[KCbytheC]

Hi all,

My first time posting on this thread. I was diagnosed with depression anxiety disorder with PTSD and Dissassociative Disorder. This all happened after thyroid partial removal for a suspicious lump.

Turned out it was not malignant, which was great. But the flip side was the part they took was hot and overactive and the part they left has Hashimotos. I was extremely anxious from the time I left the hospital though I returned to work I quickly burned out as any extra anxiety I just couldn't handle. The management changed, workloads went absolutely crazy, lost my old boss who was with the program, and the next thing I knew I burned out. I still tried to go back after a few months but no luck.

I still have had many challenges, but not everything is bad. The worst is the pills I'm on, I workout mostly 2 hours every day (take one day off) eat a healthy diet, and to lose a pound is a major effort and it easily comes back if I'm the least bit "off" the program. But I keep trying.

Anyway that's my story, now I think I'll go backwards and read all of your stories. I have a special place in my heart for anyone going through this, and it's always so good to have likeminded people to chat with.

Today is not one of my better days....yet another new med for blood pressure which went wild when they put me on Effexor. It never did go away, and now I'm on two new BP meds to combat that, one of them is Atenolol. Boy does it make you tired.

Certainly I'm at a loss as to what to do. I was going to WW but I got sick of spending the money every week to see the scales go up and up.... so here I am.....

KC

[kaplods]

You can't beat the support here, and I'm not trying to push anything, but if you feel that weekly weigh-ins and in-person support are beneficial, I would suggest TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly). It's a non-profit organization, and the cost is a small fraction of Weight Watcher's (my husband and I joined the chapter we belong to in late August, and we calculated that we will spend less in a year, than on one month of Weight Watcher's).

For me, I've learned that without weekly weigh-ins, and group support, I tend to slack off, so I really like TOPS. There's a $24 yearly national dues that include a monthly magazine ($36 for two family members in the same household, like a mother/daughter or husband/wife). And monthly dues set by each chapter (ours charges $3 per month, most charge less than $5). Each chapter votes on it's operating guidelines so each may be run a bit differently. If you don't like one group, you might find that another chapter is more to your liking, and you can visit any chapter free before deciding whether to join. In our group, we charge a dime per pound for gains (you drop the money anonymously in a little basket) and the biggest loser for the week takes the money home. All groups do a roll call, and some ask you to say whether you lost, gained, or maintained (you don't have to say specifically how much, and I would bet no one remembers who gained unless it was themselves). When you lose ten pounds our group gives you a choice of free monthly dues or a charm (my husband takes the free dues, and I take the charm for a bracelet). You can also earn free dues by losing 3 consecutive weeks in a month.

I've been a member of several groups in the past, and they all run a bit differently, but usually the small contests are pretty common. You can follow any diet plan you wish (the club offers an optional diet manual that uses an exchange based plan. You can buy it, or usually borrow it from someone in the club first to see if it's something you want).