Mental Health
Recent Posts
Hey all...just wanted to pop in and see if anyone was still around.
I have let my mental health affect my weight loss. I have regained almost to surgery weight and I am not thrilled about it. Got my grocery list ready and going to try it again. Hell I would be happy at 200 lbs, not necessarily skinny but healthy. So I am ready to make this lifestyle change and not just a diet.
I just hope I can keep my mental health in check so that I don't become another failure.
Anyways, hope all are well and chat soon.
Hopefully things have gotten better for you! Have you found someone to talk to? I'm here if you need me!
Stephanie
Hi there.. I had the sleeve back in Oct of 2013. I am actually doing very well with it. I am 87lbs down and I am so excited about being able to do things that I have not been able to do for a few years.. Little did I know that I would become CRAZY!!! That is the way I see it. I was 18 when I was told that I have PCOS... I have always had a little bit of depression, but what happened a few weeks ago was just crazy... I had bad thoughts of my husband, I would go down to lay with him (he works 3rds) and I would just start crying.. I would be ok for a while and then I would just get down again and take myself someplace so I could cry. I was always telling myself this is crazy and you do not need to act this way. I am getting some blood work done on my hormones, the doctor put me on 20mgs of Prozac and my cycle is over. I finally opened up to my husband and my 2 boys living at home. It made me feel a lot better, but I feel as this is not the end of my CRAZINESS.. I just need someone to talk to about things it would be so very helpful to have some to talk to..
Oh, Stephanie! I'm sorry you're having such a hard time! You have so many stressful, stressful things to juggle! AND WLS!!!!!!! Any one of these things would be enough to drive a person crazy. I'm really glad that you could get in to see the doc -- one piece of good luck! do you see a counselor also? i do, and it really helps. meds are just not enough for me. i know your time must be getting eatern up by all that is going on, but is there a student health program where your are in school? if you have insurance, there should be names of mental health professionals who take your ins, and your pdoc may be able to refer you to someone. i'm partial to social workers! if you don't have health insurance, your city or county will have a mental health clinic where you can get treatment at no or low cost -- you probably already know this since your son is getting treatment! i guess what i'm trying to say is: now is the time to MAKE time for yourself to take care of yourself. if you burn yourself out you won't have any reserves for your family or school.
sending good thoughts! let us know how you are doing! (((((((((hugs))))))
Ann 
I have been struggling big time with my depression lately. It's been about a month now. I called my doctor's office on Friday and had not heard anything as of today so I stopped in there. It turned out that she had a cancellation an hour later. I didn't have the time, but stayed anyways. She increased my Lexapro from 20 mg to 30 mg, left my Abilify(my mood stabilizer) at 20 mg, and added Wellbutrin. I'm not sure the Wellbutrin will work or not. I don't know if I will absorb it.
I went back to school last year and it is a make it or break it semester. I got B's in two classes that I need an A in to get into my nursing program, so I am retaking them both this semester. And in one class I've already had to miss a test due to an ER visit I, luckily I can drop a test in that class. But I wanted to reserve that for a test that I didn't do well on. I am also having to commute to two different campuses to get all the classes I needed. I just found out that each campus has a different spring break, which means I do not get one!!! I had planned on going somewhere the week I was off.
And my fourteen year old is out of control at home. At school he is just fine, but at home he has behavior problems. Part of it is due to the medicine he is on for his depression and autism. He was on Abilify and gained 100 pounds in one year. Granted he also grew in that time, he is currently 6' tall and weighs 255. His dad is 6'6" and weighs about 280. They changed my son's medicine to Geodon. They've tried adjusting the doses. He is currently on 60 mg twice a day. And it is not working! We live with my parents and it is so bad that they have indirectly asked me to move out if things don't change. I have no where to go!!
I've thought of just giving up, but I know that is not answer. I should clarify that I don't mean on life. I am not suicidal, I'm trying to prevent that!. Last semester I was all motivated and this semester it's like, why try I'm just going to fail anyway. I had a really bad day food wise, but I still logged it into myfitnesspal.com. I had double the amount of fat that I was supposed to have, thanks to eating out for both breakfast and lunch.
The nurse at my doctor's office said to look at it as my luck was starting to change because she doesn't normally have cancelations and then have someone just randomly stop in.
Stephanie
On some levels I wish my surgery left me a with a stricter pouch that forced me to limit what I have ate. When I eat certain things, things that I am supposed to eat, I can feel my pouch work for the most part. But when I am not behaving it is like I am my old self. I hate it. I am trying to find the motivation to kick this emotional bing eating in the behind before I totally destroy my pouch but I just don't know how. Well, that is my story. In this case, mental illness wins.
Yes dramatically! Pre-surgery, for my Bipolar Disorder I was on 200mg Trazodone, 300mg Wellbutrin, 200mg Lamictal, and 200mg Nortriptyline (very high dose).
Now I am on 150mg Wellbutrin, 200mh Lamictal (same), and 50mg Trazodone only as needed (for sleep). Plus my depressions since surgery have gone from nearly every day to only two days a month!
I also no longer take Prilosec twice daily for acid reflux - I rarely get acidic and when I do 1 tums works.
However, I now take more vitamins (multi, iron+c, vitamin d) and have chewable gas-x on hand for painful bloating. But these are actually welcome additions in exchange for the past high levels of psych meds that didn't help much most days.
my pdoc and i have started with geodon, which i have been taking for a long time as a mood stabilizer. unfortunately it's an antipsychotic which can cause involuntary movement (tardive dyskinesia) so that's why we decided to start with that one. i hope i'll be able to go down on zoloft next (taking 300 freakin' mg) so we'll see.
have any of you been able to go down on meds without bad emotional reactions? would love to hear about your experiences! (((((((((hugs)))))))
Ann
i don't really do resolutions (too disappointing usually) but for this year i just want to stick with my "program" such as it is, stay under my calorie count, and not gain weight. i know i'll probably stop losing relatively soon, and i know that we all gain a little, but i just hope not much!
how about you?!?!?! i know march is a little late to ask, but . . .
Ann
I hope we get more active too! not quite sure how to do that, so any ideas . . .
i echo everything you say. i'd add that you really need to get the surgeon on the right page BEFORE your surgery about what meds are absolutely necessary while you're still in the hospital. i was off klonopin for 3 days, along with everything else and got really bad gastrointestinal symptoms as a result. up all night the second night -- awful. finally had a resourceful and kind friend go down to nurses' station and basically yell at them and voila: meds. felt better almost as soon as i got the klonopin in and actually slept a little before i went home -- to immodium and more sleep!
i'm finally going down on my meds, which is great. almost off geodon which i really want to ditch since it's an antipsychotic and can cause involuntary movement when you use it for too long. i think zoloft is next -- taking 300 mgs right now, which is insane.
losing the weight has definitely made my mood better b/c i just feel better about myself. i've been very open about getting the surgery at work and so i have a really substantial support system and still get nice feedback 14 mos after surgery, which is also good for the mood!
thanks for this post -- really important. now to reel somemore folks in here -- ideas?!?!?
Ann
