Tegretol and Weight!?

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TAdele5555

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I am on Tegretol, 200mg in the morning and 400mg at night have been for about a year now and seizures are controlled, WOOHOO!!! But I don't know if Tegretol will slow down me losing weight. I wouldn't really say I have gained on Tegretol because I ate ridiculously before I was on it, chocolate and pop constantly but I have recently took control and I'm now eating no chocolate or sweets, less carbs, no drinking Coke, smaller portions and I will be joining boot camp 3x a week. I just want to know if it's going to be a waste of money. I read a lot of people saying that they gained weight on Tegretol and have been able to do nothing to shift it.
 
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Hi and welcome to CWE!
While there are medications that cause fluid retention, I disagree that there is nothing a person can do to control weight gain in terms of "gaining fat" on a medication. Some medications can cause fatigue and/or reduced motivation, and this can cause a person to eat more than what they should or eat types of food they should not eat but it sounds like you have a plan to handle this. You may want to request to see a dietiiton or nutritionist for their assistance, but if this is an expense you cannot afford you can start with checking out online calorie counters. It sounds like you understand that one has to burn more calories than they consume in order for weight loss to occur, but weight loss always begins in the kitchen.

Be careful about starting a rigorous exercise program like a bootcamp if you have not had that level of activity before; it might be wise to start with a less intense exercise program with a personal trainer until you are ready. There is nothing like jumping into an exercise program that is too difficult to turn a person off from exercising :(

Congrats on being willing to change your lifestyle for a healthy one! I hope you will keep us posted as to how you are doing.
 
I've been on Tegretol since it came out in 1975 , and I've never gained weight because of Tegretol and everyone is different.All I do is walk to keep my weight down with my dog. I exercise a lot.
 
Tegretol was one of the first lot of meds my girl was on. She piled on the weight very fast and made her go mentally unstable.

She ate healthy foods prior the Tegretol and continued to eat healthy foods during while she was on this medication. When we weaned her off her weight came off.
It did not work for my child.
 
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