Danny S.

In two days it will be three weeks since surgery. I actually have had a pretty easy time. I have not had nausea and have lost 28 pounds since surgery. I am not hungry and have to remind myself to eat every three hours. The problem is the depression. There are times I am perfectly fine and other times I just want to start crying. I think about the foods I will never indulge in again (I was an emotional eater) and I get very down. Is depression typical after surgery? What do you do to help snap yourself out of the funk? I have suffered from depression various times though out my life and take Prozac, but this gets to be very overwhelming, at times. Any suggestions?

I want to thank everyone for the wonderful advice regarding depression and anxiety. Just reading your answers helped lift my mood. I am glad we are going through this together and we can talk to each other. I have good moments and bad moments. When I feel a bad moment coming on I just try to keep my mind occupied or start working on a project. It helps to know that these are typical feelings and not out of the ordinary. I keep concentrating on the fact that one day I will look back on all of this and realize it was the smartest thing I ever did for myself. I already notice that I can sleep through the night without my sleep apnea (snoring) waking me up every hour. My clothes are getting too big but I do not want buy new yet because I will lose more weight (what a great problem to have). I can't wait til the hair completely grows back on my stomach to cover the scars and I can go out in public without a shirt. It is a amazing how you look forward to such small things. I have a three-day summer camp with my students this week. I am going to take it easy and eat small amounts. I worry I might strain myself but it is three weeks since surgery so I am sure I will be fine. Thanks again for being my new friends and support system. - Danny