bakawaka

CBT is so easy that you don't even ned s therapist. You can start with a book. But of course, a therapist can be very helpful. A therapist was one of the BEST invest,nets I ever made. Funny thing: my experience with Prozac is the same. I tried other medications but always go back to Prozac. When I go through depressive periods I increase the dosage to 20mg per day. During normal periods, I take 10mg per day. It is a wonderful medication and I am very grateful for it. While it does not fully eliminate depression, it does seem to reduce the "lows." I tried Zoloft for awhile and found it ineffective. I like the fact that Prozac has a long history and a lot of data to support it. Even my doctor takes Prozac- and he told me to stay on it the rest of my life to prevent the "lows." I wish you the greatest success with the obesity and depression journey.

I am four weeks post op. of course I am in the losing phase. But I fully anticipate obesity being a battle the rest of my life. I am nervous about the maintenance phase. I wish you success. All I can suggest is to go back to first principles: Protein first, lots of Water, no caffeine, limit carbohydrates, count calories and regular exercise. Wishing you the greatest success...

During first two weeks after surgery I was very irritable. Now that irritability is going away. I think that it is simply a matter of time - the body has to heal. We are in more physical pain and under more stress than we realize.

I have suffered from depression (and been on Prozac) for about 20 years. It runs in my family. I have found CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) to be very helpful. Essentially it involves identifying negative/self-defeating thought patterns, challenging them and replacing them. I plan to take Prozac the rest of my life. But I do think that CBT is a big help. It is not necessarily a complete solution but definitely helpful. I think that CBT can benefit anyone - depressed or not. I also perceive that many people have I diagnosed depression. Obesity might be both a cause and an effect of depression. I wish you and everyone success in the obesity and depression journey.

I am also scared of weight regain.

I am doing great with fluids but not always getting in all of my protein. Sometimes I forget to eat slowly but the pouch always retrains me quickly. I have had to vary my protein sources a lot. I am tired of eating protein. I cannot drink another protein shake and detest the taste and smell of whey protein isolate. I don't enjoy sweet stuff. I have been using salmon, roast beef, tofu and chicken as protein sources. Eating slowly is key.

I think that it is normal. It could also be from the physical pain being experienced during recovery. Also, we are making a lot of changes in our lifestyles.

i ate cottage cheese and yoghurt. Within 30 minutes I experienced an intense headache and a very red face. I also felt very hot. Is that dumping?

I eat steak and pot roast - but I chew everything very well. I am trying to eat a lot of beef to get my iron level back to normal

I am able to eat more and more every day. It scares me. But I think that it means that our stomachs are healing. We are supposed to be able to eat more over time. I ate pot roast and mashed potatoes and was shocked that I could eat more than usual. I am going to follow the principle of protein first.

IHOP has "senior" portions that anyone can order. They are smaller than normal portions.

I also have insomnia - sleep a few hours and then wake up - only since surgery - when I wake up I am very thirsty and have to drink water. So now I keep a full glass of water at my bedside.

Pain on the left side below the rib cage was my worst pain. I don't know why - but even 3 weeks post op, the left side is still the most sensitive.

I am having the same issue. I realize that I am going to have conquer head hunger to continue weight loss long term because over time the amount and variety of food that I can eat will increase. It makes me nervous about the future. I have to find a way to not have food playing e comfort role in my life.

Are you preop or postop? Postop I had very bad swelling at the connection between the stomach and the intestines - it took a few days for the swelling to go down. They called it "edema." Is this what you have? If yes, it does go away eventually.

I am cold all the time - I now wear sweaters inside my home which I never did before. I assume it is because of the weight loss.

My heart rate post op was high due to lowered iron levels - am now taking iron supplements to increase iron levels

I have seen many obese bariatric surgeons - I was surprised but it is true.

i vomited all the way to the hospital pre op out of nervousness. I had slight complications post op but even with those complications, I have no regrets. I am so glad that I went through this surgery. My pre op nervousness was not warranted. Surgery was not fun. Recovery was not fun. But no regrets.

I felt awful for two weeks post op because of the drain but since drain removal, I feel better day by day.

"Shut up" might be an appropriate response for some people. If they are other obese people making the comments to you, you might state, "hey, YOU should consider the surgery yourself - it's really wonderful surgery." I always just change the topic to "wow, I am so amazed at what technology has made possible. This is miraculous surgery." In other words, just steer the conversation. Another thought: some of these people making these comments might be people who should exit your life - you don't need the baggage. Just slowly let them exit. I do not regret telling people about the surgery. Yes, I hear stupid comments all the time. People usually make these comments because they feel pain when they see other people making self-empowering decisions and they are NOT doing so.

I was also told by other patients that the surgery would be very easy. Well, it wasn't. I had to spend 5 nights in the hospital. I was very weak. The drain stayed in me for two weeks - and was painful. I found the first two weeks to be challenging (just as cwctx has stated). As soon as the surgical drain was removed, the pain decreased dramatically. My energy levels improve every day. And I am losing weight, which is great. I have NO regrets. But I am amazed at how many RNY patients told me that the surgery was easy. They must have forgotten (or erased it from their mind). I would gladly do it all over again to lose this weight. But yes, this is major surgery. There is pain. Yes, pain medications control the pain, but those pain medications also cause constipation and cloud thinking. I did not enjoy the experience. I had excellent care. The nurses were great. My surgeon was excellent. And again, I am so glad that I had this surgery. It was NOT agony. One thing I did underestimate was the amount of time off from work that I needed. I originally thought that I would be back at work one or two weeks after surgery. I needed three. Like cwctx stated, this is one of the best decisions that I made in my life.