Bipolar meds w/o weight gain... - Bipolar Disorder Message Board

ginger3130 · 03-13-2007, 05:15 PM

I don't know ADs are best for me - I seem to have a lot of problems becoming hypomanic with them. I recently tried the Emsam patach and I felt very hypomanic.

Are there any ways to treat the highs and lows without getting fat, fat, fat?

My doc said to try adding Abilify in at night (helps me sleep) and using the Emsam patch during the day.

I tried Abilify by itself, but it made me really, really, hungry and gave me some inner shakiness (akathesia).

Possibly a small dose of both Emsam and Abilfy would work without weight gain?

I also thought about adding Risperdal to the Emsam to counter any manic feelings.

Thoughts?

I've tried Trileptal but didn't really get anything from that (it messed up my hormones).

If anything, I would like to lose weight. But I really need to be stable.

tsohl · 03-13-2007, 07:56 PM

Hi Sheila,

If you are bipolar, you are going to have trouble achieving stability on an antidepressant alone. Almost everyone becomes hypomanic, manic or psychotic on them without a mood stabilizer in place. Did your pdoc take you off Trileptal without replacing it with another mood stabilizer?

greenidme · 03-13-2007, 09:21 PM

I agree with tsohl- for bipolar the first line of defense is a mood stablizer.
Often people are misdiagnosed as depressed if they seek help during a depression.... go figure.
If antidepressants make you hypomanic there is a risk you could jump into severe mania- psychosis and all. I'm surprised your doc hasn't adjusted your meds to combat both the depression AND the hypomania. Have you talked with your pdoc about this yet?
If not, do so and talk about options.
You can and probably will find a mix that works for you. Unfortunately it takes some time to do so.
Keep us posted- that's what we're here for.

ginger3130 · 03-14-2007, 05:47 AM

My doc told me to add Abilify back to my Emsam patch. I think the patch is what was making me hypomanic.

I know I slept great last night (due to the Abiify) for the first time in a while.

I'm scared the Emsam could still cause mania though.

goody2shuz · 03-14-2007, 08:05 AM

Hi, Sheila ~ Abilify is a new atypical antipsychotic that so happens to have mood stabilizing effects. I would give it a try and see how things go for you. For those who it works for, it's a wonderful med that eliminates the need for any other meds other than a small dose of an antidepressant. So give it a month or so and then reevaluate. I hear also that it is weight neutral so that is another plus.

If that doesn't work, my daughter was on the Risperdal and it not only worked quickly in managing the anger, iirritability and impulsivity but only caused minimal weight gain. The only thing is that your prolactin levels will need monitoring because if they go up you will start lactating.

Yes...producing milk. This only happens with a small percentage and my daughter so happened to be one of them. But I was told that Abilify would counter that so since you are already on the Abilify that is good. Risperdal also causes breast enlargement...my daughter went up at least a cup size if not two with some stretch marks because of how quickly it happened. But again, that only happens to a small percentage using Risperdal.

Another great med in the same family is Seroquel which replaced the Risperdal for my daughter. She didn't gain much weight but it does increase appetite....she just watches her sugars and carbs as well as calories. And the Seroquel helps out wonderfully with sleep.

I hope that the Abilify continues to show you impovements. Good luck and keep us posted. This is a wonderful place filled with a wealth of wisdom and wonderful people who are there to lend support.

(((HUGS))) ~ Goody