I've been on atenolol for more than 10 years. I did gain a little bit of weight during the first few months, but I can't say it was all the drug because I had also just started dating my husband at the time - and so the weight gain may have just as easily been restaurant-pounds.
I have lost all 94 lbs while on atenolol, so it's definitely doable (though it's taken me the past 7 years to lose it, and the last 3 years to lose most of it).
My metabolism definitely is currenlty much lower than before I was on the atenolol, but a lot of other things were different in my life as well, so I can't lay all the blame on atenolol (but neither can I discount the possibility that the atenolol was one small contributing factor).
The calorie level it now takes me to maintain my weight is ridiculously low. I don't even share it, because people don't believe it (I wouldn't either if I hadn't proved it to myself with careful food logging).
Weight gain is an established side effect to beta blockers, especially the older ones like atenolol. You could try one of the newer drugs, but then affordability can start to be a factor (I use atenolol because it's on the Sam's Club and Walmart $4 list).
I can't seperate out the effects of medications and lifestyle, because as my health issues have developed or worsened my med use has increased, but so has my activity level decreased. It's impossible to sort out all of the factors, but medications can and do play a role.
The worst medication effects have been due to the periodic courses of prednisone I have needed for inflammatory and autoimmune disease-related lung issues (and it turns out NSAIDs were contributing to the lung issues). Prednisone is a wonder drug for inflammation, but it can cause water weight gain, decreased metabolism, and insatiable hunger. The hunger was unbearable. The doctor telling me that "eating less" would prevent the weight gain, wasn't much consolation, because of the intense hunger. Just preventing weight-gain felt like starvation, so it was very difficult to take the extra steps needed for weight loss (on the plus side, prednisone did give me energy for exercise - I just couldn't out-exercise the insane hunger).
I'm dreading this winter, because I usually end up having to have at least once course of prednisone for respiratory problems.
But while I'm on meds that can make loss harder, I'm also on meds that can make it easier. Ironically I avoided birth control for years because of the association with weight gain, and I actually found that birth control pills reduce the "rabid hunger" I experienced with TOM/PMS.
I had to change my birth control because of an insurance issue, and the new medication doesn't control hunger nearly to the degree the previous birth control did. But since hunger-control isn't an approved use of birth control, I'm SOL. I could try other types for PMDD symptoms, but the ones most likely to help aren't in our budget, even with what insurance will pay. Still the current BC is better than no bc not only for my hunger but for PMDD symptoms as well (hubby used to call me werewolf).
I was put on metformin which helped me lose a little weight (I don't know how much it's helped, because I also started working at weight loss harder after being prescribed).
Regardless of the difficulties medications can add, you have to decide whether the benefits of the meds are worth the risks, and if so, deal with the side effects as they come, and look for ways to compensate.
For example, one way to raise metabolism is to increase exercise (not only does exercise burn calories, it can help you burn more calories, especially if you're building muscle).
Low-carb dieting may also help. I not only can eat more calories on low-carb and lose more weight, I'm also less hungry (aside from calories. I'm far hungrier on a 3000 high-carb diet than on a 1000 calorie very-low-carb diet. I think a moderately low-carb diet is healthiest, so I struggle a bit with hunger, but not nearly to the point I did when I ate more high-glycemic carbs).
Last edited by kaplods; 09-15-2011 at 06:50 PM.
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