New to this section

Hi folks,

I've popped in once or twice maybe, but I spend most of my time over in the anxiety forum when I should probably be here.

Long story short (for now), I have been chemically unbalanced since I was 15 or so and I'm now 36, so I've been dealing with depression for over half my life. It's always a constant, but sometimes I get in these horrible funks like I am now.

The physical
I had a surgery called a LapNissen Fundoplication in 2013. After the surgery, I didn't do a very good job of taking care of myself and now all my strength is gone. People have to help me with things like lifting that I should be able to do myself. I'm a pretty independent person and just don't like being helped overall. I suppose it's a stubborn male pride thing. Anyway, my core strength is gone if there was any there to begin with and I have an inguinal hernia which makes lifting even tougher. The hope is to have the hernia repaired surgically and slowly build my core strength through working out.

My weight has crept up a lot. I take Lexapro and Latuda for depression. Weight gain is a side effect of the Latuda. My GI doctor wanted me to keep the weight down to see if it helped my hernia, but it didn't. My diet has also not been great. Do you believe what we eat affects depression? If so, what should I be eating? What do I avoid?

The mental
The funks come and go, but do stay constant. Right now, I don't know what to do. My father passed in 2013 and my mother began to see another gentleman not too long after that. Now they are split and I hate seeing her sad even though I didn't like him.

I have no life. I get up, I go to work, I rush home for some reason, and then it's like, "What do I do now and why did I want to get home so fast?"

My friends are few and I haven't been in a relationship in probably five years and let me tell you; it's rough.
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Well, that's kind of a start as to how things are going. Am I in the right place?

-smooth

Hi again...

Here is what I found...


www.webmd.com/depression/guide/diet-recovery#1

getting by,

Thanks for everything. The side effects of that restlessness that come with the Latuda have been crippling. I don't even enjoy going to concerts anymore.

Home is pretty boring, but I'm working on it. There's a lot to do to get it functional again. Everyone is surprised as to how much crap accumulates over the years.

I'll check out the links. Thanks for looking into it.

-smooth

Welcome to the forum Smooth.

I have had severe migraines since high school. 15 yrs ago started to treat the pain along with meds, with a whole food diet. the helped as the diagnosis expanded.

5 years ago, complex PTSD, MDD etc..

2 yrs ago, stopped all artificial ingredients, not Red or Yellow food dies.

I am not familiar with your illness, so I am not sure if this info will help.
Perhaps parts will.

Sounds hard at first, it is a struggle I will. not lie. You will be surprised how healthy you start to feel, eat less, your body stops craving the sugar.

Here is a research paper on nurtrition and mental health. Long but browsing it will be interesting.

/www.mentalhealth.org.nz/.../ResourceFinder/Feeding-Minds.pdf

I tend to eat fish, beans, lots of greens, fascinating how many there are and what can be done with them. Love avocados, squashes.. etc.

ANOTHER point I just feel I need to say, is there is no judgement is the limits our bodies impose on us through illness.

There are no "shoulds" or "woulds" when it just can not be done.

Peace
Trina

the turtle is passing through and says, keep strong and as johnie walker rightly says, 'keep walkin'!!

Trina,

I would love to stop craving sugar! I watched something called, "That Sugar Film" on Amazon. You would think that in itself would deter me, which it did for a while, but I just love it so much.

The link did not work unfortunately.

Thanks for the tips, but I didn't quite follow what you said last about no judgement, shoulds, and woulds.
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Oranged,

Balancing the imbalanced would be amazing! It's a friggin' tight rope act; a fine line if you will.

I honestly don't know if the surgery helped. I know I babied myself too much and now all my strength is gone. Honestly, I'm probably as weak as an 8-year-old or elderly person. The acid has shot up in my throat twice in the last month which scared me, but even the surgery can't make me immune to all of it. Lots of folks that get the surgery go back on the PPI's like Pepcid for some reason.
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HT,

I'd have to be strong in the first place to keep strong! Just busting your chops. I know what you mean. :)
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pitmom,

Moderation is my problem. I can't moderate! I can't ration! ...well, I guess I should say I don't moderate and I don't ration.

Good luck with the black coffee. If I were to drink coffee, it would have to be of the sweet variety for sure. The taste doesn't do much for me but it is usually an inexpensive source of caffeine. People that drink decaf really blow my mind. Same for non-alcoholic beer. What's the point? :)

I'm in Virginia and have been Vitamin D deficient, too. I haven't taken any supplements in a bit, so it's probably time again. I have to watch the sun as I have a lot of moles and melanoma runs in the family.

So what you're saying is, maybe I should cry it out? Seldom do I have that urge. I cried the other night when ESPN replayed Jim Valvano giving his famous speech. The people showed suffering from cancer tugged the heart strings.

Interesting concept with the timer. Perhaps I'll mull that over a bit. I'm guilty of just expecting things to change without much effort. It's among my biggest flaws. I come to HW to vent, people help, and I don't always heed the advice. Sometimes I come back sounding like a broken record.

I definitely have to have modified exercises. Thanks for the suggestion. From what you have listed, it sounds like you're really going through it. :(

-smooth

Karen,

I wish I was more of a reader. I'm supposed to have read one called Learned Optimism already as recommended by my psychologist to change my way of thinking.

Moderation being key is the best advice I've ever received.

I saw something about going around once opposite of what you're saying. It says, "Take the trip. Eat the cake. etc." hahaha

Hugs,
smooth

Karen,

This book seemed almost like textbook reading which I don't have a taste for. However, does anyone? haha

Well, when you've been a pessimist more than half your life, old habits die hard.

Hugs,
smooth

Myself,

Thank you so much! It's been suggested that I give just walking in the pool a try. I just keep forgetting about it. The reminder is greatly appreciated!

Do you actually bike or do you bike in a gym? I only ask because bicycle seats make my buns sore. haha!

Thank you again!

-smooth

I have done both--though only on the real bike at the moment, due to finances. It is not as impressive as it sounds--we live near a towpath, which is pretty flat. I bought a cheap pair of the padded lycra bike shorts as well as padded gloves--it makes a difference! I get bored easily, so I like being out and about. There are a lot of people who do water walking--and it can get you strong enough to do other exercises. I also have seen people just walking in the deep end, wearing float equipment. I have a water belt and dumbbells--I am a fairly petite woman, and the normal equipment is too big on me. I generally do deep water aerobics--BUT I had to build up to that.

Be well.

One of the easiest 'self help' books I've ever read was titled "Who Moved My Cheese?"

Can't remember the author. Quick read. Enjoyable lesson.

no worries about chop bustin', i am not much chop anymore anyway!!!

strength comes from within, and it is always there, the spark is what you require to ignite it, and in continuing to be proactive that spark will show itself, through people, thought or otherwise.

Smooth:

I've never seen anybody get as much help on this website. There is so much here it is hard to figure out where to start.

1. You said you had skin problems from the sun. I have to worry about that, also. I wear a sun hat (hat with a wide brim that covers your face from the sun. Thick enough to not let the sun through, not just any hat off the rack at Walmart. You can find them on the net.) I also wear long sleeve shirts outside even in the summer, to keep the sun off my arms.

2. diet. My son told me about his own no carb diet. He lost 40 pounds. No carbs, eat anything else you want. I tried it, it gave me much more energy. I lost some weight, but mainly it gave me much more energy.

3. No sugar. I had to stop eating sugar since it helped my sensitive ears to noise. It was actually pretty easy. Just drink water instead of soda for each meal. No twinkies or desserts. Pretty soon you'll get where you don't even crave sugar.

4. You're headed for diabetes if you don't diet and exercise, and quit sugar. I was homebound and ate to make up for the lack of getting out. I gained weight and got diabetes. Once you get it, you don't lose it, and it has extra health problems.

Post Edited (Tim Tam) : 12/7/2016 6:33:17 PM (GMT-7)