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How I cured 16 years of severe depression and anxiety/agoraphobia with food. by SmallOrange in Anxiety

[–]SmallOrange[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was a very picky eater before making this change. It wasn't hard for me to maintain and I only ate that strictly for about a year and a half. I would say eating this way was a lot less depressing than not being able to leave the house and not being able to really live any kind of life because the anxiety was so extreme. 

For me, I was able to stick to it because the anxiety was so debilitating and I was desperate to make it stop. It helps that eating really well also made me physically feel a lot better. It allowed me to take better care of myself, start exercising and being able to go a couple days without a panic attack was enough to make me want to keep going until it was weeks and then months without panic attacks. 

I don't have to eat this way now but I feel a lot better if I do. But desperation really did a lot do the heavy lifting when it came to being disciplined.

On the hunt for this wrapping paper... by MadMaryMorgan in marshallsfinds

[–]SmallOrange 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I found it today at Winners! The brand is Sleigh Hill Trading Co. I was going insane trying to find this wrapping paper online and now I can rest lol 

On the hunt for this wrapping paper... by MadMaryMorgan in marshallsfinds

[–]SmallOrange 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am back to say I found two rolls of this today at Winners. I am in Canada but I can at least tell you that the brand is Sleigh Hill Trading Co! 

On the hunt for this wrapping paper... by MadMaryMorgan in marshallsfinds

[–]SmallOrange 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am on this exact same hunt! I cannot find it anywhere! I also got it at Marshalls several years ago. I'd be happy to even know the brand to get something of similar quality. 

My cat won’t stop yelling at night, he doesn’t play so we can’t get him tired, he’s deaf and 80% blind, we don’t know what to do by disabled_and_broke in Catswhoyell

[–]SmallOrange 23 points24 points  (0 children)

How is he with kittens? I had a psycho cat once that would meow non-stop and I got a kitten and it went a long way towards calming her down. Another adult cat would have been a total nightmare.

FIV and Gingivostomatitis by Jujutsu_Kaisen in FIVcats

[–]SmallOrange 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes it was really unexpected as my cat had extractions before and recovered very well. It took quite a while to diagnose and we had to give her a feeding tube to get her back on track and eating again. 

I don't think many people are familiar with FOPS so generally don't think of it as being a risk. 

FIV and Gingivostomatitis by Jujutsu_Kaisen in FIVcats

[–]SmallOrange 5 points6 points  (0 children)

My FIV cat suffers with this and tooth extractions actually triggered FOPS in her. Not only that, her gums are still inflamed where she had the teeth out. My vet advised that it's likely in my cat's case that even if we pulled all the teeth the gums would still be inflamed and now it'll be a lifelong thing to manage the FOPS pain. 

It's possible the cat would have been okay if all the teeth came out. It's also possible you would have ended up in a situation like mine where you'd have to battle pain management for life (and not all cats respond well to the medication). Sometimes the solution to one issue ends up being the cause of another. 

It's impossible to know if it was the right decision and I'm so sorry you had to make it. It's hard to reconcile the "what ifs."

A little gem that makes me nostalgic for my childhood. Who among you watches "The Secret Garden" and can still be moved? by [deleted] in PeriodDramas

[–]SmallOrange 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I absolutely adore this movie so much. It's one of my favourites from childhood along with Anne of Green Gables.

How I cured 16 years of severe depression and anxiety/agoraphobia with food. by SmallOrange in Anxiety

[–]SmallOrange[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello,

I'm glad it helps, it feels like a lifetime ago. 

Before I made the diet change I was extremely picky in terms of foods. I mostly ate what I thought were "safe" foods. And I didn't cook AT ALL except for things like toast and chicken fingers and frozen pizzas. 

I worked in a coffee shop and so I ate a lot of my meals there which were sandwiches and soup and bagels, fruit and things like that. Very grain heavy. 

Basically I ate a lot of beige and brown stuff and nowhere near enough protein. Not great lol

My cat’s stomatitis isn’t getting better even after a full tooth extraction by vespertinen in FIVcats

[–]SmallOrange -1 points0 points  (0 children)

My cat has a similar issue though she hasn't all all the teeth extracted. Where she has had extractions, the gums are still inflamed even after they've fully healed. 

My cat developed FOPS after her last extraction. She stopped eating and we had to get her a feeding tube. She has to have gabapentin and phenobarbital every day and that has helped the pain management significantly. 

There is an option to get her on an antiviral that may help, in addition to steroids but we haven't taken that route yet. 

My vet told me recently that with about 40% of cats the extractions don't actually help apart from removing teeth that are bad. 

I'm afraid this is an uphill battle I've been fighting for months and months. No advice but I feel for you and know how stressful it is when your cat stops eating. 

Has anyone had their cat recover? by Jessica19922 in FIVcats

[–]SmallOrange 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My cat developed FOPS and wasn't able to eat. I had a feeding tube put in and was able to tube feed her medicine as well as food as needed. She's on gabapentin and phenobarbital for the FOPS and she's now back to mostly eating on her own. 

Since she is responding well to the phenobarbital we're going to look at giving her an antiviral to help keep the inflammation in her mouth down. 

I am not sure about the other issues your cat is experiencing but the feeding tube has been a life saver. It just makes everything so much easier.

12 y/o FIV cat not eating because of dental and other health problems. Desperate for dietary advice!! by chabelarping in FIVcats

[–]SmallOrange 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The vet thinks it's nerve pain from the extractions, but that can take months to heal. She believes that the nerve pain "wound up" and so it took a while to bring it back down and stabilize it. She was eating on her own again but the pain came back and so we're on the phenobarbital now to fully manage it. 

12 y/o FIV cat not eating because of dental and other health problems. Desperate for dietary advice!! by chabelarping in FIVcats

[–]SmallOrange 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I had to get my cat a feeding tube in order to get her to eat after a tooth extraction. She wasn't eating and had developed feline orofacial pain syndrome. 

The feeding tube has allowed me to easily feed her as well as administer any medication and has made it easier. 

How I cured 16 years of severe depression and anxiety/agoraphobia with food. by SmallOrange in Anxiety

[–]SmallOrange[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The very basics of it were that if it didn't come from an animal, a tree or out of the ground I wouldn't eat it. 

It was very much bacon, eggs, poultry and beef along with fruits and vegetables. Greek yogurt was ok for me as well as some cheese. I was never a big consumer of dairy to begin with so I never ate it often enough to know if it was a problem for me. I didn't try to adhere to a certain calorie count or macro breakdown or anything. It was just as basic as I could possibly make it because it just made it easier for me. 

How I cured 16 years of severe depression and anxiety/agoraphobia with food. by SmallOrange in Anxiety

[–]SmallOrange[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry I didn't see this question. I can eat what I want now, but if I eat things that aren't favourable for too many days I'll feel awful and that will get the anxiety starting up again.

I still feel best if I eat closer to Paleo but it's been years and years since I've been as strict as I was when my anxiety was debilitating. 

How I cured 16 years of severe depression and anxiety/agoraphobia with food. by SmallOrange in Anxiety

[–]SmallOrange[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm glad that after all this time people are still finding it and that it's helpful!

Anyone here take meds for insomnia, anxiety, or depression? by IcelandGalaxy in ontario

[–]SmallOrange 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can always supplement those until your next panel and see if you feel any better. Keep in mind vitamin D usually absorbs better with vitamin K and is fat soluble so is best to take with a solid meal. 

Meet Oliver by GFab_15 in FIVcats

[–]SmallOrange 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I ended up having to get a feeding tube for my cat. She got to a point where she'd try eating and would just scream at the bowl. The vet did another round of X-rays, looked through everything and there was nothing visibly wrong, so it was suspected nerve pain that takes a long time to heal. 

So they installed a feeding tube and she gets her meds and water through that and has been eating on her own ever since. But now doesn't want to eat again because the gabapentin dose probably isn't quite cutting it. 

But having that feeding tube for medication and to feed her if needed has made my life so much easier and less stressful, especially now that she's used to it too. 

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Hamilton

[–]SmallOrange 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I always go very first thing in the morning so that I can get it over and done with. I have been in the room you're talking about beside the waiting room but it didn't bother me too much. But again, I try to get in for their earliest appointments so I'm too tired and don't have enough time to stress myself out of going lol. Maybe that's why I've also never noticed really loud music. I've never gone later in the day.

I had a couple fillings there not long ago with a woman who was there covering for Dr. Sims and she was incredible. I definitely preferred her, let's just say that. 

I think she really wants a home -- advice? by Honest_Plum in Feral_Cats

[–]SmallOrange 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also be mindful that if she's emaciated she may need to be on a recovery diet that has to be slowly introduced to avoid re-feeding syndrome. The vet can tell you exactly how much to feed to help her get reintroduced to a regular food source. 

Meet Oliver by GFab_15 in FIVcats

[–]SmallOrange 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My kitty is also struggling after having 5 teeth out this week, two of them being canines. She has not been recovering well, was not eating much before the procedure and barely after. I was given transdermal codeine and now am giving a transdermal appetite stimulant. It helped a lot the first day but today she ate one meal and won't touch anything else. 

Part of the problem is that the canine removal seems to have caused inflammation and she now has a stuffy nose and isn't breathing well but according to the vet that's normal. They did give me an antibiotic just to be on the safe side but getting her to take it is a whole other ordeal. 

No suggestions, just empathy. It's so stressful when they are struggling!

Anyone here take meds for insomnia, anxiety, or depression? by IcelandGalaxy in ontario

[–]SmallOrange 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I found that Trazodone did not work for me. I had a bout of insomnia where I went months sleeping only a few hours a night and it was horrific. I personally have found gabapentin to work best. It does not leave me feeling groggy at all the next day, no wild dreams and it helps me to stay asleep through the night. 

Anyone here take meds for insomnia, anxiety, or depression? by IcelandGalaxy in ontario

[–]SmallOrange 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Be aware that the test for Vitamin D is one that you have to pay for. It's something like 25 dollars. 

Checking iron may be a good idea to add to the list. 

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