Hi I am on prozac and depakane for management of bipolar. I can tell you that the depakane makes me more rational about my eating behavior and less likely to binge. Why son't you speak to your doctor about this? As binging is definitely part of the mood disorder.

I have taken lamictal off and on for the last 5 years. This was listed as one of the top ten new treatments in medicine. It was shown to have the least amount of side effects and the best coverage for ups and downs. Although, I myself have had a problem with my weight, I have not noticed that specifically lamictal was to blame. Ask your pharmasist or doctor what the pdr (physicians drug reference) says about weight gain.

I found it much more tolerable than any other meds. It doesn't cause the lethergy that drugs like lithium do.

Good luck

mia

I was on depakane for two years and I gained a lot of weight. (and I was not eating that much at all.) then, my hair started to fall out. I was fine at the beginning of treatment. I did not have any noticeable side effects, but when it rained it poured. But, when I was put on lithium (the best prescription for bipolar) I was fine. If your weight gain is bothering you that much, you should definately talk to your doctor about switching medications.

I hate to differ on opinions, but as I said before, lamictal was chosen as one of the top ten new treatments in medicine. This is scientific breakthroughs for medical advancements. Lithium has been and will continue to be, the last stop for people that nothing else works for, however, anti-siezure medications like lamictal are the future. Lithium has a tendency to give life back with one hand and suck joy out with the other.

As always, medication needs to be monitored by your mental health care provider.

Best of luck

mia

The last stop? Are you kidding? I have studied bipolar disorder over the last three years and lithium is the only drug that is proven to keep bipolar under control! If you have a mild disorder then the other drugs will work. Lithium can be taken at different doseages you know.
Now, not everyone can take lithium for one reason or another. And if on the wrong dose you could have adverse effects. But no one person can rule out lithium until the have tried it for themselves! It is a life safer for a lot of people, not a last resort! I do not doubt that these new drugs will work. I am not arguing with you on that, but lithium is the top one, not just in the top ten. If on the right dose it sometimes gets people to a level where they never have to take drugs again. (sometimes!)
yes we obviously do not agree, I am not arguing, but I would never tell anyone not to take lithium unless a last resort, because it could be the one thing to finally help them. These new drugs have not been around long enough to know the long term effects. Not saying that they should not be tried either, but bottom line, lithium is not a last resort!

I am very glad that lithium has been a life saver for you. When I was on it, I was a "zombie". I wasn't depressed, but I also had no joy, !!Ever!! Lamictal was a wonder drug for me. I can only speak from my own personal experience what worked for me.

And as I said before, lamictal was one of the top ten "new" drugs, not new drugs for bi-polar. Lithium has been the #1 treatment for serious bi-polar, but doctors don't usually start with lithium. They usually reserve it when all else fails, or when someone becomes a danger to themselves or to others.

Everyone has to find what works best for themselves, with the help of their mental health care provider, of course.

Best

mia

Mental health professional or plain health care provide, they are merely mecahnics for your mind or body nothing more & they are not gods they can & do make mistakes, many of them are either too busy or too linked to pharmaceutical companies or just hitch their diagnoses & prescriptions to the current in-thing so they don't actually properly diagnose you as an individual which is what we all are!!!!

What works for one won't automatically work for others.

On top of which if you do any sort of research into the facts of pharmaceuticals (not to mention looking at the facts of side effects of all pharmaceuticals & what the companies have hidden from us about the drugs they make & how much money they make off us & how there are natural alternatives available that are far more effective with few if any side effects - so long as they're taken properly - but !!) you would know that companies call their new drugs no1 & the latest & best available to get brainless idiots to accept them & then the companies make more money.

Talk to your dr or find a new one or a someone who is interested in natural alternatives & see if you can take dhea with your meds as it not only helps mental health problems it also helps reduce weight, you might even look into this & other natural alternatives, st john's wort, vitamin b's, 5htp (tryptophan), sam-e to name a few.

Whatever anyone tells you, research it all for yourself, it's your body & you are the one who should decide. If you are gaining alot of weight the depression caused by that (if that is what is happening) can undo any good the meds do!! So do some reseach, do not blindly accept what drs & drug companies preach. I & several members of my family (over 70 odd years & many different medical problems) have found that the only way to find what works for you is to take what drug companies & drs say with a grain of salt & research it all for yourself & you decide what you feel is right for you then give that a go.

Homeopathy is another alternative worth checking out.

Of course some people will always believe that drs & drug companies only have the patients best interests at heart & that they would never lie & couldn't possibly make a mistake & will believe whatever hype is dished up to them regardless.

Well, I guess i'm just a brainless fool who found a doctor who researched his medicine choices, was brave enough to look the side effects up in the pdr (physicians drug reference book) in front of me and and discuss his choices with me, when I was unhappy with lithium. I don't beleive I have insulted anyone in this forum, and I would appriate in the future if other people would be as kind.

Mia

I & others I know have seen drs look up meds & their side effects & then discuss their decisions &/or options with the patient but the patient then still only knows what they have been told by the dr & usually hasn't read the total range of side effects for themselves & drs do not have time to read every patient all known possible side effects of meds - get real if you think they do.

You need to do your own research into not merely the meds suggested but also what other causes there may be for what you are experiencing. The latter is especially important because when you go to a search engine yourself & check out what can cause "x" you often find a whole different story to what the dr has given you. Not just because they don't bother, don't care but because drs today are just so busy & so overwhelmed with all the information etc that they do not know it all, but you are only looking for you, it's (or should be) vitally important to you prsonally so you can make the time to check out all of the options available (meds, natural & pharmaceutical; side effects, alternative therapies & most importantly other causes for your symptoms that the dr might not have recognized or thought of for tonnes of reasons, including not being aware of something because you didn't realize it was important.

Anyone with access to a computer today is an fool if they do not check out as much as they can about side effects, alternative treatments & alternative causes of their problems. Hell you don't trust your mechanic 100% with your car (you go back if there's a noise or something "feels" wrong even if you're a mechanical fool like me) so why is it that poeple insist on trusting drs 100%, especially when e rarely if ever give them 100% of the relevant information (simply because we ourselves don't know what is relevant!!).

You are continuing to call me an fool, oh i'm sorry, a brainless fool, people come to this forum for support and information not being insulted. So no matter what your opinion on things are, don't insult or call the people that come here names!

Mia

Mia,

there's different types of support & one (which I guess you're unaware of) is being tough, calling things as you see them, saying what you feel needs to be said as opposed to what is nice & gooey & not always what is needed.

Sometimes support & advice is just that support, empathy, advice but sometimes it's harsh or harsher, trying to get people to take off their blinders, open their eyes & minds & think!!

Are they doing all they need to do, are they doing all they can do, are they doing what they should be doing &/or are they avoiding reality & making excuses for inaction. (i personally do alot of the latter, so I know what it's about, but i've also done the opposite).

We all should take responsibility for our own lives & not simply leave it to others to tell us or prescibe, we should be checking for ourselves, seeing whether what is prescibed, what is diagnosed is accurate. Today we have the internet which makes searching out alternative answers & full details so easy & yes, anyone who simply takes whatany dr says as gospell & what any dr prescibes as the best (even if the drug is fantastic it may not be right for you, & it sure won't be right if your diagnois is wrong!!)without checking & questioning for yourself, yes anyone who fails themselves in this is a brainless fool.

You may not see that as supportive or helpful, but from personal experience I know of people who would be dead, another who would have had a kidney transplant, another in a wheelchair, another deaf & many (worldwide!!) who would be seriously ill & possibly dead due to both misdiagnosis & wrongly prescibed medication (both wrong for the diagnosis & wrong for the individual).

But people are free to continue seeing drs as gods & not questioning, researching for & about themselves, we have freedom of speech, but i'm free to say they're idiots for not taking responsibility for their own health.
That's the last i'll say on this issue; if you don't get it now, you never will.

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when I was 19 but I didn't take my medication properly (didn't like the side effects) until I was 24, after a few hospitalizations for mania. Now I am 34.

In the past 15 years I have gained 95 pounds. A couple of years ago I was so frustrated that I quit all of my medication. I lost 60 pounds in 9 months and was able to swim, run, play soccer, and tennis. It was great. I was feeling like the happy college athlete I used to be until I had to be hospitalized for mania. I now weigh 230 and I should weigh 135.

In the past I have taken lithium, risperdal, tegretol, depakote, zyprexa, ativan, perphenazine, seroquel, wellbutrin, neurontin, restoril, and sonata. I told my psychiatrist I was tired of experimenting with drug cocktails. Now I am taking lithium and lamictal. I have felt so much better since I have started taking lamictal and have not become manic. I want to try using lamictal as my sole therapy since it is not associated with weight gain. I'm going to ask about it at my next med check.

Welcome,
lamictal was the best thing that ever happen to me. It has no side effects for me, but you need to watch out for the one very serious, deadly side effect it has, a rash. If you start having a rash call your doctor immediately!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Other than that, this is the best medicine ever. No weight gain, no grogginess, it seems no side effects what so ever.

If you took zyrexa for a long time, get checked for diabetes. There is a classaction lawsuite against the manufacturer of zyprexa for causing patients to develope diabetes. You should have this checked out, I currently am having my tests run because I also took zyprexa. It wasn't bad enough it made you gain 9 pounds a month!!!!!! Now you find out it gives you another disease in addition to the one you already had.

Good luck

mia

Thanks mia!

I will get checked for diabetes. Maybe I can even sue zyprexa (hahaha). I'm glad lamictal is working well for you. I hope it continues to work for me. I would really like to lose all of this weight!

Take care!

I was taking lithium when I was first diagnosed with bipolar when I was 14 (nov of 1987). It made me a bit of a zombie too, a house could be burning down and all I would have to say about it was looky pretty. I had no real joy either mia. I stopped taking my lithium cold turkey and didnt get back on meds til may of 2001. I was taking paxil but then my dr decided to try me on lithium again since the paxil wasnt doin what I needed it to do. I went into a deep depression. I wasnt cooking meals I laid on the couch all day and all night, I was not bathing and wasnt brushing my teeth, I cried a lot, didnt know why but felt like I was mourning someones death. And I was mean too I wanted everyone to leave me alone, I woould tell them to just go away. My family had an intervention on me and I started weening myself off the lithium. By time I was completely off the lithium I had an appointment to see my Dr. I was then put on celexa and klonopin. The klonopin wasnt helping right so they put me on depakote. I was on depakote for quite a while but gained almost 30 pounds with it and then I was put on zyprexa becasue I was told it would also help me sleep. I gained almost 40 lbs with it. I am now being weened off the zyprexa and being put back on the depakote, I hope I dont gain another 30 lbs. I now weigh 238 1/2 lbs I hate being this fat!!!!! It is depressing in itself. I have never been this heavy in my life and I am goin to the gym every day to try and work it off but I just cant seem to lose the weight, I am losing inches but not weight. I know how you all feel about your weight gain, its awful to have gained so much weight becasue of meds we are taking to make us what others concider to be "normal".