That is a really hard choice. I don't think I would be able to take a drug, if there was a possibility that I would gain weight. I'm not Bipolar, but I am Borderline, so when my Dr. wanted to put me on meds I got online and did a bunch of research to find out which ones had a potential weight gain side effect and a lot of them did. I talked to my Dr. and we settled on Prozac which didn't have weight gain as a side effect. I don't know what types of medications are used for bipolar, but there must be some that don't have weight gain as a side effect.

Ask your doctor to find a medication that doesn't cause weight gain. There has to be something out there. I don't think you should think about treating ed and bipolar separately. I think it all plays together and needs to be treated together. Let us know what you decide.

thank you for the advice ladies:) she suggested abbilify...she said its weight nutral...wen i took it it didnt makes me gain weight, just super tired...i dont like anti psychotics at all...and that whole invluntary muscle movement thing as a risk is crazy as hell lol..i dont wanna put myself through that. i dont know:( i think im gonna do reaserch

I agree with Karrin. I don't think you can treat one or the other. They go hand in hand and effect each other. My therapist likes to dig up issues that have contributed to my anxiety but he sidesteps ED any time I bring it up. I leave his office with all this "stuff" and then I restrict and over exercise to cope. Not doing me much good but I don't think my therapist knows how to treat ED. No one in my town does. Try to find someone who can and will address both. I am sure they can find a med that will treat BP and not make ED worse.

Yeah I think at renfrew thweyre are different type of specialist so maybe the psychiatrist there will kno a good med for me:)

Yeah I think at renfrew thweyre are different type of specialist so maybe the psychiatrist there will kno a good med for me:)

I am on meds. 4 different ones for my mood. I have been through the loop or trial and error. I cannot take antidepressants because they make me manic and depressed at the same time. I call it being an energetic suicidal. Not good. I am taking seroquel and invega which are antipsychotics. Seroquel is notorious for weigh gain. I have been on it for 4 years. During that time I reached my lowest weight because of anorexia. Weight gain is not always going to happen. Everyone is different. The only reason I gained weight was because of my ED. Nothing to do with meds. I'm also on lamictal and tramadol. Neither has caused weight gain.

You need meds to function. Left untreated the mood swings will get worse. You could end up attempting suicide because you didn't go on meds. You're literally risking your life here.

Meds saved my life. Without them I surely would have died because my mood swings were so severe.

You need meds. Don't delay going on them. If you are worried about weight gain then talk to yor doctor. But do not assume that all meds cause weight gain because you read horror stories about it.

Treatment needs to be together. Don't address one first do them together.

Hey beccbecc yeah ...in this pass feburary I I stop taking my meds cold turkery and by april 2months later I attempted suicide. When I was in the hospital they put me on lamictal geodon and depakote then wen I came out my pdoc gave me just depakote and that med is amazing! I was incredibly stable but I started gaining weight cuz of health reasons then more cuz of depakote so I stopped that and now I'm losing ridiculous amounts of weight and I'm content...I have bp1 and my psdoc said that's cuz I'm very severe in mania and depression. Yeah I tried wellbutrin wen I thought I was just depressed and I almost flew out of my window lol

I'm gonna try meds during my long winter break so that if I have side affects it won't affect my school

I had the same thoughts, because I was first put on seroquel and I heard horror stories from it. The hardest part for me was curbing the cravings and while I will not give tips on that (I'm trying to recover from my ED and I am NOT pro-eating disorder) - I can say that it was easy for me to control cravings.

I tend to take seroquel before bed, and as long as I fall asleep shortly after taking it (before the mad cravings kick in) then I'm good. The only way medication causes weight gain is 1) giving into cravings and 2) water intake. Liquid weight is nothing, since once you pee it's gone.

Ask about different medications! Also look and see how far down on the list of report side effects 'weight gain' is. The first mentioned are the mostly to occur. When your mind is healthy with the medication it needs, it will be ten times easier to concentrate on your eating disorder.

Oh yes. Taking meds that cause immediate cravings before bed is a good idea. Seroquel makes me sooo tired still. Plus I am one of the unlucky 6% that get tachycardia so I really have to go to sleep anyway.

If meds do cause cravings remember that you are in control. There are ways to control them and not give in. For example you can eat healthy things that have sugar (most common craving in those who get it). Fruits like apples and bananas. Dried fruits like raisins. Asian pears if you can fins them are juicy and delicious. This way you train your body to crave healthy sugars. And it's not the end end of the world if you eat 3 apples! But like I said you can not even have cravings at all. The only cravings I get are related to PMS.

What's tachycardia?

You ladies gave me great advice!! I will try:)

I am bipolar too! My pdoc has me on medication and is watching my weight for me! she took me off one medication that made me gain weight and now I am not gaining weight with my pdoc help! hope my story helps you decide what right for you!

Tachycardia is a very fast heartrate. I was given the okay to keep taking Seroquel by my doctor because my heartrate goes down as long as I am lying down/sleeping.

It is interesting because I just read a article on bipolar and eating disorders. It turns out that 14% of people with bipolar have an eating disorder. Binge eating being the most common, followed by bulimia, and lastly anorexia. So I find that interesting. Who knew, right?

That's interesting...