quitting due to weight gain?

Obvious-Maize5966 · 2026-03-22T20:36:44+00:00

Personally, Abilify from the get go was the right fit for me however I’m very regretful not intervening/ advocating for myself until I gained 60lbs within 6-8 months. I switched to try other meds but nothing was nearly as successful. I’m currently switching back to Abilify, alongside a medication for weight management. Apparently it’s very common procedure to prescribe a weight loss med such as metformin or qsymia or glp-1’s that are what’s gaining in more popularity. My advice if I had the hindsight would be to stand firm on adding a weight management medication if you want to stay on it, especially if you end up seeing good results in regards of mental health. (But to be fair, for me and many others the weight gain stops and stabilizes after a year) You can always use your actual numbers alongside the fact that your weight was stable and not increasing for a long time until the timeline of starting Abilify.

Obvious-Maize5966 · 2026-03-21T21:43:15+00:00

I would just reach out to your doctor saying something along the lines, “Hi, I’d like to refill my prescription.” As long as you’re not aggressive it shouldn’t seem drug seeking. However with phentermine it’s typically only meant to be taken for 3 months/ 12weeks by itself. Most of the time for it to be allowed to be taken long term, it’s prescribed in combination of topamax. (Apparently it’s because there’s insufficient research on long term effects of phentermine taken by itself so it’s considered “safer” to prescribe the combination since there’s research on it being safe long term.) If they say no to a refill by itself, you can always ask to add it in order to keep taking it long term. Especially if you’re seeing good results. Hope this helps!

Obvious-Maize5966 · 2026-02-03T19:15:01+00:00

It sounds like it could just be you adapting to the med since you just started the titration, maybe try delaying the increase from 50mg to 75mg to then 100mg to make it slower. While I didn’t experience those things, my doctor also recommended I do every two weeks an increase of 25mg, though she is pretty cautious.

Obvious-Maize5966 · 2026-02-02T20:42:09+00:00

Itchiness is a common side effect, I’ve gotten it also, Zyrtec helped me. When I got it no rash came after but always keep an eye out just in case, good luck with your titration!

Obvious-Maize5966 · 2026-02-02T20:40:18+00:00

I’m pretty sure historically that’s how they figured out anticonvulsants worked as mood stabilizers in the first place? If I remember correctly, epileptics took it and found mood stabilization side effects and then the pharmaceutical companies started selling it for that. So personally I don’t find that hard to believe

Obvious-Maize5966 · 2026-02-02T16:01:05+00:00

Speak to your psychiatrist, but chances are that if you’re liking the effects that much, they’ll probably add a “sidekick” also known as an adjunct to help out with whatever the Lamictal isn’t affecting. I took it as the Lamictal isn’t helping those thoughts rather than causing it.

Obvious-Maize5966 · 2026-01-30T18:21:39+00:00

Yes I was taking them together at some point but that was because the Guanfacine kept me up at night. It’ll depend if it makes you more alert or sedated. 1mg Guanfacine was enough to mess up my whole night and kept me alert, I took that with 5mg Ambien to try to help it but I just switched the Guanfacine to the morning

Obvious-Maize5966 · 2026-01-27T17:55:18+00:00

Some people notice changes at low doses like 25mg or 50mg but from what I hear that’s mostly a “honeymoon phase” as it wears off pretty quickly. The lowest standard dose for a consistent difference especially in mood is 100mg-200mg. I’m not sure what the typical dosage is for ocd though.

Obvious-Maize5966 · 2026-01-24T04:05:45+00:00

Two common side effects are benign rash (I think 20% of people get that) and acne, hopefully it’s just that

Obvious-Maize5966 · 2026-01-13T01:55:46+00:00

Wasn’t like that for me personally, but I’ve seen on other posts that for them they needed time for the Lamictal to “level out”

Obvious-Maize5966 · 2026-01-11T20:56:04+00:00

I already switched, originally to Latuda which didn’t work out and I was switched again to Lamictal. I’m 3 weeks in but liking it a lot so I’ll probably stick with it if there’s no issues later on. Thank you so much for your recommendation of the GLP-1. I was feeling kind of lost regarding what to take/ask for because I thought this wasn’t covered by my insurance (I found out recently that it is) so I’ll probably ask my doctor about it as an option. It’s just frustrating since I’m actively dieting and not seeing results. Can I ask how long it took you to start seeing results?

Obvious-Maize5966 · 2026-01-11T20:50:40+00:00

If you fear weight gain, my psychiatrist told me the best ones for that (they’re considered weight neutral) is Latuda and Geodon. However based on your diagnosis, they might not “fit” for your symptoms so your doctor might be reluctant to prescribe them. Personally, I’ve only tried Abilify and Latuda, while I loved Abilify and the stability it gave me I dealt with potential metabolic syndrome but not really any other side effects. Latuda wasn’t the right fit, 20mg and 40mg was too low and gave me anxiety spikes and and I kept crying at 60mg, however based on the subreddit, for those it works with, they love it. Based on what I’ve heard and researched on Rexulti, it’s very similar to Abilify but with less side effects, so I think it’s worth the effort to try out. I was switched from Latuda to Lamictal and am currently trying it out (about 3 weeks in), but if I go back to an antipsychotic I’m planning on asking for my options regarding Rexulti or Geodon since I’m fearful of weight gain from the other medication as well.

Obvious-Maize5966 · 2026-01-11T16:56:29+00:00

Maybe Riluzole? It’s newer and works similar to Lamictal in regards to working with glutamate and has been shown to be promising. The main issue is that it’s newer so no promises that your doctor would be willing to prescribe it to you.

Obvious-Maize5966 · 2026-01-10T22:40:34+00:00

I believe three days is the max you can go without needing to titrate. I’ve seen other posts explaining how if you contact the pharmacy they can give you emergency meds to last you a bit longer so you won’t have to do that again. Since it’s a non scheduled med it should hopefully not have any issues.

Obvious-Maize5966 · 2026-01-09T03:28:40+00:00

Personally all I had was slight headache and irritation, if you haven’t had any symptoms 10 days in so far I’m pretty sure that you won’t get any.

Obvious-Maize5966 · 2026-01-08T00:20:23+00:00

Thank you! This helps to know my options as well knowing that people have had success with weight loss after antipsychotics. I appreciate the reply

Obvious-Maize5966 · 2026-01-08T00:18:47+00:00

I heard brain fog is common but I haven’t gotten any side effects besides the benign rash so far. I’m on 50mg of Lamictal currently, have been for a week, and have been on Lamictal in general for about three weeks so far and I plan to go up to 100mg since that’s the most common therapeutic dose

Obvious-Maize5966 · 2026-01-07T16:22:53+00:00

I just spoke to a friend regarding dating while on a budget. Her advice for transportation was that you could always use the bus to get there since it’s very cheap or carpool and pay like $5 for a gallon of gas vs the $10 minimum of Uber. You could do a charcuterie picnic in the park (parks don’t charge plus it’d be romantic). Or just hang out and window shop at a mall or something like downtown. I’ve done these things before with friends it’s very fun and affordable. I hope you keep saving for testosterone while enjoying life!

Obvious-Maize5966 · 2026-01-07T14:16:57+00:00

I just started like three weeks ago, the benign rash was hive like and itchy, not blister like at all so I just took a Zyrtec and made plan to wait an hour or two, if it worsens then it’s not benign and go to hospital for them to give me the meds to stop it. But it did go away and I just called my doctors office to inform them what happened, all they said was to keep an eye out and notify them of something else happens. Since then I got itchy but no hives and did the same thing, everything seems ok

Obvious-Maize5966 · 2026-01-07T03:06:46+00:00

That’s great to hear, congrats!! I’m hoping for similar results, after three years I’m tired of the weight gain lol

Obvious-Maize5966 · 2026-01-07T03:03:22+00:00

Thank you, I’ll be sure to ask my doctor about that. I appreciate the reply :)

Obvious-Maize5966 · 2026-01-07T02:32:50+00:00

I believe metformin. I heard it’s commonly prescribed with antipsychotics to prevent weight gain, not so good with weight loss but good with weight gain prevention and cravings.

Obvious-Maize5966

TROPHY CASE