I will be starting the medication next week and am terrifed of gaining weight. I'm on the hearvier side which has a lot to do with my depression, anxiety, negative self-image, mood swings etc. If I eat healthy and exercise, what are the chances that I will gain weight? In other words, does it make you eat more or does it contain some sort of chemical that adds pounds beyond my control? Any advise would be extremely helpful.
Is weight gain inevitable on Depakote?
Question posted by kristi1821 on 3 July 2012
Last updated on 18 May 2020
50 Answers Page 3
I've been on the pink horror since March (I'm 36 years old and NEVER in my life did I believe I'd need to take a mood stabilizer, the stigma alone makes me feel awful) and weighed 204 at the time that I was put on these meds (which I guess I needed, things had been going very badly for me before I started taking them, not that they're going well now.)
I weight 245 now, I have not changed my diet negatively at all, in fact I've stopped eating carbs, have been watching everything I eat, had a rapid metabolism before but no longer consume any of the bad stuff I used to consume and I'm still just ballooning. I am going to my doctor today to discuss this with him.
I can't live like this.
I have been on Depakote since the age of 23. My seizures started at 17 and nothing would control them. I had grand mal seizures. I could always tell I was going to have a seizure a few hours ahead of time, because I would go into my ora (spelling), unable to speak and in a daize. At 23 they discovered I was actually having petit mal seizures when in my ora, and then when my brain could not take it any longer, I would have a grand mal. Therefore, they realized they were using the wrong types of meds on me and that is why from 17 to 23, they were never able to control my seizures. When they changed me over to a med to control my seizures at 23, they chose depakote. For the first time ever, I was seizure free. In 6 months, although very active mother of a 3 year old, I gained 85 pounds. Yes 85 pounds in 6 months and it kept going up from there until I topped out at 305 pounds. At that time, I decided to try to change to a different med at the age of 43 years old.
I lost 110 pounds in 10 months, doing nothing different other than going off depakote. They tried me on 3 other seizure meds over a course of 2 years... none worked. I lost my job, my driver's license and became very soft in the head from all of the seizures. I chose to go back on depakote because it was more important to me to be sane than thin. The doctors do not know why I gain so much weight with the depakote. Nor do they know why it is the only seizure med that controls my seizures. My niece has the same issues as I do. She has petit mal seizures that culminate into grand mal. Depakote is the only seizure drug that works for her. She has gained well over 100 pounds since being put on the depakote. For those of you who think the weight gain is due to over eating or laziness, I believe that is not always true, as it is not in my case or my niece's case. Weight gain on this drug is also more likely for women than men. Some doctor's will not even consider putting a woman on depakote unless absolutely necessary, like my sister's doctor, for her migraines. At 55 years old, I have a love hate relationship with depakote. It controls my seizures, for which I am grateful. However, it is slowly but surely damaging my health in other ways. My heart bleeds for my niece at 23, knowing what she has ahead of her at 325 pounds. Can't someone figure out what it is in this medicine that causes the weight gain. Can't someone figure out some other med or combination of meds that will work for my niece and I. Help!
God Bless you I feel your pain
I am on Depakote for bipolar. I also gained weight when I first started to take this medication. I take 750mg per day. My doctor gave me topamax to help me lose the weight I had gained. It is a mood stabilizer and a seizure medication. It did the trick. You might ask your doctor if he thinks it might help you.
If you are taking Depakote for seizures and are upset about substantial weight gain, the reverse effect has been noted in Topamax, which is also good for folks who have significant epilepsy or other seizure related conditions. Just saying. My best friend, and many of her acquaintances, have a hard time keeping weight on... I know it's because Topamax makes her a little foggy but so does Depakote at higher doses, which of course, calms down seizure tendency. Just a thought. Too thin is also really hard to live with btw. She gets lot of flak about it.
I have been on Depakote 500 mg bid (plus Buspar 10 mg bid) for two weeks for bipolar depression.
I just realized I have been gaining .5 to 1 pound per day, going from 162 to 177 pounds. 15 pounds. My pants do not close.
I asked the pharmacist if Depakote causes weight gain, and she said: Yes, very often. And especially with Buspar (buspirone), which itself is not much of a culprit, but packs it on when combined with Valproate.
I am going off Depakote immediately.
"That crazy, I'm not"
I gained fifty lbs on depakote in only 3 months. I was taking 3 500 mg per night for ocd. I decided to get off it and I've lost 20 lbs in a month.
I take 2500 Depakote every morning. I need to diet and work out 4 times a week. If i dont i gain weight. I gained 35 pounds when i started and i am down 20. I can get NO lower. As much as i try. My MD says as long as my BP and cholesterol is good im ok. Just sad wish i was skinny. At least i have not had a seizure since February. I am taking this because i had a brain tumor but im doing well now. 1 year and no new growth. Good luck everyone
I was prescribed Depakote 500mg today as a mood stabilizer. Reading here it seems it's the higher doses and/or giving into cravings that cause the weight gain. Is that the general consensus? I have dropped 40 lbs since Jan '14. I'm older, and have a desk job. I don't need any added obstacles to a healthy weight.
I think you have nailed it msmoody. I found that it isn't as hard to give up the sweets as I thought it would be and I did have a 'sweet tooth'. I have made the healthier choice of taking the 'simple carbs' out of my diet and changed to high fiber options and real fruit. I still have cravings from time to time but I don't have to give in to them.
Thank you for your reply lady2882. :)
Depakote makes my appetite HUGE. I have been on it with my anit-depressant for 3 years now and really need the mood stabilizing because of hypomania sometimes. I kept adding pounds, bit by bit because I have always been careful and conscious of staying slender, until recently it hit me--- it is the Depakote. So I go online and read everything and everybody's comments, think about switching, maybe to Lamactical. Reading all that stuff took me back to the horrendous nightmare times during med changes; I would rather 'eat worms' than go there ever again if I can help it. You guys know what I mean if you have any med experience (I have over 30 years now, rotten genes). Days and days and days and med changes and waiting for them to work and more days and days and days... don't even want to take a shower, drag to work and try to keep a low profile... bad bad bad.
SO, I am going to try and do what is suggested here about changing WHAT I eat since the appetite is going to be there; that is the reality. Fortunately, I have OA (Overeaters Anonymous experience about meal plans and NOT 'grazing' i.e. eating between meals, AND I have studied the South Beach diet pretty well over the years. Hopefully this should do it. Since it is only 20 pounds so far, maybe it is not to let. I have seriously been thinking about just stopping fighting and getting fat. This is very very very bad on my self esteem. I just can't do it. I got to keep trying. Hang in there you guys. godspeed-mjy
I love lamictal.
I love lamictal. Gained a ton of weight on depakote and loss off energy. Lived in a cloud.
I also have watched the weight go up, I had just begun to get a few pounds off when I was put onto this med and the few that I'd got off went straight back on, I need to watch my weight gain as I have prolapsed discs in my lower spine and it increases the pain when my weight increases.
I cannot manage to get the weight reduced at all, even though I do not eat large meals, I have noticed that I hunger pangs have woken me up, or have had them before trying to get of to sleep, something which has never before happened to me, until going on this med, I dont like it for this reason, but must say it is good at what it was made for, mood stabilizing.
Would prefer something that didnt increase the poundage, but also dont want to fix whats not broken either.
I have found that if I cut out most sugars and all white sugar and anything made with white sugar from my diet the weight gain stopped and I have been slowly losing (about a pound every month). I was gaining so fast that I would be a balloon by now if I hadn't tried this even though I have always eaten a very balanced and healthy diet.
Unfortunately for me, I have what is termed as a sweet tooth, I just love sweet stuff, now in saying that, a bar of chocolate would be in my cupboard for a week or more, sometimes I would fancy a few squares and that satisfies me enough, I wouldnt just sit and scoff the lot in one sitting.
Crisps are the same, I would go for weeks on end without having any, and one packet would suffice.
I dont eat large meals, I wouldnt like to see what size I would become if I did.
I am only small of height, at 5ft and weigh 10st I know that's over weight at that, but I just cant shift any, I was managing to get a few pounds of per week before Depakote, but since starting it 3 months ago that's gone.
I just keep my meals small, try to curtail my sweet tooth, and am joining a fitness programme, Healthwise, my medical is this week, so I God willing intend to be doing Pilates and swimming once a week very soon.
That should help toward shifting a few pounds, well it better do.
oh and I dont drink alcohol or fizzy drinks either. I'll keep you posted on here as to how this fitness programme works out.
I tried alot of different things and nothing helped I just kept gaining and the constant hunger was driving me crazy. In my family everyone knows I have the biggest sweet tooth going but I had to decide either to get really big or cut out the white sugar. I can have a bit of honey or unprocessed sugars brown sugar but not the white stuff.
The reason for the constant hunger is because Depakote causes your body to release too much insulin which then lowers your blood sugar levels too much so your brain sends a signal for you to eat to get that blood sugar up where it is supposed to be. Finding something else to snack on rather than things that contain white sugar helps keep your blood sugar levels even.
ah now that explains the reason for what happened to me the other day, I got so hungry I thought I was going to faint, it was awful, you know the way when you feel yourself drain and you go white, well that was it, I was in the car as a passenger, thanks be to God I wasnt driving, husband was, but I just had to have something to eat to bring up my sugar level fast...
The hunger is so fierce isnt it, it just cant be ignored, something has to be eaten, to satisfy it, or it just gets worse, its unbearable.
I went through having the blood sugar so low that you almost pass out too. Of course we always reach for a sweet to pump up the levels quick lol then with this med we crash again in no time.
I still get times when I feel absolutely starving but I am learning to reach for something with protein, veggies and some crackers. Watch out for some of those artificial sweeteners too. Some are okay but others can really cause a reaction although I can't figure that one out at all.
Take care of you
When my dose was increased I also started gaining weight. No matter how hard I try, I cannot stop eating carbs. I crave them all day and want to eat constantly. Prior to this my diet had a lot of fruits and vegetables in it because I ate a mostly vegan diet. It is easy to say 'just watch what you eat and you'll be fine'. Some of us are not able to control all of our impulses and/or have a background of eating disorders. I knew it might cause weight gain and I thought that would be fine, but it is a much bigger struggle than I thought it would be.
See the comment I made to MaureenL below
I've been on depakote for atleast 4 years and have gained around 10lbs per year I figured it was aging I started taking it when I was 19 i was 120 and worked out a lot. I didn't even consider the depakote for my weight problems. it just kept going up even with diet and exercise so I gave up on losing weight after the first 30lbs now that I've stopped it I've lost 10lbs in less than a week with no change in diet or exercise. The other side effects of depakote should be what makes you decide to use it or not though. Weight gain is a minor side effect.
Removing all white sugar and limiting other sugars will prevent the weight gain associated with Depakote. Don't use artifical sweetners either. It took some getting used to but it works so you have all the good side effects of the med without the weight gain.
That same exact thing happened to me! I gained 10 lbs per year until I reached 150 lbs and flatlined there. I have been on the meds since 2010 and was 120 when I started as well.
Absolutly weight gain is a possible side effect. It is noted as a side effect. My daughter gained 65 pounds in 9 months. Another side effect she suffered that was the final straw were tremors and the possibility of them becoming permanent. When she changed doctors another potential issue was brought up. We ere told it should never be given to someone up during child bearing years. Weight gain is a potential side effect in most of the drugs in this class. The drug was effective in stabilizing her BiPolar.
I think I should add my daughter was 19 when taking the drug. Diet was controlled including strict weight watchers plan and plenty of exercise. It seems if it is going to effect your weight it will. In my daughter case diet and exercise were not effective at all in controlling the weight gain.
what do you do about weight gain if you are in a wheelchair and can't exercise as much as others? I already eat right.
I have been on Depakote for about 10 years now.(between 1500mg and 2000mg dosages) Upon first starting the medication, I gained 40 lbs in 3 months. I have been told that this amount of gain in a short time is rare... lucky me. I stay on the med as it is the only one to control my seizures. But it did make me fat.
I know what you mean. I started it in October and even though I don't eat any more than I did and try to exercise a min of 30 min each day the only way I could slow the weight gain was to cut out all the sugar in my diet. I crave the weirdest things too. My weight is still creeping up but don't know what else to do.
i weigh 105 lbs. when i first started to take depakote i gained 20 lbs. in three months. i exercised two to three hours a day at the time and ate a very healthy diet. it was only after i added topamax was i able to control my weight.
now, fifteen years later and menopause has set in, it doesn't matter what i do.
I too have been on Depakote a few years ago and it did make me hungry more often I gained some pounds but not a desperate lot. THE bigger issue for me was the hair loss everyday it was coming out on my brush and got really on my head I had to be taken off it even though it controlled my bipolar great. I could have managed the weight part most likely as I can't gain weight as I have prolapsed discs in lower spine and just gaining half stone makes the biggest difference in pain or I wouldve stayed on it as it's been hard to find something that helps the depressive side. I'm on Lithium 600mg sertraline 150mg and Lamictal 100mg and this has been great for the past 9months.
My 19 yo daughter is taking one med. 750mg depakote for 5 months now. She has put on about 30lbs despite while eating an extremely healthy diet. Every bite, meal and snack is measured and counted. Prior to taking this med she was naturally thin ate anything anytime she wanted. Now she constantly fights hunger despite a well balanced diet. The challenge is that though it is not a perfect solution to her Bi Polar mood swings she is far more stable and productive. If the weight gain continues as it does not seem to be leveling off then not only will she be dealing with self esteem issues for the first time in life related to weight but her weight will become a new health issue itself. so while some do not have weight gain issues many do and based on what my daughter is dealing with diet and excersice is not counter acting the drugs effect.
Related topics
depakote, depression, bipolar disorder, weight loss (obesity/overweight), anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, weight, medication
Further information
- Depakote uses and safety info
- Depakote prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Depakote (detailed)
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