Posted by MoparFan91 on October 24, 2005, at 0:06:09
I have been weighing 145-150 lbs for years at 5'10". Last year over the fall/winter, Depakote ER caused a steady 20 lbs weight gain. I was 165 lbs early in the year by the time I had started taking Lamictal along with Geodon. I stayed pretty steady weight wise when depakote was discontinued in November.
Geodon was weight neutral whole time I took it w/ Lamictal. I took Geodon until 2nd week of May then it was Lamictal alone.Anyway, I got on a weight loss program starting mid-March. By last week of April, I got to 155 lbs. Then I went on a trip to Disney World for about a week from end of April 'til end of 1st week of may. Due to exotic restaurants, I gained 2 lbs back during the week we were there.
Anyway, after getting back from trip, I decided to start back on my weight loss program. I waited until the last week, towards end, of May, though. I had stopped the Geodon during the 2nd week of that month as well since I didn't need it.
Anyway, almost a week into starting back on the weight loss program, I began to experiment with Chromium Picolinate. Sites and studies said that it was supposed to help regulate blood sugar, and help keep the muscle and burn the fat. I took it 3xday with meals.
Actually, I took the Chromium in a Stack recommended from various sites (now quackery). The sites said it was to help me lose more fat for the amount of weight lost. This Stack (or supplement Combo) included the following:
Chromium Picolinate - 200mcg
Taurine - 2,000mg
Niacin[amide] - 1,000mg
Kelp (for 1,000mcg of Iodine)Functions for each were=Chromium for glucose regulation, Taurine for muscle cell volumizer, Niacin to synergize with Chromium, and Kelp to boost thyroid.
I was taking Taurine already to try to target bipolar symptoms. and. Niacin for anxiety. But the Chromium and Kelp were put in along with those two supplements for the creation of the Stack, for a whole other purpose. So, Taurine and Niacin began to be used for a different purpose altogether.
It said to take the Stack three times a day with meals.
Ok, here's how I reacted to it. Basically, I reacted badly. It took me ~9 weeks to figure out that the Stack (particularly the Chromium component) was causing me to have a lot of bad symptoms.
Here's what was happening:I was getting hypoglycemia and lots of symptoms of very low blood glucose-
Grand fatigue, jumpiness/anxiety, teary, mood swings, dizziness, mental fog, muscle weakness, severe ravenous cave bear hunger, eventually outright ragesAround 3 weeks back into my program, I had lost 11 pounds!!!
Then last month of taking the Stack, it got bad where no matter how much I was eating (even 5,000 Calories a day), I was still have the SEVERE hunger even 30 min. after eating. My blood sugar kept dropping bad with the aforementioned symptoms. As a result, I started to gain weight/fat alarmingly fast!!
When this happened, I researched, and was starting to find that the Stack (Chromium blamingly) was the cause! They got punted. Also, found on a bodybuilding site that Taurine was a thyroid reducer.
After the punt, I was able to continued on my fat loss program. I'm now back to 146 lbs.
I talked to a Health Food store lady about this. She 'sternly' told me that the Chromium was lowering my blood sugar way too much and that, "I didn't need it".
I'm not taking Chromium Picolinate ever again!
poster:MoparFan91
thread:571244
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20050924/msgs/571244.html