I'm a year post op and have gained my appetite back. I can't work out because I have two slipped discs in my back of which I will be getting surgery in two weeks. Working out used to help me get over the eating disorder and the depression.

Since I have been diagnosed with Bipolar 2, I get depressed and have an appetite. This happens especially when a few bad things fall apart at the same time. I'm not sure which medication would help both my appetite and my bipolar 2 depression.

Can anyone tell me what works for them?

I am bipolar. I am on a supervised diet right now. Interested to see how this will affect my depression.

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When did you get the sleeve done? I was on Tegretol and it made me a zombie but it kept me level. Is there something better out there?

I have not yet. Not until probably October due to 6 month supervised diet.

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I have bipolar and I had the sleeve done a year ago. I am on Wellbutrin, trileptal, and latuda. These are meds that gave the lowest risk of weight gain. I have been on them for a while and they keep me stable.

After surgery I had a bunch of bipolar swings into mania but now I've evened out.

I'm bipolar II but haven't had my surgery yet. The mania has relapsed a tiny bit but it's manageable minus the lack of sleep. I take lamictal for mood. Mania relapsed because I had to stop seroquel after it made me gain 100 lbs. If you need to reduce your appetite a bit you can try metformin. It's an old school diabetes II med that greatly reduces my appetite. I don't have diabetes but started it to aid in weight loss.

Speak to your psychiatrist. Antipsychotics have a huge affect on weight gain and seroquel in particular makes you gain a ton and makes you extremely hungry. I don't know if you take it. It basically ruined my life. (Being a little dramatic).

I have my surgery end of July assuming everything goes according to plan. I've already met all the requirements. I think it would be good for us bipolar people to continue checking in with each other. I'm extremely nervous about meds post op. My bipolar is usually suicidal depression with occasional mania.

I have Bipolar I disorder. I was sleeved five weeks ago and everything has gone really smooth and no regrets. I have taken a lot of psychotropic drugs in the past 20 years and there were some that caused me to gain large amounts of weight in a very short period of time so I have a lot of experience with this. I have been on the same meds for the past four years and have not had any weight gain during this time. In fact I lost 65 lbs in the last two years. The drugs that I am currently taking that have not caused any weight gain are: Latuda, Lamictal, Ziprasidone and Wellbutrin (I know, it's a lot but I've been pretty stable for over three years). I also recently weaned off of Effexor after taking it for years and can say it definitely did not cause weight gain either.
Since being sleeved on May 1 I have had a really good mood with no changes so at least for now I can confidently say that I am absorbing all my meds as well as I did before surgery. That's a big relief!!! I was considered a high-risk WLS patient because of my Bipolar disorder and the real risk that it could go out of remission and be more difficult to bring under control again if meds were not being absorbed. I really had to do a lot of work with my Bariatric Surgery Center to get approval for the surgery from their psychologist. I did a lot of research and consulted a lot with my Psychiatrist and finally decided that I was willing to take the risk to lose the weight. It's a big decision and anyone with Bipolar, or any other serious mental illness that requires life-long dependence on medication, must take their time to think very seriously about before deciding to have surgery. Best wishes to everyone and feel free to message me if you have any questions about Bipolar disorder treatment and WLS. Or if you just want to vent about dealing with a major mental illness

I'm bipolar II but haven't had my surgery yet. The mania has relapsed a tiny bit but it's manageable minus the lack of sleep. I take lamictal for mood. Mania relapsed because I had to stop seroquel after it made me gain 100 lbs. If you need to reduce your appetite a bit you can try metformin. It's an old school diabetes II med that greatly reduces my appetite. I don't have diabetes but started it to aid in weight loss.

Speak to your psychiatrist. Antipsychotics have a huge affect on weight gain and seroquel in particular makes you gain a ton and makes you extremely hungry. I don't know if you take it. It basically ruined my life. (Being a little dramatic).

I have my surgery end of July assuming everything goes according to plan. I've already met all the requirements. I think it would be good for us bipolar people to continue checking in with each other. I'm extremely nervous about meds post op. My bipolar is usually suicidal depression with occasional mania.

Read my comment below and message me if you want to talk to someone about your fears about medication absorption changes postoperatively. Cindy

Thanks for your post. I’m BPII and am really struggling with doing a gastric sleeve. I haven’t seen any good research on how bipolars do. I’m terrified that my meds won’t be properly absorbed and won’t be able to be adjusted (lithium, Latuda (which I’m weaning off of) and Lamictal). I’ve gained 30 lbs since starting, and I was overweight to start with.

I’m also struggling because appetite is not my issue. I consume between 1000-1300 cals/ day. If it goes in my mouth, I track it in my app. I’ve been doing this for the last 12 months, at least. No weight loss. Just the opposite.

It has to be the meds is all I can figure.

Good luck to you in your process

1 hour ago, ElseeG said:

Thanks for your post. I’m BPII and am really struggling with doing a gastric sleeve. I haven’t seen any good research on how bipolars do. I’m terrified that my meds won’t be properly absorbed and won’t be able to be adjusted (lithium, Latuda (which I’m weaning off of) and Lamictal). I’ve gained 30 lbs since starting, and I was overweight to start with.

I’m also struggling because appetite is not my issue. I consume between 1000-1300 cals/ day. If it goes in my mouth, I track it in my app. I’ve been doing this for the last 12 months, at least. No weight loss. Just the opposite.

It has to be the meds is all I can figure.

Good luck to you in your process

Hello Elsee,

Bipolar II as well.

I gained a ton of weight starting back in '05 and it just continued from there after starting treatment for bipolar. Seriously, like you, my eating habits were pretty good and I have always kept a journal of what I eat (now, years later, I track with myfitnesspal). I put most of the blame on the meds I have been on, especially Seroquel. Thankfully, I am off of that. I have been stable om my bipolar meds for years now.

I take: Tegretol, Celexa, Risperidone and Klonopin.

I had to have WLS so that I could lose weight asap, as I had two incisional abdominal hernias that were causing me serious pain and mobility issues. My surgeon said I needed to drop 80-100 lbs so that he could operate. At that time, I just knew that I had to have the surgery, I didn't even take into consideration my bipolar meds/possible changes/weight regain.

I have lost 141 lbs so far. I started my weight loss journey when I weighed 334 lbs. It has been 14 months since my gastric sleeve surgery.

For me, there have been only a couple of recent changes to my bipolar meds. I have come down on my Celexa (antidepressant) dosage and I have come down a little on my mood stabilizer (Tegretol). So, my meds have been working great, they're obviously being absorbed. All is a-okay.

I know I am only 14 months post op, but as you can see, my weight loss has been pretty significant. Time will tell about regain, but I am confident that things will go well.

Wish you the best. I have no regrets.

On 6/8/2017 at 1:48 PM, Cindy0511 said:

I have Bipolar I disorder. I was sleeved five weeks ago and everything has gone really smooth and no regrets. I have taken a lot of psychotropic drugs in the past 20 years and there were some that caused me to gain large amounts of weight in a very short period of time so I have a lot of experience with this. I have been on the same meds for the past four years and have not had any weight gain during this time. In fact I lost 65 lbs in the last two years. The drugs that I am currently taking that have not caused any weight gain are: Latuda, Lamictal, Ziprasidone and Wellbutrin (I know, it's a lot but I've been pretty stable for over three years). I also recently weaned off of Effexor after taking it for years and can say it definitely did not cause weight gain either.
Since being sleeved on May 1 I have had a really good mood with no changes so at least for now I can confidently say that I am absorbing all my meds as well as I did before surgery. That's a big relief!!! I was considered a high-risk WLS patient because of my Bipolar disorder and the real risk that it could go out of remission and be more difficult to bring under control again if meds were not being absorbed. I really had to do a lot of work with my Bariatric Surgery Center to get approval for the surgery from their psychologist. I did a lot of research and consulted a lot with my Psychiatrist and finally decided that I was willing to take the risk to lose the weight. It's a big decision and anyone with Bipolar, or any other serious mental illness that requires life-long dependence on medication, must take their time to think very seriously about before deciding to have surgery. Best wishes to everyone and feel free to message me if you have any questions about Bipolar disorder treatment and WLS. Or if you just want to vent about dealing with a major mental illness

Hi Cindy

i was sleeved 5/26/2016. I went from 240lbs to 158 lbs. then my pinched nerves and L4and L5 disks needed surgery 4/2017. My pain was serious. I have gone up to 188 lbs since then. I’m scared that the weight will continue to increase. I take Lamictal 150mg and Wellbutrin. I have had sugar and caffeine cravings like crazy and can’t push myself back into diet mode. Can you help me figure out motivation techniques? I’m going to gain all of my weight back if I don’t do something soon. The lamictal and Wellbutrin get me out of my crazy depression stars where I believe that everyone is against me and I start writing crazy emails. I wish that I can pull myself out of this spiral.

7 hours ago, mylighthouse said:

Hello Elsee,

Bipolar II as well.

I gained a ton of weight starting back in '05 and it just continued from there after starting treatment for bipolar. Seriously, like you, my eating habits were pretty good and I have always kept a journal of what I eat (now, years later, I track with myfitnesspal). I put most of the blame on the meds I have been on, especially Seroquel. Thankfully, I am off of that. I have been stable om my bipolar meds for years now.

I take: Tegretol, Celexa, Risperidone and Klonopin.

I had to have WLS so that I could lose weight asap, as I had two incisional abdominal hernias that were causing me serious pain and mobility issues. My surgeon said I needed to drop 80-100 lbs so that he could operate. At that time, I just knew that I had to have the surgery, I didn't even take into consideration my bipolar meds/possible changes/weight regain.

I have lost 141 lbs so far. I started my weight loss journey when I weighed 334 lbs. It has been 14 months since my gastric sleeve surgery.

For me, there have been only a couple of recent changes to my bipolar meds. I have come down on my Celexa (antidepressant) dosage and I have come down a little on my mood stabilizer (Tegretol). So, my meds have been working great, they're obviously being absorbed. All is a-okay.

I know I am only 14 months post op, but as you can see, my weight loss has been pretty significant. Time will tell about regain, but I am confident that things will go well.

Wish you the best. I have no regrets.

Hi MyLighthouse. That’s all very encouraging. thank you for sharing. I’m going for several consults now, looking for the right doctor who has solid experience with this issue.

i'm BP II. I had a very difficult time the second and third weeks after surgery because I couldn't keep my medicine down and liquid Perkacet is a big trigger of mania for me. It was terrible, but at 3 weeks I could keep my meds down. I tried liquid Zoloft, but that was AWEFUL!!!!!

I got to the brink of losing my mind and extremely agitated (that's how I respond to mania). I felt like I was in danger but then I could finally get my medicine to stay down.

My advice to any BP patient - make sure you have a solid back-up plan for your meds until the swelling goes down!!

Hi Perryman. I’m so sorry you went through that. That sounds absolutely horrible. I’m glad things stabilized. Thanks for sharing. The last time I had an episode it took months to stabilize me, so I’m very nervous about this.

20 hours ago, ElseeG said:

Hi Perryman. I’m so sorry you went through that. That sounds absolutely horrible. I’m glad things stabilized. Thanks for sharing. The last time I had an episode it took months to stabilize me, so I’m very nervous about this.

The fact that you are aware is a great first step. One day at a time and rely on your support system

Been dealing with BP2 for decades. Some of the meds made me gain a lot of weight. That was one of the reasons I chose the gastric sleeve. 27 months in I'm at goal and maintaining. I'm no longer grappling with diabetes , arthritic knees and high blood pressure. That in itself has improved my mood exponentially.

I can take my Seroquel XR and Trileptal without gaining weight. My psychiatrist had no problem with the surgery but recommended the sleeve for better absorption of meds. I can excercise daily. ...that maintains a healthy mood. Don't be afraid. But stay in compliance with your psychiatrist and check out Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy. It's therapy designed for people with BP. If you can't find a practitioner, please private message me. I may be able to help u find someone.

Peace