The Neurologist is a small woman for her height, probably wearing a size two or size four. She's assessing my reflexes when she states bluntly, "You've gained weight."
I don't know how she remembered, as she hasn't seen me regularly for years. "Yes."
"Do you know why?"
"Yes, it happened with me being put on Seroquel."
"It's going to make everything worse, your back pain, your neck problems. You've tried to lose weight on your own, and it's not working. You should join a group like OA. Do you know OA?"
"Yes." We say "overeaters anonymous" in unison.
"At your age, it's harder to lose weight and will only get harder, so you need to do it now." She pauses. "I see weight gain as an untreated mental illness, and they are making that worse by having you take Seroquel."
I don't see obesity as a mental illness, and most psychiatrists would agree with me, although there is a binge eating disorder which leads to weight gain, but that's a separate, specialized condition. I don't binge eat, not like I did when I was actively bulimic. But is it possible that my weight gain is caused by psychiatric symptoms? Sure. I'll buy that.
The reputation of gaining weight on Seroquel is legendary. As I surfed multiple patient sites about the drug, I read over and over again sad stories of people packing on the pounds, being horrified by their appearance, and yet, they continued to take the drug because they needed it. Me? At a size four/six at the time I started the antipsychotic, I bravely thought that it wouldn't happen to me. That I could somehow manage it.
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