Weight gain with meds?
 

Im going to be starting some meds for depression and anxiety and Im worried they are going to make me gain weight. Does anyone know if any of the meds make you gain weight. I've worked so hard for my weight loss and dont want this to make it come back on. I know it wouldnt all come back on...but still. Please help.

Some meds do and some don't, its really an individual thing. I've been on several different ones and none made me gain weight (Prozac, Welbutrin, ... oh gosh brain fart.. can't think of the others..uuuuh !!) I'll try to remember the rest and post.

Good luck with them :hug:


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I gained 60 pounds on Lexapro. The doc SWORE it was not Lexapro making me gain but he switched me to Wellbutrin and i did better at first but then i just kind of stuck there. I got off of all depression meds and now i am losing again. Another doc i talked to said that these depression meds raise your insulin level and that is why they can cause weight gain in some people.

Everyone is so individual when it comes to reaction to meds.
I'm on Paxil and I gained about 30 pounds plus with it. But I did manage to lose 15 pounds while still on it. (to bad I have the 15 plus the 30+ depression pounds)
Your one advantage is that you've established healthy habits already. You have been doing so great with your weightloss so you know what has to be done.
Good luck,
K

Bout 10 years ago ( when I was married to a REAL jerk ***) I was prescribed Paxil and Buspar...Anti-anxiety and Anit-depression, I forget which is which. Anyhow, I had just lost 60lbs (kinda like you! I was 25 ten years ago!) and put 15-20 back on after the meds. I can't say the meds where the cause, can't say they helped either. But I can say that my sex drive was non-existant.

Med react differently with people. My mother was on lexapro and she lost 40 pounds. She said she was hungry, but ate till full and never wanted sweets. The doctor told her she is underweight now.
I was on zoloft and gained alot alot of weight. But if I stuck my mind to it, I lost. I think it is what we put in out mouths.

Thank you! Im just so nervous. I was on Zolof when I was in highschool and didnt like it at all. I dont remember if I gained weight but I did sleep all the time. I took myself off of it because of that and havent been on anything since. Im now 25 married and have 2 kids. I really need to get back on something. Even my husband has said so. I just dont want to gain any weight.

Ohhh Zoloft made me wacky..... had some terrible thoughts with that drug and yet I know people who do wonderful on it :shrug:

Welbutrin made me odd too. But I haven't gained weight on any ... I don't think ... I've tried welbutrin, effexor and paxil.

I screwed around with mine, worried about those sorts of side effects. After a reasonable trial (about six weeks I think, I posted then) I realised that being well made a lot of differences in many ways. I felt positive enough to exercise, plan meals, shop ....

My advice to you is.. whatever you decided to go on, start with the small dose possible. See how you feel, then up it. Depending on how you feel, the smallest dose could be the best. Less side effects and less chance of weight gain.
A friend of mind did great on a low dose of effexor, when her doc upped it to 75mg, she got hives and felt shakey. She went down to the low dose and is doing fine.
Lexapro is suppose to be good, it is in the family of celexa, but they refined it and it is suppose to have a low risk of side effects.
I'm on ten mg of lexapro and acutally lose a few pounds. The only side effect I have ( which is getting better) is the sexual ones. I'm sleeping good but not too much and I feel ok. but it depends on the person
good luck

Jt.. I can't get over how much you look like my daughter!! Her pic is my advatar!

I was put on Prozac today. Wish me luck!!!!

My opinion on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication is to not use them unless you have exhausted all other options. Personally, I feel that such medications have caused me far more problems than help.

Having said that, I concur with everyone about medication being a completely individual experience. You simply cannot guess how your body will react. Also, it might be several months before you see any results or before initial side effects subside.

I am in the process of weaning myself off Lexapro. It has made me feel extremely tired and hungry. As a result I have gained nearly 15lbs and it's been a struggle getting it off.

Good luck with Prozac, I hope it works well for you. :)

I am a pharmacy technician .. and like someone said earlier .. any drug will have that side affect of either weight loss or gain .. my doctor put me on celexa .. and at a seperate time i was on wellbutrin .. mainly because they were the least probable ones to affect my weight ..and my sex life ... *my doc is big on a healthy sex life* .. prozac unfortunately can make you less interested in alot of cases.. so ya might want to watch for that and see if it affects you ..but every person is different ..the way their body and metabolism works and breaks down each medication ..what works for some .. may not for others...what doesn't do something to alot .. may affect you .. but best advice is to be aware of the possability ..but do not dwell on it because its like lookin in a magnified mirror ..what is a lil blemish .. looks like a catastrophe... good luck .. oh and it takes 4-6 weeks for the medication to completely build up in your system .. so it is a time consuming process.. my doc always asks that i give it 3-4 months if i take it as prescribed... good luck ..

long time listener first time caller
 

hey i wouldnt say im new to 3fc becuase ive probably been a registered member for more then 6 months i never write but i always listen buti thought hey i might as well introduce myself, exspecially on this subject which ive been looking for somekind of forum or people talking about weight gain and anti depressants when i found this i was like Yess!!! Well my names Shawna and i'm turning 21 in september ... around this time last year i went through some kind of break down i didnt even know what was happening to me i was what i would call a pretty normal 20 year old, i drank and smoked pot on the weekends and then one weekend i was drinkin and smokeing a joint and all of a sudden full on panic attack and after that it was every few days then i stoped drinking and smokeing pot all together (yay me!) at the same time i stopped eating and alas had to move into my mothers house i went for 210 to 178 in only 2 months .. and i would like to say "yay me";) but it is definatly not normal for me to drop pounds with out significantly trying to, then my mom and doctor put me on Paxil and now i was 230 little more little less on somedays but thats like 50 pounds in around 7 months .. again dramaic change in weight but this time in a much worse way .. The Paxil in an mental way has been a god sent, i no long want to die, i have goals and motivation but the weight.. Ooooh that weight.. my fat *** is larger and lazier than ever.. I can't seem to get it to go away and i usualy can although i wasnt happy at 210 but i mean i didnt care that much since i hold it fairly well... or i did.. now i definatly can see it and i want it gone... im 5"5, 130Lbs, waist is probably a 15 sounds weird eh.. its cause my boobs are giant,. no kiddding they are a 38J.. yes a J thats like 5 more cups than a DDD .. living in Canada.. Nova Scotia to be exact its hard to find a bra actually i have to send away to Ontario in total it cost me about 120$ a pop.... wow that was a rant.. im not even talking about pills anymore.. if your reading this Thanks you!!!! its nice to know that im not going on heard on my first post!
long long long story, short Paxil made me fat and happy.. not happy because im fat but happier just the same.. so the choice was the right one.. now i just need to find the motivation to get my *** up and move.. and I KNOW here is the right place to find it .. Thank you everyone and good luck on the pills.. give it time, tiiiiiiime is on my side yes it isss... okay ..

Hi, there are a lot of depression meds that make you gain weight. What did the DR. say? If you tell me the name of it I could tell you, I was a medical asst. My husband went on some this past Feb, and gained 60lbs so, he went off them. good luck, there are plenty of meds that don't so tell your DR your concerns.

Question about meds
 

Maybe you can help me then, I was put on the depo-provera shot and on Seraphim or however you spell it at the same time. The Seraphim didn't work well so they upped the dosage, then upped it to Prozac. The next thing I knew I had gained 30 pounds. The Prozac screwed me up bad. I started to develop phobia's and had an increase in panic attacks. The Doc took me off the Prozac and put me on Lexapro which put my brain back on track but killed my sex life. Then they put me on Wellbutrin instead which so far has seemed to be the best all around. (Although there are still some definate signs of depression). But, they took me off the Depo-provera about 2 years ago. One Doc seemed to think the Depo was the cause of the weight gain, my other Doc said no. What is your opinion? The Depo? The Prozac? And what does Wellbutrin do to weight? The depression is bad enough for your weight, the teatment shouldn't cause problems too. Are there any meds out there that treat the depression, don't kill the sex life and don't make you gain weight?

Sorry about your dilema, my sister was put on prozac after she had a kidney transplant and she gained a lot and then couldn't lose it. MY husband to but, he is now on Nuraten ( sorry about the spelling ) and since lost most of the weight but totally killed the sex life, unfortunatly most anti depressants kills your sex drive so your left with the choice of choosing, my husband suffers from severe panic attack for over 25 years so he choose the meds. keep trying till you find the one that helps you the most with the least side effects.

I am on cymbalta. It did cause me to gain about 10-15 pounds. It is in a newer class, its a SNRI, not a SSRI. That means it also effects neuronephrine levels and it is supposed to have lower sexual side effects than SSRIs.

While it did cause me a little weight gain it also gave me the tools to lose the weight- it also helps with my chronic pain.

Plus I notice that when I am not on meds (curently am off for a sleep study) the depression makes me a bit wacky in terms of impulse control. I am more likely to binge and more likely to spend money on things and just shop. I find it harder to delay gratification and so forth.

Also, when I am depressed I like to eat junk food. Not good for weight loss.

Topamax is an anticonvulsant and migraine medicaiton that is sometimes used for other things and it is one of those rare meds that causes weight loss.

To be honest, I KNOW I need to be on something! And I am going to start looking into counselling but I am scared to death because of the weight gain, and after I had my daughter 4 years ago I had post partum depression, got NO support for it and ended up on celexa and the weight came on! I went off of celexa on my own for that reason which was a dumb thing to do! But since I had to fend for myself the whole time, I got no constructive suggestions from family members or my husband (who I am still angry with today) and was told I was gaining weight, I just stopped the meds without even telling my psychiatrist at the time!

hi, my heart goes out to you. But, there are plenty of meds that don't put on weight so just exsplain to your doctor about your concerns counselling is a good place to start and once you start feeling better then you can address your weight, you already to the first step by admitting you need help. you need to lose the weight for yourself and noone else. I don't know how your husband handled the weight gain, I know mine has been pretty bad about it so I can relate. Good Luck.

I've never made the connection between weight and meds. Since I really don't think I have a choice about the meds, it's something I have to learn to work around.

Paxil caused me to lose my appetite and 10 pounds at first. I think I was also on it when I put myself on a 1200 calorie, less than 20 grams of fat, 30 minutes of aerobics every day regime. I lost 20 pounds.

I went off meds for awhile to get pregnant. Since Paxil messed so much with my libido, I tried several other things including serzone, lexapro and celexa with varying degrees of success treating the depression, but none of them improved the libido issues. My weight has been mostly up with some downs through very hard work.

I'm now taking wellbutrin for depression. The libido problems are gone, which is great after all these years. That in itself eases some of the stress. I'm also working with my doctor who has prescribed adipex for me for a short time in order to control my binge eating and to give me time to develop healthy habits while losing more than 1 pound a month I was able to manage before.

I'm not sure how much any of this has to do with the depression meds because, like I said, I really don't have a choice about those. I just need a work around.

I was in the same position you were not too long ago.
It has taken me awhile to find the right depression drug for me.(I finally found it!!) I reccomend asking your doctor about Welbutrin-XL.
Also,Effexor is good.One of its side effects is that it makes you lose weight.oh what a bummer huh? I did loose some weight,but it made me swet really,really bad.I would just be doing dishes or something silly,& would be dripping with swet.Like I had just hit the gym for a few hrs.-Not cute!!
It also gave me major cotton mouth.-Yuck!
Then I tried Lexepro which made me gain weight,& I was very very tired all the time.I tried taking it at night,but I would wake up so tired.If I took it during the day....well I think you get the point,I was sleepy no matter what!
My doctor sugessted I try Welbutrin- XL.I'm taking that and 1/2 the dose of lexepro,untill I can wing my self off of the Lexepro. And........Let me tell you,I feel great!
I can wake up in the am,and my eyes are not heavy I feel refreshed!
Something I have not felt in over a year! I have more energy,& I have noticed since taking the welbutrin-XL that I'm starting to lose weight again.
Also,my love life is back to normal,oh yeah another one of Lexepros side effects is a loss in sex,not cool!!
I know several people who has used Welbutrin XL,& they all liked it,& no weight gain.
Hope this helps,Good luck sweetie!

my story with meds
 

I started out with Paxil 6 years ago and my doctor told me it curves the appetite and it sure did for me, he moved and I didn't have health insurance so I couldn't afford treatment anymore and went off it. At that time I had no interest in sex, I couldn't even get in the 'mood'. I was put on zoloft but had a bad reaction to it (throat closing in feeling), then wellbutrin, wellbutrin is called the 'sexy, thin' drug but it did not work with my chemistry (everyone is different), I was in a sleep coma for about 48 hours until it left my system.

2 years ago I tried effexor and that was the closest thing to **** I have ever experienced. I am now back on paxil (low dose, 10mg) and I have a different experience with it, I have way more interest in sex and can get in the 'mood' and my appetite is curved once again. I put on weight but I put this on from stress eating after a surgery. I also take Ativan (Lorazepam is the generic) for anxiety (best thing ever).

You can control weight gain with meds if you diet and work out. My mother takes lexapro, lithium and one other, the lithium makes it difficult since you have to put tons of salt in the diet but she still manages her weight and we was very heavy 4-5 years ago.

Just try to mantain what you eat and how much you work out and you should be fine. Anything that brings your anxiety down and levels your depression can make you more relaxed and this can slow your metabolism, being very tired makes you want to eat as well. So just work out is all I can say, I am beat some days but I drag my butt to the gym. If I have to pick always being 10-15 pounds overweight or being depressed, I will take the 10-15 pounds (I need to lose WAY more than that though ;-)) I tend to eat more when I am depressed and the paxil helps the head hunger. So yea, I can't be off meds, maybe I will try another when I find a better doctor that will help me out.

Plus working out helps depression! ;)

i am new here, but have suffered from depression most of my life, even as a child. the first meds i was on after my daughter was born in 2000 was zoloft and i loved it! it made me feel terrific and i didn't gain weight, i actually lost a lot on it. i was smaller on zoloft than i had ever been in my whole adult life!!! eventually, zoloft wore off for me and i haven't really taken anything else since even though i should - i am a mess!
gabrielbeth

Im now on prozac and it's been wonderful. I havent had much of a sex drive since having my kids so that didnt change much but my moods are sooo much better. I havent noticed any real weight gain or lose from it.

My experiences with meds & weight have been kooky.

My first med was Prozac. It worked great - within a couple of weeks, I lost that "just wanna die" feeling & started living again. It didnt' effect my sex drive, I had no ill side effects, and I did not gain weight.

That was 17 years ago.

The 2nd time I was diagnosed with clinical depression, I was given Prozac, but it DIDN'T WORK - at all. In fact, I had that stupid side effect of complete lack of sex drive on it. Nothing on the planet is worth that to me, LOL....So we (meaning my doc & me) tried Zoloft. It worked - but I exp. too many side effects for it to be called a success. Next we tried Paxil. That worked GREAT. My depression quickly lifted, and I thought I was totally cured! - until I realized I'd gained 30 pounds, and I am serious! - I was dieting & exercising my *** off, and could not lose one single pound while on Paxil!!!!! - then the doc told me she'd never prescribed Paxil to any woman who DIDN'T gain AT LEAST 30 pounds while taking it! :mad: So as soon as I was "well" enough, I weened off Paxil, and finally got to a place where I could diet/exercise the weight off.

I was 3 pounds within my goal when I aggravated an old shoulder injury last year. Since then I have gained 26 pounds. :( And I have fallen into MY THIRD BOUT with depression! (why me lord????) A different doctor than the one I had before... she & I have been working toward a common goal. To get me "Un"depressed & to NOT gain any more weight, and hopefully be able to lose again! First we tried Wellbutrin XL. No go. Then Wellbutrin. Low dosage. Did nothing. Higher dosage... did too much. Weened off that & am NOW on Celexa. It's only been 2 days on the Celexa, so I don't feel like I can give you a full report yet. But I will say this: my appetite already "seems" different. Less so, not more. So hopefully I will not gain any more weight & also hopefully this depression will subside.

The one thing I do believe whole-heartedly: We are ALL different. Different diets work for different people; different meds act differently in different people. So you can listen to all our stories & what worked or didn't work for us, but really, this is something that is ultimately between you and your doctor.

I was recently put on Seroquel and I'm nervous about gaining weight. I've read that it will up your appetite, making you feel hungry even after you've eaten, and I really don't need that. I don't want to gain any weight, I'm kind of scared.

I need the medicine, since I'm bipolar and every now and then I'll just get so mad at something that shouldn't make me that mad, and I have this obsession with washing my hands. The doc thought Seroquel was the appropiate medicine for me and I want to take it to be better, but I don't think I'll take the dosage she told me to take. I'll take a bit lower and see what happens.

Does any one have any experience with Seroquel?

I am one of those people who doesn't buy into the theory that depression meds make you gain weight.

If it doesn't go into your mouth, it can't wind up on your *ss.

I put on some weight over the past year. I was on Lexapro.

Do I blame the Lexapro?

Nope, I blame the icecream that I ate every night and the cr*p I ate during the day.

Anything will make you put on weight if you let it.

There is now scientific proof that certain meds can make you gain (or lose) weight. It might not be true with you, however; because not all meds work the same on all people. It's not that the *meds* themselves cause the weight gain, it's how the meds "effect" you.

Do a google on medications & weight gain, you'll find a lot of useful information. Here's a blurb from one of my searches:

Antidepressants can affect weight in several ways:

They may increase or decrease basal metabolic rate without changing caloric intake.
They may affect hormonal changes and increase appetite.
Unexpected weight gain can increase the difficulties associated with psychiatric and seizure disorders by further aggravating mood instability and low self-esteem.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)

SSRIs comprise one of the major classes of antidepressants currently being prescribed by primary care physicians. At first, SSRIs were thought to be associated with weight loss and reduced appetite. For a while, they were even marketed as anti-obesity drugs. It is now known that long-term use of SSRIs is associated with weight gain.
If you'd like to read more - here's a link to the whole article. It really is quite interesting! http://www.netnutritionist.com/fa12.htm

Just to add another experience to the mix. . . I was on Wellbutrin XL for a year before switching to Cymbalta about a month ago. The first few weeks on Cymbalta I gained five or six pounds and it was easy to see that I was retaining a lot more water. This past two weeks I have been cutting back on sodium and drinking more water - three of those extra pounds have dropped off. Cymbalta has really been great for me in other respects and has significantly reduced my chronic pain issues. Looks like I'll have to be even more careful about what I eat but it is so worth it - even if I end up cutting back on calories a bit.

Good for you!!
I'm so glad that the Cymbalta is working for you.
I think you are doing the right thing by drinking more water,cutting the sodium,and the calories.I'm sure more pounds will fall off with a few of your changes.:)

Seroquel does cause weight gain in some people.. someone I love dearly gained what, 50 lbs (that he needed, trust me) and then lost it and then some when he came off of it.
if it gets to be a problem for you, ask your doctor about Abilify or Geodon. they're both for bipolar treatment.
actually, I started reading this thread to see if anyone mentioned Seroquel. :)

Hi. I suffer of clinical depression and i started to gain weight with thr drugs. A doctor diagnostic me wrong with bipolar disorder, wich i don`t have and give me tegretal that make me gain a lot of kilos. Then i started with a new doctor who make tests and consulted with other doctors and say that i`m not bipolar and put me in the right medicine, even she give me something to help me with my diet last year and it helped, when i remember the name i will post it

Good luck

Isa

It's worth noting that some anti-depressants also caused dreadful carbohydrate and sugar cravings. I had a **** of a time with Avanza.

Thanks for that info. My own personal experience is that meds definitely affect weight. The worst are antipsychotics. As well as the changes outlined above some of the meds interfere with your body's ability to recognise that it is full, or can stimulate your appetite so you eat more.

Interfering with hormones has a huge effect not only on appetite, but on how satisfied and full you feel after eating.

I've been on pretty much every type of anti-depressant. Prozac-it made me have horrible nightmares. Lexapro-didn't seem to make any difference. Wellbutrin-made me extremely angry and I would bite everyone's head off, but I did lose weight. Zoloft-made me gain 65lbs, the doctor said it wasn't the medicine but I know it was because now I'm slowly losing the weight. It also made me unfeeling. I didn't care what was going on I always felt the same. I hated not having any emotions. Cymbalta (I'm currently on this one)-seems to be working ok but I've only been on it for a couple of months so we'll see. I have noticed that I don't sleep as well but I can deal with that. Sometimes I wonder if anything will ever work for me. Do any of you feel that way?

I'm on Cymbalta right now. I just started it a week ago, so I don't notice anything yet. As soon as I get a job and some insurance, I'm going to get tested for thyroid problems. I swear I have them. Just can't afford the tests right now. But something better change, cause I'm tired of gaining weight like crazy. I even stopped eating junk food.

Many doctors believe our stories are anecdotal. I am currently on Zoloft, for about two years, and it is the best drug for me. However, I couldn't figure out for about the past year why I was having this god awful body odor near my boobs. It was so humiliating, and so unatural, that it made even me queasy. I started plastering my whole body in anti perspirant.

Anyhow, I came across someone else on the net with the same thing. Guess what the smell was from?? The interaction of the zoloft with the underwire metal in my bras! And I mean, I had bought so many different bras because I thought it was the padding ..... but that is not *evidence* so the doctors don't put much stock in those things.

On Paxil I gained a ton of weight. I don't think it is that they make you gain weight, but maybe slow down your metabolism. Then if yo are used to eating a certain way, you don' realize until it is too late.

But just a note: Now that I am on Zoloft, my cravings for carbs are easier to control. They don;t go away, but I don't feel I *need* them to make myself feel better.

I'm also on Paxil and while I thank God that my mental state in much better, it has caused me to gain weight. Motivation is the key. I'm trying to get my butt out of bed in the morning to exercise but it's hard.

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