u/EqualBlueberry6954

Hey everyone, I was hoping to hear from anyone who has tried the keto diet and found true success - like it really made a massive change/impact in your mental health.

I have tried different meds from antidepressants, to mood stabilizers, to antipsychotics, to stimulants, to interventional approaches like TMS and spravato. Some meds helped in certain ways, but always with many negative side effects, and never truly helped me feel like life is worth living again. For the record, I have been diagnosed with ADHD, OCD, Generalized Anxiety, and Major Depression - all of which I have struggled with for most of my life as a 25 yr old man.

Some time ago, I came across the whole metabolic psychiatry movement online, mainly through Dr. Christopher Palmer. Him and many others believe that mental health issues are really metabolic issues, and that a keto diet is a true intervention to address the cellular metabolic dysfunction at the source. Lucky enough, I happen to reside 20 minutes from his practice here in Massachusetts, and actually had an intake with his clinic. They want me to continue to use the keto diet as a mainline of treatment, which I’ve actually already been on for about a month. Which leads me to my point….

I’ve been on the diet for about a month now, and quite frankly, it’s been kicking my ass. I will admit that I haven’t been perfect at it: I have tried to give up my reliance on weed but have given in at times with an edible (mostly because my mood is even worse now), and also had a few days where I had a few extra carbs and my ketone levels dropped the next day (never below 0.5 tho). But overall, I have been pretty adherent, eating Whole Foods of proteins and non starchy vegetables with fats, and my ketone levels average around 1-1.5 or so. I also have been taking vitamins and electrolytes every day. But I feel like overall, everything has gotten worse. I already was struggling with bad chronic depression, low drive, anxiety, executive function issues. Now, all of those are doubled. I feel like all of the energy has just been sucked out of me mentally and physically, but the only energy left has been diverted to amplifying the anxiety and rumination. I’ve been really irritable and emotional at times too. It’s so hard to sit down and focus, let alone muster the drive or energy to do so. Yet, the clinic tells me I need to give it at least 3-4 months. I want to because Ive already tried the medication roulette of psychiatry, and want a holistic treatment that can truly heal the mind/body. But damn, I feel like absolute shit. Has anyone had a similar experience and come out better? Has anyone had an initial rough patch (especially long) but had it turn around and end up feeling amazing? How long did you have to give it? What was the journey like? Asking for any input or stories here, because idk if I can keep this up for months on end if it keeps up like this. Thanks
.

Hey everyone, I was hoping to hear from anyone who has tried the keto diet and found true success - like it really made a massive change/impact in your mental health.

I have tried different meds from antidepressants, to mood stabilizers, to antipsychotics, to stimulants, to interventional approaches like TMS and spravato. Some meds helped in certain ways, but always with many negative side effects, and never truly helped me feel like life is worth living again. For the record, I have been diagnosed with ADHD, OCD, Generalized Anxiety, and Major Depression - all of which I have struggled with for most of my life as a 25 yr old man.

Some time ago, I came across the whole metabolic psychiatry movement online, mainly through Dr. Christopher Palmer. Him and many others believe that mental health issues are really metabolic issues, and that a keto diet is a true intervention to address the cellular metabolic dysfunction at the source. Lucky enough, I happen to reside 20 minutes from his practice here in Massachusetts, and actually had an intake with his clinic. They want me to continue to use the keto diet as a mainline of treatment, which I’ve actually already been on for about a month. Which leads me to my point….

I’ve been on the diet for about a month now, and quite frankly, it’s been kicking my ass. I will admit that I haven’t been perfect at it: I have tried to give up my reliance on weed but have given in at times with an edible (mostly because my mood is even worse now), and also had a few days where I had a few extra carbs and my ketone levels dropped the next day (never below 0.5 tho). But overall, I have been pretty adherent, eating Whole Foods of proteins and non starchy vegetables with fats, and my ketone levels average around 1-1.5 or so. I also have been taking vitamins and electrolytes every day. But I feel like overall, everything has gotten worse. I already was struggling with bad chronic depression, low drive, anxiety, executive function issues. Now, all of those are doubled. I feel like all of the energy has just been sucked out of me mentally and physically, but the only energy left has been diverted to amplifying the anxiety and rumination. I’ve been really irritable and emotional at times too. It’s so hard to sit down and focus, let alone muster the drive or energy to do so. Yet, the clinic tells me I need to give it at least 3-4 months. I want to because Ive already tried the medication roulette of psychiatry, and want a holistic treatment that can truly heal the mind/body. But damn, I feel like absolute shit. Has anyone had a similar experience and come out better? Has anyone had an initial rough patch (especially long) but had it turn around and end up feeling amazing? How long did you have to give it? What was the journey like? Asking for any input or stories here, because idk if I can keep this up for months on end if it keeps up like this. Thanks
.