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2 Weeks Post-Op - Depressed, Discouraged



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Hey everyone. My name is Claire and I'm 29, I recently had my lap-band removed and converted to the gastric sleeve. I had my surgery on 12/4/2019 so I'm almost 2 full weeks out. I've experienced a number of emotions since the surgery but most prevalent at the moment is depression. I feel so sad and so overwhelmed with how much weight I have to lose. After the lap-band I lost over 100lbs, my lowest weight was 154. I managed to gain over 200lbs within the last 5 years, where my alcoholism and addiction became increasingly problematic until I got sober 2 years ago.

I'm impatient and I want the weight to "fall off" like everyone told me it would. All of the comments from friends and family like "you're going to lose weight so fast, you'll look so great" were nice before the surgery, but now I find myself feeling pressure and unsatisfied with my progress in 2 weeks. I've lost 22lbs since surgery. I'll have my 2 week post-op appointment tomorrow.

I'm following my post-op diet and have been drinking plenty of Water, Protein Shakes, some yogurt, and some thinned Soups. I eat less than 400 calories a day.

Logically, I know that 22lbs in 2 weeks is great but I still feel so depressed and discouraged. I'm not sure what's going on with me. I know I have to make lifestyle changes to lose weight and keep it off, I've done it before and I know I can do it again but for whatever reason my brain is telling me that I'm going to fail this time. It's scary. Just looking for some support or advice from others.

Thanks,

Claire

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22 pounds in 2 weeks is awesome! You’re right on track. Don’t feel discouraged. One day you’ll look up and won’t even recognize yourself. Hang in there!

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Please don't beat yourself up, Clair!! Whoever told you the weight would "fall off" is SO wrong!! Nothing happens overnight. The pounds didn't load on overnight, They're not going to leave overnight.

Congratulations on your 2 years sobriety! It's not an easy feat. You did that! You can do this!!

22 pounds in 2 weeks is GREAT!!!

Hang around here - we have your back!

You can do this, Clair!! You can!!

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Hi, Claire! Hugs to you. Please don't feel overwhelmed and depressed. Your body just went through makor surgery and some folks get depressed as an after effect of general anesthesia. Give your body time to adjust. Youre doing great. I'm almost 9 months post bypass and have lost 101 pounds form my highest pre surgery weight. If I can do it, you can too! Slow and steady wins the race. Not a sprint. Chin up and keep up the good work. You're awesome!

Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app

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22 lbs in two weeks is way more than I lost. It took me about six weeks to lose that much, and we started out at about the same weight. If you're comparing yourself to the people on "My 600 lb Life", don't. Those people are starting at WAY higher BMI's than the average WLS patient. You are doing just fine!

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You think you're depressed ? You had your surgery one day after me, and you have lost one more pound than me. That's crap! Now I'm depressed.

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Not really :), chill, you are obviously right on track.

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32 minutes ago, Fatboyslim1 said:

You think you're depressed ? You had your surgery one day after me, and you have lost one more pound than me. That's crap! Now I'm depressed.

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Not really :), chill, you are obviously right on track.

Hah! We can do this! ☺️

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Since your sober you know you need to take it one day at a time. Sobriety is huge in and of itself! Two weeks out I was only down 15lbs. Everyone is super supportive here. Keep coming back!

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I was down 14 pounds two weeks after surgery, and reached goal at 7 months (105 pounds lost). You are doing great! HOrmones can really mess with your mind, as well as the ketosis you are in. Ketosis can also result in high energy and feelings of euphoria, so that may be around the corner for you. I would guess that so many hormones are being released from the fat tissue and that is causing a lot of the depression. Hang in there. You will make it through this and you will be successful. You are already beating one of the most serious and difficult addictions known to humankind - alcohol, and you will beat this food addiction as well. Do you think you transferred the alcohol addiction to food? I hope you can get (or continue) some really good therapy to help you in this battle. We are standing with you!

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This is such a collaborative support system and good energy being generated. Group hug, 🤗.

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Head Games Dont let them win .......... you are doing great and shake the mind games out of there - This is your life and you are rocking it ....

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10 hours ago, AZhiker said:

I was down 14 pounds two weeks after surgery, and reached goal at 7 months (105 pounds lost). You are doing great! HOrmones can really mess with your mind, as well as the ketosis you are in. Ketosis can also result in high energy and feelings of euphoria, so that may be around the corner for you. I would guess that so many hormones are being released from the fat tissue and that is causing a lot of the depression. Hang in there. You will make it through this and you will be successful. You are already beating one of the most serious and difficult addictions known to humankind - alcohol, and you will beat this food addiction as well. Do you think you transferred the alcohol addiction to food? I hope you can get (or continue) some really good therapy to help you in this battle. We are standing with you!

The real answer is here! Support and everything is great but we all know depression won't be cured by people saying it'll get better. This is strictly a hormone issue - your body is flushing out fat cells and with it comes ALL THE EMOTIONS!!

It too will pass. 22 pounds in 2 weeks is great. About what I was at. I'm 8 weeks now and 57 pounds, so it'll keep coming. Work hard, eat right, start walking and working out.

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Thanks everyone for the support and encouragement. Rereading my post, I see how ridiculous it is that I'm feeling this way only 2 weeks post-op. I need to reel it back in and take it one day at a time!

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Claire:

I was sleeved two days before you and I'm down 25 pounds...so just about the same as you. As a meme pointed out, it took years to put on the weight and so it will take some time to take it off. You've done it before and you can do it again. Just don't sabotage your work with negative thinking. I've decided to stop taking daily weights and go to weekly now that I'm two weeks out. That way I won't have the up and down emotions on a daily basis. "OMG, I only lost .2 pounds today...AAARRRGH!"

Keep up the good work!

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