Weight Challenges with Mental Health Treatments: Insights from Psychiatrist Dr. Mark Novitsky

The Obesity Guide with Matthea Rentea MD

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While psychiatric medications can be essential for improving mental health, they often come with unwanted side effects, including weight gain. Historically, a lack of integration between psychiatrists and other healthcare providers has meant that the impact of these medications on weight has often been overlooked.
Today, I’m excited to bring Dr. Mark Novitsky (husband of Dr. Ali Novitsky!) into the conversation, who is board-certified in child and adolescent psychiatry, adult psychiatry, and obesity medicine. Dr. Novitsky emphasizes a therapy-first approach and promotes healthy lifestyle choices for his patients, addressing issues like ADHD, anxiety, and depression through holistic strategies that include sleep habits, exercise, and nutrition.
In this episode, we'll be exploring the relationship between psychiatric medications and weight gain, common medications that may influence weight changes, the role of genetic testing in personalized treatment, and practical strategies for managing weight concerns associated with ADHD and psychiatric medications.

References
Novitsky MD Boutique Mind Doctors

The Fit Collective™

The 31 Days of Fit Program

Optimizing GLP-1 Weight Loss for High-Performing Women

Audio Stamps
01:13 - We hear about Dr. Mark Novitsky’s background and how he helps people.
09:44 - Dr. Novitsky shares some common antidepressant and antipsychotic medications that can cause weight gain due to increased appetite.
15:58 - Dr. Novitsky introduces the three pillars of health and digs into why exercise is crucial for overall mental and physical health.

19:35 - We discover strategies for improving sleep hygiene, which is key for improving your mental and physical well-being.

29:43 - Dr. Novitsky discusses how ADD and ADHD can impact someone’s relationship with food.

Quotes
“There are certain medications that we know of as practitioners that are going to result in more weight gain.” - Dr. Mark Novitsky
“The ones that tend to fix things quickest, the atypical antipsychotics, tend to cause some weight gain. The problem is, if I'm doing my job and fixing someone quickly in terms of the psych meds, then it might actually be pushing them in the wrong direction.” - Dr. Mark Novitsky
“Sometimes the path that isn't the quickest is the best.” - Matthea Rentea MD
“We can actually see a lot of the genes that are going to determine what type of emotional eating pattern people are going to follow.” - Matthea Rentea MD
“If you're not sleeping well, you don't want to go down that road of getting one of these other heavier duty sleep meds thrown your way because it's going to increase the appetite.” - Dr. Mark Novitsky
“You should be the captain of your team in terms of your mental health treatment and your obesity medicine treatment.” - Dr. Mark Novitsky

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