A woman "drank herself to death" after a gastric bypass made her swap her addiction to food with a drinking habit, her family said. Nicole Wilson, 44, had a binge eating disorder since childhood, and used food as a comfort, causing her to become obese.
She had a gastric bypass - where surgical staples are used to create a small pouch at the top of the stomach - and lost 120 pounds. And despite not drinking much alcohol before the op, about a year later, Nicole started drinking and it became "excessive and concerning", her sister Amanda Wilson, 46, said.
Soon she was drinking every day, and after being in and out of rehab for two and a half years, Nicole died from alcohol poisoning in November 2018. Amanda said she thinks her sister suffered from transfer addiction - when people trade food addiction for another dependence.
