I had my right hippocampus removed 6 yrs ago and had a little. i would
wait for atleast 8 weeks to see how it goes. I notice that I get
depressed eaiser now than I did before my surgery.

Chris

So far as I could tell from earlier posts as you were approaching the
surgery date, etc.  this is a Doctor who you trusted?   Since we haven't
heard yet from many others who've had that surgery (I haven't),  I wondered
why not let him put you on an antidepressant on a temporary basis?   You can
ask if it's one that's *not likely to be 'addictive' or hard to phase off
after your body has finished adapting to the surgery,  but why not get some
relief if it might help you sleep better, relax more and thus heal quicker?
It would help your concentration if you're able to sleep through the night,
and might even help the post surgery? period to heal quicker if you're more
relaxed?

  I'm not a 'pill pusher', but use regular Anti Ep Drugs  to control the
type of Complex Partial seizures I have and they enable me to go out and
function without wondering if 'this is the day'  I'll have a seizure, since
they're now essentially non-existent.
  If you knew what the pill was, you could look it up or talk to your
pharmacist about it, as well as the Doctor.   They'd also be better able to
suggest how long you might have to take it, but also whether the feelings
you are having is a normal side effect of the post-surgery period you're in.
G./

No, except that I'm so sorry to read this, you were so hopeful - and we all
were for you.

I do hope it will get better. I don't think there's any point in trying to
do anything about it, just wallow until it goes away. But I'm talking from
the base of no experience.

Do keep in touch ...

Hugs,

Mary

Haven't had that problem following surgery, but that was for gallbladder removal
and not brain surgery.  I take Celexa, a SSRI type of anti-depressant.  Some of
these antidepressants, including Celexa, take a really, really long time to
work.  Sometimes, it is hard going off of them unless it's a carefully managed
method.

Fifteen years ago when they put me on Tegretol, it worked as a mood elevator
and, boy, I was a very happy person.  If there is such a thing as too happy,
that was me on Tegretol.  Celexa is just totally different for me.  It has not
turned me into a happy-go-lucky person but just gotten rid of the misery, the
feeling down, and has really improved my daily living functioning.  That massive
depression after seizures is also unbelievably better.  I'm not endorsing or
suggesting any particular medication to anyone though.

Some of the medical research found on the internet indicates depression
following temporal lobectomy is fairly common, however, it sounds like many of
these patients also had depression at some point prior to the surgery (but a
large percentage of people lost their depression too).  That doesn't mean
depression should be accepted or ignored.  At this point, I have not found a
clear answer why this happens although the location in proximity to the the
parts of the brain related to emotion could be affected or there could be
changes to things like the metabolic function.  .

I just want to assure you that antidepressants don't have to be a bad thing.
Personally, I would prefer not to spend money on them or any medication for that
matter.  The Celexa does greatly improve my ability to function though, and that
includes being much more productive in my work, so I guess the money issue
balances out.

Depression is so darned spooky though that I would be scared to take a chance
trying to go without medication or using unproved methods (like herbals).  I
mean, you can get really, really bad very, very fast.  I think it's also hard to
recognize in yourself when you've reached a danger point.

Boy, I hope you can get some relief, and you did the right thing coming here to
talk about it.

Barb

At last the depression is starting to lift, so it looks like I won't need
antidepressants. I go back to work next week. It's been 6 weeks since the
surgery and no seizure so far! :)
Before, I was getting at least one or two per week.