Weight Gain or Weight Loss During Withdrawal Support Group

[[Ke...]]

Kendra1968, it could very well be that your brain chemistry has changed alot because of the drugs. Just try to slowly increase your activity level and get that heart rate up there if your comfortable with that. I dont know much about your physical conditioning, but are you making an effort to exercise and diet? Sometimes it tough also to get are bodies into the routine we want becuase they grow accustomed to our habits, If you feel like your eating habits are bad you must make the effort to try to change that.

 

Before I got sick, even when I was overweight, I was a regular gym-goer and hiker. What kept me from losing weight was my diet (I LOVE FOOD) even though I was eating a lot of clean foods.  Now I don't have the energy to work out. I barely have the energy to get through each day.  When I DO have days of energy and walk a bit, it's like I pay for it the next few days (even worse fatigue and weakness). 

 

Not a happy thought, but this whole experience is like trying to get out of a greased well. 

[[Da...]]

What do you mean by (pay for it)? Some people make the mistake of trying to over rest because they think they might be conserving energy, but on the contrary we actually have to burn energy we think we dont have and push oursleves to become more energetic. I made some post on Nuala's forum you might want to read about starting exersice back up slow and not pushing all into one session and increasing our overall daily activity so we dont feel the drag one big effort. It is labeled  "Delayed Anxiety and other Weird Things After Exercise" and should be on the next page over. 

[[Da...]]

Also Vertigo to go back up a little further to my long post my recovery for evening workout ratio is probably A little higher more like 1-3 actually

[[ve...]]

Thanks for all the great posts guys.  First, I would like to comment for Kendra.   I absolutely believe that our brain chemistry is altered by benzodiazepenes.  In fact, I think the whole metabolism is often impacted.  Also I've read that antidepressants raise appetite and often lead to weight gain so it could be a double whammy if you are taking both.  Or depending on where you are in your taper, the benzo could be causing some weight loss temporarily.   I know that when I was tapering last year, my adrenal system was overactive and "hyperexcitable" and thus probably releasing all kinds of cortisol which made me very anxious.  I was losing weight without even trying.  I was also not sleeping well, periodic insomnia, up for hours usually from 2-4AM.

 

As things started to improve as I got down to the end of my taper, I started eating more and sleeping better but made the mistake of not exercising enough.  I did some walks here and there but nothing consistent.  I kept reading on forum that exercise, even moderate walks would help me sleep and raise endorphins to improve my mood, but I did not do it.  My situation is a little unique in that right at the end of my taper, my elderly father got sick and was in the hospital for six weeks and almost died.  A difficult situation with a sibling increased stress to the ceiling which in part led to my getting Shingles six weeks after my last dose of valium at the end of 2009.  I had to take a fair amount of motrin for the pain and by February of this year, my blood pressure was elevated and I was not in good condition.  I was not as anxious anymore because I was exhausted from the ordeal.  By March, I had my first panic attack.  It was almost like a paradoxical reaction to not having any benzo in me.  I've read where you can take a benzo and not have any history of panic (my purpose was to help sleep and insomnia, not panic) but after you stop it, one can get a strong surge of anxiety and panic.  This really disturbed me to get a sudden rapid heart beat/palpitations and made me worry about my cardio condition since I have a family history of heart disease.  Nevertheless I was able to do some travel in April and help out my father with some home repairs and solve some issues his caregivers at home.  I started to walk some but now I was gaining weight from being out of town and travelling for a month.  

 

The bottom line is that I fluctuated from anxiety to blues, weight loss to weight gain in the six months after I took my last benzodiazepene last November.  Now I'm 9 months off and finally making my way to better health and recovery.  I started feeling much better around 7 months but I still was not exercising consistently or eating heathy.   By the way, it's quite common to have a variety of symptoms and setbacks during healing after the last benzo dose.  I started a thread here called "Post Benzo Freedom Withdrawal Support Group" which is in this same "withdrawal support" section if anyone wishes to check it out.  

 

I have a lot more to say but have to run. I will just add that I believe Kendra made a good point that "thin" does not mean healthy and I think Dagaz made a good point as well that it should not be just about how you look but how you feel and not to rush an exercise and nutrition program.  Results will come, but sometimes gradually .

 

In the book Protein Power (and this is just one program like others that have pluses and minuses), they talk about the importance of building a lean toned body.  There's a section where they show one guy who got very thin as a marathon runner but he looked unhealthy, got colds all the time... then he had to stop running and there's a picture of him with a pot belly.  Running is very hard to sustain weight loss unless you do a lot of it and frequently.  Then he decided to reverse it and became obsessive with weights and you can see a picture of him really muscular but overdone.  The last picture of him is as in shape and toned (presumably eating their diet of limited carbs ) but not overdone.  Light weights are a great way to increase metabolism to lose some pounds while also toning and helping to strengthen bones and hopefully also avoid aging and osteoperosis.  It should also build endurance and energy.  The cardio can be very  important too but I am convinced is not as helpful to taking some weight off.  

 

As far as the carbs issue, I think it is also important to look at one's age.  When I was in my teens and early twenties, I could eat practically anything and drink beer and whiskey and not gain much weight.  However, once I hit 35, it was a very different story.  The metabolism is not as forgiving without some weight lifting and carb watching, at least for me.  I also believe that it is very important to consume at least 20 grams of protein at each meal and half of that if you must snack in between.  I'm not saying just protein at snack time but a minimum of 10 grams protein with some fat and some slow moving complex carb.  For example, a snack for me might be half an apple (with skin) with some nuts or peanut butter or perhaps a slice of turkey if  I am home and some green tea or maybe decaf iced tea if I'm out and about,  whereas it used to be a candy bar and a soda.  I personally have done the equation in the Protein Power book and feel better if I consume about 100 grams of protein per day (based on my current weight of 193) and I need about the same of carbs to feel "good" (sometimes less) and also eat some healthy fats like avacado, olive oil, some almonds and walnuts, flax...  Hopefully I will be able to lose another 10 pounds in the next six weeks or so.

 

It's a total misnomer about all these low fat diets and low or non fat foods marketed as "healthy"  that have extremely high carbs and/or sugar.  The carbs turn to sugar and then fat.  I personally can not lose weight on a low fat diet.  Ironically, eating some fat will not only help keep your cravings down but good fats are essential to your brain and other organs functioning well!.  Of course one can not eat all the fat they want although Atkins might argue otherwise .  

 

When I want to lose weight, I have to limit my carbs to about 60-75 grams a day.  Once I reach the weight I want to maintain, as long as I am doing some light weight training a few times a week, I am able to go back to 100 grams of carbs a day and not gain but that's if I weigh around 175-180.  I am about 5-11 height.  

 

If you are young and doing heavy weight training, I agree that it might be a good idea to have more carbs and/or protein to sustain you and reach your goals of body building or if you're lifting very heavy weights. I'm not an expert and not saying any one program has all the answers, just that Protein Power worked for me in the past, lost 25 pounds about 5 years ago and then gained about half back by not diligently exercising over the next couple years, then had my benzo ride and lost weight fast, then gained it back and then gained a bunch (about 10 pounds) from January to July and now trying to get healthy again (took off 9 pounds in August).  I am not proud of the yo yo effect but I now realize that I was not particularly healthy in my pre benzo state two years ago and am trying to do something to turn things around and not just to how I was before benzos but better than before benzos !

 

In the Protein Power book, they do advise checking with your doctor before beginning their program and making sure you are not on diuretics or other meds that could impact the significant weight and water/potassium loss one might achieve rapidly by lowering carbs for a period of time.  It's also helpful to get a blood test to have a baseline of your lipids, cholesterol, glucose and perhaps other blood panel measures.  

 

Chat soon,

 

Vertigo (no more)

[[Da...]]

HaHa V great post! I was just trying to give general Ideas and Concepts through my personal experience, but you obvisouly know yourself well and what your doing

You have been through alot, and you know the hardest thing about keeping up with exercise programs is that life often just gets in the way, but glad your sticking to self improvement. I have somthing I would like to share from another post I put nuala's forum a while ago, but it relates to the topic in some mistakes that I made and how slow I had to start back up. Just  aheads up to avoid confusion..this was a post to wanna of her responses so The references were to her. And its from a few different post so I tried to space them out a bit so it may seem to jump around. 

 

When I was 17 I abused xanax in my disco days per say for 6 months, I was very naive and didn’t have any knowledge on drugs, for the last 2months I was taking 6-12 mgs a day, then one day the dealers just didn’t have it anymore.

I had all the worst symptoms everyone describes on here. I passed out at least once a day for about 8months from CNS overload and hyperventilation, I thought I died every day but always woke back up. It was a true living purgatory, I say that even though Iam not christian its just the best word i can describe it with. after 8months is when I became not so bed ridden and was able to finish school even though I felt horrible most of the time. I was sensitive to everything as well, vitamins, foods, lights, sounds, I was very jumpy most anything could set me into a panic attack still. I had a lot of the same problems as you did like the heart palpitations especially for me, I was in and out of the emergency room all the time because I thought i was having a heart attack or something. So it took about a year after that 8 months for me to start to stabilize to where i could exercise w/o major problems with my old symptoms.    So 1 year and 8months after going ct from it did I start to have some sort of state of normalcy.

 

This is where it is tricky and I wish I could say could help more  But everyone brain, body, and physiological make up is so different I couldn’t begin to tell you any exact steps to make the after effects of your exercise diminish. It could still be a time thing where it will simply just take more time for your body to get use too. Im actually impressed that you can swim 30-45min straight in any style. I could run 10 miles straight right now if I had too, but I cant swim but for like 10 min straight. Its do to the fact im not accustomed to it and Iam mostly muscle and it doesn’t float so well I can tell you. There so many other factors that play into this, such as thought patterns, attitude, environment, emotions, habits, reinforcement history, Belief systems that predispose us to various outcomes(not talking about religion), genetics. It gets into to a lot of psychology especially when drugs or involved and that is not my area of expertise.

That’s why a lot people come here to this site really, because not even there doctors can really help them. I can give you Ideas though, positive thinking is a must and is the hardest thing to do when your feeling bad we all know. But you must keep that up, what everyone here just about has in common is that were recovering from some benzo and we can no longer do things we use to do in the same way. We now have to think about things more dynamically, more intelligently and carefully. This makes us better people in a lot of ways though.

 

Things to try...instead of 30-45 min in the pool straight try 10-20 then get out, walk around and see how you feel. Wait to see if you feel bad after that. Try to see how long you can hold your breath underwater? ( was hard for me to do when I started back up).  Try intense stretching and keep breathing slow.    Do 1-2 push ups, but don’t get up fast when your done, lie there for a 30 secs take your time getting up, you feel ok? Do 1-2 more get up a little faster this time.    Power walking to much? Walk regular maybe just a little further than usual.

 

This is how slow I had to start back up even as a young man at the age of 18, but I worked at it a lot and started to figure out how to work out my new body and mind. I say new because I was not the same person anymore. Everyone changes each and everyday, body and mind. My “theory” is that my mind and body got left behind when I started my benzo use, It forgot how to do the simplest task w/o being on the drug. So in essence I was having to relearn everything I did and how I did it and I was 1year and 8months behind myself, and it wasn't the same as before. I know that sounds semi pseudo psychological, and I do understand what happens chemically in the brain with our receptors in such. So lets call it looking at it in a different angle lol, maybe even lamen's terms if you will.

 

So just try to experiment and do it slow, and build on what you find, and progress!  You may run into the same problems time after time and it can be very discouraging. For me though there was no other option, Id rather tread water and go no where than to sit and stagnate. So just stay positive about it, and  be mindful. and just look around at all the forums and see the positive results people get just by working at there problems they wanna solve. If others are getting better than so will you and so will I.

My thoughts and heart will be with Nuala, keep at it! I will be.

 

This is not professional advice remember, just ideas from a buddie.

Just want to emphasize again, keep it light, frequent and through out the day and gradually build as you will naturally start to feel better and its about overall activity that's going to improve your performance overtime. After a while you will be able to start pushing it into smaller harder session in the gym, out of them gym, aerobically and anaerobically.

 

We our all different and have different needs and at different fitness levels, so just pay attention to what your body is telling you, and there is a lot of tweaking involved in getting back into shape and it takes time to learn these new things about ourselves so dont get discouraged you will learn a lot through your efforts. The way i use to do things Has changed a lot since im having to deal with Benz w/d, so you should expect the same. Also inform your doctors about your exercise for he knows your physiologicol info better than any info you can find on the web, but keep yourself well informed and make intelligent decisions about this. And remember the mind , body, and spirit are all linked so one can and will effect the other so all two. So all need to be kept healthy for overall well being and stability. My problems was is that I was trying to jump back into my old body and mind and exercise as I normally do, that was a mistake so I had to replan what I was doing.

 

So what I did was Increase physical activity through the whole day instead of trying to push it all into one session, think of it as a reverse taper from the benz you gotta start slow and build your physical Tolerance back up.Increasing your fitness doesnt have to be at the gym though, in the begining I just started doing extra chores around my apt and outdoor projects. Instead of 1 walk in the evening I could increase to 2 ez mode walks a day by adding one in the morning as well, It will all start adding up.

  ALll I got for now-Dagaz

[[ve...]]

Hey Dagaz.  I must have missed that other thread about exercise.   It's great to have somebody on the forum who has real world experience with benzos, exercise, nutrition and even professional experience.  Understood that you can not provide specific professional "advice" and that your input is for general use and "consumption"   pun intended .   Anyway, you're also humble in sharing your own struggles with both benzos and having to go easy on exercise at times.  We're all human anyway, so it's good to go at the pace that is comfortable and build slowly to our potential.  Thanks for the input.

 

Have a great day!

 

Vertigo (and sluggish ways no more )

[[Ke...]]

What do you mean by (pay for it)? Some people make the mistake of trying to over rest because they think they might be conserving energy, but on the contrary we actually have to burn energy we think we dont have and push oursleves to become more energetic. I made some post on Nuala's forum you might want to read about starting exersice back up slow and not pushing all into one session and increasing our overall daily activity so we dont feel the drag one big effort. It is labeled   "Delayed Anxiety and other Weird Things After Exercise" and should be on the next page over. 

 

I answered that in my post. 

 

When I do any kind of physical activity, my symptoms, soreness, weakness, fatigue, etc. are worse.  This is not like the "good" soreness you would typically feel a day or two after exercise, but rather serious discomfort and even pain (kind of like how you feel days after being in a car accident or if you slept on a concrete floor instead of your bed).  I'm typically a very active person. I cannot stand being idle like this. 

 

In a nutshell, I'm 42 but when I do any kind of activity now, for days afterwards, I may as well be 72.

[[Da...]]

Sorry,your right I did not catch that ..my only suggestion to try is what i talk about in my last post. Its just increasing your physical activity through an entire day instead of making 1 or 3 sessions of it, it takes thought and creativity on how you want to do this. It will take more time to build this way but might be best, if its serious pain and fatigue as you make it sound. It could be the sign of more serious ailments and talking to a doctor about them is best   hope you can just muscle your way through it but be smart and safe about it.

[[Ke...]]

Sorry,your right I did not catch that ..my only suggestion to try is what i talk about in my last post. Its just increasing your physical activity through an entire day instead of making 1 or 3 sessions of it, it takes thought and creativity on how you want to do this. It will take more time to build this way but might be best, if its serious pain and fatigue as you make it sound. It could be the sign of more serious ailments and talking to a doctor about them is best   hope you can just muscle your way through it but be smart and safe about it.

 

Thanks, bud. Are you under 30?  Part of what I'm experiencing is the "over 40" creaks.  LOL ...The benzo crap didn't help.

[[Da...]]

Yes iam I only 24, I have been around the business and the gym scene since I was 12, she gave massages there for over 15 years! So all my younger days were spent around professionals who did it for a living, outside the gym my passion was in a martial arts gym. I have only 1 years experience in my so called professional career, it was a waste of money for the study books for my exam because I knew all that stuff already lol. o well.

 

My oldest client was a 63 years old female, she was with me for about eight, 1hour sessions total. In that time all I did is develop a routine for her to do and show her around the gym. I'm not saying this qualifies me to help you are  anything, but I do have an understanding that things get harder when you get older Instructors never really get to choose there clients, we are chosen and recomended

 

Its really hard to give advice and info over the web, there are alot of visual Q's we get just from meeting someone and watching them exercise, we can see what there struggles are and change things up for them immediately as there exercising. I wish I could do more to help people here, but since I'm not there its best for me to stay vague in generalized in any answer I give.  

[[Da...]]

LOl i get ahead of myself alot , I meant to say my mom gave massages at the gym for 15 years! so me and my little bro were stuck up there with her a lot!

[[ve...]]

Oh to be 20 again.  Well, you seem wise for your age Dagaz.  Perhaps an old soul?  Anyway, no worries about your receding hairline.  I don't know if you are too young to remember the show "Kojak" with Telli Sevales.  I think he may have been one of the first to make a shaved head sexy.  Anyway, it's what's inside the cranium that counts, eh?  Sounds like you've had a lot of experience in the health field.  And you're gaining a lot of good info about benzos and addiction through personal experience.  This may be very good for your future career in that you have the experience and the empathy and compassion to build on.

 

Hey Kendra.  I hear ya about the creeks of the forties. If you're feeling pain and soreness right after exercise, it could mean you have gotten a little ahead of yourself, maybe rushed it a bit.  Nothing wrong with just starting out with some short walks and saving the weights or longer walks for a couple months from now.  Sometimes just folding laundry seems like a huge task and can be tiring.  No doubt it ebbs and flows. 

 

Best wishes,

 

V (no more)

[[Da...]]

Thanks V, Yes its whats inside the nogan is what really counts, I dont know who kojak is but will check it out after leaving this post lol! Ive been told I have an old soul yes. I think its do to the fact i was raised around many adults and not children my own age lol. Well some of the adults acted like children though. I plan to go back to work in the field when I get my license back! school is a downtime thing for me. Iam trying to figure out what I can study and get a degree in or perhaps another certification to put over those other 3month certified jerks lol. Some personal fitness trainers or no good, so be on the look out if you ever get one.

[[ve...]]

Hey  Dagaz.  Were you an only child?  Thanks for the advice about trainers.  In this economy, I think it is smart to get extra qualifications to help you stand out from the rest of the jokers.  Have you looked into any programs in nutrition or perhaps physical therapy?  Do you go to a junior college or regular college?  Well, its good to work those neurons during and after a benzo taper .

 

Best,

 

V

 

[[pa...]]

Hi dagaz!

Is there any advise you could give me about an excercise or physical activity to help a pinched nerve that's coming from the hip area and radiating down the leg? I believe I lifted a heavy object at work some time ago and may have pinched a nerve in the process. I notice that when I'm standing and especially when walking that the pain seems to go away. Unfortunately, sitting or lying down seems to cause it to flair up more!

Any advise would be appreciated!

Pangelingua

[[Da...]]

Well its very good you can walk, can you run?  Definitely to some nice slow hip stretches often and when you feel pain. There is a real easy one you can do while lying down on your back. Pull your knees up to your chest and hold it there for a bit then release, and repeat nice and slow. For pain relief try motrin or naproxen, and see about getting a massage there! You can also Ice and/heat the area for pain.  Take a stroll if walking doesnt bother you.  If it just wont go away you should think about seeing a physical therapist. Medically Ive heard of people getting steroidal injections and surgery, I think that is rare though....my opinion is to see  a physical therapist if problems persist. Im in to the whole natural  way about doing things though. It also possible it is cause by arthritis, so you may need to see a doctor?

 

But id say definitely try the stretching and pain relief techniques, I find stretching when I get out of a hot bath or shower is very relaxing! Gl and be easy on it 

[[pa...]]

Thanks dagaz for the advise!

I am able to run... usually in short bursts chasing the kids while playing tag. Longer distance running I haven't done for a while, but Im sure I could handle it well with a good warm up.

I will try your stretching excercises, I just need to be careful as I pulled a muscle in my abdomen the other day while I tried some bicycle type elevated leg excercises.

Also, I called the advise nurse earlier today and she told me that what I have sounds like a pinched nerve indeed. She advised me to take ibuprofin, aleve, or naproxen. I took 1 aleve earlier today and I have an ice pack that I've been using on the area that hurts. She advised me that if the pain didn't go away in about a week to come in and see the doctor.

Walking is something I enjoy completely and I will make sure I get plenty of those!

Thanks so much!

[[po...]]

Hi, I gained 20 lbs in January.  Four weeks.  At that time, my cortisol took a dive, thyroid too.  These self corrected, but the weight is still there.  Doesnt matter what I eat.  Could be nothing but rabbitt food, or a ton of twinkies.  No doc is willing to put the pieces together.  I dont know how.  I can tell you I have been a skinny minny for years. Excercise is great, but for me, not possible.  I can barely walk, due to burning pain, and throbbing pain in my legs.  Seems to start from the bone.  Excruciating.  I have gone from  a runner to a cripple.  Good luck you guys.

 

Star, there are some DVDs available that are chair workouts. Those may help you. Also, maybe warm water exercise would be helpful for you. I used to run but can't now due to Fibromyalgia and I've found that water exercise is very helpful.

[[ve...]]

Ten months off benzos today.   Still holding at 192 pounds.  I started my exercise and diet program one month ago and have taken off 9 pounds.  Am a little frustrated in that I've been at 192 for  a week now.  I think part of it is I have not been walking and sweating as much after my exercise bike broke 8 or 9 days ago.  The part arrived yesterday and it should be fixed in a few days though.  I've gotten in a few walks and a couple bike rides with the family but low intensity.  Have lifted weights every other day too but still stuck at 192.  Two things set me back in the last week, a birthday dinner of a friend at a Chinese restaurant.   Lots of sodium although I tried to limit the rice.  I think I was 194 the next morning, good grief!  That was about five days ago. Also had a big dinner at a friend's house a few days ago and ate a little too much and cheated with a couple bites of apple pie.  I'm hoping I'll wake up in a few days with one of those whoosh drops like you read about in some of the diet books where you are exercising and eating healthy and drop 2 pounds overnight after holding steady for a while.  I might have to watch my portions a little more.  I've been eating more protein and maybe a few too many nuts and seeds between meals for a snack.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm happy to have lost 9 pounds in a month, just that it was 9 pounds at 3 weeks and seems like a halt in progress the last week.  Any thoughts?

 

Pange, hope your hip and nerve pain subsides. Go easy.  Don't forget your calcium supplements.  I recently read that the prilosec I take for acid reflux can cause calcium deficiency or block the absorption of it, uggh.  So I increased my calcium.  I hope to taper off the prilosec maybe in a month or so.

 

I agree Powerfit.  One can try to do chair exercises with light weights.  I've been telling my mother in law this for a while. Even one pound weights would be a start.

 

keep on moving!

 

V

[[BY...]]

pangelingua,

 

I was in Akido for 6+ years and before that I did competition bodybuilding. Anyway, I was working out and doing squats and shoved my leg into my pelvis. Found out from the Doc that one of my legs were shorter than the other and he told me I would have to give up on squats, because after happening once, I would be more prone to it happening again. That really hit my lower back muscles and also started to have lower back problems.

I joined Akido and after about three months, my flexibility came back. Also there are alot excercises for balance. All these excercises I still do.

When things were tough, I think it really helped me with balance issues.

 

When doing the stretching, do not try to go that extreme. Just try to go 1/3 to 1/2 of what is shown.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qczI0eEEgxM&feature=channel  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiQgVOuHeRc&feature=related

 

Hope this helps,

Mikey

 

[[Da...]]

Dont get too discouraged V, the more you get down to your targeted weight the harder it is going to get and the more you will have to push. If you eat too much you can always exercise a little more.

[[ve...]]

Thanks Dagaz.   Problem is that my targeted weight is about 15 pounds from here .  Anyway, I'm down to 191.  I've lost ten pounds.   I'm shooting for 175 before Thanksgiving .  Ten pounds down, fifteen to go.  It's gotta help the mood to eat healthier and take off some excess pounds.

 

Cheers,

 

V

[[ve...]]

Down to 190.  Yet, still not feeling any bursts of energy. True that I wake up not in a fog or daze and don't need caffeine to be alert.  That being said, I work out either before breakfast or before/during lunch time or around noon and I get hit with sleepiness in the afternoon (around 2PM) to where I feel like I need a nap every other day.   Some of it could have been more understandable last week when I was spontaneously waking just about every morning at 5AM and alert.  But the last few days, I've been sleeping til 6AM and getting five or six hours sleep.   I don't know if it could still be blood sugar issues or is it "normal" to be so sleepy after working out and eating lunch?

 

 I know in Europe they have like a two hour siesta in some countries.  I lifted weights today and pretty intensely, moved up in weight on triceps and biceps (nothing big, just 5 pound increase).  I'm feeling better in general than before I started with the exercise and dieting a month ago, just this darn sleepiness after lunch or around 2-3PM. I used to have this pre benzo though so I'm not saying its benzos, could still be blood sugar issue, allergies or something else.  I'm still 15 pounds overweight despite having lost 10 pounds.  Any input appreciated.

 

Vertigo (no more)

[[...]]

V, I think this sleepiness is the body's natural rhythm. Yes, in Europe they do nap for two hrs. after lunch-I think they have the right idea  I bet if you would poll most people they feel tired around 2 or 3 p.m. Maybe eat a little protein and small amt. of carbs? It's great that you're exercising and losing weight.

 

Jean

[[ve...]]

Thanks Jean.  Things are moving along nicely, down to 188.  Still have another 13 pounds to go but I'm about half way there now after six weeks.  I think that just doing something that requires discipline is helpful.  The impulse to go eat a sweet is strong at times but making a healthier choice is rewarding in the longterm.  I guess I never realized that below my now former benzo addiction was somewhat of a food addiction of sorts.  Sugar and carbs can temporarily make one feel better but it's not a long term solution to stabilizing one's blood sugar or one's mood.

 

Cheers,

 

Vertigo (no more)