Husband’s mental state after surgury

[Tampawife 0]

Please help me! My husband had Gastric bypass 1 year ago and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder 3 months post (no history of psych issues), now he doesn’t want to take meds and now is experiencing paranoid delusions directed at me that I am bugging our house, wire tapping him, installing cameras, etc. I did not do those things and do not even have the skill set to make any of that possible. Are psychological issues a thing with this procedure? Has anyone experienced anything like this? His family is saying we should just divorce, I don’t want that, I want my husband back!! Any insight would be helpful ....

[JessLess 1,163]

It's a separate issue. Your husband probably needs to be hospitalized until he can be stabilized on medication. If he won't agree to go with you and he acts like he could put you or anyone else in danger, get out and call 911.

It has nothing to do with the Gastric Bypass.

[Tampawife 0]

I read a lot online about psychological disturbances after the procedure or exacerbation of underlying mental health issues. It all seems tied in together to me. Thanks for your feedback.

[JessLess 1,163]

5 hours ago, Tampawife said:

I read a lot online about psychological disturbances after the procedure or exacerbation of underlying mental health issues. It all seems tied in together to me. Thanks for your feedback.

Well, if you have bipolar disorder, you were likely born with the predisposition for it, and for many, a stressful life event and can trigger the onset of the illness. What is stressful to one person may not be stressful for another. So I suppose it could have triggered what was already there. Good luck getting him treatment.

[catwoman7 10,853]

I've never heard of weight loss surgery doing that. I think it's just coincidental. Sorry you're going through this.

Edited to add that I just read some articles about mental health issues after bypass. Evidently it's been known to happen, but it's usually stuff like depression or addiction. I read about one person who had some psychotic symptoms, but the researcher said the patient been doing a lot of vomiting, and once they got control of that, the psychotic symptoms stopped. Your husband's case sounds really extreme, though - I didn't come across anything like that in the articles I read. There may be some underlying thing going on there, that maybe the surgery just happened to trigger? I don't know. I"ve never heard of anything like that, and I've been hanging around bariatric forums for several years.

Edited April 3, 2020 by catwoman7

[BoredCW 35]

The weight loss does release a lot of stored hormones. This can cause moods to elevate and can also cause depression. So his meds might need adjusting. Talk to his Psychiatrist (PDoc) about him being off meds as well as the surgery.

For me I was on a stable set of meds before the surgery. I kept in touch with my PDoc through out the recovery as well so the meds could be adjusted as needed.

If he gets too bad, talk to the Pdoc as a small stay at a hospital might be required to get back on the meds. It wouldn’t be a bad thing, just a tool to get your husband back on track to normal.

If this is relatively new situation, I would also suggest to pick up some Bipolar books for him as well as for family members. It will help explain what is going on and what needs to be done. This is do able.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

[AZhiker 2,251]

Sounds a bit more like paranoid schizophrenia, especially with the delusions. It's true that the surgery can rock the boat with hormone changes. This can cause moodiness, and if there is an underlying psych issue, I can see where it could come to the surface more easily. I sure hope you can get help for him. Inpatient hospitalization may be needed to ensure he is taking the meds and getting a correct diagnosis.

[BoredCW 35]

9 hours ago, AZhiker said:

Sounds a bit more like paranoid schizophrenia, especially with the delusions. It's true that the surgery can rock the boat with hormone changes. This can cause moodiness, and if there is an underlying psych issue, I can see where it could come to the surface more easily. I sure hope you can get help for him. Inpatient hospitalization may be needed to ensure he is taking the meds and getting a correct diagnosis.

Bipolar Type I can have similar symptoms when in mania episode. The big difference is that there will be a crash and a deep depression at some point. Hope this helps understand more about Bipolar.

[plain.sight 20]

I can't say that my symptoms were that severe at all. I really had no preconditions, though I was a bit sensitive. After surgery, I was experiencing so much more anxiety and was just a constant live wire. My family was tiptoeing around me, and I just felt terrible all the time. I was crying daily and overly what felt like literally nothing. No matter how much I wanted to, I could not stop.

Finally, when I went to my general practitioner for a checkup and to go over my surgery, etc., I asked her for Prozac. She agreed to let me at least try it, and it has been a world of difference in my life. Quality of life on my own and with my family went way, way up.

I think it could be related, or it could not, but either way, the only solution is to seek help. If he refuses to take his med, then I would say commitment might be the only way until he can get stabilized.