Post surgery depression

Is second thoughts and regret a normal thing after surgery? I feel like I am starving and my stomach is nauseous and in pain most of the time. I feel so bad that I am wishing I never had my surgery. I talked to my nurse/dietician and she told me to add in cottage cheese to my liquid diet and that has helped slightly, but it only helps for a short time. I am praying that once I can get onto the second stage of eating, which will start 13 days from now, (soft foods) that I will start feeling much better. Then when I graduate to solids, it will be even better.

I am very depressed and hurting. Does everyone go through this? I haven't read many people say that they actually feel the way I am feeling about this, so it really concerns me.

I have happiness regarding the weight loss, I have lost 15lbs since surgery on Dec 30th, and 55lbs total since 2-3 months before surgery.

You have a long liquid phase!  

i felt pretty lousy lousy still at 2-3 weeks post op. Nauseous too. I really turned a corner at 4 weeks and then again at 6 weeks. Are you taking Zofran for nausea? That helped me a lot.  Soon it really will improve. Just be kind to yourself and trust it will get better. This isn't easy. Hang in there!

you're completely normal ! I'm a month out tomorrow and not a day goes by that I don't regret it and have second thoughts. I have ZERO pain, but can't eat a damn thing. I'm in soft foods stage, but can only eat maybe a piece of string cheese or some applesauce, and maybe 20 oz of water a day. prolly 50 calories I'm getting and only 8 g of protein. I LOVE FOOD and wish I hadn't done this. Hang in there, I've been told it gets better and I'm waiting for that day.HANG IN THERE> 

Thanks guys. It feels so lonely in this plight, so your encouraging words are very helpful. My clear liquid part was three days, but my liquid part is 30 days. That seems excessive to me, but I am following Dr's orders. Does everyone's body hurt all over too? I feel like the transformation is morphing me so fast it hurts. Losing 55lbs in just over maybe 90 days is pretty fast. The last few days I have lost 2lbs a day. It took the first week to lose the surgery weight and the rest of the time to lose the 15lbs with 6lbs being over the last three days. Is Zofran a prescription med? I've never heard of it.

Yes Zofran is a prescription anti-nausea med. saved my life! 

For the first month I was convinced I had made the biggest mistake of my life then one morning I woke up feeling human again! I am about 5.5 months post op. I have been slow to tolerate foods but just keep retrying them (will wait 3 -4 weeks in between) and slowly my food list is growing. I need to eat/drink very slowly still or I will get nauseous. I will sometimes crave something or just miss eating (pigging out actually to be honest) but then, I just do some positive self talk, remind myself of the things that are better in my life and eventually that passes. I concentrated on water/fluids and protein (and still do) but slowly have added "treats" - a cup of hot tea (I live in NH and it has been in the 10's and 20's for about two weeks now!) with a slice of light, low carb Italian bread toasted. I track my carbs and keep them at 50 grams/day or under. My calories are at about 600 - 750/day. Another treat I make is hot coco with chocolate protein powder, 2 tbsp. of half and half and a light whipped cream on top. It WILL get better!! I have gone from a 4X to XL and I just feel so much better - I am down a total of 86 pounds (pre and post op). Hang in there!! I kept telling myself that others were successful with this and so could I be!! Keep updating on how your are doing....

I will keep checking in. Thanks for your cander and honesty. I seriously thought everyone woke up from surgery smelling like a rose without pain and doing great. At least that is how the posts I have read seemed to make out their situations. Maybe it was the elation of fast weight loss that clouded their mentioning of the negative side effects. The psychological trauma and feelings of regret were not mentioned by anyone that I found at least. Maybe I was not using the correct search terms in my research. Now that I have some experience I will have to go back and see what I can find. I have a better understanding of the terms to look for.

I know I will eventually be OK, I didn't think everyone on here had been brainwashed, I just figured that no one really talked about it. This is why I asked if anyone had felt the way I am feeling. 

Thank you for your encouragement. It gives me hope again, and something to look forward to. The learning curve on eating is going to take a while. I can see it now, but if it gets better, I am willing to put up with it and succeed. 

My diabetes meds are gone and my anticoagulants have already been reduced too. So I do have some NSVs too.

I also was told that hormones get all messed up right after surgery as they are released during rapid weight loss. It definitely contributes to depression. I have only felt truly depressed 3 times...after both my kids were born (both planned and very much wanted!) and after RNY. I'm convinced hormones played a major role. Btw, the Post RNY Blues cleared up much quicker than post baby. I know you're a man with different hormones but I imagine the same thing applies.   Hugs!

I've found that there is also a reduction in triptophan. It is in proteins, but is not as abundant as it is in carbs. The lack of triptophan leads to lower seratonin production, which greatly improves happiness. There is more to it, but that is a nutshell explanation. Knowing all of this doesn't help as much as knowing I am not alone. And that others have succeeded from the same place as I am at right now! 

Hi Mike,

I didn't have to go through a liquid stage like you, it has to be rough.  I had leaks during my surgery and they had to open me up.  I was on the table for 8 hours and woke up with a breathing tube. To say I was freaked out was a understatement.  Due to me being opened my incision got infected really bad.  They cut me open again and I had to have damp to dry bandaging and it was the WORST!!!  I had to have my gut open for months.  The first 3 months I regretted my surgery so much. I kept thinking what did I do, what did I do.

Well.....  After the incision was healed and I saw how I was dropping weight, I had hope that lead to me living a healthy, happy life and to be around to see my grandson born.

Its tough we know, if you have access to a support group please go it will help.  It will get better we promise!  Keep us posted on how you are doing!