Anyone here have success with antidepressants or appetite suppressors? (1 Viewer)

Those of you unfamiliar with me, I was diagnosed with stage 3b non-hodgkins in 2013, after 6 months of treatment they said I was more or less in remission, wait and see mode but they would still need me to do two cat scans a year to keep on it.

Well a couple weeks ago, I had my biannual scan and they said some of my nodes, near where it presented were enlarged and they wanted to do a follow up scan in 3 months. The stress, anxiety and depression were the worst part of the experience to be honest, and even though this probably/hopefully is nothing it all came flooding back.

I've been taking a low dose of wellbutrin (100mg/daily) for a couple years, was meant to be two fold help with my stress eating and my anxiety in general. I think I've come a long way with my anxiety but the depression and stress have been getting to me, I've gained a FIFTY pounds in the last 12 months, this was after losing 50 lbs the 12 months prior, so I actually put on 100 in ~16 ####### months.

Its clear that my rx or my dosage is not helping me. Various physical ailments(ongoing plantar fascitis, tore my groin, followed by hurt back)  have really hampered my ability to work out, on top of the typical #### that makes you procrastinate like being depressed...

So my question is, have any of you had any success with appetite suppressors or antidepressants? I see my general practitioner tomorrow and would like to have a better plan.

Good luck, this is way out of my league.   Hopefully someone else more knowledgeable can help.

Run It Up said:

Those of you unfamiliar with me, I was diagnosed with stage 3b non-hodgkins in 2013, after 6 months of treatment they said I was more or less in remission, wait and see mode but they would still need me to do two cat scans a year to keep on it.

Well a couple weeks ago, I had my biannual scan and they said some of my nodes, near where it presented were enlarged and they wanted to do a follow up scan in 3 months. The stress, anxiety and depression were the worst part of the experience to be honest, and even though this probably/hopefully is nothing it all came flooding back.

I've been taking a low dose of wellbutrin (100mg/daily) for a couple years, was meant to be two fold help with my stress eating and my anxiety in general. I think I've come a long way with my anxiety but the depression and stress have been getting to me, I've gained a FIFTY pounds in the last 12 months, this was after losing 50 lbs the 12 months prior, so I actually put on 100 in ~16 ####### months.

Its clear that my rx or my dosage is not helping me. Various physical ailments(ongoing plantar fascitis, tore my groin, followed by hurt back)  have really hampered my ability to work out, on top of the typical #### that makes you procrastinate like being depressed...

So my question is, have any of you had any success with appetite suppressors or antidepressants? I see my general practitioner tomorrow and would like to have a better plan.

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Talk to your psychiatrist about options.  They will have a lot more information and should be able to find something that works for you.

With SSRIs, 'keep trying' is the moral. I was lucky - the Prozac i took to get over my widowers grief yrs ago kicked in and worked (tho i consider the day i was able to stop to be as important as the first day i took one), but i know people who've tried up to a half dozen before finding one they metabolized properly. Unfortunately, too many have given up on them - theyre still the best way to keep one''s motive intent up, for my money. don't know anything about appetite stuff, but GL -

jonessed said:

Run It Up said:

Those of you unfamiliar with me, I was diagnosed with stage 3b non-hodgkins in 2013, after 6 months of treatment they said I was more or less in remission, wait and see mode but they would still need me to do two cat scans a year to keep on it.

Well a couple weeks ago, I had my biannual scan and they said some of my nodes, near where it presented were enlarged and they wanted to do a follow up scan in 3 months. The stress, anxiety and depression were the worst part of the experience to be honest, and even though this probably/hopefully is nothing it all came flooding back.

I've been taking a low dose of wellbutrin (100mg/daily) for a couple years, was meant to be two fold help with my stress eating and my anxiety in general. I think I've come a long way with my anxiety but the depression and stress have been getting to me, I've gained a FIFTY pounds in the last 12 months, this was after losing 50 lbs the 12 months prior, so I actually put on 100 in ~16 ####### months.

Its clear that my rx or my dosage is not helping me. Various physical ailments(ongoing plantar fascitis, tore my groin, followed by hurt back)  have really hampered my ability to work out, on top of the typical #### that makes you procrastinate like being depressed...

So my question is, have any of you had any success with appetite suppressors or antidepressants? I see my general practitioner tomorrow and would like to have a better plan.

Click to expand...

Talk to your psychiatrist about options.  They will have a lot more information and should be able to find something that works for you.

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did wellbutrin years ago- similar dosage. but that was for boilerplate anxiety/deptression- can't imagine what you're going through.

definitely agree with jonessed about talking to your professional about this in terms of proper dosage and medication. and from there, for me at least, it's always about taking the tiniest of steps towards something better to fix it that has helped me... no matter how small the steps. I'd guess any kind of exercise would be hugely beneficial for you- something that can take into account your recent ailments. maybe PT for those? 

ooops.. I see wikkid has posted. everyboyd was tai-chi fighting... those moves were slow as vicodin

Dont have a psychiatrist, diagnoses from my general practitioner and oncologist. 

Appreciate the replies, I've talked at length about both issues with my doctors in the past, I was making pretty good progress in both regards but it feels like I hit a cliff this year. 

Run It Up said:

Dont have a psychiatrist, diagnoses from my general practitioner and oncologist. 

Appreciate the replies, I've talked at length about both issues with my doctors in the past, I was making pretty good progress in both regards but it feels like I hit a cliff this year. 

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who prescribed the welbutrin?

any aversion to talking to a therapist?

Are you interested in supplement suggestions?

El Floppo said:

who prescribed the welbutrin?

any aversion to talking to a therapist?

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My general practitioner, who specializes in internal medicine.

No aversion personally, I've found it cathartic to talk to other people as well as online, had a thread shortly after my cancer diagnosis, then another unfortunately a few months later while I was still in treatment when my best friend died.

The bigger concern with a psychiatrist/therapist is that I live in a town of ~100k people and am on medicaid in a red state. Due to a bunch of bull####, I have literally no idea how long I will be covered (which is the source of a ton of my stress), our new governor is on a ####### tear defunding medicaid atm, my coverage wasn't supposed to even be able to lapse until the end of august, but they moved it to the beginning of august. I have to wait for a 90 day review period, which started on June 6th, so 90 days would be Aug/Sep, to find out if I will have medicaid for another 9 months before I have to do it again. Obviously conflict with having a review that runs through your lapse date, understaffed and underfunded I wouldn't be shocked at all to see that my coverage was dropped before they even reviewed it.

So, financially, I most likely just cant afford it.

Like how ####ed up is that, I have to have 2 CAT scans annually, and now that I need a follow up scan for a potential recurrence and its totally possible I just wont have medicaid in october... so by summer 2018 I could be bankrupt... When I first applied for medicaid it was during the government shutdown in 2013, it took 18 months to hear whether I was approved or not.

Weebs210 said:

Are you interested in supplement suggestions?

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Really depends on what direction your coming from, I dont think Im deficient save for some brain chemistry maybe, I have blood panels and screenings every 3-6 months.

Run It Up said:

Really depends on what direction your coming from, I dont think Im deficient, I have blood panels and screenings every 3-6 months.

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Sorry I was talking more from an appetite suppressant factor. You could try gluccomanon (make sure it doesn't interfere with current medications) which is a basically a root that expands with water. You take it 30 minutes prior to your 3 big meals with water. That will make you feel more full and limit food intake. Won't help with snacking though.

Never considered supplements like that, I'll look in to some - Gluccomanon isn't receiving a shining on wikipedia 

A 2014 systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials failed to show that glucomannan supplementation generated statistically significant weight loss

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I was able to lose almost 50 lbs in 2015 just through better eating habits and being slightly more active, then it was just one thing after another rolling back.

For sure, was just a suggestion. It will really only help if you are over eating at your main meals. If it is more eating to much throughout the day there isn't much out there besides the caffeine based fat burners.

Weebs210 said:

For sure, was just a suggestion. It will really only help if you are over eating at your main meals

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Unfortunately it is that, I don't snack, I eat 2 meals a day, but the stress eating happens at dinner and being conscious of the fact doesn't help all that much.

Run It Up said:

Dont have a psychiatrist, diagnoses from my general practitioner and oncologist. 

Appreciate the replies, I've talked at length about both issues with my doctors in the past, I was making pretty good progress in both regards but it feels like I hit a cliff this year. 

Click to expand...

I don't know if you are taking any cancer prevention meds like some of us do with breast cancer, but if you do, make sure your onc approves of it. Some SSRIs interfere with the metabolism of the cancer med while others don't. Psychiatrists don't always know about cancer drugs and mixing things up. Some people have had to switch just because of that.

I know one gal who is taking Phentermine. The se of concern is blood pressure which she goes in every month to her pcp for a check. It's working well for her on appetite suppressant and she's losing weight nicely. This is helping her depression. I looked at reviews and many more positive than negative, the negative are se's which of course for some people may suck. Insurance doesn't cover this but use goodrx.com, get their free card and check to see where offers the cheapest price. She gets hers for $11 a month.

Best wishes to you. I hear you on the anxiety and depression that comes along with a cancer dx that doesn't seem to end.. xx

No prevention meds, not sure they exist for the form I had.

Ive been recommended phentermine in the past (not by a medical professional), but the SEs scare me, but I'm probably at the weight now where health issues are just gonna keep happening.

Run It Up said:

No prevention meds, not sure they exist for the form I had.

Ive been recommended phentermine in the past (not by a medical professional), but the SEs scare me, but I'm probably at the weight now where health issues are just gonna keep happening.

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A lot of health issues are reversible with weight loss. Unfortunately you won't know if you will have any se's on any med until you try. It's always scary because there are always people who have had a horrible experience on a med you're looking to take. Sometimes it's best not to read those who had a horrid experience because they usually aren't the norm. There are plenty of examples on the cancer boards where newbies are scared ####less because of a couple people's experience no matter how many times it's been shown it's not a common occurrence. Be aware of the se's so you can report any you may experience but don't let fear possibly stand in the way of helping you. JMO. I'm not a pill pusher and sometimes even forget to take mine but the benefits hopefully are outweighing the costs.

People temporarily use phentermine for portion control along with cutting out the sugars, bad carbs, bad fats, etc. But you have to be determined as the pill itself doesn't make you lose weight. And whoever rx's it should check you out 1 x a month mainly for bp. Contrave was something that was on the commercials all the time. I see it's not shown anymore. Found out it had a narcotic in it that addicted people to it. So just in case this one comes up, be wary of that issue.

Contrave is a weight loss drug that combines Bupropion (Wellbutrin) with Naltrexone. On their own, neither do much for weight loss, but together they've been shown to be effective. 

Wow--I truly wish you the best of luck in battling your health issues. I can't imagine the level of stress that you are going through--but with that being said--do your best to stay positive.    In regards to your question on appetite supressants--I have a couple recommendations for things that worked for me in the past.  The first thing that I can recommend are the Met RX protein plus shake pouches.  I love the extreme chocolate flavor--and I order them in the 40ct single serve pouch form. I find that if I make myself a shake in the morning--it really holds me down til at least 3pm.  When I really want to get in shape--I have one shake in the morning and one at night--and I end up just needing a medium sized lunch for the day.   I'll make a shake in the blender-and all I do is mix the powder with a healthy amount of ice, a bit of 2% milk, and some cold water--and I kid you not--it ends up tasting like a milk shake.   

The other appetite suppressant that works for me is Garcinia Cambogia. I have it in both pill and powder form--but I find that the pills are easier to use.  The powder is super fine and working with it can create a dust cloud-like working with flour.   I just take a pill or two with a healthy amount of water 20-30 minutes before I want to eat a meal--and I find that it makes it so that I don't "pig out" on my meal.   Might be worth a try to see if it helps you out.