[4star]

Just some FYI on the classes of drugs that can cause weight gain. Not all people experience the same effects, some lose and some gain. Your Doctor should be monitoring you and will likely make changes if you experience negative side effects.


http://weightloss.about.com/lw/Healt...in-Weight-.htm

Here's a chart of meds that can cause weight gain and it also give possible alternatives for those medications.

http://pacmedweightloss.com/docs/med...eight_gain.pdf

Best of Luck!

[johanlal]

Vit D
Biotin
liquid b12
These are the medicines which helps us a lot to loss weight..

[graceandbalance]

I have struggled for the past five years with the realization that risperdal is like a miracle drug for me in all ways but one - finally I'm functioning so well, but I'm 130 pounds heavier than when I started! I tried topamax to counter the effects - lost a pound or two but felt very foggy, and I continued to gain weight even while taking wellbutrin.

I had started looking into weight loss surgery and switched psychiatrists at the same time this spring, and my new doctor put me on Strattera, which is a non-stimulant drug for ADD. This has been another miracle drug for me, because all of a sudden my appetite, enjoyment of food, and cravings, are back to pre-risperdal levels. I've lost 18 pounds in the last two months without really trying very hard at all - apparently this is not an uncommon effect.

I'm thrilled to finally have a combo that works, it only took many years to find it!

[seabiscuit]

I agree with others, that it depends on the med as to whether it causes weight gain or not. I'm on Abilify right now and that is supposed to cause weight gain I was on Depakote which I finally got off of because it made me gain so much weight! There are some associated with appetite suppression too I think, although I don't know if I am on those or not.

I highly suggest talking to your healthcare provider about this. They are probably your best resource!

[The Bad Men]

Like a couple other people here mentioned, Risperdal made me gain a humongous amount of weight. I remember when I went to one of my doctors and they took my height and my weight maybe once a month. I said to my mom, "I must be growing really fast," to which my mom replied, "That's your weight." I was a sad puppy that day.

I'm on Geodon now and it's been pretty gentle to me in terms of side effects.

[DreamAngelsHeavenly]

The clinic I work at they recommend diet and exercise to our recipients and people who do often lose weight on some of these meds. By the way, I work at a clinic for SMI adults (so we deal with these meds all of the time). True some of these are "fattening" medications. However, everyone is different. Unfortunately there are side effects with every kind of medication out there, psychiatric or otherwise. If one doesn't work for you I am sure the doctor can tweak your scripts. If not, it is a cost-benefit analysis that needs to be done... I was on Zyprexa for a couple months and since I was dieting and working out I was losing weight though this is a notorious medication for weight gain... So I think lifestyle definitely plays some role here as well.

[nikkinouille]

I gained almost 30 lbs on Paxil. Going from 127lbs to 156lbs. Everyone is different, but I personally will N E V E R go back on any medication like it! I am now down to 141.5 but I still have some ways to go. Thanks, Paxil! lol. Oh coming off it was a b$%ch too.

[Muffintine]

I took Prozac for a while, and this is just my personal experience with it, but It caused me to swell up like a balloon... I gained 20 pounds in a matter of three months and it effectively made me more depressed because the weight gain than when I was off the pills. I quit cold turkey, which was also another bad decision that led to worsen my depression and gain more weight! But, I've found that doing things I love such as swimming, writing, being outside has been a great substitute for Prozac, and has helped me lose weight.

So really, I had a negative experience, but my mother didn't. (It made her happier, helped her lose weight). I'd say try it and see how your body responds... we're all different.

[lisaasmith1974]

Hello I am new and so happy I found this forum. I have decides today Im sick and tired of being sick and tired of the battle of the buldge. I have gone cold turkey of zoloft,diet coke, sweets, and everything I was doing to hurt myself. Im soo unhappy with my body, aging, depression, and I hope I find the strenght to pull thru this. Super shakey trying to make healthy choices and really I just want to self comfort with treats.

[nikkinouille]

You shouldn't go "cold turkey" off Zoloft... SSRI's (and many other meds) should be slowly tapered off. You could have some very adverse reactions, otherwise. Be careful.

[Kyndryn]

I am bipolar, have major depression disorder, ADHD, social anxiety disorder, and a couple of other minor mental illnesses! (Sometimes it seems like if it exists, I have it.) I've been fighting these all of my life, and only recently (within the last year) have been able to find the best combination of medications to help me live. I'm on Abilify, Geodon, Effexor XR, Lamictal XR, Concerta ER, and Nuvigil (for my extreme daytime sleepiness). And I take a caffeine pill and multi-vitamin on top of all of that. That makes for 17 pills @ breakfast, with 5 additional pills spread throughout the day.

Taking so many pills and having to depend on them to keep me mentally sane is annoying, sometimes depressing, but they keep me from committing suicide. This is a good thing, I guess!

I hate being 182 pounds. I am only 5'3", and at 32 years old (I'm now 46), I weighed 135 lbs, which was the heaviest I had ever been. Children, age, poor diet, lack of exercise, and medications have done me in.

Being overweight is depressing, but I'm a happy person otherwise. If you think that things in your life suck in general, I urge you to find a good psychiatrist (not a psychologist or a general doctor) and ask him/her to try putting you on medication. You will have to wade through the trial & error process, but in the end, it is worth it.

The weight gain is just one of those things that sometimes has to be lived with. And, the good news is that you can always diet & exercise, and at the same time be on meds that make you happy again! Please, please, please go see someone to help you!!

Some medications do make you prone to gaining weight. Some more than others. Abilify has a special added detraction in that it may increase the waistline and facial hair (both of which are happening to me). I can't fight the facial hair - I guess I'll be a bearded grandma one of these days . . . but I am trying to work on the weight. I am not seeing success, but I will keep trying each and every day.

A warning about drinking too much water: A couple of summers ago, I (for whatever reason) started drinking HUGE amounts of lemon water. And I mean HUGE. I drank about fifteen 16-oz. bottles a day. Contrary to some people's opinions, I believed it "washed out" or diluted my medications to the point that I ended up in the ER more than once. On the other hand, it helped me lose 30 pounds, all of which I have gained back. But I'm not making trips to the ER, either.