Struggling with Weight Gain on Lithium for BPD

I'm on lithium and abilify, both cause weight gain. I told my psych no way I'm gaining more weight, I'm trying to lose not gain!!! Abilify made me wake up in the middle of the night and eat eat eat. Anyway, psych prescribed metformin and the weight is stable ever since (though i still wish it was dropping). Maybe something to ask about your psych. (For the record, i don't have diabetes, some studies show that metformin prevents meds-caused weight loss)

Yeah I was on Lamictal before Lithium bc Lithium was my last resort bc my body gets use to meds easily.

I was prescribed lamictal for bipolar and my psychiatrist said I’m recommending that one specifically because it’s not associated with weight changes. I got off of it due to some medical issues that I wasn’t sure what was the cause. So honestly I can’t tell you from experience but it might be worth it to ask about switching and really hit home that weight gain is making mood issues much worse and hopefully your doc will acknowledge and worth with you on that.

Just wanted to say that I'm in the same boat. I take abilify and it has caused weight gain for me when I'm already a big person. It has ruined a lot of my self esteem. Hoping we can both find something that works for us that doesn't have this horrible side effect!