Weight gain--how does it work?

When you gain weight as a side effect, how does it work? Do you eat more? Crave and eat unhealthy foods? Retain water? Your body just packs on pounds despite what you do? I'm curious because I am very scared of gaining more weight. I already have a little over 40 lbs to lose from my last pregnancy and I've found that instead of losing weight, I've gained 5 lbs. I take Abilify, Lithium, Lamictal and Klonapin. Thoughts?

No wisdom to share here, just commiseration. I have to lose 50 lbs after my last pregnancy and believe part of the weight gain here has to do with the meds I have been on for the last 7 years. What have you tried? I have found exercise and watching what I eat in combination allow me to lose weight. Weight Watchers has been great in the past. Struggling through weight loss right now. I'm with ya sister.

I think it's because some meds make you hungrier, thus you eat more. And then it becomes a vicious cycle---you feel bad so you eat more, and then you don't feel like exercising because it's hard to move your body, so you keep eating and don't burn it off.....and round and round it goes.

Your medication profile isn't too bad. Abilify, like any atypical anti-psychotic, can contribute to weight gain but is less likely to do so than, say, Zyprexa or Seroquel. Lithium is also often implicated in weight gain, partially due to increased appetite but also water retention. Talk to your prescriber about your concerns.

The meds interfere with the part of the brain which signals that you are full. So you feel hungry, even when you are not. The thing is the meds actually work better on people who put on weight than people who don't. I forget the explanation for that, but i know it's true. Pretty weird

I have been on heaps of meds and none of them made me gain weight until I was put on Lithium. I went from being 45kg (underweight) to over 60kg in a few months. I wasn't eating any more than usual or exercising any less. Because of this I have tried to go off Lithium a couple of times but my symptoms return. Lithium has been a godsend for me in treating irritability, impulsiveness, agitation and most importantly reducing my suicidal urges. So I will keep the weight gain and have my sanity. Still I am careful to eat relatively well and take exercise. It is good for my overall health too.

It was slightly different with different meds I took that caused weight gain for me. Overall though I found I just needed to eat a lot more to feel like I was full. Looking back I think if I had stayed mindful I would have gained a lot less weight. When I say staying mindful I mean things such as trying to eat more healthy foods to fill myself up and doing additional exercise. At the time though I had a job where I was pretty active but atypical antipsychotics just make me so tired I was in bed pretty much whenever I was not at work and over the course of a year and a half gained about 60lbs. That was primarily due to the Saphris I was on I think since I switched to Trileptal and the weight started falling off very quickly.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk