Mental Health Sober for almost a year and questions about MH and depakote withdrawal

takeiteasy

Ex-Bluelighter
Joined
Sep 18, 2013
Messages
24
I've been clean off meth for nearly a year. I'm not sure why but I j ust can't get happy. I certainly don't want to relapse, the thing is, I'm 28 years old and have no job, no friends outside of meth, nothing going for me. I even have type 2 diabetes and my blood sugar readings are in the 300s to 400s, I can't seem to stop eating bad things. Can someone help me with ideas to keep busy, classes I can take etc? PLease!!!!!!!!!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hey takeiteasy;)... welcome to blue light.. as far as the diabetes thing.. I have diabetes and some of the things I like to snack on are those bomb pop popsicle sugar free they are the shit and I really dont like to many of the other sugar free pops because they taste funky.. these taste better than the sugared ones. Nuts the planeteers with the pistachio nuts.. absolute rezo monsters are good.

I also have a bunch of other stuff that may help with this whole situation but im going to post this and then work on that post. how long were you on the meth?

Hey hang in there we can figure this out <3
 
What do you eat for meals throughout the day? My other issue is I'm on this psych medication that makes me hungry so it's even worse, I just want to control my cravings and stay in the gym and keep exercising, but it's so hard.
 
Last edited:
So you are working out all the time.. what do you do for your workouts?

what psych med if you want to share?

This is a great place to open up.. In the recovery forums we regulate them strong so there is no danger of getting any sort of negative feedback and there are allot of caring and knowledgeable people here..
 
The psych med is Divalproex Er. I have been doing just walking on the treadmill for about 30 mins three times a week. I was doing an hour on the treadmill for nearly two weeks everyday but wasn't seeing results, finding it hard to even get in the gym now, so depressed.
 
If you get so bad as you get banned from your one outlet for your issues then it is time to reflect. I find the exercise helps a bunch with depression as well as a quality diet though it takes a while to feel results.
Exercise does a lot of great wonders and it helps with the anxiety too.
 
Hey im sorry you are feeling this way<3<3.. the medication its depakote.. are you finding any relief from your depression with this.. are you Bipolar two. as this is generally what they use this for allot.. I however did not find a sliver of relief from it??
 
Good on you for making it almost a year off! That's an awesome achievement.

I used meth for a long time too, and the transition off it isn't always easy. I think that there are a lot of messages directed towards addicts along the lines of, your life will be infinitely better without drugs, that your problems will start fixing themselves, and everything will fall into place when you quit. Of course, there is some truth to this, but I also found it easy to be so focused on quitting or being sober that any plans for what happened when I got there kind of fell by the wayside. Have you thought about what your ideal life would look like? Sometimes I think it helps writing it down - in a year, 5 years, whatever, what would a great life look like? I did this recently and was surprised by how difficult I found it - I hadn't put enough thought into where I really wanted to head. I think having vague ideas like wanting to be happy, or in a loving relationship, are too inspecific to really serve as motivators or goals. Writing it down can help make it seem more real, and help light a path to how you might begin going about achieving those things.

It does sound like a good idea to perhaps start getting some saleable skills - some experience or education that will increase your skill set and raise your chance of being employed. What do you like doing? Have you worked in any areas in the past? It doesn't have to cost money either, volunteering could be a good place to start. This is just showing my interests and yours may be completely different, but I've been meaning to volunteer down at a community garden. I love plants and gardening - if you set up your own vegie patch, and volunteered down at a community garden or farmers market, you could start including some really healthy, home grown vegies into your diet, considering your concerns with that. Volunteering can get you out of the house too - and when you've been out of the loop for awhile, just getting out and interacting with strangers or acquaintances can really help ease yourself back into being social. You can get a bit rusty after awhile.

Keep us updated :)
 
I'm on bipolar disability. I can't work right now, I am thinking of taking classes though, but all the courses for the fall have already start, I just want to meet people and stay busy.
 
A lot of community colleges have continuing education classes that will start at various times throughout the semester/year. Check into cooking classes. Sometimes there are "Cooking Healthy" classes which I think you could benefit from in several ways. Another way you can meet new people is to check out meetup.com and check out some of the groups that might be of interest to you. This would be a great way to meet new friends and discover new hobbies!
 
What do you eat for meals throughout the day? My other issue is I'm on this psych medication that makes me hungry so it's even worse, I just want to control my cravings and stay in the gym and keep exercising, but it's so hard.

How are your eating patterns? Do you eat the regular 3 meals or do you just snack through the day?

At least 2 decent meals a day (especially dinner, well rounded with meat and vegetables) can help keep you satisfied and not feel the need to eat all the time. It's especially important that you keep your meals regular to keep your sugar levels in check too, as well as giving you energy for the gym.

Like spork mentioned above, cooking classes might be for you. It's a great way to keep busy and meet people at the same time, as well as teaching you how to cook great foods.
 
Have you tried lamictal? I received really good results from it and experienced little to no side effects. I have also heard of allot of other people getting really good results!!

Are you doing better today.. is it helping doing some talking about this and getting some support?

What are your interests.. could you do some volunteering to get out and get some socialization and put yourself in a place to possibly make some non using friends?

There are also the fellowship of NA.. allot of recovering addicts find good socialization through this. Twelve-Step Addiction Recovery Support Groups

hope you are feeling a little better today<3
 
How are your eating patterns? Do you eat the regular 3 meals or do you just snack through the day?

At least 2 decent meals a day (especially dinner, well rounded with meat and vegetables) can help keep you satisfied and not feel the need to eat all the time. It's especially important that you keep your meals regular to keep your sugar levels in check too, as well as giving you energy for the gym.

Like spork mentioned above, cooking classes might be for you. It's a great way to keep busy and meet people at the same time, as well as teaching you how to cook great foods.

+1

Although what I have read is that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so I make sure that my breakfast is very healthy (oatmeal banana) ;)

If in case you don't find cooking classes right for you, you can always get a cook book and start from there.
 
Thanks for all the support! I did do 30 mins at the gym today. I usually sleep around 12 hours each night, get up at Noon and eat lunch, go back to bed, then get up at 5 and go out to eat, that 's usually what I do. Now how I got all this weight on was when I originally got on Depakote I ate all day throughout the day, now I am doing better sleeping. If I'm awake I'm gonna snack on foods, just a fact. So I'm not sure what to do, I figure if I can be busy though away from the house I wont be as likely to eat foods nonstop. I am doing better today and feeling better, I did try Lamictal j ust recently and it didn't work for me well at all, which I was depressed about, hoping there's something else I can take. My doctor says we may get off the depakote at some point, but everytime I try to my symptoms get out of control.
 
Yesterday I lost control and ate Macdonald's for lunch and pizza for dinner then ate popcorn at the movies, saw Rush, it was just ok. I'm not sure what to do. Today is new though so maybe I Can start dieting today.
 
My sister told me when I go to the gym that I should be dripping with sweat all over my body when I'm done working out, the thing is that I never am. I sweat a little and get it in my eyes, in the chest area, but how can I sweat more? I can't run, too big, I'm 5'9 and 250 lbs and out of shape, I walk 3.0 on the treadmill, can someone tell me what I'm doing wrong and what I can do to change this? I'm find ing it so hard to even want to work out, but yet I hate how I look, I know if I can lose 30-40 lbs I could probably get a date.
 
Top