Seroquel And Weight Gain (Page 2) (Top voted first)

Is anyone else experiencing weight gain from seroquel? I still work out the same as always, and eat the same way, but I have gained over 20 pounds since i started seroquel 2 months ago. I dont want to stop taking it becasue i finally found a drug that helps, but this is an unacceptable side effect to me, anyone have any tips for dealing with this?

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I have been on seroquel for 10 months for sleep disorder. I have gained 30 pounds and I am so depressed. and discouraged. It has helped with sleeping but this is not worth it. Can I stop taking it cold turkey? I also take effexor amd alprazolam. I am up 3 sizes and hate myself and my doctor for ever perscribing this.

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I have gained about 49lbs after taking seroquel.. I take 800mg at night time and it makes me so tired when I wake up in the morning, when I get 8 hours of sleep. Before I took the medication, I was find with even 6hours of sleep. I go to college and it's extremely hard to focus especially in the morning lectures since it's hard to keep my eyes open. I would feel so drowsy. On the weekends, I would wake up and eat a whole bunch of food and go back to sleep gain. The medication has given me a big appetite and it has changed my metabolism. I am 5'8'' and I used to be skinny, like 116lbs. I would eat a lot but I would gain much weight but after taking seroquel, I have steadly been gaining weight - about 10lbs at least each month. The medication is general makes you eat a lot and sleep alot meaning a lot of calorie intake and no exercise. I also take 200mg of lamictal in the morning and that makes me sleepy too but i don't know whether that actually affects your appetite. I just wanna quit taking seroquel cold turkey but I don't wanna relapse on being bipolar... I just hate being this fat, I've never been so big in my whole life and all of my clothes, I had to throw them away because it wouldn't fit. My jeans wouldn't even go up my calves, it's just plain horrible.

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I've been on Seroquel for about a year and a half, and during that time I've gone from a size 4 to a size 12. I've had a thorough sleep study, and apparently it's because of an odd sleeping/eating disorder called SRED (Sleep-Related Eating Disorder). Essentially, I sleep-walk out to the kitchen and binge eat. I wake with no memory of it until I find the mess in the kitchen.
This is a pretty uncommon disorder, but I've been surprised by how many times it's come up in context of Seroquel. For those of you who've put on a lot of weight for no apparent reason, it's something worth thinking about.

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I have been on serequel for the last 5 years. I too experienced weight gain, as one of the side effects is an almost incessant desire to binge eat. One tip that has worked for me...I just bump my meals back. For example: If I eat at bedtime (after serequel of course) I consider this supper.
The following day, I'm not usually hungry until 2-3 o'clock. I will eat something small. This is breakfast.
Between 5-6 I will eat "lunch"
Then "supper" at bed time.
This has been a good way to incorporate my "Serequel Meal" without the extra calories.

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I weighed this morning, and I’ve lost almost two pounds in less than a week! It is not easy to lose weight on an antipsychotic, but I am slowly succeeding. So far I've lost 15 pounds in about three and a half months while taking Seroquel 300 mg and Klonopin 1 mg three times a day.

So, you might be wondering how I did it. I’d have to say I did it by education and trial and error. These are some of the things I did:

Created accountability. I started a blog that has made me accountable for my actions. If I give up on my plan, I will be very disappointed in myself. Writing every day to my readers encourages me to keep on a straight path. But that’s only one type of accountability.

Ate early in the day. I started eating breakfast, trying to front load my food intake to earlier in the day, and having my supper before 5:30 pm if possible. Your life schedule might be different than mine–just try eating within an hour of waking and having your last meal 4-5 hours before you go to bed.

Drank coffee to kill cravings. Not giving in to evening and night food cravings was quite the challenge, but I found that drinking a cup of fresh-brewed coffee with a little cream and sweetener dampened my appetite and made sticking to my plan easier.

Cut carbs. I cut out sugar and refined flour. I made my food choices by examining the content of what I was eating. I tried to get some protein in every meal and snack I had, and I chose foods that were not high in carbohydrates. I also tried to eat foods that have a lot of vitamins and minerals in them, like nuts and berries, chicken and salad, grilled steak and mixed vegetables.

Cut calories. I kept a food diary and jotted down what I ate, how much I ate, and how many calories I’d consumed in order to keep my intake at 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day. You can google your food and how much of it you ate, and it will tell you how many calories you had.

Exercised vigorously. I upped my exercise routine to include stairclimbing with walking for cardio. I also added more weight machines to my regimen and raised the amount of weight I was using for each one.

Relied on support. I leaned on my friends, family, and my psychologist and psychiatrist. I shared my frustrations and small victories with them. It is important that you have social support, too.

Changed negative thinking. There were times when I felt really bad about myself, that I had let my weight get out of hand. But I consciously stopped those negative thoughts through positive self-talk, distractions, and healthy behavior like playing with my son or playing music. It’s like this — stay busy, and don’t be your own worst enemy.

Stopped weighing myself every day. I went from daily weighing to weekly weighing, and I found it to be a much more encouraging experience.

Had a “cheat” meal. Once a week I let myself eat a meal of whatever I wanted and as much as I wanted. I don’t want to feel like I can never eat food for fun again. And let me tell you, I enjoyed every bite of those cheat meals!

These were the most important things I did to lose this weight. I hope this is helpful to you.

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I have been on Seroquel mixed up with some other drugs, for 2 years now. I have gained over 90 pds. which is so hard to take, but the drug is the best I have ever had..I actually feel quite normal, and even being mentally disabled, It has helped so much!
I am trying to continue my education.

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that made me laugh. that you take it and then pass out. my dr put me on 200 mgs in teh morning i went back to bed after getting up at eight am and then went back to bed at nine thirty. i woke up at two and went back to bed around four pm then i slept till eight. and i have gained four pounds so far in two weeks. i was on lihtium and gained 80 lbs in seven months. so i am not going to stay on this if i keep gaining weight.

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hi i feel your pain i started seroquel 600mg back in october last year, i was 55kgs and underweight and then suddenly since jan 14 i have put on 15kgs in about 3wks, i feel disgusted with myself and my weight and cannot figure how to get rid it, i feel like a piece of jelly and thew fact i piles kgs on in a few days has freaked me out, i have a belly that i have never had in my life and i'm pretty mortified with it all. Seroquel is bad for making you also crave sugar but try to stop eating stuff with sugar the weight gain is no different

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Hi, i've also gained 20 pounds over a 2 month period on a high dose of Seroquel to treat my bipolar II disorder.

I waa simply ALWAYS hungry jno matter how much I ate.

My psychiatrist put me on a diabetes med to help regulate my blood sugar but, although she had success with other patients, it didn't work for me.

It is now over 2 years since I've stopped the Seroquel but still haven't bee able to lose the weight althought I eat healthy and work out regularly. My GP now says I have metabolic syndrome.

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I started seroquel xr 400mg in 2008 gained 100 in the first year I mentioned in May I had lost 30lbs from no longer eating at night which has been hard BC my boyfriend is childhood diabetic he is always hungry and I work 1 to 10 at night but its now December and I wear a 9 in pants. I have lost 4 pant sizes and in my stomach went from xl shirt to a medium. The total pounds gone from then to now is 61lbs. From 209 heaviest to 148 and I still take my medication daily it has been hard fighting those food cravings but I just think how much better I feel and how happy I am and I know its all worth it.

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Hi! I went on Seroquel about 3.5 years ago. I am on 100 mg but still have gained 40 pounds in those 3 years. I eat really well, and even my doctors can't find anything else that could cause the weight gain. I have been through every blood test and there is nothing wrong with me, so it seems that even the 100 mg can cause serious weight gain. I am so frustrated at this point I am considering going off the Seroquel, and just staying on the Wellbutrin and Lamictal that were introduced recently. Also, I ran out of Seroquel a few nights ago and had to go one night without it. I still slept well that night, but the real difference was how I woke up. I woke up on my own 2 hours before I needed to be up, felt less irritable than I usually do, and not lethargic like I normally am. I remember Seroquel being really helpful when I first went on it, but now with the Lamictal and Wellbutrin I am questioning if it is really necessary.

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It helped me a great deal and now I have put on so much weight I went from a size 6 sometimes 8 to a size 12 14 I have decided to stop it because I can not deal with the weight. I stopped the pill three days ago and the side effects from coming off of it is horrible but you got to decide do you feel great or be depressed of the weight gain. I went to the gym and everything and still put on the weight

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I have bipolar and went on seroquel in 2008...100 mg at first then 400 mg months later. I walked into my psychiatrist's office weighing 112 pounds, and by last spring weighed 175. I went on low carb diets, worked out at least an hour or more a day, six days a week and then resorted to restricting calories to 600-800 per day. The most I lost was 10 pounds. It was insane!! I felt awful. It's worse when people around you and even nutritionists tell you it's all about calories in vs. calories expended and assumed I wasn't being truthful. Truth is, people who take this drug are gaining massive amounts of weight and are becoming diabetic as a result. I switched to Lamictal a month ago and am waiting for weight loss. Add the sleepwalking and lethargy side effects and sleeping 16 hours a day, and it was a horrible way to live. Google different legal cases and add your story or information... There are many people who were lied to about the serious side effects, especially diabetes. The company that makes seroquel knew the side effects early on but did not disclose them. Good luck.

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Get off it man , seriously ! The sooner the better . The long term side effects are not worth it . There will be something better out there for you . Trust me , do it now !

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I gained weight in a very strange place. Very lower back. Almost like a fat storage. Did help me sleep but gained a stone very quickly. Come off it a stone to lose and feel horrendous

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ps - it does make me extremely hungry about 30 minutes after i take it, but i eat a bit and it kicks in so quickly after that, i pass out

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I have b een taking 300 mg of seraquil and I have put on ten pounds of belly fat. I have also noticed that I have been craving sweets!! Im looking for a medicine that works the same but without the weight gain.

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Ive been on seroquel for a little over 4 years I was on 100mg. I thought it was fine. But presently I couldn't sleep.so I went up yo 200mg. I have been on that dowager for 2 months.ive been having the same pronouns.cant sleep still.j gained about 25 lbs.n when I take it it don't make me drozy, it makes me really hungry and I usely dont have an apatite.but I font now why.

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Dear Catherine,
I live with Bi-Polar Disorder along with quite a few Auto-immune diseases. I realise you're probably ready to snap at this point,,,,I was given an Rx for Seroquel in 2007. WONDERFUL results. However, the results were ONLY with mood and better sleep. The HORRIBLE results were an enormous weight gain; I gained somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 pounds!!!! I'd NEVER been so heavy in my life....I noticed my ankles and calves were swelling and was experiencing heart palpitations. I saw an ad-locum M.D. one who only comes to our hospital occassionally. He tested my Thyroid. Quite the different M.D. this man actually phoned my house personally; Not his nurse. HE phoned. My Thyroid was barely functioning. He told me Seroquel is a drug which the negative effects far outweigh the good. In short, he told me to stop or I might die....Please, these A-Typical Anti-Psychotics, like Seroquel, Zyprexa et al can be BAD. Google "Defective Drug List" and you'll find, both are listed. Not good. Personally? I don't believe they should be Rx'd I do know a few people who take one or the other and they seem to work well with little negative side effects. I wish you the best ~ Di

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Ben,
PLEASE read my comment below yours; #56,,,,This Rx Med. most definitely affects the brain as it's an A-Typical Anti-Psychotic over-prescribed imo. Usually, Rx'd for mood stabilisation and/or sleep induction. If you do NOT have need for psychiatric meds. do not go there.... ~ Di

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