I had the same problems on Lithium. I gained a LOT of weight, and developed very serious acne. I've been off it Lithium for over ten years, and I still have the acne scars. When I went off the Lithium and started another anticonvulsant (mood-stabilizer), I lost a good deal of weight; however, I was up and down for years. In 2002, I started taking Topamax and I dropped 70 pounds. About 2 years later, my doctor started me on Seroquel (an anti-psychotic which has been found to be very effective on bipolars), and the weight started climbing again. I feel like I can't win. However, I am more stable on the drug cocktail (Topamax, Seroquel, Zoloft, Trazadone) that I'm on right now than I have been in 20 years. There's a trade-off there, but I think it's so unhealthy to have all this extra weight on, so it's hard to decide if it's worth it.
Comment Reply
I had the same problems on Lithium. I gained a LOT of weight, and developed very serious acne. I've been off it Lithium for over ten years, and I still have the acne scars. When I went off the Lithium and started another anticonvulsant (mood-stabilizer), I lost a good deal of weight; however, I was up and down for years. In 2002, I started taking Topamax and I dropped 70 pounds. About 2 years later, my doctor started me on Seroquel (an anti-psychotic which has been found to be very effective on bipolars), and the weight started climbing again. I feel like I can't win. However, I am more stable on the drug cocktail (Topamax, Seroquel, Zoloft, Trazadone) that I'm on right now than I have been in 20 years. There's a trade-off there, but I think it's so unhealthy to have all this extra weight on, so it's hard to decide if it's worth it.
March 20, 2009 - 8:38amThis Comment
Reply