How Long before you feel normal again 17 Days Post-Op

[Lorey_a 19]

Hi All,

Just wanted to know what others have experienced. For some reason I am having daily anxiety. I absolutely can't stand it as it hits out of nowhere at all. I am only 17 days Post-Op, take my Vitamins daily, and still taking my Metformin until I am blood tested again. I do not want to go on an anti anxiety medication. I had been on Lexapro for 4 years at which point I put on a lot of weight going from a size 4 to 1-2X. I lost all motivation on working out as well. I went off the Lexapro completely 2 months before surgery and started actually caring about myself which is why I decided to do this surgery so I could get my health back on track. Following my weight gain, I developed diabetes, Apnea (now using a C-Pap for a year) and NASH of the liver. I notice exercise helps with the anxiety for sure but I cant seem to get a decent response from the medical community to help me feel better about this. I asked my surgeon why this sudden onset of anxiety that hits for what seems like no reason at all and his response was if I am eating right and exercising that this could be the cause because of sudden change and that maybe people are treating me differently and all of this is causing anxiety. I then told him no - people are not treating me differently. My family is amazing with all of this and I am working out of the house so have not been around others for them to treat me differently. In my case this is absolutely not the case at all. I pressed on asking if chemical changes in the body could be happening due to the surgery that may be causing this and he said yes. Wondering why I had to keep poking to get that response at all and yet because that was not the first response I am even doubting that. Why not just tell me that since I made it clear I am having these spikes out of nowhere and can't figure out why. I am finding myself overthinking everything right now honestly. Wondering how I will tolerate eating anything at this point or will I ever be able to. My doctor keeps his patients on a 5 week post-op liquid diet before you go on to a pureed / soft food diet for another 3 weeks. So unsure of myself right now and considered I made a huge mistake and so very much want to get passed this feeling more than anything in the world. Part of me is happy I did the surgery for my health and the results of weight loss I have seen thus far but another part wonders why I could not get back on track on my own and worried about long term complications. Like once I start eating will I have a sudden stomach leak, will I have no ability to hold down food or end up on liquids for the rest of my life? Will I ever be able to enjoy a glass of wine again and comfortably get on with life in a better more healthy way. Will I end up with Gallstones that cause another surgery or will I have stomach blockage in the future and how will I know if I do? I want to Celebrate my choice to have done this and enjoy the weight loss but instead I am having so much self doubt and it's making me miserable. My liver health alone was cause to do this along with the diabetes so what is my damn problem? It is really hard to deal with this and I'm frankly pissed at myself for letting the anxiety get to me. I am considering going back on a lower dose of Lexapro again at least until this simmers down as I am hoping this is a chemical change in my body due to part of the stomach being removed and all the dietary changes just concerned it will make me not give a crap again and go lazy. IDK, if I knew factually this was all going to be a temporary reality then I would do it until the body goes back to normal.

[catwoman7 11,212]

are you a pre-menopausal woman? If so, a lot of women have hormone spikes the first few weeks after surgery. Mood swings and screwed up menstrual cycles seem to be fairly common. It's supposedly because estrogen is released from fat cells during the rapid weight loss. It does stabilize after awhile though, so this won't last forever.

[catwoman7 11,212]

P.S. complications aren't that common - and a leak most likely would have shown up by now. And no, you won't be eating like this for the rest of your life, either. I know the first few weeks can be rough, but then life will start to feel normal again. The buyer's remorse you have is also common during the early weeks. I had it as well.

[Lorey_a 19]

It has been close to two years since I stopped my period so not pre menstrual. I have been reading as much as I can this morning but struggling to find anything related to Anxiety per say. I did finally find a few articles related to mood changes as they relate to hormonal and dietary changes specific to lack of carbs and how that relates to a depletion of Serotonin. Now I need to find a way to fill in those gaps more naturally like with Exercise and daily sunlight perhaps. Willing to try absolutely anything as I just need this to stop and need encouragements that I am not looking at a life of misery from her on out. This just stinks and I want to be happy happy happy!

[chiquitatummy 337]

26 minutes ago, Lorey_a said:

Willing to try absolutely anything as I just need this to stop and need encouragements that I am not looking at a life of misery from her on out. This just stinks and I want to be happy happy happy!

Oh man, I'm so sorry that anxiety is sitting with you right now - it stinks. I too have heard that mood swings can be part of the early stage post-surgery for a variety of reasons, including hormonal fluctuation, sleep disturbance, or loss of food as a comfort and coping tool. During my pre-surgery phase, I got more aware of how I have used food to manage and numb anxiety. Post-surgery, as my hunger/food desire has started to return I've had some unpleasant reminders of this old habit.

I also really and truly get having fear around moving from one food stage to the next. with each food stage "graduation" I have been so afraid of what might happen. Go figure that by following my program I have been fine. Like catwomen said complications are rare, and even rarer if you're following the recommendations of a reputable program.

Not to go into advice mode too much, and knowing our experiences might be different (maybe you are having panic attacks rather than generalized anxiety?), I will say that I have found therapy to be a big help. With my therapist I know I can unload my anxious build-up. saying my fears out loud to someone else helps me put them in perspective. Therapy also gives me a non-food outlet that instead of numbing helps me identify what might be contributing to anxiousness and give it less power by helping me to put it in perspective. Not all therapists are skilled, so it can take some shopping around, but might be worth it.

[WanderingHeart 141]

4 hours ago, Lorey_a said:

Hi All,

Just wanted to know what others have experienced. For some reason I am having daily anxiety. I absolutely can't stand it as it hits out of nowhere at all. I am only 17 days Post-Op, take my Vitamins daily, and still taking my Metformin until I am blood tested again. I do not want to go on an anti anxiety medication. I had been on Lexapro for 4 years at which point I put on a lot of weight going from a size 4 to 1-2X. I lost all motivation on working out as well. I went off the Lexapro completely 2 months before surgery and started actually caring about myself which is why I decided to do this surgery so I could get my health back on track. Following my weight gain, I developed diabetes, Apnea (now using a C-Pap for a year) and NASH of the liver. I notice exercise helps with the anxiety for sure but I cant seem to get a decent response from the medical community to help me feel better about this. I asked my surgeon why this sudden onset of anxiety that hits for what seems like no reason at all and his response was if I am eating right and exercising that this could be the cause because of sudden change and that maybe people are treating me differently and all of this is causing anxiety. I then told him no - people are not treating me differently. My family is amazing with all of this and I am working out of the house so have not been around others for them to treat me differently. In my case this is absolutely not the case at all. I pressed on asking if chemical changes in the body could be happening due to the surgery that may be causing this and he said yes. Wondering why I had to keep poking to get that response at all and yet because that was not the first response I am even doubting that. Why not just tell me that since I made it clear I am having these spikes out of nowhere and can't figure out why. I am finding myself overthinking everything right now honestly. Wondering how I will tolerate eating anything at this point or will I ever be able to. My doctor keeps his patients on a 5 week post-op liquid diet before you go on to a pureed / soft food diet for another 3 weeks. So unsure of myself right now and considered I made a huge mistake and so very much want to get passed this feeling more than anything in the world. Part of me is happy I did the surgery for my health and the results of weight loss I have seen thus far but another part wonders why I could not get back on track on my own and worried about long term complications. Like once I start eating will I have a sudden stomach leak, will I have no ability to hold down food or end up on liquids for the rest of my life? Will I ever be able to enjoy a glass of wine again and comfortably get on with life in a better more healthy way. Will I end up with Gallstones that cause another surgery or will I have stomach blockage in the future and how will I know if I do? I want to Celebrate my choice to have done this and enjoy the weight loss but instead I am having so much self doubt and it's making me miserable. My liver health alone was cause to do this along with the diabetes so what is my damn problem? It is really hard to deal with this and I'm frankly pissed at myself for letting the anxiety get to me. I am considering going back on a lower dose of Lexapro again at least until this simmers down as I am hoping this is a chemical change in my body due to part of the stomach being removed and all the dietary changes just concerned it will make me not give a crap again and go lazy. IDK, if I knew factually this was all going to be a temporary reality then I would do it until the body goes back to normal.

Are you on other meds that can cause depression/anxiety? PPIs can have that side effect.
I’m a big believer that you are the expert on your health, no one is your savior. If you think something is wrong, you may intuitively know what it is. Sit in quiet and listen to your body. Test out ideas and see how your body reacts.

[Chefstomp91 7]

So I haven't had surgery yet (5/10) but I have been having some anxiety and worry about the upcoming procedure. My therapist suggested I create a "worry/anxiety time). So each day I have a specific time to explore those thoughts, journal them and confront them. If I have the thoughts outside of my scheduled time, I tell myself "nope, can't deal with that now, have to wait until...". More often than not, it calms me in the moment and I usually forget what was making me anxious. She also told me I should keep separate journals for separate feelings. So my FIL passed away last week and I have a lot of feelings and worry about that which is a completely separate issue from my anxiousness about surgery. It's like compartmentalizing each item. I don't know if those will help, but it was some suggestions I got from my therapist. Hope they help.

Jennifer

Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app

[ShoppGirl 4,785]

Did you Just stop the Leda pro cold Turkey. Most doctors have told me that you have to wean off of antidepressants. I only took lexapro for a short time years ago so I don’t remember but I have had to wean off of a number of them to try new ones. I would talk to your doctor about that.

[Lorey_a 19]

Yes I did wean off. Started from 20 MG to 10mg for about 1 month, then went to 5 MG for 3 weeks then off.

[lizonaplane 1,612]

If you didn't like the side effects from the lexapro, that's okay, there are lots of other medications for depression and anxiety out there you can try. Talk to a psychiatrist or psychopharmacologist rather than just your primary care doctor, if you haven't already. They specialize in this and can assist with finding the right medication - and it can take a bit of trial an error to find the right one.

If you don't want to use medication, try talk therapy. There are a lot of services like BetterHelp that do therapy using things like zoom. Exercise and sunlight help many people.

Some people find journaling helpful, but I haven't seen much research on it.

Also, your body has gone through a trauma, don't minimize the fact that this will have an effect on your mental and emotional health. Your surgery program should have a bariatric psychologist, and if not, try to find someone who has experience in this area for at least one session to talk through your feelings that you're discussing here.