3 weeks post op and so depressed

[blackcherry2002 5]

I'm a little scared by this post. As people have said before the first month or so is to get healed...not to lose major weight. And your doctor should have explained that lapband goes much slower...which is much healthier. I didn't become depressed or worried until I was at a plateau for 5 or 6 months...and honestly i didn't change a thing and I started losing again...I guess it just how my body is. Just stay healthy, make the right choices and it will come off. Everyone loses at their own pace.

[coloradobanding 5]

Threads and posts like these REALLY worry me!

From the VERY beginning (consultation) of this process, my surgeon told me how slow the weight loss would be. The BIGGEST thing he stressed is that I would likely GAIN weight for the 1st two months before I lost ANYTHING!

I was never depressed, I was completely ready for the slow weight loss. I lost 10lbs and I was ecstatic, because my expectations were lower.

This truly is a time to heal. Your body has a brand new element it is dealing with and your eating has nothing to do with how your body is going to react to it. Your body and stomach need to learn how to adjust, and THEN your diet and exercise will be a bit easier to handle. I personally STILL don't know how my body is going to react, but as long as I'm not gaining, I'M HAPPY!!!!

Keep your expectations in check (NOT easy to do, I struggle with it every single day) and always remember, this is not a sprint, but a lifelong marathon. Keep doing what you're suppose to do, and the weight will eventually come off!

[suzetteherrera 0]

I'm in the same boat!! I lost 20 pounds in one month including pre op. Now over the last ten days, I've been up and down between one and three pounds. I've been so sad and felt like a failure. I do have problems with night eating. But, I didn't feel like overall I was consuming more than a thousand calories.

Two days ago I threw out my scale and deleted my ticker. I figure I can only do my best and the number on the scale stresses me out!!

I guess there's a lot of people that have experienced the same thing. We are not alone. Let's try to stay positive! Easy to say, I cried and cried today.

[4pyes 0]

Thought I'd update my progress as its been 4 months now since my surgery. I have now lost 20 lbs which, although isn't much, at least its better than where I was AND I'm not gaining which is where I would have been if i hadn'thad the surgery.

I met with my nutritionist and I'm doing everything right. She says I'm just not restricted enough yet and that is why the loss is so slow. I have 3 ccs and get one more cc on Monday. Unfortunately, my doctor only gives fill every 3 months!! Apparently this is not normal?

I guess what was getting me depressed was seeing so many people on here who are losing so fast. I've now accepted that this will be a slow process and I'm ok with that as long as the numbers keep moving down. My nutritionist is going to try to work with my doctor to get him to give me fills quicker.

Thanks for all the replys! :smile:

[paracelsus51 0]

Good for you. I got my band to help with GERD and weight gain from that. I've never been skinny, so I am ok with that slow part. Yes, it is unusual for them to only fill you every three months, at least for here. They filled me at four weeks and want to do fills every month. Because of the GERD, the fills have to be small and they warned me I would just lose slower. Losing slowly vs feeling like you are having a heart attack, I'll pick the former. That and it's coming off with the real possibility of not coming back. Hearten up on that!

[Big Momma is Shrinking 0]

Thought I'd update my progress as its been 4 months now since my surgery. I have now lost 20 lbs which, although isn't much, at least its better than where I was AND I'm not gaining which is where I would have been if i hadn'thad the surgery.:crying:

I met with my nutritionist and I'm doing everything right. She says I'm just not restricted enough yet and that is why the loss is so slow. I have 3 ccs and get one more cc on Monday. Unfortunately, my doctor only gives fill every 3 months!! Apparently this is not normal?

I guess what was getting me depressed was seeing so many people on here who are losing so fast. I've now accepted that this will be a slow process and I'm ok with that as long as the numbers keep moving down. My nutritionist is going to try to work with my doctor to get him to give me fills quicker.

Thanks for all the replys!

I can COMPLETELY relate to how you feel about your doctors fill protocol mine is very similar...my first fill was @ 4 wks the 2nd fill 10wks later (originally scheduled for 12 wks but I called and got it bumped up 2 wks)....I will not get my 3rd fill for 3 more months.

I had a long talk with my PA about the fill schedule and why they are spanned out so far (when everone else is getting a fill everytime you turn around). She explained to me that it is to allow your mind time to catch up to what the band is physically doing for you. She also told me that people who are having fills so closely togeather are FAR MORE LIKELY to have band problems in the future (slippage, errosion) and that they are also VERY LIKELY to regain all of their weight because their mind and band never learned to work togeather.

I have NO DOUBT there are going to be folks that do not agree with this line of thinking, but I must say after we discussed it I came to see the reasoning behind it.

I've lost 34lbs since being banded (3/26/09) and I know my band is working (perhaps not with the lightning speed I'd hoped for, but working all the same).

If I have to choose between losing my weight quickly with the posibility of complications down the road, or losing at a slower pace allowing my body the time it needs to adjust to a new way of life I'm gonna have to go with slower PERMENANT RESULTS.....after all THAT is the reason I had surgery in the first place.

I've always been able to LOSE WEIGHT...but sadly unitl now, it has ALWAYS managed to find me again!!

[sharsing 0]

I have had my band since 12/29/08 so far I have lost 53 lbs.Right now I think I have too much restriction. I am having trouble with keeping down solids and meat especially. Tomorrow I am going in going in for an unfill. I think I need time-off I am feeling so stressed about the whole thing. and I am soo tired. Has anyone else felt like they needed some time-off. My loss has some to a stand still and my energy has bottomed out so has my excitment for this whole process. I will be talking to the pych. tomorrow also.I am feeling some anxiety and depression. Thanks for any comments.

[kossde 6]

You feel like a failure after only three weeks? You aren't giving yourself much time to adjust, are you? I didn't lose even a lb for the first month (in fact I gained weight). Since the, I've lost 172 lbs - I was banded about 15 months ago. Follow doc's orders, get fills, exercise and you will be fine.

[keithf 2]

Should I go back to the liquid diet--that is when I lost 9 lbs in a week? I don't know what to do...

Don't let plateaus get to you. I know they got to me when I was dietting (and contributed greatly to falling off the diet). As long as you're losing as a steady pace, even if there are bumps up and down for a few days, you're doing the right thing.

Now if you want to increase the rate -- that's for you and your surgeon to discuss.

[irenical.ione 0]

This is my third week post-op and I completely understand why this was created; I actually was so worried this morning that I searched this site for a forum like this to make sure I wasn't alone. I am three pounds up from the morning of my surgery- it drives me nuts because I am healing very fast and have a huge appetite!

I have three more weeks before my first fill, in my first post-op my doctor said that I was healing extremely fast and that I would probably be grumpy starting in the next couple of weeks. Nothing about gaining weight though, and so I have been tearing my hair out trying to understand why I don't feel much restriction when I eat. Now I get it!

ColoradoBanding, are you worried because of the concern/depression people are feeling, or the lack of good information the doctors are doling out? My doctor put together a packet of information on post-op for me to read, and NOWHERE did it talk about how I would get really hungry and might gain weight again before my first fill or even in the first few months. Your doctor was a lot better at giving out complete information which would certainly help-- that's why I am glad these forums are around!

[SanDiegoPhotog 0]

The first few months after surgery are the worst. The liquids, the recovery time (I couldn't lift my twin babies for almost 11 weeks!!!!), the desire to be thin and everyone telling me to be patient. IT SUCKED!!!!!!!

Over a year later, I can honestly tell you that I had nothing to worry about and neither do you. You don't even know what restriction feels like yet. Get your fills, listen to your body, do your exercise, watch what you eat, and listen to your doctor and nutritionist and the weight WILL come off. Maybe not on YOUR timeline, but it will come off.

Patience ..... a year goes by SO fast.

[Trappedinafatbody 1]

You are not alone!!! It sounds like you and I are in about the same situation. I was banded on 8/28/09 and lost the first week after surgery during the liquid phase. I started back on soft foods and since then nothing. Not one pound!!! I to am frustrated about the weight lose stalling out, but everyone keeps telling me that it is normal. It has now been just over three weeks from my surgery and I weighed myself this morning. DOWN TWO POUNDS!! I know it's not a lot but at this point; I'll take it. Keep moving forward, don't give up now! You have taken the first step in the process, now it's time to move forward and discover the new person inside you. That is what I keep focusing on.

I know where I've come from, I know what I am now, what I don't know is what I will become. I can already see changes, and I like them.

[tracie30 0]

4pyes, I know exactly how you feel. Although I choose Lapband for the slow weight loss, I didn't realize how "SLOW" it would be. When people think of WLS they think of those people who have Gastric Bypass. People who have GB loose weight fast. It almost drips off of them.

I dealt with depression when I was first banded because I had expectations that I would lose at least 2 pounds a week. I don't lose 2 pounds a week. I am averaging about 5 pounds a month and I have learned to accept that sometimes that 5 pounds is lost in one week and nothing in the other 3 weeks of the month but overall I lose about 5 pounds. That's the type of "loser" I am. lol

Give yourself a break. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Focus on doing the right things everyday and in a year, I promise you will be glad you did this. Figure out what kind of "loser" you are and learn to be ok with it. I will be 1 year out on October 16th and I have lost 86 pounds. My goal was to be at 100 pounds lost by my anniversary but it's not going to happen but I'm not going to be depressed over it. If I end up at 90 pounds, that's still something to be proud of!!!

This is a long journey! PM me anytime!!!