DivaRae

I LOVE IT!!! Thank you for introducing me to this!

I'm glad you posted this. I was banded on April 30, and I've been pretty exhausted ever since. There were a couple of days when I thought I would collapse after just the exertion of taking a shower! I'm also experiencing some depression, despite the fact that I take antidepressants. I've been to my surgeon, my GP and my psychiatrist, and they all say to wait it out while my body adjusts to the changes. I just feel so guilty because I know I should be exercising, but I'm way too tired! So, I'm waiting it out...

Thanks. One of the hardest things about this is that I feel too tired to get much exercise. I live in a city where I use public transportation, so I get in a lot more walking than I used to when I had a car. But, I know how important it is for me to be getting regular exercise... I just can't do it yet.

I was banded on April 30, so I just had my 1-month bandiversary. Unfortunately, I'm in the middle of a fairly hardcore bout of depression. I've been feeling really tired ever since the surgery. I thought it would improve after the first week or two, but it hasn't. I didn't actually realize I was depressed until two weeks ago, when I was home alone, and I started crying for no reason. That's when it hit me: my typical symptoms when I'm going through a major depressive episode are tiredness, irritability, oversleeping and crying a lot. I know there are common reasons for depression after banding, like mourning for food, etc. But, I was banded in Germany, and was put back on solid food 2 days after surgery. I'm eating a high-Protein, low-carb diet, even though my doc says I don't have to. I lost about 10 pounds in the first week after surgery, but I've only lost a pound or two since then, and I'm now doing the same diet I was before surgery, only smaller portions. So, there haven't been any major upheavals in my body due to losing loads of weight, and there haven't been any major upheavals in my psyche due to my eating patterns radically changing. I've been on antidepressants for a long time, and I'm currently on a combination of Cymbalta and Effexor that has been very effective for me. My dosage of Cymbalta was raised about a month before surgery. My doc approved my pills, so I've taken them without interruption. So, this depression really took me by surprise. Is it possible that my body isn't absorbing all my medication? I spoke to my surgeon about it, but he pawned me off to my psychiatrist. So, I'll be seeing the psychiatrist in two days, but I doubt that he has much specialized information for folks with the band. Does anyone have any ideas or input? I want to go to my psych appointment armed with as much knowledge as possible, because I'm sick & tired of being sick & tired!!!

I hadn't thought about it being hormonal... thanks for that thought!

I got banded on 4/30 in Germany. They keep you in the hospital for 4 days here. On the evening after surgery and the next day, they gave me yogurt and pea Soup. The second day after surgery, after they did an x-ray while I drank some noxious liquid, and everything looked okay, they gave me pot roast and boiled potatoes! I was pretty shocked, but I figured if anything went wrong, I was right there in the hospital. But, I decided that once I was at home, it would be better to stick to at least mushies. The doctor said that I could eat whatever I wanted at this point, as long as I understood that if I ate too much, I might throw up. But, I'm not seeing a nutritionist until tomorrow, so I'm curious to see what she says.

I'm an American living in Berlin, and I'm about to have my surgery on April 30. I'm paying for it myself, and it's about 5800 Euros. Dr. Harnoss at the Martin Luther hospital is doing it. He doesn't have as much experience as some of the Mexican doctors, but I feel much more confident knowing that I can go back to him easily if there are any problems. There is a very experienced doctor in Gemany (in Munich, I think), Dr. Wiener or Weiner, can't remember which. I have no idea what he charges, though. Good luck!

Hi Katja, I'm in Berlin, and my surgery date is coming up in 4 days... April 30! I'm so happy to see a couple others from Germany are here. I'm an American, and even though I've lived in Berlin for over 4 years, there are some things that are still a mystery to me, like where to go to buy Protein drinks! I have a long list of questions for my doctor at my pre-op appointment on Monday, that's for sure. :-)

Does anyone have any experience in returning to any activities that use the abdominal muscles and/or breathing, like singing or yoga? I'm considering when I want to schedule my surgery, because I'm concerned about recovery time. I'm a professional opera singer, and I have to be sure I'll be able to sing when I'm contracted to. I've seen that most people are able to return to work after about a week, but I have a feeling that might apply mostly to people with desk jobs. So, my situation is a little different. Thanks for your advice and insights... this forum is a great resource!