Mental Health Re: Lamictal - Bloating.

[CSM25]

Re: Lamictal - Bloating.

Hi there. I recently (September began lamotrigine, mylan-lamotrigine). It was decent but I had dizziness, confusion, and started to get very bloated. I was on 25mg then 50mg. I quit one month in.

I also take dexedrine. Sometimes zero, usually 20-40mg when treating my ADHD. I don't always take my meds.

Obviously, I don't go off and on Lamictal. I recently began brand name Lamictal after being off 4 months. In that four months I went from 191lb to 174lb or so. I am 16-17% body fat and really want to keep cutting, so that I am almost ripped (vanity and health reasons).

While I have maybe 3-5 less side effects on brand name so far (on eighth day). I am randomly losing weight. I did not workout almost 2 weeks, and am down a bit in weight randomly (does not go down that fast...) yet am bloated, therefore looking fatter.

I gained hella weight on Effexor, but that was 8 years ago. Despite some excess skin from massive weight loss, I have a flat stomach mostly.
But, 4 days, then onwards of Lamictal, I am feeling bloated. And strangely enough my weight is decreasing a bit. I tried lots more water and digestive enzymes, might be helping a bit. I want to get that surgery this year -- and its a huge investment and somewhat risky. I don't want to be in a position of getting it, and having results ruined or having this "bloating" become massive weight gain.

To put it in perspective, even as an alcoholic, or drug user I never really got fatter than 190lb. I looked decent but was kind of skinny fat... Now I look lean, and just a week on lamictal makes me bloat. Will this go away at 50mg or 100mg? Any experience on this? Managing ADHD -impulsivity, focus, organization and BPII - mood, anxiety, depression simultaneously could save me... but at the cost of vanity, I'm left with little choice.

I do intermittent fasting, alternate day fasting, train with professionals and on my own, and I do this because I want to solve that surgery/skin issue as soon as I have the funds. That will be impossible if meds make me fat...

Should I stick it out and titrate higher on Lamictal? I'm still on 25mg, I feel so much better, but there's no reason I should be "looking fatter". I think I'm sensitive to meds, in general...

-Keep in mind I'm not super depressed nor in danger nor asking for permission to quit necessary meds, I survived well enough without severe mania for many years.



Summary:
I'm fit/vain. And feel better on Lamictal.
I am having bloating in my middle and lower part of my stomach. This looks distended perhaps.
I am planning surgery to correct excess skin (should be easy enough - thought about it 8-10 years).
I decided to get fit again last year, and lost a lot of fat and maintained and even gained a bit of Lean Body Mass.
Should I get off this med till after surgery?
Does anyone experience bloating that goes away on Lamictal/lamotrigine?

 

[starting_over]

What's your height and gender? Caloric intake is the main determinant in losing / gaining weight, not exercise. Have you been strictly monitoring your calories? Dexedrine will suppress appetite as I'm sure you know.

Do you lift weights at the gym? Adding upper body muscle mass gives the appearance of not being "skinny fat" as much.

I doubt increasing your Lamictal dosage will make the bloating go away... I've never taken it though.

Also I'm not sure if you have this, but if you have anterior pelvic tilt like I do, your lower stomach will stick out noticeably when you have a little bit of body fat (even thought the rest of your body could be slim).

I would try to get to your ideal physique and then consider surgery for the excess skin while being on Lamictal. If it's not possible for you to lose the belly at the cost of better mental health, I think I would still opt for the belly.

 

[CSM25]

Hi thanks for the reply.

I lift 3-5 days a week. I go a bit below BMR and significantly below TDEE and change up every few weeks. Perhaps I have a slight tilt...
That's the thing, I have vascularity in my arms and what not, and look almost ripped up or I would - without the lamictal (its only been 8 days).

I have been lifting weights on and off around 10 years. And am no longer skinny fat but I probably was before. I'm 172lb and last checked, I was 178lb with around 18% body fat (bod pod).

I train with some trainers at a specialized gym and have added a lot of strength since September (although December and now I slowed down).

I'm 6 feet, male, late twenties, 170lb. This is strange as I was like 174lb a week ago and 176b a bit before then.

If my TDEE is 2800 calories, I cycle calories around 2200 and 700-900 every second day. I was aggressively cutting and plateaued. But then ate around my TDEE for 12 days and started losing weight again. I used to run almost daily from 18-22 years old . Now I just lift and was getting better results than I ever was... And I'm sure still can progress. I stopped working out a couple weeks... but never does that make me bloat. The rest of my body looks more defined. Not that I'm amazingly huge, I just look fit. Bloating is messing this up tho.

I have had crazy (better than I imagined in 3months) results with some skilled trainers at boutique gym. And have gained strength and lowered bodyfat significantly. I workout there, at another gym on my own, and somewhat at home. No cardio, only weights. I walk/race around fast day to day, cuz of my ADHD/hyperactivity.

And I know what you mean... better mental health and all but its hard. Partly I'm traumatized because I was 180lb and fit (more fit now) at 19, went on effexor and went to 208lb at 21 or so.
-I was obese at 16 years old, and below 190lb the next 10-12 years except for when I was on Effexor, and the next 1.5 years fixing that (fixed 22-23 years old).

-Now I'm definitely looking like someone who is 17% or so bodyfat. Measurements are inaccurate (deca scan, bod pod, calipers anyways - and esp with the skin issue).
-Also whether I get as lean as physically possible for my genetics or not, that skin issue may be say 3lb of skin, and more abdominal fat would be removed... in surgery, so getting it at 20% bodyfat or 16% or 12% should not matter much, because 90-95% of fat loss is gone. Just in case I'm wrong, I'm trying my hardest to keep going with fat loss goals.

EDIT:
Calories might sound super low, but whether I ate 2000 a day, or sometimes 3000, or only 1500 on average (between cycling calories), I never got more than an occasional bloat.
-I do have digestive issues... but lactose, gluten, etc made me feel sick at times but didn't actually make me look fatter. I cut out nearly all that.
-Truth is I look very skinny except for the excess skin and now bloating issue. My skin issue is probably 10-20% of what people assume when they hear "loose skin", but that in conjunction with bloating worries me.
-191 lb start weight Sept 1st. 176lb or a bit lower December end, with increased lifts and better everywhere. Now 170lb...
I maintain muscle and have difficulty not putting on fat, but once I start I do well. First time ever I'm beginning to get defined and closer to lean.. and I don't want this drug to mess it up.
-I look fatter now than I did at a higher weight. Same thing happened on the generic.. as it was bloating for whatever reason, on lamotrigine.

 

[starting_over]

Looks like you've got your exercise and calories in order, nice work!

I would roughly estimate I'm around 15-17% body fat, and with my anterior pelvic tilt I look arguably bloated. I'm working on getting this down

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=161323283

http://www.mpcalisthenics.com/posture/anterior-pelvic-tilt-and-other-posture-problems

Unless someone else has another opinion I think you might have to learn to put up with the belly bloat and continue to develop your upper body muscles. What's the point of being slimmer but more unhappy overall?

 

[CSM25]

Re: Anyone else have exp on lamotrigine?

starting_over, I wish I could my friend. In regards to "putting up with it". I just worry a lot, because I remember gaining weight like hell on effexor and seroquel (insulin effects). I doubt that wouldd happen now, but having your progress derailed by meds is depressing as hell. That's why I took nothing from 21 or 22 till I was 26 -and then only ADHD meds.

I'm wondering if there's some diuretic or something that I can add. I heard of hydrochlorothiazide. But that's probably a "no-no" with dexedrine. I'm sure I have high blood pressure anyways (I'm a stress-case, hyper, family history). Other antidepressants - Prozac, etc never worked. My depression is much more bipolar 2 like than what those are typically prescribed for.

But the alternative meds: Latuda, lithium, etc (AAP's - hell no!), are actually worse most likely. Maybe I can cut lower and lower so it won't be a problem, but I've experienced trying to work out while not knowing why weight was going up. Not since dropping those meds. I am not even sure why I was ever on seroquel. Probably, because back then I presented with anxiety and depression, and they gave it to sleep - or my (former) psychiatrist was seeing increasingly erratic behavior.

Also, I looked up MAOI antidepressants etc but those are hard to use and don't mix with dexedrine either. I never thought I needed an antidepressant, but there's so much going on that I feel I can't control - and it "seems" to be helping me... but I'm not sure. Titration is pretty slow going. Also, its weird that I would automatically lose some weight just starting on this medication. I'm sure my body has changed - and my avoidance of meds may have made me not think this is possible, but I was 174-6 when I flew back from X-mas. I am 169 some days now... I never lose weight automatically, except water weight. And If I lost water weight, then why the bloating/ retention? I'm probably just tripping and need to wait...........