Everyone strives to maintain a healthy weight throughout this most festive season, when food and temptation are everywhere you turn. But when you take psychotropic medication for bipolar disorder, the struggle can be even realer. That’s because weight gain is a common side effect of most antidepressants like fluoxetine (brand names: Prozac, Sarafem), antipsychotics like quetiapine (Seroquel), and mood-stabilizing drugs like lithium (Lithobid, Eskalith), used to treat the disorder in its various stages. If you take multiple medications to control your symptoms, you may have a harder time controlling your weight during the holidays. Here’s what you can do.
Understand Your Meds and Your Metabolism
The same genes that predispose you to a mental health condition may also put you at higher risk of developing metabolic disorders that result in weight gain. Genetics aside, the medications themselves often have the effect of increasing appetite and reward-seeking behavior (overeating for pleasure), as well as sedative effects that result in less physical activity.1
For some people the slight weight gain that can be expected during the first month of taking a new medication may not taper off. If you gained more than 5% of your body weight during your first month on your current medication, your propensity to gain weight may be ongoing. Long story short: You may have to work harder than others to control your weight. 2
Updated: Jan 4, 2021
Article Sources
- Psychotropic-induced weight gain: A review of management strategies. Consultant360 Newsletter. March 2013; 53 (3). Available at: https://www.consultant360.com/article/psychotropic-induced-weight-gain-review-management-strategies. Accessed December 2, 2020.
- Tohen, M. Commentary: Psychotropic agents and the prediction of weight gain. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2015; 76 (11): e1474-e1475. Available at: https://www.psychiatrist.com/JCP/article/_layouts/ppp.psych.controls/BinaryViewer.ashx?Article=/JCP/article/Pages/psychotropic-agents-prediction-weight-gain.aspx&Type=Article. Accessed December 2, 2020.
- Stenman LK, Burcelin R, Lahtinen S. Establishing a causal link between gut microbes, body weight gain, and glucose metabolism in humans—towards treatment with probiotics. Beneficial Microbes. February 1 2016; 7 (1): 11-22. Available at: https://www.wageningenacademic.com/doi/epdf/10.3920/BM2015.0069 Accessed December 2, 2020.
- Budak E, Taymur I, Onen S, et al. the relationship between emotional appetite and bipolar features in obese and non-obese individuals. The European Research Journal. 2019; 5 (6): 981-989. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330646482_The_relationship_between_emotional_appetite_and_bipolar_features_in_obese_and_non-obese_individuals. Accessed December 2, 2020.
- Fornaro M, Daray FM, Hunter F et al. The prevalence, odds and indictors of lifespan comorbid eating disorder among people with a primary diagnosis of bipolar disorders, and vice-versa: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders. February 1, 2021; 409-431. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032720329451. Accessed December 2, 2020.
-
Nihalani N, Schwartz TL, Siddiqui UA, Megna JL. Weight Gain, Obesity, and Psychotropic prescribing. Journal of Obesity/Pharmacologic Treatment of Obesity. January 17, 2011. Available at: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jobe/2011/893629/ Accessed December 2, 2020.