– Suddenly I got drunk faster and didn’t get any hangovers. I thought this was great fun, says Toril Egilsdatter Bøhn (58) from Lier. In June 2008, she weighed 105 kilos and underwent bariatric surgery at Bærum Hospital. Three months after the operation, she started drinking alcohol again. I liked it. Here is a rare photo from when Toril Egilsdatter Bøhn was heavier. Here she is on a forest trip with friends. Photo: PRIVAT Drunk heavily for 12 years The Lier woman says that she attended an information course with, among others, a nutritionist at the hospital ahead of the operation. – The doctors talked mostly about stomach problems and vitamin needs and mentioned the risk of alcohol addiction only in one sentence, she says. There was much-awaited nightlife and partying in the years after the operation. – It was so nice to get attention in a new body, and flirt and live life as I had dreamed, she says. Bøhn drank heavily every day for 12 years. – In May 2021 I fell ill. I had major damage to my nervous system after all the drinking, she says. In a few weeks, Toril Egilsdatter Bøhn went from size XXL in trousers to size XS. Photo: Elisabeth Sandve / news Section supervisor Jan Cyril Wexels at Bærum Hospital responds to the criticism on a general basis. – We teach all patients who are to be operated on for morbid obesity and include information about challenges in relation to alcohol, says section chief Wexels. Read the full response from Bærum Hospital at the bottom of the article. The addiction hits harder Figures from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health show that 3,000 people undergo bariatric surgery each year. The most common operation is gastric bypass. According to researchers, some patients can achieve two to three times higher blood alcohol levels with the same alcohol intake than they did before the operation. – Bariatric surgery reduces the stomach’s surface area and emptying time. Then almost everything you drink goes into the bloodstream and the alcohol hits harder, says researcher Magnus Strømmen at the Center for obesity research at St. Olav’s hospital in Trondheim. According to Strømmen, it is difficult to know how many people develop alcohol problems, because many patients hide it. Magnus Strømmen is a researcher at St. Olavshospital. He criticizes several hospitals for not providing enough information about alcohol addiction. Photo: Morten Andersen / news In his research, Strømmen interviewed, among other things, 35 patients before and after bariatric surgery. Everyone became addicted to alcohol. – Many have used food to regulate their emotions, and when the food is taken away, they look for something else that gives them the same peace and joy, says Strømmen. In the autumn, researcher Magnus Strømmen will publish ten years of research into the connection between obesity interventions and alcohol problems. Lack of common information requirements Today, there are no common guidelines for bariatric surgery at Norwegian hospitals. It is up to each hospital what they want to inform their patients about. – The information given today is too vague and misleading, believes Strømmen. Professionals are calling for more information to be provided about the dangers of becoming an alcoholic. – The Patient Rights Act requires us to provide patients with good information about benefits and risks. This is done very differently in the hospitals. It could be a national task to develop an information program for those considering bariatric surgery, says Strømmen. There are Nordic guidelines drawn up by nutritionists, but these do not say anything about alcohol addiction. In 2022, 117 people underwent bariatric surgery at Sørlandet Hospital. The hospital has nutritionists who monitor the patient. The hospital believes that they inform their patients well enough. – We inform the patients about the risk of alcohol overconsumption after weight-reducing surgery, and the mechanisms behind it, stresses senior doctor Helene Thomassen-Alsaker at the department for morbid obesity, unit for physical medicine and rehabilitation. Senior doctor Helene Thomassen-Alsaker at Sørlandet Hospital believes they give patients enough information. Photo: Elisabeth Sandve / news – Fear of the methods in private hospitals A third of all obesity operations are carried out privately, according to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Common guidelines for information will also be able to help patients who use private hospitals, believes senior doctor Randi Størdal Lund at the department for hormones, obesity and nutrition in Health South-East. – I fear that the information is being missed at the private clinics where you can order surgery one day, and a week later you are done and discharged, she says. The Ibsen hospitals are private. They advertise slimming surgery with summer prices. Photo: Screen dump news has spoken to Aleris and Ibsensykehusene, which perform bariatric surgery privately. – We inform about the high frequency of alcoholism among patients who have undergone bariatric surgery, says gastrosurgeon Bent Johnny Nergård at Aleris. The Directorate of Health will now look at the professional guidelines that the hospitals must follow. – Patients have a right to information about the treatment offered and about possible risks, says department director Torunn Janbu. Sober and hopeful Back in Lier, Toril Egilsdatter Bøhn has been sober for two years, and life is better. But she makes a clear appeal to the doctors. – I absolutely think they must be more direct with patients and provide better information about the dangers of alcohol, she says. After the operation, Bøhn’s life became different. She couldn’t eat much, but the alcohol calmed her body down. Photo: Elisabeth Sandve / news Answer from Bærum hospital – We teach all patients who are to be operated on for morbid obesity and include information about challenges in relation to alcohol. Alcohol addiction is an absolute contraindication, and abstinence for the past 5 years must be documented before surgery is granted. The dangers of alcohol are being reviewed and in recent years there has been increased attention to the dangers of alcohol even among those who have not used alcohol before, says section chief Jan Cyril Wexels.
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Toril became an alcoholic after bariatric surgery – the hospitals do not warn well enough – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
