[cashart10]

I lost 42 lbs prior to the massive manic episode I had in April. I lost the weight and ditched the bigger clothes, certain I'd never need them. Then came depacote and now I'm gaining like crazy. My pants are starting to be noteablybtoi tight. What can I do?

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I never tried this but allegedly if you can keep depakote below 1000 mg it isn't so bad for weight gain. Whether you can do this or not is the problem.

I lost a lot of weight on depakote combined with seroquel and some other weight gainer using a low gylcemic index diet. My plan is to start the same diet Sept 1 and hope it works with clozapine. It worked really well the last time......

Sorry that you are going through that. I lost about 60-70 lbs one year and kept it off for about 18 months and then med changes caused me to regain a little and then clozapine a lot and now I have to lose more than ever before.

Have you ever tried metformin? It helped me lose a few lbs. and better yet stopped me from gaining any more (until a big dose increase) and my doctor has been really conservative with the dose; I think I'd lose more on a higher dose but he's worried it would lower my blood sugar too much.

[marthac_mtl]

Originally Posted by BeyondtheRainbow

I never tried this but allegedly if you can keep depakote below 1000 mg it isn't so bad for weight gain. Whether you can do this or not is the problem.

I lost a lot of weight on depakote combined with seroquel and some other weight gainer using a low gylcemic index diet. My plan is to start the same diet Sept 1 and hope it works with clozapine. It worked really well the last time......

Sorry that you are going through that. I lost about 60-70 lbs one year and kept it off for about 18 months and then med changes caused me to regain a little and then clozapine a lot and now I have to lose more than ever before.

Have you ever tried metformin? It helped me lose a few lbs. and better yet stopped me from gaining any more (until a big dose increase) and my doctor has been really conservative with the dose; I think I'd lose more on a higher dose but he's worried it would lower my blood sugar too much.

Beyond the rainbow, I'm curious about the metformin. It's a drug for type 2 diabetes that can cause weight loss due to common side effect of diarrhea. Did they prescribe it solely for weight control or did you also have some blood sugar issues?

[99fairies]

I too struggle with the weight gain from clozipine. I do really well during the day but when I take my night meds all bets are off... Im starving and will binge until I feel sick. I've gained 30 pounds on this drug but it just works so well for me I can't really go off it.

[Wild Coyote]

Hi Cashart,
Congrats on your weight loss!

I do understand your concerns about gaining weight.
I've lost weight this year, while on weight-neutral meds. However, am now on Abilify and am hungry 24/7.

I hope we both find some helpful approaches to maintaining weight loss.

I also hope all is well with you and your family.


WC

- Try replacing soft drinks with water
- Try not to drink alcohol if you do
- If you want to snack, reach for fruit or (healthy) crackers
- Try organic foods because they're NOT processed (processed foods = weight gain)
- If you eat out, try a salad, but be careful of dressings
- If you eat out, research the menu ahead of time
- If you like cheese, try ricotta or cottage cheese
- Healthy yogurt
- Oatmeal and granola
- Eggs
- Dark chocolate
- Light buttered popcorn

[Sunflower123]

I used to take Zyprexa which caused so very much weight gain for me I made the decision to come off it. I am on mostly weight neutral medications except maybe Abilify. I've had serious gastric issues over the past year and a half and have lost a lot of weight and haven't gotten my appetite back so Abilify hasn't hit me yet. I hope your pdoc can come up with something to give you some relief from the weight gain (another med? lower dosage?).

[CherryGlazer]

The only thing that worked for me is changing my overall calorie consumption. I don't really limit what I eat, wether or not I succumb to cravings, just how much cal I take in. And its significantly lower as opposed to how much I needed before, to stay the same weight. I've lost 17lb in the past few months, and find myself in the opposite situation - where my "med-weight" pants embarrassingly don't fit me anymore (which I suppose is good).

I've read studies about bipolar meds lowering basal metabolic rate (which is how many calories you need to consume to remain at the same weight (physical activity not included) as well as resting energy expenditure, which is how many calories a person's body requires to function.

I've tried looking them up again, but it seems I can't find the ones I read, but here are some new ones that may be relevant (which suggest that most equations - which u can find online - used to calculate the two, are inaccurate, when meds that induce weight gain are in the picture):

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17988371

Measured and expected resting energy expenditure in patients with bipolar disorder on maintenance treatment.

Conclusion:
These results suggest that patients with severe mental illness on long-term psychopharmacologic treatment may have reduced basal energy expenditure that may be a cause of weight gain.

Prediction of resting energy requirements in people taking weight-inducing antipsychotic medications - SHARPE - 2010 - Nutrition & Dietetics - Wiley Online Library

Prediction of resting energy requirements in people taking weight-inducing antipsychotic medications

Conclusion:  The present study does not support the recent suggestion that the Mifflin equation is the most suitable prediction equation to determine resting metabolic rate in people taking antipsychotic medications. In men, it may be advisable to reduce the estimate provided using the Harris-Benedict or Schofield equations by 840 kJ/day. The Harris-Benedict equation provided the ‘best estimate’ of resting energy requirements in women taking antipsychotic medications.

Theres another one (cant find it) which showed a subtracted difference of 200-something calories needed per day, in men of a cetain height and weight, on antipsychotics, and those not on them with the same height and weight.

Hope this helps, can't find anything specific to Depakote, but I think you get the picture. That you If you eat the same as you did, prior to these meds, you will unfortunately gain.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

Originally Posted by marthac_mtl

Beyond the rainbow, I'm curious about the metformin. It's a drug for type 2 diabetes that can cause weight loss due to common side effect of diarrhea. Did they prescribe it solely for weight control or did you also have some blood sugar issues?

My blood sugar is normal. I'm on it to try to help alter my metabolism a bit. The hope is to keep me from gaining more weight or even to lose some when Clozapine makes it nearly impossible to do that. My family history makes me very high risk for diabetes so we're trying to help prevent that despite my slowed metabolism.

I have not had diarrhea; the weight changes are from the effects on metabolism. In fact a side reason I take it is to help with severe chronic constipation and it has helped that a bit without there being any diarrhea.