To think I’m not starving myself!?

[LellowYedbetter]

Last year I put on a stone in weight. Coincidentally around the time I started taking quetiapine.

I’ve recently gone cold turkey on the bastards and the weight is falling off me. I’m not trying to lose weight, my appetite has just gone back to the way it used to be.

So yesterday I had a cereal bar for breakfast. A few quality streets for lunch and a portion of fish and chips from chippy for tea ... although I only ate half of that and have saved the rest for today.

Today I didn’t have breakfast but had the left over fish and chips at 12. Tonight I’ll have a homemade burger but I don’t want chips because I’ve gone off them and I know I won’t be hungry enough.

Typical day during the week - cereal bar for breakfast. Mackerel on toast for lunch and 2 fajitas for tea.

DH drinks from red cups when they’re mine says I’m starving myself and should see a doctor. Since when did it become abnormal to only eat when you’re actually hungry?? I’ve always had a crap appetite. It’s normal for me

You must speak to your GP about this. You need a plan going forward.

Was he aware that you are autistic?

If I was you I would change GPs as soon as possible.

Op
Your diet is not good and the fact you e just come off anti psychotic medication and are fussing about your partner using "the red cups" when they are yours is ringing massive alarm bells.

You are not fine. You need to go and talk to a medical professional about coming off the drug.

It sounds like you’ve had a bit of a shit time with MH services. Do you think you could ask your DH to help
you and do some of the legwork of chasing people up and advocating for you?

No, he never gave a diagnosis. Didn’t believe in labels apparently.

Marvellous. How helpful of him But he does believe in dishing out anti-psychotics?

If I were you, I'd ask - insist- to be referred to the Adult Autism Team.

fussing about your partner using "the red cups" when they are yours is ringing massive alarm bells.

She said half an hour ago that she attributes the cup thing to her Aspergers.

Which makes sense, it sounds like a synesthesia-type issue.

OP you really don’t sound well. Please make sure you discuss this on Monday, your GP needs to know you’ve gone cold turkey on your meds. You really really shouldn’t just stop taking anti psychotics.

OP, I also take quetiapine but at a much higher dose than you and I’m all too aware of it’s downsides which some people here might not be - I put on four stone in a year, am constantly tired, can’t drive at night, dry mouth, elevated cholesterol, inability to control body temperature, feels like moving through treacle, low blood pressure causing fainting. It’s a medication that impacts your whole life but without it I’d probably be sectioned. However, for you the benefits do not seem to be outweighing the negatives. I have a diet similar to yours as part of my mental health problems and my son has autism so I can partially understand the issues around food and none would say to him that he should just change his diet because he wouldn’t be able to.

As the psych said you had an unstable personality he’s probably leaning in the direction of borderline personality disorder. Is he aware of your Aspergers diagnosis because many women present differently to men with autism and are often incorrectly diagnosed with various mental health conditions. I know the services are poor but there are other medications that aren’t antipsychotics which can have a debilitating effect on your life. There’s other options if these aren’t working for you.

For other posters - if I came off quetiapine I’d lose weight rapidly too.

Hello there, OP - we've had quite a few reports about your thread from other MNers concerned that you should seek medical advice in real life wrt coming off medication and subsequent changes to your diet - and we echo that.

We're going to move your thread over to our mental health section now and you may also find some useful links on our webguide.

Also for those saying you shouldn’t just come off your antipsychotics - yes I completely agree. But imagine if you were on a medication that made you feel terrible and then had to go to your gp to be asked to be referred back to mental health services and wait months for an appointment. Look at the side effects I noted above - would you live with them for 18 weeks if they were a side effect of contraception, antidepressants or other meds you could change relatively swiftly with your gp. I’m not saying the OP is making the right decision but I understand why she has stopped her medication.

At the very least you need to add veg to your diet, even if you can’t stomach 5 a day you could eat small portions of them.

Don't blame you for not wanting meds, but take it easy.
You need to eat vegetables. Every day.

Hi LellowYedbetter, Sorry you are having such a difficult time. Yes Quetiapine does increase your appetite and causes weight gain, so it's no surprise you have lost weight after stopping - however your diet doesn't sound healthy at present - could you ask the GP to refer you to the dietician for some advice.

You were on a very small dose of quetiapine - this is not the dose used for psychosis, your psychiatrist has told you that your diagnosis is complex PTSD/Emotionally Unstable Disorder - that would fit with such a low dose of quetiapine. In addition to this you should have been referred for psychological therapy (for example Dialectical Behavioural Therapy). NICE guidelines recommend psychological therapy (not antipsychotics) as the first line therapy in personality disorder, but often services are stretched and waiting lists are long. Please go back to your GP, explain the reasons for stopping Quetiapine and insist that you are referred urgently for psychological therapy as an alternative - you are well within your rights to do this, and all the scientific evidence points to this being the best option for you.

Op you’re eating a lot of sugar. Aside from your mental health issues this will make you feel crappy too. Those nature valley cereal bars have about 12g of sugar in. Just under half your recommended daily amount. You will then have a sugar slump as the body processes the sugar making you feel rubbish. Perk yourself up with more sugar through sweets. Feel ok and then slump again. Then finish it off with process food and oily food like fish and chips. At the bare minimum you need to introduce a more balanced approach to food. Small bowl of porridge/cereal for breakfast. Maybe poached egg/hand sandwhich for lunch and a more healthier tea. Smaller steps but definitely take some sort of action. A few quality streets is not a meal

Op my DD has health problems and when she is having a bad period with it, she doesn't want to eat but has to for her meds to work and for her long term health. She tends to go with little, often, perhaps this would help you. Her day would go something like
7am couple of spoons of yoghurt
8.30am half a banana
10am a few nuts
12 a piece of cheese and a slice of chicken
3pm slice of bread and butter
6pm vegetable soup

It's not great but it's healthier and managable when she doesn't feel hungry and eating makes her feel sick

You taper coming off quetiapine not bloody go cold turkey!

A really poor diet can affect your mental health

And conversely really poor mental health can affect your diet!

I can’t get past eating leftover fish and chips the next day but no that doesn’t sound like normal eating to me

I struggle with eating due to feeling sick OP so you have my sympathy, there are a lot of unhelpful posts on here.

I'd focus on taking a multivit and on small snacks. I'm guessing textures are a problem for you, do you know which ones? I find raisins are a really easy snack that's healthy.

Also for the record I know plenty of people who eat worse than you. Whether it's healthy is a different question but it's not that unusual. Sometimes it's MH problems, some people are just lazy, sometimes it's allergies or other conditions.

My mum used to microwave left over chippie chips. Odd but never did her any harm. Not fish though.

Lots of people have given good advice and I am glad you are going to the doctor.

Just a thought - how are you with soup? You can make lovely healthy soups from scratch with lots of veg in. Or you can buy reasonably healthy fresh soups. I quite often have a mug of soup and some crackers for lunch. You don’t have to have a big portion but it would get some veg into you easily.

Thanks again for all the advice. I’m in s rush so just a quick update for now. I’ve been and bought multi vitamins and have taken one already. I do like soup, yes. I like soft food like curry/bolognese/carbonara. I used to make a nice butternut squash soup but I don’t seem to have the motivation anymore. It was even worse when I was on quetiapine though.

You need to speak to your GP. Admit you’ve come off the pills suddenly and completely. Take their advice.
Multi vitamins won’t solve this.

Perhaps not starving yourself but your posts scream eating issues & I agree with previous posters that you have barely any nutrition in your diet.

Multivitamins can’t hurt - but they supplement a healthy diet, they don’t replace it entirely.

I’d agree with your DH - maybe a good idea to tell the GP what you’ve said here & take a weeks food diary with you, sounds like your DH is trying to help tbh. The red cups thing is also a bit odd. There’s no harm in asking for help - have a re-read of the replies here, the consensus is fairly universal..

Can you batch cook so that you've got nice food in the freezer for when you're unwell?

I can actually understand why you've lost faith in your GP and mental health services, however . It may be, too, that your autism is the cause of your breakdown. This is sadly often overlooked in many areas.