Is it even POSSIBLE to lose weight while on Zyprexa?

I am so frustrated. I need to lose about 50-60 pounds to get to a healthy weight. I am currently obese. My blood sugar was high when I was in the hospital, normal later, but they said I might be at risk for diabetes.

How do I lose weight while on this med??!! It causes weight gain and increases appetite so much. I have been on more food binges since I started it again.

But I'm scared to get off it, since I became suicidal almost immediately after we switched to Invega in June. Maybe it wasn't the Zyprexa, I don't know.

Any diet tips?

Ahhhh....I just started Zyprexa, so I am not sure about the weight issue yet. I sure hope I don't gain a bunch of weight. I was on a diet for 23 months and lost 40 pounds. It would kill me to have to do that again. To lose it I tried to eat as Vegan as possible. I allowed myself one dinner and one breakfast a week where I could eat anything I wanted. Other than that I tried to be vegan and avoided the carbs as much as possible.

Yes, it is possible to loose weight while on Zyprexa.

How long have you been taking Zyprexa? The side effects of Zyprexa are weight gain, increased blood sugar and diabetes.

Clozapine and Olanzapine (Zyprexa) are the two antipsychotics that cause the most significant amount of weight gain.

Obviously I am not your Psychiatrist but maybe you could explore other atypical antipsychotics with chemical properties not similar to INVEGA (like Risperdone). Abilify is a very popular choice nowadays.

also may i add that when dieting, don't only look at the scale, also measure your waist. i'm not entirely sure but i've heard zyprexa gathers fluids so it can be tricky determining whether you have lost weight or not.

I've been on Zyprexa for just over a month - but I was also on it from April - June. Back in June we went off Zyprexa and tried Invega, but around that same time was when I spiraled out of control and became highly suicidal. So...I'm back on the Zyprexa.

She is weaning me off it now, from 10 mg down to 7.5 then 5 then 2.5 then 0. Hopefully I am okay without it.

I also had high blood glucose in the hospital, twice. I'm really scared about diabetes, since my dad has it and I'm so much overweight. I'm over 200 pounds and only 5'4" tall.

I really am trying, but my appetite is so huge it's hard to stick to any diet plans. I'm also a binge eater and that has been out of control recently.

I gained 30 lbs on Zyprexa and Depakote. Yep, it sucked. But my emotional well being is much better!


Dee

Though this may be just adding a med to treat side effects, evidence has come to light that the diabetes medication metformin (glucophage) has been used to help against antipsychotic weight gain.

There is something called the Heart Association Type 2 diet I think and I believe that was combined in the study to help as well. They found the combination of the type 2 diet and metformin worked best at countering the weight gain.

Now I don't know what the type 2 diet is and I couldn't find anything really on the internet so this is something that you will have to ask your doctor about.

Because of my post count I can't post links but google "antipsychotic weight gain metformin" without quotes and you will be able to find the article within the first 10 results.

Best of Luck,
Andy...

the problems w diabetes and cholesterol etc only occur w weight gain
i eat no carbs or sweets and thus have gained very little weight

Thanks so much for your reply! I started zyprexa a week ago and am amazed at how much better I feel. ButI already have 70lbs to lose, so I've been quite worried.

So, let the fitness quest begin!!