Hi, took me a while to get around to posting in the new forums. My problem is probably not the most common one around here. I've been zoning for almost three years now with great success. I''ve recently been put on elergyl (anticonvulsant containing sodium valproate and valproic acid). While most people experience weight gain on this, according to my doctor there is a minority of patients experiencing severe loss of appetite. That's what's been happening to me and I'm wondering how I should adpat my zoned meals since I don't manage to consume nearly enough blocks anymore. I'm currently at a healthy body fat percentage so I don't really want to loose any more weight. Any ideas anyone?

I'm very new to Zoning but i think i read somewhere that if you take too much oil then it will turn to fat on the body. so my suggestion is to try taking more oil with the meal You may like to research this idea cheers Top

Seriously, if you have no desire to eat more volume, remember fat has about twice the calories per volume as carbs and protein. I would lower your total blocks to the bare minimum, but then add at least one block of monounsaturated fat to each meal and snack. This should provide ample nutrition with minimal bulk, while maintaining hormone balance. Good luck.

Thanks for the input, I'm going to start adding an extra fat block to my meals and snacks. I'm just a bit worried that I might not be getting enough protein. The calculator put me at 12 blocks daily, but since starting to take the medication, I usually only manage around 6 blocks.

[quote:145ac40a26="io"] I''ve recently been put on elergyl (anticonvulsant containing sodium valproate and valproic acid). While most people experience weight gain on this, according to my doctor there is a minority of patients experiencing severe loss of appetite. That's what's been happening to me and I'm wondering how I should adpat my zoned meals since I don't manage to consume nearly enough blocks anymore.[/quote:145ac40a26] Not sure if you are taking valproic acid as an anti-convulsant or for another reason (ie, migraine, bipolar) but it has been shown that Valproic acid has an effect on the arachidonic acid (AA) cascade, reducing the amount of series-2 eicosanoids derived from arachidonic acid: Chang, Michael C. J. , et al "[i:145ac40a26]Chronic valproate treatment decreases the in vivo turnover of arachidonic acid in brain phospholipids: a possible common effect of mood stabilizers[/i:145ac40a26]" Journal of Neurochemistry, Vol. 77, No.3, 2001 796-803 Rapoport, Stanley, MD, et al "[i:145ac40a26]Do lithium and anticonvulsants target the brain arachidonic acid cascade in bipolar disorder?[/i:145ac40a26]" Archives of General Psychiatry 2002; 59:592-596 Bosetti, Francesca, et al "[i:145ac40a26]Valproic acid down-regulates the coversion of arachidonic acid to eicosanoids via cyclooxygenase-1 and -2 in rat brain[/i:145ac40a26]" Journal of Neurochemistry, Vol. 85, No.3, 2003 690-696. Since the Zone is designed to reduce arachidonic acid phospholipid accumulation (and the associated overproduction of series-2 eicosanoids), both via lower insulin levels and the comptetiive inhibition of AA that omega-3's provide, it's quite possible you need a lower dosage of your meds. You will need to discuss this with your doctor. Researchers at John Hopkins Children's Center are reporting that epilepsy patients placed on the Atkins diet became either seizure free or reduced their anticonvulsant medication--of course a Zone favorable diet would be more effective due its incorporation of Omega-3's, caloric restriction, and protein choices which are low in omega-6. Thus if you are taking valproic acid for other reasons (ie, migaines, bipolar), similar results should be expected. Diet can have a significant effect on the way medication is metabolized--specifically, I have found that with the Zone, medications become much more effective at lower doses--thus it's not too suprising that side-effects would be seen at standard doses, thus needing to reduce the amount of meds required.

Thanks for the very informativer answer. I'm taking valproic acide for seizure disorder and am going to discuss this with my doctor for sure.

You are very welcome. I'd be interested in your results as I have a friend who currently takes depakote and know others with seizure conditions.

Hi all, just a brief update. I spoke with my doctor about the use of high doses of fish oil in conjunction with my medication, and she has agreed to lower the dosage somewhat. It's been a week and so far everything has been fine and the side effects have decreased as well.