Depression

You are dealing with a LOT right now. Your body is exhausted from healing, your brain is going through some incredible life changes to grapple with, and it's no wonder that mental health can go kapoot early on.

First step is to call into the doctor who prescribes the antidepressants. S/he may want to adjust your dose, either now or in a few weeks once your body gets itself straightened out a bit. You may even be able to get some help over the phone if you're not able to get in for a face-to-face checkup.

Make sure to mention this to your surgeon at your next check-in as well. A flood of emotion is totally normal, and your surgeon has the experience to figure out if this is within the range of normal for a new post-op, or if this is something requiring a bit more work.

If you ever need to talk mental health, feel free to PM. I have bipolar and OCD and I remember how rough it was at first, so I'm glad to help-- even if it just means listening!

It's okay if you're not eating or moving around much. But you MUST DRINK ENOUGH LIQUIDS! Set a timer to go off every 15 minutes and get at least 6 ounces of liquids down every hour, if not more. Your depression may be caused by incipient dehydration. If you get severely dehydrated, depression will be the least of your problems when you find yourself in your local ER.

Call your surgeon now regarding your depression and do whatever he/she recommends (sip water as you wait on Hold). You just went through major surgery. You don't just hop up singing "Mockingbird Hill" one week later. Give yourself a break. It's okay to feel lousy right now. Your body and your emotions have been put through the wringer. It will take time, maybe weeks, until you start to perk up.

psychoticparrot

Just to add to what I wrote earlier, I have been an on/off depressive since my late 20s (I'm 65 now), and at one week post-op, I too pretty much turned my face to the wall and gave in to depression. At about 2 weeks post-op I ended up in the ER with a life-threatening kidney infection resulting from, yep, severe dehydration. I pulled through okay just to find myself back in the ER two weeks later for the exact same reason! I'm very lucky my kidneys weren't permanently damaged by my neglect of myself.

I don't mean to lecture you, but I do want you to understand that at the very least, you must take part in your own recovery, no matter how lousy you feel and how hard it may be to do what's necessary. Push yourself -- now is the moment. 

psychoticparrot