Jun 30 2008
Free Mental Health Humor : Ask Dr. Bob Bob : Weight Gain and Meds
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Free Mental Health Humor : Ask Dr. Bob Bob : Weight Gain and Meds.
Sunday, we featured a cartoon series I’ll be drawing and writing called, Fat Man Unleashed. Each week, I’ll be a guest blogger and draw a cartoon about my fight to loose weight while dealing with a mental illness… In my post, I talked about how the meds can really make it difficult. One of our more vocal readers, Electricmousie commented about the weight issue… I just wanted to paraphrase a few things but you can read her full comment at (Free Mental Health Humor : Chato is Fat Man Unleashed).
“You really hit this right on the money, Chato…..I gained a lot of weight since 1994; I tried dieting, cutting back, and that was when I weighed in at a whopping 196 (my highest) I did manage to lose the weight and wind up at 154 when I was admitted to hospital”
“I was losing weight really well then, but as usual I find something good then I have a stupid episode that lands me back to hospital.”
“I told my psych if this medication puts more weight on me I’m not going to take any more. I’ll throw it out! I value my body enough to not want it smothered under all those layers of fat. I’m very discouraged right now and I don’t know what to do.” - Electricmousie
This is a common issue within the mental health field… weight gain! I’m not talking about 10 or 20 pounds… Some meds can pack on the pounds! Some of the more infamous fatty makers are: Zyprexa, Depakote, and even Lithium. Depakote had always taken first prize in that game… They even reworked the med to try and lessen this side effect…
What can be done? Well, this my friends is the hard pill to swallow. We have to not only take control of our mental balance but now we have to balance our diet as well…
What about you? Are you dealing with med weight gain? What have you done to combat this issue? Thanks for sharing Electricmousie! Let’s (try) not to get discouraged! Let’s Strategize!
Permission granted for non-profit use by artist: Chato B. Stewart.
^^^ When using this cartoon on your non-profit blog you must link us.^^^
Thanks for dropping by:
Chato B. Stewart
Mental Health Advocate - Cartoonist - and a few other things!
http://www.mentalhealthhumor.com
“Using Humor to Heal and Educate with badly drawn cartoons.”
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I’ve noticed in the past I’ve either lost or gained weight when on meds. I’ve always been a little on the big side though.
Gina
http://celebritytoday.today.com
http://ginasramblings.blogspot.com
I think you already know I have Fibromyalgia. Well, the medication the FDA has approved to treat this condition is Lyrica, and the number one side effect of the medication is weight gain. I have heard some people gain 60 pounds from being on this medication!
Personally, I will not chance taking it. This means being in pain, but I just won’t take a medication that has weight gain as its number one side effect. I’ve worked so hard to get over my anorexia, and now that I’ve been recovered for over two and a half years, I just won’t risk doing something that could pull me back into that awful condition. I am pretty certain gaining that much weight would pull me back down, and it just isn’t worth it to me.
Sierra
http://anxiety.today.com