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 have been diagnosed with clinical depression three times in my life. I feel the 4th coming on. The lack of interest in things I normally love... the wanting to hide from the world... the general overall sadness when there's no "real reason" to be sad at all.
I know what I need to do. I need to get back on Prozac (been off it for a little over a year now). But I'm afraid to take it, because I'm afraid I will start gaining weight again, and I haven't even made it to goal yet.
I also have suffered (and am still battling) depression. You have a tough choice. I know that I feel better when I don't have the extra weight, but eventually, the depression moves beyond that threshold and I need to do something more. (I hope that made sense to you)
Anyway, have you talked to your doctor about other medications? There are many out there. Of course the one you are on may be the best for you, but there may be another one that will work as well, without the weight gaining side effects. It would be worth asking your doctor about...
I've taken several different meds in my life. Paxil (gained 30 lb on it!!! - then doc told me she'd never prescribed Paxil to anyone who DIDN'T gain at least 30 lb on it... grrrrr) Zoloft, Wellbutrin, Celexa. The last med my doc gave me was Effexor. I couldn't take it at all! One day & it made me soooo sick - I mean vomiting, sweating, dizzy sick. Zoloft worked for a while, but then just ... didn't. Wellbutrin never did anything at all for me. I took the Celexa for about 6 months when getting OFF the Paxil. All of this has been over a course of 20+ years.
Prozac works the best for me. At one time, I claimed that I didn't care if I got fat... if I had to choose, I'd rather be sane than thin... but I swear, I hate being fat. I also hate being depressed. I really hate that certain meds make me gain weight.
Part of my depressive state is that I eat-eat-eat. It's a no-win sitch.
Last edited by Beach Patrol; 01-24-2012 at 01:38 PM.
Ugh. I hate being fat too, but surely you know that when you're depressed you find ways to be miserable and loathe yourself regardless of whether you are fat or thin. If the meds work for you, go get 'em. You'll just have to try to compensate by eating a little less and exercising a little more. (Also, it is really hard to be bothered to diet when one is in a depressive slump...)
let your dr know about your weight being an issue. That way they can prescribe a weight neutral RX. Prozac you might lose a little at first, from what I remember. I always ask my DR about the weight grain chances are. I told her, no med will help if I am heavy. =) HTH
I'll probably end up reiterating what was said up above, but I've been depressed for as long as I can remember. Some days are ok and some days are really bad. I try to cling to the ok days for sanity. I've tried a lot of drugs and I do believe that putting me on depakote when I was in college assisted with the majority of my weight gain. I'm now doing a therapy/psychiatrist combo and I'm on lamictal (for the bipolar), wellbutrin, nortryptiline and adderall (the last two are new). I hate that I'm on so much, but at this point I DON'T CARE AS LONG AS I FEEL BETTER. I really don't want to gain weight. And my doctors definitely keep that in mind. Your doctor should as well. There are so many drugs out these days that there could be other options. However, if you know that Prozac works for you (I'd love to find something that works for me) then maybe you should consider it. If you do start gaining weight you can always stop it. I'm constantly in the long debate of wellbeing over weight loss. I have to lose weight because i have other health issues. So it really isn't an option for me. But if you feel comfortable then take the risk. Or talk to your doctor to find a new one. But hanging out in limbo is probably going to make you more miserable. The best thing to do is just talk to a professional about it. If they're good then they'll listen and provide options.
All that being said, I feel your pain. It really sucks sometimes, most times. But you can get through it. Just keep moving forward. Good Luck!
First ((hugs)) to you. Depression sucks and that's all there is to it.
I've been on Paxil for a about a year and a half now and it has made all the difference in the world for me mentally BUT it did cause me to gain 30 pounds. The doctor actually had the nerve to say "how did you gain THIRTY pounds!?!"
*smacks stupid doctor*
But here's the thing. I've also managed to lose over 50 pounds all while I've been on Paxil. Since you know how your body reacts to these medications you can watch for those reactions and maybe add some more exercise into your regime to help balance things out? Not to mention exercise is supposed to be good for depression so win/win.
My advice would be to do what you need to do to get your depression under control - because being thin and miserable is still miserable.
if you can take Welbutrin it can actually help some ppl lose. I took it for a while. I was on a strict diet/exercise plan at the time and I did lose. Cellexa and Lexapro are supposed to be weight neutral. I took Cellexa with Welbutrin and it worked pretty well for me for a year. I now am on Lexapro and some other meds. GL
BeachPatrol, best wishes to you!! I think it's great that at least you are aware of a greater depression coming on and are trying to counteract. The weight gain issue about depression meds sux doesn't it I wish Wellbutrin XL worked for you, it does for me. At least I have the incentive to try to do something, whereas other med didn't do that for me (in my case, Lexapro, i gained with that)
check in with us all here daily, or even more often if it helps!!
I'm scared as well, im hangin on in there without medication but if it came to the point where I needed them screw the weight gain, everyone deserves to feel okay.
I was on Lexapro when I was married and it worked great, no weight gain, but I was unable to have an "O" so I stopped taking it. I was divorced by then so I no longer needed it since the human black cloud was gone.
Boy do I know this struggle well. I have been on a tricyclic antidepressant for 20 years. Before I took it I was down from 125 to 105 lbs. but very sad - no appetite. The drug has worked wonders for me. The cost? a creeping weight gain. Now I am 50 pounds overweight and solidly in the obese category. All weight loss efforts were laborious and ultimately futile. I can't stand it, but I don't want to go off a drug that works so well for me.
After numerous complaints about the side effects of the med, my Dr. has recently prescribed Wellbutrin as an addition. I am hoping this will counteract the side effects of the other and allow me to lose weight on my program. I chose South Beach and here goes...
The Dr. assures me that the antidepressant doesn't cause weight gain. That it is my increased appetite because I am no longer depressed. Really? Honestly, I really don't know which it is. I don't think my eating was all that bad, but maybe it was. I'm confused and just hoping this will work.
I'm on prozac right now for anxiety and i don't like it at all. I don't understand why I have to be on an anti-depressant to help with anxiety, because it makes me depressed, i have suicidal thoughts, etc, all the side effects related to SSRIS. But have you looked into Celexa? I loved it. It helped me 100% with anxiety so maybe it can help you a bit with depression. I didn't like the side effects. I had my period every other day and hallucinated, but my doctor says it only happens to 1% of people. I laughed at him though when it happened to me. I wish I never got those side effects though, because I wouldn't have stopped taking it if I hadn't.
Scared of depression medication
