Question by cami: How do deal with weight gain, new in addict/alcoholic recovery on depakote/prozac for bipolar disorder?
I am bipolor and I am 15 months clean/sober. I now take my medications daily, depakote and prozac are my mental medications. I have gained 100 pounds the last 15 months! Any helpful hints on losing some of this weight? I know weight gain is a factor in taking depakote and in recovery but this is too much!
Best answer:
Answer by moaaotearoa
I had the same issue. At the end of the day diet changes and exercise only does so much. Speak to your doctor, there are other meds out there which do not have the weight gain side effect near as much. If your doctor is any good they will listen and help you find something with a lesser wight gain side effect. Taking an antidepressant with it causes an additive effect. I now that Lithium and Lamotrigine which is working well for me. Lamotrigine works well for Bipolar depression than the other mood stabilisers. It does take some time to find the right mix of meds.
It is still important to watch your diet and exercise regularly for your physical and mental health. I found making sure to have protein with my lunch helped out a lot to reduce the cravings later on in the day. Good luck and congrats on 15 months, that is awesome.
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I am not a doctor .. Because of my last 10 years of learning to cope with the disorder, I can certainly relate to your concern.
And so it goes with the runaround of medications as a result of the bipolar diagnosis. You have now entered the frustrating stage of battling the side effects .. and they can often be as bad as dealing with the illness. Anybody with a diagnosed mental illness can understand such things, but it is very difficult for any mentally healthy person to begin to imagine.
My suggestion is that you talk to your doctor and say that you would like to explore other options for medications.. most people would be fine with the idea of gaining 20 or 30 pounds if their overall mental stability improved .. but in gaining 100, you have added lots more potentially dangerous health risks .. diabetes, heart issues ..
See if you can change the meds.
Concentrate on working on the things YOU can control .. eat balanced meals, exercise regularly, get plenty of exercize and sleep. Minimize the amount of stress in your life.
Bipolar is such a frustrating illness, it can take years to get an accurate diagnosis, and years to get stabilized with medications. But making simple lifestyle changes can speed up the process tremendously.
The right medications for you are the ones that offset the balance in a positive way.. best overall results with least side effects. It takes time to find them .. Nobody knows you better than you, and this is why it is essential that you can find a doctor that will listen to your concerns.
Best of luck with this, I know just how maddening it can be.