Lamictal & Risperdal?

Question

Hi, I have been on Lamictal (100mg) for about a good 5 mths and have also added Risperdal (.5mg) to the daily dose since the last 2.5 mths

I have noticed an increase in my wieght of 10pnds, I am a fitness freak, always working out and eating healthy foods..and it seems i keep gaining weight or just stay at my the weight i am now...

Curious if it is Just Lamcital..or just Risperdal...or both of them combined to make me gain weight???

I want to switch back to Zoloft...yet i still have an upcoming appt w. my doc for that question..

anyone have any thoughts on what I am taking now..experiences???

Answer 1

My son took risperidal for a long time, he finally went on the risperidal consta, which is a long acting injection in the hip that lasts 2 weeks. The reason for this was that he wouldn't stay on his meds and he seriously needed them for voice hearing and halucinating. He couldn't tolerate the side affects , especially the ackathsia. His leggs couldn't stop moving, even had big blisters on his feet from paceing. He never took the lamictal because the know it all shrink wouldn't prescribe it.

Now he sees a reg md, our family dr. He is on zyprexa, paxil, xanax, propranolol. He is only 27, he has had to take meds since he was 16. The symptoms are partially undercontrol but he still hears voices and laffs about it, also laffs with the voices, so it doesn't bother me, i just tell him he has a gifted imagination, and i do believe from lots of research that he was made that way and i really don't want to medicate him a lot.

He has gained weight somewhat but he exercises and is stable right now. He is 6' 1' and weighs 200lbs. which is not bad, He looks good, muscular, does have some extra weight on his stomach but i think that comes from drinking so many mt. dews.

Yes he did gain some weight on the risperidal but like i said mostly he paced it off. It's been a long road for him and me as a caretaker. I am just afraid to touch his meds right now since he is doing mostly good, i have ordered a special formula for him from dr. baulch online. he is a genius of a nutritionist. should be getting them in a few days.If the risperidal helps you and you are stable on your weight i would keep taking it.Consider emailing dr. baulk, or google it, i don't have the addy right now. He is great. Hang in there !

Answer 2

i know what you have been through ive been there.. i was an risperdal for i think two years and i gained 25 pounds. i know its a lot but since ive been off of it for 2 or 3 years and i lost it! hope thins info helps. ps ; my doctor said 85% of the weight was from the med i was on .5 too.

Answer 3

It's Risperdal. It's a known side effect, and basically everyone gains weight on atypical antipsychotic medications like that. Based on your mix, I'm guessing you're bipolar. Risperdal I could see being added if you're having trouble controlling your cycling, but you're only at 100mg of Lamictal. You can push that to up around 400 before you think of adding a medication like Risperdal to your combo. Lamictal is fairly weight neutral, and much better tolerated than Risperdal.

And yes, some people keep gaining weight as long as they're on antipsychotics, and it's virtually impossible to lose the weight you do gain from them while still on them. Zyprexa in particular is notorious for bloating people up like balloons - yet another reason I don't like seeing these used outside of schizophrenia unless you have to.

EDIT: Not Bipolar? Then that's a VERY strange med combo to be on. Lamictal has a certain amount of utility for dealing with atypical depression, but Risperdal would be very far down the list. Have you tried a good number of other meds previously and worked your way down the list? Or are these early tries? Also, any history of emotional/physical/sexual abuse?

For depression/anxiety/aggression, first drug that pops into my head is one called Remeron/Mirtazepine. It's an atypical antidepressant that tends to be good for folks with anxiety problems, as it's rather sedating. Aggression can be a product of both anxiety and depression. Remeron's got a pretty good shot at dealing with both those in one drug. Another possibility is a benzodiazepine - I'd try that if you're anxiety symptoms dominant everything else and you have NO history of substance abuse in yourself or your family. If you do have substance abuse, I could see ending up trying Risperdal.