Expert: Libby Bonner - 2/2/2007

Question
Is there anything to help counteract the horrific weight gains associated with bipilar?

Answer
Not fun, is it?!  The most common mood stabilizers differ a good bit w/ regard to weight gain.  [Depakote is notorious for weight gain, but very popular w/ docs, because it's effective w/ a great many patients.]

Here is the deal.  Your doc has to be comfortable w/ whatever drug s/he's prescribing, has to be willing to use it.  AND the drug has to work, for you.  So - ask your doc which one or ones cause the least weight gain and if he is willing to help you switch over to it.   -- He may be very reluctant if you are doing fabulously on whatever meds you are on.  

My daughter did a major sales job w/ a doc and got him to put her on Tegretol [sp?] instead of Depakote...and did well w/ it with, as I recall, little weight gain.  And there are other newer ones, but I don't know their weight-gain profiles.   -- Tegretol has one tiny little side-effect, fatal in 1 in a million or something, but you do have warning of it, again, as I recall, and could stop the drug.......it also may be that bipolar doses would be lower [safer?] than anti-convulsant doses; don't know.

If you want to do a little homework before you see your doc, you can check out "mood stabilizers" AND anticonvulsants.  You might also try to tinker w/ www.rxlist.com

Weight-loss programs will not work for this drug side-effect, by the way.  Good luck - you do have my sympathy.  It's a yucky side-effect.   But going off meds is worse.