Meds and weight loss

I was on Zyprexa for a good bit of time, and I gained 45lbs in about 3 months or so. Terrible. Then back in August my pdoc put me on Vraylar and things changed. I started to lose weight! It did suppress my appetite a bit, so that's what I think started it, but even after, I kept losing...and from mid September until a week ago, I wasn't exercising at all because of a badly sprained ankle and being in a cast (and I'm just starting to exercise again now). Well, I went to the pdoc today, and she weighed me, and I've lost 20lbs! That's almost half of what I gained!! I was shocked and extremely happy!

Moral of the story is: Meds don't have to make you fat, and it IS possible to lose weight on them. Remember that and maybe it'll make you less discouraged.

I'm glad to hear you've lost some of the weight you gained.

Here's what happens. The med tells the brain to reset your weight set-point causing you to either gain or lose weight up to the new set-point by increasing or decreasing your appetite. The best known example of this is how women used to use smoking cigarettes to control their weight as nicotine lowered the set-point. Moral of story--the drug determines what you weigh.

I've never had an increased appetite from any drug, ever. So eating has had absolutely nothing to do with my weight. Just an FYI.

SingDanceRunLife,

That's great that you've lost the weight - that's excellent. And you're right it is possible to lose weight while on meds. I've been overweight all my life, and am on a number of psych meds known for weight gain. But I decided that I wanted to try to get down to a healthy BMI. I've been working with a dietitian, and so far have lost 31 lbs, and am down to my lowest weight in 20 years. It's slow, but it is possible.

splitimage

You put weight on automatically with most atypical antipsychotics. It has something to do with your metabolism I think. When I came off Seroquel the weight just dropped off and I wasn't on a diet. So weight gain is fully to do with the drugs. Some do make you eat more though so they do increase appetite. It's all down to the drugs though. That's not an excuse to eat more and just blame it on the medication but it is really hard to lose weight on some of these meds.

So be it, but this is why you gain weight regardless of what you do when you are put on meds that increase the set-point, and why it's virtually impossible to lose it. And this is one reason I personally believe so many people are overweight.

There's an old book from the 1980s called The Dieter's Dilemma that explains the set-point theory.

I'm giving my personal experience. No med has ever increased my appetite, but some have decreased it. Also, a lot of people who eat more eat it because they crave it, not because they're actually hungry.

I'm on Vraylar which is a new AAP and I can't sing its praises enough. With it, I've lost my Zyprexa weight faster than I ever have before! Maybe because it let my metabolism speed up to a more normal rate. I don't know, but I also don't care!

I;m on paxil, wellbutrin, seroquel, depakote, invega sustenna and hydroxyzine and am losing weight. Have lost over 25lbs, I used to take zyprexa but it never affected my appetite either, I have a binge eating disorder/and bulimia I am recovering from so the weight was always my own fault for eating junk food and LOTS of it

Source???

The Diet's Dilemma. I think you can still get a used copy on Amazon.com. I read it back in the 80s. Check it out.

The Dieter's Dilemma was published decades before many of the psych meds used today were invented.

It's proven some medications change your metabolism. It's not really up for discussion. It's also known how that happens, and usually it has to do mostly with carbs. Some meds have none or little of this effect, some a lot.

Finding a med that does not affect weight is really good. None of mine do and I am glad for that, but I'm not on any antipsychotic.

The key words are 'some medications'.

I'm curious about something, LucyG. In another post you called psychiatric medications 'sugar pills' because they don't help everyone. Yet, in this post you claim that psych meds have side effects that are very real. How do you rationalize your assertions?

Yes, and that is why the OP is right to keep us hopeful that there is something not causing weight gain and still being efficient.

But also, for those who never found a weight neutral medication that worked, I think it is important they KNOW they are given a rougher deal than others with weight.

So you are no longer taking zyprexa right?

Correct, and thank the good Lord Baby Jesus! But I started to lose weight while I was still on it (5mg, so a super low dose).

What I was referring to was the fact that most meds are no more effective than a sugar pill in treating various mental health conditions. Here's a challenge for you. Spend the day noticing how many meds people on here are taking. Most are doing combination therapy as one med stops working so their Pdoc has to add another one.

As far as The Dieter's Dilemma being written years ago--what's your point? Meds are drugs and drugs impact the body's weight set-point. It doesn't matter what it is, it affects it. Even supplements such as iodine can impact your weight.

Sugar acts as a drug in your system and will raise your weight set-point about as quickly as meds.

Not to be rude, but you've hijacked my thread enough, so please, if you want to discuss all of this, make your own thread and leave mine be.

I didn't highjack your thread. I responded, and LauraBeth started a fight. If you noticed, I hadn't posted for several days, and wouldn't had I not been confronted. Don't blame me for what another poster did.

And just so you know, I really don't care about the subject. I just responded because most people don't understand the role meds play in weight gain. I've been on forums where people have gained 75 or more pounds, and to not have to confront the fact that it was the meds, one lady said 'I like being fat as people take me seriously.' Really??? Then when she went off meds and lost weight, now it was how wonderful it was not being obese. Meds impact your weight plain and simple.

Dude, you posted this morning, and for no real reason. You are an adult, are you not? Walk away. Leave it be and walk away.

This stuff has already been discussed in the past. This forum part was then explained to be to talk about psych meds. It is NOT the place to debate whether all psych meds are bad or post anti med opinions.

I think that rule still stands.

Of course people can lose the weight they gained after coming of medication- it's ludicrous to state otherwise. Sure, a lot of people gain weight on psych meds, especially antipsychotics. Still, there are many people who don't gain any and even lose weight. And as far as changing your set point, there's no scientific proof of this at all. There's a lot more behind why people don't lose weight and attributing it all to the meds is an oversimplification of a complex issue. I've taken numerous psych meds over the last 30 years, everything from tricyclics to MAOIs and SSRIs. I've gained up to 20 pounds on some of them (Parnate and Paxil). Still, after coming off the meds, I always lost every single pound, usually In a short amount of time. It's the same with smoking. Many, many people quit smoking and don't gain any weight. A lot of the time, weight gain is because you're no longer replacing food with cigarettes.

Presenting your own experience as if it applies to everyone is insensitive and needlessly alarmist.