[drosszero]

Just curious if anyone here is also bipolar and if so have you suffered from any sort of compulsive eating behaviors like B.E.D, C.O.E. or Bulimia?

[ThinkinThin]

Yep - bipolar here too and I deal with COE all the time. I used to binge more than I do now. Now, I just seem to deal with eating too much throughout the day...if that makes sense. I've heard meds can add up to 40-60 lbs so I'm going with that - it makes me feel better about at least that much weight. Maybe it's not ALL my fault. :-) Hang in there. You're not alone!

[seabiscuit]

yes, I have had issues with overeating too. I firmly believe that my disordered eating is a result of the weight gaining psychiatric medications that increased my hunger dramatically! I never had eating issues like this before I was on these meds. I take ownership that I have to control what goes into my mouth but these medications have made my life it incredibly difficult and added a whole new dimension to eating and weight that never existed before the meds.

[Kelseyj325]

I was just placed on lamictal and abilify. I've gained atleast 10 pounds in the last few months. And I emotionally eat, which doesn't help.

[drosszero]

I was on quite a few atypical antipsychotics and I gained loads of weight while taking them. Now that I am not taking any medications I have noticed a major change in my eating habits. When I become manic I tend to eat very little but when I am depressed all I can do is stuff my face. It's very odd. TY for all of your feedback =)

[Gabe]

I'm probably somewhere on the bipolar spectrum. Naturally, I have cyclothymia; a misdiagnosis and a prescription of an antidepressant temporarily kicked that up to full-on bipolar, at least dx-wise, about five years ago.

I was on Effexor, Lamictal, and Seroquel. I'm not sure whether I gained weight during this time or not--my pants size didn't really change, but I think I might've gained in other places, who knows?--but the entire thing made it hard for me to care enough to lose weight. When I was up--well, relatively; mostly, I was mixed--it was hard for me to really focus on losing weight. Everything else was way more appealing. When I was down, I just didn't give a crap. Additionally, in my case, Seroquel basically sapped my will to do anything. I didn't want to get up most days, let alone do something as difficult as stick to a plan.

What's helped me immensely, control-wise, is regulating my sleep schedule. As long as that stays on a fairly even keel, keeping to plan seems to be a cinch. If I sleep too much or too little, my mood slips one way or the other, and my willpower starts to seriously wane.

It's hard. Fortunately, there's this place for the hard parts.