LAN2k

MiniMe, I have only met with this psychiatrist twice. I can't say if I trust her. She seemed thorough during the consultation but during the second visit she seemed a little impatient with my questions, annoyed maybe that I was consuming more of her time than I was slotted for. She also spoke in broad generalizations quickly regarding drug classifications, dosages, side effects ect. I don't know how comfortable I am with her. When I tried the low dose of Zoloft for 5 days and then (as per her instruction) upped it to the full 25mg pill...I found I couldn't eat and was nauseous and my anxiety rose, diminishing the effect of the clonzapan. When I called her she seemed to question me as if it wasn't making sense to her as if I hadn't followed her instruction. I had to be firm but was uneasy nonetheless. She prescribed the Remeron in a low dose and took me off the Zoloft. I don't know much about the Remeron but it's not an SSRI and won't have antidepressant effects until the dosage is raised. It is supposed to increase appetite and that for me is good. But I don't want to be hooked on a sedative to be able to sleep at night. I'd rather be on a Lexapro SSRI which controls both anxiety and depression but being post op I'm finding the SSRI's are stopping me from eating anything and that is really anxiety producing since I eat so little already. FreeToBeMe, Remeron's classification is "Tetracyclic, or noradrenergic, or selective serotonergic, or NaSSAs. I just read alot of stuff about it and as would be the case, side effects are eerie. I'm actually afraid to even try the drug but I will and keep you informed. I will be very interested to know how you fare on Celexa or Lexapro after you are sleeved in recovery. Do you know if you will need to discontinue it the few days before or after the surgery? I am wondering if it will have an effect on your appetite after you've been sleeved. It seems I am so much more sensitive to everything since being sleeved. I also just read that carbohydrates help to enhance and elevate the mood. Since this surgery requires and hasn't much room for more than Protein I think I can see a connection that may be contributing to my own personal depression since the surgery. I am taking in some carbs though since I won't consume artificial sweeteners and drink Vitamin Water, and eat some green veggies. Well let's keep this line of communication going. Please remind me of your surgery date again? Thanks.

Tiff I am in disbelief that you now have to undergo gallbladder surgery. I have been so wrapped up in my own anxiety and depression that I'm barely functioning. When I read this my body went weak. I thank God that you connected to the right surgeon and that your husband will be home for you. You have been through so much and that really hurts my heart but it also will give you the strength and courage to get through this. Please know that I am praying for you to the great physician, that his hands are in your surgeons hands every second during that procedure...and there to comfort and ease you through your recovery. You are like a sister to us all and if I were able I'd be there with you to help in any way I could.

God so sorry for your pain! Thank God your guy can help you take care as it heals. I hope your recovery will be fast and you can get on with life as you lose the weight you intend to lose.

I found that wrapping a velcro binder around my entire mid section was very helpful. Although the hospital didn't provide me with one I saved the one from a previous upper abdominal surgery from a very accomodating hospital and staff. It helped me keep my mid section and belly fat from weighing down on me when I moved around. I had 2 drains at home and I was still able to use it. I even wore it when I was able to drive. I wore it until I was completely healed. You can get one at a surgical supply store if your physician won't provide you with one.

I pray that Stacie is getting some relief and that we hear from her soon. I pray that your issue will resolve itself Mountain Lover. Please let us know of any developments and of the outcome of your next visit to your doctor in March. God be with us.

you can actually do excercises while in your seat by squeezing your butt muscles, together with your thighs and pointing your toes up and then down. You can repeat this as much as you want and it will help to keep the blood circulating.

I found the book on Amazon.com also at fairly low prices for the used ones which are from my previous experience in good to nearly new condition. Good find you can look through some of the pages at amazon. Thanks for posting.

I am 4+ months out and am having the same problem. Eating is such an effort and I must say that nothing appeals to me. This has happened before when I was put on antidepressant medication. Because of such a loss of appetite I went off the medication and was again able to at least find some foods appealing. Since I am suffering with anxiety and depression I was started again on Zoloft at a low dose but the same thing is happening and I haven't desire nor will to eat. Are you on any medication that may be causing this I wonder?

I had a drain in and like Tiffy said it was to drain excess fluid, in my case it was blood and I had to record the amounts and times each time I emptied the bulb that filled with the blood. I had it in the hospital for the 5 days I was there and then about a week at home before it was removed at my first follow up visit.

I'm sympathetic to your situation. Although different having raised my grandson since he was a babe in a diaper and now (at 14yrs old) giving him up to his mother (my daughter), it really hurts to know that he is not nurtured nor tended to as I feel he should be. She is single and has a cultivated social life and she works 5 nights a week. He spends so much time alone and she has him convinced that I "babied him". We only live a couple of miles apart and yet I hardly see him. I offered to sit in at least 2 or 3 of the weeknights she works but she said it was not necessary he was a young man who can handle his "responsibilities" without having me around. Imagine that I spent 12.5 years of my life together with him and she is totally insensitive to the fact that he wants to see more of me, and there is opportunity and good reason for him to. These things hurt and are very painful. I pray to God each and every day to cover him and soften her hard heart. I don't get into confrontations with her because it will only make matters more difficult and hurt him. Do the best you can is all I can say and if you believe in God, pray daily.

The bottom line is ....underneath it all there is lots of hurting going on here. I know you are hurting pretty badly and I'm sorry really sorry for such a situation. I hope you can find a network of support people close by to you to help you effectively deal with your son in the "tough love" way that sometimes works to really change people. You need love and support yourself and I will pray for you and your family that somehow someway there will be growth and reconciliation. Hang in there. I know what that kind of heartache feels like.

Thank you for being here for me. God Bless you.

Unbelievable how these anti-depressant drugs all have side effects. Since this surgery I have lost nearly total desire for anything too sweet, even natural fresh fruit. So far I am weaning onto zoloft with a very small "geriatic" dose...tomorrow I increase the dose to the full pill of 25mgs. I have noticed a loss of appetite even with the 12.5mg dose but I am going to try to stick it out as long as I can force feed myself just enough to get by. Remeron might be a good choice if it lifts anxiety and depression since everything else I've tried has caused me not to want to eat. It's all a method of trial before the right drug treatment for anxiety/depression comes along. I'm hoping the Zoloft will work since I am so tired of taking meds for anxiety which just won't go away.

I just want to thank you Tiffy for sharing your story with Stacie. I hope it gives her hope and helps her get through.

Thank you so much Daisy I really appreciate your understanding.

Wendy, thanks so much for reaching out to me like this and congrats to your choice in surgeon from what I've learned here Dr. Aceves is excellent, you will be in good hands. Since I came out of surgery I have had the most unbearable anxiety ever and I am still suffering with it daily unless I'm medicated, especially mornings when I awake. The drug for the anxiety is Klonopin but the generic version... I've got horrific morbid thoughts of loss that flood my mind and often feel like I'm living in a different dimension than the world around me. I have been put on a tiny dose of Zoloft 12.5 (half pill) for the past 5 days. I was told to take it at night with my last meal and since I have already had the surgery it's important that I get in enough nutrition. Tomorrow I will start taking the full 25mg pill. I'll tell you that taking even this small amount has effected my appetite causing me to not want to eat but I've been able to force myself. I was told that it can take a few weeks before the Zoloft kicks in. I am glad you have shared your story because the Zoloft helped you with anxiety and I want that to happen for me too. I do not want to have to take both anti anxiety and anti depression meds. I hope the Zoloft will work for me. Thanks again and best wishes to you in your journey.

Stacie, my heart goes out to you and so will my prayers. Contact Tiffykins, she had to endure complications and she has come through. I am one of the few who was not psychologically ready for this surgery and as a result I'm on anti anxiety and trials of anti depressant drugs (thus far none have worked). My life has become barely functional. I must believe that this will pass but while in the throes of my fears and depression I just can't see myself there yet so I keep looking back and wishing I'd never gone through with it. I am so so sorry for what you and your family must endure but know that others have pushed through and they are living fully functional, productive and happy lives. Thank you for having the courage to speak your feelings.

Sandy I am so sorry you are having this problem. Josephine's questions are important...while we're waiting for Dr. Jossart's reply please let us know... how long after surgery did this begin? is it possible that you have a sleeve stricture? has anyone done an endoscopy?

Firstly I want to let you know that I had Medicare and pre surgery I learned that Medicare would not cover the VSG. I took my chances and switched from Medicare to a Medicare Advantage Plan-GHI PPO III to be exact. Once I was switched over my surgeon submitted all the paper work, pre-surgical test reports etc. as well as his letter requesting approval for the VSG. Within 2 weeks I got a call that I was approved. In my situation I was able to make the switch to a medicaid advantage plan at any time. Depending upon your situation you may need to check with medicare to see whether or not you can change at whim or must wait for certain enrollment openings. As for the depression and anxiety, yes there were/are other huge factors that occurred 2 weeks before my surgery. I moved from my home and my daughter took my place, she took back custody of her son who I had been raising since he was a baby. I moved a couple of miles away from them right before my surgery and felt emotionally stable. After the surgery however I was a mess and to this day I am suffering terribly with anxiety and depression. It's best to have this surgery if you have people physically in your life who love you unconditionally and will support you. If you read these boards you will find that I am in the minority. Most people are so happy they have the sleeve. I wish you the best in your journey.

BTW, my recent labs showed helobacter pylori as positive (it was pre surgery and I had to go on an antibiotic regimen). I was told by my GI doctor that I will show positive for H Pylori for a lifetime and the only way to truly know if you have it or not is via a stool sample test. I followed up immediately and got that stool sample to the lab and it came back negative, thank God!

You know at this point there is no turning back. I've got to live with my decision because it's done. Everything even valid research which may indicate increased risk of some sort of fatal problem won't change the fact that I have been "sleeved". I loved your idea of having a dog for a buddy but as I answered you in another thread I can't have dogs where I live. I've got 2 cats though and one of them thinks and acts more like a dog than a cat. I really do have to lift my head up breath deep and think positive and your suggestion of positive affirmations is lovely and likely to contribute to good health both mentally and physically. Thanks Cajun I'm so glad to have your input.

I suggest you seek council with a psychologist who specializes in WLS. At the hospital where I had my surgery there is an excellent psychologist who pre-screens any person considering having WLS and she sees them a few times putting them through workshop testing and questionnaires to determine if they are psychologically ready for the major changes that do occur after such a procedure. Unfortunately I was not informed of her practice until after the surgery since I had psychological/emotional disturbances post surgery which I am still grappling with. Had I seen her prior to the surgery she would have recognized that I was not ready. There will be a dramatic change in your relationship with food and adjustments to make where food and family, friends, etc. are involved. Food can never be used for comfort again after the surgery, you will need to find other means to deal with feelings that were previously enmeshed with eating for comfort. You may not find this a problem at all. Most people are very happy with the changes regardless.

I have lost approx. 60 lbs so far. For me this surgery has caused a traumatic emotional downturn so I am not a good person to ask about satisfaction. I am on anti anxiety and anti-depression medications since the surgery. Sorry to say. But this is not the norm most of the people who've had this surgery are very very satisfied and happy. Best wishes to you in your journey.

Thank you Cajun. I'm really trying but it's painfully slow. I was volunteering at a cat adoption center but because of this nasal/mucus problem I am having I had to stop. I do love dogs too but I live in a "garden" apartment where no dogs are permitted. I went out and purchased 3 air purifiers for this apartment and I vacuum often. Next stop will be an ENT because this over production of mucus is doing me in! I've started the zoloft again only this psychiatrist has started me on it at a very low "geriatric" dose 12.5mg once a day. She will increase it slowly and hopefully this morbid depression and horrible anxiety will lift. It's sort of scary to know that I am one of so few that has had emotional difficulty after the surgery. But it's better to see that the majority of people are very happy and thriving. I sure hope I get there soon. Thanks again for your input.