Food Addictions, Weight Loss Surgery

This comes at a perfect time. Maryjo Rapini on Fox Houston - PERFECT.

"The cycle is what destroys you."

Fox Houston

HOUSTON - Most professionals who work with weight loss patients know little about what makes a successful long-term weight loss patient; however they do know of several things that should be dealt with prior to a weight loss surgery.

If the patient can be candid enough during the psychological evaluation before a surgery, most of these issues can be discussed and helpful counseling sessions could address them.

Unfortunately, insurance may not cover the expense of counseling, so many of these issues remain hidden for the patient to deal with after surgery. This leads to an overwhelming feeling and many times a sense of failure for the patient.

The first of these issues is prior psychological history. This includes depression, bi-polar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention deficit disorder, external locus of control, and “magical thinking," which may lead to discontinuation of necessary psychotropic medications.

Secondly, the issue of abuse is a possible saboteur after surgery. Was there physical abuse, sexual abuse, and or verbal abuse? If this is not addressed prior to surgery it will not be a surprise to see an anxious patient 6 months post-surgery due to the feeling that they have lost their “protective cover”.

Thirdly, a low self esteem may lead to a patient not being successful after weight loss surgery. The patient may experience a sense of failure if they go off track (since it is a total life-style change they can expect to go off track once in awhile). There may be lack of accountability; many patients are socially immature, or, not wanting to take responsibility.

Fourthly, if the patient suffered from past grief or trauma that wasn’t dealt with prior to surgery this can make a patient fail. I have sit in my office many times talking to patients who gained their weight back after not being ready to give up losing someone close to them who had died, or a past rape that they had never dealt with.

Lastly, and perhaps the most frustrating for the patient is a history of addiction. This can present has a history of smoking, drug use, drinking, or food.

Cross addictions are a reality -- they really do happen. The Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, Ca. is seeing an influx of bariatric patients checking in for help with new addictions.

Addictions do not go away.

Anyone who had a food addiction prior to surgery, will most likely have one after the surgery. Sometimes they can anticipate
changing addictions, but with a food addiction many times they do not. They end up overeating many of the foods they did prior to surgery.

Food addictions can be present in many forms. They may present as compulsive overeating, night eating syndrome, binge eating disorder, and many other forms of eating that reflect an unhealthy relationship with food.

Symptoms of an unhealthy relationship with food include:

Fear of gaining weight while eating
Feelings of loss of control when eating.
Having thoughts about food and eating other than at mealtimes.
Thinking of food with feelings of guilt or shame.
Repeated attempts at dieting.
Self-consciousness or embarrassment about eating.
Lying about eating habits.
Eating to relieve stress or depression.
Eating when not hungry
Fear of not being able to stop eating when he or she should.

If anyone knows prior to surgery of a food addiction, they need to tell the psychotherapist. If a psychotherapist knows about the addiction prior to surgery, the professional can guide the patient so that after the surgery, the patient will be successful.