Bipolar qustion for those who have had surgery

Have anyone had major mood swings or symptoms with Bipolar after surgery. I am 11 weeks out and having lots of trouble controlling my mood swings. Been to the Dr and they changed my meds but it's hard getting off one and now I'm taking 4 with little success. Any advise? Thanks!

i have no advice but i am going for surgery in two weeks, and i'm terrified of my mood swings afterwards. i'm currently only taking lithium an saphris, klonopin for the anxiety. i'm just praying that i dont have another episode b/c ive been hospitalized twice in the past two years.

I wasn't diagnosed with Bipolar before surgery but I defiantly struggled with tendencies afterwards starting at about one year out. With me the major connection was making sure I was taking a GOOD pharmaceutical grade vitamin AND mineral supplement on a daily basis. I'm not saying this will solve your issues but being nutritionally deficient really exacerbated mine AND I was too depressed to care about taking care of myself. Don't make the same mistake I did. Good luck

I am Bipolar Type 2.  I am only a week out off surgery, but so far, other than being in one of my "don't sleep" modes I have been fine.  I take my meds twice a day--morning & evening--and am on Lamyctil and Zoloft.  My psychiatrist had prescribed Ambien to be used in my "don't sleep" periods which I personally refer to as "revving."  But in a pre-op consult I had with her, she said stop the Ambien.  However, I plan to email her if my revving keeps up through next week & see if she'll let me take it again.

Since my surgery is so recent I don't know if things will change.  Certainly hope not.

You should see your psychiatrist frequently until your meds are well & truly "fixed."   Bipolar is extremely unpleasant and I will do practically anything to never go back to what I was before being diagnosed two years ago.  All my life I just thought that was the way I was, that it was normal--I marveled at how nice other people were and fought against an internal rage that was truly frightening.  I managed to control myself so well that no one was even aware of the problems I was experiencing.  And as I said, I thought that it was just normal for me because it had always been that way.  If an evil witch of a supervisor hadn't driven me to the point that I snapped isuddenly in my office one day & began crying for no particular reason, leading to go to the doctor, I would still be the way I was.  It frightens me to think that I might have one day lost control over that internal rage & actually done some of things I visualized doing to people.

That was very probably way TMI, but this is something I take very seriously.  I will be thinking of you and hoping that you and your doctor get a handle on your problems!  

I was diagnosed with Bipolar a long time ago. I had surgery Aug 17th so I am about 6 weeks out now. I was worried a lot about what the moods and energy highs would be like after surgery. My psychiatrist said that the weight loss should help with my depression. He was really for the surgery. Since the surgery I have had problems taking and getting a lot of my medications down and or to stay down! A couple weeks ago I gave up on taking a bunch of my meds. I was getting so frusterated. It is so overwhelming at times to work on and balance out the protein, water new meds, movement  etc NOTE:It is not a good thing or a safe thing to stop your meds so please if anyone reads this don't do what I did!! My mood swings, being around people, & energy have been HORRIBLE the last couple weeks since I stopped the lithium, cymbalta, and abilify! (There were 5 other meds I stopped also for other ailments) Not a good idea! Also, my doctor said because I was not getting enough protein in it is affecting my thinking and moods as well. My poor husband has taken so much crap from me the last few weeks. Things are looking up though! I just had an endoscopy today to streatch the connections and things (not the pouch) so, hopefully that will make it easier to get everything in and stay in. OH! before surgery Check with your doctor  that describes any of your meds for the bipolar or other health issues and see if there is liquid form of the meds. It feels so much better and for me anyways it is going to be a lot easier. ( no chopping, sprinkling, cutting of medications) Just beaware too... your body is going through a lot of changes after surgery so, according to my doctor a lot of the meds you took and the dosages you took prior to surgery is probably going to drastically change things. So hold on it is going to be a wild ride now and again.  And as long as you get your liquid/h20 in, protein in, meds in and follow your diet daily you should feel and do great!!!!  I wish you good luck. I hope I did not freak you out. Remember were all different and this journey is all our own. WE can share and it helps a lot but, in the end it is our own battle to fight! Just wanted to be honest. You will do fine. Hang in there...It will so pay off! It is already for me. I would do this all over again! Wish I had done it sooner! I have been off 3 insulins, high blood pressure meds, water retention meds, and 3 others for 6 weeks! I think so far that is worth it!
hugs....... 

Hi Pamela. I can relate. I have had a horrible time with mood swings for many years. I found the link below very helpful. Not sure if you've read it in your research but if not you might find it interesting.

Personally, I was ok after surgery. Better than ever, moods were in check, losing weight, working out, taking my meds faithfully in addition to my vitamins and supplements was easier for me than ever before. I felt awesome!

I hope you feel better soon.
 
My best to you! 

~Joy

http://blogs.psychcentral.com/bipolar/2011/04/weight-loss-su rgery-and-bipolar-disorder/

I'm bipolar 1 with a few other issues thrown in the mix.
When we lose weight our bodies release hormones because estrogen is stored in fat so it's very common for post ops to have mood swings, depression episodes, emotional issues! Changing meds may work but if it's a hormonal issue because you're losing weight they may not do much of anything! I had a lot of issues with my moods post op and couldn't figure out why my meds weren't working. After a while I calmed down and the meds I was on pre op were again affective in keeping my moods in check.
Do you have a therapist or counselor? Sometimes that can help more than changing meds. I know what a headache it is to change meds when they're not working right! It usually takes some time to find the right combination of things that gives you the theraputic treatment you need! 
Post WLS is an emotional nightmare sometimes! I'd definately talk to someone like a counselor to see if maybe that'll help.
Good luck and I hope they find the right combo of treatment that works for you! I found that talk therapy along with the medications helped A LOT!!

I did not have Bipolar issues, just anxiety/panic.  I was extremely moody before surgery, miserable to live with.  I have to tell you that my mood and anxiety/panic has greatly improved since surgery.  Actually decreased some meds.  So those out getting ready to go, everyone has different experiences.

 I am Bi-Polar 1. I was diagnosed with this disorder 42 years ago (I am almost 57 years old). I have been on Depakote for 7 years. I have been able to cut my dosage in half. I did not suffer from any adverse effects after having RNY surgery. After 35 years of trial and error with medications, I finally found a medication that has given me relief. I pray you find success in your treatment plan.

For me it's been tricky at times. My doc finally said to grind up all of my meds except the ones that aren't supposed to be ground up. NO time released psych meds are going to work. 

I'm on 2 meds and the balance has taken us years to figure out. When I'm going through a med change I do several things to "help" the meds out - I keep a regular sleep schedule. I'm 7+ years diagnosed BP1 and 8 months post op RNY.

The anesthesia from surgery, the releasing of the various hormones while losing weight, the lowering body weight that naturally might change med doses...the CHANGES that freaking make normal people (whatever the hell THAT is) crazy and emotional post surgery will hit us harder.

And it's okay. You can do this. God, if this neurotic princess can do it, then so can you :)

Even if I have to take my meds, go to bed and lay there and read a friggin readers digest til I fall asleep...then that's what it is.

I take my meds at a certain time every night, shut the pc down and go brush my teeth and say goodnight.

If I'm on a spin, I will still just make myself lay there and I try to just focus on my breathing. Some nights are better than others.

- and since I'm one of the lucky ones who is a recovering alcoholic I go to more meetings, increase my therapy appts with my therapist, burn more incense and try to meditate more. "Try" is a word that I use lightly because when you're going a million miles an hour, meditating is really hard - that's where the incense comes in - I just sit, breathe and watch the smoke. I don't have the luxury of taking 1 ativan/xanax/clonopin etc...I'm an addict and somehow 1 pill becomes 8...another post.

Grinding my meds up. When my psych explained WHY I grind my meds up I was more willing to do it - when we grind up our meds they hit a bigger surface area and can be absorbed better.

This is why addicts chew pills - or smoke their drug - it hits a bigger surface area.

Since we have a tiny pouch, we maximize our surface area of the pouch by grinding them up. Ground up meds taste like **** so have a tasty something or the other sitting handy - I used to have a tangy lemon calcium bite to chew afterwards before I started taking my iron at night - now I just drink crystal light and know it's going to taste like **** for a few minutes - small price to pay for mental health.

I TRY to avoid shopping because well...hello....it's something I have to pay for twice - the first is when I open my wallet, then the second is when I snap out of my spin and realize that all the things I just brought ...I didn't really need. Remorse post shopping is a ***** isn't it?      (But try to convince me of that when I'm shopping...!!!)

Balancing meds and mental health post op can be challenging. Having the right perspective on it and working diligently at it and having support is key. 

I have the tendency...okay okay, I AM wordy when I'm trying to be helpful so I'll shut up now. PM me if you want more info - I'm an open book.

Peace
Binda