[crazymusiclvr]

I was curious as to if anyone else has experienced weight gain with medication like I have. In my case, I gained 15 pounds right after starting medication (lithium) very quickly. I gained this weight over the course of just a few short months and the 15 pounds was all I gained. Here we are a year and a half later and that weight has not come off. I have tried of course everything. I have lost over 50 pounds twice during my life so dieting is not foreign to me. Has anyone else had experience with gaining weight with their medication?

[Rhapsody]

Yeaaaah - it has happened to me more times than I care to mention.... but now with age and the experience of what life was like without the medicine - I just go with the flow.... for now, I would rather be fat than mental.


LoVe,
Rhapsody -

[allthegirls6]

tnis is strange as I seem to lose weight. Or maybe its that ive only been on meds 2 twice and both times i was obviously in a bad way and maybe i just stop eating at those time.

[dottie]

Hi. I couldn't agree with you more. I went from a size 8 to a size 1X womans in a years time.

[Eleora]

I gained 30 pounds on risperdal in one month. What i had to do was cut out some sodium and the amount of carbohydrates I was eating. If I am hungy, which I almost always am, I eat carrots or something else with very little amount of calories or bad parts.

[jennie]

I'm not an advocate of meds, but I wonder how much of the weight gain can be attributed to depression (e.g. lack of energy to do stuff and not being as active as one was prior to the depression, or poor eating habits due to depression).

[Rhapsody]

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
jennie said:
I'm not an advocate of meds, but I wonder how much of the weight gain can be attributed to depression (e.g. lack of energy to do stuff and not being as active as one was prior to the depression, or poor eating habits due to depression).

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

Hmm - I still have to say that I think it is mostly due to the medicine.... it (weight gain) is even listed as a possible side affect.... I can remeber when I was a size 3 and barely ate enough to keep a bird alive and I still gained 30 pounds on Zoloft.

LoVe,
Rhapsody -

[darkeyes]

With Lithium, you need periodic bloodwork,pdoc's will or should include thyroid function, while I was on Lithobid (is great stuff)my thyroid, as I kept saying yrs before I went on this med, that I was hypothyroid, always was told "results are within normal range" bla!bla! But during one of the workups, it finally showed I was not imagining the syymptoms, sooooooooo I take Synthroid, in fact even though I switched to Lamictal, which doesn't cause weight gain, or thyroid stuff, I need to have my GP bump up my thyroid med., my symptoms besides the menopause ones are back. Sorry, got off track, while on Lithium, have the doc check for hypothyroidism. When I first was DXed with Bipolar-II,in 2000, they gave me Depkote, that made me get fat instantly and so tired I could barely function, the Lithium weight gain was minimal, and after being on the Synthroid it worked out fine. If for some reason Lamictal should ever no longer work for me, I'll go back to Lithium any day.
I hope you have luck with this.
Take care,
DE

[Sabrina]

I gained a vast amount of weight from various AD's over the years. I have also lost massive amounts of weight due to lifestyle and dieting, but have not been able to shrug my most recent weight gain despite stopping meds for this reason as well as exercising. It is almost as though my metabolism has shut down.

[Rhapsody]

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
I have also lost massive amounts of weight due to lifestyle and dieting, but have not been able to shrug my most recent weight gain despite stopping meds for this reason as well as exercising. It is almost as though my metabolism has shut down.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

Well Girl.... if you are like most of us here - you have entered the near 40 and over club..... which makes it harder to loose weight.... for now the body and the mind are slowing down - lol.

LoVe,
Rhapsody -

[Maven]

I know my meds can cause weight gain, but I believe most of my weight gain is my fault. I eat too much junk, plain and simple. One thing I took note of yesterday is, I seem to recover from being full fairly quickly. Faster than my boyfriend, anyway (but he's very overweight, too). I think that might have to do with my weight problem, too. I mean, I may not be recovered enough to eat a big meal, but I can almost always have something sugary after I recover. NOT that I do. I very often resist, but I'm saying the fact that I start craving or just being tempted for sweets is a problem that might explain my ability to eat more.

[Larry_Hoover]

Sure, I've gained weight on meds. Remeron was my worst case. I gained more weight than if I was having 100% of my food intake converted to fat. Or something very close to that. It was so bizarre as to be stunning, in its own right. I have always fed myself by portion control. I know exactly how much food is in every meal I make. I "cook for the freezer", putting aside defined portions. There is no way I was eating more, on Remeron. No way. Yet I gained two thirds of a pound per day. And that weight has taken me three years (after I got off Remeron) to lose again.

I think that all you can do is to attribute the weight changes properly. You should know if its the ice cream you're eating, or the drug you're eating, that underlies the change you're experiencing.

Just this year, I found a drug that makes me lose weight. You're going to go, "No way!".

Cannabis. Yes, of "marijuana munchies" fame. I wanted to die, my pain was so bad. I was on nine drugs (one of them an opiate) for the neuropathic pain. It was mary jane who turned the whole thing around for me.

My doctor signed me up for it. It was a miracle.

Ooops. Changed the subject, now, didn't I?

Lar

[walkswithspiritbear]

I wish I could say NO but I have never gained this much weight even with pregnancies
I have never had to diet. And to tell you the truth I eat so little to begin with I can't really account for the gain. But 60 pounds I stand at being well over my usual weight. I was thin all my life and now this.
It is so bad my husband no longer approaches me for anything remotely having to do with sex. His preference in females has always been very thin almost boyish, like small breasts you know... well now i am a 40 D and I use to think I wanted bigger ones and all I can say is I sure am glad I never had surgery because I don't lke them... sorry I am rambling
Yes I have gained about 60 pounds since I had been taking methadone for my pain... it is so frustrating isn't it... first we have to deal with one thing then there is another and another.... I myself an totally sic of it...
Sorry about this signing off... hugs to you and hoping you feel better soon
Linda

[Sabrina]

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
Larry_Hoover said:
It was so bizarre as to be stunning, in its own right. I have always fed myself by portion control.

And that weight has taken me three years (after I got off Remeron) to lose again.

Lar

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

Despite quoting you here Larry, I know I have chopped a bit of your post off. But the above stands out for me so much. Your first comment expresses very much what neither psychiatrist or husband could ever understand.

Your second comment that I have quoted, simply helps me to feel a little more encouraged for it has only been about a year and a half since I have been med free. Which means there might be hope for my body to acclimatize!

[samsara]

I made a post on the weight gain topic on the Abilify thread.

[Larry_Hoover]

Ya, inverse munchies. If I overdo my dose (there is some batch to batch variation, which I pretty much expect in an herbal product made without benefit of laboratory analytical equipment), I might get high. A little high, and with that comes a little hunger. So, I think it's a lot like the opiates for pain. If you take a dose that manages the pain, brings it into tolerable thresholds, there is no buzz. Pushing for lower pain than that, though, and it goes psychoactive on you. I really think that's why people get into trouble with them, is that the pain fades, and the buzz comes. And it soon is all about the buzz. I hate the buzz. So, I feel protected from the addictive effect. I can't wait to get off this stuff. End.

Lar

[drunksunflower]

I am having the weird effect of getting really hungry, then getting really full despite eating normally and feeling kinda sick afterwards.

Not really complaining cos at this rate in a couple of weeks I will be able to fit my skinny clothes again!

[Azalysa]

Interesting to see this thread as I was just musing over it yesterday.

When I was so sick and on a bazillion meds, I lost a lot of weight. People were complimenting me right and left, of course not knowing I was ill. I was eating anything and everything I wanted; however my mother said I really didn't eat much at all. (I can't remember some things after having a bad episode.)

Anyway, I'm talking about a pint of Ben&Jerry's ice cream a night and still losing weight. For awhile I got scared that something really bad might be wrong with me.

I have been on Zoloft and Depakote for years with no weight loss or gain, just dependant on my eating habits. When I was ill (and losing weight) Wellbutrin, Lamictal and Seroquel for sleeping were added as well as Ativan as needed.

Now I only take Seroquel every once in awhile (and am going to discuss not using it at all at my next pdoc visit) and am being weaned off the Depakote and Wellbutrin to end up with a daily dosage of Zoloft and Lamictal.

Just over the last week, it's like all the calories I ate over a 6-month period have suddenly appeared. Whoa!!

So, I don't know which med at what dosage caused the weight loss or if it was a combo or if, as my mother said, I just wasn't eating many calories.

Man, those Ben&Jerry days were wonderful!

[Maven]

Wow, B&J have more than enough calories (and fat) for a whole day. I sure couldn't eat a pint and not gain weight (trust me, I know, because I've done it)!

larry....your doctor signed you up for it??????????....could you please pass along the name of that doctor?!!!!.......just kidding.......(well kind of lol)

[Larry_Hoover]

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
butterflylady747 said:
larry....your doctor signed you up for it??????????....could you please pass along the name of that doctor?!!!!.......just kidding.......(well kind of lol)

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

It is hard to work through the established medical system. No doubt. Yes, my doctor worked with me. You do need a doctor to be signing the papers. Yes.

If you want to get more information, in a general sense, go to: http://torontocompassioncentre.org/

The application forms are really straight forward. You can clearly see what they're requiring. Medical necessity must be demonstrated.

Lar