Here is a question about the antipsychotic Seroquel and weight gain.
Hi Julie,
I have been on Seroquel for over 5 years now. I have Bipolar with psychosis. I am tired of the weight gain fight.
Seroquel has been very affective in controlling the psychosis which I have frequently. Is there anything that can replace the Seroquel in controlling the psychosis without the weight gain?
Stinker
Hi There Stinker,
Here is a short answer to your question:
Maybe.
Everyone responds differently to antipsychotics. Most gain wait on them, but some don’t. It’s very, very well documented for example that Zyprexa has an average 20 lb weight gain. Seroquel, Risperdal, and the other atypical antipsychotics are known for weight gain around the stomach. This leads to a complication called Metabolic Syndrome- I wrote quite a great article on this last year for www.healthyplace.com if you want to read more about it. Just type in Julie Fast and Metabolic Syndrome and it will come up.
When the atypical antipsychotic Abilify came out, it was touted as an antipsychotic that didn’t cause weight gain. I have now heard from people that it definitely can. But, overall it’s considered to have the least weight gain, so talk to your doctor about it. The problem is that it’s not simply a replacement for Seroquel. They work differently. I can say that Abilify is not known to cause the amount of weight gain that comes with Seroquel, Risperdal and Zyprexa, but the research is ongoing. On the other hand, I know people on Zyprexa who have gained no weight- [... Read More ...]
Lamictal (Lamotrigine): Anti-convulsant used as a mood stabilizer in Bipolar Disorder. Lamictal is a great drug for depression and rapid cycling. It’s not an anti-mania drug.
I have been on Lamictal for five years- with very few side effects. When I raised my dose I had an odd reaction. My eyes became dry and the area under my eyes became very puffy. I actually just did a few videos for my blog and I look ill! It’s a weird side effect. As I write this, I feel like I have been lightly punched in the eyes. I will have to put the videos here just so you can see what I mean.
Lithium: The only true ‘mood stabilizer.’ What many don’t know is that lithium is used to treat bipolar mania and not bipolar depression. It’s the same with Tegretol. Tegretol is an anticonvulsant like Lamictal, but it’s used to treat bipolar mania.
My friend Sherri just upped her lithium and definitely feels better. But.. .she just called and said, “Julie! My hair is falling out again!” Hair loss is a typical side effect for Tegretol- but I have not heard about it for lithium. She is also experiencing the very common lithium fog and I can hear that her talking is a bit slower. This is all sad because she feels better. It’s ALWAYS a trade off with medications. If my Lamictal works, can I live with dark and puffy eyes? Can Sherri deal with hair loss? What a choice. You would think that our mental health [... Read More ...]
Hello Readers- I’d love to hear your tips on how you remember to take your meds. I have been on my Lamictal for years, and I STILL have problems taking it at the right times. Please send your ideas and I will post them for all 30k plus blog readers to see!
Julie [... Read More ...]
Hi Julie,
I am taking Oxcarbazepine (Trileptal)(800 mg a day) ..my doctor wants to switch me to Lithium Carb 300mg. I don’t know anything about this medication..does anyone?
Karen
Hi Karen,
It’s not super common for people with bipolar to take Triliptal (Oxcarbazepine) which may be why your doctor wants you to switch. Most people take Depakote, Tegretol or Lamictal – these are all epilepsy medications. Lithium is the only true mood stabilizer and if often the first choice for bipolar treatment. Your doctor is making a very normal treatment change from a anticonvulsant drug to the mood stabilizer Lithium. This change is very much based on your personal symptoms and how you respond to medications- so there is no right or wrong here. A lot of it also has to do with the dosage, so that will probably change around a bit as you work with your doctor. It’s all very normal to experiment with medications- whether it will work or not is a mystery. Most people have great response to lithium. I wish you luck!
Julie
Here is a very interesting article regarding the drug gabapentine. Known mostly by it’s brand name Neurontin, the drug was touted as a medication for bipolar disorder. In reality, it had no affect on bipolar disorder mood swings – even though it took doctors a while to catch onto this. I was given Neurontin in 1998- it was my 22 drug and by that time I had so many drugs in my body, this one only made things worse. I became immediately and dangerously suicidal. No one believed me then!
As you all know, I believe in drug therapy for bipolar disorder. Lamictal saves my life. But we have to be very careful- Lamictal and Neurontin are in the same family of anti convulsants- which proves that medications are not alike just because they are under one family.
Click here to read the article about the Kaiser Lawsuit over Pfizer’s mis-representation of the drug Neurontin.
Julie
PS: Do you feel that we are often just guinea pigs at the whim of drug companies? We need the drugs and many of us love our drugs for how they help us get on with life, but I wish we were more respected as human beings instead of money generating machines.
 A salad of Neurontin!
Oh wow. At age 46 I started having a very different reaction to my medications. I take brand Lamictal. I said in an earlier blog that I would write out the whole story in a newsletter and I will do that soon! If you are not on the newsletter list, you can sign up on the right.
I upped my meds a few weeks ago and am now having the sleepiness side effect I have not experienced for years. I often get blog questions asking about tiredness and if it means they are not getting enough sleep or good enough sleep. or if it is directly related to the medications. Here are some differences between the two:
Not Enough Sleep
1. It’s obvious that sleep the night before was not refreshing. You wake up tired and a bit cranky and worry that you will be tired in the afternoon, but you eventually wake up.
2. You are sleepy in the afternoon, but don’t really have a desire to take a nap as it would be a waste of time. You know you will have to go to bed early.
3. It only happens once in a while and is not constant.
Side Effect Drug Sleepy
1. You are so tired your head feels numb.
2. ALL you want to do is get into bed- and it’s not related to being depressed.
3. Your tongue, jaw and cheeks feel tired.
4. The tiredness is pervasive- in other words, it feels like every cell is tired.
5. It feels EXACTLY like jet lag.
6. Even if you had enough sleep, you can get [... Read More ...]
I just received the following question from Allan:
Julie, do you or any of your readers have any knowledge or experience of an alternative micronutrient product called EMPowerplus sold by a company called Truehope? I have a 15 year old who has still not been accurately diagnosed by some of the best physicians on both coasts. This has been a 10 year battle costing a fortune. We have tried just about every medication listed in your blog. All of the symptoms overlap. Bipolar, ADD, ADHD, OCD, OCD, etc etc are all a part of this. I just ordered some of these micronutrient vitamin supplements to try as everything else has failed over the years. A family member sent me an article from a newspaper about this stuff. As with everything else, some people claim its a scam while other are having great results. Any feedback would be great.
Thanks
Hello Allan,
I get this question so often- it’s a good time to answer it here. Please remember I am not a doctor and this is for informational purposes only.
TrueHope’ s EMpowerplus is a very controversial. Some swear by it, some have no response and some like myself, have had a negative response. TrueHope is marketed as a supplement, but I see it as a medication in that it has similar results to synthetic meds. All herbs/supplements and other natural treatments have the potential to cause mood swings for people with bipolar disorder. There are many over the counter products such as 5HTP that are serotonin acting drugs that [... Read More ...]
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