I'll jump right back in !!! Mental illness and weight loss
O.K I am back !! I have had some instability in my mental health with the weight loss. Nothing "over the edge" but had an effect on my summer. In some ways the summer was almost "TOO GOOD" .....I just wanted people to know that with the huge changes in our bodies it can effect our mental health for the better or worse. The most important thing is to be honest with yourself and others !!!! I made sure that the people around me looked for signs in me that I can not always be aware of in myself. The summer could have been a disaster !! I am grateful it was not. I now see my psychiatrist more often. We have revised my plan for "instability".
I hope this will help some of you assess your mental health !!! UNDERSTAND WEIGHT LOSS DOES NOT SOLVE ALL PROBLEMS !
Your old friend,
Sean
Hi, Sean - great post. I'm about 3-years post op now and some interesting issues have just started to surface for me. I'm one of those folks who has always been fat; it was a huge part of my identify (no pun intended). I knew who I was when I was fat, and I was comfortable with that "me." Although I know it was an unreasonable expectation, I expected my life to be "better" when I was thinner and more "normal" in appearance. Turns out "normal" size people have issues too; who knew? Unfortunately, my summer was somewhat of a disaster, but I'm refocusing now and have an appointment to talk with a counselor in a couple weeks (it's the earliest appointment I could get).
Hopefully this type of post will help others recognize that there can be some complex emotional and psychological issues that we face along the journey, that that's okay, and that the important thing is to look for support and work on getting all aspects of ourselves -- physically, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually -- healthy.
Good luck on your continuing journey -
Kellie
Hopefully this type of post will help others recognize that there can be some complex emotional and psychological issues that we face along the journey, that that's okay, and that the important thing is to look for support and work on getting all aspects of ourselves -- physically, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually -- healthy.
Good luck on your continuing journey -
Kellie
Hey,
you bring up a very Valid Point.. this is why i'm currently seeing a psychiatrist.. to try and uncover some Root Causes of my abuse of Food.. I never EVER want to go back to the way i was.. and if i can learn the proper Coping Tools to use then i will be alot better off..
this is where i am at 7 monhts out..
you bring up a very Valid Point.. this is why i'm currently seeing a psychiatrist.. to try and uncover some Root Causes of my abuse of Food.. I never EVER want to go back to the way i was.. and if i can learn the proper Coping Tools to use then i will be alot better off..
this is where i am at 7 monhts out..
Brightest blessings! one day i'll be a muscle Bear!
You are so much further along on your WL journey than I -- I'm pre-op with my first surgical / psych consult on 9/23.
My big concern is this: If my food and eating issues have made it impossible to maintain a weight loss program over the past 25 years, what makes me think that after going through RNY, I will not go back to those self-destructive patterns that are so ingrained in me? I mean, if I can't stay on a basic Weigh****cher's plan, can I realistically expect to follow the post-op food plan that must be a part of my life forever?
I have no idea how to respoind to a question like this during my psych consult!
I think you have given a pretty good answer right here, inasmuchas you know what questions have to be asked.
For the long term? I really don't know. My own experience so far at 9 months out is that the surgery (at least RNY, DS and perhaps VSG) really does something "magic" to our bodies that allows us to defer the question. But at 12, 18 or 24 months out? I hear again and again from long-term "gradulate" post-ops that the honeymoon eventually ends, and that it can become a real struggle with hunger and weight regain. I like to think that I've used these past nine months to practice what I need to maintain, but check back with me in 6-9 mos. more!
/Steve
For the long term? I really don't know. My own experience so far at 9 months out is that the surgery (at least RNY, DS and perhaps VSG) really does something "magic" to our bodies that allows us to defer the question. But at 12, 18 or 24 months out? I hear again and again from long-term "gradulate" post-ops that the honeymoon eventually ends, and that it can become a real struggle with hunger and weight regain. I like to think that I've used these past nine months to practice what I need to maintain, but check back with me in 6-9 mos. more!
/Steve
sfnativewm
on 9/4/08 11:12 am
on 9/4/08 11:12 am
Great topic!! I am finding myself having some for lack of a better word anger issues. I am not liking the constant comments about my weight loss! It amazes me how people think wls is such a simple thing or way to lose weight!@#$%% LOL ok I vented and feel better now!! xo ~Ann~
Thanks everyone !!! For those who do not know me.....I am a child psychiatric nurse....I deal with individuals struggling with mental health issues every day. I myself have a mental illness. I am not ashamed to say it. I have to say I was very concerned with what the weight loss would do for my mental health. I am bipolar and was very concerned about how the weight loss would effect my stability. I am glad to say that it has been much better than I feared. The strange thing is ....we have done almost no medication changes. I thought my doses would need to be lowered, but that has not been the case.
Well Enough of my babbling......LETS TALK ABOUT YOU......LOL
Well Enough of my babbling......LETS TALK ABOUT YOU......LOL
Versus starting a new thread I'm just going to piggy back my psych issues on to this nicely organized thread. Thanks Sean :-) Sorry it's a bit long winded... but wow.. I actually feel at peace this morning after getting all this off my chest.
I went through the whole Psych evaluation survey and they must have asked 50 times if I was an emotional eater. How do you know if you're an emotional eater? When I get stressed eating is the last thing I do. Normally when I get stressed I find something constructive to do to take my mind off of things. I used to sleep, but I pretty much broke myself of that because sleeping didnt accomplish anything... but cleaning the house, or re-organizing the closet, or scrubbing dishes normally calmed me down.
I've been on weigh****chers for almost 2 months now and I find that my big issue is.... if it's in front of me I will eat it. I have never kept food at my desk.. ever. And when I pack lunches it was mainly just a sandwhich and a drink. Now with weigh****chers I pack a breakfast, a snack, a lunch and an afternoon snack. But it's a challenge to space all those foods out through out the day. i can't bring in boxes of snacks to keep at my desk.. I'd eat them all in one sitting because they are there. If I do this I have to take them upstairs and leave them at my partners desk and I go up there once a day to get a snack.
I have no clue how to fix this or break myself of this. Same thing with dinners. But I'm fixing this **** I now fix plate and THEN sit down. I don't leave the pots and bowls of food at the table only to finish everything in each pot. I take left overs with me for lunch, and today I was such a good boy.. I took the container of spaghetti and dumped half of it down the drain before coming to work so I wouldnt eat the whole container. I stay away from eating out... yesterday I totally failed because we went out to lunch and I was going to be good but I said F-It! I have 49 extra week day points.. I'm going to have something good. So I had a Large reuben. I finished the first half of the sandwhich thinking maybe I can get away with a doggie bag.. but no... this was a 2 hour lunch. So I ate the 2nd half. And to top of it off.. after eating the first half and realizing the packet of dressing I used for the first half had 21 grams of fat.. I proceeded toopen up the 2nd packet for the 2nd half. WTF
I'm re-examining the type of surgery I'm having. I'm still gunning for the RNY due to the lack of complications with the surgery, the lack of the open incision, and the lesser of the malabsorption issues, but I'm also tempted to have the DS. I'm still up in the air.
And then there's the issue of hoping to god a 10 year relationship doesnt go down tubes after the surgery. I have to have this surgery. I don't want to die young. I'm getting a little bit of slack from the other half in regards to "just go to the gym" but I think he's a bit ticked that he's not heavy enough for a "miracle cure".
And then there's the skin delemna that I'm pondering... I don't want to throw myself into a world of stress thinking about how I'm going to come up with the money to pay to have the skin removal... or what if this surgery really only works for 1 year and I start gaining after the first year and then go into a huge depression for doing this to my body and failing (which I'm a pretty strong person, but obviously not strong enough if I can clear a dinner table of food)
ok please.. throw a bucket of water on me.. I'm starting to get hysterical.
Wow... are these pretty normal thought processes?
I went through the whole Psych evaluation survey and they must have asked 50 times if I was an emotional eater. How do you know if you're an emotional eater? When I get stressed eating is the last thing I do. Normally when I get stressed I find something constructive to do to take my mind off of things. I used to sleep, but I pretty much broke myself of that because sleeping didnt accomplish anything... but cleaning the house, or re-organizing the closet, or scrubbing dishes normally calmed me down.
I've been on weigh****chers for almost 2 months now and I find that my big issue is.... if it's in front of me I will eat it. I have never kept food at my desk.. ever. And when I pack lunches it was mainly just a sandwhich and a drink. Now with weigh****chers I pack a breakfast, a snack, a lunch and an afternoon snack. But it's a challenge to space all those foods out through out the day. i can't bring in boxes of snacks to keep at my desk.. I'd eat them all in one sitting because they are there. If I do this I have to take them upstairs and leave them at my partners desk and I go up there once a day to get a snack.
I have no clue how to fix this or break myself of this. Same thing with dinners. But I'm fixing this **** I now fix plate and THEN sit down. I don't leave the pots and bowls of food at the table only to finish everything in each pot. I take left overs with me for lunch, and today I was such a good boy.. I took the container of spaghetti and dumped half of it down the drain before coming to work so I wouldnt eat the whole container. I stay away from eating out... yesterday I totally failed because we went out to lunch and I was going to be good but I said F-It! I have 49 extra week day points.. I'm going to have something good. So I had a Large reuben. I finished the first half of the sandwhich thinking maybe I can get away with a doggie bag.. but no... this was a 2 hour lunch. So I ate the 2nd half. And to top of it off.. after eating the first half and realizing the packet of dressing I used for the first half had 21 grams of fat.. I proceeded toopen up the 2nd packet for the 2nd half. WTF
I'm re-examining the type of surgery I'm having. I'm still gunning for the RNY due to the lack of complications with the surgery, the lack of the open incision, and the lesser of the malabsorption issues, but I'm also tempted to have the DS. I'm still up in the air.
And then there's the issue of hoping to god a 10 year relationship doesnt go down tubes after the surgery. I have to have this surgery. I don't want to die young. I'm getting a little bit of slack from the other half in regards to "just go to the gym" but I think he's a bit ticked that he's not heavy enough for a "miracle cure".
And then there's the skin delemna that I'm pondering... I don't want to throw myself into a world of stress thinking about how I'm going to come up with the money to pay to have the skin removal... or what if this surgery really only works for 1 year and I start gaining after the first year and then go into a huge depression for doing this to my body and failing (which I'm a pretty strong person, but obviously not strong enough if I can clear a dinner table of food)
ok please.. throw a bucket of water on me.. I'm starting to get hysterical.
Wow... are these pretty normal thought processes?
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