Depression, binge eating, and phentermine.

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JilliannFaith
JilliannFaith Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
As a nurse, I studied and studied on medications and phentermine(Adipex) being one of them. I was diagnosed with major depression and binge eating disorder years ago which put me on Wellbutrin. Wellbutrin is an anti-depressant that has an appetite suppressant on it for people who tend to "eat their feelings" like me. I had stopped taking it per my doctor once I started feeling like I was getting out of the rut I had dug down in to. Now, 65 pounds later for a 5'9" body frame that wasn't thin to begin with, my binge eating disorder came back and it brought depression with it. My doctor had me start my Wellbutrin again and wrote a rx for the phentermine. I lost 12 pounds in a month just by being back on the Wellbutrin. But when another month passed and I had worked my *kitten* off to eat right, watch my portions, drink 2-3L of water a day, and exercise 2-3 times a week... I lost ZERO pounds. I was so discouraged. All that hard work and nothing to show for it. So a couple of days ago I decided to go ahead and fill the phentermine. My first day was Hell. Heart rate in the lower 100s, nausea and lump in my throat all day, dry mouth to the extreme, constipation, felt like I was buzzed with an almost euphoria feeling, couldn't hardly concentrate, and oh did I mention NAUSEOUS. Granted, it did what it was intended to do. I drank more water because of it and ate less, yet I was more aware to what I was consuming. On day 2, I contemplated taking it because of how awful it made me feel. I gave it another shot and only had some mild nausea before meals. It made me feel more hopeful to what it has to offer. I don't see it as taking an easy way out or being "lazy" as some would say. I see it as my last resort because my doctor, dietician, therapist, and I had done all we could without having to take pharmaceutical measures. I'm just curious if anyone else is going through the same type of situation as me? It's a long and hard road to travel down alone.

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  • jelitor
    jelitor Posts: 22 Member
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    Hi Jilliann! I can definitely relate to binge eating along with eating my feelings (Happy or Sad) You are certainly not in this alone
  • winnie141
    winnie141 Posts: 211 Member
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    Hmmm why did your doctor want you to go off of Wellbutrin in the first place? I am asking because I have went off my depression medication SEVERAL times and each time it came back worse. The last time was the worse where I almost ended up in the hospital. I ended up going for counselling and I realized I needed my medication to function, and that every time I went off of it my depression got worse. As far as the other medication goes I personally wouldn't take it if it makes you that sick. I would maybe seek a second opinion about that especially if it's messing with your heart rate...that is not a good indication!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,996 Member
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    I've taken Wellbutrin, Phentermine, and a host of other pharmaceuticals, but what helped me most was yoga.

    How Yoga Can Help End Binge Eating

    One breath at a time, end the suffering of binge-eating.

    Post published by Kelly McGonigal Ph.D. on Jul 04, 2010 in The Science of Willpower

    ...To find out more about how yoga might have helped the women make peace with food, themselves, and their bodies, I talked to Maggie Juliano, director of Sprout Yoga (link is external), a non-profit organization that provides yoga to people with disordered eating.

    According to Juliano, yoga gives people the skills to stay with what they are feeling, rather than turning to food to escape. People who are obese or suffering from eating disorders have a tendency to dissociate from their bodies -- to choose not to feel what they are feeling when they are angry, anxious, or sad. Often, they turn to food to numb themselves. "There's this sense that I have to feel better right now, " Juliano says. "There is a complete intolerance of what is happening right now." This need to escape unpleasant feelings triggers a binge.

    When you eat to escape what you are feeling, you lose touch with the experience of eating, as well. This is one reason binges can spiral out of control. "You have no understanding that you are full, way past full, into uncomfortable, because you're so out of it," Juliano explains. "You have no connection to what you're eating. You're eating a pint of ice cream and can't even taste it. Or you go to make yourself some toast and before you know it, half the loaf is gone."

    Mindful yoga directly challenges the habit of dissociating from your body and your present-moment experience. "The whole point of yoga is to stay connected to your body. You learn it through practice, through breathing, and through breathing through the sensations."

    Juliano teaches her yoga students how to use what they learn in class to connect to their bodies when they're feeling the urge to binge.

    Read more: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-science-willpower/201007/how-yoga-can-help-end-binge-eating
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    yoga can certainly help you be more aware of your body

    learning a new relationship with food is essential. yoga, meditation, self help, overeaters anonymous all can help.

    medication is also good to help. some people will always need it to help with their mental disorders and some only need to be on it for a short time. the doctors are essential here. and finding a good one. not all doctors are good doctors
  • JilliannFaith
    JilliannFaith Posts: 3 Member
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    @jburke141 I had been placed on it at an early age and after 3 years of the medication, I had finally reached a point to where I didn't need medicine to make me happy anymore. I'm not the type to be so dependent on one thing. I wouldn't have had to start it again but since I have binge eating disorder and gained 65 pounds in a year, my dr put me back on it. As for the phentermine, I'm on day 3 with no more nausea or faster heart rate. I knew it would take some time for my body to get used to it but I didn't think it'd be this quick! One day at a time! Thanks for the support
  • JilliannFaith
    JilliannFaith Posts: 3 Member
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    @moyer566 I have never tried yoga. It's something I think I'd enjoy but wouldn't even know where to start. I'll have to look into it. The Wellbutrin was meant to be a low dose for grief counseling which spiraled into the max dose. 3 years later, I didn't want to be dependent on a medication anymore. Like I said, I'm a nurse and I totally understand what you mean about doctors not all being good. I had a whole work up before getting placed on the phentermine. CBC, TSH, T4, T3, CMP, EKG, hypertension checks, etc. The phentermine will be temporary while my body gets used to eating the correct portions like I once did, as well as letting my stomach shrink back to what it's normal size should be. I would binge so much that I caused myself to have GERD. Stomach ulcers once a month got old really fast. Thank you for your support.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,996 Member
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    Yoga for Emotional Flow (How to Ride the Wave of) is a CD about using yoga for emotions that seem unmanageable.

    There aren't any actual yoga postures:

    - CD 1 is about yoga philosophy and modern psychology. (The author is also a psychotherapist in addition to being an amazing yoga teacher and writer. I've taken several of his workshops and have two of his books.)

    - CD 2 is comprised of three guided meditations which built on what was taught in CD 1.

    I listen to CD 1 when I'm at the dentist and use CD 2 during high stress periods.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    @JilliannFaith try a beginner class at a studio, call the studio and ask what class they suggest. I like studio over gym because it seems to focus more on the pose and the breathing and the connectedness to the body over a gym class which seems to be more workout focused.
    hatha focuses on poses
    vinasyna focuses on the flow between poses
    bikram is a sequence of poses
    there are other styles out there but those are the big three
    oh yin or restorative can be good for emotional release as well as physical release

    lol I have gerd now and a history of ulcers. even when I was at 110lbs. I hope yours will subside
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,996 Member
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    Seconding the recommendation for yoga studio yoga over gym yoga if possible. (And that it be a beginner class.)
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
    edited June 2015
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    I'm on Wellbutrin. I'd say you might need to re-evaluate your relationship with it. Yes, a lot of people want to get off antidepressants, but if you have had several major depressive events in your life, chances are you should just be on it for life. While anyone can feel sad, having depression is a real, physiological phenomena, and one of the worse things about it is that people feel it something people should just get over - for many depressions sufferers that isn't ever going to be an option, so telling them that is about as productive as as telling a type 1 diabetic to just get over their need for insulin.
    I'd agree with the yoga recommendation if it peaks your interest. ANY exercise plan has huge benefits in terms of changing depression. As much as we want to think of emotions as something that happen just in the mind, they aren't. Things as simple as the posture you're in before receiving a piece of good news can change how happy you are about the news. Anything that gets you moving is going to alter your own body's endorphin and neurotransmitter releases for the better.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
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    What helped me with my depression was consistent intense exercise, cutting down on sugars and caffeine, healthier eating overall, and especially playing competitive posts. Never ended up going on pharmas and thankful I found what worked for me. Much of it was mentally training myself to better habits (the anxiety and depression have more to do with my mental state that causes the physical reaction).
  • fabby8710
    fabby8710 Posts: 2 Member
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    I've taken Phentermine before and it also gave me those side affect the first couple of times I took it. I lost the weight fast with very little exercise and just watching what I was eating. Once I stopped taking them I gained it back up and then some which is why this time I am dieting again the non-lazy way; just eating healthy and exercising lots and lots of it, oh and of course drinking a ton of water.
  • whattheJKD
    whattheJKD Posts: 24 Member
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    I had an unconmfortable/hyper/can't concentrate response to taking an entire phentermine the 1st day. Cut it back to half a pill at 9 am and the other half at 3 pm and it was fine.

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