Emotional all the time!!

[carverelli]

Presurgery I read everything I could find about what to expect after the surgery was over. And I had some surprises about some things I didnt think would be much of a problem.

I've been home 3 weeks from the hospital stay and it feels like 3 months. I'm bored out of my skull, cant drive yet, and my once muscular fit body is getting soft and mushy. My weight hasnt changed much so that means Im getting fat AND losing muscle mass.

Another surprise is I cry at the drop of a hat. Examples: this last weekend my wife and I attended a high school marching competition our son was in. As he was on the field, playing his trumpet and doing what he has learned, I started to cry like a girl. Not sure exactly why. Because I was proud of him? Because he is really good(he is) or was it because my 2 older boys were so smart that they didnt even graduate high school and are struggling to make ends meet as young adults. My youngest boy has passion with music and practices for hours a day without my wife and i prodding him or bribing him with electronics. He is driven and Im really proud of him.

Another case is when my wife and I were watching X factor, and these people were putting it all out there and the crowd just loved them. Their whole life they've had a dream and this was the first time they've went for it. It was inspiring to me.

Maybe just going through this experience(OHS) has changes my perspective on what is really important in my life, i dont know.

Am i alone in the way I'm feeling post surgery? I've heard about people being somewhat emotional after OHS, but I wasn't prepared for this.

 

[Jkm7]

What you are experiencing is so common and most of us experience the same emotional rollercoaster in varying degrees. OHS is such a traumatic, huge event for most of us that our entire body responds in one way or another. Most of us gradually work our way through the blues and the emotions given time but some find it best to discuss this with their PCP or cardiologist. Medication may help get through and get you back on track if you find it too hard to cope with for too long. Don't let it linger endlessly. There is help and you deserve to get all the help available.
Don't keep it bottled in from your wife and family. Let them know how you are feeling. Let them help in the special ways some families instinctively are able but don't blame them if that is not their 'style'. They worried about you having this surgery and for your recovery. They, too, probably are 'recovering' in their way.

I hope it is some comfort for you to learn it is a very common thing and to not think it peculiar to you.
All best wishes.
Aside from the emotions, how are you doing?

 

[Guyswell]

Your emotional responses to the examples you cite, don't seem to be inappropriate (although they may be unusual for you). There's a certain scene in The Sound of Music that puts a lump in my throat every time and my kids have made me choke up with pride on occasion. Now, if you're crying because you burned the toast, I'd be more concerned for you.

I hope you're getting outside and exercising as much as you can tolerate. That will really help your mood. As you see yourself getting stronger and becoming fit again, you'll feel more like yourself.

You've been through a lot and had to trust your health and life to others. If you're one of those "I'm a man and I'm in control of my emotions and my destiny" kinds of guys, the whole OHS experience could have been very humbling.

With all that said, don't discount the possiblity that you're suffering from a temporary case of depression. Mention it to your doctors and see if they have any suggestions.

 

[Greg a]

You are not crying like a baby, but rather like a man in touch with his feelings! I am now often ridiculed as it appears our side of the family was born with our bladders too close to our tear ducts as we can cry at the drop of a hat. It is at TV pgms and as you say at times that our families make us so proud or as our families experience growing pains as we have already experienced. Heck in my household even Grey's Anatomy is off the table oh well please pass the tissues ......

 

[Laggard]

Dude, I remember crying over an Arbys commercial.