I was sleeved 7/17/13 and I have been a roller coaster of emotions. At first I was waking up at night in a hot sweat just feeling in a total panic, I would think "omg I ruined my life". That has seemed to be a little better. I did wake up this morning feeling anxious, no sweats just general anxiety about getting all my protein and water in. I went back to work last week and that has helped, but in the midst of my first week back I had a bad reaction to Cipro and my feet swelled and that made work hard. I can't put my finger on exactly what I am anxious about, I think it is just a huge change and I want so bad just to feel normal. Anyone else go through this?

Yes. The emotional aspect is probably the most difficult part of this whole thing. Most of us experience it to some degree. For me it wasn't bad dreams or anxiety but more an influx of emotions that I wasn't prepared for. It's like you spend most of your life using food as a comfort and a friend. Then all of a sudden you don't have that ability anymore. It took me a good 3 months to begin to get a grip. Some people sooner and others longer. You are going to hear this a thousand times, but it will get better. Being as you were strong enough to make the decision to have this surgery and actually follow through with it, you will undoubtedly come to terms with what you've done and the aftermath. My personal experience is that the surgery and recovery was a cakewalk compared to the mental and emotional changes that took place. You know in your mind why these emotions are an issue. You just changed the rest of your life by having an operation that took away the most of your stomach, it won't ever come back, and you can't use food as a source of comfort anymore. The trick is to be strong enough to work through the emotions and reach a place of acceptance. No fun - I realize this but you can do it. You were on the ball enough to know you needed to change and I'd be willing to bet you are able to get control of the horrible emotional roller coaster as well. It's not easy and it sure isn't fun but you got this - keep your chin up and take one day at a time. You'll make it just fine:)

I started to deal with anxiety and anger after a few months actually - I was told its about the loss of hormone receptors that are in your stomach that disrupts the mood for a while. knowing that helped me to deal, then I tried some medications which helped level me out. It takes a while for the body to adjust.

If you used food to soothe yourself, that may be the source of your anxiety. you no longer can use food that way, but here is the bad news, in a few short months... you can physically overuse food again. Now is the time to start working through this and finding other ways to get the emotional needs met. Many of us have been through this - it isn't always easy but it is worth it. Even now, in maintenance, I notice that if I get really stressed, I tend to want to snack.

It gets better, but it is a process... hang in there.

Thanks everyone