappointment that would be!

:-) Kathy in VA

7/6/06

297/235

-------------- Original message --------------

From: " vaga_bondlady " <globetrotter@...>

I just watched Oprah and she had on women who had the by-pass surgery

and they all had trouble with Alcohol.

Why are they drinking anyway ? We were told no Alcohol !! One of

the women was Carnie and I know she had the RNY, but still,

they shouldn't have been drinking anyway !!

I don't even like liquor..well, maybe a little wine but never drank

much of it anyway. But apparently one of the other ladies on the

show didn't drink prior to surgery either and then she became an

alcoholic after surgery !! GO FIGURE !! I guess this is all about

trading one addiction..i.e. food for another...alcohol. Apparently

all these women are now in therapy to deal with the new people they

have become since surgery, so do I have to start therapy now ?

Just wondering....

Pat s

Tarpon Springs, FL

Dr. P/ Houston

06/14/06 - NOW

265 - 206

October 25, 2006

I think the MGB is a positive surgery, but it is still surgery and we all don't

come to the table on equal footing. There can be complications as with any

surgery. It is not a cure all. The problem with only telling the good stuff from

the surgery is people who have had the surgery recently have not gone all the

way through the process. I for one thought the nausea and throwing up daily was

part of it. I did this for 3 months before finally calling Dr. Rutledge. I am

now properly medicated and feeling great! I did have problems and a friend of

mine had a reversal...I quit the OTC medicine and nausea medicine too soon, so

it was my own fault. As far as the alchoholism..and the surgery goes...one

addiction for another and I agree we must deal with any issues that set us up to

overeat. Never -get too hungry,angry,lonely,or tired. HALT-All of us are human

and we need to be moderate in all things.Any addictions puts us at risk for the

others, we need to continue to chose life,

and be thankful for being able to enjoy fuller because of the surgery.

, luv2gab2@... wrote: I watched the show and thought it was very

insightful. Thing is, we have to