post lap band depression??

Pammy S Lewis · May 9, 2011

i have suffered from depression for most of my life but had been free of it for the first time ever for a little over a year before being banded. as a matter of fact, the main reason i needed to get the band is because of weight gain from antidepressants. anyway, i'm about 2 mos post op and have just been hit with horrible depression!! i read in some other threads that it can be common, but i'm wondering why. i'm thinking that it's because of the lower carb diet? i usually get anywhere from 30-50 carbs a day now, which is WAY lower than i used to eat (but eating too many is what causes weight gain for me). i exercise several times a week and am on a low dose of zoloft (which was working great before banding). i really don't want to increase my dose because it causes me to be hungry all the time and gain weight but feeling bad isn't working either. also, i definitely get in my Protein and Water every day and am taking Vitamins so it's not that.

anyone else have depression after getting banded? any thoughts?

sandy1 · May 9, 2011

Sorry you are feeling down. I hope you feel better soon! I have suffered from depression several years back and remember how desperate you can feel at times. Again I hope you feel better soon!

Wish I could says something to help but I am just hopelessly without any real words right now!

MarciaLynn · May 12, 2011

i have suffered from depression for most of my life but had been free of it for the first time ever for a little over a year before being banded. as a matter of fact, the main reason i needed to get the band is because of weight gain from antidepressants. anyway, i'm about 2 mos post op and have just been hit with horrible depression!! i read in some other threads that it can be common, but i'm wondering why. i'm thinking that it's because of the lower carb diet? i usually get anywhere from 30-50 carbs a day now, which is WAY lower than i used to eat (but eating too many is what causes weight gain for me). i exercise several times a week and am on a low dose of zoloft (which was working great before banding). i really don't want to increase my dose because it causes me to be hungry all the time and gain weight but feeling bad isn't working either. also, i definitely get in my Protein and Water every day and am taking Vitamins so it's not that.

anyone else have depression after getting banded? any thoughts?

I just had my surgery yesterday and wondered the entire day why I did this to myself. I'm not sure if it was from the discomfort from yesterday or what. I feel I gave my decision some long and hard thoughts. I spread out my appointments over about a year span almost so I wouldn't feel rushed into anything. I was all over the internet doing lots of reading. I felt I was as informend as I could get and felt happy with my decision. Even going into surgery, I was very relaxed, not nervous at all. When I woke in recovery I remember thinking, what have I done. I know deep in my heart it was the right decision, and I'm thinking it's just because I can't do too much right now, so I have more time to think about it. I don't know if you'd call it depression, but it certainly could go there if I would let it. I'll try to stop that from happening. Did anyone else out there have those thoughts?

Pammy S Lewis · May 12, 2011

yeah, there are a dozen threads with people who felt exactly the same way. i definitely felt that way for a few days right after surgery. i felt like i'd made a huge mistake. but those feelings went away and it's been 2 mos now and i'm SO happy i did it. don't worry, that's totally normal to feel that way.

and i upped my antidepressant and feel better now, so that's good. i just don't like to take a higher dose because it makes me hungry. hopefully the band will offset it.