I know this was addressed under the "Lapband Strugglers" thread, but I wanted to start a discussion about anyone's experience wih their past/present psych meds. How do you feel your experience with weight loss (before or after the lapband) has tied in? How to you deal with the side effects (if you have them)?

I've taken a few different medications with different results. Paxil and Trazadone worked for a time but I gained about a pound a month while I was on that combo. The doctors warned me about that. That was especially frustrating because I purposefully increased my activity level to compensate, and the emotional blunting with Paxil was dramatic. Prozac didn't have the gaining side effect, but not the mood elevating side effect either!

Finally, Wellbutrin, which I took for 3 years, was my most successful med. I was in an emotional place where I was motivated to be more active and, at the same time, it allowed me to at least maintain my weight.

How's everyone else doing with theirs? Finding the right med can be such a harrowing journey, I wanted to put forth a place in this forum to reach out for help and validation.

Also, please note that I am not purporting that psych meds that cause weight gain are some kind of blanket excuse for struggling with weight loss. I regret I have to make that explicit. Psych meds are one factor that can make it tougher for some than others, and this is a place to discuss those experiences.

I was only on Effexor for like a week because the side effects were awful for me, so it wasn't a long weaning process. I would check with your doc, but they may just have you lower the dose and then alternate the days. Coming off of any psyche med takes time. Depending though they might just have you start the Cymbalta. Good luck!

I am bipolar. I have to take 7 different medications. Not taking my medications is not an option for me. My medications do have the side-effect of weight gain. What the medication does is it turns off the brain's signal to tell me when I am full. That is where the band comes in. I have accepted that my medication has an effect on how fast I lose the weight. But I am still losing!!! So I rock!

I was on Effexor for a couple of months and had to get off of it because it caused me to have psychotic thoughts. I also gained about 8lbs while I was on it. It initially made me feel like a zombie. I couldn't feel any emotions the first couple of days. When I tried to get off of it, I would get dizzy. I had to be weaned off of it by taking Paxil for a couple of weeks. My doctor had never heard of anyone getting dizzy when not taking it every 24 hours. Now I am on nothing. That experience kind of scared me, so I haven't tried anything else since then. Anyone ever had dizziness or psychotic thoughts with their meds?

yes, I get dizzy if I miss just one dose of any SSRI, and prozac made me horribly agitated and I would guess you could call it psychotic. I have taken paxil, luvox, and most currently cymbalta and all have caused weight gain(increased appetite).

I've been on a variety of antidepressants/anti-anxiety meds for 20 years and if I go off one for some reason or another I have terrible withdrawal symptoms unless I'm switching to another drug at the same time. I don't really feel dizzy but feel like there are weird "brain sparks" going on in my head which is very uncomfortable and hard to describe to someone whose never had them before.

I'm still trying to get my drugs straight since my conversion to RNY and now take my Cymbalta at a lower dose but twice a day and that seems to be working. I belive it's considered one of the drugs that would cause the least amount of weight gain but that didn't help me when I was on the band.

Wish everyone luck with their situations as it's not always easy to deal with, take care Nancy.

About to have my surgery soon.:thumbup: I am bipolar and ADHD and take 6 different meds per day. Over the last twenty five years my weight has kept increasing. Through my research have found that these meds can slow your metabolism up to 25%. I am wondering if I am going to lose only some weight and plateau at a level where my metabolism won't allow any more weight loss. Does anyone else have a similar experience? :crying:

I also have bipolar disorder and ADHD. I take seven different medications (lamictal, adderall,klonopin, navane, cymbalta and trazadone), and according to my shrink they don't really cause weight gain or increase in appetite. This is the cocktail that I have been on pretty much the past 2 1/2 years and it's working for me. The only new things are the trazadone, because I was having trouble sleeping, and we switched from ritalin to adderall.

I know I can't stop taking my meds because my former psych wanted to detox me and kept me only on lamictal and valium, and I became so depressed it was horrible!

Anyway, these meds have kept me out of the hospital the past 2 years and I thank god for that.

I am now wondering if the lapband will affect my mood at all, since I will be taking in much fewer calories? has anyone felt a difference in their mood since getting their band? I keep having night mares lately that I'm in the hospital right after getting banded. Maybe I am just worrying too much!

I've been on amitriptyline for my depression for about 5 years now and I never had any problems until after a fill this last April.

About 15 minutes after taking them, I start to puke violently! Now my band is so tight, it is physically impossible to puke so I dry heave! Its so painful and it makes me cry!

My surgeon swears its not the band because its not getting 'stuck' and my primary doc has been trying all sorts of anti nausea pills to stop the dry heaving. None have helped at all, so after much discussion with my surgeon and doc, we think I may be taking too high a dose now that I've lost 90 pounds and may be overdosing!

I'm slowly decreasing my dosage, but have to use anti nausea suppositories until we can figure this out. I hate suppositories! ...but then who likes 'em, huh?? Sometimes I have to take 2 or 3 to keep myself from getting violently sick.

Lowering the dosage of course, brings on withdrawal from the amiltriptyline and is so hard on me. The withdrawal causes dizziness, drowsiness and lethargy. I am so tired I dont want to do anything! Getting my big butt up every morning just to get to work is an ordeal! Granted, I'm not sad, so it doesnt feel like depression, i'm just so sleepy! They say its my neural transmitters that dont know how to work on their own and it will pass. In the mean time, I dont want exercise. I find it hard to even do simple chores when I get home from work. ugh!

I dread taking my pills at night, but they have been the only med that has actually helped with my depression. I'm just hoping this is the answer and I can get back to my life and this nightmare will be over soon!

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I've recently found that 50 mg of the amiltriptylene doesn't make me sick, but I definitely need something in addition to it. This just isn't cutting it. My doc tried Zoloft, but it also made me puke. Go figure! So now I've been on Lexapro for about a week. I dont feel any better emotionally, but at least i'm not dry heaving and have stopped the suppositories! :blushing: