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See, I was expecting mood swings! This is more pervasive. I'm not upset, not all over the place, not having more anxiety. Just down. So looking forward to being able to exercise more (darn deep stitch is still sore).

Hi all, three weeks post-op here and everything food-wise seems to be going fine. I also anticipated crazy hormones, but I didn't expect it to manifest as depression. I mean, we ramp up for months or years for this surgery, we finally get it, the weight is coming off, and ... the blues set in? That's my experience the past two weeks. My family is noticing it more and more and starting to worry. I'm on Effexor XR for anxiety and mild depression and have been for years. Could it be the XR isn't absorbing correctly with my sleeve? I haven't had any withdrawal symptoms so I assumed there were no issues.
Anyone else very BLAH after surgery?
I'm hoping things improve when I return to work next week.

Yep, a new hair day for sure, though I don't think I'm going to tie it to a specific weight-loss goal. It'll be more like, "I'm 2 months out, it's time for a haircut to hide the thinning!"

Thanks for all the ideas! I brainstormed with my husband last night and another good one he suggested was family photos! I love this because it’s something that has meaning and will last. Will probably save this for closer to goal weight.

This has been an incredibly helpful thread. I suspect most of us have had similar experiences to some degree. When I divorced 7 years ago I lost a LOT of friends who I considered family, so that prepared me for this journey. I actually had to cut out my mother and brother, the former because she loves to sabotage, and the latter because he weighs 400+ pounds and doesn't want to hear about how I'm doing. It'll be interesting to see how co-workers (and my uber-body-conscious athlete boss) react when I return to work.
All this to say that there's nothing wrong with healthy boundaries. You can still love your family and friends, but you DO NOT have to tolerate their BS or feel responsible for their issues and hang-ups. Love them from a distance and decide later if you want to let them back in.

Just checked my BP....104/72 HR 54. I have not had a pill today.

How long before you were able to kick BP Meds to the curb? I have been on them about 10 years and have had some really low readings at times since surgery. I also suspect they create a little weight gain. Looking forward to being off these in the near future!

I did powerlifting a couple years ago and LOVED it. After I drop a good amount of weight I plan to incorporate lifting again - you're an inspiration! Great work!

See, I was expecting mood swings! This is more pervasive. I'm not upset, not all over the place, not having more anxiety. Just down. So looking forward to being able to exercise more (darn deep stitch is still sore).

You may be on to something there about that particular coping strategy being gone. I've not really battled depression since my daughter was little (post-partum) so this was a surprise. I think it also centers around not being able to sit with my family at the dinner table and partake with them - one of my favorite ways to connect. I know this is temporary and that I'll eventually be able to enjoy meals with them (just in much smaller portions) plus spring is coming. Getting outside is one of my MAJOR coping mechanisms. I always say gardening is my therapy.
I hope you find something to lift you out of this, too.

Due to COVID we just don’t get to socialize like normal and it has taken a toll. It is a tough time to give up a best friend, food. I had and continue to have depression and take meds for it. My mood swings were radical the first 4 months or so post-op...just ask my husband 😆 Things are definitely more stable now, but I have to exercise a lot to maintain my mood. If I skip two days in a row, I definitely get into a blue funk. Talk to your doc about how you are feeling and tweak your meds if you need to. Try some gentle exercise like walking. Hang in there! 💕

mood swings and other hormone-related weirdnesses are pretty common after WLS. It's supposedly due to estrogen being released from your fat cells (where it's stored). It'll level out and stabilize after a few weeks or months (hopefully weeks, though!)
bypass patients have issues with extended release meds, but I don't think sleeve patients do. But they may need to play around with your dosage or have you switch to a different brand if this one is no longer working.

I think there's a certain amount of sadness in realizing that certain foods are never gonna be the same. We made food so freaking IMPORTANT in our lives that a change in the relationship can feel like something you're grieving. Does that make sense? It's a little like a divorce, maybe. You know it's for the best, you know you need to do something different to be healthier...but you do remember the good times, and can get sad and nostalgic. Also, it's an eye opener to confront your feelings without being able to medicate them with food. Losing a coping mechanism can be hard. Gotta find a new one that is healthier. But yeah....it's easy to miss food's comfort and nostalgia...and that can feel sad and weird.

Yes, I've found this. Everyone's different, but my depression increased after surgery. My overeating was driven in large part by stress and depression and I knew that losing weight wouldn't make me feel "happier" but felt that it would make my life easier. I didn't expect the depression to be worse after the op, but it is. I think it's because the comfort eating was fairly effective at distracting from/damping down my depression and that coping strategy has gone. I'm 4 months post-op and still unsure what to do about it - I take a very low dose of anti anxiety medicine and am reluctant to take anti-depressants proper, but may have to go to my doctor if things don't improve. Good luck with your journey.

Haven’t had my surgery yet , my mom has and she went through this as well. It will change once you go back to work but I will tell you what I told her . Once you accept this as your new normal you’ll be fine. We get so stuck our ways that when change comes its like woahhhh! You’ll be fine! Enjoy the new you that’s coming

This has been an incredibly helpful thread. I suspect most of us have had similar experiences to some degree. When I divorced 7 years ago I lost a LOT of friends who I considered family, so that prepared me for this journey. I actually had to cut out my mother and brother, the former because she loves to sabotage, and the latter because he weighs 400+ pounds and doesn't want to hear about how I'm doing. It'll be interesting to see how co-workers (and my uber-body-conscious athlete boss) react when I return to work.
All this to say that there's nothing wrong with healthy boundaries. You can still love your family and friends, but you DO NOT have to tolerate their BS or feel responsible for their issues and hang-ups. Love them from a distance and decide later if you want to let them back in.

This has been an incredibly helpful thread. I suspect most of us have had similar experiences to some degree. When I divorced 7 years ago I lost a LOT of friends who I considered family, so that prepared me for this journey. I actually had to cut out my mother and brother, the former because she loves to sabotage, and the latter because he weighs 400+ pounds and doesn't want to hear about how I'm doing. It'll be interesting to see how co-workers (and my uber-body-conscious athlete boss) react when I return to work.
All this to say that there's nothing wrong with healthy boundaries. You can still love your family and friends, but you DO NOT have to tolerate their BS or feel responsible for their issues and hang-ups. Love them from a distance and decide later if you want to let them back in.

Hello everyone! I’m glad to be a part of this group and look forward to sharing and hearing about everyone’s journey, whether it’s contemplating weight loss surgery, newly post op like myself, or those with years of experience. I feel there is value in learning from everyone.
so for me, I have struggled my whole life with my weight. I have been up....and I’ve been down, but for me the weight always finds it’s way back to me. I know everyone has their own personal reason for having this procedure. My reason is more than just to lose weight. I have very significant spinal degeneration and have already had three spinal fusions on my low to middle back. Every surgery I am left with more debilitating symptoms. My hope is that with the gastric sleeve as my tool, I can lose the weight and actually keep it of. Less stress on my spine may buy me time until I need another spinal surgery.
My journey has been a long one, but I hung in there! Lol I began my 6 months of managed weight loss on December 18, 2019. I only had one month left until I would qualify for surgery, but my back surgery in March of 2020 left me unable to return to work. I lost my job AND my insurance. Luckily I was able to get on my husbands insurance fairly quick, but because I skipped a month of weight management appointments I had to start the whole process over again! Needless to say, it was a long road to travel, but on February 1st (surgery day) I was down 60 lbs! My starting weight was 275, so I went into surgery at 215lbs.
Here I am today at day 20 and for the most part things are going well. I am down another 13 lbs and starting my second week on puréed diet Monday. My biggest issue so far is heartburn!! I was already taking Omeprazole 40mg but the reflux is persistent! My bariatric nurse advised me it’s ok to take 1 tums and that has helped some. Has anyone else had persistent heartburn post op, and did it go away after a while? So far that is my biggest concern.
By the way, I didn’t mention my goal weight is 150, so I now have 52 lbs to go. I see many of you are losing lots of weight very quickly. I sometimes feel like my surgery wasn’t as effective, but I try to remind myself that it may be slower for me.
well, that’s my story! I look forward to hearing from others as I continue my journey! Thank you!

Those women aren’t your friends if they can’t be there for you in your successes and struggles. Misery loves company and you’ve opted out of that particular party. Pretty sucky when your own family doesn’t support you though. That must be rough.

side note: If WLS is cheating then isn’t taking advantage of other modern advances cheating too? Like using the microwave or washing machine or taking medication if we’re sick? The cheating/easy way comments are the dumbest arguments ever.

Congrats for dropping 800+ pounds of mostly toxic tissue, just like that! 😉
Don't worry about it, you're young and getting healthier, and you'll meet plenty of new people who will appreciate you for your positive attitude and the efforts you make to improve your life.

As a subtle (or not... 😈) FU, I'd mail my entire (now obsolete) wardrobe to my former "friends", with a note saying something like "I don't need these anymore, and I know how much you liked them. Enjoy!" 😂

Keep up the good work, stay true to YOUR course and make new friends!

There is nothing that my family won’t use as a butt of jokes, so I’m not sharing any information about this. My weight isn’t a joke to me, and I don’t trust them to be appropriate with the information so forget it. I haven’t seen any of them since before Covid, so when I eventually see them I’m sure some will guess but that’s not my problem.

In general people react very negatively to others weight loss because they don’t like the status quo being changed (skinny people who enjoyed being “better” than us) or feeling like their own weight is being called into question for those who are overweight.

I am only nice when I feel like it, so the one person who made a “joking” negative comment about my weight loss I just told them that was a very hateful statement and that I felt sorry for them that they are the type of person who thinks things like that. They immediately said it was just a joke and I told them if they think that’s a funny joke they need to examine their sense of humor.

But I’m a jerk who doesn’t care about being nice to people sooooo... 😬

and this is why i told no one about the WLS.... I completely understand exactly what you are going through....

My sister is the one giving me crap about my surgery. She has always been skinny, and I was always chubby.
When she saw me at Christmas time, I had lost about 60-65 lbs. She never said one word about my weight loss. Finally, my mom asked her how did she think I looked. Her response, though she barely looked at me, was "Oh maybe I will have to give her all my clothes that are too big for me now". She said in a very sarcastic way.
Then she said, "I guess its easy to lose weight when you can just have a simple surgery, and cheat your way out of it." Then she continued to talk crap about how most people can just go on a diet, not eat so much food, and lose weight if they really had to.
OMG, now I was getting mad! She knew I had to have the surgery due to being a severe diabetic. The weight loss was a bonus.
When it came time to eat dinner, all I could eat was a little bit of food, and then she made a wise ass comment about that. We have never been close, but this was a slap in the face. I haven't talked to her since, and don't really want to.

This. This right here is what people don’t get. It’s a tool. My ex had the surgery in 2016 (prior to us meeting), she lost a decent amount of weight, but made TERRIBLE choices regarding eating after, and in the time we were together she ate so poorly and stretched her stomach back out so much that she went from 4 bites on a first date 2017, to being able to eat 2 orders of sushi in one sitting this summer plus a beer. So I saw literally first hand how just because you have this surgery, doesn’t mean you’re not gonna end up 260 lbs again if you don’t use the tool you’ve been given properly (more like worked your ass off for).
Thanks for being so supportive. These “friends” are going on the trash heap. I have no time or energy for these behaviors when I’m working on a better me, I don’t need people tearing me down!! I just had a very small circle (4 people) and now, they’re ALL gone.
I appreciate you. thank you for your comment!!!

What the actual f**k? That person is NOT your friend. She put you down and then turned it around to make it all about her and HER "honest" efforts... she's jealous and trying to cut you down to make herself feel superior. Anyone who has been on this journey AT ALL knows this is quite far from the "easy way" or the "cheater's way." You made a choice for your health, now the it's time to choose your mental health and cut her out. 210 for your health is far from sickly (and congrats on the 50lbs! That's a LOT of weight!) My sister was a huge nay-sayer, saying that I was going to have bigger mental health issues and ruin my life etc. She just didn't get it. A lot of ppl who aren't there themselves don't. I'm sorry to hear your "friend" was so awful to you. You don't deserve that at all.