confused Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 I've gained a lot of weight on my meds. I am thinking of asking to switch lamictal to topomax because I've heard topomax can cause weight loss. But, I've also heard it makes you dopey. What have been people's experiences. I've been avoiding the scale and I stepped on one yesterday and I'm 15 lbs more than I was last time and I was already overweight. My pdoc says my meds shouldn't be making me tired and gain weight, but I wasn't like this before I started taking meds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nalgas Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I am thinking of asking to switch lamictal to topomax because I've heard topomax can cause weight loss. That is in most cases a very bad reason to switch to a specific med. Topamax can cause weight loss, but it only does it a significant amount something like 10% of the time, so it's very unreliable for that. You are much more likely to become stupid than skinny by taking it, hence why its most common nicknames tend to be along the lines of things like Dopamax. That said, for the six months or so that it worked for me, it was quite good. I did not get the stupids from it, or much else negative. If it gets along with your brain, it's great stuff, but it can be picky about who it's friends with. If Lamictal's not working well enough, Topamax can be a very reasonable thing to try instead, depending on what you're using it for (I had great luck with it for seizures, a lot of people are big fans for preventing migraines, and when it works for BP stuff, it can work quite well, but it's sort of hit-or-miss for that), but generally not specifically because of the off-chance you might lose some weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
confused Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 I am thinking of asking to switch lamictal to topomax because I've heard topomax can cause weight loss. That is in most cases a very bad reason to switch to a specific med. Thanks. I guess the lamictal is working. I'm taking it as a mood stabilizer and my moods are steady. I don't want to change it. I'm just really tired and I keep gaining weight. My pdoc just tells me to exercise, and I try to, but I feel like I have no energy. I had a physical and everything is normal. I was shocked when I saw the scale and I know I need to do something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nalgas Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I guess the lamictal is working. I'm taking it as a mood stabilizer and my moods are steady. I don't want to change it. I'm just really tired and I keep gaining weight. My pdoc just tells me to exercise, and I try to, but I feel like I have no energy. If your mood is stable, that's always very good news, but if you're tired all the time and don't have the energy to do stuff, something's still not quite right. What that "something" is, I don't know, but you shouldn't have to put up with that. Hopefully there's something that can be fiddled with or adjusted or changed to help with that, because the goal should be to actually function normally, not just less badly than before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyzr Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Let me say first that I know nothing about Topamax. But, Lamictal is one of the meds out there that is least likely to cause you to gain weight. It also tends to be more likely to give you insomnia than make you tired. Lexapro on the other hand, as is typical of SSRIs, can often cause weight gain, lethargy and/or sedation. When I was on Lexapro, I gained a bunch of weight and slept ALL - THE - TIME. I would sleep for 10-12 hours a night and then nap every chance I got during the day. It was awful. It always caused me to be a little lethargic at times, but The Sleeping didn't start until about 9 months in. The weight gain was just about immediate...and slowly continuous. Aside from the anxiety I had over feeling fat and tired all the time, my mood was relatively stable. But, I just couldn't live being tired all the time to the point where I as almost falling asleep at my desk. Seroquel is also notorious for weight gain and fairly extreme sedation. I was given this once for sleep. I took one pill once and was knocked out for 16 hours and then lethargic and sleepy for another day. Seriously. I never took it again. So, regardless of my experience with them, Lexapro and Seroquel are both known for causing sleepiness and weight gain. Lamictal typically isn't. So, I'd venture to say that Lamictal probably isn't the problem. Maybe bring this up with your pdoc? I don't know what your dosage is on these meds or how long you've been on them, but if you're unhappy with your symptoms/side effects, it warrants a good conversation with your pdoc. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
confused Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 I guess the lamictal is working. I'm taking it as a mood stabilizer and my moods are steady. I don't want to change it. I'm just really tired and I keep gaining weight. My pdoc just tells me to exercise, and I try to, but I feel like I have no energy. If your mood is stable, that's always very good news, but if you're tired all the time and don't have the energy to do stuff, something's still not quite right. What that "something" is, I don't know, but you shouldn't have to put up with that. Hopefully there's something that can be fiddled with or adjusted or changed to help with that, because the goal should be to actually function normally, not just less badly than before. So, regardless of my experience with them, Lexapro and Seroquel are both known for causing sleepiness and weight gain. Lamictal typically isn't. So, I'd venture to say that Lamictal probably isn't the problem. Maybe bring this up with your pdoc? I don't know what your dosage is on these meds or how long you've been on them, but if you're unhappy with your symptoms/side effects, it warrants a good conversation with your pdoc. Hope that helps. Thank you. I'll try to get him to realize how much this is troubling me. He says my meds are pretty weight neutral and shouldn't be that sedating. But, I'm exhausted. I take 200mg lamictal, 10 mg lexapro, 20 mg abilify and 25 mg seroquel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyzr Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Yeah... no. If you do any research, SSRIs are MOST notorious for weight gain and loss of libido. Lethargy and just general sleepiness is also a fairly common side effect. And I'm totally with you on this. Weight gain only causes anxiety for me...and being tired all the time just makes me depressed. Keep us updated on what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
confused Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 I decided not to ask about topamax. I asked him if there is anything we can change that might make me less tired. I'm going to taper off the lexapro and see if that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyzr Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Ditching the Lexapro was a good thing for me in the end, but coming off of the SSRIs can be very rough. Good luck. Let us know how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beetle Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I guess the lamictal is working. I'm taking it as a mood stabilizer and my moods are steady. I don't want to change it. I'm just really tired and I keep gaining weight. My pdoc just tells me to exercise, and I try to, but I feel like I have no energy. If your mood is stable, that's always very good news, but if you're tired all the time and don't have the energy to do stuff, something's still not quite right. What that "something" is, I don't know, but you shouldn't have to put up with that. Hopefully there's something that can be fiddled with or adjusted or changed to help with that, because the goal should be to actually function normally, not just less badly than before. So, regardless of my experience with them, Lexapro and Seroquel are both known for causing sleepiness and weight gain. Lamictal typically isn't. So, I'd venture to say that Lamictal probably isn't the problem. Maybe bring this up with your pdoc? I don't know what your dosage is on these meds or how long you've been on them, but if you're unhappy with your symptoms/side effects, it warrants a good conversation with your pdoc. Hope that helps. Thank you. I'll try to get him to realize how much this is troubling me. He says my meds are pretty weight neutral and shouldn't be that sedating. But, I'm exhausted. I take 200mg lamictal, 10 mg lexapro, 20 mg abilify and 25 mg seroquel. Just to let you know, I had what seems to be the opposite effect from lamictal that everyone else has. I felt like the walking dead. I was so tired all the time. Literally couldn't stay awake nor did I have any energy to do anything. But that was just me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
confused Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 Just to let you know, I had what seems to be the opposite effect from lamictal that everyone else has. I felt like the walking dead. I was so tired all the time. Literally couldn't stay awake nor did I have any energy to do anything. But that was just me. Thanks beetle. That's good to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
int23 Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 Just to let you know, I had what seems to be the opposite effect from lamictal that everyone else has. I felt like the walking dead. I was so tired all the time. Literally couldn't stay awake nor did I have any energy to do anything. But that was just me. Thanks beetle. That's good to know. I know this might be totally left-field. But have you talked to your doctor about giving you a mild stimulant to jumpstart your metabolism/get you energized? Some bipolars can handle stimulants better than others and I've heard of some counteracting the lethargy and increased appetite with a bit of stimulant. Obviously, care must be taken but it's worth talking to your doc about it. I have to fight every day to push myself to exercise but I end up doing it 2x/day to keep my weight somewhat decent. It's a PIA but it's how things go I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papertrees Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 It made me mentally dull and 15 pounds lighter. I was getting low grades in medical school because of that. Now I'm on Lamictal and doing so much better. (Well, I AM confined right now, but my mind is working just as well.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
confused Posted September 5, 2009 Author Share Posted September 5, 2009 It made me mentally dull and 15 pounds lighter. I was getting low grades in medical school because of that. Now I'm on Lamictal and doing so much better. (Well, I AM confined right now, but my mind is working just as well.) Thank you. I ended up staying on lamictal and going off lexapro. I haven't had problems with anxiety and depression and I'm glad to be off one med, but it hasn't helped me energy-wise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.