Fitness & Exercise Community

Hi Doxilover,

I'm sorry you're having such a hard time. Lithium and other psychiatric medications are known to cause weight gain and you should discuss this with your psychiatrist. You sound like you're really suffering and so I hope you can reach out to your doctor for help. If you're not seeing a psychiatrist for these issues then give your doctor a call for help, and if you are alone and feeling down and need to talk with someone you can always go to an emergency room or a mental health clinic in your neighborhood, or in the event of an emergency call 911.

You can also check the WebMD Bipolar Community http://exchanges.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder-exchange

As for exercise to help you get started, I like the 5-minutes out, 5-minutes back plan. Just like it sounds, you walk out for 5 minutes, turn around, and walk back. That's it. 10 minutes of walking, and off you go about your day. If you feel ambitious you can do 7.5 or even 10 minutes out and back, and add some abdominal crunches if you like when you finish. But that's all to get started. Make a plan to do it every day, preferably at the same time if you can so it becomes a habit. Do that for 6-8 weeks, and you can increase it by a few minutes every week. If you like, go ahead and post your daily workouts here in the Community. I'd be happy to review them for you.

You can also check out Collage Video for tapes or DVD's that would appeal to you if you prefer to exercise indoors. Collage has a wide variety of exercise DVD's and will surely have one for you. Call them at 1-800-433-6769 if you want to ask about recommendations. They are great on the phone. Or check them out at www.CollageVideo.com

As for losing weight and diet, I encourage you to check out one of these WebMD diet clubs for information and support (depending on how much you have to lose)

http://exchanges.webmd.com/dieting-club-10-25-lbs-exchange

http://exchanges.webmd.com/dieting-club-25-50-lbs-exchange

http://exchanges.webmd.com/dieting-club-50-100-lbs-exchange

http://exchanges.webmd.com/dieting-club-100-lbs-exchange

Weight loss is hard on your own. The support from other WebMD Community members, and expert advice from the WebMD dietitians, will help a lot. You don't need to do this alone.

I hope that helps. Feel free to post back if you have more questions.

And please take care of yourself. Rich

Consider crisis intervention/mental health therapy. Either in- home or clinical setting. Whatever you decide, please seek outside assistance and act. Quickly.

Thank you for answering me, unfortunately, we live in the middle of nowhere. None of the things available in the city are available here. I have known my Psychiatrist and Internist for 18 years and they have been working together to help. They DO NOT want me to go out alone. Here in the house I have fallen so many times, I broke ribs, my elbow, my wrist, slammed my head and face on a table. I was in Sally's beauty shop, my legs gave out and I fell on
a display that has hooks for putting merchandise on. I have become such a recluse, I refuse to go anywhere. My husband is very upset because I won't go out to dinner with him. I also belong to an online food diary that is very good but due to my state of mind I have not used it.

I absolutely will go to the dieting club and check it out. I think a big problem for me is that I was gorgeous when I was younger, I modeled, I got every award in swimming you can get. I rode horses all over the world in competitions, my group only jumped five foot fences. My legs were like rocks !!! I look at myself now and I look like a homeless woman living under an overpass.

I have no idea how to diet, I've never had to. The one thing I do realize I have no idea who this person is ? My kidney function is 30% I look so bad all I do is cry. My best friend from prep school sent me a huge box for a diet where you inject some kind of urine. Both my Doctors hit the roof, and took it away.

The only other problem I have is a incredible sweet tooth at night. I'm a horrible insomniac I just wander around, we had started to renovate the house, it's about 1/4 done so my environment is horrible too. I don't know if I can walk for 5 minutes but I will try and I definitely would like you to review them. My Psychiatrist says I'm the strongest woman he's ever met, I hope so.

THANK YOU, I REALLY NEED HELP

ALLISON

How about some resistance bands so you can do gentle weight training, or doing careful walking around the house? Maybe even lifting soup cans? And make sure fruit or stevia sweetened things are easier for you to get late at night when the sweet cravings attack. Come on over to one of the communities, we're all friendly there. Best of luck!

Thank you so much for responding, as I mentioned. We do not have those kinds of facilities here.

Best
Allison

Thank you so much for responding. What are resistance bands ?

I have made up my mind to do this, I have crashed and burned so badly. I am not allowed to drive, so my husband takes me to all my appts.

About 3 weeks ago I was leaving my house to see my Doc because I had a horrible sinus infection. Some of our acquaintances were driving by, I heard OMG is that Allison ? what is wrong with her, she looks like a beast. I cried all the way to the Doctor's office.

RICK, THIS IS FOR YOU:

After I told you all the things going on, I realized I needed to tell you all of it. I was in the medical business for most of the time I worked, I'm a New Yorker.I have an IQ of 167 but I take a lot of meds so sometimes I cannot focus. I met my husband at work and he got a huge promotion to come here. My last year, my air miles were 200,000. I was done !!

I cannot even begin to tell you how bad the struggle has been being a rapid cycling bipolar. We spent $40,000 on meds last year.Aside from the fact that my entire life has revolved around my illness. My Psychiatrist is world renowned, he even gave a lecture about me in Germany. We ARE VERY GOOD FRIENDS as well as patient and doctor, I'm very medically trained which has helped immensely.He told me I was either #1 or 2 the worst bipolar he has ever treated, he has a five year wait list. He has never gotten over being the one who put me on Lithium, we had no choice. I was scared to death of ECT. I religiously went every 4 weeks on the dot for my blood work. 2 weeks before my createnin was 1.0 and the night I went in it was 9.0 and absolutely no one can figure out what happened ? The aphasia scared me to death. I had three doctors tell me it was an act of God and a miracle that I was here, they had never seen someone survive what I did. 2 months after the renal failure I had to have emergency surgery for something called Apendigitis where a piece of intestine comes off and wraps around your colon until it destroy's it. I was already been scheduled for the gland surgery at MD Anderson and I was in so much pain, there was no way I was going to miss that. I woke upthe day after the surgery with 102 degree fever and because I only had 30% kidney function I spent the next 6 days at MD Anderson, I have to say, the BEST hospital in the world. I got the infection back so I had to go back to the hospital again. I was covered from head to toe in huge round bloody sores and Ithe result of the biopsy was anxiety and stress that was so bad, it has reached the limit. I came home and I could not speak, I was shaking so badly I could not walk and my speech sounded like I had a stroke. I could not do anything because I was shaking so badly. I was told to stay in bed, so I would not continue to fall. The breakdown lasted 18 weeks and even now if I get anxious I start to shake and I cannot speak. I can barely walk so even though I hate it, it's better that I'm home.

I thought I was getting better but I just got another horrible gland infection and I'm trying so hard but all I do is cry. I do not have ONE friend here. I'm having problems in my marriage,
my kick ass NY girl is still here and no one has fought more than I have but sometimes I do wonder if it's worth it ?

Wow, you really have unsupportive acquaintances. Resistance bands are rubber tubing with handles on each end that you can pull and stretch instead of lifting weights. Used correctly they can be fairly easy on your joints. They are also pretty cheap, about 20 dollars for a full set on ebay.

I wanted to add something to what I was saying. I can see that you have a lot of challenges and that you are very strong even to still be here. Many people would have given up by now and I'm glad that you didn't. Since you are house bound at the moment, it's good that you are reaching out online and I hope you can find support and help here. You deserve to have friends, you deserve to be thought well of. There are many fine people on these boards, so welcome!

(((Hugs))) to you, Allison!

You sound like an amazingly strong and special woman and I just hope that you are as proud of yourself as you should be. I'm sure that it cannot be easy going through all of this and feeling alone, though you have a wonderful husband, doctors and friends by your side.

If you ever feel that you are in a real moment of crisis and unable to speak with your love ones or need another form of support, please reach out to one of these Crisis Resources . There are a number of people out there who want to listen and help support you, so you are not alone.

As far as exercise, please ask your medical professionals for a list of exercises they would suggest for your own personal conditions as well as the ones to avoid. Once you get their recommendations, PLEASE come back and hopefully the community can give you more insight. This is the safest and most productive way to go about really making a plan that you can look forward to and end with good results, avoiding another injury.

Looking forward to hearing back and wishing you the best!!
Amelia

Hi Allison. I do hope you get the help you need. It sounds like help is available to you so please do reach out. Perhaps you should start with your psychiatrist and internist. You don't need to be alone with this. Take care of yourself. Rich

Thank you, I'll call the sports store and see if they have them.

I'll do anything to get my figure back

Yes, the people here don't like Northerners

They have their little clicks since they all grew up together

I really tried to get involved but it never worked

Thank you, unfortunately I'm a super A personality and when I'm manic I cannot sit still.

Both of my doctors have given absolute instructions

NO DRIVING
NO GOING OUT ALONE
STAY AWAY FROM PLACES WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE
DO THE ANXIETY BREATHING
REST, REST, REST
DRINK AS MUCH WATER AS POSSIBLE
I'M A HORRIBLE INSOMNIAC, BIPOLARS NEED SLEEP SO
TRY.
TAKE CARE OF MYSELF , I HAVE NOT DONE THAT IN A FEW YEARS.



THEY KEEP TRYING TO HELP WITH MY HERMIT BEHAVIOR, I HOPE IT WORKS

That sounds great !!!! Rick is going to monitor my excercise.
Both of my Doctors said to just walk up and down the stairs until I can do it with no effort. I can barely walk, but I've made up my mind to do it.

Best
Allison