Hi Ya'll!!!

Just checking in! I have been very bad about posting this summer. I just got back from vacation and decided to update a couple of boards I am a member of! I am almost eight months sober and happy about that! I attend about 4-5 AA meetings a week and also three WLS support groups a month. I lead a WLS group for post ops over 2 years. My job has been busy lately, too. I am still taking the Topomax for compulsive behavior and it really curbs my appetite. I have lost about 8 pounds since April. The biggest benefit is that I no longer have the horrible compulsive drives to spend money or eat or drink wine. I have been able to deal with the feelings I was trying so hard to avoid all these years with those destructive behaviors. I wish you all well and hope everyone is doing okay! I enjoy reading Reenie's articles in the WLS magazine and reading all your posts! Hugs, Karen

It's so nice to see you back , sober and doing good. Taking care of your self. I didn't know topamx was for controling behavior, I'm taking it for my migaines since March, and I'm getting better from them. I wish you the best keep going to the meetings to stay sober and go ahead. God bless you.

Thanks so much for the support, everyone! FYI, Topomax is approved by the FDA for seizures and migraines but has been found to be effective for obsessive-compulsive disorders, too, although not approved by the FDA as yet for that use. My therapyst sent me to a phychiatrist to get meds and this is what she prescribed in a very low dose (50 mg at bedtime/day). It has been remarkable. Funny how Topomax was just in the news yesterday as being found effective for detoxing alcoholics at home without putting them into treatment centers. Many suffering alcoholics won't get help because they can't afford to "go away" for treatment. The dosages used in the study were much more than I am taking (like 300 mg/day, sometimes twice a day) and had more side effects at those levels. I hope the migranes are controlled and am glad to hear you are feeling better! Thanks again for the support. I think I am finally able to sit still without eating or drinking or binging on something!!! Hugs, Karen

It is great that you are staying sober and life is going better for you. Just keep looking upward and onward and God will see you threw!!!!!!!!!! Diana