Depression and Weight IssuesHave you been diagnosed with depression, are possibly on depression medication, and find it affects your weight loss efforts? Post here for support!
I started on Wellbutrin at the New Year, same time as I started back at WW and being very serious about watching my diet. Since 1/1, I have lost 7 lbs! I am so happy and excited, but of course terrified that once my body gets fully acclimatized the wt loss will stop. I really need to get back to my more normal 170-180 wt range. Keeping my fingers crossed.
I'm two weeks in and still losing. I'm up to 9 lbs now!! I'm still afraid it will wear off, but in the meantime the Wellbutrin is giving me that boost of self-control... or maybe I'm just not a depressed face-feeding machine! I hope to start new habits and stick to them, since I have alot to lose.
Sadly the appetite suppressant effect wore off rather quickly for me but it did get me motivated to start WW and exercise and for that I am grateful. BTW it is the only med that works for my depression. I did have to lower the dose that was prescribed for me though because it caused anxiety. The 150mg dose works great.
I was wondering if I should switch to wellbutrin as I've been on Lexapro for nearly 6 months and have been feeling so unmotivated and tired for a few weeks now..sounds like some of you have had some success on it..might have to talk to my doc about it
I'm going to my doctor to beg to get off of Celexa tomorrow. I'm hoping she'll put me on a non-SSRI, specifically Welbutrin. I've heard a lot of positive stuff, but mainly I just need to get off Celexa because I sleep 12-16 hours a day sometimes, and have NO energy.
Before Celexa I slept about 8 hours no problem, and I was losing weight. But on Celexa... Man, I can't lose weight for ANYTHING. *sigh* I mean it's ok for my depression issues, I guess, except that I am depressed that I sleep through life as a lump.
Anyways, here's to hoping I get on Welbutrin tomorrow.
Went to the doctor yesterday to talk to her about Celexa. Told her how unhappy I was with the constant fatigue and weight gain.
She said "Celexa shouldn't cause weight gain" ... [so it's likely that i'm not trying hard enough].
Anyway, I told her to switch me to Wellbutrin since I read enough medical articles to know that Celexa, an SSRI, is well known for contributing to weight gain or prevention of weight loss. "Google it," I said. LOL. I was so sassy.
So I'm switching doctors AND switching meds to Wellbutrin. We'll see how this goes... =)
Oh jeez... I know what you mean. For a while, my GP was handling my depression and was just pretty much throwing meds at me. I finally got tired of it when I told him Cymbalta wasn't working for me so he told me to stop it COLD TURKEY and start back on Prozac. I basically lost my ever-loving mind and had to take unpaid time off from work to deal with the withdrawals and craziness that put me through.
So I ended up going to a psychiatrist. That was the best decision I EVER made. I'm on Lexapro (20mg), Wellbutrin XL (150 current, up to 300 next week) and Topamax (100mg). It's a good combination for me so far, and after I level off at where she wants me on the Wellbutrin we may try to wean me off the Lexapro. I figured if someone was going to be tinkering with my head, it may as well be someone who does it for a living and not someone who just reads tidbits out of medical journals and says "Here! try this!"
I have no problem losing weight - I count calories and I do have the side effects of loss of appetite right now. Sometimes I am hungry, sometimes I need to make myself eat because I know I need to. I weigh my food, I walk & have a heavy bag at home. So while the appetite loss is nice, it will wear off eventually, so I just keep truckin with the changes in my lifestyle.
Another pro for Wellbutrin... increased sex drive. It's actually been studied, so it's not just me. Looks like a win-win for my husband. Happier, thinner, hornier wife. Sorry if that's TMI!
Safyre is right. I went through the same thing except my GP tried a few different things and then said I needed to see a psychiatrist (he said it to be helpful, not nasty) because he wasn't an expert. So I found a pdoc that I really like and it also turned out to the the best thing I did. She finally diagnosed me as bipolar (and we kept wondering why all the SSRI's didn't work) and now has me on 200 mg. Lamictal, 105 mg. Wellbutrin and 75 mg. Seroquel. I feel better than I have in YEARS!!
I don't find that the Wellbutrin helps or hinders my weight loss. I gain or lose depending on what I eat and how I work out. I know that it sounds wonderful that Wellbutrin helps some people with weight loss, but I would caution anyone against switching just for that reason. It's really for the doc to decide.
Right - different meds affect different people in different ways. What may be a lifesaver to one person may just completely not work in any way, shape or form for another. What may pile on the pounds in one person, may not in another, or vice-versa... And typically, the appetite suppression side effect if you get it is temporary - just like most side effects. Brain chemistry is just funny that way.
Yeah I think I'm going to switch from a GP to a therapist instead, because it feels like my GP is just throwing stuff at me sometimes, hoping something works. =/
I don't know whether Wellbutrin will help or hinder my own weight loss, but in my experience with Celexa, I felt that it really did hinder me (partly from the fatigue, no doubt) so I'm just looking for an improvement on that.
Wellbutrin & Weight Loss!
After I switched from Lexapro to Wellbutrin, I found I finally had the drive and the focus to really try harder.
