Mental Health

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alliex
alliex Posts: 35 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hello everyone, I am not new to this site but I really wanted to reach out for some support for like minded people.

I have a treatment-resistant form of schizoaffective disorder and am currently taking clozapine. I am very sedated on these meds and sometimes it is very hard to achieve anything during the day. I still try though.

I have gained over 100lbs in 2 years since diagnosis and various medicines.

I'm looking for people who have experienced mental health problems in some way (even if it's someone you know), or people who know how hard it is to cope with side effects from meds.

I hope I'm not alone
allie

Replies

  • Padf00t
    Padf00t Posts: 10
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    Hey Allie,
    I suffer from bi-polar disorder. I was diagnosed with depression at the age of 19 to then be diagnosed with bi-polar disorder at 21. Due to my illness I went from a size 12 to a size 26 in a couple of years, since then my weight has fluctuated and because of my illness and my medication I find it very difficult to lose weight.
    Like you my medication makes me extremely lethargic and I have problems with motivation and concentration. I also suffer from agoraphobia, which makes it extremely difficult to get enough exercise.
    If you would like to talk please feel free to contact me or add me as a friend as I feel we could be very beneficial to each other as we both know what it is like to have a mental illness and how difficult it can be.

    AND you are definitely not alone!

    Georgina x
  • udderlyfantastic
    udderlyfantastic Posts: 27 Member
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    Hi babe,

    I just saw your post and felt I had to contact you. I am a 53 year old women who has a daughter who suffers from rapid cycling bi-polar disorder and I can understand how hard things are for you. In fact I have asked my daughter to send you message as I think it would be good for you both to speak. Mental health issues still seem to have that awful stigma attached to them, but I really don't know why! Everyone is at risk of suffering some mental health issue during their life. I have suffered from depression for several years now, due to physical health issues with myself and my husband and , well, all I can say is that you find out who your true friends are. I know that a lot of psychiatric medication has the unfortunate side effect of weight gain and I have ballooned on my meds and so has my daughter ,so I can understand why you would want to join MFP. I think taking this step for me was a good one and I am sure it will be for you too. I will be happy to lend you any support that I can, although I am just a novice myself. You can never have enough friends and I think its good to have friends of all ages, but its your choice, there's no pressure? So, add me as a friend if you want to and message me anytime. You have made a great step forward joining MFP and now you can move forward together with all the other members. Take care xx
  • Quietborderline
    Quietborderline Posts: 12 Member
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    Hello! I am fairly new here myself. I personally suffer from a variety of mental health issues, namely Borderline Personality Disorder and ADD. You can read my intro post here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/985473-newbie-iso-like-minded-individuals as it addresses some of these topics. I'm not currently on medication, but I am all too familiar with side effects; that's one reason I'm trying to cope via other means instead of medication. We'll see how it goes, I'm trying to get back into a therapy program as well. I have added you, feel free to add me back if you want. =) Would love to support each other on this journey.
  • lilteddy78
    lilteddy78 Posts: 93 Member
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    I have rapid cycling bi-polar and am medicated. I'm lucky that my medications do not make me sleepy or lethargic. I was diagnosed back in 1999. I slowly gained weight....I blamed it on meds, pregnancy, genetics.....etc. But last year when I went to see my psych in Jan I had to get on the scale. For some reason the words out of his mouth hit me....he said "you don't look very happy with that number" I was 247lbs. I said to him uhmm yeah who would be happy with numbers that high. After that I started losing weight. When May rolled around I had lost 17. Now a year later I've lost 76lbs and still have another 30ish to lose. I am proud to say I'm in my 170's. If you really want this you can do it. It takes some major dedication. When you see that junk food you have to ask yourself if that will help you reach your goal or do you want it because you think it'll make you feel better? Start with trying to go for a quick walk around your neighborhood. It doesn't have to be anything drastic. That's all I did to start out. If you would like to add me please do. I'm on here every day now that I'm back on track. I slid backwards for a few months and gained back some weight and I could use a little motivation from people out there. Congratulations on taking the first step towards the rest of your life.
  • alliex
    alliex Posts: 35 Member
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    Wow thank you everyone for your words of support!

    I find it has really helped me get in the right head space because all I hear about psych meds is 'weight gain, weight gain and weight gain'

    No one on my care team has mentioned that it is actually possible to LOSE weight on medication so to hear that others have/are in the process of doing so really motivates me.

    I have just got back from the gym, I did an hour on the treadmill walking at 5% incline then some weights. i'm so pleased I was able to push myself to do this.

    Thank you x
  • udderlyfantastic
    udderlyfantastic Posts: 27 Member
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    You go girl! x

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