Antipsychotics and weight gain

Hello all

It's been a while since I last posted. I was trying to find a support group and never found one... I wrote away to places but didn't pursue it. No one got back to me and I didn't push for it with my mental health team. I've also been moving towns with work for the last few years and never really have put any roots down.

Since my last post I have been very well, thank goodness. I changed my medication and it has proven to be excellent for me. I feel better than the last one I persevered with for SEVEN years, thinking it was the one and only thing I could do for my schizophrenia. Unfortunately I began a weight loss regime and thought I could lower the dosage of my old meds --- resulting in an horrific psychosis that I wince at looking back on. I was delusional and treatment resistant and pushed all my support networks away thinking they were 'evil'. All the while, fabulously thin!

I finally got to the worst point possible (and into massive debt) and got some help. We tried a new medication which has worked wonders for me. I am on a high dosage and I am able to work, exercise, maintain all my relationships and feel good about life (I even paid off my debt - with a lot of work). I am very aware and fearful of my early warning signs this time, as I don't want that awful psychosis again! I have moved to yet another new town and found (after many attempts) a good GP and rang the access line for mental health and got into the system. I am super prepared for anything to go wrong - and awfully scared.

The new medication allows me more energy than the old one, and I am able to exercise and feel motivated on this one. It might be that I have quit drinking too, that there is that change in my energy levels. I jog 4 out of 5 mornings and I walk my dogs in the afternoon. I eat relatively well, some of my portion sizes are a bit big, but well-rounded in fruit and veg and I would say healthy, I don't eat 'junk' food, a bit of chocolate. The only thing is, since starting the new medication a year ago, I have gained a lot of weight.

I was pretty slim when I began the new meds, and my diet was "keto" (which I am not sure is good for you), but I just can't fathom how I have put on more weight than I ever imagined, or been heavier than I have ever been, even when not exercising on my old meds, and I just won't plateau. The scales keep growing. I can't stop it. So I try exercising more and cutting the food down a bit, but it always comes back.

Can anyone help? I have made appointments with GP and psychiatrist in the next few weeks and I intend on making a food journal starting Monday. I am getting my bloods done and doing all the right things, but I am wondering if there are any therapies I can try or ask about in the upcoming appointments? What has worked for you? Has this happened to you? Can I get good quality help anywhere I don't know about?

Thanks everyone!

Rosie 🙂