Tyra Banks Fights Back

I liked Tyra Banks before because she seemed really down-to-earth, but I absolutely love her now.

People magazine has run a cover of Banks at an awful weight of 162 lb at 5’10”. (sarcasm) She received tabloid names like “America’s Next Top Waddle” and “Tyra Porkchop.” I’m not even Tyra and that hurt me. I’m barely 5’4″ and used to weigh 162. I was on the verge of being “obese” (as opposed to “morbidly obese.”) Yeah. Even my family told me I was fat and needed to lose weight. There was only one issue that drove me nuts:

“It’s when I put on the jeans that used to fit a year ago and don’t fit now and give me the muffin top, that’s when I say, ‘Damn!’ “

The bar is raised because she’s Tyra and a former model. But she’s absolutely cool about it and not in the business of running to change her new weight:

“Still, she isn’t freaking out about wearing size 32-waist jeans or about “the fat roll” she claims to have on her back. (Her biggest source of figure angst is her size-DD breasts, which she says make it hard to find clothes that fit: “I would love for them to be a size and a half smaller.”)

But, she adds, “I’ve made millions of dollars with the body I have, so where’s the pain in that? If I was in pain, I would have dieted. The pain is not there – the pain is someone printing a picture of me and saying those (horrible) things.”

She’s also aware that the tabloids not only hurt her, but also paint a false reality for young girls and teens:

“I get so much mail from young girls who say, ‘I look up to you, you’re not as skinny as everyone else, I think you’re beautiful,’ ” she says. “So when they say that my body is ‘ugly’ and ‘disgusting,’ what does that make those girls feel like?”

My brief struggle with weight — it was only from the beginning of 2004 to the end of 2006 — has taught me a lot about myself and others. I attribute much of my weight gain to Paxil and Lexapro.

Loose Screws Mental Health News

Since I was born on Groundhog Day (Google it if you don’t know when it is), I found this story about a groundhog so endearing. (And I make sure to turn around on my birthday to see my shadow.)

If you’re over 50 and on antidepressants, look out – you might be doubling your risk for osteoporosis. Fracture risks seem to be unrelated to falls caused by dizziness and low blood pressure. CLPsych’s analysis is also worth a read. (Many thanks to Bob Thompson for the link.)

People has an article on Cate Blanchett talking about marriage:

“Getting married is insanity; I mean, it’s a risk – who knows if you’re going to be together forever? But you both say, ‘’We’re going to take this chance, in the same spirit.’”

Seroquel abuse and medication weight gain

Furious Seasons has blogged about Seroquel (quetiapine) in the past and he recently posted on Seroquel abuse in an Ohio prison. Apparently, inmates have been snorting the atypical antipsychotic, also known in slang terms as “quell” or “Susie-Q.” Excerpt from Furious Seasons:

“Second, we all know that Seroquel is regularly handed out to bipolars and depressives and people with anxiety in order to address insomnia, as opposed to the kind of underlying psychosis/mania issues you’d expect it to be used for. PCPs hand it out this way and so do psychiatrists. What I have noticed among friends who’ve been given Seroquel for sleep issues is that they end up, over a few months time, needing more and more of the drug in order to get an effect. Or, put another way, people keep complaining of problems with sleep despite taking, say, 300 mgs. of Seroquel and their doctor will keep upping the dose to get the desired effect. As a result, I have seen people with very mild bipolar disorder wind up taking 800 mgs. of Seroquel a day–that’s roughly the same that a schizophrenic in a state hospital would get–and still they get no results, aside from putting on tons of weight. I have heard this from other readers of this blog as well.”

My aunt, who works in the psych wing of a hospital, warned me that she’s seen patients on Seroquel gain weight. A man I met at my Bipolar and Depression Alliance Group last night gained 60 lbs since taking Seroquel. I can’t image that everyone who takes Seroquel overeats to a point of obesity and leads a sedentary lifestyle. I have a random theory that Seroquel signficantly slows a person’s metabolism down to the point where it is difficult for a person to lose weight.

Venlafaxine withdrawal symptoms

Work has got me busy, folks, so posts may drop significantly in the next coming days/months. Possibly through April or May. (I’ll probably have one of those work days when I end up doing more blogging than working. It happens every now and then.) But don’t be surprised if Saturday quotes, Wednesday puppies, and Sunday stats are what pops up each week. I’ve got many of those backlogged through April. I’ll try to backlog some other posts on bipolar disorder and depression for the coming weeks and quickly blog on anything that’s timely.

In the meantime, I had to take a sick day today. It’s my third day off of the Effexor and I’m having some weird side effects (see Case 1: Standard Dose under the link). Whenever I turn or move too quickly (consider your “natural” body turn), I “kind of” see stars and the whole world slightly spins beyond my field of vision for about 3 seconds before coming back into focus. After doing some light research on the side effects of venlafaxine (Effexor’s generic name), I’ve found out that side effects can incude vertigo, dizziness, light-headedness (associated with dizziness), and something called “brain shivers,” which are a form of electric shock sensations. You know that feeling when you get an electric shock from somebody? Yeah, imagine feeling that throughout your whole body. Precisely; not a good feeling. Nancy Schimelpfening, blogger for depression.about.com, found a newsgroup posting on the brain shiver effect, mainly associated with venlafaxine:

It happens to me if I turn my head quickly, or if I stop suddenly, or in general with sudden motion. They’re worse if I’m nervous.

i’ve seen them described as feeling as though your brain keeps going when you turn your head. that doesn’t seem quite adequate to me. it’s more like this:

you turn your head (or your whole body — this happens to me if i whirl around too quickly as i’m taking the stairs. what. doesn’t everyone whirl on the stairs…?), but your brain *stays put* for a micro second, then tries to catch up but only in a stuttering, stopstart motion, accompanied by a staccato ‘zzt zzt zzt’ with each stop. the ‘zzt’ you can feel in your head, an electric sort of vertigo, and it often reverberates in your hands and fingers. some folks feel it in their toes; i haven’t yet.

sometimes your brain overshoots and comes strobing back, then overshoots again.. this all unfolds in just a second or two.

these days i endeavor to go around corners all smooth slow and steadylike. helps to reduce the number of brain shivers per day

Yeah, that’s me. It’s hard to explain to someone who’s never felt it. I got this feeling after not taking Paxil for three days too. The effects eventually wore off, but it was such a weird feeling.

Paxil withdrawal

Thanks to Philip Dawdy at Furious Seasons, he wrote about the Uncomfortably Numb blog. The blog focuses mainly on the side effects (and side effect withdrawals) of Paxil. Having been on Paxil (CR), I can identify. I was fortunate enough to ask my doctor for a switch after three months, but I still have this occasional eye-twitch that lasts for days that has stayed with me since taking Paxil back in February 2004. If I didn’t take Paxil for three days, my nerves just went horrible: I felt shaky and my entire life seemed fluid – it was like constantly walking in a pool of water. Nothing seemed real; everything was a dream. But it wasn’t. Everything was too hard, too much effort, too much anything. I couldn’t stand it. I quit Paxil “cold turkey” (again, don’t do this, kids) and felt worse before I could feel better. I went from Paxil to Lexapro and… yeah, felt worse again.

Lesson? Primary care physicians should NOT give antidepressants to depressed people with undiagnosed bipolar disorder.

Loose Screws Mental Health News

NAMI is touting a new atypical… in the press release for Johnson & Johnson. Michael J. Fitzpatrick, executive director of NAMI lent a statement  in J&J’s pr about Risperdal’s sibling, Invega. *sniff, sniff* Something smells fishy about this. Makes me wonder if these non-profits bag money from Big Pharma under the table… (source: Furious Seasons)
An electronic ping sent from Sprint to the police helped save the life of a college student who tried to commit suicide, according to Newsday. A ping also helped save the lives of James Kim’s wife and children after getting stuck in the mountains of Oregon. This ping thing is interesting. Especially since Newsday needs to put quotes around it because ping isn’t a real vocabulary word… yet.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

ADDENDUM: Oooh, ooh, ooh – just found out: Any family that has a minor who may have consumed Paxil or Paxil CR is eligible for a stake in a $63.8 million settlement with GlaxoSmithKline. More info about the settlement at paxilpediatricsettlement.com. Apparently, it seems as though GSK covered up information about the medications’ safety and efficacy. This is one I’d like to learn more about considering I’ve been on Paxil. Not as a minor but the settlement raises questions  regarding GSK withholding information about Paxil’s safety and efficacy regarding adults.

Is it now fashionable to sue pharma companies for not making all of their information public?

Loose Screws Mental Health News

At least 2.9 million people either suffer from depression, know someone who has it, or want to know more about it. According to comScore Networks, a research firm, depression in the most researched medical condition online. Straggling behind in second place is bipolar disorder with insomnia coming in at third.

Whew! Am I glad I’m off Paxil! I’d rather be alive and not in a lawsuit than dead and have my family suing for a wrongful death.

Niiiice: Target goes head-to-head with Wal-Mart and launches its own $4 generic prescription drug program.

Competition between the nation’s two largest retailers is REALLY beginning to heat up… In the good news category, psych meds such as fluoxetine (Prozac), citalopram (Celexa), and paroxetine (Paxil) are part of the deal. See the full list of generics Target offers for $4. IMPORTANT FINE PRINT:

“Due to state law in CA, CO, LA, MN, MT, PA, RI, TN, WI, and WY, pricing on these drugs is higher than $4.”

Dangit – sucks for me – I now live in Pennsylvania. Lucky New Yorkers!

Who needs antidepressants and antipsychotics? One blogger’s found the cure-all for mental illness.

Olfactory nerves have more than an ability to smell. Apparently, they can be used to determine whether someone can develop a mental illness, according to Australian researchers.  Researchers at the University of Melbourne have detected a connection between mental illness and the poor ability to identify smells. Looks like a scratch-and-sniff card is only a mental illness determination away.

Loose Screws Mental Health News

More than likely, I’ll be doing short, quick updates today since I have a LOT of work to get to… you know, at work.

I found a new forum that discusses drug-related items, mainly Paxil: http://www.paxilprogress.org/forums/ It uses one of my more favored layout of forum versions, vBulletin. But they have a worthwhile discussion on the whole Eli Lilly/Zyprexa thing going so it’s worth checking out.

According to the Toronto Sun, Sienna Miller told the UK Mail that she went to a psychiatrist to deal with Jude Law cheating on her — but ended up insulting her when the psych asked a difficult question. Therapy won’t work, dear, if you don’t put any effort into it.

More later on goodies like Christians and depression (what Liz Spikol linked to) and Time‘s Person of the Year. (Okay, Time has NOTHING to with depression but it’s sooo lame it requires a post/rant.)

BTW – I’ll get to everyone’s comments soon. I’m having e-mail issues and once I get them sorted out, I’ll start responding.

PCPs Don't Know Jack From Zyprexa

Eli Lilly’s actions continue to be appalling.

Apart from trying to hide the fact that Zyprexa induces weight gain, diabetes, and hyperglycemia, they also had sales reps encourage primary care physicians to prescribe Zyprexa for patients who did not have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder (basically off-label usage).

It seems that Lilly told marketing reps to suggest Zyprexa for dementia in the elderly. Lilly denies this, of course, since olanzapine (Zyprexa’s generic name) is not approved for that kind of use since it increases the risk of death in seniors with psychosis associated with dementia. Lilly also attempted to market olanzapine to patients with mild bipolar disorder who suffer mainly from depression. (In actuality, Zyprexa is approved to treat those who suffer from mania.)

This issue with Eli Lilly delves into precisely why I am against PCPs prescribing psychiatric medicines. Primary care physicians don’t know enough about the various psychiatric conditions to prescribe the appropriate kind of medication. This type of prescription should be left to specialists like psychiatrists. PCPs should focus on the things they deal with on a daily basis that no one else can take care of: the common cold, the flu, annual physical, etc. It should be the job of the PCP to refer a patient to a psychiatrist should they present symptoms of mental illness (depression, schizophrenia, etc.). I have been burned by having a PCP prescribe antidepressants for me and as a result, attributed my horrible experience with drugs to that.

Celebrity Sensitivity

Cheers star Shelley Long has checked into a psych hospital after an ongoing bout with depression. Her latest trigger? Her husband filed for divorce after 22 years. No doubt, that’d be enough to put me in a psych hospital.

Actress Emma Thompson has admitted to struggling with depression as well. The Daily Mail reports that “due in part to her attempts to have children, she has been left so depressed that she could not wash herself or change clothes.” According the playfuls.com article, “Thompson told the newspaper that she has found an effective way to balance herself emotionally.” I wish she would have elaborated what that effective way was to enlighten the rest of us.

In shocking celebrity news – get the idea when I say “shocking,” I’m being sarcastic – Britney Spears has been rumored to be popping psych meds for fun. She has been seen popping Xanax and Paxil. To top it off, she’s also been seen drinking after taking the pills. Anybody with a brain knows that mixing alcohol with an antidepressant and an anti-anxiety medication is a no-no. But we never said Britney had a brain, did we?

In more upbeat and better celeb news, Patty Duke is being honored for her efforts for bringing more awareness to mental illness. Patty Duke’s struggle with mental illness first came to my attention when my psychiatrist recommended that I obtain her autobiography that deals specifically with mental illness, A Brilliant Madness. I haven’t read it yet, but once I do, I’ll be sure to post a review.

Remember those “No Fear” T-shirts that were EVERYWHERE in the 1990s? Well, the creator, Marty Moates has apparently committed suicide. Like what I struggle with, I wish his fearlessness had kept him alive instead of bringing him to death.

Finally, in another sad story, Andre Waters, who killed himself last month, actually DID struggle with depression. Family and acquaintances cite a tough child custody battle and his inability to break into the NFL as a coach as a few of the reasons that led him to battle with a severe depression. In outpatient treatment, I knew of a woman who was going through a tough child custody battle with her ex and felt like she had no hope of obtaining custody if she didn’t have a good lawyer. Child custody battles can be some of the most emotionally draining and depressing experiences in a person’s life. It’s sad that the justice system is more based on who has the best lawyer instead of who is more capable of taking better care of the children.