Hibernation Syndrome

Hibernation Syndrome

After WLS, you may be feeling tired and become depressed. When you are
several weeks post op, and are either on a liquid diet or you are eating
many fewer calories than you were pre op, this depression and inactivity can
become more pronounced. All you want to do is sleep, you may have crying
spells, you may begin to believe that the surgery was a mistake, or you may
think 'what in the world have I done to myself?' All these feelings are
completely normal and, to a certain extent, are to be expected. The low
number of calories you are eating produces what many of us call the
'hibernation syndrome' and your depression and feelings of despair, are a
direct result.

During the weeks immediately following surgery, our body starts to notice
that we are not taking in enough calories. It doesn't know we've had WLS, or
that it's the year 2003. Our body is missing food, thinks this is a famine,
and struggles to conserve our energy. The human body reacts like it always
has in a famine; it makes us depressed--so we don't have the motivation to
do anything, and it makes us tired--so we don't have the energy to do
anything. In this way, we will conserve as many calories as possible and
remain alive. You can see the practical value of this as our bodies have
been living through famines, snowstorms, and other periods of unstable food
supply for centuries.

This stage can last several weeks. Our discomfort is compounded as we are,
at this same time, trying to recover from major surgery, adopt new eating
habits, and deal with a liquid or soft diet. To get out of this stage, our
body has to say to itself 'gee, this famine is lasting a bit too long. If I
keep conserving my energy with inactivity, I will starve to death. I'd
better use my last store of energy
(the remaining fat and muscles in our body) to hunt up some food'. At this
point, our body will switch from getting energy from food, to getting energy
from our fat (and muscle too if we don't eat enough protein) and that is
what we want.

In order to deal with this difficult transition period, tell yourself that
you're right on track; this is exactly what is normal and to be expected.
Tell yourself that, in a few weeks, this will pass, and you will feel like a
completely new person. We all seem to turn the corner about 4-6 weeks post
op. Then, your mood will lighten and, with your weight loss starting to add
up, you'll feel more positive and have a better outlook on life. Just keep
telling yourself that you will not always feel this way! You WILL be back to
feeling like your old self. Just give it time!