How do you cope?

Dear Kevin,

Okay, so I'll call mine a "father figure". (I'm a female so ...)

Please don't feel obliged to respond to every stupid post of mine

Thanks for always, and take care.
Elle

Elle,

Your posts aren't stupid at all.

As for the mindfulness exercise, it would probably be best to try it when you aren't panicking, until you really get the hang of it. It takes practice to be effective in those moments.However, studies have been done that show that just a few minutes of mindfulness per day will help stabilize your mood for several hours.

Dear Colleen,

Thank you for your reply again.

Kevin says he's finished replying, so that's ok lol

Okay I will practice the meditation and mindfulness beforehand. That's going to make me stronger! I'm glad you told me there's a method that I can practice to make myself less vulnerable to panic attacks.

Thank you very much, and please take care as always.

Elle

Keep your chin up sweetie you are not alone! All of us have something out of wack and unfortunately those things tend to mess up other parts of our life as well. I don't have BDP but I love someone who does and that's why I'm here but I have (had?) bulimia. I say had because I've been alright for the past almost two years (b/p maybe 5x in that period as opposed to 5x a day or worse). I'm telling you first hand b/p cycles make you crazy and depressed and feel like $#%^. It messes with your brain chemicals, leaving you without the right amount of serotinin and that's why we end up doing more and more and feeling worse and worse.

I'm no Dr but I recommend you ask yours about Provigil (aka Modafinil)...tell him/her you're tired alot as well w/brain fog during the day (if it's true)...was for me when I was at my worst so just guessing maybe same for you? It was originally made for narcolepsy but now people are finding it's good for lots of differnt kinds of depression and guess what, it supresses your appetite.

This is not how I kicked my depression or my bulimia (and believe me I'm not sure I have I only know that it doesn't consume me anymore and the urge rarely enters my mind). Provigil ahs not even been evaluated for bulimia (yet) but it has been for depression and there's been much success which is why I'm mentioning, since you are not doing well on your current depression med.

It makes your brain capable of focusing and while that might sound to unreal to believe, myself and many others find it to be true. Not a guarantee obviously and it's not right for certain types of depression but from someone's who's struggled with both bulimia and depression, I think it's well worth discussing. Hope this helps!

Dear eternity,

Thank you very much for your response. I can't agree more with what you wrote about bulimia in your 1st paragraph. You had 5 times of b/p a day ... it must have been REALLY exhausting. I'm glad to hear you are now out of that cycle. Mine is no longer either, but I now have solid anorexia instead.

I've never heard about Provigil. I will ask my doctor about it on my next visit. I'm glad again to hear that that medication worked for you in such a good way

BTW, since you mentioned a stimulant medication ... When I was treated for my bulimia in the past, my old doctor gave me Mazindol, an appetite suppressant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazindol

When I started taking it, my bulimia stopped for 3 days, and then my bulimia was back. I guess it was an emergency medication for a bulimic person

I'm now anorexic so I'm like "Please give me mazindol!" but of course none of the doctors I've seen did

Yes, poor concentration sucks, and to make things worse, I can't get out of my negative thought cycle. But for now, I will cope with it by finding something that I AM capable of focusing on. I LOVE playing the guitar and singing, so at least I can focus on that, and that distracts me from my negative thinking

But I hope someday soon I can do other things like reading textbook normally. I will take your advice on getting my concentration back and seek help for that, too.

Thank you very much, and please take care.

Elle

Hey Elle,

I have been coming back to this thread to see how things have been going and I'm a bit surprised that your doctor gave you an appetite suppressant. It just seems a bit counter-productive, don't you think? I would have imagined such a drug would be the last thing considered to treat bulimia or anorexia.

Hell, I have bulimia now but I wouldn't take such a drug... ...it's just adding a problem on top of another.

Kevin

Kevin, I'm so glad you are back to this thread I missed you.

I can't agree more with what you wrote.

The Wikipedia article says Mazindol is for people who need to lose weight, while I've always been underweight

Anyway, that old doctor of mine stopped giving that medication to me as soon as I visited him after 2 weeks of taking it, so, I don't know, maybe I looked so desperate upon my first visit?

In conclusion, I need to quit taking ephedra now

Hi again,

Wasn't ephedra banned a few years ago? I think it was banned in the USA - are you from there? Don't worry, I'm just curious. I'm not some rogue policeman!

Kevin

Kevin,

I kept the supplement bottle I bought years ago. I didn't have the gut to take it then, and now I consume what I have kept. That's all

Is this illegal seriously?

Hi,

Yes, I'm pretty sure that it's still illegal. In your case, however, I'm not sure what the story is because you would have obtained it before it was made illegal (so, you might be exempt). Either way, what does it matter? It helps you, right?