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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by jrbecker on September 11, 2003, at 9:53:30
Weight Gain from Antipsychotic Drugs Is Reversible
By Karla Gale
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A common side effect of many antipsychotic medications is increased appetite and weight gain, but a new study suggests that this doesn't happen to all patients. And even if they do gain weight, they can shed the extra pounds with diet and exercise, or even by switching medication.
Antipsychotic medications are used to treat people with schizophrenia, and may also be as mood stabilizers in patients with depression or bipolar disorder.
The newer, so-called "novel" antipsychotics cause fewer adverse effects, such as movement disorders, than did their older counterparts. However, their reputation for weight gain is worse, regardless of the dosage used.
Dr. Douglas L. Noordsy, a psychiatrist at Dartmouth Medical School in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and others identified 35 patients treated with an antipsychotic drug who gained at least 20 pounds. According to their report in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, these individuals had gained an average of 65 pounds over an average of 33 months.
However, they subsequently lost two-thirds of this increase 3 to 5 years after starting treatment.
"A striking feature of this study is that weight loss occurred so far out after people initiated treatment," Noordsy told Reuters Health. The reason that significant reversal of weight gain has not been reported previously could be that studies involved short-term follow-up, he added.
At the point of greatest weight loss, at approximately 56 months, patients had lost about 41 pounds.
"Make sure that your doctor educates you fully about the risks associated with whatever medication you're on," Noordsy advises patients.
As he explained, "appetite may be artificially elevated by medication. If patients understand that appetite may be an artifact of their medication, they may feel more comfortable that it's okay not to eat in response to it."
In general, he says that patients should consider consulting a dietician and following a careful diet. "If all else fails, there is the possibility of using a different antipsychotic or a medication that might help to reverse the appetite elevation," he added.
SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, August 2003.
Posted by Sabina on September 11, 2003, at 13:11:36
In reply to Weight Gain from Antipsychotic Drugs Is Reversible, posted by jrbecker on September 11, 2003, at 9:53:30
Posted by sarita0001 on September 11, 2003, at 13:37:25
In reply to Weight Gain from Antipsychotic Drugs Is Reversible, posted by jrbecker on September 11, 2003, at 9:53:30
Hi
At 17 I started lithium and gained weight and then from 19.5 to 22 I lost it easily while exercising but not dieting. Then from 22-24 the weight wouldn't budge so I went on Topamax.
Thanks for the info, I always wondered why it had been so easy before. I think it fluctuates.
Posted by Sebastian on September 12, 2003, at 22:37:02
In reply to Weight Gain from Antipsychotic Drugs Is Reversible, posted by jrbecker on September 11, 2003, at 9:53:30
Worked for me! I was so hopeless that I would never be able to lose weight after 5 years of zyprexa at the same dose. Just at the beginning of the year at the same dose, I lost dramatic weight with nothing but diet and exercise? I still have the weight off. -60 lbs??!
Seb
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