I eat a lot then feel guilty about it. This only happens on meds. Whenever I reduce my dose or take Ldopa I eat much less, only one meal a day. I read that dopamine blocks hunger and APs block dopamine. Why does sz have to break the most essential neurotransmitter in the brain??
Ldopa boosts dopamine and blocks my hunger but it worsens my positive symptoms. I was 140lb before sz, gained 160lb bcz of meds. I almost want to stop meds and take Ldopa to get back to my presz weight, 135-140lb.
I am exchanging good mental health for bad physical health. Its a bad deal.
If you are losing weight then you get to be perpetually hungry, which also sucks.
If I remember correctly, Ldopa worsened your symptoms because you kept upping the dose, too much too fast. Your brain didnāt have time to adapt.
Do you think you could maybe do a low dose for at least a month, and then only increase a little at a time if you have to?
I tried low doses but they didnāt help. I have to take at least 5x 60mg pills a day to see benefits but then I start having positive symptoms. When I took 7 at once I started hearing voices.
Taking Ldopa is like reducing AP dose as it does the opposite of meds. Meds block dopamine.
Thatās because just like with meds, you need to gi e your brain time to build up the levels internally and get used to it.
And itās not a matter of high vs low dopamine overall.
Sz folks have higher dopamine some places and lower dopamine in other parts of the brain.
Itās an imbalance.
Yea I know, thats what my Dr said. Positive symptoms are caused by high dopamine in some brain parts and negative symptoms are caused by low dopamine in other parts. So when I take Ldopa it boosts dopamine where its low improving negative symptoms but at the same time it boosts dopamine thats already high so it causes positive symptoms. I see no solution to this, neither my psychiatrist. I am trapped by this sz.
I need superpowers to beat sz without meds in order to improve my negative symptoms. Then with more superpowers take dopamine like Adderall or Ritalin to further improve negative symptoms and become like I was before sz. I think I will keep dreaming about these superpowers.
I donāt think there is any magic pill to help us. If you are only 165 lbs you are doing pretty good. Iām at 195 after being 160lbs for two years. Before that I was 145. Too skinny for 5ā11ā.
I wish, I really gained 160lb from meds, so now I am almost 300lb.
Oh damn. Do you walk at all? I donāt exercise at all. I try to eat healthy though and donāt eat out often. I guess it affects all of us differently
No I donāt exercise eaither. I try to eat healthy stuff but the problem is that I eat too much and salads never fill me up.
I gained some weight on the medications as well.
I exercise daily for an hour, but I find it difficult to get to pre-sz weight. In fact I have more weight on Ziprasidone now than I had on Clozapine. I donāt quite understand whyā¦Ziprasidone is supposed to be weight neutral.
Soups can be filling yet low in calories or shakes. Thereās a whole 
to lose weight.
I just scare myself into eating āhealthyā
I tell myself all sorts of scary shiit in order to get down to business
Iāve quit bread, sugar and rice. Also potatoes. My clothes seem to fit better. I havenāt weighed myself but I was 260 pounds plus Iām short 5ā2ā so itās not good.
I was 160lb before meds. I got prescribed zyprexa and got up to 306lbs. The only way to really do it is to get moving man. Maybe you could just start with some laps around the house even? Just to get the blood flowing. I also cut down on the junk too but didnāt make any drastic changes. Even 15 minutes of doing laps around the house could be a huge start!! I am now 260lbs
I feel your pain. The meds tend to make me fat, lazy, and hungry. My problem is probably emotional eating. I eat to feel some kind of pleasure and immediately regret it. I try to do other things to fill that void now and Iāve managed to lose 60 lbs, but Iāve got a long way to go before Iām at a healthy weight. It does get kinda depressing.
Yeah. I have no motivation to exercise so I donāt blame you. Maybe adding a walk to your routine is a good idea. I donāt walk now but Iām going to start once my puppy gets big enough. Part of the reason I got her. So Iād get up more and itās definitely working.