Anyone else on mood stabilizers?

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  • NanaBlast
    NanaBlast Posts: 3
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    I'm on anti-depressants and I stalled on weight loss for 2 years, then I gained a bunch in 6 months. I keep wanting to take myself off, but for the most part, I can't handle myself without medicine, unless I substitute it with working out. However, of course I injured myself week 2, and I can't run anymore. I just joined a gym and I'm hoping swimming will help as a substitute. I understand the dilemma about being mentally healthy and big, or having a mind screw and being skinny. I'm really close to picking skinny over health.
  • mitchyinge
    mitchyinge Posts: 196
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    - I want to find people who have managed to lose weight on these drugs. I've looked all over the internet and managed to find one other person and a lot of research saying that there needs to be more research about these meds and weight gain.

    I don't want to accept it. But I've tried to lose weight and the best I could do was maintain. I feel like if I don't constantly work out and eat a very restricted diet, I'll just gain forever.

    So am I alone here or are there others that understand the trouble with weight gain and difficulty losing weight on mood stabilizers?

    I understand, and know the difference between mood stabilisers and anti-depressants, and one of my real life friends on here (tamandua1505) managed to lose over 80 lbs by eating well and exercising but she did switch to a weight neutral stabiliser (carbamazepine). I've lost lots of weight while on lithium (but first I gained 56 lbs, on that and others grrrrrrr) and just refuse to take any of the anti-psychotics that cause weight gain unless am actually in hospital. Luckily a physically active life, attention to sleep patterns and a reasonably healthy diet (don't scrutinise my diary too closely!) also help to regulate my moods. Add me and tamandua if you are collecting bipolar pals!
  • mitchyinge
    mitchyinge Posts: 196
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    I cannot ever, ever take anti-depressants. They make me ill. Mood stabilizers have changed my life. They works exactly as advertised: they stabilize my moods and make life worth living.

    me too! I don't know about the life worth living bit :happy: but I can't have anti-depressants either
  • kdbnmd
    kdbnmd Posts: 16 Member
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    I've been on an anti-depressant for several years now. Paxil which is notorious for causing weight gain. Over the last
    few months I've been weaning off of it and improving my diet and the pounds are coming off.
  • strippedandvital
    strippedandvital Posts: 32 Member
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    Keep in mind that some people NEED medication, whether everyone else thinks so or not. However, there ARE mood-stabilizers that do not increase weight or some that even help you lose weight (such as Wellbutrin). The important thing is to keep asking to be put on the proper meds. And if a doctor brushes you off, brush them off & find a better doctor! There is no reason that you can't lose weight and be on the necessary medications.

    Best of luck & don't listen to anyone who says you can cure chemical/hereditary mental illness through a long walk & some meditation. Not everyone needs meds, but some do, & there is nothing worse than not getting the treatment you need to improve your life!
  • Elsie_Brownraisin
    Elsie_Brownraisin Posts: 786 Member
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    I cannot ever, ever take anti-depressants. They make me ill. Mood stabilizers have changed my life. They works exactly as advertised: they stabilize my moods and make life worth living.

    me too! I don't know about the life worth living bit :happy: but I can't have anti-depressants either

    Ditto. They either don't work or make me high. I take lithium, lamotrigine and quetiapine (seroquel). Many don't like the last one, but it has made a huge difference and out of all the meds I have taken in the past, oddly, it has not caused weight gain for me. I was ok years ago when I started lithium, but when I started taking anti-psychotics I felt bad because I'd graduated to a full blown mad person, but it's been ok and it has been the medication that has made the most difference. It is also good for bipolar depression, as is lamotrigine and useful if people are unable to take anti-depressants.

    Although I hate taking medication full stop (as well as weight gain, it has caused acne and hypothyroidism, so that's 2 extra medications just for the side effects of the first 3), I will continue to take it. I would become very seriously ill without it. I do practice mindfulness, use exercise as a means of managing my condition and have had excellent talking therapy, but without the meds...I would not like to think about it.

    It is possible to lose weight though, I have lost a lot, but it's taken ages. The very reason for taking the medication plays a big part in this too though. I eat too much when I am depressed and too little when high, when I come back to earth with a bump I gain everything I lost and then some. It's a vicious circle, but I'm slowly getting there.

    Feel free to add me if you like. I don't do anything different from lots of people on here, but it's a slow stop and start process.
  • Elsie_Brownraisin
    Elsie_Brownraisin Posts: 786 Member
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    ...
    Mood stabilizers are primarily used to treat bi-polar disorder, but I'm taking them for severe depression. I remember a woman I worked with who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I watched her go from a vibrant active normal sized person to a very overweight woman who ended up losing her job because she fell asleep at her desk at a regular basis. After that, I met several heavyset women who used to be thin until they were diagnosed with bipolar disorder and started taking the meds.

    ...

    I started taking lithium years before I was diagnosed with bipolar, like you, when my diagnosis was recurrent depressive disorder.

    I know a few people that have gained a lot of weight on these medications - I myself was a UK size 12 when diagnosed not long after my son was born and I became very ill, within a year I was a size 24.

    I think some of these medications, particularly anti-psychotics, are introduced or increased when people are having an acute manic episode and this is sometimes in hospital, where there isn't a great deal of opportunity for phsyical activity and when people come down, there's nothing to do in hospital except eat and climb the walls. Or, eating large quantities of food is a characteristic of their depressions, which for some peeople often follows the high.
  • nancy10272004
    nancy10272004 Posts: 277 Member
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    I cannot ever, ever take anti-depressants. They make me ill. Mood stabilizers have changed my life. They works exactly as advertised: they stabilize my moods and make life worth living.

    me too! I don't know about the life worth living bit :happy: but I can't have anti-depressants either

    Ditto. They either don't work or make me high. I take lithium, lamotrigine and quetiapine (seroquel). Many don't like the last one, but it has made a huge difference and out of all the meds I have taken in the past, oddly, it has not caused weight gain for me. I was ok years ago when I started lithium, but when I started taking anti-psychotics I felt bad because I'd graduated to a full blown mad person, but it's been ok and it has been the medication that has made the most difference. It is also good for bipolar depression, as is lamotrigine and useful if people are unable to take anti-depressants.

    Although I hate taking medication full stop (as well as weight gain, it has caused acne and hypothyroidism, so that's 2 extra medications just for the side effects of the first 3), I will continue to take it. I would become very seriously ill without it. I do practice mindfulness, use exercise as a means of managing my condition and have had excellent talking therapy, but without the meds...I would not like to think about it.

    It is possible to lose weight though, I have lost a lot, but it's taken ages. The very reason for taking the medication plays a big part in this too though. I eat too much when I am depressed and too little when high, when I come back to earth with a bump I gain everything I lost and then some. It's a vicious circle, but I'm slowly getting there.

    Feel free to add me if you like. I don't do anything different from lots of people on here, but it's a slow stop and start process.

    I'm a bit confused by your response to my post. When I was on anti-depressants, I was so miserable that I didn't really even have a life. I existed (barely). Once I switched to mood stabilizers (Lamictal), I started living. Now I have friends again, contact with my family, a boyfriend, a renewed career, traveling, hobbies -- a life worth living.

    That's all I meant. What did you think I meant?
  • ECA67
    ECA67 Posts: 806 Member
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    I've been on many antidepressants for past 15 years. I've now settled with Prozac with Abilify. I know exactly what you are talking about. I am having a terrible time trying to lose.
  • Geier42013
    Geier42013 Posts: 4 Member
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    Have you tried lamictal? My doctor put me on this special because he knew I was trying to lose weight and didn't want to give me something that would inter fear with that. And I'm still loseing so I it works.
  • esaucier17
    esaucier17 Posts: 694 Member
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    I am on Welbutrin,Prozac, Buspar and Clonzaepam....a very tramatic event in my life has caused anxiety and depression.
    But none of these have made me gain weight.
    I guess because these are anti-depressants and anti-aniety meds and not mood stabilizers.
    I didn't realize there was a difference until I read this thread.

    Good luck to you hun!
  • NaturallyandProperly
    NaturallyandProperly Posts: 138 Member
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    I haven't been on mood stabilizers, but steroids and anti-depressants and gained a lot of weight too. THE only thing that made me happy and feel normal was to change my mind set and get back to the gym and start eating healthy. I have since gone completely off all of those meds (everyone is different) as I felt they made me feel "normal" but just ate what I wanted when I wanted and had no real ambition. I was on them for over 10 years. I was thin in my twenties. Zoloft, Celexa, Effexor... It took me about 6 months of weaning off and going through serious withdrawals. NOW, I can finally say I actually feel normal and HAVE to HAVE to work out or at least walk daily to get my heart rate up and my mind in a positive headspace. Not saying this will work for you, I don't know how much exercise you are getting, but that is what's working for me. I've been actively working out and eating healthy since January and am down 16 pounds. Of course I have my days, but all in all, I will never get back on those pills ever again. Good luck to you!:flowerforyou:
  • sungoldruth
    sungoldruth Posts: 14 Member
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    Anti-depressants and mood stabilizers saved my life. I'm on Lithium, Lamictal, Latuda and Lexapro. I have Bipolar II, and I finally feel that I finally have a handle on my depression, so now I'm ready to lose weight. My meds contributed to my weight gain of 25 pounds over 2-3 months (I also had gained weight slowly over the past years). I think controlling your depression is the first key point, and then losing weight is second. I think people who are on meds such as mood stabilizers and anti-depressants have a harder time losing weight, but with careful tracking of calories exercise like walking, I believe it's definitely possible. I've lost 11 pounds in 3 weeks.

    Anyone can feel free to add me as a friend for support.
  • NaturallyandProperly
    NaturallyandProperly Posts: 138 Member
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    Don't give up!
  • Elsie_Brownraisin
    Elsie_Brownraisin Posts: 786 Member
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    I cannot ever, ever take anti-depressants. They make me ill. Mood stabilizers have changed my life. They works exactly as advertised: they stabilize my moods and make life worth living.

    me too! I don't know about the life worth living bit :happy: but I can't have anti-depressants either

    Ditto. They either don't work or make me high. I take lithium, lamotrigine and quetiapine (seroquel). Many don't like the last one, but it has made a huge difference and out of all the meds I have taken in the past, oddly, it has not caused weight gain for me. I was ok years ago when I started lithium, but when I started taking anti-psychotics I felt bad because I'd graduated to a full blown mad person, but it's been ok and it has been the medication that has made the most difference. It is also good for bipolar depression, as is lamotrigine and useful if people are unable to take anti-depressants.

    Although I hate taking medication full stop (as well as weight gain, it has caused acne and hypothyroidism, so that's 2 extra medications just for the side effects of the first 3), I will continue to take it. I would become very seriously ill without it. I do practice mindfulness, use exercise as a means of managing my condition and have had excellent talking therapy, but without the meds...I would not like to think about it.

    It is possible to lose weight though, I have lost a lot, but it's taken ages. The very reason for taking the medication plays a big part in this too though. I eat too much when I am depressed and too little when high, when I come back to earth with a bump I gain everything I lost and then some. It's a vicious circle, but I'm slowly getting there.

    Feel free to add me if you like. I don't do anything different from lots of people on here, but it's a slow stop and start process.

    I'm a bit confused by your response to my post. When I was on anti-depressants, I was so miserable that I didn't really even have a life. I existed (barely). Once I switched to mood stabilizers (Lamictal), I started living. Now I have friends again, contact with my family, a boyfriend, a renewed career, traveling, hobbies -- a life worth living.

    That's all I meant. What did you think I meant?

    I agreed with the not being able to take anti-depressants, I didn't really note the life worth living bit, sorry.

    It isn't a magic wand, but things are much better with my family, education, career and finances. As much as I complain about them or start thinking they're a hinderance (though this is precisely the time to keep taking them!!), they have made life much more tolerable for me and the people around me.

    I take lamotrigine (lactimal) too, it helped pull me out of an awful black hole.
  • gostumpy
    gostumpy Posts: 156 Member
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    I had a serious 'episode' last summer and was admitted to the psych ward for a total of 11 days... Turns out I have bi-polar of the high-only, where I am either normal, or I am hypomanic.

    They've put me on Seroquyl and one other that I can't remember (I only remember the generic brand, divalproex and quentenapine) in a super high dose to begin with, like 1500mg per day... I needed to work, and was unable because I felt so drugged, we reduced it to 500mg of each every night.

    I went into the hospital weighing 183lbs... After my 4 months on disability and on medication, I weigh 208.

    I'm in a good spot now, medication works great, I love my job, so I am ready to start losing this damn weight!

    Feel free to add me :)
  • SharonCMach
    SharonCMach Posts: 305 Member
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    Your not alone, I understand what your going threw. I am a firm believer that Mood Stabalizers cause weight gain or can slow down weight loss. My doctor strongly suggested me going on a mood stabalizer, I know I need it. But since I have major eating disorder issues, she can't find one Im willing to take. She did convince me to try Lithium but I only took it for 3 days and then stopped because I read the horror stories about it causing weight gain by slowing your metabolism down. As far as anti-depressants, Im on Wellbutrin & Effexor. No weight issues with these meds, I think they are both weight neutral. I really hope a pharmaceutical copy will come out with a mood stabalizer that does not cause weight gain. Feel free to add me as a friend, it's nice to know I'm not alone on this.
  • Crissie3255
    Crissie3255 Posts: 16 Member
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    Morning, I can't believe what your docs are saying re your weight. I work at a GP and have done for a good few years. I can empathize with you, I am menopausal and my mood swings are very weird. If I was in your position I would go to another docs and find one you can really talk to. The good docs are out there. You should be finding that they support you and advise you. Keep smiling....... Small steps. .......and don't be discouraged.:flowerforyou:
  • redskyharbor
    redskyharbor Posts: 34 Member
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    I've been on a ever changing cocktail for the last year, it's taking a long time for them to find the right mixture for whatever it may be (presenting variables of bipolar, borderline, schizophrenia, and other mood/anxiety/etc disorders).
    Mixing and changing medications for that year has caused me to put on a lot of weight in recent months.

    I'm currently on a mixture of amitriptyline, olanzapine and depakote, however more medication possibly in the pipeline.

    I find I need to take advantage of any burst of motivation I get (especially in the first few weeks/month of starting a medication) to try and create a habit.

    I'm here if anyone wants to talk about stuff like this or accountability person(s).

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