I have dx of Bipolar 1.....after years of trying different med combos, I am currently only taking a high dose of seroquel....I don't get depressed too often...or at least when I do, it's manageable ( except for the odd episode here and there, which tend to be years apart....but then holy cow....it get's bad). My mania is what causes me the most problems, I go through mania more often than depression.....my last manic episode was full blown psychosis, hospitalized...just a general all around mess I was, haha.
Right now, the seroquel seems to be working well, but it's hard to tell, because I can go long periods of time functioning fairly well, with only mild mood swings. They may seem major to other people, but as long as I'm getting out of bed, and having a sense of reality, in my books I'm doing well.
Risperdal was by far the worst for me as far as weight gain goes....although I have never taken Depakote.
I don't know how the seroquel is affecting my weight loss..I do know that my periods of acute illness also play a number on my weight....medicated or not....while depressed I can lose weight because I don't eat.....mild depression can cause me to gain because I just don't care and lay around my house and eat whatever....Mania can also do the same...I lose sometimes because I don't stop moving and can't focus on making a meal...but I have also gained while manic....eating whatever I want, whenever I want. So, a lot of the time, my periods of wellness are either gaining a bit of weight after not eating, or getting back down to where I was before I was ill.
I seem to be stuck right now on the seroquel, ( neither gaining nor losing) but I also work full time as a nurse, and rotate between days and nights, and I think that's playing a number on my metabolism as well.
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