Even though I have 3 decent meals a day I’m always so hungry. I wonder why. Any thoughts?
Antipchys?
Many of them can make you really hungry.
Abilify made me starved until I started taking B complex vitamins
1 Like
Most likely a side effect from your medication. 
Yeah I’m on my way to see my doc to talk about this. I’ll tell you guys how it went.
Some diets recommend light snacks in between meals. Popcorn, vegies, crackers, etc.
1 Like
Actually I do have snacks in between.
Today I went to see my doc and asked if this hunger is due to my medication, and he said it was unlikely.
We thought about other possibilities such as low blood suger levels, or lack of serotonin but we never knew for sure.
Anyway, I’m gonna develop some good coping strategies not to act on urges to overeat.
What I hate is when I eat when I’m not hungry. It’s just some kind of odd compulsion. At least you’re not doing that.
1 Like
Have just ordered b complex vitamins!
1 Like
That’s me all over. Sometimes I have to eat when I am not hungry because I’m supposed to take my med’s with food.
2 Likes
B-6, right? i’m going to try that. thanks.
Your pdoc is probably wrong. It’s a well-known fact that anti-psychotics affect the brain, metabolism and hormones in ways that lead to increased hunger and cravings.
Do you have a history of having a hard time staying on your meds? My pdoc has been dodgy with me a couple times about side effects, and I think it’s because she was afraid I would refuse meds if I knew about side effects information. I guess it never occurred to her that I would just go use the internet, but eh, I cut her slack for good intentions.
Still, saying it’s “unlikely” for an unexplained surge in appetite/cravings to be caused by an anti-psychotic is BS.
1 Like
I took a B-complex so it had all the B vitamins I think. Ask @everhopeful, they gave me the advice to begin with 
1 Like
Yes, don’t get an individual b vitamin, get a b-complex, which has all the vitamins in the right ratio, as they work better together.
Yeah, I thought that a 100 times. With so much anger. And the more I thought about it, the more powerless I felt.
Maybe he’s hiding the truth cos I stopped my medication without his advice 5 years ago and I had a horrible relapse. And he knows that getting fat was the last thing I wanted. If he said the medication would cause weight gain, I wouldn’t have taken it to begin with.
I’m on Abilify.
He said Abilify is unlikely to cause increased appetite.
But maybe he’s right. And he’s not the only person who says that.
I’ve been on and off diet to stay thin since 16, I was never diagnosed but it was like anorexia cos I was restricting food all the time. I was preoccupied with food. And I stopped my medication (due to other side effects) and had a relapse, got hospitalized, and begun to have urges to eat. Around the same time, I started taking Abilify. It might be Abilify, it might be bulimia.
Finding other med that works from scratch is rather daunting. Every med has side effects.
So I’ll find some good coping strategies to not act on these urges. That seems to be the most reasonable option I have.
Yeah if you have both a history of a hard time with med compliance, and a history of disordered eating habits, combined, then chances are your pdoc does not want to discuss the possibility of Abilify increasing appetite or causing weight gain, for fear of how you would react. I think sometimes professionals get stuck in positions of having to make ethical judgement calls like that, and it can be tough.
I know for me reducing carbs helps a lot, but everyone is different.
Yeah, my schizophrenia got really better with Abilify, so maybe he doesn’t want me to stop it.
1 Like
I’m in a similar boat. I’m currently on Risperidone which is helping me a LOT but is also notorious for causing weight gain. I’m having to be extremely strict with my diet to lose weight. I’m not eating anything that isn’t very low carb or no carb, I’m probably over-compensating a bit. I must stay on my medication no matter what because I need it and it helps tremendously.
1 Like
Knowing that there’s someone who’s in a similar situation helps alot.
That motivates me to do my best about my eating too.