[Katieallison5309]

My serious weight gain began almost 4 years ago when my dr began trying me on different psychotropic drugs such as Pristiq, Lexapro and Zoloft. None helped with my depression and anxiety and although it took me a while to figure out what was going on, these meds started me down the path to a 60-70 lb weight gain. However my mental health was still unstable even with these classic antidepressants and I was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder with ADHD. I believe this diagnosis is correct and my meds were adjusted accordingly. I am now taking lithium, lamictal, olanzapine (brand name Zyprexa), a thyroid medication, Klonopin and adderall. This drug cocktail has helped some but I still have some pretty rotten days, both with anxiety/panic disorder and with depression. Plus, my weight gain doesn't help me feel any better about myself.. After doing some research I've learned that both olanzapine and lithium are absolutely notorious for causing significant weight gain - particularly olanzapine. At my next psych dr appointment I plan to focus on my weight gain and ask him if I can try going off the lithium altogether and try just keeping lamictal as my mood stabilizer. I also want to ask him if I can quit taking olanzapine daily & only take it in case of emergency (olanzapine can be taken on a PRN basis). I feel good about this plan and considering the amount of weight I've gained I feel like my Dr should now be as worried about my physical health as he is my mental health.

Have any of y'all gone off lithium and/ or olanzapine to get your weight under control? Did it help at all and how long did it take. I've read horror stories online about people's metabolism never returning to normal after taking lithium and/or olanzapine and I could really use some first hand stories regarding going off psychotropic drugs and how it impacted your weight.

Thanks for all input!

[Sencha]

I was only on lithium for about a month. Apparently I am "lithium sensitive." I was literally walking into walls when I was on it. I did gain about 80 pounds on Depakote when I was first diagnosed. Ten years later I am on Lamictal and Trileptal, as well as Klonopin, which do a good job keeping my mood stable. I am having problems with Risperdal, which is a notorious weight-gainer. I did notice when I cut my dosage way down that I started losing weight. My doctor is going to try me on Latuda, which is supposed to be "weight-neutral." Hopefully it works and does not make me more anxious.

[lisawarren]

Great thread.

[bipolar_123]

I just made a thread about this. Was on lithium and several anti-psychotics. I was misdiagnosed many times. Changed doctors, got second opinions. They would keep changing the meds and none would help. Lithium also caused skin issues along with sudden weight gain. The worst was risperidone. I was never warned about these side effects or I would have chosen not to take these meds as they did not help my bipolar depression in any way, instead only worsened my mood. They also "forgot" to give me an anti-depressant alongside all these mood suppressors. Overall, I was stuck at home for a year because of how ashamed I was of my body. It took me one year after weaning off the meds to see any improvement.

I'm on a maintenance dose of Lamictal currently. I will not be taking meds unless absolutely necessary as they have caused no significant improvement in my life. Lithium has permanently slowed down my metabolism. I'm now back to the calories I used to consume when my BMI was 16. Yet my current BMI is stable at 21.6.

[Bkay1989]

I was on Seroquel 500mg and it definitely made me loss so much weight it was crazy this pill made me sleep and l wouldnt feel like eating which was so unhealthy. I would go with food for 2 days which was so bad ended up losing 10 kilos then i just stopped taking those pills made me lose weight and l had no life.

[TracyB73]

When I was first diagnosed with depression, anxiety, ptsd, agoraphobia and panic attacks, I was put on zoloft, Trazadone, lamictal and vistril, I think I was gaining weight, not sure, but I weaned myself off of them as I didn't like the way they made me feel and I didn't like the potential harm meds can do to my body, but yeah I think they do cause weight gain.