Anti-depressents

I met with a psychologist today because for the past few months following my ex boyfriend's death, i have become quite depressed again and was looking into a med change. I have struggled with depression for years and been in and out of hospitals. I have been stable for 3 years now and going on with my life. I am having RNY on July 23rd and had a few questions about meds.  1) If you are on anti depressents, how do they work after surgery? Did you need an increase or decrease?  2) Have any of you tried a liquid form of anti depressents? How do they work? Anything can help right now! Thanks!

I was taking prozac with varied results before surgery. The great psyschiatrist I met with at Duke for my preop recognized that my problem included anxiety too. She recommended Paxil which I switched to before the surgery, and it has been working really well, I don't stress about things nearly as much now as I did before. I feel more "normal" hahahaha. She followed up with me by phone about a month after surgery and after talking to me recommended I increase my dosage (I had been on a very low dose to start).  Here's the thing, adjusting to the changes post-op can lead to an increase in depression for some patients, so it is important that pre and post-ops work with a qualified person to be proactive about recognizing and addressing these issues. These are huge changes - a lot of us have long used food as a way (often unconsciously) to cope with some of our problems. After surgery a lot of people struggle because to be successful they can no longer have that same kind of relationship with food. I, like a lot of new post-ops, went through a period of mourning food - my old buddy who was always there. So, I guess I'm just trying to say to make sure you try to stay on top of it and get some assistance, because an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! As far as liquid drugs, I was never asked to use any, so I really don't know about that. I have heard people say though that controlled release pills don't act the same way in RNY patients because of the way we now digest things, but you better double check that one, I'm not sure exactly what drugs and tablet types that specifically applies to. Good luck, you're getting close! Sounds like your head is in the right place, getting prepared!

Hi Kimberely, I really do not have any advice for you but I want you to know that you are in my prayers and I am sorry for your lose!  If you need to talk send me a PM I am here for you! xoxoxo Liliana

Hey Kimberly, I took antidepressants for a while post-op and never had to worry about a liquid form (antidepressant pills are usually small enough to not cause problems, worse case scenario is you might have to crush them for a couple weeks or maybe split them to get them small enough).  Just make sure your pills aren't "timed release" or anything like that because they won't be absorbed as well in your new plumbing.  Talk to your surgeon to see if he/she can recomend a type of antidepressant that works better for post-ops.  You might have to mess with your dosage post-op because of absorbancy issues but keep at it with the help from a psychologist *****ally can help you gage how well everything is working. On a side note - I'm sorry you've had such a rough time with depression.  I hope you can get your meds figured out post-op, they really are wonderful when they can help you feel more like yourself.  Congratulations on your surgery date - you are in my prayers for the 23rd!