[leomama]

Does anybody know about interactions? I monitor my diet through lose it and I notice I'm getting too much sodium, sugar and fat and not enough protein to achieve my weight loss goals. I also wonder how this interacts with my psychiatric medicine which in turn affects my appetite and my emotions and my reactivity .

[Ocean Swimmer]

I've read herbal like kava kava and St Johns Wort can affect psych meds in a bad way.
Too much sugar and junk food too.
To help your meds work, you should be eating lean protein. Plenty of vegetables. Some fresh fruit. Beans and less bread. Watch caffeine. No alcohol.
Hope this helps. I know it's a lot all at once. Make slow positive changes.

[leomama]

I haven't drank in 10 years. I don't eat junk food . Lean protein , vegetables . I don't eat a whole lot of bread.

[pinkflower17]

Your diet really doesn't effect many psych meds or meds in general, except in the few cases where the med interacts with dairy or citrus and lithium. I can't think of any psych meds off the top of my head that interact with citrus or dairy and with lithium, it's more of an issue with sodium and avoiding too much and watching caffeine intake due to it's mechanism of action.

Many psych meds DO interact with supplements and herbal, "natural" or "homeopathic" meds. So definitely tell your doctor if you're taking any of these.

Some people's moods are worse when they eat junk food and simple carbohydrates, but it sounds like you don't. Yes, you should definitely watch your sodium, sugar and fat intake for several health reasons (cholesterol, risk for diabetes, risk for high blood pressure etc), but at the end of the day, many, many studies have shown over and over again that it's really calories consumed vs. calories burned that matters. A calorie is a calorie. You could eat nothing but candy bars and as long as you're under the amount of calories you burn in a day, you'll lose weight.

Are you asking if your psych meds can affect your emotions, weight, appetite, and reactivity? Or are you asking if eating too much sodium, sugar and fat can affect your psych meds in such a way that your appetite, emotions and reactivity are affected? Or are you asking if eating too much sodium, sugar and salt can affect your appetite, emotions, reactivity? I'm a little confused.

[leomama]

Originally Posted by pinkflower17

Your diet really doesn't effect many psych meds

Are you asking if your psych meds can affect your emotions, weight, appetite, and reactivity? Or are you asking if eating too much sodium, sugar and fat can affect your psych meds in such a way that your appetite, emotions and reactivity are affected? Or are you asking if eating too much sodium, sugar and salt can affect your appetite, emotions, reactivity? I'm a little confused.

The third question, is eating too much sodium and sugar affecting my appetite, emotions, and reactivity.

[pinkflower17]

Originally Posted by leomama

The third question, is eating too much sodium and sugar affecting my appetite, emotions, and reactivity.

The sodium, probably not. The sugar, maybe. For some people, eating too much sugar causes insulin spikes, which results in "crashes" from the original sugar high which can increase appetite, and make some people more emotional and/or moody. It's never really healthy to completely exclude anything from your diet, a healthy diet is really all about moderation. If it was me, I would try to increase my lean protein, vegetables and complex carbs and decrease the amount of sugar and simple carbs in my diet and see if that made any difference in your mood. It will likely decrease your appetite as protein and complex carbs are digested more slowly. I hope this helps somewhat.

[cheshiregrins]

Sugar (and nutrition in general) can *definitely* affect your mood stability. I did an experiment where I went 11 days completely sugar free and my mood was a million times more stable. I generally avoid sugar and refined carbs, but for these 11 days I was extremely strict (due to gum surgery.) It was amazing. I told my shrink that I believe that there is NO medication invented as powerful as a sugar-free/low calorie, healthy, plant based diet, and he agreed 100%. I'm not saying diet is enough for everyone- I still need meds despite my super healthy diet, but if I wasn't on this diet, I'm sure my moods would swing MUCH more, as would my weight, and I would require a much higher dose of these meds.
You should look into Dr. Joel Fuhrman's way of eating: http://www.drfuhrman.com/ (my psychiatrist recommended his books to me.)

[leomama]

Thanks I know about healthy diet

[Moreta]

You might want to check interactions with your meds and grapefruit. I know I can't eat grapefruit because I'm on lamictal and cabamazapine. I'm not sure of the exact interactions, but it might be worth looking up.

[leomama]

It's not an interaction. I think I need to increase my dose again. I'm meeting with my NP next week.