topic Going off medications......?peer advice wanted in Treatments, health professionals and therapies

Going off medications......?peer advice wanted

startingnew — Sat, 07 Oct 2017 00:50:07 GMT

Hi guys
Ive checker the scales once again and im still gaining weight and its only been aince i started these new meds.

I dont know what to do. The weight gain isnt good for mental or physical health but i cant budge it. I was warned id probably gain just a few kgs when i firstly started but ive gained a whopping 15kgs
I know alot of that is also because ive been abit lazy but geez in only 4 months ive been on them im questioning if its worth it anymore!.

They work fantastic for my anxiety and depression but if i go off them i know what will happen and it wont end well. Ive already changed meds 3 times and i dont want to change anymore.

Actually both of my tablets cause weight gain!
The first ones made me sick and shed the kgs like flies but these ones are shocking for weght gain

What would you do? Im stuck. I know your not health professionals i want peer advice on what the heck to do cause its stressing me more having all this weight put on

Im going to increase my exercised to an extra hour a day as well but my god 15kg in only 4 months is ridiculous!!

Going off medications......?peer advice wanted

Mathy — Sat, 07 Oct 2017 07:05:53 GMT

Hi SN,

It’s a difficult decision to make when the meds seem to be helping you very well, actually, it’s more than difficult, when the choice is between mental health or physical health. Personally, I wouldn’t be giving up my mental health.

I guess I’d have another look at how to manage the weight gain. I’m not an exercise physiologist, but I do know there is a difference between cardio exercise and fat burning exercise. I believe cardio is higher heart rate, hot and sweaty and fat burning is lower heart rate, long slow distance work. So maybe some research and even a consult with an exercise physiologist might be helpful? Then rebalance the type of exercise you do?

I assume you eat healthy food, but anything that’s packaged, do you scrutinise the ingredients? Sorry if this is like a “doh” comment, but a lot of sugar and stuff can sneak in. Pain in the butt, but perhaps calorie counting?

Hope this provides some ideas, believe the exercise idea might be the best plan to tackle the weight gain. My best wishes, cheers M 🙂

Going off medications......?peer advice wanted

startingnew — Sat, 07 Oct 2017 08:24:04 GMT

hi Mathy and thank you for responding

i know if i go off medications i probably wont handle life at all and im only just managing on the dosages im at now but its the highest dose for both of the medications im on.

im eating healthy and exercising already and in a 3 week gap of continuing to eat healthy plus exercise and a few days a week increase it by another half hour or and hour and i still gained 5kgs.

i havent been calorie counting but ive been keeping a food diary and exercise diary.

i was loosing weight fast before but i was also very sick from side effects on one of the meds but since starting this one its been ridiculous.

im going to a womans health nurse but i might see about a nutritionist and see where im going wrong or can better the diet still.

thank you for your advice.

Going off medications......?peer advice wanted

shadow_girl — Sat, 07 Oct 2017 08:28:24 GMT

Hi starting new,

This is my first time responding to another person's thread so please forgive me if I say anything wrong.

I understand the difficulty of changing medications and the instability it brings each time (within 3.5 years I have been on 11 different combinations). Unfortunately, for most people it always a case of risk versus benefits. And as everyone is different, our bodies will respond slightly differently to medications, making it difficult to predict what will happen until we have been on it a few months.

It is difficult to discuss in too much detail, as we cannot talk about specific meds.

Have you found your diet has changed at all recently? I just ask this because some MH meds cause weight gain, not by affecting your metabolism as such but by increasing your hunger. While exercise is important for our MH and general well being, diet has the biggest impact on our weight.

It is great that you have found a combination of medications that help with your MH symptoms! See that as a success. Weight gain can be distressing though and I personally understand that.

I would suggest discussing with your gp/psychiatrist about your concerns.

An exercise group or team sport could help make exercise fun. An extra hour exercise every day is a lot to try and fit in! It may also be with seeing a nutritionist who had help you make up a specialised food plan.

Sorry again if I have said anything wrong.

Good luck

shadow_girl

Going off medications......?peer advice wanted

startingnew — Sun, 08 Oct 2017 03:01:47 GMT

Hi shadow girl welcome to BB 🙂
I understand how nervewracking it is responding to others threads so well done 🙂
its not about being wrong here, its about offerring your point of view and letting others see it from different perspectives 🙂

thats a lot of combinations. Ive had 4 different sorts and finally found this dose. Im very sensitive to side effects so it took quite a while. Im happy with these ones but im not sure because of the weight gain.
I feel like in a way its been counter productive because while it does help with anxiety and depresison and my personality disorder it is making me gain a lot of weight and im already very self conscious. I was a healthy weight before and it took forever to get there but no its like a waste of time because ive put it all back on again.

Hmmm I cant think of many dietary changes. It gave me a lot of sugar cravings to start with but after about a month it subsided and during that time I do admit that I had a lot of sugar but its been another 3 months now and have been going well with exercise and diet wise.

Ill speak to my gp about it but I think they will tell me to stay on them as when I went off them and was 'clean' of all medications I really went down hill a lot and ended up in hospital as well in that state for a week.

Im seeing a nutritonalist-ive seen one once but never went back but I guess I could go abck and see if they can try and nut out where the flaws are in my food diary and exercise regime.
Im really self conscious and anxious around people esp in regards to exercise and eating so id rather do it alone but otherwise it would have taken you up on that offer!

thanks heaps 🙂

Going off medications......?peer advice wanted

shadow_girl — Sun, 08 Oct 2017 12:12:43 GMT

thanks for your nice reply, starting new 🙂

i too have pulled off a medication due to fear of weight again - it also did not end well and is something i wouldn't do again. i don't know how it is for you, but already being so self conscious about my weight just stressed me so much however without the medication i felt so much worse.

hope your gp can help you come up with a solution.

all the best

shadow_girl

Going off medications......?peer advice wanted

startingnew — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 07:13:08 GMT

hi shadow girl

thanks, will check in with my gp on wednesday as have to go there anyway. i done 25ks in 2 hours on a exercise bike today, maybe if i keep that up every day there might be more improvement in my weight

Going off medications......?peer advice wanted

white knight — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 07:29:08 GMT

Hi SN

My view is not to consider adjustment of meds at all in respect to weight gain.

Im the same, have hradually got to 137kg but I have a very large ex weight lifter frame. Regardless I lost 11kg in 11 weeks by banning these products

Potatoes, butter, bread, sugar

If I want a sandwich I have a wrap. We have sugarless chocolate with coffee at night. We lunch once a fortnight at chinese or fish and chips etc but we limit the amount eg one piece of fish between us.

Tony WK

Going off medications......?peer advice wanted

startingnew — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 07:57:10 GMT

HI Tony thank you for your view.

its hard with weight gain. i expected it as a side effect just not this much!

my last medications i had were bad i have super bad nausea, and low energy and jsut felt really under the weather all the time. i ended up loosing so much weight i became under healthy.

frustrating isnt it

Going off medications......?peer advice wanted

Guest_6341 — Fri, 20 Oct 2017 05:59:19 GMT

Hi there,

I've been looking for information and experience on coming of SSRI's after 12 months of taking them and there is very little information out there on what people go through after weaning off.

I decided to visit the GP and come off the SSRI as I do feel so much better than 12 months ago, I was lucky that SSRIs worked for me at the first go. However, I have gained weight despite working out, and crave sugar all the time and my appetite is insatiable, so its a massive challenge to balance it all. Sex drive is gone down the pooper and haven't dated for over 3 years because of depression and loss of libido last 12 months. I am hoping that coming off the SSRI will tune all these up- and my weight starts to drop. Ironically my weight is now the thing that's holding me back from what my depression used to.

Is there anyone out there who has successfully come of SSRIs after 12ish months? What did you do to maintain healthy mind and body?

Thanks

Going off medications......?peer advice wanted

startingnew — Fri, 20 Oct 2017 06:47:22 GMT

hi guest and welcome. i cant answer that question but i hope someone else can

Update for those following my story-

I went to my psychiatrist (medications) on thursday and I told her about my weight gain but im doing the right thing shes abit weary about that too. She doesnt want to stop my medications either because im still at the bottom of the barrol so to speak. Shes actually put me on a weight loss tablet that we are going to trial for a month or two. She keeps saying and its getting into my head that if dont eat I dont get fat, and also that maybe these tablets will make me sick and deter me from eating. (her words, not making it up!)

Going off medications......?peer advice wanted

monkey_magic — Fri, 20 Oct 2017 07:42:33 GMT

Sn,

I also had a doctor tell me not to eat anything just take multi vitamins- bad advice.

I find some medications make you want to eat more. The trick is to eat less exercise more, not that I'm taking my advice ATM. I've put on a lot of weight as well, some days I can't stand it other days I'm OK but in reality I want to be back to what I used to be- fit n healthy. So my advice would be to eat a little less and healthier.

A lot of us r emotional eaters. I know I am. Good luck with it, I empathise.

Going off medications......?peer advice wanted

startingnew — Sun, 22 Oct 2017 07:15:30 GMT

hey monkey

thanks its a tough balance but im hoping itll all be back on track again soon!

Going off medications......?peer advice wanted

monkey_magic — Sun, 22 Oct 2017 08:29:47 GMT

Yeah especially if a side effect of the med is increased appetite which some of them are. The ones I'm on increase your appitite and when I was in hospital we were putting on weight. I put on loads and still haven't lost it all. It's all about self discipline really but you also want to enjoy yourself and enjoy the food you eat.

I remember hearing about a 80/20 rule. 80% healthy eating and 20% unhealthy eating. Sounds pretty good and sustainable to me...

Going off medications......?peer advice wanted

Sophie_M — Mon, 23 Oct 2017 00:04:58 GMT

Hi everyone, we're going to close this thread as this discussion is already happening elsewhere on the forum in startingnew's main thread:

Not coping after disclosure

Please help us keep things together on the forums by sticking to a single thread for support - if you have multiple threads going it's hard for others to keep up with your story, and it's also unfair on newer members who run the risk of having their threads overlooked in the traffic.