r/adhdwomen•
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Petite, psych's comments about weight/appetite & medicine

General Question/Discussion

I'm 5'1" and a healthy weight but on the low end. It's been stable for years and I'm perfectly healthy. However, my new psychiatric nurse ideally wants to keep me on the lowest dose of a stimulant since she is worried a higher dose would decrease my appetite "even more," although I told her I don't experience that side effect & that I eat on a schedule anyway due to blood sugar issues. I reiterated this to her but she didn't seem to listen. She said we could increase if needed but would have to be careful not to let my weight drop and to eat enough. Due to medical trauma I would not be okay with weight tracking if that's what she meant. She also said I'm "so tiny" which was not nice to hear, it was in a sort of sympathetic tone???

I feel invalidated and unheard. I actually struggle with impulsive eating and can gain quite a bit of weight (for my height) from that but she dismissed it and is instead focusing on a nonissue. I feel she will just keep pushing back if I try to get her to stop focusing on this. My dosage seems to be dependent on my weight now instead of best treating ADHD symptoms. And, again, I am healthy so it confuses me. I do have a history of an ED but have explained how I no longer struggle with it, my weight has been stable, etc. (she didn't mention this as a concern, only how I'm "tiny" and her concerns about appetite). My previous psychiatric nurse also knew this and trusted me 100% because she saw how I was perfectly fine over the course of a year...maybe this one just needs time?

She seems very caring over all, I truly believe she wants to help in the best way she can. It sucks bc ADHD meds help my mental health so much and I always actually eat more & gain on them bc I'm functioning better overall, but I doubt she would believe that. Next time I think I'll write notes and show those to her since it's hard to speak up, and I'm hoping that'll help. I thought about asking for my previous PMHNP's opinion but they're at the same practice and I don't want my current on to know for a variety of reasons.

Has anyone else had to deal with this?

Posted May 3, 2023, 11:51 AM UTC · edited

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