Welcome to another episode of Understanding Disordered Eating Podcast! Today, we are sitting down with Kimberly Meehan, an ANCC board certified psychiatric nurse practitioner. She has a private practice in New York City, and works with adults who experience anxiety, depression, ADHD, sleep issues, eating disorders and OCD. Kim works with an integrative and holistic approach, offering lifestyle changes meditation, mindfulness and psychotherapy. In addition to medication management. Kim also coaches solopreneurs who are feeling stuck and also advises several mental health startups. Right now, she is working to launch a social media page, focusing on bringing more balance to your life in pursuing the life of your dreams. She loves spending time at the beach and is currently busy training for the 2021 NYC marathon.

In this episode, Kim shares about the medication's role in a person's treatment, the importance of finding the right fit between the person and the medication, and the common misconceptions about it. Let's dive in!

[00:01 - 7:37] Opening Segment

• I introduce our guest for this episode
• Kim talks more about her training and her journey
  • How she was exposed to therapy
  • How her experience developed her mission to treat clients in a certain way

[7:38 - 33:52] Using Medication as Part of Someone's Treatment Approach

• Medication's role in treatment
• Treating eating disorders along with its comorbidity
• Being educated about nourishing our bodies the right way
• Things to consider in assessing for medication
  • Prescribing as an art and a science
  • Knowing the person's needs
• Finding the right fit between the person and the medication
  • Right combination of medications
  • Right dosage
• How genetic testing can provide helpful information
• Types of medications
• Sleep issues being tied up with eating disorders
• The mechanisms of these medicines
• Dopamine vs. Serotonin

[33:53 - 43:49] Understanding Eating Disorders on a Neurobiological Level

• MRI vs. FMRI
• Understanding the parts of the brain that light up during mealtime vs. when restricting
• Connection between reward and value of food
• Decision-making is impacted when a person is malnourished
• Effectiveness of the medications
• How long before medication works
  • Recommendation to stay on the medicines for at least 9 - 12 months
  • Lessen chance of relapse
• Being on medication during pregnancy
• Medications to avoid when a person has bulimia or anorexia
• Weight gain as a side effect of the medication
• Misconceptions about medication
• Connect with Kim through the links below
• Final words

Tweetable Quotes:

"In a nutshell, the choice to start a medication is really the severity, functionality, and the extent of the symptoms that are impacting their life." - Kimberly Meehan

"It's not going to be the quick fix. It can help you feel more functional, it can help you get back on your feet and turn down the volume of some of the symptoms you might be experiencing." - Kimberly Meehan

"While these medications are not happy pills, they are medications that can help you use other tools of like more effectively and see more benefit from." - Kimberly Meehan

Connect with Kimberly Meehan on Instagram or send her an email at [email protected]. You can also check out her website at http://kimberlymeehannp.com.

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You can connect with me, Rachelle Heinemann on Instagram, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at [email protected].