Your Ultimate Guide to Gaining Weight
Any Suggestions For Countering Lithium And Depakote-induced Weight Gain?
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Dec 5th, 2009 |
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I eat very little as it is and my diet is healthy, yet I still gain weight. It’s enough to cause depression in and of itself. Topamax helped for awhile, but now it’s to the point where the only dosage that will help will also make me so stupid (ie cognitive side effects) that I might as well not get out of bed in the morning.
Have you tried Lamictal? ~~~ You can eat a LOT, yet still lose weight, and have a LITTLE of your favorites every day, to prevent cravings, by consuming mostly low energy foods, such as cucumber, tomato, capsicum/bell peppers, celery, onion slices pickled in vinegar, grated carrot, cabbage, spinach, asparagus, watercress, alfalfa, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, capers, a few olives, etc., with some lean protein, to delay the emptying of your stomach. Have a large glass of water 20 mns before eating. If you don’t drink enough water, you won’t lose weight as quickly!
One of the tips I got through http://www.mercola.com/ is to stir half a teaspoonful of hot paprika, or chilli powder, into a glass of water, and drink it just before eating, and you will eat less, as a result. Section 56, at http://www.ezy-build.net.nz/~shaneris (also see section 10, on bipolar disorder) addresses eating disorders. If you are one of the 40% of people who are fairly suggestible, you may wish to consider professional hypnotherapy, or: View: ALTERNATIVE HEALTH – HYPNOTISM FOR WEIGHT LOSS in section 81, at ezy build.
TRY:
Weight Loss Hypnosis
FREE, at http://www.freehypnosistreatment.com/hyp… or enter: “weight loss” in the searchbar, at http://www.hypnosisdownloads.com/ (a choice of many), or: http://www.asktheinternettherapist.com/h…
Weight Reduction
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A weight reduction hypnotherapy tape or CD with suggestions for eating healthy food, and with a focus on eating less. This hypnotherapy audio tape or CD will help empower you with the desire to make better food choices. By Jef Gazley, M.S., LMFT, Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist
I am sure the first answerer had good intentions, but I would not recommend lamictal with regard to weight loss. In most cases, it is considered a weight-neutral drug, although it can sometimes cause people to gain weight (but not as much as lithium or depakote). See the following link.http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=na…
To be fair, lamictal occasionally causes weight loss. These opposite side effects are not unusual in the wild, wacky world of psych meds. http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=na…
I take lamictal as a back-up drug for major depression. Initially, I gained weight with lamictal. However, I had success with the alternative health remedy below.
I CANNOT offer you any guarantees, but what helped me lose about 20 pounds in 3 months is an old, very inexpensive natural remedy that might sound very strange to you. Put 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar (ACV) and 1 tablespoon of honey in 8 ounces of warm water and drink this mixture. Do this two (or possibly three) times a day. It may take a while to get used to the taste. If you really don‘t like the taste, add extra honey.
Use Bragg’s ACV or other brands from a health food store, not stuff you buy in a regular grocery store. Also avoid the ACV capsules sold in grocery stories and drug stores. They are a waste of money. As I said, the ACV did work for me. For the 3 to 4 weeks, I don’t think I lost an ounce, but maybe my metabolism was speeding up. In the second and third month, the weight started to come off.
ACV has been used for hundreds of years for a variety of health issues, so this is not the latest fad diet. If you want more info, google “apple cider vinegar health benefits.”
Finally, talk to your doctor about your weight gain issues on your current meds. In some cases, MDs can prescribe meds that may help you lose weight.
Finally, I assume you are bipolar from your meds. From a support group I attend, I have heard that lamictal with abilify can be useful for bipolar disorder. Actually, this combo helped me with unipolar depression. It might be worth a try if your shrink agrees.