[flyabove]

I've been on a constant battle with medications since my mental health took over my life the past two years. I've been over medicated, under medicated, put in zombie mode, been too stimulated, etc etc. It's been rough even having seizures due to one medication I was put on (risperidone). The last two years I've been on
Seroquel (from 100mg up to 800mg), Lamictal, Depakote, Lithium, Haldol, Cogentin, Risperidone, Topamax, Klonopin, Ativan, Vistiral, Paxil, Effexor, restoril, ambien, remeron, Prozac, Minipress, etc etc and so much more than I can even think about at the moment.

Anyway right now I am on
Paxil 40mg for anxiety and depression
Seroquel 100mg for mood stabilization and sleep
Prazosin(minipress) 1 mg for nightmares/ptsd symptoms
Remeron 15 mg for sleep
Depakote 750mg for mood stabilization

For once I can be on these meds and not feel like a zombie, when I was released from the hospital this was the combination I was released on plus 1 mg klonopin as needed for one week. Due to going to my local community service board for my mental health issues they do not write any controlled substances so I am doing without it and so far I'm doing fine. My concern though is the fact that I already am on the overweight side and Remeron and Seroquel are known for their side effect of making people extremely hungry and gain weight. I've been walking a lot lately and trying to stay away from carbs because that's ALL I crave since I've been taking the remeron I could eat cake [izza and rolls for days

Anyone else take anything that I do and been able to curb their crazy cravings ???

[kaliope]

gosh, how do you remember all those meds....lol..........i can certainly identify though.....i spent nearly three years trying to find the right combo....after gaining over forty pounds i started refusing anything that was weight gain drug. i lucked out that topamax worked for me and was able to lose the wieght i gained. good luck

[BlessedRhiannon]

I'm on Seroquel - 400 mg (200 twice daily) and I gained a little bit of weight on it, but cutting out sweets (substitute fruits for sweets to curb the cravings) and increasing exercise helped that.

I was on Depakote - 1000 mg (500 twice daily) for two months and gained 10 pounds even though I couldn't eat anything from the nausea that I constantly felt. I am working on losing that weight, not that I'm off the Depakote, but it's not coming off as easily as the weight from the Seroquel did.

Some things I did to help - cut out most sweets (I'll still indulge in a piece of chocolate every now and again, but try to stay away), cut out sodas and sub with ice water or water with flavoring or herbal teas (iced or hot). I also have some food issues, so I make a weekly menu which includes all meals and snacks and try to just stick to that. I also increased my exercise and try to get in at least a 3 mile walk/run each day.

[melanson86]

Hi,

I was on seroquel which caused a lot of weight gain so my psy prescribed topamax which supresses appetite. It helps with the food cravings while you're on seroquel. Good luck !

[pinkflower17]

Originally Posted by flyabove

I've been on a constant battle with medications since my mental health took over my life the past two years. I've been over medicated, under medicated, put in zombie mode, been too stimulated, etc etc. It's been rough even having seizures due to one medication I was put on (risperidone). The last two years I've been on
Seroquel (from 100mg up to 800mg), Lamictal, Depakote, Lithium, Haldol, Cogentin, Risperidone, Topamax, Klonopin, Ativan, Vistiral, Paxil, Effexor, restoril, ambien, remeron, Prozac, Minipress, etc etc and so much more than I can even think about at the moment.

Anyway right now I am on
Paxil 40mg for anxiety and depression
Seroquel 100mg for mood stabilization and sleep
Prazosin(minipress) 1 mg for nightmares/ptsd symptoms
Remeron 15 mg for sleep
Depakote 750mg for mood stabilization

For once I can be on these meds and not feel like a zombie, when I was released from the hospital this was the combination I was released on plus 1 mg klonopin as needed for one week. Due to going to my local community service board for my mental health issues they do not write any controlled substances so I am doing without it and so far I'm doing fine. My concern though is the fact that I already am on the overweight side and Remeron and Seroquel are known for their side effect of making people extremely hungry and gain weight. I've been walking a lot lately and trying to stay away from carbs because that's ALL I crave since I've been taking the remeron I could eat cake [izza and rolls for days

Anyone else take anything that I do and been able to curb their crazy cravings ???

Depakote and Paxil are just as bad, if not worse in regards to their weight gain effects. Paxil's horrible in regards to weight gain. Seroquel usually causes some, but not a lot of weight gain, Depakote and paxil have the potential to cause a lot of weight gain and remeron is known for increasing carb cravings. Honestly, my best advice would be to see if you could change any of them. Trazodone is another non controlled "other" antidepressant (same class as remeron, slightly different mechanism of action) that's very effective for sleep and doesn't have the same carb craving issues. Maybe ask about starting with that? There's lots of other changes that theoretically could be made. It always aggravates me when docs put people who are already struggling with their weight on meds that exacerbate the issue. This is a huge pet peeve of mine.
In the meantime, I would just stock up on fruit and veggies and try to munch on those everytime you want to snack, try to add in some exercise (might help your mood too, and maybe try taking your remeron once you're already in bed and don't get up once you've taken it.
Good luck. I hope you find a good med regimen that doesn't cause you any more problems. I'm sorry you're struggling.