I gained about 30lbs or more on Seroquel, and then lost it plus baby weight on Geodon. I literally could barely finish half a sandwich, and I'm a food lover! That was before my second child. After he was born, I got back on it and lost my baby weight from him, plus a little more. My pdoc added Abilify with it, and I gained a little weight on that. It wasn't really working and I hated the weight gain, so we switched to Lamictal. That combo kept me pretty neutral in weight, but then I've gained 20lbs since I stopped working in August of last year. I also kept close tabs on what I ate and exercised 3-4 days a week the first half of that year. Now I just can't get back into a routine.
A coworker friend was on Topamax, and she lost some weight while on it. She said she would be a little tired from it and sometimes say the wrong word when talking. But she isn't too bad because she was able to go a year or more without any meds, and right now she's just eating clean and not having any problems. I barely made it three months off meds when we tried to get pregnant with my youngest.
And the generic for Topamax is not very expensive. I have no insurance and use a website that has coupons for different pharmacies, and it would only be $10 for the highest dose.