Question:
13days to surgery. Alcohol ntake more than I told docs....
Tell me how important this is...please!! — Debby M. (posted on August 29, 2002)
August 28, 2002
Can you not drink any alcohol between now and surgery. If you can't easily
abstain, then you have an addiction problem that needs to be taken care of
before you have surgery. The other reason they ask about alcohol
consumption, is because of liver problems. Take care of yourself.
— faybay
August 28, 2002
CALL YOUR SURGEON ASAP! RIGHT NOW! Excess drinking post op can kill you,
its literally that serious if you have a addiction. I am not trying to
alarm you but make you aware of the risks.WLS does NOT work for those
folks. Does your surgeon require a psych consult? ALL surgeons should to
screeen for such problems.. Once the addiction is under control surgery can
proceed, its not a never situation, just a necessary delay to save your
life. ALL of this info from our supprt group meetings told to us by our
surgeon and aproving Psych doc.
— bob-haller
August 28, 2002
A nutritionist at a recent support meeting told me that as post ops our
livers have to work 5 times more than before surgery to process each drink,
because the portion of intestine that used to break down alcohol is now
bypassed. So like drinking 2 drinks would be the same as drinking 10 drinks
pre-op. That was the first time I heard that, but it scared me enough to
slow my drinking to just about a stop. If you feel you have an alcohol
problem PLEASE get help. Not just for you, but the people who love you. (I
have a close relative who is an alcoholic...)Take care and God Bless. -Kim
open RNY 7/17/01 -127
— KimBo36
August 29, 2002
ThankYou for your responses! But, oh my gosh, my drinking is not that
excessive! But it does sound like post op it will be a definite no-no.
Won't any "abnormalities" show in my pre-op bloodwork?
— Debby M.
August 29, 2002
I have read the responses to your question and I totally understand and
agree where everyone is coming from. It's true, Debbie, that if you have a
problem abstaining from alcohol, then you MUST take care of that problem
before surgery because you cannot drink after surgery like you could before
surgery. BUT I will tell you I was a partier and enjoyed drinking my wine
at home in the evenings after a days work. I knew that part of my life
would HAVE to change when I decided to have surgery. I had my last
"party" night one week before surgery. My blood work came out
normal. Everyone is different, but I am sure you will be okay thirteen days
before surgery.
— Sharon C.
August 29, 2002
I can tell you this, I had a very good friend who had this surgery years
ago and did not give up her drinking. She was an alcoholic and totally
lied to her Dr. I'm not suggesting you are an alcholic, but be honest with
yourself about how important alcohol is to you. She did not lose her
weight and has had many, many problems. She totally regrets the surgery
and claims it doesn't work. I watched her sabatage herself and not do any
of the things she was supposed to do. Bottom line, first figure out how
important alcohol is to you and then decide about the surgery.
— Kathy S.
August 26, 2007
Your surgeon and nurses need to know if you use alcohol, street drugs, etc.
They don't ask this to be a pain to you, they need to know because when
you are in the hospital, and say if you were addicted to alcohol, you would
have signs and symptoms of withdraw. That can be very detrimental to you
and your family. It's best to be upfront, so they can give you the best
care they can. I'm a nurse and it is very common to see patients
experiencing withdraw from alcohol and drugs. If we know your complete
history before hand, we can give you the proper meds to help with any type
of withdraw symptoms you may experience.
— Angela213
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