Heart Health / Diet Question(s) - Update Pg 7

[abifae]

What do you do for stress control? Just in general?

I meditate when I wake up... and throughout the day... and before bed...

And I have to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night...

And I have to blow off steam. This requires frequent meltdowns, fits to be thrown, and stompy stomp flamenco poses *laughing*

All my friends are used to me randomly having to stomp and snarl and sometimes I throw myself on the ground and kick and scream. I'm not a big believer in holding it in

I am nutters about my diet and have great fun with food snobbery. Anything off my diet makes my brain cooties grow (hence their cut from the diet )

Just wondering if you could get more things to help you smooth over stress you might not have to go UP in meds every time things go crazy in life.

 

[tortoise]

What do you do for stress control? Just in general?

I meditate when I wake up... and throughout the day... and before bed...

And I have to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night...

And I have to blow off steam. This requires frequent meltdowns, fits to be thrown, and stompy stomp flamenco poses *laughing*

All my friends are used to me randomly having to stomp and snarl and sometimes I throw myself on the ground and kick and scream. I'm not a big believer in holding it in

I am nutters about my diet and have great fun with food snobbery. Anything off my diet makes my brain cooties grow (hence their cut from the diet )

Just wondering if you could get more things to help you smooth over stress you might not have to go UP in meds every time things go crazy in life.

I was seeing a therapist but she was generally useless. My previous one introduced me to mindfulness which I generally forget about, but I do have a meditation CD. In general, I use a service dog and take Klonopin. Helps with the lows and anxiety, but not for the highs.

 

[abifae]

I was seeing a therapist but she was generally useless. My previous one introduced me to mindfulness which I generally forget about, but I do have a meditation CD. In general, I use a service dog and take Klonopin. Helps with the lows and anxiety, but not for the highs.

ROFL!!!!

I have found one good therapist EVER. I got most of my mindfulness info from a buddhist book. The Miracle of Mindfulness. Most therapists are fairly useless because I don't think they understand their job.

 

[Wifezilla]

On the med front, your problem is the lithium. Can you do a slightly higher dose on others and drop the lithium all together? I would ask the doc about that.

When it comes to the brain, fats are so important. Having to limit them means your meds and your diet are in conflict. Sure seroquel can give you wicked munchies, but even that can be dealt with. But low fat plus brain cooties?? Yikes.

Fish oil is beneficial for depression, but it is fat. Coconut oil benefits people with brain issues, but again fat.

Here is some of the recent info on fats and the brain...
http://www.betterhealthresearch.com...may-treat-epilepsy-researchers-say-800361693/
http://www.drmccleary.com/2007/09/30/the-unhappy-brain/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100216163531.htm

 

[tortoise]

hmm... I just had a thought. A brilliant one. If I go on a high fat diet BEFORE my lithium level bloodwork everything should work out fine. If they worked my lithium levels up, and then I went on high-fat, then I could end up with toxic levels. Does that make sense? So I'd better get on high-fat NOW while I still can without messing up my lithium.

Refresh me on high-fat:

Cheese = good
Bacon = good
Lard = good
Salmon oil = good

Veggie oil = bad

I use 1/3 c canola oil per loaf of bread. I think there is some in pancakes - we have 3 - 4 times a month. It that too much bad fat?

How much good fat do you think I should eat per day? I do best if I have a number to aim for.

 

[abifae]

So... the lithium would go UP due to high fat BEFORE they test so they would know to not raise the levels?

*unsure here*

If it would be safe, try it

I would love to see you able to eat high fat foods and get your brain cooties under control LOL.

Cheese = good
Bacon = good
Lard = good
Salmon oil = good

Veggie oil = bad

That's correct!!



My mom got really messed up on lithium. Surely there's another med that would do better and allow you to eat fats to help your brain.

 

[booker81]

It might be worth it to plug in what you eat each day, for say, a week, into one of those online food calculator thingies (fitday, sparkpeople), and see where you're at right now with fat levels. Then, try to start lowering the bad fats (or see where they are coming from), and raise up the good fats. Aim for the same level as now, but swap out what you're doing. That way, you don't risk too much of a spike in fat soluble stuff getting ramped up, but at the same time, you're making a change for better fat.

I have to say, I love the brain cooties term

 

[abifae]

It might be worth it to plug in what you eat each day, for say, a week, into one of those online food calculator thingies (fitday, sparkpeople), and see where you're at right now with fat levels. Then, try to start lowering the bad fats (or see where they are coming from), and raise up the good fats. Aim for the same level as now, but swap out what you're doing. That way, you don't risk too much of a spike in fat soluble stuff getting ramped up, but at the same time, you're making a change for better fat.

I have to say, I love the brain cooties term

Love this idea!!!!

 

[Wifezilla]

Yeah, not following the logic on the lithium but I do like the idea of using www.fitday.com

As for canola, it's not a good fat.

 

[tortoise]

So... the lithium would go UP due to high fat BEFORE they test so they would know to not raise the levels?

Yes - that's exactly it. Glad someone could figure out what I was trying to say!