Education

Dealing with Depression Following Weight loss Surgery

By Barbara Thompson

Depression hits us hard after weight loss surgery. Just at the time when we are thinking that we have gotten what we waited so long for (the surgery) and managed to survive it (always our worst nightmare) we wake up one day and find ourselves depressed.

There are critical times when depression hits so be prepared for these times:

• About 3 days after the surgery when the affects of the anesthesia are wearing off
• About 4 weeks after surgery when we realize that we have a long road ahead of us. We are not going to wake up thin and it will be months of work until we get where we want to be weight wise. Additionally we have lost our relationship with food and we now realize it will never be the same again.
• About 5 months after surgery if we are among the majority of patients who experience hair loss. We don't yet look the way we want to look and we are losing perhaps one of the only things that we like about ourselves - our hair!M/li>
• About 18 months after surgery when we realize that we can regain weight

Weight loss surgery is a life altering and life saving procedure, but it is not the easy way out. If you are experiencing depression there are some steps that you should take:

• Talk to your doctor and consider a prescription anti depressant. Be sure that it is one such as Wellbutrin that does not cause weight gain
• Exercise! Endorphins are released when you do and they make you feel better
• Seek help from a Counselor - preferably one recommended by your surgeon's office who has experience with weight loss surgery patients
• Look at your before pictures and remember why you went through this
• Make a list of things that you would like to do if you were of normal weight

Remember, it will not always be this way. You were so strong to go through surgery; you just need to call upon that strength to get through the first year which is tough for all of us.

Barbara Thompson is the author of Weight Loss Surgery; Finding the Thin Person Hiding inside You and co-author of Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies. Visit her website at www.WLScenter.com.