Lithium for depression and weight gain

I am on ciprilix, wellbutrion and sereqeol. I told my doctor I wanted to gef off the serequol due to weight gain.

So he's put me on lithium and cutting my ciprilix out. Does this sound right? I'm sorry worried about gaining what I've lost

Antidepressants are notorious for weight gain and Lithium is one of the worst.  Be very careful.  Wellbutrion is the only one that seems to not cause weight gain.  Just monitor your weight carefully and see if your appetite increases or if the scale goes up.  I trust my doctor, but also insist that I will not take medicines that cause weight gain.

The thing is, some meds may cause weight gain in some patients while not causing weight gain in others.  You can ask your doc which meds are least likely to cause weight gain, but also monitor your weight and let him know if you do start to gain.  About a year ago I was on Abilfy for about three months and gained over 20 lbs.  I just let my doc know that wasn't OK with me and I changed meds and lost most of that 20 lbs pretty easily.  I'm currently on Effexor and have had no weight gain from that.

Kelly is right, everyone is different.  I took Lithium long-term and had a significant weight gain.  It also didn't work very well for me and my symptoms.  Anti-depressants and anti-psychotic medications are tricky as everyone's chemical makeup is different.  I often felt like a guinea pig with all the different meds they have had me on.  Unfortunately, that's the only way to find out what works for you.

Good luck!

M'Lane

I agree-psych meds can be so different for everyone.  Cymbalta caused horrible weight gain for me.  I was taking it for chronic pain and decided that I would rather be in pain.  Surprisingly once I got off of it and lost the weight my pain decreased so much.

Keep a log on how they work and how they affect your weight and keep an open line of communication with your doctor. 

Good luck!

I took lithium for 2 years and never gained a pound on it..but I think it was Lithobid which is a newer form of Lithium.  Try it a month.  It may not cause weight gain for you.  The only med I have ever gained weight on is Paxil and Zoloft and I have tried them all.

Seroquel is an atypical antipsychotic that is notorious for causing weight gain as well as a lot of other side effects.  Ask you doctor about Geodon or Abilify instead of Seroquel.  They are also atypical antipsychotics but are more weight neutral.  Ciprilix is escitalopram, similar to celexa, same as lexapro.  It is an SNRI.  all the SNRI's can cause some weight gain.  Lithium is a mood stabilizer.  Lithium also causes weight gain and has a myriad of other unpleasant side effects.  It sounds like you are being treated for a serious psychiatric disorder and it is important to take your medications as prescribed.  If you are not seeing a Psychiatrist, perhaps you should consider seeing one.   

Hi,

I have taken Lithium for years with no weight gain related to it.  I also take Seroquel which is well known to alte blood sugar metablism and may also result in diabetes if taken long term.    I have previously been bulimic in the past and was prescribed Ciprilix which was said to reduce my appetite which it did.

Lithium works for me with mood stabilising but not as an anitidepressant ( it is a mood stabiliser not an antidepressant).  When I ceased taking Ciprilix I ended up needing to take it again after 2 months due to anxiety and 'lows'.

Everyone is so different...for me the EMPHASIS is on mood stabilisation...when I am not stablised I make bad choices and am self destructive and that is worse for me than any weight gain.  I think the only thing you can do is trial and error and see what works for you.

I too was worried about weight gain when I started Lithium but was surprised that it didnt happen.Goodluck