Overeating Struggles After Ileostomy and Sobriety

Had my ileostomy 4-5 years. I'm used to it by now. Every time I start to feel sorry for myself, I think, "Remember what it was like before."

I'm an alcoholic. I just passed 40 years without a drink or mind-altering chemical, but I still remember those days of no control. It seems my alcoholic tendencies spill into other areas of life, like food, which explains why I've been overweight since being clean and sober.

I'm trying to lose weight and enjoying some success. I discovered raw vegetables are low in calories, so I bought a lot of them and some dip made with light sour cream. They tasted really good, and my alcoholic tendencies kicked in. I ate a bunch!

My stomach began to hurt badly. My small intestine became so large I could see its shape. This lasted several hours. The pain finally stopped, and my ostomy bag filled with liquid. This happened several times until I finally returned to normal.

I hope this doesn't happen again, but alcoholism continued until I got help. I used AA and went to Overeaters Anonymous meetings, but they proved to be a joke.

Congratulations on 40 years of sobriety. It is a huge accomplishment. I have a colostomy and am kind of wary of eating raw vegetables. Of course, each of us is different in what foods our particular ostomy will tolerate. I do have the same problem with overeating sometimes, which makes me quite uncomfortable. I can't seem to get the discipline to eat several small meals during the day, nor time it right. I am also a recovering alcoholic and always have to be careful not to change one addiction for another. My best to you.

Thanks, Hugo. You mean I'm not the only one. :)

Being from CA, have you ever heard Clancy speak?

Welcome from Oz 🇦🇺

I eat vegetables every day; it slows down the old system a lot, but there is no issue.

As you've deduced, it was the quantity that caused you problems.

Addiction is as much a personality type as anything else. It is common to find it expressing itself in different ways once you've closed your main outlet.

I've had problems with overeating raw vegetables in the past. It's landed me in the hospital. I ate so many carrots that it temporarily blocked my intestines. It cleared up on its own, thank goodness.

This is what I did to prevent that from happening again. I would measure out my snack, making sure the raw vegetables didn't exceed the volume of my fist. Once measured, that was it. I put everything away and only ate my measured portion. My problems occurred because I had too much in front of me, so I kept eating like I needed to finish it or something.

PS Congratulations on 40 years clean and sober! What an incredible accomplishment!

My Ostomy Journey: Kimberly | Hollister

Hi all, as my oldest bro, who was a substance abuse counselor and recently passed, always said, everything in moderation will get you through life. R.I.P. Ken

You're definitely not the only one! Yes, I heard Clancy speak once here in Palm Springs.

Congratulations on 40 years; that is something to be very proud of…