Posted by anders.kingstedt on November 02, 2002 at 06:34:05:
In Reply to: Heart Surgery and Depression posted by John Behle on October 29, 2002 at 22:38:16:
I was told about the risk of post-op depression before having the surgery and was therefore "mentally prepared". And, yes, I certainly experienced post-op depression. It's rather common among people going through major surgery from what I've understood. Part of the depression can possible be linked to the feeling of loss (sort of) that you might feel when leaving the comfort of the hospital going home. The depression went away, in my case, once I started to feel better (some 2-3 weeks after the op). In my view, being prepared for the possibility of depression together with good family support is the best aid in coping. For me, taking drug was not an option, probably because I knew the reason of the depression, enabling me to handle it fairly well.