Quote:
Originally Posted by therealstacy
I've been taking antipsychotics for several decades. Now I have symptoms of metabolic syndrome -- a little bit of high blood pressure, high glucose, high cholesterol, and obesity. Now I've been told that I have a fatty liver, which can accompany metabolic syndrome.
My diet is fine according to a dietician. I just started exercising regularly, so that will eventually help. But I don't have faith that diet and exercise will help. I've been trying to lose weight and maintain weight loss for as long as I've been on APs. Nothing has worked. Even faithful calorie counting didn't work. Working out regularly in a gym -- doing an hour of cardio and weight lifitng -- didn't help me lose weight. I really think that the meds are biting me in the *****. I think that the only thing that will help is gastric bypass surgery.
I'm at my wits end. I'm very discouraged. Has anyone successfully dealt with metabolic syndrome? I can't go off the AP. I've tried before and terrible things happened. The AP I'm currently on -- Latuda -- is supposed to be weight gain neutral, but I must be one of those people who gain weight anyway.
|
You're far from alone in struggling with negative effects of antipsychotics. I take medications to control some of mine. I am overweight, but luckily not obese, though once several years back I almost reached that level.
Your dietitian says your diet is fine, but you're not losing weight? I can't help but wonder if she/he has suggested different diet approaches. Calorie counting definitely doesn't work for everyone, nor does low fat dieting, or certain others. Have you tried low carb dieting? I lost about 42 lbs on a low carb diet, in the past. That was actually the biggest loss I ever had, and it was directed by a dietitian. At the time, the loss normalized all of my blood test results. It's been 15 years since, and though I have regained a good amount, I haven't regained all of it. And that's also being back on a weight unfriendly AP (Seroquel XR) as of about 10 years ago. For the first 5 years I retained the loss quite well. I was never a fan of low-carbing, but what worked worked.
I'm sure any decision on your part to have a surgery will be well thought out. It should be, as it's a big commitment. My sister had such a surgery and has done quite well since. Her diabetes is in remission.