An Alternative to Seroquel for Losing Weight

Seroquel is an anti-psychotic and mood stabilizer commonly used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. While it has well-documented clinical effectiveness in treating these conditions, it also has a well documented side effect of inducing weight gain. For some patients, the risks of weight gain may make Seroquel a dangerous choice.

What are the choices for a Seroquel user?

Metformin

• Metformin is an oral diabetes medication, sold under the brand name Glucophage. Studies--including one recently released by Central South University of Changsa, China--show that Metformin helps create weight loss in patients on atypical anti-psychotics such as Seroquel. In the Central South University study, patients lost up to 10 percent of their body weight using Metformin.

  Mixing medications is always complicated and should never be done without the consultation of a psychiatrist or physician.

Dosage

• Anti-psychotics like Seroquel and Zyprexa can cause weight gain in proportion to the dosage being administered. In other words, the larger the dose, the more the weight gain. A good course of action may be to adjust the dosage to address weight issues.

  A psychiatrist or physician will have to balance the benefit of weight loss against the risks that may be associated with lower doses of Seroquel or changing a combination of medication dosages. Seroquel users should only make medication adjustments under the orders and supervision of their mental health care providers.

Alternative Medications

• There exist a large number of anti-psychotic and mood stabilizing medications. Some lack weight gain side effects and others may just be easier on some people's bodies.

  Among the newer generation of atypical anti-psychotics, weight gain similar to that associated with Seroquel is a very common side effect. Older generation anti-psychotics tend to be better on weight issues. Thorazine, Haldol, Prolixin, Loxitane and others are options that may be worth talking about if weight gain is a serious issue for a patient on Seroquel.

  In the mood stabilizer category, Lamotrigine has shown no link to weight gain, unlike some of the older generation mood stabilizers.

  Selecting the right medication to balance all the aspects of a patient's care is very complicated and should be done under the care of a psychiatrist or licensed physician.