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“I Didn’t See This Coming.”: Why Are Postbariatric Patients in Substance Abuse Treatment? Patients’ Perceptions of Etiology and Future Recommendations

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Abstract

Background

Recent evidence suggests that bariatric patients may be overrepresented in inpatient substance abuse treatment, but the reasons for this are unclear. Patients’ perceptions of this problem may be of heuristic value. Using a qualitative approach, the present study evaluated bariatric patients’ impressions of how their postsurgical substance use disorders emerged and their future recommendations for those working with bariatric patients.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 bariatric patients in an inpatient substance abuse treatment program. Seven prominent themes emerged, four referring to etiology of substance use (unresolved psychological problems, addiction transfer/substitution, faster onset or stronger effects from substances, and increased availability of pain medications) and three pertaining to future recommendations (counseling pre- and/or postsurgery, increased knowledge of the associated risks of substance use postsurgery, and greater “honesty”). Blind coders rated the presence or absence of each theme in each interview.

Results

Of the four etiology themes, 75 % of patients acknowledged unresolved psychological problems, 83.33 % identified addiction transfer/substitution, 58.33 % noticed faster onset or stronger effects from substances, and 45.83 % identified increased availability of pain medications. For future recommendations, 41.67 % suggested counseling pre- and/or postsurgery, 70.83 % suggested increased education about the associated risks of substance use postsurgery, and 41.67 % identified a need for greater “honesty.”

Conclusions

Patient perceptions suggest that several common themes may be related to risk for the development of postsurgical substance use disorders.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Melissa Whelan and Rosa Quezada of Brighton Hospital for their assistance in participant recruitment and the EMU Graduate School for supporting graduate student co-authors. We would also like to thank Alisha Serras for her considerable assistance with data collection and data entry, and Kendra Clark and Bethany Feldman for their assistance with data coding.

Conflict of Interest

All contributing authors, Valentina Ivezaj, Karen K. Saules, and Ashley A. Wiedemann, declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI, 48197, USA

    Valentina Ivezaj, Karen K. Saules & Ashley A. Wiedemann

  2. Eastern Michigan University Psychology Clinic, 611 W. Cross Street, Ypsilanti, MI, 48197, USA

    Valentina Ivezaj

Authors
  1. Valentina Ivezaj
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  2. Karen K. Saules
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  3. Ashley A. Wiedemann
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Valentina Ivezaj.

Additional information

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Boards of Eastern Michigan University and St. John Health/Providence Hospital and Medical Center.

The preparation of this manuscript was supported by the Eastern Michigan University Department of Psychology and the EMU Graduate School.

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Ivezaj, V., Saules, K.K. & Wiedemann, A.A. “I Didn’t See This Coming.”: Why Are Postbariatric Patients in Substance Abuse Treatment? Patients’ Perceptions of Etiology and Future Recommendations. OBES SURG 22, 1308–1314 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-012-0668-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-012-0668-2

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