Fears of Depression deteriorating post operation

[Bariatric852 13]

Hi everyone,

I have been suffering with Depression for 14 years. Some days, the symptoms are less intense and those are my good days. Other days it can be much worse. I’m on psych meds to help me cope.

I am post op for about three weeks now after getting a gastric bypass done and I have noticed a few dips in my mood. I am trying to figure out whether these fluctuations are due to the gastric bypass op or my usual ongoing Depression. I know that I have been experiencing a lot of changes at the moment and that could be cause of my mood plummeting. In two days time, I will be graduating from the full liquid diet to puréed food.

Just want to get an idea what you are experiencing if you are a weight loss surgery patient who battles Depression.

Thanks 😊

[catwoman7 10,858]

it's possible it could be hormone related. A lot of people report mood swings (and for women, screwed-up menstrual cycles) for the first few weeks or months following weight loss surgery. It's evidently due to estrogen being released from fat cells during rapid weight loss. It eventually stabilizes.

[Bariatric852 13]

27 minutes ago, catwoman7 said:

it's possible it could be hormone related. A lot of people report mood swings (and for women, screwed-up menstrual cycles) for the first few weeks or months following weight loss surgery. It's evidently due to estrogen being released from fat cells during rapid weight loss. It eventually stabilizes.

@catwoman7 Interesting... I also suffer from PCOS which can mess with the hormones and menstrual cycles.

Edited May 24, 2021 by Bariatric852

[lizonaplane 1,605]

In addition, gastric bypass can mess with the way the meds are absorbed, so talk to your surgeon and have them discuss with your psychiatrist to see if your meds need to be adjusted to compensate for that. I have bipolar disorder and the surgeon and my psychopharmacologist both recommended sleeve over bypass for this reason. But I agree with @catwoman7 that it could just be hormones. Either way, definitely talk with your surgery center and get help if you're feeling depressed.

[Bariatric852 13]

16 minutes ago, lizonaplane said:

In addition, gastric bypass can mess with the way the meds are absorbed, so talk to your surgeon and have them discuss with your psychiatrist to see if your meds need to be adjusted to compensate for that. I have bipolar disorder and the surgeon and my psychopharmacologist both recommended sleeve over bypass for this reason. But I agree with @catwoman7 that it could just be hormones. Either way, definitely talk with your surgery center and get help if you're feeling depressed.

@lizonaplane I have a follow up appointment with the surgery team early June to discuss my recovery process and any progress made. I will definitely bring up the issue of my psych meds absorption with them. Thank you for the advice.

Edited May 24, 2021 by Bariatric852

[ShoppGirl 3,356]

If I were you I would call the dr and not wait till your next appointment if you are experiencing full blown depression. It’s possibly the fact that your body is only absorbing part of your medication and the solution could be as simple as increasing the dose or switching to a different medication. Why suffer needlessly.

[Suzi_the_Q 253]

Just FYI, a lot of psych medications are available in liquid form too, which may help with absorption. I had to increase my psych med dosages by 25% since bypass (so far).

[SunnyinSC 137]

Follow up with your surgeon and doctor. One of the reasons I failed my psyche eval is cause I had stopped taking my depression medication and felt like I was doing okay. The psychologist mentioned that after surgery, it's not uncommon for depression to get worse for people who have it, and that where I appeared to be self-medicating with food, she was worried for me. So part of my pre-op was getting back on medications. Based on what she said though, depression worsening after surgery (at least for a time) is pretty common. I don't know the science behind why or anything. You may indeed need medications adjusted though.

[Bariatric852 13]

@ShoppGirl @Suzi_the_Q @SunnyinSC

Thank you for your opinion and advice. I really do appreciate it!