Depression or bipolar medicines that don't cause weight gain

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I will be going to a psychiatrist next week. Everyone is trying to get me on disability. I know that I need to get on it because I need more help. (Right now I see the only free therapist here only once in a while) I think that if I had medical coverage I could get help with different things. Anyway I'm severely depressed. Plus my mother is bipolar and I suspect that I might be too. I'm guessing that they will dope me up and I won't be able to refuse to take anything. (that's what they do to everyone and that's what my family/therapist wants).

I have a bad history of various patterns of disordered eating. I barely ever get anyone to believe that because they think if you are at a healthy weight (or a bit overweight but not obese) then you don't have one. But I do/did. When I was younger (and for a few years after) I was exercise bulimic. I never got skinny though, just slim, so people thought it was good.

Later I was taking medicine (a couple of years ago) (not mine but what could I do?) for depression and it caused me to sleep all of the time and I was constantly starving, so I had to eat, that's all I could think about. I gained 10-15lbs. After I stopped taking it it took me over a year to lose 5lbs. This fall my dog died & I went the overeating route and now I've gained more weight. It's harder for me to lose because I have arthritis in my legs/bad back. Anyway I can't gain anymore weight. If I do I fear I'll kill myself. I'm already close to that all the time anyway.

I told my therapist and she said to research some and find ones that didn't make you gain weight and suggest those to the psychiatrist. I told her that I didn't want to seem like a jerk because I've seen people do that on TV/movies and the doctors get angry with them. Anyway I guess I have to do it anyway. I've actually researched some in the past but I don't remember coming across any that never cause it.

Does anyone know of any that don't cause weight gain or any that do (so I can refuse those)? Maybe just some experiences. I'm very scared/worried an am sorry for rambling.

If you can get Strattera, that might help you a lot. Strattera is used for ADHD but it is an antidepressent. It might actually help you lose weight. But I don't think it's easy to get just for depression.

Abilify (aripiprazole), Geodon (ziprasidone), and Lamictal (lamotrigine) are the bipolar medications associated with the least weight gain. If you suspect bipolar disorder, it is not a good decision to try Strattera, stimulants, or anti-depressants without a mood stabilizer. See what your psychiatrist says about possible bipolar disorder and go from there. Other mood stabilizers (like Depakote) and atypical anti-psychotics (like Zyprexa) are notorious for weight gain. But the three I listed above don't work on the receptors in the brain that cause the weight gain that seems to be associated with other meds commonly used for bipolar disorder.

Thanks for the info guys, I added those to my list. My therapist says she thinks that I don't have bipolar but I think the MD may suspect that since that's what my mom is diagnosed w & I'm definitely depressed. She also listed a couple of meds including Wellbutrin. I'm just scared, xd.

It's only natural to be scared. And you very well may not be bipolar. Asperger's symptoms can look like bipolar disorder at a glance or to those who aren't well-versed in bipolar disorder. I was suspected to be bipolar at one point, but bipolar disorder is one of my biggest special interests, so I knew with my heart that I'm not bipolar. Once I learned about AS, all of my "bipolar" symptoms had an explanation. My opinion is that you probably do have some form of bipolar disorder, due to your family history and symptoms, but even if you end up not being bipolar, you may still benefit from taking a mood stabilizer of some sort. It just will take time to sort everything out, which is why it's good that you're seeking professional advice/help.

SEROQUEL XR

This is long so no one will read it but I must get it out without scaring my online friends away. My family is so passive, shut off (often more than me).

Yeah, so I knew what would happen, she completely glossed over my asperger's. That is like halfway confirmed by 2 other medical people. I went into as much detail as possible about my disordered eating, exercise bulimia (she didn't know what that was BTW & even after I explained it, it seemed like she didn't really care, she just wanted to know about actual bulimia and anorexia which I mentioned trying when young but could never do (bulimia) or sustain (anorexia) and binge eating issues in the amount of time allotted, considering a very mean clerical worker caused me to have a full blown panic attack before they would even see me.

Of course she's jumping right to bipolar, cuz of my mom. She gave me some crap about how this stuff would help me sleep. When I showed her what I would and wouldn't take. I have long lists and I research thoroughly she said that because I'm not even provisionally covered by anything yet that she could only give me samples of something, Seroquel XR and it's high on my weight gain list. She wanted to pull that crap with me, oh not everyone gains, blah, blah, blah. And I had to point out that she was slim (IMHO about 120).

I had to decompress for a bit after I got home. But now I just checked and this stuff causes intense hunger for hours. I can't deal with that. She said to take it 3 hours before you need to go to sleep for it to work. (And who knows if it'd work that quick for me as my insomnia's so severe). Everyone online says they are starving and almost blindly eating after taking it for hours unless they go directly to sleep (P.S. I occasionally take (not prescribed for me) Xanax and have a similar problem w that which prevents me from taking it often even when panicking).

At this point I am already hungry but can keep myself in check with diet sodas and trying to watch what I eat (to a point). I can't take that risk. I read a minimum of 12.5lbs of weight gain with many saying, 40, 50 or 120!

"Take it for 2 weeks and see". I told her I can't take the chance of gaining 20lbs in 2 weeks. I know that's what will happen. Everyone in my older extended family is obese. I can't take that kind of chance. Now if I don't take this junk I'm going to be considered to be non-cooperative or something.

I really overdid it in there too. I probably came off as completely nuts because my therapist hadn't faxed over my history so I was trying to tell her everything in an hour. Plus I'd just had the panic attack and am still affected by running into people from high school a few days ago who made me feel awful and small (from the bullying).

She was saying she'd sign some form to get me temporary disability too, which would give me medical and help with some other health issues that I have. I'd rather be dead in the street though than gain anymore weight.

And she said it was a "low dose" of 150. I see a huge discrepancy in what people are given (from 12.5-800) but all of them seem to gain a ton of weight.

I also explained my arthritis and back problems which limit my exercise (unlike in the past when I exercised hours and hours a day to keep weight off, when no drugs were involved BTW).

We can't curse on here or I so would. Yeah, I will just take large amounts of OTC sleep meds and forget the whole disability & therapy thing. No way, no way.

And this is what I get for being honest. Like the idiot that I am. I suppose if I just went in with my info and didn't actually give my family history this wouldn't have happened. (bipolar and schizophrenia on my mother's side of the family).

I also told her that I had no interest in sleeping like 15 hours a day and it seems that happens to everyone. Plus in the past I've had those nightmares you can't awake from due to an odd pill I took for major headaches years ago and I mentioned that as well. It seems this causes that too.

I also told her that I didn't want to feel emotionless and blank. I tried not to mention trying something else that wasn't mine years ago, but I may have, as I was so anxious and scared. I kept wanting to run out of the building even before seeing her.

I'm sorry, LadySera. Seroquel IS less of a weight gain risk than Zyprexa, but the risk is still there since it's an atypical anti-psychotic, unfortunately. I don't understand the lack of interest this doctor had in Abilify. It's actually FDA-approved for bipolar disorder, which many other atypical anti-psychotics are NOT. It's approved for both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, it has a very low risk of weight gain, and it also has a low risk of extrapyramidal side effects and sedation/tiredness. This is all because it's a partial dopamine agonist, not a serotonin and dopamine antagonist like the vast majority of atypical anti-psychotics (Seroquel included). You should have no guilt if you start to gain weight on the Seroquel and want to switch medications.

It really baffles me how many psychiatrists today seem to be giving out prescriptions for medications that clearly aren't the best choice and least risk for a patient's individual profile. The literature is VERY clear that Abilify and Geodon are the "go-to" atypical anti-psychotics for those with a fear of weight gain. I think it's terrible that this doctor totally ignored your eating disorder history and gave out Seroquel. If the Seroquel fails, I definitely would suggest finding a NEW psychiatrist, one who actually listens to your fears and concerns. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I think she said that she had prescribed Geodon for other patients. I think this was because she was trying to get me on something immediately because of my insomnia but I've been having that problem for years. It seems to me that it'd be better to just wait a couple of weeks until the paperwork goes through to approve what would actually be good for me. It's not like 2 more weeks of sleep problems is gonna make much of a difference. I just can't put what I consider to be poison in my body.

I'm glad that Geodon might be prescribed to you. Keep me posted. I'd like to know how you're doing. ^_^

I asked my therapist about this because I was very worried. She said to maybe take the stuff for about 3 days before I go back to the other MD just so I can have something to complain about when I request a different medicine. I've read a bunch of withdrawal stuff about Seroquel so I'm sort of worried about even doing that.

She also said maybe I shouldn't look other meds up online. I told her that's pretty much impossible as I'm online so much. Blame the crappy motor coordination but I don't have a ton of hobbies, okay. I read, I write and that's the bulk of it. Anyway I guess she's right cuz I was just looking up those meds and some people even seem to gain weight on Abilify. The Geodon seems to rarely cause it with the ones who gained only gaining 1-4lbs which I think even I could deal with.

I'm just worried about how to stand up for myself when it didn't seem to work last time. I also don't want to seem uncooperative.

Any good doctor will take your wishes into consideration and won't insist you take a medication you don't want to take unless all other options have been tried. I've never known a person that didn't gain weight on Seroquel. I'm on Lamictal and I've not gained any weight on it in the two years I've been taking it. I know of one person who has gained weight on it, but she tends to have strange reactions to meds. When you see a different doctor ask them about trazedone or doxepin for sleep. They are really old anti-depressants from the 60s that fell out of favor because they had to be taken several times a day and they made people really sleepy. Now they are commonly used in much smaller doses for sleep. Trazedone pooped out on me and my new doc put me on doxepin and for the first time I can ever remember I have been able to sleep 8 or more hours a night, without waking up, on a consistent basis. For the first two weeks or so it made me sleepy during the day but I don't have that problem if I don't have to get up early for something. My old doc said the next thing she was going to have me try was Seroquel and I DID NOT want to take it. Thankfully I ended up participating in a study for an over the counter supplement and I ended up asking the doctor conducting the study if he would take me on as a patient. If I know my sleep will be shortened for some reason I just take ambien which has a shorter half-life. I don't sleep as well with it but it's better than nothing.

I've been lucky with doctors. I've never had a problem with them prescribing meds I don't want to take. I've been lucky in that they like to try all the older drugs first unless there is a really good reason to not to. So far the only brand drug I've taken is Effexor XR and that was because I tried four other antidepressants before that, now it's out in generic form. I like taking older drugs because their side effects are well known. It's not like taking a brand new drug and then finding out it causes some other serious condition. But for some people the benefits outweigh the risks.

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it. I don't have much personal experience with all of this stuff.

I never had any issues with Zoloft or Wellbutrin as far as weight gain. That was a huge concern of mine too. Abilify made me so freaking hungry, though. I was eating all the time and couldn't seem to get enough food. The psychiatrist told me that shouldn't have been the case, but it was enough to get me to come off of it.