VSG and brain chemistry

Have any of you VSG post-ops  noticed changes in your brain chemistry? Good or bad? Has anyone one who was on medication for a mental issue pre-op been able to get off meds or the reverse...you needed to go on or increase medication post-op? I figure with the extreme physical and emotional changes that occur, there must be some affect on brain chemistry.

IIRC I've read that there can be increased anxiety post WLS.  Anxiety was already an issue for me, so I really couldn't say.

I do think that WLS can be helpful for depression in some people.  I think that blood sugar instability and inflammation are the keys to most of the physical ills we suffer.  White carbs (sugar, flour) increase both problems, so cutting them out should decrease inflammation. 

And the depression thing?  There seems to be a pretty strong corelation between obesity, PCOS, diabetes, and depression.  So in theory if you remove obesity and diabetes from the equation then PCOS and depression may improve.

so did your anxiety increase, or generally stay the same.  i have anxiety and panic attacks and wonder about it.

Preop I would have told you I did not have issues with anxiety.

Post op?  Even nearly 3 years post op, I will tell you that I DEFINITELY have more anxiety than I ever realized I did and am NOT the go-with-the-flow kind of gal I always thought I was.

I am acutely aware of how much I numbed/distracted (insert whatever appropriate word fits) with food, starchy carbs more often than not. 

Now, I manipulate my body chemistry by making sure that I utilize exercise and eating the way my body runs best at least a good 90% of the time. When I slack off from exercising, I seem to morph into a clingy, need-a-lot of input/validation from the outside sort of human.  I was incredibly active when I was heavy, and I also would have sworn to you that exercise did not change my mood/body chemistry then.  Now?  I can DEFINITELY tell, and I become someone I do not care to be, so when I feel that morph coming on - I realize that whatever life has been dictating that made me think exercise could be a back burner issue - this chick needs to reprioritize.  Fosho.

For me realizing/feeling the anxiety now is definitely not a game changer, but something I would have denied vehemently before surgery. 

SURPRISE!  :}

Thanks for sharing what I know is a rather personal issue. I suspected anxiety could increase since likely most of us have used food to relieve our anxiety more than we even realize. In many cases this is a big factor in what got us obese in the first place. Suddenly we literally can't use food to ease our minds forcing us to find new coping techniques.

It is interesting that exercise makes such a difference for you mentally now where it was not so pre-op. That alone might just end up keeping me moving post-op!

I wonder if it DID make a difference preop, but I was just such a stew of chemical mess (from hormones from being heavy PLUS the body chemistry I was manipulating by my foods of choice).

But at any rate, NOW I have much greater sensitivity to my feelers and chemical changes in my body, good or bad, depends on the day :}

And its not just the eating itself - its the WHAT.  Because I CAN still eat ****pots of savory starch foods and change my body chemistry.  I just choose to make a different choice now.  Simple - not always easy, but BETTER!  Ultimately.  For sure.

Good question, my friend!

Good point! You have a great insight on this topic. Clearly you have grown to understand your body. I strive to emulate that!!

I have been working on my broken bits for a while now :} .  I will tell anyone who listens that this can be SO MUCH MORE than a "journey thru sizes." 

Just stay open and aware my friend.  The BEAUTIFUL thing about meeting the "you" that you might have been avoiding (royal you, not YOU you) is that once you meet them, REALLY meet them?  You take away their mystery, and if you can get to know their patterns?  You can set them up for success.

:}  This is a good place to get so much differing input.  I am glad you are here! 

I developed anxiety problems, but I don't believe it was a change in my brain chemistry. Looking back, I was medicating my anxiety with comfort foods. When I stopped eating those foods, I lost the rush of brain soothing chemicals I'd get from them.

I experienced this as an increase in anxiety. However, it was more like what someone who was on anti-anxiety meds would experience if they went off their meds. I am on anti-anxiety meds for now. Hoping therapy will mean I can go off them at some point but I don't have any significant side effects so it's not a rush.

I think many of us don't realize until after surgery the absolutely huge part food plays in our lives. There's an adjustment process in learning to live life without it.

This is what I fear post-op. I already notice more anxiety and irritability now when I change my diet and cut out carbs and reduce calories. I can become rather a neurotic freak...not someone that I like very much...and I'm sure not someone that my family wants to be around. I'm glad you found help for your anxiety. I probably need to be braced to do the same.

Have you noticed that over time, your anxiety has decreased? Is there anything besides medications that you have found helped you?