Anyone Gaining Weight on Lamictal?

I thought lamotrigine wasn't supposed to make me gain weight.......well, I've been on it for a month and have already put back on almost 10 lbs. of the 30+ I lost when I was going through my mixed episode. I'm already over 300, so I can't afford to regain.......on the other hand, I'm tolerating the med really well and it's working. Guess I'd rather be fat than crazy!

Just wondering if anyone else has gained or is gaining weight on Lamictal. I don't plan to change meds just because I've put a few lbs. back on, but I wonder if it really is the drug, or if it's more because I've gotten my normal appetite back and am once again actually enjoying food.

I lost weight when I added Wellbutrin and Seroquel but, otherwise no weight change with Lamictal. I was on Lamictal for at least a year before adding to it. It isn't suprising I lost weight with Wellbutrin, antidepressants always do that to me!

If your appetite has returned, it is likely just that especially if it is a mood equals appetite level situation. See what happens when you go back to your "normal" weight.

Good to hear. I wish I could take Wellbutrin, because I did lose weight during the brief times I was on it.....but it could just have been because the stuff made me manic! I could've threaded a sewing machine needle while it was running---I was that wired. No bueno.

I was also ready to tear someone a new butthole with any provocation, or NO provocation, which is why my pdoc put that on my allergies list, stating it made me 'manic and psychotic'. His words, not mine, but not very far from the truth.

I had lost a few pounds last fall doing walking, and was staying fairly stable on the lamictal, but when my mood did a nose dive and we had to bump the lamictal up to 400, I gained about 10 pounds, maybe 15, in a short period of time. I was not a happy camper, as I am now at the 250 mark, which is my nightmare number. (I could live with 235, even 240, better fat than unstable. But 250 is IT.) For other reasons I'm getting off the lamictal, so hopefully some more walking will help me drop the extra weight.

But yes, I gained weight on it, too.

stir fry vegetables and noodles, few days a week as main meal,
watch the weight drop of you, cant have big portions.

i gained a lot of weight on lamictal, but it was worth it 'cause it works.

I have not gained any weight from Lamictal. Shortly after starting it, I joined Weight Watchers and a gym which I go to 3x a week arriving there at 6AM. I was Very heavy when I started. .I do 45 minutes walking on the treadmill and weight training. I have lost 30 lbs in the last year. The Weight Watchers points plan is very easy to follow and effective.

That's why I don't want to go off of it......I'm not even up to a therapeutic dose yet, and it's made a huge difference in my quality of life. I can always try to lose some weight once I'm more balanced and can get outside in the sun to work in my garden.

My daughtr just started lamictal and her pdoc said it would not cause weight gain.

I take wellbutrin and lamictal. I am not gaining or losing. Unfortunately, when I took cymbalta I gained 30 pounds and those pounds haven't gone anywhere since the drug changes.
Bluemountains

i gained on lamictal

I gained almost forty pounds when I first started taking lamictal; however at the same time I started taking Seroquel which is known for weight gain.

I've taken Lamictal for six years, I gained weight when I started taking it. I noticed it made me crave carbs, so I started taking right before I went to bed and those cravings just seemed to go away, unless I end up staying awake then I am scrounging for anything with carbs. It was my only medication for months, so I am positive this medication caused those carb cravings.

That's me, too---I'm craving carbs! But I know how to deal with that, and I've got to get hold of myself and do it. I'm not going to stop taking the Lamictal just because I regained some of the weight I lost when I was in the middle of that mixed episode....it's giving me my life back.

I started taking Prozac and Welbutrin. I noticed when mood stabilizers were added I gained weight. First it was Geodon and now Lamictal. I also feel like the mood stabilizers help stop the up feeling but do nothing for the lows. I am stopping the Lamictal. I can't stand the extra weight

Been on Lamictal since Sept of 2000 & has been weight neutral for me.

Didn't make me gain or lose. I've been on it for three years.

No weight gain here either. But everybody's body responds differently to meds.

Weight neutral for me also.