Battling Weight Gain Caused from Medications??

LilChickPea
LilChickPea Posts: 122 Member
edited October 2 in Health and Weight Loss
Just wondering if anyone else out there (and I'm sure there are), trying to lose weight after gaining weight from medications. I was diagnosed OCD and Bipolar II over 4 years ago and the doctors tried so many medications on me, I gained over a 100 pounds from the trial and error. The biggest problem was anti-psychotics. How about the fitnesspal community? Anyone else here kinda in my same boat??

Just to note: I'm on a cocktail of medications that work great now and allow me to lose.

Replies

  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
    Aropax (depression, anxiety and schizophrenia pill)made me gain a crap load of weight, I'm gonna love the responses cos whilst on the pill (for my skin) it is really hard to lose this weight... :)
  • whatwentwrong
    whatwentwrong Posts: 228
    when i first went on antidepressants at 13, i gained almost 100 pounds in a year :/ i'm pretty soured on meds because of the depression meds i've been placed on (including depakote, which gave me PCOS, which causes me to gain more weight! fun!), and i went off them for good about 3 years ago. i'm thinking of going back on a non-SSRI, and asking if i can go back on topamax, which would hopefully help my weight loss AND migraines :D
  • ivansmomma
    ivansmomma Posts: 500
    My daughter was on Risperdol for behaviors/bi-polar and gained over 60 pounds. When she was taken off of it, she dropped it quickly. My meds (Prednisone, anti-rejection drugs, Lipitor) have not really made me gain weight, but it's hard to get the weight off. As long as I'm losing the inches from exercise, guess I can't complain. Good luck and take care.
  • xfatax311
    xfatax311 Posts: 2
    When I was 14 I was hospitalized for the first time due to my depression. I had been on anti-depressants and anti-psychotics until I was 21 years old, I am now 24. My doctors guinea'd me on several medications, to day the list adds up to 13 different medications. I was 120 when they began, and I ended at 250lbs. I now weigh 183. I was sitting pretty at that plateau for a VERY long time. The medications that caused me the most weight gain were definitely: Abilify, Lexapro, Lamictal, Seroquil, Zoloft, and Cymbalta. I was pre-diabetic by the time I quit taking these medications and began losing the weight. It has been a struggle but since my discovery of this site, the pounds are shedding slowly but surely. I hope you can find comfort in knowing many others like you and myself have gone through this and you will find great support in your weight loss journey here. Keep truckin along sister!
  • vanessae
    vanessae Posts: 2
    I am!!! I started meds 12 yrs ago after my daughter was born and it has been a steady climb since that point. I can exercise, exercise all day long and see little to no results. No I can go to the "fat" doctor and loose 40+ pds but once I stop it all comes back. I'm on Lexapro and Seroquel. I have gotten so upset by my wgt that I have stopped my meds in the past which only ends badly. It is a hard battle but I am trying once again. Good luck!!
  • sava624
    sava624 Posts: 19 Member
    I didnt gain weight when I went on meds...i gained cos I wouldnt face what problem was but anti physcotic do give weight gain and increased hunger...........talk to doctors as there are lots of meds although I see you probably have found right one now...........if thats the case really its what you eat when the hunger comes but its a tough one.......speak to medical team!!!!!!!!!
    on the plus I see you are losing great weight...so keep that to top of mind as its very positive and maybe focus on the positive!
  • poloplayer76
    poloplayer76 Posts: 32
    i am so glad i found you guys. I am on Zoloft and Depakote and Trileptal and I have just blown up. I have gone from 55kg to 79kg in 4 years. I hate it cos i cant recognise myself anymore. Im constantly hungry and crave sweet things all the time. Thing is scared to leave the meds cos I would get anxious n depressed again. How did you lose 49 pounds?
  • catbrand
    catbrand Posts: 227 Member
    when i first went on antidepressants at 13, i gained almost 100 pounds in a year :/ i'm pretty soured on meds because of the depression meds i've been placed on (including depakote, which gave me PCOS, which causes me to gain more weight! fun!), and i went off them for good about 3 years ago. i'm thinking of going back on a non-SSRI, and asking if i can go back on topamax, which would hopefully help my weight loss AND migraines :D

    Hi,

    Good luck with the topamax, I've just started the generic topiramate and it's helping my weight loss, I think it's changed the way I think about food, I'm able to take or leave food easily, it's not a problem and my energy levels have increased too.

    I gained alot of weight while I was on Epilim (sodium valproate) I just couldn't stop eating on that stuff, so it'll be nice to lose that weight.
  • LilChickPea
    LilChickPea Posts: 122 Member
    i am so glad i found you guys. I am on Zoloft and Depakote and Trileptal and I have just blown up. I have gone from 55kg to 79kg in 4 years. I hate it cos i cant recognise myself anymore. Im constantly hungry and crave sweet things all the time. Thing is scared to leave the meds cos I would get anxious n depressed again. How did you lose 49 pounds?

    Well, just like everyone else it was hard. However, I think a lot of times my medications slow down my progress (even my doctor said that it was). I did go up on my anti-depressant from 20mg to 40mg about a week ago because my anxiety was out of control. When I did that it created a firestorm. I was eating like crazy and had horrible cravings. I went back down and I returned to normal.

    I'm also on trileptal. A lot of what your experiencing could be water weight gain. Trileptal depletes sodium levels in the body and in response your body will hold onto water. Ask her doctor for a water pill to help you with this. I would become so bloated it was horrible looking.

    We don't have to be prisoners to our medications. They are there to help us, but we have to help ourselves and try not to give it to the temptations they cause (I KNOW ITS EASIER SAID THAN DONE!!!).

    Thanks everyone for the responses and good luck on your weightloss journey.
  • Beautifylgirl
    Beautifylgirl Posts: 55 Member
    I am joining the club.
    I have been battling Depakote aka Depabloat weight since last December. I started at 126 pounds and ended up 2 months ago at 166 pounds. Yes I was not eating the best but honestly it wasn't any different from years previously. I finally talked to my Dr and told her that enough was enough and I couldn't handle it anymore. I was switched to a new product called Saphris and it works wonders. I am on a very low dose of that and have finally made a dent in my weight. I have lost a total of 12 pounds since being off of Depakote and hope to get back down to my 126 again.
    Brittany
  • retrogal76
    retrogal76 Posts: 40 Member
    Yes! I gained 116 pounds from being on anti-axiety and anti-depressant meds 11 years ago. I was going to the doctor every 1 to 3 months and I just kept getting bigger and bigger. The doctor assured me it wasn't from the pills. But I knew it was. I tried going off of them but my depression got much much worse and it scared me. So I started them again. Finally I just couldn't take the weight gain anymore so I stopped again..this time I stayed off of them and I dropped 15 pounds in the first month...so I know the weight gain was from the meds. I was able to lose 71 of the 116 pounds shortly thereafter but then I plateaued. Obviously, by now the damage was already done. I started getting very discouraged because I knew I could never get my old body back. This has hindered my progress...I've been gaining and losing weight ever since. I know now my only hope is to lose weight for my health, not to "look good" again. I feel like my life ended 11 years ago. Now I'm just trying to accept that this all it's ever going to be.

    I'm scared about having health issues because of the weight so I try every day to stay on track...failing most days. I still have very bad anxiety but refuse to be treated for it. It took me 12 or so years the first time to finally admit to a doctor that I had depression and anxiety and look how that turned out....the severe weight gain has made me much more anti-social than I ever was before..I avoid any and all social situations....feel ashamed just being around family, and live in fear of running into someone I knew back when I was at my normal weight.

    How do any of you cope/deal with this? How do you remain hopeful? And do you feel shame for letting this happen?

    thanks!
  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
    I take a low dose of amitryptaline every day for IC pain. (bladder disease). I have been able to lose on it somewhat, but I feel it has hurt my ability to lose weight. It really slows it down.
  • nhart0723
    nhart0723 Posts: 2
    o yeah. im currently trying 2 get back to my original weight after open heart surgery. kidney transplant. and being diagnosed with depression. so as you can imagine I am on ALOT of diff. meds. just gotta diet and exercise. im doing good started dieting and exercising in janurary. iv lost about 16 lbs so far. it does fluxuate tho. just stick with it :-D
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