I've been writing a lot about my struggles to diet and have only had a few comments back, from @Soupe du jour and @BethRags about drinking milk. I just wonder why this is and want to make sure i am not bothering anyone by going on about my struggles with food. I feel it's relevant to the bipolar forum as so many of us are overweight due to meds but i'll back off on the subject if the lack of feedback is because it's a triggering or unpleasant experience to read about my troubles.

[FluffyDinosaur]

Personally I don't have any issues with my weight, and I don't follow any particular diet, so I don't have much to add to that particular discussion. That's why I haven't chipped in so far. However, I certainly don't have any objections to the discussion being there, as far as I'm concerned.

@FluffyDinosaur: Thanks for the response. It relieves my mind. So happy for you that you are at a healthy weight! To what do you attribute your success?

[FluffyDinosaur]

Well, it certainly is a factor in my choice of medication, as I'm sure it is for most people. It's why I don't like to use Seroquel as a maintenance med, for example, even though it does work well for me as an emergency med. My current plan is to use Lamictal as my main medication, but time will have to tell whether it's enough to prevent another major episode from starting. I may have to go back to lithium if Lamictal is not enough. Right now I'm just starting to get out of a really severe depression (I finally had ECT) and I'm still in full recovery mode, so I'm still having to figure out what works.

In terms of diet, I don't really have a secret. I generally just try to eat healthy and get sufficient exercise; lots of vegetables, not much meat, not much sugar, whole-wheat bread, and so on, the usual advice I guess. I rarely drink anything other than water, so I suppose that helps. That's just a habit I've had since my teens, I don't know why, it's not for any principal reason. By nature I am prone to binge eating unhealthy stuff like chocolate, pizza, and so on. For that reason I usually forbid myself to eat that stuff, but I have one day a week where I'm allowed to eat it (besides special occasions like birthdays). I don't know if that approach necessarily works for everyone, but for me having one day of unhealthy eating a week is an effective way to keep myself from eating too much unhealthy stuff on the other days.

I don't have any issues with the threads being here either.

maybe, as you say, because so many people struggle with it, not many people have much to say beyond... yeah, me too.

I have an overeating disorder and I really struggle with it. that's why I don't have much to say on the matter

@FluffyDinosaur: Thank you sooooooooooo much for the response! I need to take a page from your book re Seroquel. That's a great idea about using it as just an emergency med. I take it year-round and it's probably doing my weight a world of hurt. I certainly don't NEED it year-round, in fact i rarely need it. Good for you for choosing water as your drink-of-choice. Here again, i should follow your example as my drink-of-choice is Coke Zero, again, probably exacerbating my troubles as it promotes eating thru association and physiology as it activates the hunger hormone. I like your idea of one day a week to eat unhealthy, tho i probably can't adopt that yet as i am so very overweight losing is the priority, but maybe for maintenance diet, if i ever get down to a healthy weight. Thanks for your time!

@raging vortex: Thanks for the feedback and sorry to hear you are having similar struggles. It's a relief to know that people are not responding out of hostility but out of just being in the same boat without oars, tho i am sorry that we are all sharing this struggle. Hopefully my story will be one of success and can be a contribution.

[buddha1too]

I can't imagine anyone being upset with your posts. For my part, I just haven't been posting much lately.

[*Beth*]

Not upset at all! I'm fine with reading about your diet discoveries and I totally support you. Big AGREE on Seroquel; it alone has caused my metabolism to go haywire. btw, I love milk! My grandmother grew up on a dairy farm in Lithuania...I think my love for milk is genetic, haha.

[Victoria'smom]

I under eat and still overweight So my struggle with food is ignored. I don't answer because at times diet and weight loss can be triggering to me. So I know to skip over those posts when it's bad for me. I know many of us want to loose weight or get healthier.

[MickeyCheeky]

i wasn't upset either for whatever it is worth. Truth be told, i didn't reply because i didn't see it! i Apologize for that. i am not sure if i would have much to add tough. Sometimes there can be other reasons why there aren't many replies. Hope you didn't take it that bad. Sending many Safe, warm hugs to BOTH you, @whatever2013, your Family, your friends and ALL of your Loved Ones! Keep fighting and keep rocking NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, OK?!

[FluffyDinosaur]

Thanks, I'm glad to hear you appreciate my reply! I hope things work out for you with Seroquel. It's cruel how we're sometimes forced to choose between our mental health and our physical health. And the cold, hard truth is that there often is no perfect solution. However, by helping each other I certainly hope that we'll be able to more closely approximate something like a perfect solution.

[MuddyBoots]

Not unpleasant at all. Haven't really read any posts yet (haven't been online in a while) but we even used to have a thread talking about weight loss attempts that stayed on the front page for a while (I think that was here anyways). I like reading about what people are trying when combating a mental illness and the side effects of its treatments.

[bizi]

I have struggled alot with weight issues.
It is really awful what we must do in order to lose weight. ask about your seroquel being a prn is good advice. I have zyprexa as a prn.
I take a small amount of haldol with cogentin along with lamictal as my main med. I have my own thread for my weight loss trials story if any one wants to read it.
bizi

[BeyondtheRainbow]

Originally Posted by Sapien

Not unpleasant at all. Haven't really read any posts yet (haven't been online in a while) but we even used to have a thread talking about weight loss attempts that stayed on the front page for a while (I think that was here anyways). I like reading about what people are trying when combating a mental illness and the side effects of its treatments.

That thread was moved to the Health board. It's still somewhat active. I read but don't post.

[Soupe du jour]

Originally Posted by whatever2013

I've been writing a lot about my struggles to diet and have only had a few comments back, from @Soupe du jour and @BethRags about drinking milk. I just wonder why this is and want to make sure i am not bothering anyone by going on about my struggles with food. I feel it's relevant to the bipolar forum as so many of us are overweight due to meds but i'll back off on the subject if the lack of feedback is because it's a triggering or unpleasant experience to read about my troubles.

I think it is a relevant topic for many, whatever2013. I'm sorry that I have written as little as I have. I have been unable to check in here as much as usual. My sister-in-law is visiting so we've been busy entertaining.

Sorry you found that your lactose intolerance remains. Food sensitivities and allergies suck! Do you like eggs? They are a good source of protein and relatively inexpensive. Hardboiled or poached are ways to cut down on fat. Yogurt can have lactose, but for some reason it doesn't bother my lactose intolerant hubby. Maybe because of the cultures?

@Soupe du jour: I can eat yogurt because i am very cultured! Haha! I will experiment with eggs. I can eat them scrambled but that means washing a messy fry pan -- yuk! I have a phobia about washing dishes. I managed a few yesterday tho. I am curious about boiled eggs tho. I will have to screw up my courage and give them a try. Have a good time with your sister-in-law! Thanks for chiming in even tho you are so busy.

[mssweatypalms]

I can totally relate. I've constantly gained weight because of 300mg Seroquel. I exercise for an hour a day and try to limit my food intake. I try to avoid sweets as much as I can, though not always successful at that. I've gained 15 pounds since the pandemic started. I think not working out as intensely as I did at the gym is one factor. It's frustrating either way. Losing weight now has been harder than ever.

[Blue_Bird]

I can relate. While I'm not very overweight at the moment, only by a couple lbs, but I have in the past gained a lot weight from psych meds for schizoaffective disorder bipolar type. I at one point was 230lbs but I lost 100lbs in a year and kept most of it off after getting off invega sustenna. Now I'm 150lbs, but I still would like to get down to about 115-120, which is still healthy for my height (5ft 4).

So I recently started trying to eat healthier, less sugar, and exercise more.

I like reading your posts

[Soupe du jour]

Originally Posted by Blue_Bird

I can relate. While I'm not very overweight at the moment, only by a couple lbs, but I have in the past gained a lot weight from psych meds for schizoaffective disorder bipolar type. I at one point was 230lbs but I lost 100lbs in a year and kept most of it off after getting off invega sustenna. Now I'm 150lbs, but I still would like to get down to about 115-120, which is still healthy for my height (5ft 4).

So I recently started trying to eat healthier, less sugar, and exercise more.

I like reading your posts

Invega was a real weight gainer for me, too. Though I also took Depakote ER at the time, which I think was very weight unfriendly. On them, I reached my highest weight ever, about 9 or 10 years ago. Luckily I lost 40 lbs after shifting to all new meds. I managed to keep most all of it off for about five years. At least I'm still almost 20 lbs less than my all-time high, but I should also be 20 lbs less, ideally. These past four years I go up and down almost 10 lbs. Right now I'm at the highest end of that up 10 lbs.

[buddha1too]

Interesting, @Soupe du jour. My pdoc switched me to Depakote ER (1000mg daily) about two years ago. I blamed multiple pizza weeks and the pandemic for my weight gain, but I now wonder how much the Depakote ER comes into play. I'll research it. Thanks for the thought.

[Soupe du jour]

@whatever2013, though I don't have an eating disorder, I do occasionally have issues with major overeating spurts. I'm not sure if I should call them binges, but they're not good. Yesterday was one of such days. In my case, my monthly (and high stress times) can bring such days on. [I'm experiencing them now.] I suppose I call it self medication using food. My "self-medication" times have varied over the course of my life, in terms of what I self-medicate with. Alcohol was a big issue, but then it switched. My Seroquel XR was also recently increased a little again, yet I'd taken this higher dose before without problems, so I can't 100% blame the med.

It's kind of odd. Traditionally my splurges of choice have always been sweets, but lately I've had intense yearnings for salty stuff. In past years, I probably bought salty snacks (like potato chips or pretzels) literally only four or five times per year. Now, these foods are in my house every week. The bags are emptied very quickly, almost entirely by me alone. I know I should just quit buying these salty things, but it is difficult to resist when you have such a yearning. I almost wonder if there's something going on with me, physically, where I need the extra salt. Generally my salt intake is very low. When I used to track it, using MyFitnessPal, I almost always finished the days eating only 50% of my daily suggested allowance. I've historically not cared much for salt, and since I cook almost all of my own meals from scratch, I can easily regulate my salt intake. I took my blood pressure a bit ago and it was perfectly normal (though I'm on blood pressure medication). I am definitely due for a comprehensive metabolic blood test, but it will have to wait until I'm approved for public health insurance. Hopefully that won't be beyond a month or two from now, but who knows.

[FluffyDinosaur]

Originally Posted by Soupe du jour

@whatever2013, though I don't have an eating disorder, I do occasionally have issues with major overeating spurts. I'm not sure if I should call them binges, but they're not good.

I get this too, sometimes. For me, I see it as an unhealthy coping mechanism more than anything else. I'm better at controlling it than I used to be, and fortunately it doesn't happen very often now, but stress can certainly bring on the urge. I try to remind myself that it will just make me feel worse, not better.

[Blue_Bird]

Originally Posted by Soupe du jour

Invega was a real weight gainer for me, too. Though I also took Depakote ER at the time, which I think was very weight unfriendly. On them, I reached my highest weight ever, about 9 or 10 years ago. Luckily I lost 40 lbs after shifting to all new meds. I managed to keep most all of it off for about five years. At least I'm still almost 20 lbs less than my all-time high, but I should also be 20 lbs less, ideally. These past four years I go up and down almost 10 lbs. Right now I'm at the highest end of that up 10 lbs.

Yes I was on depakote ER too at the same time as the invega sustenna, the weight poured off when I got off them. It was so much easier to not eat everything in sight after getting off them and onto other meds

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Soupe du jour]

Originally Posted by Blue_Bird

Yes I was on depakote ER too at the same time as the invega sustenna, the weight poured off when I got off them. It was so much easier to not eat everything in sight after getting off them and onto other meds

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@Blue_Bird, Wow, you too? That twosome was nasty! I'll say that that combo also sent me into a stubborn horrible depression. How did it affect your mood? Prior to going on Depakote ER with Invega, I had been mostly manic or manic with mixed features for 3 years, in and out of the hospital. I think the doctors thought the depression was an improvement, but it led to me needing ECT. They took me off the Depakote during the ECT (for obvious reasons), but put me back on it afterwards. Still with the Invega. I became depressed again. I finally said no more, mostly because I developed bad hyperprolactinemia and a pituitary microadenoma, that I attributed to Invega. Sure enough, I lost the weight quickly when switching to Lithium, Geodon, and Lamictal and my Reese's peanut butter cup consumption went down from every day to maybe twice per year. Also, my mood shifted upwards, nicely, and six months later the hyperprolactinemia and pituitary tumor were long gone.

I'll admit that Lithium ended up not being my friend, in terms of side effects. But at least it was weight neutral for me. So were Geodon and Lamictal. Though of these three, I'm now only on Lamictal, with Tegretol XR and Seroquel XR as my main meds. The Seroquel XR is not that bad for me, as antipsychotics go. It actually helps a lot more than it hurts.

[Jmayfair]

I believe everyone here should speak of any weight problems they may have had either from taking their meds or not. Even a forum member without weight issues can still learn from others.