... have been on Geodon for my bipolar for 3 months (since October/09) I thought something must have happened to my metabolism due to drug as I gained 70 lbs. I am also on Levothyroxine for my thyroid even tho my tests indicate levels are normal; I was weighed today at over 200 lbs; 24 lbs heavier than I was 3 months ago after stopping seroquel... what is wrong with me? I cannot lose weight despite exercise and lack of eating... did seroquel completely shut down my fat-burning metabolism? Did seroquel mess up my thyroid? Where do I go for answers that my doctor will listen to? Thank you!
Bipolar Disorder - Please help!! I was on seroquel for 15 months for bipolar; I stopped this and?
Question posted by WOOKNOO on 6 Jan 2010
Last updated on 5 April 2022
11 Answers
HelenaGreco73
5 April 2022
I say this from my own experience and that of family and friends. Seroquel is very ove-rprescribed not only for bipolar(which can be effectively treated with non weight gaining meds such as Lamictal or Topamax or Tegretol) but for anxiety and insomnia as well. YES YES YES. Seroquel is a very dangerous drug for side effects like weight gain, excessive and unnatural hunger and it messes up with your sugar/insulin levels. It even indicates that on the pamphlet you get from the pharmacy when you pick up your medication.
It took me two years to lose the 20 pounds from stopping the Seroquel. I went on a benzo and Lunesta and Lamictal instead and it keeps me sane and thinner. 30-40 pd weight gain is a definite for anyone who takes it. I did take Geodon for a time and while it had other side effects like not remembering things and feeling drugged up, but it didn't cause weight gain for me. I had to go off of it though due to the fact of TD in which I had to take Cogentin and i didn't want to keep pumping meds into my body, especially a medication to deal with the side effects of another med. LOL.
Nowadays I have it on my medical charts that i cannot tolerate Seroquel because of those side effects. One time i was in Behavioural ED and sitting in the hallway and they were giving me Ativan. Then next day they brought me Seroquel, explaining that Ativan is addictive. Mind you i take Klonopin at home. An hour later my heart was pounding and my chest was hurting from the Seroquel, i believe. I told them that, so they put me on a bed with a monitor to make sure it wasn't a heart attack and because my BP was high, they resumed with the Ativan.
Sometimes i shake my head at the mysteries of the mental health profession.
WildcatVet
5 April 2022
The same applies to ALL antipsychotic medications. Some people have to live with the side effects of these medications... or not live at all.
I take quetiapine, Vraylar, lamotrigine, and bupropion because they keep me sane and no other medications have worked for me like this combination.
Paterson
25 July 2017
I have been on Seroquel for a year - in the first three months, my body shape totally changed: I went from 7.5 stone to 9 stone, got cellulite (which is weird because I was super toned and sporty and 27 years old). I had the most insatiable appetite (got up at 3am to eat without hesitating). During those 3 months I had been in a psych hospital, heavily sedated - up to 600mg per day seroquel plus 900mg Lithium plus 300mg lamotrigine). When I weighed myself after coming out of hospital and realising that I had gone from 7.5 stone to 9 stone I decided that I had to lose it but this was impossible - so I decided to prevent myself from gaining any more and I was successful! NB this was with a strict regime. I ate three meals a day aiming for under 1000 calories total - ideally 800 which is what doctors tell people with obesity to do (very hard when your hunger is through the roof).
A GREAT TRICK is to eat very little for breakfast and lunch and save most of the calories for dinner so it's a treat. Fill yourself up with low calorie foods e.g. salad, ryvita and protein eg fish as this helps to curb your appetite. Plus I signed up to a triathlon and did 2x3 Mile runs per week, plus I cycled EVERYWHERE (such a great way to get fit) and swam 2/3 times a week - 40 lengths minimum. I had developed an under active thyroid due to the Lithium and or the Seroquel. Combatting this with thyroxine helped stop the weight Gain too. Good luck!!!
Inactive
4 Dec 2011
Hey y'all,
Bipolar I or II is a terrible, life changing disease with no cure. We all know this! I just happen to be allergic to all atypical antipsychotic medications. I manage to stay sane on Cymbalta, Depakote and Klonopin, although took 15 years to figure the right combo.
We have as many problems as we can deal with, let's not add "weight gain" to the list.
We need to support and understand each other with much caring and compassion. God made us the way we are for a reason, maybe to teach others that WE are good, worthwhile, loving people who function and add to the society we live in.
Hugs to all,
slattery
3 Dec 2011
Midnight, I strongly beg to differ with your contention that these drugs don't have the potential to cause massive weight gain; it's a proven fact that they do! Having always weighed about 115lbs, after three months of depakote/zyprexa consumption, I ballooned up to 155. Six years down the line, I weighed 210lbs... never having eaten more than what I ever did. I quit the drugs for a year, and with little effort at all, reverted back to 112. Right now I am 118lbs, take depakote and until recently abilify... but let me state that maintaining this weight requires walking 5 miles a day, and reducing calories approx. 300 less than what I would normally eat. Yes the drugs are reknowned for increasing your appetite - but certain drugs like zyprexa historically cause huge weight gain. So there is more to this equation than it just being a case of over-eating or lack of control. I can testify to that.
midnightcowboy
3 Dec 2011
Dear Slattery,
You are welcome to disagree but the fact is that body weight does NOT increase of it's own volition. It depends entirely on what is put into the body. Could you explain how weight gain occurs by any other method?
The clinical trials for the drug you mention do indicate weight gain being reported. In one area 6% of those trielled said it cased weight gain. Yet 4% on the placebo also reported weight gain, a difference of 2%. Not that common really.
There are some factors at play with this drug thugh that may help explain what you say. One highly reported side effect is constipation, thus even normal food intake is retained for long periods and causes the body to gain weight. It also causes somnolescence, or a sedating effect which leads to one not being able to exercise nor metabolise normally.
Metabolic and Nutritional Disorders - Infrequent: creatine phosphokinase increased. This is one clear statement from those trials. Note the word "infrequent".
This drug a many others are indeed "known" for weight gain. But it is because of what is put into the body and not used up or expelled.
Scientifically, matter cannot increase on it's own without a stimulus to increase the mass. Such as food and drink.
I find it hard to accept so many blame the drugs for all their woes when it is indeed us that is the problem.
Disagree all you like but weight comes from extra intake and little exercise. You've said virtually that yourself at the end of your post.
slattery
4 Dec 2011
Midnight, I can only speak from personal experience - I always was very slim prior to consuming these drugs, I commenced taking them without eating any more than I ever did, and six years down the line was 100lbs heavier. I stopped taking the drugs for a year because the huge weight gain was dangerous for my physical health. And just like that, the weight fell off me again, and I am 118lbs... but with a whole lot more effort than would be required were I not consuming the drugs at all. This was and is a trial and error experiment, and although theoretically what you report may be totally accurate as reported by the manufacturers, practically it doesn't work out like that for very many. Just for me, I have proven my own point that these drugs are weight gaining... but as we are all unique, this may not be your experience at all. To those who have or have had the same experience as I, well all I can say is that I hear them...
been there, done that, and I for one will not finger-point and tell them that it's their own fault and has nothing to do with the drugs. How can I say that, in the light of my own circumstances?
midnightcowboy
3 Dec 2011
Wooknoo,
Thread is so old you won't see this but a few are insisting these drugs caused them to gain weight.
I'm afraid the truth is that could only occur if you ate huge amounts of the drug.
As you don't and can't do that surely you all know the truth about weight gain. It is a matter of what and how much we eat and how little exercise we do.
But it's easier to say the drug did it. Untrue. Some drugs do stimulate appetite but YOU still decide what and when and how much to eat.
No, it doesn't "shut down the fat burning system", whatever that is.
Try to face reality and understand you need to make a lifestyle change, signifigant, if you wish to lose weigh permanently. Fad diets are useless as you relax as soon as you lose a few pounds. Trouble with the lifestyle change is what you must eat to achieve results. To me healthy food either has no taste, is mainly water and tastes bad. So I eat what appeals and hang the results.
Think it through. How sedentary are you? How much exercise do you do? Be honest, at least with yourself.
Just so you know, I have a similar problem but I no longer care as long as my mind is at peace as it is right now. I choose what I eat and will not exercise. Simple. I actually eat very little these days but drink a lot, non alcoholic. That's where my weight comes from. The drinking as I can't bear water, so boring.
cetteferge
4 Dec 2011
Please, please stop talking on subjects about which you know very little to nothing. There are many medications that have definite affects on our metabolic functions and hormones. And, weight gain is not only and always solely related to food/caloric intake and exercise. Of course, these affect our weight, just as some medications do, by having a direct affect on metabolic actions. Unless you've studied biochemistry, please hush about these things. We share personal experiences and knowledge gained from our professional experience, if that's relevant, period... not opinions or pontifications, anger or judgement. Enough said.
Inactive
4 Dec 2011
When I was first put on antidepressants I gained 60 pounds in 6 months while on Imipramine. A couple of years later I gained 40 pounds in 4 months while on Pamelor until I begged my doctor to take me off of it. Medications most definitely can cause weight gain. I had many other depressive episodes, and have been on many other medications and didn't have this problem. I wished that it were true, that I was causing this weight gain because then I could have stopped it. The only thing that stopped it was getting off the medication. -
cetteferge
5 Dec 2011
OMG, I meant this for midnight cowboy, not you Eliza! But, I realize it looks like that! Sorry about that. Jillian
Janet8249
13 July 2011
I also was on Seroquel for over a year for anxiety/agoraphobia. I didn't gain at first but after a few months I put on 30 lbs. in about 1-2 month period. I was fearful of losing any gains I had made but HAD to make a change in my meds so my doctor chose Geodon and said it wouldn't cause weight gain. I spent alot of money on a diet program while on Seroquel and lost 7 lbs at first and couldn't lose any more. Since I started Geodon a week ago, I've lost over 2 lbs. not changing anything. My only problem is not being able to sleep, I only sleep a couple hours a night and no naps during the day. Is anyone else coming from Seroquel to Geodon having that problem also?
Yarrow
1 Aug 2011
I couldn't sleep after coming off Seroquel and on to Geodon, I had to take sleeping tablets at first and now take Magnesium at night to help me sleep. I did lose lots of weight though and have been on 80mg of Geodon for 4 years. My doctor is now reducing it to 60mg then 40 if it all goes well.
Janet8249
2 Aug 2011
Yarrow,
Thanks for the advice for sleeping. I still can't sleep and tried to take it during the day and it's been awful. I will try the Magnesium and take the Geodon at night again. Good luck reducing your meds :-)
hateseroquel
26 Oct 2016
Hi I was on Seroquel several years and went from 128 to 180. I woke up every morning with hangovers too which I didn't realize until researching that that's typical. Now on Geodon with different doctor (for sleep only) and have had to increase per doc to 4 per night 20 mg each. I learned that this in connection with taking meds 3 hours before sleep was the trick otherwise it didn't work for me at all. Talk to your doc about increasing meds and you can take them when/however it works for you. Good luck and let me know how it goes!
hateseroquel
26 Oct 2016
Hi I was on Seroquel several years and went from 128 to 180. I woke up every morning with hangovers too which I didn't realize until researching that that's typical. Now on Geodon with different doctor (for sleep only) and have had to increase per doc to 4 per night 20 mg each. I learned that this in connection with taking meds 3 hours before sleep was the trick otherwise it didn't work for me at all. Talk to your doc about increasing meds and you can take them when/however it works for you. Good luck and let me know how it goes!
will it ever stop?
12 July 2011
I was on Seroquel for several months and saw a rise in the weight as well. Have been battling the excess poundage of all these meds for years now and it sometimes negates the positive feeligs that you are looking to gain from taking the meds in the first. One of the posts mentioned they had heard that Geodon could cause weight gain. My Dr.told me that it was weight neutral, but due to the possible side effects, I was/am afraid to try it.
Inactive
23 March 2011
wooknooo I took seroquel for months and i stopped because of the weight gain.(234 lbs) I would wake up in the night ... eat and not remember it. It took me about a year to get the weight off. Also I just started geodon and I like it cuz it dosnt increase my appetite. I think weight gain is common with antipsychotics. The other thing I did was increased my physical activity. Do more excersise and eat high protein meals. You actually burn calories when eating high protein/fiber diets. 4-6 small meals a day and lots of water. no soda no carbs for the first couple weeks then introduce complex carbs but only in the morning. This is what worked for me Im still on bi-polar meds but Im down to 150. I feel great. carrying all the extra weight is not healthy. Goood luck
deepsleepdream
24 Jan 2010
Ive heard Geodon will make you gain weight also.
Im sure the seroquel did not shut down your fat-burning metabolism or mess up your thyroid. Its just that your body has been in constant gain mode for a very long time. And these meds dont help. But gaining a lot of weight quickly isnt healthy either.
You need to tell your doctor directly that you are concerned about the weight gain and that you want to try some medications that wont make you gain weight.
I did, and I was put on carbatrol which is a mood stabalizer that doesnt make you gain weight at all. And if you need more than just a mood stabalizer Ive heard Abilify and Zyprexa are others that dont cause weight gain also.
Jubie82
9 June 2017
Please check your information before posting. . .
Zyprexa, out of all the psychotropic medications, is well known to be directly linked to an increased incidence in the development of type 2 diabetes due to its significant risk of weight gain. It is possible to minimize this, but it is extremely difficult and requires a very strict regimen. For these reasons, Zyprexa is not generally recommended as a maintenance medication.
plaidpaperclip
8 Jan 2010
I have heard of this happening with lithium before. I would suggest drinking more water (try the recommended seven to nine glasses a day) and eating more fruits to help combat this... I believe the weight gain is caused by chemicals in the medicine and/or combined with increased appetite.
missstaten87
6 Jan 2010
One of Seroquel's major side effect, as a 2nd generation anti-psychotic, is metabolic disturbances. Or, more precisely-- weight gain. Maybe your doctor can prescribe a 1st generation antipsychotic, which metabolic side effects are more subdued.
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geodon, seroquel, bipolar disorder
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