Bipolar and Relearning

turnitaroundat40 wrote: »

Hi,
My daughter is a super athletic teen who was recently diagnosed with bipolar. She started Seroquel back in September and has gained around 20 lbs. it’s tough because Seroquel and other meds used for bipolar often seem to remove that signal that you’re full/satiety from eating. So there’s this temptation to graze or overeat. She has tried Risperidone in the past and it did the same thing. The hard part about Seroquel is that is also makes you sleepy so she’s finding it hard to gather the energy to do workouts to the same length and intensity as before. Her psychiatrist also prescribed Wellbutrin/bupropion which has an off-label use of helping to boost energy, loose weight and avoid addictive tendencies.
My advice is this: Just use MFP to track what you eat and then go from there. Just to see that you’re eating a reasonable amount of calories (whatever maintenance or a small deficit is to you) and then make observations of how you feel and what your hunger cues are. I say this because for my daughter she will eat her usual dinner she’s always had that satisfied her in the past, and she’s had to work on timing her meds and learning how her body responds. For example, she now eats dinner first, then takes her meds, and she feels full. If she takes her meds (say after school) and THEN eats dinner later, she’s starving and eats a snack before dinner, overeats at dinner compared to her usual, and can then late night binges, etc. Just working on understanding how your body responds to meds and looking at the facts/meal tracking of what you’ve eaten and then reasoning with the very real hunger cues you can feel is a big accomplishment.
My next piece of advice is to have very low calorie snack options prepared in advance because the hunger you can feel from meds is real, even if you’ve eaten enough calories. So have celery sticks or other healthy options ready for if a strong urge to snack hits. And look into volume eating as a way to curb hunger.
My last piece of advice is to add your hunger and any observations into your MFP log. There’s a place to make diary notes. Take these notes and your food logs with you when you follow up with your psychiatrist if weight gain becomes a problem. Your doctor may have advice or might be able to refer you to a nutritionist or adjust your meds etc. Best to consult with your doctor if hunger and weight gain become an issue. It’s much easier if you’re proactive in addressing this very real side-effect of medication rather than having to deal with an added weight gain down the road and any health consequences of an added 100 lbs.
Of course, as I tell my daughter (who is saddened that she is having slight setbacks to her athletic achievements due to this new weight struggle and slight weight gain), I’d rather you be happy and stable and healthy and weigh more, than watch you struggle and be off your meds. You’re perfect however you are, and at whatever size. I love you and just want you to live a long and happy life.
And this mom is saying the same to you...it’s hard being given a weight struggle on top of everything else when you have enough to deal with, with bipolar. But you being happy and healthy is the most important thing, so keep taking meds and don’t stress over a few pounds. You are perfect at whatever size you are

dark_sparkles37019 wrote: »

Hey, I'm schizoaffective bipolar type. Go at your own pace. It is your journey. You're right, the meds don't help weight wise, but are necessary.