This is not a medical site and we are not Doctors, we cannot suggest diets or ways of losing weight here.

You have my sympathy but the best person to speak to would be your Doctor.

While this site does not discuss medical questions (for very good reasons) you may wish to read what other sufferers have experienced.

If you go to Google, the Advanced search and type in:

Bipolar disorder discussion

you will find hundreds of sites many of which may cover your enquiry.

I'm sorry if some of our members appear a little hasty to judge, Rocknrollmom. I know of one person who'll be able to talk to you about their experiences, if they chose. Please hang around for a while. They're never far away.

I know about the meds from a professional point of view, and I appreciate how difficult it is to raise a problem like this. I'm not a nutritionist though.

Welcome to IQ, BTW.

haha, hey there, that would be me that neko's talking about.

gained over 4 stone on lithium, and in a very short space of time. most of the meds they'll put you on will have that kind of effect i'm afraid - one thing you can ask is that they check your thyroid function and free floating thyroxine levels to make sure your thyroid's still working ok and not underactive, cos if it is, that won't help you much at all. also, if you're female, they'll pretty much insist you be on long-term contraception, which can put weight on you.

how did i lose the weight? i've been put on an anticonvulsant which is also used as a mood stabiliser, it's called topiramate (topamax is the brand name). i can't say that it works for what it needs to work for though. i have dropped just over 3 stone though, which, in addition to the weight i've managed to drop by myself, has nearly taken me back down to my pre-lithium weight.

you will want to discuss your options with your psychiatrist - if you have bipolar disorder, your medication will be chosen to fit you - i'm ultra-rapid cycling with traits of borderline personality thrown in for effect, so i may be very different to you - for all i know, you could be type one with psychosis and need the gold standard lithium or carbamezapine to manage your moods.


i totally empathise with you, i really really do. it's bad enough having to change meds because they don't work, but to know that you have to change meds to something that's gonna make you gain weight when that's the last thing you need? it's harsh.

the really bad thing is, i'm coming off these things, the topiramate, because it doesn't work for me. so i've been looking into appetite suppressants for the next drug they're looking at putting me onto, as it has a bad reputation for weight gain. looks like most suppressants are contraindicated to bipolar disorder, never mind the medication ya take for it!

it's a case of getting down to my target weight (another 8-10kg) and then try like hell to "manage" it come what may. if you can get to that stage, that's what i advise you do. i've even looked into bariatric surgery, if you can believe that. i used to weigh over 100kg. my knees can't afford for me to be weighing that again.