Psyche meds and weight gain

BekShark · July 2017

Does anyone else have this problem?

I recently got my meds changed from a mood stabiliser to an antipsychotic (aripiprazole and flouxetine. I am battling with cravings and have gained a few pounds in the last 3 months.

I am within my healthy bmi and would like to lose about 7 to 10 lb which would leave me comfortably within the range. I work out with kettlebells and am doing the Tapout XT workout DVDs, but my apetite has gone crazy since going on these meds.

Can anyone else share their experiences or strategies for combatting weight gain on meds and managing the increased hunger and cravings. They seem to change your metabolism too, so I am avoiding carbs, but end up giving in to the cravings too often!

Blackened616 · July 2017

Hi, I had this problem as well. I reached a plateau while on Quetiapine XR, and my first weight gain was on Clonozepam my neurologist had prescribed to me at the end of High School. What worked for me was changing the medicine because of which I couldn't lose weigh. From what I was told by my psychiatrist, Fluoxetine causes actually weight loss in some patients, so it must be Aripiprazole that is causing your increased appetite. I think you have to look for appetite supressing foods on the internet and choose those which have the biggest appetite supressing strength, while not binging on them either. All I know are foods rich in fiber and drinking tons of mineral water, so you'd have to look up some other options on the net, maybe on livestrong.com for example. If this doesn't work you have to speak to your doctor about changing Aripiprazole to something else for example, I take Ziprasidone instead of Quetiapine now and this drug does not cause weight gain. This would also be necessary if your meds mess up your metabolism too much - if that is the case you'll have no progress and you'll actually gain weight

. These drugs are really bad for weight loss and getting in shape and unfortunately there are few SSRIs that do not cause weight gain.

BekShark · July 2017

Thanks for the reply. I've been told that Aripiprazole is one of the better ones for weight gain and to be honest it's a lot better than Quetiapine, Olanzapine and Risperidone which I've tried in the past. I may ask to switch to Geodon if the weight gain continues.

Whitezombiegirl · July 2017

My issue with fluoxetine was not the cravings but the apathy to life in general - to meal planning, balenced diet, excersise, cleaning etc.. I also develop serotonin syndrome but thats another matter.

No advice, i came off them asap. Hugs.

HeidiCooksSupper · July 2017

Each of us reacts differently to the drugs. I've taken fluoxetine since Prozac was new and have seen no effect on weight. It also didn't hit me with apathy, although as I've gotten older I'm taking a lower dose. You just have to experiment until you find what works for you. For me, it's a combination of fluoxetine and welbutrin with light therapy in the winter. Counseling also helped but that, too, requires trying different counselors until you find the one that works for you.

kshama2001 · July 2017

My brother takes mood stabilizers and antipsychotics known to cause an increase in appetite. When he was in a hospital setting, he gained weight while eating hospital food and not getting much exercise. Now that he is home, eating Mom's cooking, helping her with extensive yard work, and walking several miles per day, he lost all the weight he gained in the hospital and has maintained a healthy weight for over two years.

He doesn't count calories. He does eat lots of whole foods - fruits, veggies, legumes, whole grains, etc. He was a pescastarian for about a year and now is eating chicken as well. There's very little, if any, junk food in the house.

MegaMooseEsq · July 2017

HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »

Each of us reacts differently to the drugs. I've taken fluoxetine since Prozac was new and have seen no effect on weight. It also didn't hit me with apathy, although as I've gotten older I'm taking a lower dose. You just have to experiment until you find what works for you. For me, it's a combination of fluoxetine and welbutrin with light therapy in the winter. Counseling also helped but that, too, requires trying different counselors until you find the one that works for you.

I'm on this combo as well and have not experienced change in weight or apathy, either as a teenager on a moderately high dose of fluoxetine or now on a very low dose combined with buproprion (Wellbutrin). Everyone's different, though. Honestly, I can't do much of anything about my weight if my anxiety and/or depression is out of control, so it's really six of one, half a dozen of the other in terms of possible increased cravings.

VintageFeline · July 2017

You'll adjust. Play around with your macros and see if there's a combination that helps with hunger. Don't try to push for too big a deficit, reduce slowly or just get a handle on maintenance first.

I gained on quetiapine because I didn't care at first and wasn't really paying attention. Then I started losing on it and tapered off while still losing.

I'm on lamictal now and it made no difference one way or the other.

The most important thing is to find a combination that helps you mentally. Once you are in a better place mentally dealing with cravings and weight loss will be so much easier. Fighting everything at once could be too much and that's okay.

doittoitgirl · July 2017

I'm on prozac and lamictal. For me, it has helped immensely with my BED and depression and I've lost weight since I started. But, as it has already been mentioned, everyone reacts differently to meds. Wellbutrin made me so sick and started giving me heart palpitations so I had to stop. For others they have no problem at all. If the weight gain is extremely out of control, talk to your doc and maybe they can find another dosage or combo of meds to try. It had taken me some trial and error to get where I needed to be.

H_Ock12 · July 2017

For me, it's mind over matter. Some of the medications I take may cause an increase in appetite, but if I am eating my calorie goal, I am able to tell myself that it's not really hunger and I distract myself with work, a nap, a walk, etc.

ZhivagosGirl · July 2017

I'm on aripiprazole and flouxetine as well as bupropion and topamax. I've lost 60 lbs since January and I would say that I owe it specifically to the Abilify that I started last fall. It has taken away food cravings and I'm just plain not hungry. I struggle to meet the MFP calorie totals on a daily basis. Just another perspective.

folgers86 · July 2017

I take 20mg of fluoxetine with no side effects but meds aren't one size fits all. Haven't heard of fluoxetine messing with appetite though.
The Pill on the other hand...

JenniK614 · July 2017

I take Fluoxetine. I lost about 15 pounds in the first three weeks because of side effects, but have since leveled off. My doctor explained that SSRIs typically don't cause weight gain, but they do cause more feelings of happiness that make some people want to eat more.

He may be full of it, but it made sense when he said it. I hope you find what works for you!

BekShark · July 2017

Thanks for all the replies and itr's a relief to know that most people haven't gained weight on flouxetine.

So far I don't feel any improvement in mood from the flouxetine, but the Abilify is working. I've put on 4 pounds in the last couple of months I think. It's difficult to guess due to daily weight fluctuations.

crackpotbaby · July 2017

I gained a bunch of weight (>20% of body weight) whilst taking aripiprazole and fluoxetine in conjunction with my lithium.

When the aripiprazole and fluoxetine were added my weight suddenly shot up drastically.

I also developed a course tremor incompatible with my job (registered nurse) which thankfully settled once these drugs were removed from my regime.

I spent a few years trailing different atypical antipsychotics and continued to quickly gain weight.

Since reverting back to lithium monotherapy I am able to manage my weight and am back to a healthy BMI.

Atypical antipsychotics work wonders for some people. For me personally the side effect profile is not balanced by greater benefits.

There is evidence to suggest that the mechanism by which this class of drugs causes weight gain is not as simple of calorie excess.

I'll try and find the study.

crackpotbaby · July 2017

I posted this a while ago in another thread. Sorry, no direct link but you can read the abstract if you're inclined.

The Effect of a Calorie-Restricted Diet on Weight Gain in Short-Term Psychiatric Inpatients Receiving Atypical Antipsychotic Medications
Author: Jacobowitz, William; Derbabian, Barbara; Saunders, Anne
ProQuest document link

Abstract:
This study attempted to evaluate the effect of a calorie-restricted diet on weight change in short-term acute care psychiatric patients receiving atypical antipsychotic medication. A descriptive correlational design utilizing chart review and a convenience sample of 100 participants was used. Fifty charts of patients hospitalized prior to the implementation of the calorie-restricted diet for those receiving atypical antipsychotic agents were compared to 50 charts of patients who received the diet. Weight changes in the two groups were compared relative to age, gender, length of time taking the medication, and the type of medication. The Mann-Whitney U test, Spearman's rank-correlation coefficient, and the two-way analysis of variance were used to conduct the analyses. The calorie-restricted diet was not significantly associated with a reduction in weight gain in participants who received any of the atypical antipsychotic agents except for olanzapine; therefore, findings indicate that the calorie-restricted diet may only be effective for patients receiving olanzapine. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 52(7), 30-37.]

...........

You may find it hard to access the full text unless you have access to a university or hospital database. There a few design flaws in this study, not so much 'evidence' as interesting finding - however, they look at caloric restriction (2000cal/day) in regard to weight gain management in patients taking atypical antipsychotics.

Psyche meds and weight gain

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