do antipsychotics cause weight gain?

lurker011

i am not psychotic,i have terrible ocd and depression and my psychiatrist prescribed me 2.5 mg of Zyprexa. i have gained 12 pounds in 2 weeks. i went from 215 to 227. i am wondering if this is normal and how can i reverse this?

solskinnzombie

i gained weight when i took them. they made me so tired and hungry.

PikaKnight

No. They don't "cause" weight gain. They might mess with your appetite a bit, but if you work to stay at your maintenance, you won't gain. Weigh out your food and log it to make sure you aren't eating at a calorie surplus.

Edited for typo

iggyboo93

This wasn't the case with me. I was prescribed Prozac for depression at the beginning of July. I've lost 31 pounds since then and am 17 pounds below starting weight here. It was like a fog lifted and I suddenly had the energy to live my life. Things made sense again. I don't wake up disappointed that I didn't die in my sleep. I was motivated to get back to losing weight through counting calories and exercising more. Not sure why we respond so differently to medications.

Would suggest taking a closer look at your food intake / logging. I was shocked at the calories I was ingesting prior to July.

LAT1963

The antipsychotics don't themselves change the way you metabolize food. They may have some effects on your mood that might have side effects on your weight.

More importantly, your ocd and depression can make it hard to eat rationally. If you have a weight problem it will probably be from the illness. Sometimes as people's condition improves, some of their habits get worse--when they were depressed, they wanted a donut but it was too unthinkable to leave the house and actually get it. Once they start to improve, they have the energy to get the donut. So you can see how a person could transiently have worse eating habits as they are climbing out of a well of depression.

"Psychosis" in a medical sense doesn't mean what it does in common usage. People tend to think "psycho killer", but what it really means is difficulty in testing which thoughts or perceptions are true and which are false. So a person can have "depression with psychotic features"--be out of touch with reality--because their mood is so dark that their perception of the world seems totally divorced from the consensus reality. The neurochemistry of severe depression can also cause hallucinations and illusions. So it's not uncommon for docs to throw a mild, modern antipsychotic into the regimen for a depressed person.

I hope you feel better soon. If you are able to stick to your diet plan you should have results similar to everyone else, but your illnesses might make it hard for you to recognize or believe that you are succeeding at a normal pace.

I hope you also have counseling with your meds. Bring this up with your counselor and they may be able to help you stay on track with your diet.

There is anecdotal evidence that low-carb diets help some schizophrenics maintain remission while on their drugs--avoid breakthrough psychotic events. It's unclear whether this would be true for other conditions like depression, but I mention it because it suggests diet can interact with your illness or with your meds to affect your mental health results. As you diet, be alert to whether biasing your diet toward a particular macro-nutrient has effects on your mental health. If a particular strategy (eg: low carb, low fat, vegan...) makes your illness worse then try a different one.

roeroe5

EVIL little pills!!! Ask your p doc if you can maybe try Wellbutrin and see if it works for you. Medical aid doesn't cover it, but it is well worth every sent. (If it works with your body)

lilmiss_sunshine29

The antipsychotics don't themselves change the way you metabolize food. They may have some effects on your mood that might have side effects on your weight.

More importantly, your ocd and depression can make it hard to eat rationally. If you have a weight problem it will probably be from the illness. Sometimes as people's condition improves, some of their habits get worse--when they were depressed, they wanted a donut but it was too unthinkable to leave the house and actually get it. Once they start to improve, they have the energy to get the donut. So you can see how a person could transiently have worse eating habits as they are climbing out of a well of depression.

"Psychosis" in a medical sense doesn't mean what it does in common usage. People tend to think "psycho killer", but what it really means is difficulty in testing which thoughts or perceptions are true and which are false. So a person can have "depression with psychotic features"--be out of touch with reality--because their mood is so dark that their perception of the world seems totally divorced from the consensus reality. The neurochemistry of severe depression can also cause hallucinations and illusions. So it's not uncommon for docs to throw a mild, modern antipsychotic into the regimen for a depressed person.

I hope you feel better soon. If you are able to stick to your diet plan you should have results similar to everyone else, but your illnesses might make it hard for you to recognize or believe that you are succeeding at a normal pace.

I hope you also have counseling with your meds. Bring this up with your counselor and they may be able to help you stay on track with your diet.

There is anecdotal evidence that low-carb diets help some schizophrenics maintain remission while on their drugs--avoid breakthrough psychotic events. It's unclear whether this would be true for other conditions like depression, but I mention it because it suggests diet can interact with your illness or with your meds to affect your mental health results. As you diet, be alert to whether biasing your diet toward a particular macro-nutrient has effects on your mental health. If a particular strategy (eg: low carb, low fat, vegan...) makes your illness worse then try a different one.

very well said!

WorthlessFag

Zyprexa is, in my experience, the worst! I can list a whole litany of side effects from this medication. It eventually caused the loss of my job which is how I finally found out it was the medication that was causing all the problems. No insurance = no medication, it took 3 months to get it out of my system. I have always had low/healthy cholesterol levels, except while on Zyprexa it skyrocketed. I have never had heart issues, Zyprexa caused some, thankfully no longer an issue. There were several issues. And, yes, I gained weight... 60 pounds in roughly 3 months and research since has indicated that it makes it more difficult to lose that weight. There was even a class action suit due to the side effects. Do a simple google search and I'm sure you'll find all kinds of horror stories. I suggest you ask your physician for a different medication. Finding the right drug cocktail can be difficult and they won't generally work indefinitely you may have to tweak it every few months, but there are many options. This is just my experience but I've heard others with similar stories. I actually have a 3 year time frame in my life for which I have very little recollection thanks to Zyprexa. There were even things I had done for years, at which I had been very proficient, that I had to relearn after Zyprexa. Edit, just FYI, as it may have some bearing, I have OCD and rapid cycling bipolar disorder.

WorthlessFag

Sorry about the layout of my response, half of my keyboard doesn't work.

Maleficent0241

12 pounds in 2 weeks is probably water retention. It's worth checking back in with your pdoc to make sure that's what it is and that it's not a signal that a serious side effect is going on. It's really not known exactly how meds cause true weight (fat) gain - a lot of it is appetite increase, but in some people it can affect your metabolism a bit too. Watch your calories closely, as you may have to reduce what you were eating in order to counteract the effects of the medication.

derik999

They may make you retain water but they don't create a reflex that forces you to put food in your mouth against your will.

JordanMK_

My mom is taking Zypadhera (for Schizophrenia) and she gained 30 kilos!

lilmiss_sunshine29

with various mental health illnesses come various symptoms including;
low energy
poor appetite or increase
poor sleep or increase
increased energy

my point is don't rush to point the finger at the medication if it's also helping your illness because some issues may hve been pre-existing. maintain your calorie intake diary and if after a few weeks you're still gaining despite maintaining your calorie allowance and exercise - then re think things,

lilmiss_sunshine29

My mom is taking Zypadhera (for Schizophrenia) and she gained 30 kilos!

sorry to hear that (assuming it's a negative/unwanted gain) but you need to take into account what else is going on...weight gain may not be soley down to meds people take.

_Zardoz_

No. They don't "cause" weight gain. They might mess with your appetite a bit, but if you work to stay at your maintenance, you won't gain. Weigh out your food and log it to make sure you aren't eating at a calorie surplus.

Edited for typo

^^^^ This drugs don't make you magically put fat on from nowhere. They can effect appetite and hunger signals and that will make you eat too much. So as with any weightloss its just a case of monitoring your calorie intake

aubyshortcake

EVIL little pills!!! Ask your p doc if you can maybe try Wellbutrin and see if it works for you. Medical aid doesn't cover it, but it is well worth every sent. (If it works with your body)

I had a very bad experience with that stuff when I was in high school, it actually worsened my symptoms instead of improving them! Of course this may not be the case for you, I was an adolescent at the time and I've heard that there is a higher risk of that happening to younger people.

I used to take seroquel, & I don't recall it affecting my weight but I was so tired all the time I was falling asleep in public places, it was... Interesting lol

Liftng4Lis

They may increase appetite, its up to you to control it. Stick to your plan, continue to monitor your calories and you're golden!

Maitria

Give your doctor a call. Many people find it hard to manage their .weight on .zyprexa.

Graelwyn75

This wasn't the case with me. I was prescribed Prozac for depression at the beginning of July. I've lost 31 pounds since then and am 17 pounds below starting weight here. It was like a fog lifted and I suddenly had the energy to live my life. Things made sense again. I don't wake up disappointed that I didn't die in my sleep. I was motivated to get back to losing weight through counting calories and exercising more. Not sure why we respond so differently to medications.

Would suggest taking a closer look at your food intake / logging. I was shocked at the calories I was ingesting prior to July.

Prozac is an SSRI, not an anti psychotic.

gelendestrasse

Yes, one of the worst side effects with Zyprexa is weight gain. And no, you don't have to be psychotic to have it prescribed. It's used a lot if a person is having problems focusing their thoughts as well.

But the weight gain - yeah, that's a problem.