Question:
Did you still need antidepressants after WLS? Did the depression get better with weight loss?

I see alot of folks are taking them my question is how many needed them after they lost wieght and got more healty? Did the depression get better with weight loss? I take prozac and am hoping to discontinue after I loose some.    — Vitabella (posted on January 1, 2004)

January 1, 2004
My depression went away! Although it doesnt for everyone. My surgeons psych doc says its common for depression to go leave, for people with a poor self image or who are very ill from weight.
   — bob-haller

January 1, 2004
Hi there.I took Prozac for several years before my surgery for depression. After I had the surgery I haven't had to take it. My self-esteem has increased and my depression have significantly decreased. Having the surgery helped me feel not only better physically but emotionally as well. The surgery is often referred to as a "tool" for weight loss but it is also a "tool" for people with depression, at least for me it was.
   — D B.

January 1, 2004
My depression went away but the anxiety still lingers. Probably just my personality. Interestingly last night I was trying to remember the last time I cried and could not recall when that might have been. Crying before WLS was a regular thing for me and now I am just so much more even keeled.
   — Carol S.

January 2, 2004
My depression is worse than it has ever been....but, of course that is based more on my life's circumstances at the moment. There is no blanket answer to this questions, as clinical depression can be rooted in very different ways for each person. Mine was based on year of abuse as a child - of all kinds. Now that I am thinner and I have to beat men of with a stick...I am more screwed up than before...my protective barrier is gone and I am forced to deal...... Good luck to you.
   — Danielle M.

January 13, 2004
My depression got MUCH worse. My Welbutin SR was time release so I had to change it to Welbutin. It helped for awhile. Now I'm on Prozac as well.
   — Danmark