Physical Check-In

Psych meds are notorious for weight gain and can cause trouble with cholesterol which can lead to metabolic syndrome, I have it and I can’t begin to explain how hard it is to manage.

Hopefully weight will fall off again

How’s your Victory??? Can we celebrate ? I have calorie free cake and party hats

Thanks for this !

I use to take fish oil, but I couldn’t afford the good brand once and bought cheap , ugh yeah fish burps yuck! Well then I just forgot to get back on the good ones !!

I needed this reminder Thank you

I started taking fish oil a few months after I had my episode. I was hoping I wouldn't cycle into depression after the mania and I wanted to do anything that helped. I cannot be sure what value it is adding, but I'm a happy girl!

I also feel it is beneficial physically. I've been exercising pretty hard and my joints have rebounded really well. I feel the fish oil might be helping there as well. I know you are in a lot of pain a good bit of the time. Maybe it will help that aspect for you.

I like the Dr. Tobias brand. No fishy burps.

High cholesterol is my main non psych struggle. As much as I appreciate my Seroquel XR, I know it is a major contributing factor - more than my weight itself. I've had high cholesterol for some years now. My GP and nephrologist have often mentioned prescribing a statin, but keep holding off. My psychiatrist is kind of angered by that and thinks I should have been taking one for a while. Last time, I pressed my GP about this and he ran up some kind of risk analysis. He explained I am still low risk being under 50, and usually having normal blood pressure, triglycerides, and glucose levels. It's just so hard to fight the cholesterol with diet and exercise because I can't be faithful to either, sufficiently.

An interesting observation: I had high triglycerides for a while in the past, until I went off Geodon. Then it normalized, even though I gained weight. My cholesterol still remained high. I had been on Seroquel XR, too, for at least 4 or 5 of the years I took Geodon, but at slightly lower doses of 350 to 450 mg vs my current 600 mg.

I've been fine, mentally, this week, but slightly less than so-so, physically. I won't go into it all again, but I hate to admit that I will be happy to return home.

HI Fern!

I hope you are feeling better. (?)
Thanks for sharing the information on diet.
You have mentioned "burpless" fish oil. I just want to stress the fact that there are burpless formulations availablet to people.

Often, when depressed, people mention feeling more like binging on carbs. As Fern points out, doing so often causes people to feel worse in the long run.

If anyone would like to utilize supplements and needs some lower cost resources, I 'd suggest: Vitamin Shoppe (they deliver. See their terms.), Vitacost (they also deliver. see thier terms),. There are others. I am aware of the products and practices of these two.

For anyone having difficulty swallowing pills/gel caps, there are flavored liquid fish oils available. There are a variety of flavors, including Pina Colada, Orange cream, lemon, etc. The liquids are usually more expensive. Vitamin Shoppe has excellent fish oil supplements . Their oil is pure, is usually less expensive than others, and they have a money-back policy if you cannot tolerate the oil/supplement.

Please do keep your fish oil refrigerated.

Both resources I have mentioned often hold BOGO sales.

Don't forget your Vitamin D-3 !
Please do ask your pdoc and/or your primary care doc about dosages. Also ask for testing for your Vitamin D level. Your regimen depends upon your own Vitamin D level.

For more information:

Vitamin D Articles, News, & Research | Vitamin D Council

Thanks , Fern, for raising this topic. Sometimes we forget.

Love to all!

I feel pretty good. Thanks for thinking of me. The pain in my kidney area has subsided as of today and I've been able to stay active. Unfortunately, I couldn't stay away from sugar like I wanted to over the past week or so. I have considered too much sugar might be the source of my pain. I don't eat a ton of it, but my body is ultra sensitive to chemicals. Maybe my pain was my kidneys telling me to stop making them work so hard.

The video from Dr. Marks came at a good time. It serves as a reminder that there is good science behind cutting out the sugar and refined foods. I have made it my mission to do whatever I can to stay healthy and this is a step I need to take. I eat pretty healthy, but I could certainly do better. Now if only my husband would stop bringing pumpkin spiced donuts home!

Thanks for the resources. Very helpful!

Well today at my appt shows I have lost 7 lbs .. I know it’s not a big amount but I’m glad the number is going in the right direction. I plan to work harder on watching portion size, which I think is a bigger problem for me than the food I eat,

I do avoid all sugar and have cut out most carbs, but hey sometimes I just need that bowl of Pasta lol

I just read this while eating a bowl of spaghetti.

WC

Thanks so much for the info on vitamins, I would much prefer to have them delivered, oh yeah burp less fish oil is an absolute MUST lol

LOL !!!! I will admit I’m making chicken Parmesan for dinner tomorrow... one of favorites

I’ve been away for awhile again because I was just feeling so frustrated. Well in the last few weeks I’ve lost about five pounds. I am eating less because I am depressed but I’m also making smarter food choices.

I’ve mentioned this in the daily check in but I am having a lot of symptoms of diabetes. I am worried because I am about 75lbs overweight and diabetes runs in my family. I feel terrible physically right now. I am exhausted (though part of that is depression), I’m thirsty all the time, I’m starving all the time, I’m peeing all day and all night...I could go on. I won’t have insurance until nov 1 so I can’t see my primary dr until then. So I have decided to try my best to keep my carbs under 120g and eat healthier in a effort to curb these symptoms. That’s what my mother in law who has type 2 diabetes does.

So I am back with you all to try to be accountable for these changes. I feel my very life hangs in the balance now, as my father died at only 48 from complications of diabetes. He was type 1, but still. As suicidal as I might feel at times, I don’t actually want to die. Especially now that I have a loving boyfriend who is talking of marrying me one day, and of course my son. I owe it to them, and myself, to be healthy.

I went for a walk for Alzheimer's this morning, and I am worn out! But I feel good for actually exercising.

I'm skipping my workout today to make time for our fall family weekend. We hit up the fair last night and then spent the morning at the pool because it is still blazing hot out. We're having a campout in the backyard tonight, so that should be fun. I'm feeling great physically and plan to exercise tomorrow.

Welcome back Wildflowerchild. You are making a lot of wise decisions for your health. Hopefully that gives you a little something to feel good about while you're feeling down. The body is resilient and it is my hope you will test negative for diabetes when you go next month. We're all here for you and support you!

Congrats on your weight loss and better eating choices!

Have you scheduled any testing to confirm if you do have diabetes or are pre-diabetic? It's important to know, as you surely realize.

Hubby and I took a nice walk along the beautiful canal in our area. It struck me how dry everything is and how low the water levels are. I didn't realize we were in such a bad drought. Global warming is surely a factor! I hope it rains this week.

I'm glad to be home and have my own kitchen and full pantry to work with. We ate outside on our deck. All of the flowers look beautiful. We have to thank our neighbor for watering in our absence. Last time she did that we brought her flowers. I'm not sure what to bring her this time. Flowers again? I could bake something, but nowadays you don't know how appreciated that is. Plus, I don't know what her food preferences are. I'll think about this more tomorrow.

I vote for baking. Everything you make always sounds amazing! Even something as simple as a basket of muffins is a warm way to say thank you. Flowers are a lovely choice too. You can't go wrong. It is awesome you have a neighbor willing to help you out

Hey Christina!

Feel free to ask me more if you have questions...anytime.

I have dealt with the local Vitamin Shoppe for many years. Once they had started their home shipping, I was reticent to order that way because I did not want the local shop to close. The have a great arrangement so their local stores do not go out due to people changing to home delivery. They give the store credit for everything the customer buys and has shipped directly to their home. I can live with this!

I know people in rural areas can feel especially challenged in locating pure supplements at competitive prices. So many companies deliver now. The question becomes: who delivers at a reasonable price?

I have had very good luck in this regard.

Love to ALL!

Nice job! I am not diabetic; however, I usually do eat as though I am diabetic. My labs normalize and I feel better than when I had hypoglycemia and was borderline diabetic. The wild swings of unstable blood glucose can be horrible.

I had also gotten into testing myself , at least until I was sure I had control of things, (My Primary Care doc was not willing to write for a glucometer and for strips, which can be outrageously expensive.)

Even when given a prescription for strips, it can turn into a huge hassle with insurance and can still be very expensive. I have learned that Walmart offers 1-2 styles of glucometers and their own brand of strips. The prices are so reasonable, many give up their insurance coverages for these items, and just go for those offered through Walmart.

A friend and I each had differernt brands of item. We had repeatedly taken our glucose readings with BOTH glucometers/strips. She had a top of the line model and her strips were priced at 4x as much. Our readings came out the same. It mattered not that I used the Walmart brand. My readings were as accurate as with her very expensive version.

I have found that even without a formal dx , it has been very helpful to be aware of my blood glucose level and to eat as though I have a dx.

I hope all goes well for you!
Much Love!

Wonderful!
DId you enJOY it?