Lithium vs. Depakote and Weight Gain - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information

tortiose · 02-24-2009, 11:09 PM

Does anyone know which one is more likely to cause weight gain? I've gained a lot on Depakote, and I'm on quite a bit of it too! I know it's individual, but I'm asking in general. I can't possibly stand gaining another pound!

Thanks

historyteach · 02-25-2009, 04:04 AM

I don't know personally, but, this site may be helpful for you:
www.http://www.psycheducation.org/
There's a link there on medication that you can find information.
I hope it helps.
Let us know what you find out. We care.

Shalom!

bovinePieBear · 02-25-2009, 04:08 AM

Hi - for what it's worth, I gained five stone (70lbs) in four years with Depakote, then changed to Lithium and my weight stabilised, and has recently begun to fall again (though stopping drinking is a big help there!).

mle-sober · 02-25-2009, 08:25 PM

I never realized they were "either/or" drugs. I take them both and reluctantly gain wieght in exchange for sanity. Better than the inverse.

scott · 02-27-2009, 12:19 PM

I use Invega and haven't had hardly any weight gain on 9mg...maybe 5lbs. No blood sugar problems either so far. Been on it about two months. FYI.

tortiose · 02-27-2009, 04:16 PM

What is Invega?

scott · 02-28-2009, 10:37 AM

It is paliperidone extended release capsules. It's basically risperdal but in an extended release capsule. Seems to keep me relatively stable but I'm still probably going to have to add something to it.

tortiose · 02-28-2009, 12:02 PM

Thank you all for you replies. I really do appreciate them, and the website historyteach. I tried googling more on lithium but I'm having trouble finding reputable sites. Wikipedia is not my idea of reputable. lol.

Well I'm on Lithium now, and except for the ridiculously dry mouth and thirsty feeling, I'm doing ok with it. I'm on a low dose right now, and I hope to stay that way. My mood swings are a little out of control right now. I'm taking another mood stabilizer, and I hope with the combination of the two of them, I won't have to have too high a dose of Lithium, like the kind you have when you only take lithium. I'm having a little, well not so much nausea, but slight queasiness that is making me less hungry, which for me at my 40 lbs I can't rid of might be good.

I'm not really worried about side effects with kidneys as I'm being monitored, so long as it works, I don't care.

How long does it take to kick in? I'm ready for some relief from this crap.

bovinePieBear · 03-01-2009, 08:09 AM

Hey tortiose - it can take a while to get lithium to a balance in the blood that is therapeutic. With me, it took a couple of months. With lithium you probably know that there's a fine line between doses that give no effect, are at helpful levels, and then toxic levels of lithium in the blood. Because of this, doses are started low and steadily ramped up until blood tests show that the dose is right.

By the way, the dry mouth passed for me within about six weeks, but I've always kept the fine muscle tremor. Everyone's different though...

mle-sober · 03-01-2009, 08:46 AM

The combination of Lithium and Seroquel helped me very quickly - in a matter of days.

The side effects took a few weeks to get better. I live with some and have a higher level of Lithium in my blood than we'd like but it's better than going crazy again! Sometimes it builds up and I have to go down for a little while. We are constantly tweaking it - that's one thing I didn't realize I'd have to do. It sucks but like I said - better than the alternative.

02-24-2009, 11:09 PM	#1 (permalink)
tortiose Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 10	Lithium vs. Depakote and Weight Gain Does anyone know which one is more likely to cause weight gain? I've gained a lot on Depakote, and I'm on quite a bit of it too! I know it's individual, but I'm asking in general. I can't possibly stand gaining another pound! Thanks

02-25-2009, 04:04 AM	#2 (permalink)
historyteach To Life! Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 9,303	I don't know personally, but, this site may be helpful for you: www.http://www.psycheducation.org/ There's a link there on medication that you can find information. I hope it helps. Let us know what you find out. We care. Shalom! __________________ IMAGINE

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02-25-2009, 04:08 AM	#3 (permalink)
bovinePieBear Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: UK Posts: 263 Blog Entries: 4	Hi - for what it's worth, I gained five stone (70lbs) in four years with Depakote, then changed to Lithium and my weight stabilised, and has recently begun to fall again (though stopping drinking is a big help there!).

02-25-2009, 08:25 PM	#4 (permalink)
mle-sober mle-sober Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Golden, CO Posts: 1,243	I never realized they were "either/or" drugs. I take them both and reluctantly gain wieght in exchange for sanity. Better than the inverse.

02-27-2009, 12:19 PM	#5 (permalink)
scott To infinity.....AND BEYOND! Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Kansas Posts: 132	I use Invega and haven't had hardly any weight gain on 9mg...maybe 5lbs. No blood sugar problems either so far. Been on it about two months. FYI.

02-27-2009, 04:16 PM	#6 (permalink)
tortiose Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 10	What is Invega?

02-28-2009, 10:37 AM	#7 (permalink)
scott To infinity.....AND BEYOND! Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Kansas Posts: 132	It is paliperidone extended release capsules. It's basically risperdal but in an extended release capsule. Seems to keep me relatively stable but I'm still probably going to have to add something to it.

02-28-2009, 12:02 PM	#8 (permalink)
tortiose Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 10	Thank you all for you replies. I really do appreciate them, and the website historyteach. I tried googling more on lithium but I'm having trouble finding reputable sites. Wikipedia is not my idea of reputable. lol. Well I'm on Lithium now, and except for the ridiculously dry mouth and thirsty feeling, I'm doing ok with it. I'm on a low dose right now, and I hope to stay that way. My mood swings are a little out of control right now. I'm taking another mood stabilizer, and I hope with the combination of the two of them, I won't have to have too high a dose of Lithium, like the kind you have when you only take lithium. I'm having a little, well not so much nausea, but slight queasiness that is making me less hungry, which for me at my 40 lbs I can't rid of might be good. I'm not really worried about side effects with kidneys as I'm being monitored, so long as it works, I don't care. How long does it take to kick in? I'm ready for some relief from this crap.

03-01-2009, 08:09 AM	#9 (permalink)
bovinePieBear Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: UK Posts: 263 Blog Entries: 4	Hey tortiose - it can take a while to get lithium to a balance in the blood that is therapeutic. With me, it took a couple of months. With lithium you probably know that there's a fine line between doses that give no effect, are at helpful levels, and then toxic levels of lithium in the blood. Because of this, doses are started low and steadily ramped up until blood tests show that the dose is right. By the way, the dry mouth passed for me within about six weeks, but I've always kept the fine muscle tremor. Everyone's different though...

03-01-2009, 08:46 AM	#10 (permalink)
mle-sober mle-sober Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Golden, CO Posts: 1,243	The combination of Lithium and Seroquel helped me very quickly - in a matter of days. The side effects took a few weeks to get better. I live with some and have a higher level of Lithium in my blood than we'd like but it's better than going crazy again! Sometimes it builds up and I have to go down for a little while. We are constantly tweaking it - that's one thing I didn't realize I'd have to do. It sucks but like I said - better than the alternative.

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