A mood stabilizer that doesn't make you gain weight? Is there one?

[bernie40]

Is there such a thing as a mood stabilizer that doesn't increase your weight?  I am so fed up, I put on loads of weight with the depakote, since coming off it I have lost some of it and now they want me to go on zyprexa which is another one for gaining weight.

If any of you know of one please let me know so I can discuss it with the psych next time I go.

Cheers

Helen

[GbabyRock]

I have been on Lamictal for almost 2 years now and it has caused me to gain 45 pounds, and that number keeps slowly increasing.. Despite the fact that I have completely changed my diet to mostly fruit and veggies, drink water 98% of the time, no sweets. My psych doc REFUSES to believe that its the  medication side effect since its one of the medications that isn't suppose to cause weight gain.

I'm not expecting to lose a ton of weight, just get back to a healthy weight like I was before. Does anyone have any idea what I could do? Maybe lowering the dose would help? I am pretty desperate, if I could lose even just 5-10 pounds that would be wonderful.

[Ivrygrl]

Am getting off Lamictal! Can't stand being in a terrible mood all the time & awful towards everyone!

[Ivrygrl]

I've been taking Lamictal for 4 years. I've had terrible irritability!!!! I read that 1 in 20-30 people will actually get worse as far as irritability and sleeplessness and anxiety go. Mine was just the bad irritability.

[rogelio63]

I've had good luck with Lamictal, not so much with the accompanying Zoloft (which I don't take anymore and have lost weight) but I didn't notice any weight gain when I was put on lamictal.

[Bec99]

I have stopped take sodium valproate for the same reason. Over the past years I have gained 18 kgs. I am now taking lamotrigine instead. My doctor said that now I should start losing weight fairly quickly.

[RickB47]

I took Lamictal for 5 months. I had to start over twice on very slow titration, first time I started to itch and got paranoid about "the rash" but it was just dry skin. The second time I had to start over was because I started taking Lyrica for diabetic nerve pain and it made me very spacy and forgetful, when I filled my pill container for the week I forgot the Lamictal and didn't even realize it for 5 days so doc said I would have to start over on 25mg, I was on 150mg when i forgot. So as far as side effects I didn't have any at all until my dose increased to 150mg, insomnia kicked in and when I went to 200mg I stopped it completely, I was going days without sleeping. It also made me feel like I was restricted from getting too high or too low, I guess this is what it is supposed to do but it just felt too weird for me, just having such a flat mood. When I finally stopped it I started sleeping again, except for the hypomanic episodes when the insomnia kicked in again but it wasn't as bad as it was on Lamictal. I have bipolar II with chronic depression, ADD, social anxiety, general anxiety. Going to try something else now but has to be weight neutral, being diabetic weight gain is too serious and issue. May ask about Geodon.