I am 9 days out of surgery and my emotions are all over the place! I am still in liquid phase and should be changing to soft foods on Tuesday but my head hunger has been ferocious...I feel so goofy to be so attached and missing food like I am. Please tell me that this range of emotions is not unique to me...but I'm feeling like I am a woman on the edge...lol

I'm 5 days post-op and you are definitely not the only person experiencing this. While I don't necessarily WANT to eat things, when I see pictures/videos/recipes that are foods I really liked before (salty/creamy/savory, mostly) my head is like "yes, let's eat those! I want that!" It's a very strange feeling. Because while the front of my brain is still experiencing those cravings and I am angry at myself for still even having them after all my hard work and recovery, the deeper part of me is, while much much quieter, stronger than my head-hunger. I know somewhere that it's possible I will always find these foods to be objects of cravings, but I also know and feel deep down that I'm able to deny those cravings and instead of giving my body what it thinks it wants, give it what it needs. In the end, we will win and our head-hunger will not. Those are just crappy coping skills that will go away with time, therapy, practice, and probably no small amount of effort. But it will all be worth it in the end. Feel free to message me anytime if you want to talk or anything. Take care!

My doctor told me that people really underestimate the emotional and psychological impact of RNY. I had panic attacks and was a bit blue the first week. That was attributed to the anesthesia and major pain meds still leaving my body. I felt like my normal self emotionally two weeks after surgery. Hang in there.

I've heard that post surgery especially in the beginning that besides the psychological side of this, that there's also a hormonal release. Fat cells are full of estrogen even in men, so post surgery a lot of people experience the massive mood swings, the crying at a drop of a hat, the heightened sense of smell and taste, and nausea associated with morning sickness. That scared me a bit since I had hyperemisis gravidarum with all 7 babies! ???? but I think it's just a place we have to pass through in the tunnel to he other side and not a place, thankfully, that we stay.

You are not alone im everywhere and trying so hard to fix it. On top of being tired.

Thank you everyone for the replies it good to know that the crazy I'm feeling might not be so crazy...lol I'm just beside myself and hoping that I will even out as I am better able to see progress and are allowed more foods...we can hope...but for right now I guess I will be residing in Looneyville

@@kcmom24 You are definitely not alone! I experienced similar moods as you describe and it has gotten much better (I am 4 months post-op). I agree with @@Sajijoma abut the hormonal releases and my doc said to expect mood swings and heightened emotional responses - and that is even without battling our own demons such as why we have the head hunger and how we have used food to cope. For me, since I used food to cope with feelings and now I cannot, I am having more emotions - yet I view it as a chance to breathe, be with them and not push them down. Please be kind to yourself, I have found this to be the most helpful tool thus far (besides my sleeve, eating changes such as high Protein low carb, Water and exercise). Trying to have compassion for myself, for however I am feeling and whatever comes up has been hard, but very rewarding and made my emotions less intense and more balanced overall. Good luck, I think you are doing great just by acknowledging and feeling all your emotions - at least for me, it is a critical part of successful WLS and getting to my goals.

The emotional swings really do get better and it is different for everyone. The head hunger we deal with is always a battle. I have learned to simply change whatever I am doing at that moment to get my mind off of it.

I had the mood swings, the uncontrollable sobbing over getting a higher electricity bill, kids fighting would send me over the edge. The smell of an egg would make me lose my appetite for days. It has gotten better! My husband calls it skinny people problems!! Lol!! It has gotten better. In the middle of it all I went to see my gyno who laughed with me. I also had my mirena put it around this time so I feel like the hormones in that has helped. The mirena has been a whole new monster just FYI.

Oh my gosh so glad to hear this and find this thread! I have been a basket case lately. I'm 7 days out and a complete loony bin. First of all the nausea is killing me it wont stop! Then is the remorse and the crying all the time. I never cry, have never been a cryer and all I can do right now is cry and cry.

How long does this horrible phase last?