Mental Health Exercise, Dopamine, and Anti-Psychotics

[LookingForSelf]

Is there anyone that actually exercises on a regular basis for more than a year and has lost weight while on an antipsychotic? And that actually enjoys it?

Because isnt it dopamine that gives us the motivation to continue exercising and get enjoyment from it? I never felt like I got much enjoyment from exercise when I am taking an antipsychotic.

I dont see much stories of people on APs who are athletes or gym buffs.

 

[SixBuckets]

Is there anyone that actually exercises on a regular basis for more than a year and has lost weight while on an antipsychotic? And that actually enjoys it?

Because isnt it dopamine that gives us the motivation to continue exercising and get enjoyment from it? I never felt like I got much enjoyment from exercise when I am taking an antipsychotic.

I dont see much stories of people on APs who are athletes or gym buffs.

I totally get a high from exercising, and I've been on antipsychotics since I was 19. I don't exercise a lot (partly because I have fatigue issues related to fibromyalgia as well as bipolar and partly because I'm just really time poor) but when I do it I really enjoy it. It improves my mood generally as well as immediately after the gym session.

I haven't tried to lose weight through exercising, so I can't tell you about that, but it sounds like you're confusing two different things. Plenty of people who can't or don't lose weight from exercising still find it very enjoyable. I strongly feel that it's way healthier and more sustainable to exercise because it feels good and improves your health than because you're trying to lose weight.

 

[iridescentblack]

I lost about 15 pounds while on Abilify after I had gained 15 pounds from Abilify.

That was back when DDR was popular back in the states... ahh... those were the days.

 

[LookingForSelf]

Can I ask what type of exercise you do and for how long?

You say you dont do it often- do you not think this may be in part because of lack of motivation? Which is what dopamine is for. If you truly had the motivation to get that "high" from exercise, wouldnt you fit in time for it?

 

[SixBuckets]

Can I ask what type of exercise you do and for how long?

I do weights and cardio at the gym - I've actually just changed gyms, so my routine has changed a little because of the different equipment available. On a 'good day' I'll do a 15 - 20 minute cardio routine and a full weights circuit, but on a 'bad day' I might only manage a 10 minute weight session before my fatigue gets too much. Fibromyalgia means a lot of delicate balancing of energy and pain levels, so if I push myself too far on any given day I risk ending up in bed for two days. I don't do group sessions or play sports because I don't find the competition aspect fun.

You say you dont do it often- do you not think this may be in part because of lack of motivation? Which is what dopamine is for.

Well, I'm plenty motivated to do all sorts of other things. I don't feel like my medication impedes my ability to be motivated about stuff or to find things enjoyable at all.

If you truly had the motivation to get that "high" from exercise, wouldnt you fit in time for it?

I work full time, study at university part time, volunteer on a semi-regular basis, have a 45 minute commute each way between my home and workplace, and sleep in until around 2PM on the weekends due to only taking my anti-fatigue medication on work days. There's genuinely very little free time in my schedule. I could probably still fit more exercise into my life if I really set my mind to doing so, but the issue is much more about finding time to do so and conserving energy/preventing pain than lacking motivation or not finding exercise enjoyable.

YMMV, of course.

 

[LookingForSelf]

Thanks for clearing that up. You seem to have a busy and fulfilling life.

But from the lack of replies here and any evidence on the net Im partial to think dopamine still plays a significant part.

You just dont see much being said about exercise and people on antipsychotics more so than that they have to take it easy on physical activity. Ive yet to see someone that fits the bill of 'muscular' that also happens to take medications that block dopamine production.

Also, did you know that low dopamine levels has been linked to fibromyalgia. I just googled it and came upon a few articles that talk about it.

 

[SixBuckets]

Thanks for clearing that up. You seem to have a busy and fulfilling life.

Haha that's one way to describe it. I'm pretty happy with it, but sometimes I could really use a bit of downtime.

You just dont see much being said about exercise and people on antipsychotics more so than that they have to take it easy on physical activity. Ive yet to see someone that fits the bill of 'muscular' that also happens to take medications that block dopamine production.

I don't think you hear much about ANYTHING and people on antipsychotics. Most people who take them don't talk publicly about doing so. And the kind of things they're prescribed for - schizophrenia, bipolar with psychotic features, chronic drug induced psychosis - are the non-media friendly kinds of mental illness that don't get feel-good feature stories written about them or have celebrity advocates talking about their lived experiences.

Besides, you're again fallaciously connecting weight loss/body sculpting to enjoyment of exercise. I don't know many people who are fully buff who take antipsychotics, either, but most antipsychotics are weight-encouraging in and of themselves. A medication making you gain weight and impairing your glucose response might prevent you getting ripped, but that doesn't mean it's necessarily going to stop you enjoying weight lifting/running/soccer/skateboarding/etc if you enjoyed those activities before you were medicated. If it does, you might want to look into alternate medications.

Also, did you know that low dopamine levels has been linked to fibromyalgia. I just googled it and came upon a few articles that talk about it.

Fibromyalgia has been linked to a lot of things - dopamine, leptin, glutamate, melatonin, cortisol, androgens, etc. You get the point. There's no medical consensus as yet as to what causes it or how it actually works, and it's a syndrome that covers really diverse presentations in different people, so I'd caution against drawing conclusions about what causes it from a google search. It's more common in people with certain mental illnesses and sometimes responds to treatment with antidepressants and mood stabilisers, though, so there's probably a relationship between neurotransmitter levels and the nerve sensitisation that causes pain.