I also gained a great deal of weight from a psych medication (65 lbs.) and I totally agree with sagzz....that it completely altered my metabolism. Everything that had worked for me prior to this medication (and everything that has worked for me since I went off the medication) would absolutely not work as long as I stayed on it. I literally ruled out every other possibility, even going to a doctor and having blood tests done. And I have a medical background, and used all sorts of trial and error self-testing/monitoring to come to this conclusion
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Many of these psych medications can alter our HAP index (involving the hypothalamus, adrenals and pituitary) so weight gain and altered metabolism can definitely be explained to some degree just by this.
The good news is that it takes a little work to get your metabolism rolling again....but it can be done and the weight can be lost again. It takes some work and some trial and error assessment but it can be done.
This is just my personal opinion and observation, but if you are on one of these psych meds that is causing serious weight gain and nothing you try will stop it.......you should seriously weigh (no pun intended) the benefits of the medication versus the cost of staying on it (including health costs of obesity, ie: pain in joints and back, etc.) after you have tried other meds to see if they might work better (with less side effects).
I waited far too long before I finally had to face the fact that there was just no way I was going to be able to control this side effect of the medication I was on....and that I was going to have to accept it and deal with it accordingly. I had deluded myself for several years that there had to be something that would work for me to handle the weight gain (while still on the medication)....but when I realized my metabolism had been totally altered, I had to face it realistically. And although I have lost all of the 65 lbs. since then...I wish I had faced it much sooner than I did.
I chose to stop the medication. It was easy for me to decide because it wasn't really having a positive effect on me much anyway. The cons greatly outweighed the pros in my situation. The choice has to be so much more difficult if the medication is really helping you...I can't even imagine how difficult it must be.
I think it is very unfortunate, however, that the info regarding side-effects, particularly weight gain and having to go through withdrawal when stopping....for many of these psych meds/anti-depressants.....seems to be hidden from the public. I searched the internet for weeks and all I found was people on message boards complaining of these things.....but very little when it came to medical corroboration and explanations. Makes me wonder why (pressure from the big pharmaceutical corporations?).
deena
New here! Weighing in at 198lbs
You have a great attitude and will fit in well here. Check out the different areas and jump right in. We have a Calorie Counters Forum plus many others.
