Hi
There was an article in the FIRST magazine about antidepressants.
SOME MEDICINES SLOW YOUR METABOLISM
We often think medicines target only the site they're supposed to act on without having any other effect; but, of course, the brain also responds - sometimes in surprising ways. For instance, older antidepressants drugs called tricyclics not only elevate mood, they're notorious for also increasing appetite and slowing metabolic rate. In fact, it's not unusual for tricyclic users to gain significant weight without increasing their food intake.
THE NEWER SSRIs
Newer drugs that act only on specific brain systems, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like Prozax, Paxil and Zoloft, are supposed to prevent this. Yet many SSRI usuers still pack on pounds regardless of what or how much they eat. As the director of the UPMC Weight Management Center, I see it all the time. The gains can be modest or severe, but they'rs also frustrating, because most people don't associate them with medicines.
Forturnately, Denise, who gained 20 pounds on Zoloft, did. "My doctor says it shouldn't be the Zoloft," Denise explained. "He says I'm just eating more now that I'm not depressed." When I told her that the drug could be the cause of her recent weight gain, she immediately wanted to stop taking it. Instead, I suggested two things. "First, go to your doctor and ask him to find another SSRI that doesn't make you gain weight. The second ,you can do yourself. About 15 percent of your metabolic rate is based on exercise, and burning just 250 extra calories a day helps offset the metabolic imbalance your medication is causing." It took Denise and her doctor a few months to discover that, for her, Prozac worked as well as Zoloft without promoting weight gain. In that time, she also became an avid exerciser and lost all 20 pounds.
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