![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by nomom on January 28, 2005, at 14:46:03
My daughter has within the past 3 months gained 30+ lbs. She was underweight to begin with and is a little overweight now (133lbs) and is concerned her medicine is going to cause her to gain more weight. We're not sure which one is the culprit or if more than one is to blame. I hope someone out there can help us before her next pdoc appointment. She needs to be taken off of whatever is causing her weight gain. Her medications are as follows:
Zyprexa 10mg, Lamictal 50mg, Inderal LA 80mg, and Wellbutrin SR 100mg.
Thanks, any help would be appreciated
Posted by Racer on January 28, 2005, at 16:05:37
In reply to Medications (Zyprexa?) and weight gain, posted by nomom on January 28, 2005, at 14:46:03
First of all, I'm a little concerned at your statement about her needing to stop a medication because of weight gain. Mind you, I can certainly understand the feeling, but I wonder who is putting the pressure on about weight?
By the way, I'm anorexic, and grew up with pressure about my body shape from my family -- especially my mother -- so I feel as if I've EARNED the right to question that comment. I'm middle aged now, and have struggled with this since early adolescence. Please, be absolutely sure you're not projecting weight concerns onto your daughter.
Back to your question, Zyprexa quite commonly causes excessive weight gain. That's almost unquestionably the culprit. Why is she taking that? For psychosis? Or for anxiety? If it's anxiety, then adjusting the other meds might be a better choice than continuing it. (Lamictal can cause agitation, for instance, and Wellbutrin is quite activating. Choosing a less stimulating combo might do as much as the Zyprexa.)
By the way, about the weight gain -- I'm all in favor of avoiding med-induced weight gain. Zyprexa, as well as causing weight gain, is implicated in directly causing Metabolic Syndrome X, a precursor to Type II diabetes. It's a life saving drug for many people. But if it's not necessary, it probably isn't worth the risks.
Posted by sdjeff on January 28, 2005, at 18:56:02
In reply to Re: Medications (Zyprexa?) and weight gain, posted by Racer on January 28, 2005, at 16:05:37
My opinion may be slanted due to personal experience, but here it is:
The Zyprexa is the most likely culprit. I had to stop it after I gained 30 lbs and developed metabolic syndrome. I took it for anxiety and psychosis. I take Seroquel now.
My uneducated suggestion is if she is taking it for psychosis, try Abilify or Geodon. These AP's are usually weight neutral. Abilify can be very activating. Geodon may or may not be.
Posted by nomom on January 30, 2005, at 21:24:38
In reply to Re: Medications (Zyprexa?) and weight gain, posted by Racer on January 28, 2005, at 16:05:37
My daughter does have an eating disorder and we're in the process of trying to get her into a day program--she goes for an eval tomorrow. The weight gain has caused her much anxiety over her weight.
She was taking the Zyprexa to help with strange (odd?) thoughts as well as because she has bad anxiety, and is bipolar II as well. According to her doctor it was one of the better drugs to treat her as it treated all three.
She likes the combination she has, but is so anxiety-driven over the weight gain she quit taking the Zyprexa. Is that wise? She has an appointment next week.
I'm very new at this and am appreciative of the advice.
~M
> First of all, I'm a little concerned at your statement about her needing to stop a medication because of weight gain. Mind you, I can certainly understand the feeling, but I wonder who is putting the pressure on about weight?
>
> By the way, I'm anorexic, and grew up with pressure about my body shape from my family -- especially my mother -- so I feel as if I've EARNED the right to question that comment. I'm middle aged now, and have struggled with this since early adolescence. Please, be absolutely sure you're not projecting weight concerns onto your daughter.
>
> Back to your question, Zyprexa quite commonly causes excessive weight gain. That's almost unquestionably the culprit. Why is she taking that? For psychosis? Or for anxiety? If it's anxiety, then adjusting the other meds might be a better choice than continuing it. (Lamictal can cause agitation, for instance, and Wellbutrin is quite activating. Choosing a less stimulating combo might do as much as the Zyprexa.)
>
> By the way, about the weight gain -- I'm all in favor of avoiding med-induced weight gain. Zyprexa, as well as causing weight gain, is implicated in directly causing Metabolic Syndrome X, a precursor to Type II diabetes. It's a life saving drug for many people. But if it's not necessary, it probably isn't worth the risks.
Posted by CareBear04 on February 1, 2005, at 11:48:58
In reply to Re: Medications (Zyprexa?) and weight gain, posted by nomom on January 30, 2005, at 21:24:38
hi there,
i'm 21 and i was on zyprexa last year. i was in a really bad place and was starting zoloft, but since it takes about a month to kick in, my pdoc added zyprexa for the short term. it made me gain 3-4 lbs a week. it's not that much compared to the weight gain some other people have, but it was like gaining 3-4% of my total body weight each week! i don't have an eating disorder, either, but it's hugely distressing nonetheless to see the numbers rise so much and so quickly. i don't think it takes an eating disorder to be concerned about weight gain. show me any woman of any size who wouldn't be troubled by so much weight gain!regarding other options-- none of the other atypical antipsychotics i've been on caused weight gain. risperdal, seroquel, and abilify are other options. actually, the old school haldol has been the best for me. it doesn't make me loopy and tired, and it doesn't cause weight gain. or maybe your daughter can take zyprexa only when she's very agitated or upset. i took zyprexa prn only after awhile, and it was still as effective as when it took it regularly. it was a med of last resort when i couldn't deal, and it worked.
hope this helps.
Posted by ed_uk on February 1, 2005, at 11:53:46
In reply to Re: Medications (Zyprexa?) and weight gain » nomom, posted by CareBear04 on February 1, 2005, at 11:48:58
Hi CareBear,
What condition did you take Haldol for? What dose were you on?
Ed.
Posted by CareBear04 on February 1, 2005, at 12:12:24
In reply to Re: Medications (Zyprexa?) and weight gain » CareBear04, posted by ed_uk on February 1, 2005, at 11:53:46
hi ed,
i'm diagnosed as BPII and sometimes with panic disorder. part of what i have is super fast racing thoughts, which make it hard to sleep or concentrate on schoolwork or anything other than the ruminating thoughts in my head. xanax and klonopin calm my body and haldol calms my head. 1mg of haldol as needed helps calm my thoughts enough that i can focus on what i really need to do. i was reluctant to try it because it can have serious side effects, especially in the long-term, but my pdoc assured me that i was unlikely to run into trouble on such a low dose. schizophrenics take much much higher doses. i was also hesitant because haldol has sort of a stigma attached to it. like lithium, it's one name that non-psychiatric patients recognize, one that is always administered on TV to crazy out of control patients. all that aside, haldol has gotten me through some very tough times without the sedation and side effects of the atypicals or the lower potency old APs.
hope this helps!
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.