The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Elizabeth]

Hey Lisa, just checkin in with you, hope you had a better day yesterday and even better day today .

[BabyTrace]

Hi Lisa,

Just wanted to say I hear you on the anxiety issues. I think I've written about this in my journal. I packed on 30 lbs in the last year. I still have not conquered using food to stuff down my feelings. I went on Effexor in July, had to double up on the dosage a month in, but luckily I'm feeling normal again. One of the best side effects of Effexor is loss of appetite.

Anyway, I hope you are feeling stronger soon. There are a lot of us on this board who share some of your same issues.

Take care,

Tracy

[bikipatra]

I went on Effexor in July, had to double up on the dosage a month in, but luckily I'm feeling normal again. One of the best side effects of Effexor is loss of appetite.

I was on Effexor for over a year and never experienced a loss of appetite. I think side efffects differ from individual to individual.

[BabyTrace]

I went on Effexor in July, had to double up on the dosage a month in, but luckily I'm feeling normal again. One of the best side effects of Effexor is loss of appetite.

I was on Effexor for over a year and never experienced a loss of appetite. I think side efffects differ from individual to individual.

I think you are right. Every drug I've ever taken lists a whole host of possible side effects and I can't say I've even experienced a fraction of what's usually on the list. I guess that's why they call them "possible" side effects. It may or may cause that reaction in certain people depending on their body chemistry. Medicine is an interesting thing.

[bikipatra]

I went on Effexor in July, had to double up on the dosage a month in, but luckily I'm feeling normal again. One of the best side effects of Effexor is loss of appetite.

I was on Effexor for over a year and never experienced a loss of appetite. I think side efffects differ from individual to individual.

I think you are right. Every drug I've ever taken lists a whole host of possible side effects and I can't say I've even experienced a fraction of what's usually on the list. I guess that's why they call them "possible" side effects. It may or may cause that reaction in certain people depending on their body chemistry. Medicine is an interesting thing.

I'm on several meds and feel very lucky not to have some of the weirdo side effects people have reported on some of my meds. Just last week my psychiatrist asked me if I was experiencing any side effects from my meds and I said no not really. I am on Seroquel which is known to cause hunger and weight gain but I am not hungry every day so I don't really think it's the Seroquel. I am on 4 anticonvulsants right now, one used for a facial nerve issue, but the others are used as mood stabilizers. All have drowsiness as a possible side effect so I feel lucky not to be a zombie.

[Tawanda]

Lisa, I hope the day is going well for you!

[Lisa145]

Hi everyone (Tawanda, Biki, Tracy, Elizabeth, & Sojourner),

Thank you for checking in. I haven't been very good at all. I think I mentioned that I went off anti-depressants about a month and a half ago when I got serious about losing the weight and have sunken pretty low. I am *seriously* depressed but afraid that going back on the AD's will either add weight or prevent me from losing it quickly. My depression is seriously incapacitating and I feel like such a loser.

I do not do well on Effexor (it made me feel more anxious than I have ever felt in my life). I was on Lexapro and it is the only thing that I have found to work for me after much trial and error.

I have such black & white thinking that I feel if I go back on the Lexapro I will not be depressed but will not lose the weight. And if I don't go back on Lexapro I will potentially lose the weight (but not so sure now as my moods are all over the place) but be so depressed that I can't function. It just seems like a lose-lose situation to me no matter how I look at it.

To those that are on MF and AD's, how has your weight loss been? Have the AD's interfered with the weight loss?

Thank you so much. I look forward to hearing your experiences.

~Lisa

[Elizabeth]

There she is!!
Sorry Lisa, no advice or experience with this but I just wanted to say hi and give you a . I was just reading and thinking ...where is she?
After I posted in my journal there you were. Hope you're feeling better very soon and can figure something out.

[katesmom]

Hi Lisa,
I know I haven't stopped by in awhile, but I just got caught up with your journal and I am so sorry that you are feeling so low...Take it one step at a time...Sometimes that means one minute at a time...Can your Dr. offer you any alternative meds????

I will listen any time...Stay with us here and keep writing so all of us can help you get throught this rough patch...

You can do it...Have faith...

[queenielou]

Hey Lisa,

Just stopping by to offer you some support. There are people here who have done extremely well while taking various meds. I'm sure they will give you their opinions and let you know what is working for them. I hope you get all of this straightened out soon. Take care.

[bikipatra]

I have been on a cocktail of psychotropic medications since I started MF and I have no idea if they slowed my weight loss or not. I've lost 83 pounds and no doubt would have lost more had I been more compliant, but I don't think that had to do with my antidepressant. I do believe that in the condition that I was in before my medications, I wouldn't have been able to follow any program for long. No one said this would be easy. No matter what the pill is doing to your brain chemistry, you just do 5-1-water. It works regardless of how you are feeling. Lexapro, in and of itself, isn't going to make you not lose weight in my experience. You can make yourself gain weight by overeating but that isn't Lexapro's fault. I am glad you have been able to self-identify your black and white thinking and know that it is a thinking error. Good luck!

[Lisa145]

Thanks, Ladies! I have an appointment with my doc on the 19th to go back on the meds. I know in the past when I was on anti-depressants and eating a healthy diet and working out, I *gained* weight, so I know they are not weight neutral. HOWEVER, I do know that this time around I was the main instigator in my weight gain, with the anti-depressants playing a minor role.

So, it's going to take me a bit of time to get back to where I was emotionally before I went off the meds. Not sure of how much MF progress I will make in that time, but we'll see.

I've always been aware of my black and white thinking and am not so sure I would identify it as an error. I believe definitively calling it an error is black and white thinking. It's like saying "this way of thinking is an "error", therefore another way of thinking is not. That is black and white thinking. I am striving to be more aware of my thinking and not pass judgment by labeling something an "error".

Have a great weekend, everyone!!

[Elizabeth]

I know in the past when I was on anti-depressants and eating a healthy diet and working out, I *gained* weight, so I know they are not weight neutral.

!

Have hope Lisa!! There is a difference between eating a healthy diet and Medifast.....probably big calorie deficit ....big weight loss.

Best wishes to you.

[Lisa145]

I guess....my idea of a healthy diet back then was anorexia, lol! So it was a calorie deficit diet and I still gained on the anti-depressants.

Thank you for your feedback. How are *you* doing?

[bikipatra]

"Distorted" thinking is the what it is called in therapy.