Hey There,
I am 17 years of age and I was put on lithium 7 weeks ago for type two bipolar. I was 140lb and 5'8" tall. Now I am 155lb. The lithium has been working out great for me I am much more stable now. The only problem is that I'm gaining all this weight in such a short amount of time. I'm feeling crappy about myself image and I'm wondering if I should take myself off the medication and switch to something else. Being a 17 year old girl my self esteem is all over the map to begin with and now its just getting worse.
Any advise?
I am 17 years of age and I was put on lithium 7 weeks ago for type two bipolar. I was 140lb and 5'8" tall. Now I am 155lb. The lithium has been working out great for me I am much more stable now. The only problem is that I'm gaining all this weight in such a short amount of time. I'm feeling crappy about myself image and I'm wondering if I should take myself off the medication and switch to something else. Being a 17 year old girl my self esteem is all over the map to begin with and now its just getting worse.
Any advise?
I'm afraid that weight gain definitely is one of the most common and almost unavoidable side effects of Lithium. And since it's not even clear completely why Lithium is so effective in treating bipolar disorder, it's side effect mostly come because it has massive effect on lowering your thyroid hormones (these hormones are responsible for your metabolism, so less hormones means slower metabolism) and because it can easily lead to dehydration which than can cause other symptoms. It still is most common treatment for bipolar, but I would recommend you to wait a little more to see if the weight gain will slow down and stop before you see your doctor again and see if there maybe is some other medication that will have the same positive effects, hopefully without weight gain.