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!
Finally admitting I have Complex PTSD and I need meds
Which making me feel like such a failure in every possible way. I have been through trauma counselling, I have worked on me and still this trauma is effecting every areas of my life. It's controlling me and I can't find my balance. I'm finally going to my doctor today to ask for meds. I believed I could fix me on my own especially through cognitive behaviour therapy but I still am way too hyper sensitive. I don't want to gain weight. I would rather cope with my c-ptsd then gain weight. Can you guys tell me what meds to avoid that tend to pack the pounds on?
Thanks for reading. Admitting that I have a problem in my head was really hard to for me to post this. I'd rather disappear than face this
Different meds affect everyone in different ways. I've seen where people gain weight on Wellbutrin and others lose. Birth Control even - some people gain a ton of weight while others are unaffected.
Definitely voice your concerns to your doctor and he/she can consider that when prescribing you anything.
I take Prozac, and that hasn't seemed to affect my weight one way or the other. I haven't heard much about Effexor, but I'm so glad you were proactive in getting the help that you need! Please keep us posted. You're doing great and looking beautiful!
Hi, I'm on effexor. It took a good month for me to notice that is was working. I've been on it a couple months now and I definitely notice a difference. I have not gained any weight from taking it. I have actually lost 5 pounds so far. I had been trying to lose for months and it finally happened once I started taking effexor. Make sure that you take it at the same time every day so you avoid side effects.
Thanks everyone. I took my first pill last night and I know it's not going to work right away but I'm super sensitive to medication and well the insomnia and increased anxiety was HORRIBLE last night! It took me almost 4 hours to fall asleep! I never have problems getting to sleep unless my anxiety kicks in. I hope this slows down, I'm super aggitated now.
The medication route is rough but can be rewarding if you stick with it. I do believe that the wrong medication when I was younger started me on the weight gain train. It was depakote. Stay AWAY from it. But it's used more for bi polar or mood stabilizer. I'm on Lamictal, wellbutrin, abilify right now but I'm going to a new psychiatrist to get that reassessed. However, my current doctor is really cognizant of weight gain and she made sure I was on ones that shouldn't affect it. What I will say is that I don't believe they're causing weight gain, yay, but haven't assisted in weight loss, boo. But at least there is no weight gain. Because, I agree, that there is nothing more counter productive to self-improvement than gaining weight.
Good luck to you. It's not easy starting medication and can take awhile, but it could really help. It's all in how you react to it.
I didn't want to take anti-depressants after my brain injury. I'd been brought up to be a good soldier and was supposed to pull myself up by my bootstraps. My neurologist told me that if I had pneumonia I'd let him give me an antibiotic. I also had PTSD 1. due to early child abuse. 2. later due to the car accident that caused the brain injury. I've been on Prozac (made me too sleepy), zoloft, wellbutrin, celexa and lamictal. Actually the lamictal was the best one as far as my PTSD was concerned, but after a few years on it, it started making me vomit. I only mention the number of meds to let you know that they don't always hit on the right one (or combination) at first, so if something doesn't work, something else might. Some people hate the idea of being on meds (in my case probably for the rest of my life), but my quality of life is so much better on them (I think I'd be on disability without mine -- they help with cognitive as well as depression) that I am grateful every day to "better living through chemistry." Hope the meds help.
I also have PTSD. I have been on Effexor for 3 years and it has not caused me to gain weight (I gained my weight well before I was on it). I agree with the recommendation to take it at the same time every day to avoid side affects. I'm sure that your doctor has warned against stopping the medication. This is VERY important. I did this once due to memory/trauma issues and ended up in emergency with symptoms of heart attack/stroke after falling down a flight of stairs.
I had a really hard time accepting that I have PTSD. I "recovered" once two years ago when my symptoms went into remission and though that I was "over it". I was later re-triggered and one of the biggest challenges has been coming to terms with the fact that it is healthier for me to accept that it is a lifelong issue- though it won't always be as bad as it is now.
Everyone with PTSD experiences it in different ways, but perhaps one thing we have in common is the difficulty in accepting that we have it. This is a big hurdle for you to have conquered and can be essential towards moving forward. Take good care.
I gained all my weight prior to taking Effexor for PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Effexor worked wonders for these problems for several years. Unfortunately, it caused other health problems (migraines, and high blood pressure), and I had to switch to Zoloft. The weaning process was difficult. The good news is, the meds gave me the edge I needed to make so many healthy changes in my life. It took a few years of reconditioning myself mentally/emotionally, and the meds gave me the breathing room to do so. Today, I'm off the meds entirely, although I didn't plan that. I wouldn't hesitate to get them again if I thought I could benefit from them!
I can tell you one thing, I was *much* happier fat and on Effexor, than I ever was before meds and being thin.
Dear InsideMe, I am so happy that you decided to face the issue! That's the biggest steps, I have a very similar story.
Suggestion: tried many therapies and 1 helped 100x more than others: Morty Lefkoe Method. it is similar to CBT but I think it is more effective. You can download it don torrents just type "change your beliefs morty lefkoe torrent" and there should be his programme called Natural Confidence with some basic stuff, I also had 6 sessions with him one-on-one because I had more issues than the programme covered. I think i made 100 more progress in last 3 moonths since trying it, than in the last 6 yrs since I've been severly depressed and was gaining weight. Another thing that helped was Inner Child Therapy, Enneagram (introspecting about my motives), but what brought the real change was Morty Lefkoe Method.
This is not a comercial, I hope everybody understands that, I am from Eastern Europe and he charges $200/hr which is about how much I can earn in a month, and I STILL will give my last penny to pay for a few more sessios because the changes are so dramatic.
Xanax, i drink it for about month, and it helps reducing appetite. I think I lost appetite due to Xanax as well. Other meds dont work long term IMO, i mean, they can help you to collect yourself but without deep healing in any form of therapy, the issues will rarely just disappear.
p.s. I've been through war as child since 3-9 and that caused the major PTSD, parallely, I was sexually abused which caused my heart to break completely. It all happened before I almost knew my name, which made the sympthoms so big because I wasn't aware of anything, I basically went through life feeling like a sh*t never asking WHY - i learned to forget. not to mention. to avoid it. To humour everything. Faking a happy-go-lucky, failing at it most of the times.... I'd say - and my honest friends would agree - that in the last 6-12 months 50% of my issues are gone due to those therapies I mentioned, it is a slow progress but for anyone who's been dealing with mental issues knows how can it become a life-long battle. So, I think this is amazing progress. I have pessimistic days as well, of course, mostly because I have trouble socilaizing and that was my only symptom, after that all others came as addition to that - weight issues, depression -all because I had NO social confidence and stopped socializing completely for couple of years.
Anyway, dont want to be all me me me, but ... I think after 6 yrs of COMPLETELY devoting myself to get out of this, being quite close now, I can share a lot.. People can learn from my mistakes.
Wow thank you everyone for your replies! It really helps to know (unfortunately) there are others out there. My PTSD is from childhood sexual and physical abuse from both parents....and yeah some days are good others are really bad...
The meds aren't affecting me now. No side effects I'm not feeling so foggy but it's only been a coule of weeks. I have to give it a good month. Yeah I think the biggest change is less fogginess. I'm still hypersensitive and jump at everything....so we'll see if that changes. Thanks so much for sharing, it isn't easy so I really appreciate every one that replied to me xoxo
Finally admitting I have Complex PTSD and I need meds
