[ozm8ey]

Hello guys my name is Matthew, I'm from Australia. About 2 years ago I was in my room smoking cannabis just like every other day then all of a sudden I had a panic attack. But wait it wasn't just one it kept going constantly, all day and all night, every day. So that went on for about 2 weeks then i started to become psychotic like, i was hearing my cat, even though she wasn't there.

Anyway I finally told someone and we went to the Doctors. Once i saw the Doctor he got me strait onto Valium while I see the mental health nurse. I then saw the mental health nurse and at first he put me on Seroquel, but once i had it i started freaking out so he got me to see a professional psychiatrist and I told him everything. He then put me on Olanzapine and EFEXOR-XR 150mg for the anxiety and panic attacks, and Olanzapine 5mg for my racing thoughs, depression, etc and said I just had a psychotic episode (A one time episode)

So after about 3 days it worked awesome. I started doing Karate to help with the anxiety and life was going good, but then about 6-9 months ago I was out drinking with a friend, we were going down the street to get something to eat andthen all of a sudden I blacked out and woke up up the road with what i though was a broken ankle. I went to the Hospital and they said My Fibula ruptured and was in little slices, a fracture to my ankle and a ligament moved. So i had to get surgery. So next day i got the operation and had to stay there for 5 days and it was so painful after about 12 hours after the operation. Oh and they wouldn't let me smoke, drink water or wat from 12am the night before and when i was in the waiting room i was peeking out bad, it was horrible.

Anyway for the next few months while recovering at home I was, you know doing pretty much nothing so then i started putting lots of weight on. I was basically gaining weight, gaining weight, gaining weight.. After i was able to walk again i started doing Karate again but I keep gaining weight still and I'm pretty sure its because of the Olanzapine but my Doctor won't let me go off it until my brain chemistry is perfectly balanced for a long period of time. So yeah even though i can walk now and I do exercise I keep gaining weight and I have lots of stretch marks on both of my thighs. At the moment I weigh more than I should but the weird thing is i don't look fat, like my arms and legs are skinny but I have a sorts fat stomach.

Any ideas on what i should do?

[LiteraryLark]

That was the scariest episode I have ever read because I get panic attacks from pot and had no idea that it could last for weeks (and when I do get high, I get so scared that I'll never come down from it).

My question is, what exactly is making you gain weight? Because I am on olanzapine and when I was heavily medicated I gained 30 pounds within a few months. But now at a level lower it's my eating habits that cause me to gain weight. So I am wondering how much of it is the medication and how much of it is your eating habits?

My recommendation: FOLLOW THE DOCTORS ORDERS! Don't switch meds just because of the weight gain. Most anti-psychotics will cause weight gain, so you have to deal with diet and exercise in a different way. And it may take a couple years before you can wean off it. I was heavily medicated for a full year before I was ready to wean off the meds. I know it's a struggle, but it is something you will have to deal with for the rest of your life. Your mental health is more important than your physical health at this point. Make sure you're at the right levels, then work at losing weight.

[ozm8ey]

Thats the thing I don't really know, I don't even eat that much. Sometimes I even go without eating breakfast and lunch. But i do drink about 3 beers per night, but not sure if that would make me gain that much weight.

[starthrower]

I'm on risperidone (another antipsychotic) and also struggling with weight gain around my stomach- arms and legs still OK, and I hate it too. But unfortunately it's something that comes with the meds :/ just need to adapt to it, I think...

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