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Depression & VSG



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Hey I'm a newbie to BP. I currently suffer from sever depression & anxiety. During my psych evaluation, the psychiatrist expressed concern. She told me about wls patients have a high chance of being depressed and/or committing self harm. She recommended that I speak with a therapist. I will take her advice, but I think a lot of my anxiety/depression is weight related. I don't think it will go away completely when I lose weight but I think it will improve.

Has anyone experienced anxiety/depression before or after surgery? Did surgery make it better or worse? How do you cope?

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I don't know about the self harm but you don't have to read these forums to long to recognize the huge emotional upheavals involved. In the end, I also think you will feel better, but if you use food to soothe yourself or your obesity as self protection, you may find a lot of angst without them.

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My anxiety has decreased since vsg in July. Yes food is no longer a coping mechanism but I also feel better physically and am happier overall. I suspect you feeling better overall will help your mental health in the long run. Good luck to you

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I have both depression, anxiety, and ADD. I feel you girl!

Sleeve has actually proven, over the long term, to help people eventually ease up off of their meds. It's usually very positive.

That said, you can expect mood swings the first 3-6 months (including the pre-op diet.) It's a nutty time and your body is like, "WTF HAPPENED IN HERE?!!?"

If you go in prepared with that knowledge, you'll be fine. This is the first time I've ever heard of self harm, but I could see the concern if that's been a past issue for you. I had that problem about 10 yrs ago, and it hasn't even crossed my mind. This has honestly been great for me, but I also went in fully prepared with the facts and with my counselor on speed dial.

This will be an emotional journey. You're changing your life forever, and that's scary. However, more health, happiness and stability is on the other side. That's proven.

If you need a buddy, I'm here for you. I'm back on my meds, but honestly don't feel the need as much. I'm diligently taking them anyway; need to give my body some stability while it heals!

Don't be afraid. With a counselor and a support system like this one, you will be fine.

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I have both depression, anxiety, and ADD. I feel you girl!

Sleeve has actually proven, over the long term, to help people eventually ease up off of their meds. It's usually very positive.

That said, you can expect mood swings the first 3-6 months (including the pre-op diet.) It's a nutty time and your body is like, "WTF HAPPENED IN HERE?!!?"

If you go in prepared with that knowledge, you'll be fine. This is the first time I've ever heard of self harm, but I could see the concern if that's been a past issue for you. I had that problem about 10 yrs ago, and it hasn't even crossed my mind. This has honestly been great for me, but I also went in fully prepared with the facts and with my counselor on speed dial.

This will be an emotional journey. You're changing your life forever, and that's scary. However, more health, happiness and stability is on the other side. That's proven.

If you need a buddy, I'm here for you. I'm back on my meds, but honestly don't feel the need as much. I'm diligently taking them anyway; need to give my body some stability while it heals!

Don't be afraid. With a counselor and a support system like this one, you will be fine.

Thank you for your kind words and advice. I really appreciate it.

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I'm not on any meds but definitely suffer with anxiety and the build up to surgery day is not helping.

I feel that possitivity is key for you if you are genuinely considering the sleeve & you will find tons of that here.

Good luck.

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I started counseling before surgery and continue to go see a therapist twice a week. What I am finding is that this process is very hard and when I slip up, I feel an even deeper sense of inadequacy. Before surgery I used alcohol and food to help me deal with my feelings and now that those are physically not an option, I feel like I lost 2 of my best friends.

My advice would be to be honest with yourself and your own feelings. It makes it easier to confront and deal with those issues when they come up. I don't feel like the surgery increase my depression. I feel like it revealed to me how unhealthy my coping strategy was, and that was probably exactly the revelation that I needed.

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
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