Recently, I had RNY. This bariatric surgery was long coming because I always thought I could lose the weight. I was somewhat successful because I was down 60 pounds before the surgery and another 30 during the first month. There is a different person that I see in the mirror now. I was shy to say I was getting the surgery and so I told very few friends.
What I didn't expect was how having this surgery would give me a flashback to the old depression I had imagined was long gone. In all the seminars, consultations with dieticians, therapists, and educators, none of them ever said anything about depression. Unfortunate.
I did meet with the PA one month after surgery and told him how I had gone into a nose dive with my depression. It was at about two weeks after surgery when I started to feel dark, when the things I enjoyed were distasteful and I regretted the good things in my life. I even wanted to throw away some of the things I had created, and that is hard to believe. The doctor said I was experiencing "normal" hormonal issues. Wait- I am not talking a simple mood swing here! I know what a crash means and I was heading there.
So here is the question, why don't medical people talk about the depression part too? I was feeling so bad and somewhat desperate to get out of my funk I called my therapist, had a great session. I felt drain but relieve afterwards.
Please remember to discuss your depression with the doctors you see. Make them realize that for us our brains matter too.
#bariatrics and depression #fighting fat #artist with depression #creative life #making it with depression #bariatric experiences
