Saturday, September 7, 2013

Weight gain with depakote


Why am I gaining weight with Depakote when treating my bipolar disorder?


The majority of drugs for the treatment of bipolar disorder do cause weight gain. Sodium valproate or Depakote is a common drug that causes moderate weight gain. 

The mood stabilizers that do not cause weight gain include lamotrigine and oxycarbamezepine. However, both these two medications take time to work and unfortunately their benefits are not always long lasting. Moreover, 30 percent of people with bipolar will not respond to these medications. 

If you have bipolar disorder and take these drugs, the best way to prevent weight gain is start some type of exercise and eat a low calorie diet. There simply is no other way around it. All the weight loss drugs that are available today have serious side effects and will also interact with depakote.


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