Hi everyone, my name is Chris and i have Bipolar Disorder. I take lithium for this condition. It has caused my tremendous weight gain. I would like to know what is the best way to lose weight with lithium. In addition i would also like to know if lithium causes hyperthyroidism, leptin, and increased appetite.
hey I just started lithium about three months ago. It has helped me with my mood swings of irritability and anger, but, like you mentioned, I have noticed a big change in my appetite. I am a eating like crazy and seem to be craving carbohydrates, like breads, etc. I also noticed on my thryroid blood result,it had gone up to a high number. It has never been high...I am sure that is lithium related. I need to talk to my pdoc about that....anyway...I think we are just going to have to push ourselves to excercise a lot more than we usually do. Maybe we can motivate eachother. I ate a half box of oreo cookies the other day! I never do that! It must be lithium! UGH! I weighed 118 going in and I now weigh 124. Keep me informed what you find out.
I'm taking Lithium as well as Seroquel for over a year now. I too have gained a ton of weigh (at least 20 lbs).
Blood tests have ruled out anything else other than Lithium for the gain.
The only tried and true thing that I have come up with is exercise.
I know it's hard. I still suffer from slight depression and this makes getting out and doing things really hard. Not to mention I live in a place that frequently is -30 degrees celcius.
I just have to mentally motivate myself into thinking how worth it it will be to get back into my size six stuff. If I can manage a walk for 30 minutes each day it will be worth it.
I've got no great advise but just wanted to let you know that you're not alone in this fight. Keep your chin up.
Because Lithium is a salt product I recommend lowering your salt intake and upping your water intake. I'm not saying that it's a definite way to lose (I gained 15 pounds on lithium and I'm an avid runner) but it would definitely help since so much is water weight. As for the hunger, you're just gonna have to eat normally.
I have gained 50 lbs in a little under a year. I have been in such a 'zone' that I am just realizing how big I really am. I exersize almost every day before I started taking lithim I went threw a manic/depressive state and lost over 50lbs from exersize. So now that Im exersizing ( yes I eat mostly healthy my husband was recently diagnosed with diabetes and I am trying to keep him healthy and on track) and eating well im still fat and miserable. Im thinking of quiting this because the fat is making me more miserable ugh...
how to lose weight with lithium
Posted - 09/20/2007 : 11:03:55
I have gained 50 lbs in a little under a year. I have been in such a 'zone' that I am just realizing how big I really am. I exersize almost every day before I started taking lithim I went threw a manic/depressive state and lost over 50lbs from exersize. So now that Im exersizing ( yes I eat mostly healthy my husband was recently diagnosed with diabetes and I am trying to keep him healthy and on track) and eating well im still fat and miserable. Im thinking of quiting this because the fat is making me more miserable ugh...
