A crazy couple of weeks

Post Reply New Topic

I have written on here previously about my issues with anxiety and how confused I was with what appeared to be my ASD diagnosis.

In mid June I started a diet, using a total meal replacement plan. You buy all the food pre-packaged (mainly bars and shakes) and these provide 100% of your nutrition but only 600 calories in total, meaning you go into ketosis and lose lots of weight. The results were initially great (I have dieted like this before) and I lost 20lb in three weeks. I take Venlafaxine and didn't expect any issues. Sadly I was very wrong! About a week in I had a symptom of anxiety return for a short period. I had no idea why. It went away so I thought no more of it. Over the next week I knew something was wrong but didn't know what. I then got awful diarrhoea for several days but thought this was a bug I had picked up. At work last week I started to feel very odd indeed, some nasty anxiety symptoms (feeling of dread, extreme fatigue, sweats) and this developed to the point I felt like I was losing my grip and the darkest thoughts returned. I just go through the day but broke down when I got home. I managed to bring my psychologist appointment forward by a week but still felt really unwell and couldn't stop crying.

Normally my anxiety is triggered by specific things (normally changes) but this time there were no triggers and it made no sense. My partner suggested it was the diet, which I dismissed but on further research I found that carbohydrates are essential in serotonin production and my new diet had barely any carbs. I returned to eating normally and my mood has improved since and the anxiety is nearly gone. When I looked at the side effects of withdrawing Venlafaxine I had a number of those symptoms- it's like the diet stopped the pills I was taking from working and whatever cumulative amount was in my system quickly depleted.

When I went to the appointment with the psychologist I was at my worst but he was great with me. He's now certain I have ASC with anxiety secondary to that. Apparently he and the psychiatrist who are both treating me don't propose to do formal testing as they are confident in this diagnosis. He couldn't comment on whether the diet caused problems with the Venlafaxine or not as that's not his area of practice.

I'm relieved that the anxiety has lifted and that it was probably the diet that caused the problems I have had recently. I'm also pleased to finally get confirmation that I am ASD as it does answer a lot of questions I have about my past and will help me make some decisions about my future.

Hi, welcome to Wrong Planet. That diet sounds dangerous over the long term, so I'm glad you're eating normally and feeling better. Sounds like a rough couple of weeks, but congrats on losing so much weight.

Thanks. It's an easy diet as after a couple of days you don't get hungry. The food is all pre-prepared so there's no hassle but, as you say, it's not good for you in the long-term as rapid weight loss can cause complications including gallstones.

I'm really relieved that I'm now feeling more settled again as last week was an unwelcome reminder of how bad things can get.

I don't know for sure that the diet caused the mini relapse but I can't think what else would have caused the symptoms I experienced, which seem to match those to be expected by people who suddenly stop taking the drug.

Sudden weight loss like that stimulates a body into going into a sort of "survival" mode. So many hormones & neurotransmitters that rely on a relatively static environment go out of sync. Think, co-regulation hysteresis loops: one goes wonky and they all start to oscillate until they can find and settle into a new balance.

Indeed. The warnings for this particular diet state that anyone taking MAOI drugs cannot do it, along with people who have had anything more than "mild depression". I suspect this is based on research or clinical advice they received but perhaps SNRI drugs also need to be included.