Reviews from patients and doctors generally confirm that taking Quetiapine can lead to weight gain during treatment. What reasons affect this and how critical it is, we have discussed in the article.
Quetiapine Usage
Quetiapine is a popular antipsychotic medication that has actually been authorized by the FDA to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and as an antidepressant augmentation strategy in cases of refractory depression. Due to the range of conditions for which this drug is recommended, it is considered highly successful and has actually made AstraZeneca (the designers) billions of dollars given that it hit the marketplace.
In addition to being used for serious psychiatric disorders, some physician recommend Quetiapine for the treatment of sleeping disorders and various forms of anxiety disorders. Although the drug is not authorized for these conditions, it is more reliable than conventional medications for some individuals. Despite the variety of conditions that Quetiapine is capable of treating, lots of people have a hard time remaining on the drug as a result of side effects, in specific, weight gain.
When taking Quetiapine, most people are faced with unavoidable weight gain. No matter how well the drug is working, a downside that most of users face is that they gain weight. For specific individuals, a great deal of weight will be gained, while for others, they might not get enough to discover. Scientific research studies have reported that the typical weight gain throughout treatment with Quetiapine is thought about “moderate.”
How Quetiapine Causes Weight Gain
Remember that everybody will have a various experience on the drug as a result of customized aspects. That stated, many individuals notice cravings boosts, cravings for particular foods (i.e. carbs), and a slower than typical metabolism.
- Cravings rise: If you started taking Quetiapine, one thing that you’ll likely notice is that your appetite boosts– in some cases to an extreme. Those who had trouble eating food prior to taking the drug must not have any issue eating enough. For some individuals their cravings increases a lot that they awaken in the middle of the night “starving” and raid the refrigerator for all the treats they can discover.
- Yearnings: Many atypical antipsychotics are related to yearnings of foods. A bulk of individuals discover that they begin to yearn for carbohydrates and/or other unhealthy foods like sugars and sweets. If you observe that you are eating more sugar-laden sweets and having “treats” more regularly, it’s most likely a reaction to the Quetiapine. Some people have reported yearning “fast food” and hence wind up eating out more frequently.
- Fat storage: It is thought that the mechanism by which the body procedures food and stores fat becomes transformed for those taking an irregular antipsychotic. Quetiapine makes it easy for individuals to load on weight because it has actually altered the way the body stores fat. You might discover that you’re packing on fat in particular locations throughout your body that were formerly skinny; this is a result of the drug.
- Hormonal changes: The drug is thought to alter the production of hormone levels throughout the body. Changing hormone levels can considerably impact the amount of weight that you pack on as a result of the drug. It especially hinders production of thyroid-stimulating hormone and lowers the levels of (T4) thyroxine and (T3) triiodothyronine throughout the bloodstream. It is likewise capable of altering glucose levels and controling enzymes in the liver and heart.
- Interaction effects: Those that take Quetiapine with other drugs must note that the drugs might be connecting to increase weight gain. In many cases, psychiatric drugs work synergistically because they magnify weight gain together more than they would if you were to take the drugs separately.
- Inspirational deficits: For some people, Quetiapine can decrease motivation and lead to sleepiness or grogginess. The swamped inspiration might lead you to obtain less physical activity to keep your metabolism high. Anytime you’re doing not have inspiration as a result of this medication, the opportunity that you’ll put on weight boosts. Some associate the inspirational decline as a result of this drug’s result on dopamine.
- Side effects: You may feel fatigued and experience a range of associated side effects such as: lethargy, drowsiness, etc. while taking the drug. Anybody experiencing increased tiredness as a result of the drug is less likely to get appropriate exercise and workout. Regrettably these side effects can be too incapacitating to get rid of, and result in inescapable weight gain.
- Slows metabolic process: Even if you maintained the same diet and workout patterns pre-drug that you did while taking Quetiapine, you ‘d most likely still get some weight. This is because of the fact that the drug slows your metabolic process. The degree to which it slows goes through specific variation, however discusses why most people end up putting on weight.
- Social eating: If you are taking this drug and your symptoms enhance, you might be more likely to hang out with buddies. This usually results in “social eating” or more frequent eating in restaurants with friends. Dining out is a quick method for anybody (even non-medicated) to gain weight. Someone taking Quetiapine will have no issue loading on pounds if they often eat in restaurants.
- Taste enhancement: For specific people, their taste seems to dramatically enhance after taking the drug. Some people believe that the taste improvement is closely linked to the “cravings” they experience. In any regard, if food is tasting better than in the past, you’re probably going to eat more of it.
Note: Although you might be attempting to determine one specific cause of your weight gain, it is essential to realize that it might be a mix of aspects. You might have a slower metabolic process along with side effects that make you tired, and hormonal changes that cause higher fat storage.
Quetiapine and Weight Gain Effect
There are several other aspects that will affect the amount of weight you acquire on Quetiapine. Comprehend that these are personalized elements and can not be generalized. They might describe why you get substantially more weight than someone else (or vice versa).
1. Individual elements
The most essential factor to consider is you as a person. The way your genes respond to the medication play a huge role in determining how much weight you gain. Somebody with drastically various genetics may experience more or less weight gain simply based on that element. If you have an interest in understanding how your genes may be affecting your action to the drug, checked out “GeneSight testing.”
Other customized factors that need to be considered include: sleep quality, BMI, dietary intake, physical activity, and stress level. If you are getting poor sleep, are highly stressed, and make bad dietary choices, you’re probably going to get more weight than somebody who is getting quality sleep and making healthy dietary choices.
2. Time period
It would look like though there is a relationship between duration taking Quetiapine and weight gain. Although many individuals gain weight within the first 12-weeks of treatment, longer-duration administration can increase the amount of weight a person gains. When it comes to most medications, including irregular antipsychotics, the weight gain has the tendency to increase over time.
Regardless of the truth that Quetiapine does not produce a significant increase in weight after 12-weeks, a lot of studies do show modest weight gain with additional time of treatment. For that reason the longer you’ve taken this medication, the most likely you are to get extra weight. Fortunately for people taking it over a long-term, the quantity of weight that is gained isn’t rapid and appears to increase at a slower rate once the body has actually adapted to treatment.
3. Other medications
If you are taking other medications, it is necessary to consider their role in potential weight gain. For instance, some antidepressants are known to increase weight at similar rates to Quetiapine. If you are taking both Quetiapine and an antidepressant medication, you might need to understand that they both might be causing you to put on weight. They might also be having some interaction effect that leads to more weight gain than you ‘d experience if you were to take a different medication.
If you’re ever worried about other medications that you’re taking triggering you to gain weight, make sure to get in touch with your doctor and ask. A lot of psychiatric drugs are understood to increase weight to some degree. If the weight gain is a huge offer, a doctor might have the ability to substitute other medications that might be less most likely to increase your weight.
4. Dose
According to research studies, increasing the dosage of Quetiapine is not likely to facilitate additional weight gain. Some medications have a dose-weight relationship because increasing the dosage will also increase the quantity of weight you’ll acquire while taking it. Although medical professionals dismiss the probability that dose plays a role, it is essential to consider that it might for particular individuals.
When we increase the dosage of this drug, we are essentially providing it more control over the brain and nervous system. Thus in theory, it should magnify all the changes that it has already made. If you are gaining weight at a lower dose, you ought to in theory get approximately double if you double the dose.
Just because there doesn’t appear to be further weight gain related to increasing the dose, doesn’t imply that this holds true for all patients. However, lots of double-blind studies are consistent in their findings that increasing the dosage will not add to additional weight gain. This truth may be extremely encouraging for patients currently taking Quetiapine.
How much weight will you gain from Quetiapine?
There’s no precise quote that can be provided as everyone’s weight gain undergoes private variation. This is why it is very important to prevent comparing your individual reaction to that of others. Over the short-term, the majority of people get an average of 4.5 lbs (2.08 kgs) for the first 5-6 weeks of treatment. Over the long-term, it was reported that people get an average of ~ 7 pounds (3.19 kgs) after 52 weeks. Bear in mind that these are simply averages, and reasonably low averages when compared to other irregular antipsychotic medications.
Will everyone put on weight while taking Quetiapine?
Although the majority of people will get some amount of weight while taking Quetiapine, some individuals may consider the amount acquired as being unimportant or not enough to worry about. It appears as though people with lower BMIs (body mass indexes) have the tendency to gain the most weight, whereas individuals with typical or high BMIs tend to experience less of a noticeable weight increase while taking Quetiapine.
Quetiapine Weighing: The Pros and Cons
If you are taking Quetiapine, it is important to “weigh” the advantages and disadvantages of your treatment. Put in the time to assess whether the drug has been effective in reducing the symptoms of the condition that you needed to treat. Next think about the quantity of weight gain and/or other side effects that you are experiencing in addition to the degree to which they are irritating.
If the efficacy of the drug exceeds the seriousness of unwanted side effects, then you ought to most likely keep taking it. If on the other hand, the drug isn’t actually assisting treat your psychiatric condition and you have been packing on tons of weight, you might wish to think about consulting your doctor about a medication change or Quetiapine withdrawal.
Did you Gain Weight from taking Quetiapine?
If you have experience taking Quetiapine or are presently in the process of taking it, feel free to share your experience in the remarks section listed below. Did you end up putting on weight throughout your first 6 weeks of treatment? Was the weight bothersome or too irrelevant to see? Feel free to likewise share whether you saw weight increase as a result of increasing the dose. Also go over the time period over which you have been taking the drug and other factors that may have added to your weight gain.
Conclusion
We must admit that very often the use of Quetiapine in the treatment entails a small weight gain. Usually, this is noticeable after 3 months of taking the medication. If you do not want to gain weight, it is easy to correct this with a proper diet and exercise, since the weight gain from Quetiapine is not critical and is quite manageable.
