Question:
Has any Bi-polar/Maniac depressive person had WLS??

Has any Bi-polar/Maniac depressive person had WLS?? I am bi-polar and take lithium and zoloft along with blood pressure medicine - which i anticipate going off of after the surgery.    — Brady M. (posted on February 6, 2003)

February 6, 2003
hi, i am also bi polar and it was a little work but i made it through. my insurance required a psych eval so i asked the psychatrist i'd been seeing for the past six years he said no evaluation he didn't support wls so i asked the surgeon's office who'd they recomend and went to go see him and had to pay $75 for him to write up the report plus he billed my insurance for the visit. needless to say he said he'd get the report right out and he say no problems...liar he wrote the report failing my psych evaluation. anyway i went back to my original everyday pschatrist and talk to him and he said if i wrote an essay about my reasons why he would give me a positive evaluation and he did thank god and the sergeons office took the second evaluation and i had surgery on 11/12/02 -45lbs and i havent felt depressed once about anything including surgery since.best wishes and good luck to you. :-)
   — kimberly T.

February 6, 2003
I am Bi-polar and I will be having my surgery in one week. I will not stop taking my Lithium, Wellbutrin, or Geodon.The only change may come in reducing the dosage as I lose the weight. My surgeon is even going to have my meds dispensed to me in the hospital. I am not going to do anything to disrupt my chemical balance. I am functioning very well and I don't want to change that.
   — Leslie E.

February 6, 2003
Hi there! I have bi-polar as well and just had my surgery on 1/24/03. I was off of my meds for the few days that I had an NG tube in, then when I was able to have clear liquids my surgeon approved me to start taking them again. Unfortunately I couldn't manage to choke them down. They were crushed and the taste was so hideous that I couldn't bear to swallow and immediately started gagging (not pleasant). I was off of my meds for about ten days in all. Just recently I've actually started taking them whole. I give myself plenty of time to make sure each pill passes through all right. Sometimes it takes me almost an hour to get them all down (9 pills), but I do manage to take them, much to my relief. There is a chance of one getting stuck, which I realize, but that really seems to be my only alternative if I want to continue my meds at this point. In the time that I was off my meds I didn't notice any severe changes in my mood. There were a few days where I had some cycling, but nothing too bad really. My psychiatrist approved me being off of meds for a little while and I wouldn't have done it had he not said it was okay. He also said that we would be adjusting my dosage according to my weight loss, which could mean either an increased or a decreased dosage depending on the level of malabsorption that I experience. (I had a distal bypass.) As far as getting approval for surgery, I actually used that as a co-morbidity citing the depression associated with bi-polar. My PCP agreed that losing weight could help to buoy my self-esteem thus decreasing some of the triggers which could cause depression. I'm not sure how true that is, but it helped me get approved (depression happened to be one of the co-morbs my insurance accepted). My psych evaluation went fine. The psychologist gave me four personality tests and had two meetings with me to discuss what my expectations were for the surgery. After I had completed the tests she called to tell me that anxiety and mania had been elevated (according to the tests), but she would approve me IF I agreed to seek counseling and join a support group after the surgery, both of which I already intended to do. I hope I've helped you in some way. If you have any other questions, please feel free to email me and I'll be happy to go into greater detail about my experience. Good luck!
   — Nikki L.

February 7, 2003
Hi there Brady!! I, myself, am not bi-polar but a good friend of mine is. She had her surgery over 2 years ago and has done wonderful with the weight loss. She stopped taking all her bi-polar/antidepressant meds shortly after surgery and it was a MAJOR mistake. With the changes in her body and the chemical imbalance she had, due to no medications, it caused some rough family problems. Even though she is taking the medication now, the family has still suffered because of the unmedicated period. Definitely talk to your doctor before stopping any meds, they also have an impact on the family and how you relate to them. Hugs! Dena Open RNY 11/15/2002
   — Dena C.

February 7, 2003
I have a sister that had surgery June 02. She is bi-polor. She got approved for the surgery. However, please note that after surgery (about 2 months post op), she became sleeply and couldn't say awake. She looked terrible. She would stay in the bed all the time. She went to the emergence room and she had a build up of lithimn (overdost). The Dr. said she was one dose away from dieing. Her medication had to be ajusted. She was in the hospital about 10 days. She was taking the same dose as before surgery and with her stomach smaller it almost killed her. Im not telling you this to scare you but to let you know what could happen. Just look out for anything weard your body may be feeling. She is better now and lost 110lbs. She is taking her medication but at a much lower dose. Good Luck to you.
   — Lisa A.

February 7, 2003
hiya! i was diagnosed manic depressive and had wls 6-01. i was taking depakote and prozac pre op (very HIGH doses) so about 6 weeks post op i was feeling "off" so i went back on my meds but at minimum doses (i tried the liquid versions and they made me dump) so i went on minimum doses because the pills were so small and my doc decided to see how i would do. i did fine on the smallest dose and my blood levels were within therapeutic range. last year my docs realized that i hadn't had an actual clinical manic or depression in about 3 years so we decided for me to go off my meds all together and i've been fine since (that was about 6 months ago now) i still see a counselor. funny thing is that pre op and post op my surgeon kept asking me if i thought i could go off my meds and i was like, "no way! this is a chemical problem and surgery won't solve it!" and i don't know that manic depression "goes away" but i do know that this surgery has a bigger impact on your body than i think the doctors know and all kinds of changes happen...so for some people i think it is possible to go off their meds and do fine. if you go back on your meds i would recommend starting at lower doses and make sure they are not time released (sr's)otherwise they won't break down fast enough for you to get the benefit from them. good luck! kate www.geocities.com/katebme2002
   — jkb

February 8, 2003
Bipolar-Bear here. I've lost 150+ pounds.
   — Gremlin Q.