Bipolar treatment options for teens can cause weight gain, other ill effects.

Byline: Ofelia Casillas

Dec. 2--The same drug that helped Rachel Mason graduate 8th grade by controlling her bipolar disorder caused her to weigh more than most girls at the ceremony.

Under Rachel's freckled skin, the drug that eased her rages also sparked insatiable hunger. By the time she slipped into a white-flowered red skirt for the event, the teen who stands only a few inches taller than 5 feet weighed 243 pounds.

"It's in my head," said Rachel, now a 14-year-old high school freshman in Mount Pulaski, Ill. "In my stomach, I usually don't want to eat anything."

Apprehensive about severe side effects associated with the first generation of drugs approved to treat psychosis--including tremors, muscle contractions and involuntary movements that can cause disfigurement--doctors have embraced a new group of drugs during the last decade, among them Risperdal and Zyprexa.

As time passes, however, adverse effects also have emerged for these new drugs--including a ravenous hunger that makes children badly overweight and susceptible to future diabetes.

The dramatic weight gain can be emotionally difficult for teens at a time when social pressures are especially intense. Doctors said the weight gain can be hardest on girls who already struggle with body image. Some refuse to take a drug that causes…