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.

This advice is verging on the ridiculous. OP clearly has significant physical and mental health issues. Why do you think moving to Africa or SE Asia would be a good idea?

Different areas have different guidelines

I am currenrly on wegovy and was prescribed on NHS for having weight of 17 stone and having high blood pressure being treated with 2 lots of medication, and started aboit a year ago. My weight has dramatically changed now, but i am entitled to 2 years on the jabs as part of a programme without any need to see GP again ( and to be fair, how much i engage with the programme is up to me, pretty much. I get access to dietician and medical staff with videos, therapy etc)

🙄

I hear you, OP. Been there. Only you can make the changes. It took a long, long time for me to be ready. Try not to be hard on yourself. For me, mounjaro is doing the trick - I fund it myself, largely through the reduction in my food budget when not ordering take away and reducing my alcohol intake significantly. I also only ever order one course now if going out. But most importantly it was being ready that was made the difference this time. It has improved my life a million times over - gone from 32/34 to 22. Still a way to go but the difference is less to do with the actual weight and more to do with what's going on in my head now.

For context, I was morbidly obese for 17 years. Don't give up on yourself. I think you're probably ready because you wrote this post. Xxxx

WLI would help. Not sure if you have the funds, I get that could be hard to do.

The anti-psychotic drugs can cause weight gain, which is difficult as you obviously need them/needed them and they absolutely save lives.
have you been investigated for PCOS ?
have you asked your GP if you’re a candidate for NHS weight loss injections? Or NHS dietician support ? Or could you consider them privately ?

Don’t give up work. You need something to focus on.
I really feel for you OP. Anyone who has ever struggled to lose weight knows how dispiriting it can be. It sounds like you are in a really hard place.
As everyone else has said, please see your GP. They can, and should, help.
Sending love.

Bloody hell 🙄

Holy fuck! 😆
Yes, OP, go hang out with all those skinny people & give yourself a good shake

God love you. People who aren’t dealing with this level of obesity and where you basically don’t have the physiological makeup of non obese people will never get it. I’m older in my 50s and was a wee bit lighter than you but i got to the stage I was effectively debilitated by my weight. It’s just awful. I went on Mounjaro and ok I’m still not a healthy weight but I’ve lost 4 stone and it’s changed my life. You don’t need to
lose loads to reduce the inflammation in your body and for to to be easier to move around more. I was getting ready to consider surgery but as I also have B12 deficiency I was glad not to have to. I hope you can access some help x

I had BMI of 51 and still had to fund privately. I had high cholesterol and high blood pressure too (both now resolved).

97 percent pf people regain on slimming world. People do it for years, and end up fatter. At least with the injections you can stay on and maintain your weight, consistently, on a low dose.

Have you had a HbA1C blood test recently, if not ask for one, this will tell you if you are diabetic or pre-diabetic. Also ask for thyroid tests.

The medication you are on is going to make it difficult to lose weight through diet and exercise alone so speak to your GP about support. I was diagnosed with T2 diabetes in 2024, tried insulin and metformin but it couldn’t reduce my sugar levels enough so I was put on Mounjaro and it was amazing. My blood sugars were in the normal range within 6 weeks, my HbA1c reduced to non-diabetic levels, my blood pressure and cholesterol reduced to normal and I have now lost 10 stone and am a healthy BMI for the first time since primary school.

I think qwerty's post was deliberately barbed

DO NOT stop your psychiatric medications. That is very dangerous. I repeat, move heaven and earth to get onto Mounjaro. As someone else has noted, you will save money on food. But if you have to cut down on other things, do it.

Op I really feel for you 💐

This all sounds beyond difficult and I don’t think there is any shame at all in going and banging on the door for help from your doctor. Insist that you are motivated to lose weight but you are finding it too difficult alone and ask to see a nutritionist, a therapist, an obesity specialist maybe? Don’t accept no for an answer. You are young and deserve happier and healthier years ahead of you.

Remember that we all need help sometimes and also that no one hates themselves in to losing the pounds! You need to have a good mindset to make this work and feel that you deserve it! And you do!

In the meantime, while waiting for the doctor’s appointment you can do a few simple things like getting up early in the morning and walking for five minutes before it gets too hot, drink four to six glasses of water a day, and add one more vegetable to every meal! Start slowly but do one little thing to care for yourself every day. Good luck 💪

I would speak to your GP about weight loss injections - you might not be eligible for it on the NHS but worth asking plus you would need to have a conversation about starting those while on anti depressants (I’m not sure of the effects but there is a link because it asks if you take them when completing the eligibility). I think a lot of what you are suffering with now will be improved dramatically if you lost some weight including the depression. I hope you come back and know you’re not alone 💐

OP I am fat, unfit, unhealthy and depressed. I totally sympathise with how you are feeling, your despair and just how hard and impossible it all feels.

But nothing can change unless you take action.

See your GP
Have blood tests
Take supplements
Consider fat jabs or change your diet

Only you can get a grip on this by taking action, and it’s bloody hard work, but if you can make up your mind to start then you can turn this around.

Sounds like you have PCOS.

You would qualify for weight loss injection on the NHS with your BMI, they will help with the insulin resistance that goes with PCOS. You really need to be checked for full blown diabetes too as this is really common in women with PCOS especially when overweight. Weight loss will massively improve the other symptoms like acne (if you have it) and irregular periods.

What's going on with your thyroid now? Hypothyroidism can pile on the pounds.

Have you tried the weight loss jabs to give you a kick start? Or hello fresh?

I’m sorry you’re going through this OP. SSRIs and anti-psychotics play hell with your metabolism and I think PCOS also contributes. I was on olanzipine and citalopram for a while in my 20s and gained a lot of weight, lost it and then put it all back on with pregnancy and I’m now obese but working on it. I don’t think this is insurmountable OP. Personally I think you’d be a great candidate for GLP-1 injections - is there anyone supportive who could go with you to see your GP? Could be worth asking for a double appointment as you’ve got a lot going on there. Best wishes to you - let us know how you get on.

@AppleJuiceAvid please don't accept this fate. You are a young woman with your life ahead of you.
WLI are your solution please make it happen. GP appointment asap. People here will support and encourage you if you keep us posted. Do you have anyone in real life to help you. It may seem like a mountain to climb but its absolutely doable if you really want it 🤗

Ditch the meds and get mounjaro instead

Was your friend not referred to a specialist weight management clinic by their GP? Even with a BMI over 60? And did they have no co-morbidities at all? I’m absolutely not saying that patients with a high BMI always have co-morbidities but it is unusual for them not to. I work with high BMI individuals and we call them “unicorns” for a reason)

If I were them I would go back to their GP and ask to be referred. The doctor should be working with them to get help, not sending them away with nothing.