BED/COE and medication???

[A work in progress]

HEy guys.... been doin a lot of research into BED over the past few days and have decided to go see someone about it, have been to my doc and she referred me onto a therapist but nvr got the guts to go....
just wondering do any of you think medication would help?? like an anti-depressant?? i really really nvr wanted to go down this road but if it works anything has to be better than this hell...
if any of you have any info on this id be really grateful tanx
xxx

[emploding]

I'm on meds for bipolar - an anti-depressent, 2 mood stabiliers and an anti-psychotic. Unfortunatly most of them have weight gain as a side effect, and none of them help my over-eating. However, things might be different for you. Meds might work, why don't you bring it up when you see your doctor next, and see what they say?

[tatiana13]

Talking about meds in a forum are tricky. The short answer is that yes...meds might help. I'd talk to a psychiatrist about it...(not a gp, a psychiatrist). The long answer is that it sort of depends on what your various diagnoses are, and what is the most important thing to treat with meds are. I've taken effexor, which I was taking to treat depression, but which had the nice side effect of helping with my BED. But didn't help with my depression, so I stopped. But the BED got really bad...and turned into some other eating problems. And my depression got less bad, so we went with a med specifically for my eating problems. Topamax. And the med also helps with some other problems I have.

But this is the problem with meds. If all you had was BED, unless you were morbidly obese and nothing else had worked, few would recommend topamax as a first line drug. It has a potentially serious side effect profile...it basically fucks with your brain. Side effects which I don't have, thank goodness. But since it helps me with some other things, its been a great choice for me.

[vieja]

I've found that SSRI's reduce binges for me. Your mileage may vary. But I'm pretty much miserable without antidepressants anyway, and life's too short to go through it miserable.

Happy pills for the win.

Oddly enough, if I exercise consistently, I binge less. Probably because I'm happier.
If I tackle what's stressing me out and iron it out, I binge less. Again, happy may=less binging.
You might try keeping a notepad and see what it is that sets you off, if you haven't already.

In the supplement category, 5htp has a little bit of appetite reduction ability. DO NOT MIX IT with SSRI'S unless you want to go get shot up with thorazine in the ER.
Soluble fiber can help stabilize blood sugar-and won't hurt anything...so you can certainly try some benefiber between meals. Ask your doc if he or she thinks chromium picolinate would be a good idea, and how much to take. It can help stabilize blood sugar too, but can be contraindicated for some people.

My approach is to try to minimize binges, then minimize damage when they do happen...really complex carbohydrates and bulky veggies are your friends. You can eat a whole bag of frozen veggies with a little bit of oil on it, a giant salad with low-cal dressing, five apples, or a pound bag of carrots, and...not so much damage as one giant candy bar.

Not that that always works, does it?::mad: Sometimes only the evil junk will shut up the ravening crave monkey.

Curse you, Oreos! *shakes fist in air*

[Sharlene_nz]

I've just started taking fluoxetine (prozac) for OCD and bulimia. Therapist said that she has good results with patients not binging on this drug. The dose for bulimia is quite high though (60mg) and a doctor will want you to increase the dosage gradually starting with 20mg usually.

[RadioSilence]

Some medications are considered helpful in reducing binge eating. However, we are not qualified to evaluate, diagnose, or prescribe medication to you, so you'd be better off discussing this with your doctor or therapist. Good luck <3

[becauseittastesgood]

Topomax made me stop binging/purging. I was able to eat a normal meal, feel satisfied, then stop thinking about food until I was hungry again. There were no crazy side effects besides yawning in the beggining.

[writtenthin]

if you find a med that works let me know! i've been on an anti-depressant for 3 years now and thats mostly when i gained. sadly if i switch my meds its no promise it will be ok because im allergic to most of drugs in that class. :( hives and chest pain are not fun.