Search the Community

Good Evening Rebels! So, I have been battling a General Anxiety Disorder for the past 15 years. About 5 years ago I started on a medication (Lexapro) which worked for about a year. Then I switched to Effexor XR. I noticed that there was a slow weight gain. I originally attributed the weight gain to the fact that I had also started back to work at a law firm and did not have as much time to work out. In 2012 I started running and training with a trainer. I ran several 5ks, completed a Warrior Dash and finished my first half-marathon (on a broken foot) in 2013. I felt great. Until the broken foot. I was still able to concentrate on upper body strength with my injury, but could not get in the cardio. I let my exercise really drop off. As well as my diet. I joined NF and the Academy about a year ago. I feel like I have found my people! About 2 years ago, my weight (which had lessened) plauteaued; nothing I tried helped. Cutting calories, more cardio, less cardio, more weights, less weights. Nothing. Helped. My primary care physician ran some bloodwork and nothing came back abnormal. My anxiety then began to get incredibly out of control since my poor body image contributes to my anxiety. Nine months ago I began seeing a new therapist who recommended I see a new doctor about my meds. The new doctor increased the effexor dosage. That took place at the very end of 2014, beginning of 2015. Since that time, I have gained 10 pounds. The only change was the meds. Two weeks ago my doc finally agreed to let me wean off the effexor because it was actually making me worse because of the weight gain issue. Thus, this seemed like a perfect time to respawn! The last two weeks have felt fantastic. I feel like a boulder has been lifted. I run and workout with renewed gusto (it's still wicked hard), but I feel like I can actually make a difference! My anxiety has been harder to tame, but I am working on it with my therapist. So yeah - here we go!

G'DAY FELLOW REBELS This is like the (calculate that) time I respawn, but with good reason, apparently. After 2 years of continuously struggling with my health and my GP telling me it's all because I'm "psychologically unstable'', I was fed up with it and decided to go to a private clinic abroad, with all the results from lab tests from the past few years. It paid off. Not only did they find I tested positively for Lyme disease OVER A YEAR AGO (can you imagine my GP just overlooked that...) and still do, but they also discovered my T4 levels (thyroid hormone) are way below the minimum, let alone for my age. These 2 things can perfectly explain why I felt tired all the tileHad continuous headachesSkipped school because I felt depressed or sickFell ill all the timegained weight despite being on a starvation dietmy hair fell outmy nails were brittleMy skin was super dry, despite applying the most expensive lotions or creams..... In other words, I am not insane or psychologically messed up, I just had medical conditions. I'll have to take a lot of antibiotics for a month, and take hormone pills for the rest of my life, but if it brings me closer to health, I'll happily take them. They found other really depressing things, on which I may elaborate later, but I don't think a fitnesswebsite is the place for it. They will definitely influence my progress, but I'm confident they won't stand in the way. Because of all the medication I need to take now, they put me on a very strict diet, which is basically a modified paleo diet, so there shouldn't be too much trouble there, I hope. I'm not really allowed to do any vigorous exercise for some time either, but I can stick with long walks and yoga every day for now! Finally, I feel like I'm getting somewhere. I feel like there actually MAY BE a solution to this ''hopeless case''. I may not directly shed the pounds I gained because of my hypothyroidism, but that's not my primary aim. I want to get healthy, I want full, healthy, vibrant hair. I want the twinkle back in my eyes. I want the motivation to ace my calculus classes back. And I will get it all back. I may rely on pills all my life, but I will not let that depress me. I still have my life goal of climbing Mount Everest, then settling in Nepal and founding a charity for science education for Nepali children in remote areas, and I will achieve it one day. But for now: chicken wings, avocado and hella Hatha Yoga.

My main goal is to stay "sane" for the next two weeks between challenges. To acheive this goal, I'm going to: Take my medication daily. Not take on any extra projects. Feed my spirit daily. Attend my addiction recovery program on Thursdays. Attend church on Sundays. 15 minutes of grounding meditation every day.

I'm really not sure where this question belongs, but this seems to be the best place. I've struggled with depression & anxiety for years, and started getting treated about three years back. I started on an anti-depressant that made me much happier and healthier. However, I still had a lot of trouble self-motivating. For instance, I've always wanted to get into shape, but never could convince myself to workout, let alone consistently. About a month ago I changed medications to something more specific to my disorder. Literally within the week I began seriously researching health and nutrition, and within two I'd joined NF and began working out. It's only been a month, but I haven't felt the drive wane since. I'm still not sure if this isn't simply "a phase", but I've honestly never felt so driven in my life. It's not a matter of convincing myself to workout. I simply want to, and want to get stronger, so I do. Have any of you rebels with mental problems found that some treatment or medication has had a really drastic effect on your motivation?

Hi to everyone here on nerd fitness - as you'll see this is my first post- I have just got through reading some information about weight training and I'm pretty eager to start. Long story short life was hard, now I've sorted it and I can actually stick to training and all that's required while doing so. But.. I have one major concern. I have a disease for which I'm given medication for. The medication is an immunosuppressant and stops me from producing adrenaline naturally. It does it by shrinking some gland that produces cortisol. It's called Prednisolone, and yes it's a steroid - but for those that don't know it's not a "roid"-steroid, it's a corticosteroid. (so I'm told by my docs). I take 10mg a day. So perhaps you can see my problem - if you can, could I please have your advice on anything I should adapt to concerning diet, or even training. I am a basic starter at the moment so will be doing a casual 3x a week program to build strength and power, with a little size hopefully. I'm beginning to understand how important hormones are for development, and because of this medication I get the feeling I might be lacking a vital component needed to train effectively. Does anyone have any knowledge in this area, or perhaps know who I would need to talk to about it? I'm not sure if I should be seeing a nutritionist, a trainer, biologist, or a doctor. (tbh the doctors never tell me shit, except that the prednisolone is "managing" my condition). one last thing as well - I'm aware that the long term use prednisolone leaves me at risk of osteoperosis,, so the docs also give me Alendronic acid to take once a week. They tell me it helps my "bones make more bone" (their words when they gave them to me) so does anyone know how that would affect a diet, if at all? Sorry for dumping so much on my first post, but this place feels very genuine to me and I thought it would be the best place to ask, I did a search for medication, corticosteroids, prednisolone but didn't find any other posts. So if there's someone out there that could constructively comment on my situation, I'd really appreciate it.

I was diagnosed with Adult ADD a month ago and have been taking Adderall. While this has been a great thing for me professionally and as a parent, I have noticed that my motivation to run has dwindled to nothing. I WANT to run, but my body is like "nope, don't care". The other part to this is that I have been putting in extra hours at work, A LOT of extra hours, so by the time I make it home after going in early - skipping lunch - and staying late, I'm falling-asleep-exhausted. The only time I have to run is on the weekends, I "put my hardhat on" and get it done, but my performance sucks and motivation is nil. At this point, running to lose weight isn't something I am completely interested in, keeping my cardiovascular system up to snuff IS something I am interested in, very interested. I welcome any advice