Helllloooo Peeps!!! I have been soooo busy!!!! I hope everyone had a good holiday and will be back around now that things should settle down a bit. When my DH is home I don't get a lot of computer time...I have other things on my mind I guess...

Aunty...I am so very sorry about your Grandma....I know how hard it is and you have all my love...

Holly!!! Chick!!! So glad that you are still working out and that your depression isn't burying you this year...progress!!!!

Hope! I am still here, I have just been running my a** off!! Between yoga classes, Body Pump class, the rest of the week still at the gym alternating between Stairmaster (I did 60 MINUTES on Monday!!! I couldn't even do 5 when I started!!!) the elliptical and the treadmill. I am steadily working on increasing my speed on the treadmill on the days I don't have Body Pump...those days I only do 45 mins on about 3.6 or 3.7...still not shabby.

Mom! Sorry about your cousin... I hope your meds are working now...

I feel extremely psyched about this year! I think maybe the vitamin d is already doing it's thing...did I tell you guys the doc found that my levels were low? I am already starting to see less hair falling out! I have STOPPED GAINING! I never thought that would be a cause for celebration but it is! I am starting to see a possible down trend finally...I am holding my breath. So, basically, busting my a** at the gym 5 days a week and then trying to use my home elliptical or treadmill on one of the weekend days. I need to add in some more ab work though...I made a 2 minute plank but I want 3 minutes and I want to not start shaking immediately when I go into boat pose in yoga class. And...I just think that everything else is firming up nicely but I am not getting a lot of ab work. Eating is doing a lot better since I started the vitamin d as well...not sure if it is related or not. Basically everything is feeling better these days...my days are so buys but I am not feeling strained yet. Classes, gym, yoga, DD is learning to drive so she has been driving us to the gym...doing well...a few minor things to work on...just crazy busy!!!

Woo hoo Everybody!! 2012!!! Let's all make it great!!!

I guess I'll jump in here...HI!

Hi crazygurl61, welcome!

thanks Ravengirl for doing the January chat start you sound positively burning with energy and optimism, you are fantastic! that's great that the vitamin d defic. was identified and now addressed. woohoo to you!

Yes I am so very thankful that I've not been mired down yet. Right now I'm full of goop from a sinus infection but went to the doctor yesterday and got the 5 day z pack so hopefully I'll be better real soon.

Being sick made me not eat for a day and a half, so I'm trying not to 'make up for lost time' if you know what I mean Ignoring the cocoa and cookies DH just had, thinking instead of smaller jeans!

Hello to everyone else...we haven't heard from Marie in a long time!

I've had less appetite and have been having headaches....it's day 4 on Wellbutrin while weaning off Lexaoro. Emotions are all over the place. I have been doing a lot of shoe shopping....

Ok, I'm going to join in. I have to get out of this depression and get back to living. My health and eating is a major part of that. Over the past year or so, I've had to take 2 rounds of prescript vit. D. I know it is low again because I have the pain and absolutely no energy. I'm taking extra vit d but not sure if I'm getting enough.
I'm not on any anti depressant meds, that is not a route I'm ready to take right yet.
So where do I start? I've been eating an overload of sugars, I know that needs to be cut out.
I have Hashimotos' (thyroid disease), fibromyalgia, back pain (go to chiro every other week or else I wouldn't be able to function without pain). My classes start back next week. Lots going on here in my life and I feel myself shutting down.
Can't do that. Any suggestion?
Haven't been on here in a year, maybe? Need to redo my ticker as my weight is more than that now.

crazygurl, I went from Lexapro to WellbutrinXl, it was absolutely the best thing for me, I hope it is for you too.

welcome back Patty H, I agree that if you can cut out the sugars that is a great start, and regular exercise does help with depression symptoms also.

Hi to everyone else, I'm slowly getting better from the sinus infection. My eating is all over the place too, one hour I'm on track like an arrow and the next minute I'm thinking of what cookie to have But I still haven't had my usual horrible winter bad thoughts and that is fantastic for me . to everyone.

im here...completely bummed...thyroid meds cause me to have constant crying break downs...now I am up 10lbs...its like all the hard work right out the door. I couldn't work out for 2 weeks around christmas because 3 kids sick a few days apart. One sick with strep for a week. so no child care and cant get there at night (i know excuses excuses) After my workout on Monday I wanted to just bawl because of my weight I am sooo flipping sick of being fat and having no clothes that fit or having to tuck my fat in or feeling insecure. I AM JUST SICK OF IT....Yeah I took the stupid thyroid meds today to see if it was really what was causing the emotional mess (didnt take for 2 weeks) I have almost went into tears several times today including now....sigh

Hope this gets better because I want to enjoy life

PS Does your Vit D come up on a blood work test? How would I know if that is low???

Hey mom, that is sucky that the thyroidal meds are making you unhappy!! especially after you had so hoped that they would help. hang in there!!!

Hey guys... I only have a few minutes...

Mom - You can ask your doctor to test you. Mine was low as well and now I take pills, my doctor said it might help depression. I'm not sure if its that or the winter we've been having but I've been pretty good lately Hope you're feeling better soon

Raven - Thanks, we're mostly ok. Every once in a while it kicks ya in the butt.

Hi Vermont - Glad to hear you've been doing well

Hi to Patty and Crazy We're all in the same boat here!

As mentioned we've been having a great winter, it's more like spring! I actually have a plant in my front flower beds that was growing! Snow is melting and we've been having rain on and off. Mostly though it's been beautifully warm and sunny, I wish every winter was like this! Today is cold though and on Monday it's supposed to be really freaking cold so I guess our nice spell may be over. Have to make sure I take the boys out to the off leash area Saturday as it might be the last nice one for a while.

Hi all! THanks for the welcome.
Classes have started for me this week. I'm in my last semester in Medical Office Administration!! I have 4 classes, one of them Anatomy and Physiology. A bit concerned about that one.
This week I have absolutely eaten so much sugar. And I can tell. I feel so sluggish, tired, horrible. I've got to get a hold on this!
Also having tummy problems from eatng so much of it.
I'm going to focus on counting calories, cutting out the majority of my sugars, etc.

mom-I would definitly talk to the dr about your thyroid meds. It is not good to start and stop. You need to keep taking them. If they are having that affect on you then the dosage needs to be change. I started out at a low dose, I'm now up to 150 mcgs. I think a CBC (complete blood count) would show Vt D levels. Another question for your dr.

Hi everybody,

Mom, how are you feeling? That sucks about your thyroid meds. Mine only helped me when I started them. I just had my bloodwork done this past week so I'm waiting for the results to see if they need to be tweeked at all.
I also talked to the dr about my depression meds not helping enough. She upped my celexa 10 mg so we'll see if that has any effect.

I'm struggling with my mood. If I have any time on my hands I can go down hill quickly, like today... I so look forward to a day off and then by the end of the day I'm realizing I have nothing to look forward to. All of the joy is gone in life. I hope the increased meds help this. What i'm sure would help is vigorous exercise but I'm having trouble making myself get started.

Vermont, I'm so glad your mood has hit the usual winter low. How are you doing with the eating? You said it was up and down. Mine isn't great but DF and I made a resolution to not eat out for 30 days so i'm cooking at home. That alone has helped somewhat. I'm not cooking the lightest of meals but i think it is still less calories that what we would be eating at a restaurant. I've also noticed that some of my cravings have lessened a little.

Welcome to the newbies! Hope to get to know you better as I am trying to get back into the habit of posting.

hopeforme, I'm so sorry you're feeling that and I should have responded the same day I read it...i hope you're doing at least a little better now?? that 'just existing' feeling is a low, low feeling.

momof4 I hope you're doing okay...as I wish that for all of you!!

I have been worried because I ran out of my meds 8 days ago...thank goodness I do not feel any adverse bad feelings..my meds arrived today.

We are flying to AZ this Friday...dh has business for 2 days..then we pick up 2 Harleys and will go riding in the desert for 3 days!!!! I had wanted to be slimmer and trimmer for this trip but it didn't happen so I'm just going to try and not feel fat and unattractive and just go and be in warm weather on a motorcycle.

Hi Everyone

Vermont - I wouldn't worry about it at all, just enjoy the ride and say "To **** with them!" and enjoy yourself, you deserve it! I'm glad you got your meds, I wouldn't want to think of what I'd be like after 8 days.

Hope - You have talking to us to look forward to! Good job eating at home! We've been doing the opposite... oops We've had several meals out lately but I'm going to work on breaking that habbit. I've been having the healthier of eating out meals but I'm aware they still aren't great.

I just have to say this.... I DID IT! I DID IT! I DID IT, TWICE! LOL I have actually managed to get up earlier in the morning (5:20am) and go for a jog, once last week and once this week. I'm still convincing myself to get up at that time and work out every day but I feel I've made a huge step towards this. I've just convinced myself that I'm really driven to run and that I really want to get up and do it. I actually wake up around the time my alarm goes off and I'm awake... not like I usually am, it's so bizarre! I've never been like this! I must confess... I use hypnosis for weight loss and it works great for me (I guess I'm open to suggestions LoL). In one of my recordings the guy pauses and says that you can give yourself the suggestion you wish he had given you and you'll follow it as well as you would if he had given it to you. So I suggested the drive and the will to actually wake up in the morning and run and it worked! Maybe I should suggest that I'm a happy person next time! I feel pretty good now, I know I'll be tired later but for now I'm riding a "high". I even use my new happy light when I run and it works like a charm, the 1/2 hour is enough to improve my mood but not give me any of the side effects

Aunty Jam, that is great!!! good for you!! that is so kewl that you were able to give yourself that suggestion and it obviously worked!

Hi. I'm new to the chat, but thought I'd join in since I feel like I live in this forum lately. :-) Sorry in advance for the length of my introduction.

Things have been rough for me lately. My moods are all over the place. I hate the random crying spells the most. I just want to get past that to get the energy to make the changes that I need to.

However, I'm working really hard now to try to figure it all out. I started with a trainer/nutritionist in November. Haven't seen many results yet but it's been a good process for me. Therapy started in December. I always avoided it in the past, but I'm finally ready for the help. And then a new psychiatrist in January. I felt like I'd hit a wall with the one I'd seen for 5 years. She just wouldn't reassess my medication and I saw her so rarely that it was hard to get increases in dose. But so far I'm really liking my new doctor. She's totally open to trying anything to figure this out. And she'll see me every two weeks right now. Although a bit expensive I want to do it for the moment so that we can work on my progress together.

So you can't say that I'm not trying. :-) On top of the depression/bipolar, I have high blood pressure, diabetes and hashimotos. Yuch. So I've managed to stay 2 1/2 weeks on a low carb diet! Yay. And I've exercised 3 times a week for the past 2 weeks. Yay. My Mom has been a huge support work out buddy for me in that area. But through it all I'm still fighting the damn mood problems. The depression. It sucks all my motivation. So the new doctor has switched up my cocktail. I'm currently on Lamictal and Wellbutrin. She's added nortryptiline and adderall. Sporadic atavan when I need it for the irritation/anger spells. I'm nervous because that's A LOT. I'm up to 9 medications/14 pills per day. We're not tapering off the Wellbutrin yet because we're making so many other changes. I am worried that the nortryptiline will cause weight gain. But I'm on so many things that are supposed to stop weight gain (metformin, wellbutrin, cytomel, adderall) that I'm hoping it will balance out that side effect. As a side note, my pdoc says that I'm a tough nut to crack. I've tried a lot of things and nothing has fully helped me mentally. But she's determined to figure it out.

Anway, sorry for the length of this, long story made longer. This is where I'm at. I may not be moving very fast, but no one can say I'm not trying. I've now got an entourage of helpers (trainer, nutritionist, PCP, Endo, PDoc, Therapist) it's crazy. I'm throwing all of my money at getting healthy. Because I just can't live anymore the way that I have been for my whole life. I just can't. It HAS to work this time.

<sigh> alright, enough of my rant. :-) Thanks for having this place to chat. I can see me joining in on this easily.