Help with very rapid weight gain...scared

[leelee028]

Hi. I'm new and thought maybe I could look here for help. I've gained 20 pounds in a week. I think it's from Lyrica - a new med. my doc gave me. Of course his office is closed now for 3 days. I'm still gaining although I've stopped taking Lyrica. I've only been on it for less than 2 weeks. I've even tried doing a "cleanse" to help detox myself. No luck. Can anyone suggest anything? Thanks!

[heyjude5050]

I Don't Know If This Will Be Of Any Help But I Gained 11 Pounds In A Few Days. I Went To My Doctor. We Discussed What I May Be Doing Differently.
I Started Drinking Lots Of Water Because I Knew I Needed To.
I Was Drinking About 7-9 20 Ounce Bottles Or More Per Day.
My Output Was Not Nearly As Much As My Input. The Doctor Said That There Is Such A Thing As Drinking Too Much Water.
She Said That It Can Actually Be Toxic If You Are Not Eliminating It. I Didn't Think You Could Ever Drink Too Much Fluid.............but I Guess You Can.
Just A Thought.
Judy

[razzle51]

Lyrica is known for weight gain . Glad you are off of it . what other meds are you on? Alot of meds cause weight gain.

Is this Judy from ASAP?

[leelee028]

I also take Requip for RLS and PMLS, as well as Bisoprolol and Ultram, and Junell. A few others on an "as needed" basis, but I don't take them regularly. I'm wondering of any of my supplements could be screwing me up. I'm going to see a nutritionist soon as I think that would be a good idea.

[heyjude5050]

Razzle,
Nope, I don't know what ASAP means here other than as soon as possible. I am fairly new, about a month. Absolutely love it. Helps me thru more days than people know. I am sure it holds true for many on here.

[heyjude5050]

I also take Requip for RLS and PMLS, as well as Bisoprolol and Ultram, and Junell. A few others on an "as needed" basis, but I don't take them regularly. I'm wondering of any of my supplements could be screwing me up. I'm going to see a nutritionist soon as I think that would be a good idea.

I also take requip for restless leg. We will have to compare leg stories. I don't know many people who have it and as you know it is hard to describe to those who don't. Most people relate it to charlie horses.
Oh, to be that lucky, hey?

Try prednisone as a sure fire weight gain; been on it almost 5 mths, and 20 lbs later. UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope to chat with you again,
Judy :)

[mrsD]

is often water weight. This is called edema.

There are no papers on the net that I could find to explain the weight gain
from Lyrica or Neurontin (its cousin).

However, both drugs are excreted whole and unchanged via the kidneys (about 90%). This implies that if your kidney functions are low or impaired, the drugs may build up in your body. Did your doctor do a renal panel, before starting this drug for you?

Long term weight gain, also occurs with both of these drugs, and is unassociated with blood sugar changes.

Unfortunately there is no specific answer to this question.
All you can do is limit salt in your diet and see if that helps.

[ConsiderThis]

Hi. I'm new and thought maybe I could look here for help. I've gained 20 pounds in a week. I think it's from Lyrica - a new med. my doc gave me. Of course his office is closed now for 3 days. I'm still gaining although I've stopped taking Lyrica. I've only been on it for less than 2 weeks. I've even tried doing a "cleanse" to help detox myself. No luck. Can anyone suggest anything? Thanks!

Hi, I am soooo sympathetic. ((((((((((((((leelee)))))))))))

When I was put on antidepressants years ago, without being told that the side effects were weight gain and hair loss... I was delighted not to be depressed. But then, what's more depressing than weight gain and hair loss? So to me it was a major wash. (or would have been if I hadn't gained 60 pounds)

About 7 years later a doctor put me on Prozac for women, called Sarafem, saying it would help me lose weight.

What it really did was give me double incontinence.

I think your cleanse idea is a good one, that's what I tried to do after the Serafem. But it wasn't very fast to clear up all the problems.

I have a question, do you take Methylcobalamin at all?

When I was very B12 deficient my legs hurt so much that I couldn't sleep more than a couple hours a day. They also felt like spiders were crawling on them.

I've been trying to illustrate how fingernails can reflect low B12. You might want to take a look at the page I've been working on:
http://health-boundaries-bite.com/Fingernail-Lines.html

There are a lot of symptoms of low B12. Take a look at the list and see if any of them are familiar to you... there's a link in the December 30 picture's caption to a pretty complete symptoms page.

((((((((((((((((((leelee))))))))))))))))))))

[leelee028]

Thanks all for the advice! I'm already down 11 pounds in 2 days since I've stopped taking Lyrica. I'm trying to eat lots of bananas and keep my body full of vitamins so I don't get sick, but I can definietly feel the "ick" coming on from losing all of this water so quickly. Still very very puffy though. Edema stinks. No, The doctor did not test my kidneys before the medication. He did do blood work as I suggested due to heavy night sweats (changed clothes 4 times a night soaking wet), weight gain and no libido I thought it might be my thyroid or hormones. Blood test came back normal. I was taking Cymbalta 90 mg 2 times a day and along with the Requip he thought that was causing all of the sweating and put me on the dreaded Lyrica which didn't work out so well for me...... he said that was the last thing to try for Fibro. We've tried all else. I am having terrible headaches now that I'm off Lyrica - also probably due to the water loss - any suggestions to help the headache? I have had trouble with kidneys before - low Creatin level and also had a time where I couldn't pee at all and was on a pee bad for a month! Boy did that stink! There was no explaination for it at all...
I did purchase a sub-lingual B-12 the other day. I have read lots about the importance of B vitamins, especially 12, so I hope it helps. Happy New Year!

[ConsiderThis]

Thanks all for the advice! I'm already down 11 pounds in 2 days since I've stopped taking Lyrica. I'm trying to eat lots of bananas and keep my body full of vitamins so I don't get sick, but I can definietly feel the "ick" coming on from losing all of this water so quickly. Still very very puffy though. Edema stinks. No, The doctor did not test my kidneys before the medication. He did do blood work as I suggested due to heavy night sweats (changed clothes 4 times a night soaking wet), weight gain and no libido I thought it might be my thyroid or hormones. Blood test came back normal. I was taking Cymbalta 90 mg 2 times a day and along with the Requip he thought that was causing all of the sweating and put me on the dreaded Lyrica which didn't work out so well for me...... he said that was the last thing to try for Fibro. We've tried all else. I am having terrible headaches now that I'm off Lyrica - also probably due to the water loss - any suggestions to help the headache? I have had trouble with kidneys before - low Creatin level and also had a time where I couldn't pee at all and was on a pee bad for a month! Boy did that stink! There was no explaination for it at all...
I did purchase a sub-lingual B-12 the other day. I have read lots about the importance of B vitamins, especially 12, so I hope it helps. Happy New Year!

Hi leelee,
Boy, you are doing really well!!!!!!!!!!!

You have a fantastic ability to take care of yourself!!!!!

(((((((((((((((((((leelee))))))))))))))))))

Would you do me a huge favor and see if the B12 you bought is the Methylcobalamin kind? (or the cyanocobalamin) it will say on the little label on the back of the bottle.

If it's the cyanocobalamin, then it will not work as quickly, and I've read a few times that only the Methylcobalamin kind has the ability to help regrow nerves. So it's really important to look for that kind. Methylcobalamin.

That speaks volumes that you went out and got it, though. Taking care of ourselves is very important.

About the peeing thing, that is so interesting.

I was reading about the elimination functions the other day because I had some questions, but I don't remember clearly. (Which is why I put together my web site, so that it would have things right... not misstated like I sometimes do when I'm under stress)

I started taking serrapeptase last summer because a herbalist friend of mine suggested it.

I was taking it to see if it would get rid of some varicose veins, but then there was too much stress to continue taking it because it has to be taken on an empty stomach. I had made myself a scheduler reminder of when to take it and when to eat, but I kept doing exactly the wrong thing, because of the stress... confusion from the stress, so I gave it up. But then the Periodontist told me that all the Ibuprofen I'd been taking might have had a bad effect on my bone in my mouth... so I started taking the serrapeptase again for pain... during the night when I'm not eating anything anyway.

And now I've noticed that this brown spot I used to have in my field of vision is gone... so maybe it's the serrapeptase... or the Milk Thistle... I don't know. But, I'm pleased.

You might read up on serrapeptase. Maybe you have something that is blocking your pee... and maybe the serrapeptase would help. Read up on it and see what you think.

((((((((((((((((((((leelee)))))))))))))))))

(You're an inspiration to me, to have lost so much of that weight so quickly!)

[leelee028]

I feel really sick from losing that water weight - anyone have any thoughts on how to lose the water without feeling like crap? I feel clammy and dizzy and headachey mostly.
As far as the b-12, looks like I got the wrong one....bummer.
I noticed I misspelled something in my last email - I meant to type "pee BAG" - I had one of those pee bags attached to my urethra for a month. They kept taking it off every week and infejecting me w/ H2O to have me try and pee it back out, but time after time I had no luck. It was absolutely the weirdest thing ever! Just gotta keep your sense of humor!!:)

[Curious]

hi leelee

anytime you have rapid weight fluctuation your electrolytes can become unbalanced. this can cause serious issues. ( life threatening if left to long or get too low)

you may want to have your potassium and sodium levels checked.

the sweating can cause these levels to become low too. dizziness, headaches, muscle cramps, nausea are some of the symptoms.

[ConsiderThis]

I feel really sick from losing that water weight - anyone have any thoughts on how to lose the water without feeling like crap? I feel clammy and dizzy and headachey mostly.
As far as the b-12, looks like I got the wrong one....bummer.
I noticed I misspelled something in my last email - I meant to type "pee BAG" - I had one of those pee bags attached to my urethra for a month. They kept taking it off every week and infejecting me w/ H2O to have me try and pee it back out, but time after time I had no luck. It was absolutely the weirdest thing ever! Just gotta keep your sense of humor!!:)
Darn it on the B12, but take it anyway, till you can get the Methylcobalamin. Then keep the other till you run out of the Methylcobalamin and use it in between.

Do you have a banana you can eat? Or can you make yourself some potatoes???? they have potasium - Darn it, I can't spell right now. I get periods like that.

The pee thing must have been so hard to deal with.

You are SO CLEVER to remember to keep your sense of humor!!!!!!

((((((((((((leelee))))))))))

Can you make yourself a cup of tea? and put a bit of sugar in it to help you out. I think that's okay. That's how they served it in England if you were ever in a stressful situation, tea with milk and sugar. It helps.

And take a multivitamin with it.

I hope you get this and do those things.

I hope you write back so we can see that you are okay.

I hope you are okay. I'm a bit worried about you.

[leelee028]

Thanks Consider This for your support! Today I feel much better (no partying last night...) I'm only 1 more pound down though - still very puffy. I'll address this w/ the doc tomorrow. Happy New Year!:D

[rose]

Most people convert cyanocobalamin to a smaller quantity of methylcobalamin. And if B12 deficiency is the cause of nerve damage, when that cause is eliminated most people can begin to regenerate peripheral nerves.

Methylcobalamin is necessary for some, and large doses of it has been shown to have positive qualities that cyanocobalamin does not have. For some reason, some people need large qualtities of methylcobalamin specifically.

rose