Abilify and weight gain?

The psych told me after my son gained 20 lbs in 1.5 months on seraquil, we should take abilify? Well he has since gained 10 more lbs on this? He is diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, and ADHD, does anyone have other suggestions? Cureent meds for my nine year old are.

Metadate 40 mg for ADHD
Zoloft 50 mg for OCD/Depression
Abilify 10 mg for BPD

Answer:
That's seems very odd.Abilify has been shown to be largely weight-neutral,sometimes even causing mild weight loss.There are always rare exceptions to these matters though..it may be that your son is very sensitive to weight gain,even with a drug such as Abilify.
I took Paxil and gained 70 pounds. I don't know about the other drugs.
Abilify, seroquel, zyprexa.....they are all atypical antipsychotics and they all have side effects of weight gain and diabetes. Yes, diabetes.



Stimulants for ADHD are not recommended with bipolar, antidepressants with no mood stabilizer (depakote, lamactil, lithium..) is also not recommended with a bipolar dx.

You are the parent and you are the one that ultimately makes the choice of what medications you give your child. I urge you to look at the studies with atypical antipsychotics (there are no long term studies - the drugs are too new) and look at the FDA approved prescribing info. None of those drugs are FDA approved for kids, but it's quite okay for doctors to prescribe them anyway. Doctors prescribe drugs all the time for non approved conditions and non approved ages.

Please get at least one other pediatric psych doc's opinion with your son and ask the questions about the several dx's and the lack of a mood stabilizer with your son's medication cocktail. Since it's summer and no school, maybe you could try weaning him off the meds and see what you are dealing with fresh with a new doc?
Anti-depressants tend to make you gain weight. That is one unfortunate side-effect.

The medicine and health information post by website user , ByeDR.com not guarantee correctness , is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions.


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