Bingeing ...I need advice

It is absolutely possible that you need to change up your antidepressants. I have been on meds for bipolar for about 15 years, and I have to make pretty significant changes to my pills every few years.

What kind of anti anxiety medication do you have? If it's a benzo (ativan, xanax, etc.), you should not take it regularly because of the risk of addiction. If it's a longer-acting med (BuSpar, etc.) then you should take it daily, just like an antidepressant.

Thank you all very much for your help. I can go days without bingeing but then it seems like "something" overtakes me. I even stop at a gas station or store to buy junk because my house is pretty clean of that stuff now. But my husband and children do like some snacks so I keep things that typically don't trigger me. It is just weird to me that I crave sweets so much but yet I also cut out carbs (so I don't eat rice, noodles, or breads. And yet I don't crave those things. I am trying my hardest to cut back on my exercise but I worry so much about gaining weight back I don't know how much exercise I should get each day or if I should go down to 4-5 times a week? Right now I don't take any days off from exercise. I have also been told to eat about 1100-1200 calories a day to maintain. So I am now trying to get all three of my doctors to communicate to help me come up with a successful plan. I just can't keep living this way.

My mood chances so quickly as well. It is starting get frustrating along this journey.

Thank yoU!

Jaime

Your body needs rest days from the exercise. If you feel that you must exercise, that is part of the psychological aspect of BED. You could injure yourself with that much exercise and no rest days.

My therapist recommended a book that has helped me. You may be able to find a second-hand copy, or do as I did, and buy the ebook. It's called 'Overcoming Binge Eating', by Dr. Christopher G Fairburn. I hope that if you get a copy, you find it as helpful as I have. Good luck to you.

I checked this book out yesterday from the local librariy. Wow it hits the nail on the head and I'm only on first part. Getting a new nutritionist set up and see her early next week. Should also be hearing from a physiatrist to see who is associated with my therapist! So many forward things happening. Thank you all for the advice it means a lot to me and leads me in right direction. I had a horrible binge day yesterday but am back on track. I'm realizing that my way restrictive diet and over exercise is the cause of my mental hunger binges. So with lots of help I plan to succeed.

Naltrexone and bupropion are used together or separately to treat binge eating.

Bupropion (Wellbutrin) worked well for me.

Thank you! I will bring this up with my new psychiatrist that I will be seeing hopefully real soon. I do take Bupropion (Wellbutrin) already with Cilatpram (Sp?). I appreciate the advice!!

Vyvanse is the only medication with FDA approval to treat BED. The research I've read doesn't show very strong evidence of other things working.

Medications do not need to be FDA approved for a specific condition in order for doctors to use them for treatment. It's called off label use and it happens all of the time.

Indeed. But that doesn't make them the best or most effective option as demonstrated by research.

The best and most effective treatment for one person will not be the best and most effective treatment for another. That has nothing to do with FDA approval.

I hate when lay-persons think the only proven treatments are those backed with clinical studies. It is a case of you don't know what you don't know. I worked in pharmaceutical and healthcare my entire career. And doctors and surgeons are quite aware of solutions that work and that are not supported by clinical research.

Drug therapy is clearly not a one-size fits all approach. If it was then we would have one drug for each disease condition and know exactly how to dose it. And everyone would feel better.