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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by IsoM on November 27, 2002, at 12:15:58
Please excuse me if the subject line sounds challenging - it's NOT meant to be at all. I'd just like to hear from people who are bipolar what they think & what they've experienced.
I've had a number of friends over the years & still do, who are bipolar. I never really gave thought to being overweight with bipolar as many people with no mental health problems are overweight now. But after reading an abstract on the association of weight with bipolar, I got thinking, & realised that *everyone* of my friends who are bipolar (only 5, so a very small sample) are overweight too - some are very obese.
When I know a person well & like or love them, I completely forget about any physical appearances so the realisation that all my bipolar friends are overweight hit me as a surprise. I know there are bipolar people who aren't overweight, but the abstract suggests it's a minority.
Could anyone enlighten me more? Is it due to medications used to treat bipolar, or is there something else? Please - I'm NOT judging (I know how sensitive weight gain is with anyone, let alone those who already have mental health problems), but I wonder why the relation between the two. And if anyone can clear it up for me or tell me that view is wrong & biased, I'd be happy to know. Anyone?
Posted by justyourlaugh on November 27, 2002, at 12:30:32
In reply to Bipolar and Obesity, posted by IsoM on November 27, 2002, at 12:15:58
hi-
did you read the links on bipolar and thyroid?
the thyroid has alot to do with weight and they say most bipolar has a thyroid condition.
surprizingly enough my thyroid was fine before i started taking meds-now mythyroid is underactive?
isnt eating a compulsion for some?
hell i dont know a thing!
wellbutrin certainly has deminished my eating.
or mabe its because i can get off the couch?
jyl
Posted by BeardedLady on November 27, 2002, at 12:58:35
In reply to Bipolar and Obesity, posted by IsoM on November 27, 2002, at 12:15:58
Iso:
Your post made me realize how many bipolar friends and family members I have. So here's the rundown on their weight!
I used to have a very good friend who is bipolar, and she is thin as a rail. (Her illness is why we are no longer friends, but it's a long story.) I saw her the other day and thought she was anorexic.
Another very skinny friend was bipolar. I was the lucky recipient of two of her suicide notes--even wrote a song about her for my band. She had kids at a young age, and we lost touch.
I have a close cousin with bipolar (her father had it too, and he was extremely large). (She has tried to off herself seven times, and she has had two sessions of shock therapy.) She is obese, but she is on about twelve different medications for a host of problems, like asthma. She's severly overweight and very unhealthy, though she's only in her late forties, I think. She has two adult children, one of whom is "normal" and obese, the other of whom is bipolar and thin.
I guess, as in all walks of life and all disorders, there are thin people and fat people. (Of course, the type II diabetes folks are usually obese because obesity causes that type of diabetes.)
So, again, who knows?
beardy
Posted by Ted on November 27, 2002, at 13:51:54
In reply to Bipolar and Obesity, posted by IsoM on November 27, 2002, at 12:15:58
I have bipolar disorder and I count as obese (just barely) by the standard height-weight charts.
Here are my thoughts:
Many medications which are taken to treat or augment treatment of bipolar disorder cause weight gain either directly or indirectly in most people. Depakote is implicated in weight gain for 60% of patients. Many antipsychotics (zyprexa, risperdal, lamictal, etc) cause significant weight gain. Often the medications are solely to blame because when the patients stop taking the meds, the pounds come off very quickly. (I have a niece who took risperdal for 2-3 weeks and it increased her weight by close to 30%. She stopped the risperdal and all the weight disappeared in another 2 weeks.)
Some medications indirectly cause weight gain. For example, lithium intake causes hypothyroidism, which in turn leads to weight gain. This is why many lithium patients also take thyroid hormones.
Last, lifestyle which is affected by bipolar disorder plays a significant part. Someone who is manic, even only marginally so, is very active, has high metabolism, and burns calories quickly so they are thin. A depressed patient is slowed, unmotivated, and tends to be inactive, which adds weight. Complicating this is the fact that many depressed people turn to food for comfort, which adds weight as well.
Ted
Posted by tina on November 28, 2002, at 11:29:37
In reply to Re: Bipolar and Obesity, posted by Ted on November 27, 2002, at 13:51:54
My family is riddled with BP and BPII including me. Some are overweight and some are not. My own weight has gone up and down over the years but I have never been obese. I have been anorexic though. My weight fluctuates with medications and when I am on medication, my thyroid does change it's function. The body is a very complex machine. There are so many reasons a person's weight can fluctuate, bipolar disorder is only one.
Posted by jane d on November 28, 2002, at 12:33:12
In reply to Bipolar and Obesity, posted by IsoM on November 27, 2002, at 12:15:58
> ... after reading an abstract on the association of weight with bipolar, I got thinking, & realised that *everyone* of my friends who are bipolar (only 5, so a very small sample) are overweight too - some are very obese.
>
> When I know a person well & like or love them, I completely forget about any physical appearances so the realisation that all my bipolar friends are overweight hit me as a surprise. I know there are bipolar people who aren't overweight, but the abstract suggests it's a minority.IsoM,
Of course you may have more overweight friends just because you are so accepting of it but I bet the association is a real one. Could you post a pointer to the specific abstract? I'd really like to see it. I suspect that medications are a big part of it. The same association has been noticed with schizophrenia and antipsychotics and some of the same drugs are used in bipolar. Atypical depression is often associated with bipolar and that includes overeating and oversleeping.
I'm not bipolar under the current definitions although I suspect that I will eventually be classed that way (recurrent, atypical depression without hypomania). I was overweight long before I started using any medication. One thing I've wondered about is whether part of my problem is the very inconsistency of my reaction to food. Sometimes I can rely on my appetite to tell me when and what to eat but, sooner or later, with another bout of depression, that ability goes. I'm hungry all of the time. Then, just when I've resigned myself to struggling to live with a calorie counting notebook, I switch back and it becomes unnecessary.
Jane
Posted by IsoM on November 28, 2002, at 14:04:26
In reply to Re: Bipolar and Obesity, posted by jane d on November 28, 2002, at 12:33:12
Jane, I'll look for the abstract as I didn't save it but it should be in my internet history still. It'll take a bit of searching though.
It seems from others comments that overweight & bipolar don't necessarily go together. Perhaps, it's more coincidence that the friends I have who are bipolar are overweight, or the fact I'm very accepting of people makes them comfortable letting me know about their problems?
Posted by jane d on November 28, 2002, at 20:27:40
In reply to Re: Bipolar and Obesity » jane d, posted by IsoM on November 28, 2002, at 14:04:26
> Jane, I'll look for the abstract as I didn't save it but it should be in my internet history still. It'll take a bit of searching though.
That's a generous offer but please don't do a major search for me. I'll run a medline query when I have a bit more time. Thanks for pointing this possibility out.
Jane
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