I may have posted about this before but here I am again! I suffer from Bipolar 2 and have wondered if anyone else has who has had the gastric sleeve and how they are doing. I am having my surgery on June 14th and feel really anxious. I just hope things turn out ok. I you don't want to be public about your illness you can private message me. I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

Hi, I am new to this board and have started the process for the gastric sleeve surgery. I came across your post and since I am bipolar 1 . I thought your experience in the process might help me. I went to an information session 2 weeks ago and 2 days ago I had an appointment with the doctor who is the director of the program. Everthing went well but he has a concern about how medications for depression and bipolar will make it difficult for me to reach my goal after surgery. At the end of the visit he took me to his secretary to make the next appointmetns but she asked me to see the social worker before making appointments. I then had my appointment with the soial worker and when the visit concluded she advised me to call her today as the team needed to review my case to see what comes next (don't understand why the dr was ready to give appointments and she kind of put that on hold). I called her today but left a message in her voice mail. She seemed concerned about the medications I take. Did you have any problems with your diagnosis or medications.

Hi, I am new to this board and have started the process for the gastric sleeve surgery. I came across your post and since I am bipolar 1 . I thought your experience in the process might help me. I went to an information session 2 weeks ago and 2 days ago I had an appointment with the doctor who is the director of the program. Everthing went well but he has a concern about how medications for depression and bipolar will make it difficult for me to reach my goal after surgery. At the end of the visit he took me to his secretary to make the next appointmetns but she asked me to see the social worker before making appointments. I then had my appointment with the soial worker and when the visit concluded she advised me to call her today as the team needed to review my case to see what comes next (don't understand why the dr was ready to give appointments and she kind of put that on hold). I called her today but left a message in her voice mail. She seemed concerned about the medications I take. Did you have any problems with your diagnosis or medications.

I am also bipolar and they told me that's why I had to get the sleeve. I can't understand why they are being so dramatic about bipolar medication. I'm pretty sure we aren't the only two people to get this surgery and being bipolar at the same time. You should definitely ask them directly what is their position on this or if they have a problem with your medical issue. My doctors have been very supportive and knowledgeable about being bipolar.

I have bipolar (some discussion as to whether or not it's 1 or 2) and had the sleeve. My surgeon didn't want me to get the bypass or switch though because of risk of malabsorption of the meds. He did also say that patients with bipolar can sometimes experience increased swings after the surgery because of the hormone flush (even people with no mental illness also experience ups and downs because of the hormones) so he just wanted to know I'd be well monitored by my psychiatrist. In his experience patients who weren't controlled on meds and monitored could have a harder time losing weight because of the likelihood of emotional and binge eating. But again, that's a concern with more than just bipolar. So as long as you're controlled on your meds and your psych is on board to perhaps check in with you a bit more often for the few several months then there shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks so much for your support. The doctor and psychologist are not concerned about being bipolar. Their concern is the fact that medications for bipolar and depression tend to increase your appetite and lower your metabolism. Mostly Seroquel. I only take 50 mg at night to help me sleep. This is a very small dose. I know people who take from 200 to 800 mg. Let's see what they say when they return my call. I am just so frustrated :-(.

It seems like at most they might want you to check with your psychiatrist to see if there is another med you could take in place of seroquel. My daughter dropped 40 pounds when she stopped taking it.

I am willing to change medications. I told the doctor that my psychistrist wanted to switch me to Abilify but he said that one is as bad as seroquel. I have tried so many medications to help me sleep and Seroquel is the only one that has worked.

I am so disappointed. I just got a call from the social worker at the hospital. The one who did the screening for the surgery abd she said that before I can start the process I need to have 12 visits with a therapist aside from my psychiatrist because I had a hospitalization 5 years ago and because of the medications I take and my eating patterns. I honestly feel as if they are saying"we are not denying you treatment but we are going to make it difficult enough that you quit". Most of overweight people suffer from some kind of depression (based on statistics). And who doesn't over eat when they are over weight. I am wondering if I can go to a different hospital.