Diabetes—Help for the Weary (Diet Themed)

I called the psychiatrist’s office today to ask for a blood draw. She didn’t order one last time I saw her, and I forgot to ask.

I am just plain feeling like crap. I want to know if the lithium has impacted my kidneys and thyroid. I’ve already reduced my dose because I can’t stand all the pee-ing. I didn’t even have this symptom until recently...it is something that is supposed to get better in time not worse. At the same time, I recently put on the 20 pounds. I have such bad lithium brain, I should have asked for the blood test two months ago.

I ordered some lithium oratate from Amazon. Apparently, you take a much lower and supposedly more absorbable dose than prescription lithium, there are far fewer if any side effects, but it is controversial. There are many people with reviews on Amazon that say they are bipolar and it works. These are not studies, of course. I’m going to try throttling back on lithium prescription while starting up on lithium orotate.

I’m not scared since I’ve only had two full-blown manic event, both set off by prescription drugs. Otherwise, I only get hypomania, which I knocked down last time with PRN Zyprexa (I still have a bottle) when I found out the hard way that Abilify doesn’t do squat for me. Low dose Seroquel doesn’t either, and high dose is intolerable. Lamactil and Depakote give me headaches.

Lithium has been the magic bullet. I just can’t get any heavier, and the struggle is so hard. The problem with failing on the diet is that it makes you fatter if you can’t pull it off.

I will know pretty quickly if it’s not working, since lithium kills most of my anxiety. Constant anxiety is my worst symptom.

I feel I need to do something.

I don’t recommend this to anyone.

Lithium was the drug that sent me over the edge... i went psychotic, so the docs gave me an anti-psychotic, which shut off my memory, and one drug after another, i lost and lost and lost faculties.... there really needs to be a way to test what a drug will do to a person, before flooding their body and brain with it ~!

best wishes, Key~!

Oh man—that sounds awful!!

I definitely have been both screwed and helped by psychiatric intervention. Unfortunately, my second manic event (2015) was set off when I was prescribed ability plus propanolol (stage-fright pills that gave me horrific insomnia). My first manic event was 1997 from diet pills phen-fen (I didn’t get dx’d bipolar under the old DSM.

Anyway, back to 2015–I came unglued yelling at my psychiatrist’s nurse—you tell him he did this to me!! He refused to help me because he was leaving his practice. My employer who had known me for 7 years insisted I get help; they were shocked at the mania. Ugh...I had to switch pdocs right at this point. Naturally, they think I’m a “case” now...

You know, you just need a little help, and they can end up blowing up your life—

Talk of fatty liver in another thread reminds me—when I decided to try the gastric sleeve surgery, they told me I had to do a protein shake diet to shrink my fatty liver. I told them I didn’t have a fatty liver.

I know I didn’t. I was in perfect health, having been worked up by a top cardiologist in charge of heart transplantation....that cost me thousands of dollars.

Anyway, I blew off the protein shake diet. I did fast for several days.

When the surgeon saw me after, he said he was amazed. My insides, he said, were like a thin person. No fatty liver. No extra fat around the organs. It is all subcutaneous fat (all under the skin). I said I knew that because I had been religiously dieting since 2003. Low carb, then low carb Paleo, then vegan, then back to Paleo...that was 2015.

I wonder how much damage has been done by these psych meds. They have made me eat like crazy. The Zyprexa especially made me want to eat the couch. I begged my daughter to buy me hamburgers constantly when I was too manic to drive.

I lost my mind and my health.

I’m not on the Zyprexa anymore, but the lithium is a problem too. Maybe the gabapentin too. I wish I hadn’t stopped taking the s Topamax, because that was holding my weight down, but I didn’t know.

i know what you mean, Key.... i can 'feel' the fat on my liver, and kidneys, and heart... and i've slimmed down by 50 lbs,, but that didn't do it, i need to drop off about 70 more i can't imagine it happening, at this stage...

50 pounds down is awesome, Gus!

I need to drop 75 pounds myself. I’m just...sigh. My mind just goes over and over this problem...weight problems. psych meds, menopause...this trifecta sucks!!!

Hi. I was diagnosed with Type 2 in May of this year. Currently doing low carbs because I was on the amount recommended by my DE and had too high of sugar. Doing better now with a BG of 99 this morning.