I'm so huge and fat, I'll be dead in five years

[AppleJuiceAvid]

In my early 30s, 5ft4 and last time I got on the scales, I weighed 26 and a half stone. Currently on the antipsychotic Aripiprazole (15mg daily) and Fluoxetine (20mg daily). Before that, I was on Olanzapine and Paroxetine. Before that I was on Sertraline. Before that I was on Mirtazapine. Before that I was on Citalopram. Got a parent who has hypothyroidism. At the beginning of the year, I had blood tests after a stomach bug and got told I am deficient in Vitamin D and B12. I was prescribed some Vitamin D to take twice a week, but I have not been taking it consistently. My face is puffy and I get hairs on my chin and a few on my chest. Periods are irregular and when I do get them, they get quite heavy. I'm tired all the time and the house is a mess, but I just have no energy to do anything. I barely manage to get up for work. Got left pelvic pain and left hip hurts when walking. Ankles seem swollen and feel sore when I lie down in bed at night. Get out of breath going up the stairs and too fat to reach my toenails to cut them. I want to lose weight, but just feel hopeless.

What do you eat in a day? I'm not being unkind here. Sorry you are struggling like this. Maybe the weight gain is a by product of your MH?

Op first you need to start taking the vit D. That's (bit of) your depression and major energy issue. You are missing one of the most important vitamins to a point it's basically a hormone.
It's not cure all, but it certainly bloody helps. Deficiency has big links to worse MH and no energy. Ypu have the medicine, start with that. I cannot think clearly when deficient.

My mom weighs more and has high blood pressure and her doctors refused her, she appealed and it went higher in the NHS and they confirmed she didn’t qualify.

Not true, the pp that said you need also need
to be being treated for several other specific conditions is correct. Our GP has it on their website. They are very strict so I imagine it is government guidance.

I think my mum pays £200 a month so they’re not hugely pricey but enough to be too expensive for some. I thought the NHS covered them for people with a BMI above 40 or above 30 if you had certain weight related health conditions.

Please ask for help from you GP. Keep asking. Don't suffer like that. Just keep asking.

Please get weight loss drugs OP. If you can’t afford them then get out a 0% credit card. Yes debit isn’t ideal, but it’s nothing compared to your LIFE.

Taking weight loss drugs and take the vitamin D pills plus any other meds regularly. This is step 1.

Then you need to sort your diet. As you’re clearly depressed, keep it super simple- no long recipes to follow.

I ask this kindly- are you getting any therapy or counselling for your mood? Might be worth getting this to discuss how you’re feeling.

In 2020 I was 26.5 stone at 5ft 4 and mid 30’s. MY BMI was 65 or close to.

I was depressed and also had PCOS. Lots of life problems and an unhappy marriage. Split from husband and got a gastric bypass, lost 13.5 stone and the PCOS resolved itself as well as a lot of the depression as I could “do” more.

It’s not a fix all but you should qualify on the NHS - taking the first step is the hardest thing.

You can turn this around. 8 years ago after having DS2 I was 23 stone. I’m 5ft 8 and did not realise how big I had got until I saw myself on a YouTube video at a gig for my favourite band and I cried all night. I lost 7.5 stone through dirt and exercise, it took over 2 years and the next 2 stone I lost using WLI as I had just plateaued for about 4 years. I’m still technically overweight but I’m happy where I am and my god the difference in my life is incredible. The journey is not linear, some weeks I lost, others maintained, some I gained.

Start with small changes. At your weight you will still be able to eat a decent amount and be in a deficit. I would also approach your gp regarding weight loss options for you.

it is so worth it, I love walking my dog, going to theme parks and riding rollercoasters, swimming with the kids, not panicking the seatbelt won’t fit me on the plane. Take how you feel now and use it as motivation. I had to hate myself to make the change which I know is an unpopular opinion but it’s what clicked for me as I’d been in denial.

I’d been fat my whole life, you can turn this around.

It would be enough for a referral to the hospital weight loss team in our area. In our area the hospital weight loss team don’t even prescribe it, but they can offer bariatric surgery.

@AppleJuiceAvid low vitamin D and low vitamin B12 cause tiredness, bone pain, loss of energy, depression etc, so it really is important to take them. Once your levels are in normal range you may feel more able to tackle the weight issues.

Oh sorry OP this sounds incredibly sad and stressful for you.
Do you know what is causing the weigbt gain? I find it hard to lose weight and stay motivated when I have put it on. So I cant imagine how hard it is for you.
When i try and lose weight I find diets really hard. The best thing for me is to not have to think about food so eat the same thing every day and make it filling.
At the moment I am eating every morning a tub of gteek yoghurt with frozen fruit and two scoops of why powder and two scoops of physillius husk. Its so filling. You dont want to eatafter that.
Lunch is chicken breast and a huge plate of salad.
Dinner is a normal dinner.
Rather than plan a diet and buy i gredirnts etc you need to make it as easy as possible and as filling as possible. Loads of protein. And fiber which you can order as powders these in amazon.
I do know someone larger that had a gastric band fjtted and it realy worked for them so potentially somryhing to look into.
But really just taking the thought out of food for me works the best. So eating the same thing every day. Stocking up the fridge with just that stuff. So when you open ig ithere isnt any thohghts of what else there is to eat.

So sorry to hear how you’re feeling. A lot of people here are recommending WLI and I agree. I’m taking mounjaro. You can go online and get it prescribed. It is expensive but what else is more important right now than your health and happiness? I get mine from a site called IQ doctor. They do an online assessment then you can order it. It has been a miracle drug for me. I have lost a third of my body weight in one year. My joints have stopped being as painful. I hesitated for ages as it seemed a big step and a lot of money but I’m so glad now as I couldn’t have lost the weight without the drugs. If you could get Mounjaro it would help you so much. Sending you lots of strength and best wishes.

your quality of life is so bad you have nothing to lose by trying the weight loss injections, even if it means going in to debt for. You will save some money as you food intake will reduce.

You sound so down but writing on here is a good first step as you will receive some good advice hopefully. Walking is a great idea, just a little walk after each meal and increase the time as you go.

My friend used mounjaro and lost a significant amount of weight. He wasn't as hungry so really focused on eating healthily while taking it. He is no longer on the drugs but has managed to keep up the healthy diet and weigh loss allowed him to get into exercise which he has kept up.

I think with the OPs BMI, the chances of co- morbidities is very high.

she must be high risk for diabetes, heart problems, high blood pressure- you name it!

So sorry OP but there is hope. Do you drink? I quit 2 & a half years ago & it has made such a difference to my quality of life, including my weight. I’m 5ft 2” & was 16 stone at my heaviest, walking with a stick & getting out of breath really easily. Since I stopped drinking, I have lost nearly 5 stone & feel like a different person.

In my personal experience, anti-depressants such as you have described make me worse, not better. My first step in your shoes would be to ask your GP if it's possible to come off them, you'll need a plan to do so safely and minimising side effects.

I suspect they are, at best, not helping your weight - you haven't said whether you think your weight gain has been primarily caused by your meds or whether you have an overeating disorder - but it sounds as though they have been taking a scattergun approach, trying this and that and seeing if it works - you need a proper assessment to see if they are doing any good at all.

PPs have suggested WLIs - these will only help if you are overeating, if it's your meds you need to resolve that issue as a priority.

I think it’s more about having a high bar for NHS prescriptions.

The NHS would be bankrupted if everyone who was overweight qualified!

a bit like plastic surgery- you’ll only get it on NHS in most serious cases.

You have a very long road in front of you but you can walk down that road,
As other posters have said, can you speak to your GP and ask for some help because the length of that road would be easier to manage if you had some help.

Weight Watchers or Slimming World aren't always the answer but it would mean you have some company and that would be a start.

Where do you get your 5 year figure from-it seems very precise. Has a medical person told you this or have you sentenced yourself? If it is the latter, then you have no idea how long you have left. It might be double or even many times that. Not every fat person falls off the perch when they're young.

Decide to ring your doctor next week but this weekend, research some slimming groups and resolve to go to one. I'd be very surprised if you were the fattest person they had ever seen.

Have a look on YouTube for some gentle exercises that can be done in a chair-the type that they do in old people's homes. It's all movement. You can do that today.

Even losing a few pounds will be good and, as the old woman said when she peed in the sea, "Every Little Helps".

Sending you good luck.

I was 19 stone at my heaviest, type 2 diabetic and addicted to junk food. All that changed when I needed an ambulance once and two strong hefty paramedics could barely move me. I nearly died of shame. So I came home and after an unproductive chat to my GP, did some research on diabetic diets. I went onto a low sugar/low carb diet and my god the first month was really tough. No bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, no starchy veg. Just protein, and mostly veg. The weight started coming off and 18months later I'm down to 14 stone having lost 5. I'm still going, at 55 it's slow as my hormones really aren't helping but that's OK. I walk 14k steps most days and have invested into a studio bike to use at home as I'd never be seen dead in a gym.

You need to break the cycle, when you're eating crap food you feel crap. Your body craves the sugar/fat/high density carbs and convinces you that you need more of them. Once you break that cycle (and it's not easy to) life gets a lot easier. I'm wary of WLI's, you're just effectively starving yourself and an awful lot of people don't make the lifestyle changes you need to.

Vitamins b and d shortages can cause mental health issues so do please try and take them if nothing else. If your mental health improves the medicine could be reevaluated as j know many cause weight gain.

can you ask your gp and other organisations for more help and support? Please do.

Also, you're not "huge and fat." You are fat but you are only 5. 4 probably with a small to medium frame and that is not huge.

Don't layer negative descriptions onto yourself. If you were a huge frame there would be nothing you could do about it but you don't have that and the fat is something that can be tackled, not easily, but it can be done.

This is a stupid suggestion. They are antipsychotics as well as antidepressants. And even coming off antidepressants can cause suicide.

B12 deficiency is even more harmful imo. It can cause terrible neurological symptoms and I have permanent nerve damage in my leg from long term deficiency.

@AppleJuiceAvid you must take the supplements, it will make a big difference. Do you have follow up blood test scheduled to ensure your levels are increasing? You may need B12 injections if not.

PCOS and diabetic here - SW on Mounjaro was 19 stone, I'm now 16 stone and having dropped a dress size already feeling better. Weightloss was initally quick and lost the two stone in 6 months, then the last stone dragged. Eat lots of protein and veg, have complex carbs so they take longer to digest, and cut out alcohol (if you have it?) and other refined carbs.