Psychotropic drug help

rosiecbolton

I take seroquel for bipolar disorder and it is making me fat.

I cannot stop taking it, have tried and I just have a relapse without it.

Problem is I take it at night and then wake up with incredible carb cravings. As the serohell sedates me I am not fully awake and will just sit downstairs in a half wake half sleep state eating lots.

Sometimes I have no recollection of even getting up, until I see all the empty crisp packets in the morning.

It is doing my head in. I do really well watching what I eat in the day and it all goes to pot once I have taken these psych meds.

jade2112

I understand. I was on seroquel for two years and gained 60 pounds that I never got rid of after stopping it.

I'd take it, get in bed, fall asleep, wake back up, zombie to the kitchen and eat and eat. Got so I just bought bags of snacks and put them beside my bed because I fell a couple times due to the medication being so sedating.

It's the weirdest thing ever and I still don't understand it. There was no fighting it. I absolutely had to get up and eat no matter how sedated I was. I never felt full either no matter how much I ate.

I hope your future has another medication that will help you as well and not make you want to eat all night.

I'll add that you're right in that it was only carbs I wanted. At one point I thought I'd be happy sitting on the floor with a spoon and a five pound bag of sugar.

rosiecbolton

I am glad it is not just me. Your description of a zombie is very good. That is what I am like in the night. I bought my 3 year old a big tin of sweets last week and half are now gone. The shame of it, stealing off a 3 year old boy.

rosiecbolton

It is difficult as I have been extremely ill with bipolar for 11 years, getting involuntary psych admissions. Then I discovered seroquel 4 years ago and have rebuilt my life and am now stable. But fat.

jade2112

Don't beat yourself up over it.

If anyone want's to tell you to use some self-control send them to get a prescription for seroquel to give it a try.

oxers

I was on seroquel for a couple years as a teenager - which is illegal as hell, tbh, given the non-existent testing for safety and efficacy of psychotropic meds in adolescents without schizoaffective disorders - and I gained a TON of weight. It sucked. It still sucks. I honestly don't think my body will ever be the same.

But, and here's the thing... stability > attractiveness. Every time. Every single time. My mom has severe bipolar, and I know how bad it can be. If you're capable of functioning and you're safe and you can live your life, weight comes secondary to that.

I'd say modify your shopping habits. Keep those zombie binge foods out of the house. If you have to drag the rest of your family with you kicking and screaming down the road of minimal snack foods, well, so be it. Exercise, fuel your body, watch your blood pressure and risk factors, get your checkups and take care of yourself. It may not take the weight off, but health is the most important factor here. Not subjective beauty standards.

Health is all that matters. Health is everything. I'll probably never be thin again, and I'm okay with that. As long as my body works, my heart is strong, I'm active and healthy and sleeping and not suicidal, I don't care how I look.

I just don't care anymore.

RodaRose

Stable is everything.
Do some exercise so that you will feel good. Walking works great for some people.

TanyaLafley

Ask you dr about abilify. It's the same type of drug with out the eating side effect. PS. I'm not a doctor, I just slept in a holiday inn express last night....lol

Kimberly_SoCal

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but I had to get off Abilify for depression due to it causing me to gain weight. But they work differently for every body.

MKEgal

I agree with oxers - don't buy the foods you're binging on.
If they're not in the house, you can't zombie-eat them.

Beyond that, I've got nothing. Sorry.
Check www.crazymeds.com and ask your doctor for help.

ducati45

I take seroquel and I find it is really difficult because it causes you a double whammy of feeling sedated and out of it, an needing to eat heaps of junk, seemingly. My only advice is keeping junk out of the house and away from you so you can get your mind and body in the habit of just saying no at night. You could also talk to your doctor about reducing the dose, or indeed increasing it so at night you go to sleep before these feelings kick in. Best of luck.

SkepticalOwl

First, talk to your psychiatrist about the weight gain. It is possible to add medications such as topiramate (Topamax) or metformin to counteract weight gain if there is too much risk with switching from Seroquel to another mood-stabilizing medication.

Second, if you are comfortable trying a different medication, ask him/her about Latuda. It may require a prior authorization for your insurance to cover it, but since you are having a serious side effect with Seroquel, it may get approved. It is also an atypical antipsychotic approved for use in bipolar disorder and is thought (so far) to be weight neutral.

ilovesnugglies

I gained 200 lbs while taking seroquel. Ask your doctor about Latuda. It works well but the carb cravings aren't nearly severe. When I initially got off of seroquel the weight started coming off quite fast.

shadowofender

Your mental health is important, because without it you won't accomplish your other goals either. The first thing I'd do is discuss these issues with my doctor and see if there's an alternative drug to take that might help reduce those symptoms. I think lots of people have suggested this in more detail and it seems like sound advice. Not every drug works for every person and since you're obviously distraught over these side effects, changing the prescription might be the path you take.

KristieLynn828

The same happened with me on Lyrica for Fibromyalgia, gained 50 lbs in 3 months. I stopped taking it and started the Topamax and Phentermine (together it is called Qsymia, but that is a Brand name and there is no generic together, so I take the 2 generics separately) and I use MFP and eat Nutrisystem foods. I am down 8 lbs. Which isn't much but, it's a start. I need to for my health. My blood pressure and heart rate is out of control.

Tell your Doc. Your health will get worse from the obesity and they can try other options. I take Savella for Fibro instead and it works a lot better w/o the weight gain. I see some of the others suggested different bipolar meds.

The Topamax takes the flavor out of sweet foods, like soda pop, and the Phentermine makes you feel full much quicker, so a few bites of food in and you feel done at meals to avoid over eating. You cant mindlessly binge because you would feel sickly stuffed. If you eat Nutrisystem food, they have kits at Walmart for $44 bucks that have 15 meals and 5 snacks (so cheap!) you are eating all the time and never feel starved. I lost that weight w/o exercising because I still need to bring my heart rate down. Then, when I'm healthy enough to exercise again I can really lose!

rosiecbolton

I will not come of serohell. I have had 11 years of very ill health, being admitted against my will into psych wards. It is only since I discovered serohell I have actually been well. Do not want to go back to chopping and changing meds. I have too much to lose. I have a little boy who would miss me if I got admitted and have built up a business from scratch which I would lose if I got sent inside for a long time.
I am well now, just fat! But I would rather be fat than ill.
Thank you for your suggestions. My husband has been out today and bought lots of fruit and veg so when I have my zombie binges at least it will be healthy food.

Elsie_Brownraisin

I take it with lithium - I'm sorry, but am very fortunate in that it hasn't caused weight gain, but horrific acne that I have to take extra medication for. (No fear, I've tried other meds that have caused weight gain!) What I found when I started quetiapine though, is that I craved really sugary stuff like skittles and fanta and things, which usually, I really don't like. I found that odd.

lorib642

I gained the weight back + so take this how you will, but I gained weight with carb cravings on depakote (I don't think they were as severe as your's are). I intentionally ate more proteins/fats and that helped curb my hunger. I lost 25 lbs which is good for me. Spmeone convinced me it was an unhealthy diet and when I went back to my old habits I gained the weight back.

That sounds like a good plan having fruits/veggies, maybe some nuts, too.

trinity9058

Good plan having the healthy food around the house. I take ambien for severe insomnia and I black out with it. I have gotten in the morning to find that I cooked a whole pan of enchiladas and then ate them and that I didn't remember a thing. The side effects from some of these meds are crazy!

Aileen46

I decided to come into the forum to see if anyone had posted anything about eating at night while being on Quetiapine (seroquil). What a relief it is to find that it's not just me! I need the meds for depression and anxiety, but have around 15 pounds in the 6 weeks that I've been on it! The medication is working but the weight gain is horrible. I'm going to buy low fat, portion controlled items such as fat free pudding cups, or something like that. And the milk cravings that I have when I want to eat a bag of cookies is terrible as well! I switched to skim which saves a few calories, but I hope to get control of this eating past midnight thing!!