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Super Contributor
Posts: 496
Registered: ‎05-16-2010

Feeling depressed & helpless after surgery

Is it normal to feel depressed because of being helpless after surgery? I can barely move. I had an emergency appendectomy Thursday at 3 pm, after suffering since 3 pm Tuesday with camps and violent....ya know.

I just feel depressed I can get up and down by myself. I can't bent over or walk much. I'm just exhausted.
Honored Contributor
Posts: 17,491
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Feeling depressed & helpless after surgery

[ Edited ]

Yes, it's absolutely normal.   Surgery (whether they cut you open or do it by laparoscopy (sp?)) is a trauma to the whole body and throws your chemical balance off.  Not being able to move about freely and feeling tired also gives you an abundance of time to think.

 

You spent 48 hours depleting your body of fluids and nutrients and then had surgery on top of it.  A body doesn't bounce back that quickly, unless your about 8 years old ;o)

 

I'm sorry you had to go through that.  The best thing to do is rest and walk.  Rest is what will get you back to optimum health quickly, walking around a little bit every hour or so will keep everything moving so that you can increase your mobility. 

 

Whatever you do, don't push yourself.  If you're tired, sleep or nap.  If you need to move around, do it slowly and build up your stamina.

===================================
QVC Shopper - 1993

# IAMTEAMWEN
Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,031
Registered: ‎03-19-2010

Re: Feeling depressed & helpless after surgery

Just take it one hour at a time and then one day at a time.

It will get better.  I fell last December and broke my elbow  and had to have surgery and it took a couple of months before I could really use it for anything.  I felt depressed and helpless and I saw no end to it all and I had so much to get done.  Just get through the morning and then the evening and each day will bring you closer to being back to normal.   

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 16,195
Registered: ‎03-13-2010

Re: Feeling depressed & helpless after surgery

@Ane1Care

 

Oh, yes -- it's perfectly normal!!!  Any kind of surgery - major trauma to the body.  

 

We are all used to being in control.  We are constantly on the go -- doing this, doing that.  Go, go, go.  Then suddenly --- things come to a screeching halt.  

 

But, don't fear --- in no time at all you will be back up to speed!  

 

No matter what -- just make sure you allow yourself the time to heal properly and follow all the instructions as you don't want to jeopardize your recovery in any way.

 

My best wishes to you and just know that what you are feeling is 100% normal!!!  

"A day without sunshine is like, you know, night." - Steve Martin
Valued Contributor
Posts: 874
Registered: ‎07-05-2010

Re: Feeling depressed & helpless after surgery

The best thing you can probably do for yourself, is to put this into perspective.  I've been ill for 30 years, and can do much less now than ever before in my entire life.  That won't improve, that will only get worse.  Your condition, however, will heal & improve.  Don't let yourself get mired into a dark place where you won't have to stay....refuse to 'go there' & move forward.  You're better than you realize, things will improve for you very soon Smiley Happy  I know it is scary, but you won't have to 'stay' there.  You'll soon be up & at 'em again!

SerenityNow!
"Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her; still she sings away all the same, knowing she has wings." ~Victor Hugo
Valued Contributor
Posts: 810
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Feeling depressed & helpless after surgery

So sorry you have to go through this.

 

I agree with what the others have said. 

 

I had major surgery many years ago when my daughter was a toddler. I took her shoe shopping and knelt down to put them on her. My legs were still weak and I didn't think I could get up. I thought am I ever going to feel normal again? It seemed like all of a sudden I did feel like my old self. I know this will happen to you too. Your body just needs time to heal after such a trauma. Your body will do it in it's own time and not always as fast as we would like.

 

Like the others have said get all the rest you need and I hope you are back to normal soon!

 

 

 

 

“We should be too big to take offense and too noble to give it.” Abraham Lincoln
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,109
Registered: ‎04-14-2013

Re: Feeling depressed & helpless after surgery

[ Edited ]

Yes!  I had an emergency "appy" in 2014 (talk about out of the blue - no time at all to mentally prepare) and it took me a good while to get back to "normal" strength.  What I found really depressing, though, was how many people dismissed it as "not serious" because it was "only" laproscopic.  An organ severed and extracted under general anaesthesia is not "serious"?  Use care, take time and heal.  I tried to do laundry the next morning and ripped the major suture in my navel.  My surgeon had to stitch me up in his office before the numbing shot even had a chance to take effect.  I almost ended up in the ER and on the table again.  I feel for you.  It is tough to lose your self-sufficiency and activity level, but it can and does happen.  Thankfully, you will never have to go through this again!  Best wishes for happy spirits.

Cogito ergo sum
Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,765
Registered: ‎03-13-2010

Re: Feeling depressed & helpless after surgery

I feel your pain.  I have a 4th (or is it 5th, or 6th - losing count!) surgery coming up sometime soon and I'm NOT looking forward to it.  All I can tell you is, you must rest.  REST is what your body needs to heal.  If you want to "do" something, try something you can do that does not require movement -- reading, knitting and coloring books are on my list.  I really don't watch TV much, but I recently discovered a great series with my Amazon Prime called "Downton Abbey".  .. Just some suggestions to get your mind off things.  THINK ABOUT BEING WELL.  Take care.

 

"The less you respond to negative people, the more peaceful your life will become."
Valued Contributor
Posts: 874
Registered: ‎07-05-2010

Re: Feeling depressed & helpless after surgery

Also, they don't really comment much in the medical field about this reality, but the anesthesia & medications they often give for surgery (and drinking alcohol has a similar reaction) have a depressive affect on our bodies & minds.  It is caused by chemicals, and sometimes it helps to remind yourself that this depression is temporary, chemically-caused, and 'not real.'  By that I mean, it isn't an actual Dark Night of the Soul...it is masquerading as one, so it can help to remind yourself that, 'Hey!  I just had surgery to help me get more mobility & quality of life back...this is a Good thing, not a bad thing!"  The medications can make you feel you are in a very dark, depressing black hole...but those are the meds talking, don't let it this erroneous illusion take you over.  It will pass Smiley Happy

SerenityNow!
"Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her; still she sings away all the same, knowing she has wings." ~Victor Hugo
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Honored Contributor
Posts: 20,163
Registered: ‎10-04-2010

Re: Feeling depressed & helpless after surgery


@VaBelle35 wrote:

Yes, it's absolutely normal.   Surgery (whether they cut you open or do it by laparoscopy (sp?)) is a trauma to the whole body and throws your chemical balance off.  Not being able to move about freely and feeling tired also gives you an abundance of time to think.

 

You spent 48 hours depleting your body of fluids and nutrients and then had surgery on top of it.  A body doesn't bounce back that quickly, unless your about 8 years old ;o)

 

I'm sorry you had to go through that.  The best thing to do is rest and walk.  Rest is what will get you back to optimum health quickly, walking around a little bit every hour or so will keep everything moving so that you can increase your mobility. 

 

Whatever you do, don't push yourself.  If you're tired, sleep or nap.  If you need to move around, do it slowly and build up your stamina.


THIS, I AGREE