anti-depressants and weight gain?

P

prfitness

Cathlete
Hi everyone

I am sure that there was a good thread about this last year but I was unable to find the one that talked about weight gain.

I went to the doctor last night because I have been suffering from very bad fatigue. I haven't really been able to balance Cathe and dog grooming recently. My muscles ache all the time and I have been falling asleep on the couch when I should be working. I also have been relapsing into some eating disordered behaviour (dieting severely and then binging when tired) which has caused my weight to climb.

The doctor suggested anti-depressents. Inspite of having had a lot of trouble with eating disorders I have never been on medication. I have managed to get by with on and off group therapy.

I am already struggling a lot with my current weight and am wondering if further weight gain through medications will cancel out any benefits. I am the kind of person who finds it hard to get out of the house when I become big. I also felt the doctor had no sympathy with this issue as I am in his books at a 'healthy weight' even with a weight gain. But I am at my personal upper limit in that department and he doesn't understand that as someone who loves to exercise, I just prefer to be smaller and that really isn't my 'anorexia' or 'addiction' talking as he wanted to believe.

I was hoping Catheites who are on anti-depressants would share their experiences with me. I really want to know how much weight gain is involved and whether there are corresponding pay offs such as an increase in energy. Thanks for any advice.
 
Hi, prfitness. Do not be afraid to try an anti-depressant. I suffered a mild depression many years back and a severe one about two years ago. The first time I used Paxil and in a few months time I went off and just used diet and exercise and my equilibrium returned and that was fine. The second time was a deeper, darker experience of depression and my doctor put me on Lexapro, which is particularly effective for anxiety. We added Wellbutrin which I still take, 300 mg per day. I found out that Wellbutrin is not recommended for women who have suffered from ED's, which I have, (anorexia) but I have been insanely busy and have not followed through with my plan to switch back to Lexapro and, within a relatively short time frame, go off altogether. I will soon.

I never gained weight on any of the anti-depressants I tried and if you can get exercise and diet back in place, their use can be short term. It could be beneficial to get you feeling better. The trickist part of anti-depressants is finding one that works for you and it may require trying more than one. Perhaps not. :) If you like and trust your doctor, you should be able to let your doctor to guide you toward a good one. I do know that taking a step toward ending my depression by starting an anti-depressant, using talk therapy in conjunction wit it, and returning to exercise and that clean diet was a huge boost to me and it started me on the path back to normalcy. Normal for me anyway. ;) It doesn't have to be forever, but it might very well be a good step to take to help you get your life back where you want it to be. You'd probably not think twice about using a medication for diabetes or something like it if your doctor recommended it. Do not be afraid to use an anti-depressant. An anti-depressant once gave me back my life!

Don't wait too long. Life is short and there's much joy to be had. Don't let anything convince you that using a medication is not one of many paths to take. I live a natural, holistic life for the most part but I'll take a pharmeceutical over depression and lethargy any day. :)

I will be holding you in my heart and mind and praying that you find what you need to feel better.
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Tell me, what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? -Mary Oliver
 
Hi PR. I'm currently taking the generic Prozac, and I have not noticed any weight gain. If anything, I've lost a couple of pounds since I don't have the intense craving for carbs I had before starting the SSRI. Each anti-depressant affects individuals differently, and you will have to see which drug works best for you. I think weight gain is probably most prevalent with Paxil, but again it is highly individualistic. Right now, Prozac is a life saver for me. I'm going through a very tough time in my life, and I've been diagnosed with depression. I think ADs can help you with your emotional eating. Your doctor should also make sure you don't have another physical problem that is causing your fatigue (thyroid, anemia, etc). If you suffer bulimia, the doctor will probably steer you away from Wellbutrin (as well as Effexor and the other drugs in that same class) since people with bulimia are at an increased risk for seizures.

I wish you good luck and I hope that you feel better soon. Take care.

Sherry :)
 
It depends on the anti-depressant, I don't believe prozac or paxil cause weight gain. I do know since I took it for a year Remeron did, however I felt so great, I gained about 7 lbs and lost it after about 3 months because I had so much energy. If a anti-depressant is what you need and you find the right one you won't believe your energy level, it's a fine trade off to feel like you want to tackle the day once again :)
 
An anti-depressant once gave me back my life!

Ditto to that statement! I believe people tend to put aside their mental health issues thinking they can just "snap out of it" or it will get better on its own or because it implies you're weak or or crazy. I think I even thought that way at one time in my life, until I experienced stress and anxiety so deeply that it became debilitating. The help is out there and you should use it to your benefit. I did put on some extra weight when I was put on Paxil a few years back but my doctor did not think it was due to the medication. I am in my 40's and perhaps it was just my metabolism slowing down, which is why I work out more now than I did in my 30's. Because of Cathe I am in better shape than I was in my 20's, I lost the extra pounds and then some, and am actually off the Paxil now, thanks to this great fitness program! Do what you need to do to stay happy and active first, then deal with the physical stuff. Just my 2 cents! ;)
 
I was on Zoloft for some time (didn't like it and it didn't really help me) and then on Welbutrin SR for about two years. I actually LOST weight on the Welbutrin and my doctor told me some people take it just for that reason. But it did a tremendous amount for alleviating my depression, which was pretty severe at one point.

Good luck!!!

Marie
 
Thanks for the info everyone. It really is wonderful to know that medication may help me. I have been struggling with my depression for so long now that I have just assumed its the way it was supposed to be.

I think my history of anorexia/ exercise bulimia tends to play havoc on my self image. I always think that I cannot be happy unless I am small which I know is stupid and even shallow. I know that 115lbs for my 5ft 3" is not too bad but anything above 110 starts freaking me out. I also push myself physically way too much. Even though I desperately try and not diet, its really hard because my job requires skipping meals quite frequently. That generally triggers me badly. I think it has also been causing the binging.

I do need to read up a bit more about anti-depressants. There seem to be so many out there. I have tried Prozac in the past and gave it up pretty quickly because I couldn't think straight. I was doing my thesis at that point and became anxious about not being able to complete it so I didn't give the medication time to work.

I guess I am ready to give it a try again. Thanks once again for all the information. I do enjoy eating clean and love my workouts. I also have a very physical job. I am going to trust that this will minimize some of the side effects in terms of weight.
 
Hi,

I am a long-term antidepressant user (will be taking them for the rest of my life) and have probably taken everything that's out there at one time or another. I have never gained weight on any of them. Some of them made me lose weight. Usually, any side effects are temporary although some take longer to disappear than others.

Here's advice from an "expert". If you need the medicine, try it. It can make a huge difference in your quality of life. You can always go off it if the side effects are more than you can handle. Don't be afraid to tell your doctor if you think the medicine prescribed isn't working or the side effects are more than you can deal with. Sometimes you have to try others to find the right one. Also, get as much information as you can, I found that to be very helpful in being able to advocate for myself. There is a lot of information out there.

Good luck and I know what you're going through. You can private message me if you want, although I'm not sure how you do that other than I switched it on in my profile.

--Lois
 
I'm an anti-depressant veteran too. They've "pooped out" in the past, so I switched around from time to time. The one that REALLY impacted my weight was Effexor. I gained about 75 pounds over 1.5 years. My doc didn't believe it was the medication, but when I stopped it I lost 50 pounds in less than 6 months without even trying.

I agree with Lois - describe yourself and your symptoms as accurately as you can so that your doctor can choose the right one. If you have problems that don't go away in a few weeks - try another. It's definitely worth the improvement in quality of life.

Without prozac during TTOM, I'm either homicidal or suicidal (exaggeration - but not by much!)

Feel free to PM me too - and keep us posted on how it goes.

Hang in there!!!

Oh - and cardio also REALLY helps.
 
I forgot about the "poop-out" factor. SSRIs do tend to become less effective over time because the neurotransmitters begin to adapt to the action of the medication. If you are on a medication for any length of time, you may run into this.

And unfortunately for me, they haven't been any help with TTOM, I will definitely second that Cardio does help!!!


--Lois
 
My only other suggestion would be to talk to a specialist (i.e., psychiatrist) rather than depending on your general practitioner. GPs generally know NOTHING about the differences among the various meds, only what they hear from their sales reps. With your history, you probably want to talk to someone with a greater level of expertise.

Take care,
Marie
 
ABSOLUTELY!!!

It's critical to get an evaluation by someone with lots of experience with anti-depressants. GP's do tend to prescribe the pill-du-jour -- which these days seems to be lexapro.
 
Thank you so much for the sound advice. I was wondering about this myself. The doctor I went to even managed to rub my husband up the wrong way. We were both not really comfortable with him. I thought I was being my usual hyper-sensitive self when I told my husband that the man had made me feel inferior for having a mental problem. But my husband who is normally a very calm and practical guy actually agreed with me.

My husband and I have just moved to Toronto and it really has been a struggle to find a GP accepting new patients. On the other hand this man's treatment of me changed the minute I told him I had a history of depression/ eating disorders. I also hated the way he kept dismissing or talking over things that I was saying to him. I think I need to find a good GP and then get a referral to a psychiatrist. Thanks to everyone who has given me such wonderful advice.
 
Count me in on this. You have to find someone with experience in psychopharmacology, usually a psychiatrist. A GP or Internal Medicine Doctor, does not have the education to prescribe this kind of medicine and usually does rely on the pill-du-jour for all patients who say they are depressed. Ask for a referral to a psychopharmacologist. They specialize in these kinds of medicine and can prescribe based on your particular needs and tweak dosages as needed. It's not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing.

--Lois
 
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