PetSoundsFan Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 I searched and searched and didn't really see anywhere I could address this but if there is, please forgive the new thread and feel free to merge or place elsewhere. I've generally been a hearty eater...except during a phase in my mid teens where I wasn't eating anything except water and maybe teddy grahams...kinda long story. Anyway...as the years passed, I've become a nervous/depressed eater and I do my best to watch that. Now that I'm medicated (depakote, lamictal and abilify) I've got a couple things going on and I'm wondering what kind of related issues you all are experiencing. I'm hungry when I shouldn't be...like right after a big meal...literally right after. -or- I'm not hungry when i should be...like right now. I've been up since 6 am, worked in the yard, did a bunch of stuff around the house but the thought of putting anything other than water down my throat is kinda gross. My other problem is that I've become more than a bit irregular and I'm bloating up and putting on some weight. I've read up and talked to my docs and they say the weight gain is pretty common as is the bloating/elevated appetite and even the constipation so I'm trying different things for that. Any remedies that have worked for any of you? Any suggestions? Insights? Personal examples etc? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SashaSue Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Depakote and abilify can definitely cause weight gain, especially Depakote. The only means I've found to address it is to just eat as little as possible. Wellbutrin helps with that, for me. Moving this to the side effects board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enlightened_plutonian Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 -or- I'm not hungry when i should be...like right now. I've been up since 6 am, worked in the yard, did a bunch of stuff around the house but the thought of putting anything other than water down my throat is kinda gross. When I had the initial nausea from my Seroquel, I could barely eat at all. The nausea went within a few days, but I think (if I remember rightly) that it took a couple of weeks for my appetite to return to what it was before. But I have never been much of a big eater. Yeah, this is just a personal experience. Sorry if this wasn't what you were getting at. I suck a bit today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dedoubt Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 I have similar issues with my desire for food being at weird times. Sometimes I only want to eat certain things (last week it was ice cream-- great for the figure!), soometimes I just don't want to eat at all. I haven't been wanting to gorge myself, which is probably the only thing keeping me from turning into Jabba the Hut while on these meds (pretty much all of the ones I'm on have the potential for weight gain). I have gained +/- 10 pounds since January, which isn't terrible, but I don't want to continue on this way. Warning, this next section is really TMI, but I'm not bashful: What *has* been happening that *really* sucks, is that my bowels have been totally screwed up. I used to be absolutely regular, no problem (though I've had hemorrhoids since my first kid was born, but they never really bothered me). Now I am all over the place, sometimes diarrhea, sometimes constipation, though more often I'm constipated. Then, out of the blue, I started having rectal bleeding which lasted almost a month, and it's come back a bit here and there since. Now I get to have a colonoscopy, and I'm hoping they will tell me it's just internal hemorrhoids or something, though today I started freaking out about it being cancer. Sigh. In speaking with my pdoc and the GIdoc, it is very likely that the meds have screwed up my insides. There is the problem of the constipation, as well as the bleeding which is exacerbated by a low platelet count caused by the Depakote (divalproex). If I keep bleeding, and my platelet count keeps going down, I am stopping the Depakote. Double sigh. So, I guess I would recommend that you drink a ton of water, eat foods high in fiber, use a natural fiber laxative IF you need to, and try to eat something at regular intervals, focusing on protein & fresh fruits & vegetables. Standard advice, but I think it's really important for those of us on these kinds of meds. If you'd like to come over here and remind me to follow my own advice, that would be great. Also, I can never remember if it was while I was on Abilify or Cymbalta, but I have insane carbohydrate cravings in the middle of the night with that med. It was horrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetSoundsFan Posted June 5, 2011 Author Share Posted June 5, 2011 Depakote and abilify can definitely cause weight gain, especially Depakote. The only means I've found to address it is to just eat as little as possible. Wellbutrin helps with that, for me. Moving this to the side effects board. Thanks for shifting it over...after I posted it in the BP thread I realized...wait a second...I remember there's a side effects forum...shit. Sorry...still getting my bearings. As for the feedback thus far...thanks folks. It's reassuring that I'm not the only one and that what I'm doing is what you guys are doing as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Meds screwing with our appetites is so common. as can mi sx. I did lose 45 lbs on depakote and seroquel, which are two gigantic weight gainers, so it is possible. Consulting with a nutritionist and your doctor about these issues may be helpful. Anna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetSoundsFan Posted June 5, 2011 Author Share Posted June 5, 2011 Meds screwing with our appetites is so common. as can mi sx. I did lose 45 lbs on depakote and seroquel, which are two gigantic weight gainers, so it is possible. Consulting with a nutritionist and your doctor about these issues may be helpful. Anna WOW! You LOST weight?! That's awesome. I now bow in awe. I dropped about 25 pounds and have basically put it all back on since getting on meds. After talking to the pdoc about this last month he cut mback on my abilify but then had a scary bout with depression and a desire to self harm so we went back up on abilify and tonight as a matter of fact I cut down on my depakkote from 1000 mg to 750. We're trying to figure out which is having more effect. Psychologically, I feel ok with the current meds though lately I feel like I'm sky rocketing up in terms of anxiety and mania so maybe meds need to be tweeked anyway. What did you do lose the weight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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