Lamictal caused excessive weight gain how do I lose it?

FIVE You have to be your own advocate. Research for ideas but ultimately you have to find your motivation. Use positive self talk and “cheerleading” to keep yourself compliant. ie “I’m not going to cheat”- 50 times a day.
SIX- see if ketamine works for you to maybe at least decrease your medicine. It’s expensive and insurance won’t pay for it, but it helps depression and impulse control ie cravings and overeating. It’s worth every penny. Generally it’s 4 to 6 treatments at $375/treatment and then once at regular intervals -as soon as once per month or -as far as once per 6 months.
Record everything you eat, exercise, I’ve lost 90 pounds in 3 years on a keto diet and my motivation changes every couple of months or so.
EAT 3 to 5 cups of cooked vegetables per day.
V-8 JUICE w 1tsp beet powder and 1tsp kale powder for breakfast. It helps me not be as hungry through out the day. I eat 8 ounces(measured before cooking) of meat at lunch and dinner and vegetables.
For sweets I eat 1 cup frozen berries in Greek yogurt or chocolate protein shake. I am still doing low fat for weight loss. I don’t try to find substitutes for flour, rice, or pasta. I need to skip it. I normally use broccoli or cauliflower or carrots as my starches. For instance at Olive Garden I eat sauce poured over broccoli instead of pasta.
PS- Honey, I am a Dietetian and that didn’t stop me from weight gain. Being fat isn’t caused by a lack of knowledge.

When I discussed the problem with my doctor, he “guaranteed” that Lamictal had absolutely NOT caused the weight gain. But there had been no other medication changes for a couple of years and, as I said above, zero eating/exercise changes. I have had an under-active thyroid for years, but my levels have continued to check out as normal.

I actually had several people – including my doctor! – suggest that it was simply a metabolism change due to age, and I might have been able to consider that explanation, except that 70 pounds in 3 months is so far beyond what an aging metabolism could explain! And I tried everything to lose the weight! As I have no neurotic attachment to food, it was easy for me to make significant calorie cuts (down to about 1,000 calories a day), and I doubled the length of my dog’s brisk, twice-daily walks (my primary source of exercise these days).

NOTHING I did made the slightest bit of difference. I finally insisted that my doctor switch me back to my old mood stabilizer, while he continued to insist that it absolutely was NOT the Lamictal. By the time I was completely weaned off of the drug, about 2 years had passed, and the weight was still there. Now, I have been off of the Lamictal for about a year, but the weight still won’t budge.

I am a scientist (a geochemist), and I KNOW that the laws of physics dictate that, even if I had been strapped down – completely immobilized – and force fed pure fat for 3 months, it would be extremely difficult – if not impossible – to experience that much weight gain in that short a time! I have bipolar II disorder, and suffer from nearly constant depression. This obesity had aggravated that situation to the point that I’m embarrassed to have anyone see me – even my grown children – like this, and It’s still excruciating to see myself in mirrors. My depression has grown substantially in both prevalence and severity, and it seems that, whatever the Lamictal did to me, has proven to be irreversible. Even after 3 years, I still feel like I’m living in someone else’s body. It’s a nightmare.