Help! Please!

LoC, thanks for the big heads up about even lower does of Elavil causing difficulty in weight loss.  I wasn't concerned about my 2.5 mg until you wrote this.  I hate that waking up at 3:30 am and staying awake until morning type feeling.  Too bad I just got another shipment of it yesterday!  I bet it will be fine to resume once I get to goal, or at least that's what I'll hope for.

I tried Trazodone years ago and after 1 pill I couldn't go to work the next day.  It took 24 hours until I was fully functional again.  I react hard to most medications and get that drugged zombie look to me.  Yet the over the counter "Calming" type remedies don't seem to work.

I'll talk to my surgeon when I see him in February and see if he has good advice for me.

Hi Lee, If you only used the elavil a couple of times/week, it might not be a problem, but many meds have the potential for weight gain and/or difficulty losing weight. I've seen people gain weight on the lowest possible doses of meds. It is frustrating, especially when there are other issues that are helped by the medication. I'm sure that you have good sleep hygiene, especially with all the exercise that you get. You might peruse the kp.org website for suggestions of non-pharmacological means to help with sleep. I learned some things that I was doing wrong. The big problem is that we don't have a perfect medication for sleep. One's brain becomes accustomed to the medication and usually stops being as effective.

Some people cut the trazodone in half or even quarters, but even that can be too sedating. We all react so differently to medication, that is difficult to predict, if something will be helpful. I wonder, if there are any homeopathic remedies that may help?

Thanks Gail!  Hey, I see that you're 4 pounds from goal.  Let's have a big exercise party when you get there!

Last week, I was up 1.8 lbs, which was the first time that I had seen an increase. I had been eating a lot of jerky, so I cut that out and increased my cardio. I have also been working out with a trainer twice/week, so I thought some of the water weight might have been from that.  I not only lost the water weight, but 2.4 lbs more. I hope it sticks. It was a bit higher yesterday, but I'll take today's weight. I tend to go up and down during the week and started using the Sunday weight. 120 is getting pretty close. The crazy thing, is that I am still not a normal BMI. Now, I am about 1 lb away from a high normal BMI. The weight loss has slowed and I lost a total of 5.5 lbs this month, but for my height and weight, I think that it is acceptable.

An exercise party sounds fun, but I won't be able to keep up with you!!!

I am sorry that you are struggling so hard, but you have come a long way, and I think it will come off. I wonder, if seeing an endocrinologist might be helpful?? Have you ever had your resting metabolic rate done?

Lots of medicines have weight gain as a side-effect.

Then again, if you just upped your exercise, your muscles could be retaining water and it's just temporary.

My PCP put me on a combination of Trazodone and Melatonin. It works great for me. I take it for two weeks and that gets my sleep patterns back to normal and then I don't have to take it again until something gets them out of whack again.

Oh, I forgot to say... looks like you have an OH ticket so just change your weight in the Health Tracker and it *should* change to match.