mtlmiracle

I am very worried about the mood swings and intense depression after surgery which I have experienced all my life and it's really bad when I'm restricting my portions. What type of symptoms did you have if you don't mind me asking. I often get angry or become overly sensitive to every comment or perceived slight.

I haven't done the surgery yet but I'm a busy mom who has dieted a lot. In 2018 I did a lot of fasting and I mean like rolling 42-hour fasts. I was not hungry during a fast but I was so lethargic I struggled to keep the house. I did that for about a year and learned some coping skills:
-Give yourself a lot of slack and compassion, take deep breaths, stay grounded.
-treat it like exercise, push yourself while you are working but take frequent rests.
-use electrolyte drinks more often especially if it's hot outside.
-putting a small piece of salt in your mouth can boost your energy and halt hunger.
-have as much of a routine as possible and keep it simple to avoid stress.
Overall it is super hard having to deal with the stress of other people while your own body already feels so upset! I always put my kids first and it was to my whole family's detriment. Now I have to put the focus back on myself again and lose the weight once more.

I keep a simple notebook journal for my feelings and thoughts. I remember when I start to feel depressed so I can go back and take note. I used to use a calendar with happy, sad, angry, blah faces. When I get to two weeks or more I evaluate the extenuating circumstances around me, like major life changes, allergies or menstrual cycle. If it can’t be logically explained I seek out therapy.

It sounds like you know what is causing the problem. food used to help you cope. Therapy will help you find the root of your feelings and name it, and express it in a healthy way instead of overeating. While you are looking for a therapist (try your WL center first, but there’s lots of online options too) try tracking when you feel like binging and all the stuff going on around you. I’m finding Friday nights very tough. Maybe you’ve been struggling for a long time and need medication and more help. Mental health is physical health. Physical health is mental health too.You did the first step of identifying the problem and the second of asking for help. You will figure it out and what works for you. Keep us posted on your progress. I know you can do this!

I am 8.5 years out. I have been pretty happy for the most part. In the last 3 years I have had about a 20 to 25 lb regain, and I am trying to get a hold on it. I am having some IT band issues which has halted the running I was doing prior to that. I am on the road to re-learning how to eat again: small portions, more Protein, and don't eat late in the day.
Any other tips would be appreciated!

I have depression. After surgery I felt energized. It was amazing. For the first time in years wanted to be a part of things again. I know my results are not normal. I have taken Prozac 20 mg for 10++ years. I was especially moody post surgery, but it has settled down. I feel great and have felt great since my surgery. My initial mood swings were challenging for Hubby and I, but I think we have come through to the other side. Hang in there! The first few months are so hard.

This surgery changes hormone levels, and it's a bit rocky for awhile. Our bodies have over 300 hormones, when one or more are altered our moods are greatly affected. And it's used to being insulin resistant - most everyone that is obese is suffering from insulin resistance and inflammation. Now add to that our abuse of food to alter mood, cope, and to socialize and it's a perfect storm. You have to replace those previous 'behaviors' with something else that satisfies those 'needs'. I believe exploring this in therapy or group support is a constructive option everyone needs to do. It is a HUGE process to make these changes, both in your head and physically as we have arrived in this situation after years of living with our collective experiences and relationships with food and people. Be gentle with yourself.
Sometimes it also takes medication, ongoing therapy, exercise, and time. And you can't look back, push on and know that the physical health you get with this surgery is amazing. Good luck.

I'm so thankful for everyone who commented, it genuinely made me feel much better knowing that it is a common thing that most of us who did the surgery went through it too. It's honestly so comforting to have a forum like this to constantly talk about my experiences with the surgery to people who are either going or have already gone through the exact same things as me.
I will be looking forward to completing my 2 weeks so start feeling better.
Thanks again everyone!

I understand that low ebb feeling. I have lost all motivation to restart a new diet program because I know in the end it's the same things I was doing before and it just didn't work. I also tried really strict Keto and exercised a ton, like ran 4K every day, biked to work, lifted super heavy weights for a woman. I also did fasting and actually enjoyed it but it just didn't stick when life got mixed up with my routine. I just can't go through it again with that fear of failure.
I need something much more permanent and long-term. A tool I could fall back on when life gets too stressful. Maybe the sleeve will be like a hard stop to overeating and provide a real-time reminder that overeating does not feel good.
I hope your appointment with the surgeon goes well! I also have a consultation on October 19th. I'm not sure yet if it will be me trying to convince her or her trying to convince me lol I have a lot of concerns about reflux and want to avoid any revision surgeries. Do you have a set of questions to ask the surgeon?

I'm a 34 year old woman with a current weight of 260 height is 5'6. I have lost and gained over 60lbs at least 3 times. I was never able to maintain the weightloss for longer than 6-8 months at a time. I have done strict Keto, Fasting, and intense exercise routines multiple times in my life. I was successful in losing weight every time so it wasn't that I couldn't commit myself or apply weightloss techniques that work for me. I would just simply go back to overeating every time.
I really don't know if fasting will work for me longterm if I add coaching. I certainly want it to work but I have small children and a husband who likes to eat big hearty meals so cooking and shopping for food are part of my regular daily activities. I find when I'm fasting it is really difficult to cook a hot delicious meal that I simply cannot even taste. So I end up cooking a quick meal for my family which is not the healthiest.
I will keep exploring the surgery option. I really appreciate all of the feedback so far. The new ideas like searching for my own bariatric therapist and using my family doctor to do my bloodwork after surgery has given me some hope that I can do this. 😊

I'm a 34 year old woman with a current weight of 260 height is 5'6. I have lost and gained over 60lbs at least 3 times. I was never able to maintain the weightloss for longer than 6-8 months at a time. I have done strict Keto, Fasting, and intense exercise routines multiple times in my life. I was successful in losing weight every time so it wasn't that I couldn't commit myself or apply weightloss techniques that work for me. I would just simply go back to overeating every time.
I really don't know if fasting will work for me longterm if I add coaching. I certainly want it to work but I have small children and a husband who likes to eat big hearty meals so cooking and shopping for food are part of my regular daily activities. I find when I'm fasting it is really difficult to cook a hot delicious meal that I simply cannot even taste. So I end up cooking a quick meal for my family which is not the healthiest.
I will keep exploring the surgery option. I really appreciate all of the feedback so far. The new ideas like searching for my own bariatric therapist and using my family doctor to do my bloodwork after surgery has given me some hope that I can do this. 😊