Medication and weight

@Annie_7 Hi Annie_7 and welcome to the forums yes this subject is close to the pea's heart. I have schizoaffective disorder and yes have put on heaps of weight since I have been on the medication. But what can you do be off the meds and go insane .... the fact is it is the meds and my pdoc agrees but some meds are worse than others. Best advice I can give is to eat healthy exercise where possible and go for trying for a baby. You need your meds there simply is no easy way around this unfortunately as others will say. Good luck with starting your family. greenpeax

Hello @Bunniekins , you are so wise and kind 🙂

Hi @Annie_7 , Welcome to the forums. I hope some people can contrbute to this. My own weight gain has been rapid over the last 12-14 months now. I am slowly being weened off my meds, but, its taking forever and i fear its going to take me years to recover and feel like I did before all this happened to Me. If ever. Part of the issue for Me is my age as I'm no spring chicken. I worry about how long my brain and body willl take to expel everything I've been forced to put in.

The only thing I can suggest that I've heard is looking at alternative medications, but, even with that I think it's going to take a lot of hard work and diligence on your part. I've got advice from pshychologist and dietician and theres no easy or quick fixes. Diet and exercise is critical, but, even with doing that right, it feels like a big uphill battle to make an impact.

I hope that you can and are able to have a baby. As they say, where theres a will theres a way. Wishing you all the best 🙂

@Gazza75 Hi Gazza75 and thank you :Dxx

Your most welcome @Bunniekins , i have the habit of being very understated about most things 🙂

@Gazza75 Me too Gazza75 sometimes it works in my favour other times it gets the pea into lots of trouble lol!xx

Hey @Annie_7,

I'm Tortoiseshell, one of the moderators. Welcome to the forums, I hope you find it really supportive! That sounds really frustrating having this slow weight gain over the years, and having it be linked to a behaviour when you feel strongly there may be an underlying issue. It's great you've come onto the forums to ask this

This is a great thread as so many people struggle with weight gain on mental health medications. Just a reminder to everyone that mention of specific weights or weight goals (i.e. in kgs or another measurement) are not suitable for the forums as they might be really triggering to anyone reading the forums who has an eating disorder or is in recovery from one. Discussing weight loss/gain generally as you have been doing, without specific weight mentioned, is completely okay.

Take care,

Tortoiseshell

Welcome @Annie_7, gaining weight sounds incredibly frustrating, especially when you've tried to highlight it with your medical team. Have you been able to connect with a dietician or a nutritionalist in your journey?

I need medication to help my mental health but then it adds lots of weight.--- mr shaz is the same @BlueBay , @Annie_7 , @Ali11 , @Bunniekins , @Gazza75

his cholesterol has gone up too

It sounds like it is quite common @BlueBay, @Shaz51 & @Annie_7.

Hi @Annie_7 and welcome to the forums. Sorry I just saw this post. Hearing you loud and clear about weight gain and psych meds. A problem for me too. Apparently it's a really common side-effect. I reached my highest weight ever 6 months ago and was diagnosed with 'pre-pre-diabetes' (metabolic syndrome) by my GP. It's a shame, but I have to prioritize my mental health and must therefor stay on the psych med regime that keeps me more balanced than I've probably ever been. However the psychiatrist did add one new one that's for increasing insulin response and I've managed to lose a bit since I've been on it. Can't talk about specific meds by name here. Of course this is combined with a bit more exercise and eating healthily - I've reduced portion size and snacking. It's a constant effort, but feels good to be heading in the right direction after nearly 10 years steadily gaining. Wishing the same for you.

And very much hoping you have success with trying for a baby.

@Ali11 @Shaz51 @Gazza75