I gained weight on Depekote, hallucinations on trazadone, couldn't tolerate topomax and now seroquel, weight gain again. It's like having to pick the worst of two evils! No Fair! The weight gain really lowers the self-esteem, I mean get it together folks we already manic depressant and then your going to dump 50lbs on me! What do we do!

Lithium and Lamictal should not cause weight gain or sex drive interference. I'm sure there are others but these I have had. Still on Lithium no problems at all:)

im not very worried about anything making me fat. least i dont think i am.

if you werent on meds to bring you up, then if ur like me ud comfort eat, which will put weight on anyways.

wouldnt you rather your head get well enough to deal with the weight gain?

the sex one is a bummer though.

depakotes crap for that.

Topamax if you can stand being dumb and flaky. Lost 20 pounds I didn't need to, no appetite it did help my mood. la la land can't find any words.

im at my ideal weight, but i agree, weight gain is an important issue, why trade one problem for another, people who say otherwise are usually thin... having said that, i take lithium, abilify, prozac, tradadone, and lorazepam with no weight gain, so far, i do watch what i eat though and have been walking... i know drugs like risperedol (sp) are notorious for weight gain bcs they stimulate your appetite so

I know Lamictal is weight nuetral,but have not ever been on Lithium. I have heard and seen post that Lithium is also wight nuetral. Most anti depressants will cause weight gain. I gain 30 lbs in 2 months , The doc had me on several, got off some slowly and lost the weight. Good luck

Thanks. So I am hearing that Depakote, Risperdal, and Seroquel are high risk for weight gain. I am getting mixed reviews on Lithium.

I am going to match this up with everyone's advice to me about good RAGE meds.

I will say that I seem to be losing weight on Wellbutrin. It seems to have some kind of amphetamine-like effect on me. Of course, it could just be my husband walking out on me again. He was the cook.

I have had no weight gain with Lamictal. It requires a lot of patience starting up & getting to a therapeutic dose though. I also take Topamax as an additional mood stabilizer & a migraine preventative, both of which I find it to be quite effective for. The Topamax has also counteracted any weight gain I would have experienced from the Seroquel I take at night, as I have not gained anything at all.

Be careful if you do decide to try Topamax however, because it can cause some pretty extreme appetite suppression. I have to literally FORCE myself to eat anything at all & I have still lost entirely too much weight since adding it to my regimen. I went from a size 6 to a 2 in a month in a half. Still, the benefits in my case far outweigh the negative side effects. As usf mentioned, the "dumb & flaky" thing is also another common side effect. In my particular case, my racing thoughts were so fast that my head literally felt like it was spinning out of control, so adding the Topamax was of great help to me & I have had no issues with word retrieval. This is a common complaint for many, hence the notorious reputation & the nick names "Dopamax" or "Stupamax", LOL! I would research any meds you consider, as they ALL have various side effects.

Abilify works good for me

Well, my poor self-esteem sets even more store by being smart, so maybe topamax will not be on top of my list.

I WISH I could try Abilify. I am unisured and, boy, is it expensive!

Thanks again for all and any feedback.