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From: sadsoullostintheworld on 22 Jan 2006 14:59 I'm seeing the doctor tomorrow. I think he's going to start me on medication. At my last visit (which is also the very first time I've seen him), he gave me some reading material on SSRIs, so I suppose he's planning to start me on that. I really do not want to take SSRIs, mainly because of their rep for weight gain. I know that not everyone gains weight on them, but I'm not comfortable about even the potential for it. The problem is, during the last visit, he kept saying how great SSRIs are, how they have hardly any side effects compared to older drugs. Basically, he seemed to be a fan of SSRIs. And the reading material he gave me made no mention of weight gain as a possible side effect. So if I mention the weight issue tomorrow, he'll probably just tell me its not true, and brush it off, espescially since some SSRIs used to actually be associated with weight loss. Does anyone know of any research studies that prove a possible link between SSRIs and weight gain? If I really have to take an SSRI, which would pose the least risk when it comes to weight gain? What other classes of antidepressants are used in place of SSRIs usually? Also, I suspect I may be bipolar II, and, I'm not sure about this, but I think there's a potential SSRIs may be detrimental for this? I did mention that I thought I may be bipolar II to him, but after that, he kept asking me about stuff that concerns bipolar I, mostly questions related to the manic phase typical of bipolar I, which I'm pretty sure I'm not. And since I answered negative to most of those questions, he seemed to have decided that I'm unipolar rather than bipolar. This doctor is a GP rather than a psychiatrist, and does not seem familiar with bipolar II. I'm not sure if I should insist on being treated by a psychiatrist. Not that a psychiatrist's diagnosis would be totally correct, that's not the case at all, but they'd probably be more familiar with different types of disorders, and the mechanisms of different psychotropic drugs. But it took me a lot of courage and effort just to see this GP about this, and I feel fairly comfortable with him. The few times I've seen psychiatrists in the past, the attitudes of those doctors was such that it caused damage instead of helping. It takes a lot of energy and time to find a doctor you can work with, and I'm not sure I could handle that with my current state. On the other hand, getting the wrong treatment may just cause more harm. I'd appreciate advice on this, espescially from people who have been treated by GPs rather than psychiatrists for their mental illness. Thanks.
From: Squiggles on 22 Jan 2006 15:21 sadsoullostintheworld(a)yahoo.com wrote: > Good luck with your doctor - I hope the SSRIs work. I have had a GP as a doctor for over 20 years. In the first 2 yrs of my dx, a psychiatrist was consulted for correcting the initial dx, and i think that is why I am so well now. I would say it depends on the GP; because like mine, if you are in the right medical environment a specialist/psychiatrist will be consulted. On the other hand, a psychiatrist may have a lot more experience with patients suffering similar disorders. But a psychiatrist may also be biased or reliant on market-driven new psychiatric drugs rather than personal knowledge and wisdom. Squiggles
From: Don W. McCollough on 22 Jan 2006 17:52 <sadsoullostintheworld(a)yahoo.com> wrote in message news:1137959947.583434.133430(a)g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com... > > > I'm seeing the doctor tomorrow. I think he's going to start me on > medication. At my last visit (which is also the very first time I've > seen him), he gave me some reading material on SSRIs, so I suppose he's > planning to start me on that. I really do not want to take SSRIs, > mainly because of their rep for weight gain. I know that not everyone > gains weight on them, but I'm not comfortable about even the potential > for it. The problem is, during the last visit, he kept saying how great > SSRIs are, how they have hardly any side effects compared to older > drugs. Basically, he seemed to be a fan of SSRIs. And the reading > material he gave me made no mention of weight gain as a possible side > effect. So if I mention the weight issue tomorrow, he'll probably just > tell me its not true, and brush it off, espescially since some SSRIs > used to actually be associated with weight loss. Does anyone know of > any research studies that prove a possible link between SSRIs and > weight gain? I don't want to sound crass, but no matter what drug you're on, you will not gain weight if you eat a set number of calories and excercise. Also, do some googling and you'll find some pointers to your questions. Also, maybe trying the more refined SSRIs might address the weight gain issues. Maybe Lexapro? You are an individual with unique neurochemistry and metabolism, and SSRI might make you eat less or eat more...nobody can predict it. Be Well! > If I really have to take an SSRI, which would pose the least risk when > it comes to weight gain? What other classes of antidepressants are used > in place of SSRIs usually? > > Also, I suspect I may be bipolar II, and, I'm not sure about this, but > I think there's a potential SSRIs may be detrimental for this? I did > mention that I thought I may be bipolar II to him, but after that, he > kept asking me about stuff that concerns bipolar I, mostly questions > related to the manic phase typical of bipolar I, which I'm pretty sure > I'm not. And since I answered negative to most of those questions, he > seemed to have decided that I'm unipolar rather than bipolar. This > doctor is a GP rather than a psychiatrist, and does not seem familiar > with bipolar II. I'm not sure if I should insist on being treated by a > psychiatrist. Not that a psychiatrist's diagnosis would be totally > correct, that's not the case at all, but they'd probably be more > familiar with different types of disorders, and the mechanisms of > different psychotropic drugs. But it took me a lot of courage and > effort just to see this GP about this, and I feel fairly comfortable > with him. The few times I've seen psychiatrists in the past, the > attitudes of those doctors was such that it caused damage instead of > helping. It takes a lot of energy and time to find a doctor you can > work with, and I'm not sure I could handle that with my current state. > On the other hand, getting the wrong treatment may just cause more > harm. I'd appreciate advice on this, espescially from people who have > been treated by GPs rather than psychiatrists for their mental illness. > Thanks. >
From: Squiggles on 22 Jan 2006 18:23 Don W. McCollough wrote: > I don't want to sound crass, but no matter what drug you're on, you will > not gain weight if you eat a set number of calories and excercise. > > Also, do some googling and you'll find some pointers to your questions. > > Also, maybe trying the more refined SSRIs might address the weight > gain issues. Maybe Lexapro? > > You are an individual with unique neurochemistry and metabolism, and > SSRI might make you eat less or eat more...nobody can predict it. > > Be Well! > > > I disagree with this. PubMed has articles on how glycemic metabolism can be changed by psychiatric drugs, not to mention the effect on thyroid, which is almost invariable to lower it, and thus contribute to weight gain. There is also the factor of water gain, and changes in the hypothalamus which regulates appetite and temperature to set points. Barring the above, yes caloric input and output weight effects are the same for non-medicated people. Squiggles
From: Don W. McCollough on 23 Jan 2006 16:46
"Squiggles" <squiggle(a)sympatico.ca> wrote in message news:43D413F7.7040203(a)sympatico.ca... > > > Don W. McCollough wrote: > >> I don't want to sound crass, but no matter what drug you're on, you will >> not gain weight if you eat a set number of calories and excercise. >> >> Also, do some googling and you'll find some pointers to your questions. >> >> Also, maybe trying the more refined SSRIs might address the weight >> gain issues. Maybe Lexapro? >> >> You are an individual with unique neurochemistry and metabolism, and >> SSRI might make you eat less or eat more...nobody can predict it. >> >> Be Well! >> >> >> > > I disagree with this. PubMed has articles on how glycemic metabolism > can be changed by psychiatric drugs, not to mention the effect on > thyroid, which is almost invariable to lower it, and thus contribute > to weight gain. There is also the factor of water gain, and changes > in the hypothalamus which regulates appetite and temperature to > set points. > > Barring the above, yes caloric input and output weight effects are > the same for non-medicated people. > > Squiggles OK. Understood. Then again, there were no fat people in Nazi concentration camps. |