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Anyone dealing with some pre-surgery depression?



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Is anyone else out there dealing with any pre-surgery depression? Any idea on overcoming it prior to D Day?

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Can you be a little more specific? Is it depression or nervousness/fear? Many people express fear of the surgery itself; others are depressed over the prospect of "never" eating favorite foods again (not true, but amounts and frequency should change, at the least). Or are you talking about clinical depression, which I'd recommend seeing a doctor to treat.

For nervousness about the surgery itself, I'd just say that it's generally very safe; you'll be out during it and may feel quite lousy when you wake up, but they'll give you pain meds and you should find it quite tolerable after that. I know I'm lucky, but I felt no pain after the first ten minutes or so. So that's one possible experience; your mileage may vary.

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Do you have a history of depression? I struggled with some regret/worry. (Wish I did this sooner. Wish I was genetically thin like others. Worried about failure.) If you are truly depressed talk to your doctor ASAP. You will heal better if you are controlled first.

Also are you on the milk diet yet? I struggled with that and fought with my hubs in a major way. Lots of "feelings" during that. Take your Vitamins, B and D can cause symptoms.

I am 2 weeks out and doing well and feeling good. Totally worth it.

Sent from my SM-G955U using BariatricPal mobile app

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I think that I had a little bit of depression if you will before surgery. I had always been active. I had failed at every diet I had ever tried, so I felt like a failure at controlling my weight. My A1c was at a 6.3. It was a 5.9 a year earlier. I had tried really hard to lower it, but it increased instead.

I was anxious about the surgery, and unsure about the future. My family kept telling me that this was my last chance, so the pressure mounted. I had read about people having to give up foods that they loved, so there was a bit of anxiety about that as well.

Two weeks before surgery, I decided that I was going to put everything in God's hands. I wasn't going to worry anymore. This was a chance at a reset....a do-over. I was going to take this opportunity and run with it. I stopped caring about failure. I stopped with the What-ifs. This time, I was going to be positive about my future.

I had surgery two weeks later, and never looked back.

If you are feeling anxious about this surgery, your future, or feeling sorry for yourself as I did....Talking with someone can help. I never spoke with a psychiatrist about it, but my family got an ear full. It felt good to get it off of my chest.

Good luck in your journey...You are going to do great things!

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12 hours ago, celticNgel said:

Is anyone else out there dealing with any pre-surgery depression? Any idea on overcoming it prior to D Day?

I'm excited! ..... It's been since last Oct. since I began this journey! I thank God for my upcoming By~Pass surgery on 9.25.17. Without it.... I will die. I'm insulin resistant, so the shots really aren't helping me much at all. I want to live & will do everything in my power to make this happen. Maybe it's not so easy for some to 'deal', but I look for the positive in things & it has helped me, more than I can say.

Sending positive thoughts your way!

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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. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • 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💪
      · 0 replies
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