Has anyone had any luck losing weight while on Seroquel

[mycosmicmuffin19]

I'm weaning my dosage down from 300 mg to 50 mg, because the seroquel keeps me craving carbs like there's not tomorrow. So 40 pounds heavier, I've got to get rid of some of this. I do light exercises and work in my garden, but I haven't lost an ounce in 2 years. Any advice? It seems like if I had the strength to get off the carbs I do go through withdrawal.

[CheesyWotsit]

I went from 230 to 160 while I was taking 900mg of seroquel. I did it by following a healthy diet my doctor told me about. Basically no white flour, no refined sugar, and very little saturated fat. I am a bit obsessive so it was easy for me to eat basically nothing but fruit, vegetable, chicken breast, and oatmeal. I started running when I got some of the weight off but my shins got damaged from the impact so I quit.

I ended up gaining back all the weight and more when I went back to eating junk. I have lost 40 pounds in the last 4 months, but that is not the healthy way.

All I can say is don't go on a diet, change the way you live for good. That is the only way to take it off and keep it off.

[Twitter]

I think it is impossible to lose weight on seroquel, it may work great for you, but see if you can get switched to something else, after a while the side effects are not worth risking your health for after a while. I don't know why you are on it, but I was on it because of bipolar disorder and I gained a lot of weight on it and it caused me to have diabetes as well, I went off and I was fine and lost the weight. You will only gain weight on seroquel, not lose.

[fredtatem]

I was on Seroquel for a brief time about a year and a half ago. It was for two and a half months it sedated me a bit, feeling cloudy at work. I also was very tired and had weight gain actually. I had to stop the medicine it wasn't for me. I'm now on effexor and ativan.

[kineticode]

I have lost a bunch of weight using slim fast shakes every morning.The key is shrinking your stomach by reducing food intake.Once your somach has shrunk, it will take less food to fill up.Reduce carbs,and eat main meal in the daytime.Do not eat before bedtime,and eat several smaller meals rather than eating less larger meals.Overeating tends to let the body store more fat from the excess that it does not need.Sugar and carbs together will really put the weight on,so watch out for soda and fries.These little methods have allowed me to lose 50 pounds.

[realxsalo]

Seroquel like various anti-psychotics Ive heard that can make people more hungry. In my brief experience with seroquel, it just make me tired and sleepy all the time, I dont think that can make you loose weight.

[Anti Antipsychotics]

going on a diet when on seroquel is easier said than done. When on seroquel all I felt like doing was gorging, and when i was full I couldn't wait until my new meal. it's definitely mind over matter

[Board]

I lost weight while prescribed to Seroquel. But that was because I went manic and as such, stopped taking the drug.

I suggest switching drugs. Seroquel just kills your spirit. It made me sleep eat too.

[bradw]

I myself haven't had any luck losing weight while on Seroquel. I found that it initially, during the first couple months of my therapy with quetiapine, I gained weight quite rapidly. I put on roughly 25 lbs during the first seven or eight weeks, and then it seemed to level out and I stopped gaining. I haven't, however, been able to work off any of the weight that I gained. Even though I began walking daily and have tried to consistently eat better (less snack food, in particular), my weight has stayed at roughly the same, 25 lbs or so higher than before I started taking Seroquel.

The weight gain and food cravings (especially during the night) that I experience from taking Seroquel is nothing like what I experienced when I was taking Zyprexa/olanzapine. Olanzapine caused me to gain over 40 lbs in about three weeks, and nearly turned me diabetic, due to the intense cravings for sugar that it gave me. I literally was eating frosting right out of the jar with a spoon, at 3 a.m., because my cravings were so bad. The cravings that Zyprexa gave me for sugar were more intense than the craving I have each morning for a cigarette (and I smoke roughly a pack-a-day and have for over ten years).

Even though my weight IS a little higher than i'd like it to be, I find that to be a small price to pay when I look at the benefits that I experience from taking Seroquel daily. Before I began therapy with quetiapine, I was a mess: angry all the time, at anyone, for no real logical reason, aggressive, and overall just unhappy. I now experience almost none of that anger and aggression at all, and I find that my mood in general is stabilized more-so now. Don't get me wrong, i'm still depressed, but I find that my mood doesn't bounce around nearly as much as it once did. For me, Seroquel has been a godsend.

But you're right @mycosmicmuffin19, dropping weight while taking Seroquel, for many, is very, very difficult, as it is for myself.

[MaggieA]

@mycosmicmuffin19: I take Seroquel - 100 mg - at bedtime, for sleep. I LOVE sleeping every night! And by luck and not wisdom, about the time I started taking Seroquel, I added L-Glutamine to my daily supplement. I found out about it from alcoholics who use it to quell cravings for alcohol, which is primarily sugar, no? It makes my blood-sugar rock solid, and instead of gaining weight, I have lost 25 or so lbs. But here's the deal: for it to really work, it is necessary to take MUCH more than the dosage recommended on the label. Always use powdered, not pills, L-Glute. I buy mine at vitacost.com, and take 15-20 GRAMS/day. That's 3-5x that amount of 1 serving, depending upon which brand you buy. My doc not only knows I do this, when I mentioned that I was taking it, she is the one who said, "you really have to take a lot more for it to be effective." So that's my story of how I lost weight while taking Seroquel. Hope it helps you, or someone!

[fish_bulb]

I remember I had nighttime eating for a while, I blamed it on other mood stabilizers.

When I start taking large amounts of oxycodone, I craved sweets again. Once i lowered the dose they seemed to stop. But now I am on a lower dose of opiates but a higher dose of seroquel, and I feel like eating a lot. I also feel nauseous a lot too.

I will try to reduce the serq and see if that does anything.

[alprazo]

I went from 230 to 160 while I was taking 900mg of seroquel. I did it by following a healthy diet my doctor told me about. Basically no white flour, no refined sugar, and very little saturated fat. I am a bit obsessive so it was easy for me to eat basically nothing but fruit, vegetable, chicken breast, and oatmeal. I started running when I got some of the weight off but my shins got damaged from the impact so I quit.

I ended up gaining back all the weight and more when I went back to eating junk. I have lost 40 pounds in the last 4 months, but that is not the healthy way.

All I can say is don't go on a diet, change the way you live for good. That is the only way to take it off and keep it off.

I lost 100 pds in year so did the wife, and it was all the way we ate and what we did!
we dint drink any more soda not one, we tryed to drink massive amounts of watrer, we also changed our diet no more twinkeis and nasty junk food we ate more salads and carrots, I still ate alot of streak within limits.
and the pounds PEEEEEL OFF! gaurunteed!

[AnnieClay]

Several years ago I was prescribed Zyprexa off-label to help me sleep, and it *really* does help me sleep. I was also prescribed Doxepin off-label for the same reason. The Zyprexa has caused me to gain a ton of weight -- about forty pounds! But when I don't take it I can't sleep and get very anxious about lying in bed until it gets light out. I have never been fat before, so I'm of course not very happy about it. But I would rather get some sleep, so I keep taking it....My doctor told me I basically have to make a decision about what's more important to me.

[cashman1]

Interesting about the L-Glutamine comment in this thread. Never knew this about Seroquel and take approx. 400 to 500 mg per day (as prescribed by my psych MD). Been on Seroquel for years now and have never gotten my weight back down to pre-seroquel days. I will try supplementing with L-Glute. Thanks.

[miffytherabbit]

I'd gained a considerable amount of weight leading up to my mental breakdown in early November last year. I took the maximum dosage of Mirtazapine - a drug well known for it's propensity to make people hungry. Mirtazapine is often used in depression where there is significant, or worrisome weight loss. I'm over 5'10" tall, so I'm not far off 6', but I weighed fifteen stones at my heaviest, which was technically overweight - and I felt it.

Seroquel and Trazadone were swiftly added to the Mirtazapine, Propanolol and benzodiazepine I took when my breakdown occurred. I was ramped quickly up to 400mg of Seroquel. I now take a maintenance dosage of 450mg a day, after a bit of tinkering. Very, very gradually, really, barely noticeably, I began losing my appetite. This didn't become apparent to me until around May this year. I found the smell of food cooking revolting, especially meat, and the aroma of hot dinners would make me physically retch. I came off the Trazadone as the combination of drugs meant that I was sleeping for eighteen hours a day most days, and I couldn't get out of bed. This made no difference to my stunted appetite, and because I found most hot food with a "taste" revolting, my diet became, and has remained, strangely rigid. I only eat boiled eggs, porridge, and cheese and salad sandwiches.

The most weight that has dropped off has been in the last month. I had to go for a blood test last week, which the nurse at my doctor's surgery did, and having been weighed just over a month before, I knew what my weight had been at that time. When she weighed me this time, I had lost sixteen pounds in four weeks and five days. This alarmed the nurse so much that she got the doctor, and we worked out my calorie intake - 800 calories a day. The same as a ten year old should be eating. I explained that I felt freezing cold all the time, and that I just didn't feel hungry and that eating food was a massive effort. Consequently, the doctor has referred me to a dietician. They are also wondering if it is due to my breakdown. All in all, since May I have lost almost four stones.

The doctor said that whilst I was still just within the ok range for my BMI, if I lost anymore I would be officially underweight, and that my body had gone into starvation mode - hence not feeling hungry. It wasn't my normal doctor, who is normally open to ideas, but she immediately poo-pooed the idea that the Seroquel might be causing me to lose weight. She said that people almost always gain an average of 1.5-2.5 stones on long term therapy at the doses I am taking.

As it is the only drug that has been added to my rather large drug regimen, I can't help but wonder if Seroquel is the cause. Either that, or something is going on on a subconscious level, as I have always had a difficult relationship with food.

Miffyrabbit ^_^

[tinyfish]

Man those are some high dosages of seroquel 50mg knocked me out I can't see how you function on that but tolerance seems to build fast, My friend who is on anti-depressants have gained weight don't know how similiar they are in structure

[kdesain]

I've been on Seroquel since 2005. It didn't affect my weight at first, but I slowly put on about 20 pounds. In the last year, I've lost 23 pounds. I count calories and do light exercise. I take 400 mg at night.

[Spyderman]

I personally do not take Seroquel, but it has been discussed in my treatment various times. Therefore, I'm sorry I can't answer you direct, but can give a parallel. When I started taking my Xanax and also a few other anxiety meds. I gained close to 30 lb within about a years time. By then, I really noticed, until then it kind of crept up on me.

I did exactly what you are saying and just began to watch my calories. Forget all these crazy diets...Atkins, this that whatever...Your body is no different that your car with gas what you put in and burn is gone, what is not is stored, in our case like fat.

SO, I just if I got a burger, cut it in half, and drank MUCH more water (I drank HUGE amounts of soda).

Well, over the course of a year now, I am 65 lbs. less.

The med effects your metabolism, you need to get a handle on your new metabolism and adjust you eating habits to match. Now I noticed that eventually thru tolerance, etc. my metabolism seemed to level off and I was able to eat reasonably, and lost quite a bit of weight.
BTW: When I say 65 lost, I was over weight to begin with, I'm 6' and I got upto 262..UGH....I'm now under 200, close to 190 now, and at my HS grad weight, and I'm 41.

Granted I still have a little "Pounch" around the belly, but feel much better about myself, and I NEVER changed a single thing in my diet, just instead of a choc. bar, I had a Hershey Kiss...Get the taste and satisfy myself.

Bottom line: just try to get a feel for your metabolism now, and eat accordingly, in versus out....IF your still gaining, and watching then talk to the doc about it, because you don't want to have a totally unhealthy diet, and I'm sure they can help you with that and still maintain the meds you need.

Just my opinion....and thoughts...By no means medical advice...I'm an engineer, don't want me messing w/ your health, I'll have some gears and pumps installed...lol...

Take care, and let me know how it goes...
S

[chris100]

I have gained weight taking Seroquel in the last year. I take 300mg to 400mg at night for sleep. But i have gained 25 pounds while being on it. It kinda sucks, but if you need something to help you sleep at night, it does work. Its just the weight gain you have to watch. I dont work out that much and im sure if i started i would start taking some pounds off. But it is a great drug for sleeping.

[runninglong]

I've taken 400mg of Seroquel for about 2 1/2 years now. I took it all at night along with 45mg of Remeron and 400 of Lamictal. It started making me have restless legs at night and I gradually switched to taking 200 in the morning and 200 at night. This made it obvious it was the Remeron that was actually making me eat at night (though the Seroquel definitely did at first), and once my condition stabilized I just recently got off of 45mg Remeron, going down 15mg at a time every six weeks. Another option is, if you're using it as an antipsychotic or to augment an anti-depressant, is to look into the XR version which shouldn't make you as acutely hungry. It won't help you sleep as well, though, if that's one of the reasons you take it.

I gained about 40 lbs when I started taking these medications (last three I went on, I have a few severe problems going on, also take Cymbalta and Wellbutrin), and now lost almost 50 in the past four months. I also found out I have hypothyroidism a month ago so hopefully medication will help with that too. My point: it is possible to lose weight on Seroquel. I started eating mostly vegetables, fruit, brown rice, beans, chicken, fish and high fiber cereal. It really is calories in vs calories out. Once you start eating a big salad every day you'll start to crave it. For me, if I don't eat junk food I don't crave it. But I also don't make anything "off limits". Gotta find what works for you. Good luck.