SSRI's and weight gain

S

smurfette

Cathlete
Hi everyone! I'm hoping to get some feedback about anti-depressants and weight gain. The research I have read is mixed. Some people report weight loss in the beginning and then have weight gain in the long run.

Some information suggests that SSRI's mess with your metabolism and they can make it difficult to get weight off.

I'm currently using Lexapro. It has only been a short while and it has made me a little queasy. Therefore my appetite has tapered off. From what I have read, any weight loss would be short lived.

Any thoughts on this?

Danna
 
Hi, Danna. I have used Paxil, Lexapro and am currently on Wellbutrin. The initial phase did affect my appetite and I lost weight but that evened out and I maintain my weight quite easily. I have never gained weight on an anti-depressant. Studies of this may not reflect the results of people like you and me who are dedicated to working out regularly and eating in a balanced way. I think that may give us an edge when it comes to weight control. I have been able to balance my intake and output very evenly and in spite of variances in my activity level. That is, even when I do less cardiovascular work, my weight stays the same. If anything, SSRI's seem to have increased my metabolism. I would pay close attention to appetitie and activity level and strive for balance but in my exprience, the anti-depressants have not caused any weight gain. Keep us posted!
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

- Mary Oliver
 
The side effects of antidepressants are so variable. The effects of *depression* are also variable. Just an example ... the first time I was prescribed antidepressants my symptoms wer insomnia and weight lose. Years later (after I had not taken them) when I had my second round, my symptoms were weight gain and sleeping too much. So the *depression* was affecting my appetite and sleep patterns, but in different ways. I think the condition called *depression* and the drugs that affect it mess with a few things... appetite and sleep are two of them. I don't personally think it messes with metabolism.

I know I go through about a 3 week *get aguainted period* with these antidepressant drugs where I have all sorts of stange things happening. Crazy weird dreams, queasy like you, and other things. If you find yourself gaining weight I think the main thing would be to carefully monitor what you are eating. Journal it and see if your appetite is affected. I know when I complained of weight gain and my counselor said I was eating more I almost slapped him LOL. I didn't realize it but I was. He said it was an antihistimine affect the drugs had that ended up increasing appetite. Go figure.
 
Hi, there!

I have been taking Zoloft now for over a year and I haven't noticed any change in my weight. I've always been active with my exercise and fairly disciplined with my diet, so that may have something to do with it, but I never experienced weight gain as a side effect.

Hope this helps!

Good luck,
Amy
 
I thought about the exercise factor when i was reading about the side effects. They didn't include that information.

If anything it is alleviating the anxiety and the need to drown my stress with food.

i'm encouraged by your posts. Thanks for the feedback.

Danna
 
Hi Danna,
Unlike some of the above posters, I did experience significant weight gain on Lexapro and its cousin Celexa. There's well-documented evidence that some SSRIs (notably Paxil, but others do it too) increase appetite. As far as slowing down the metabolism, I've heard that they do, but I'm not sure what evidence there is to back that claim up. Shortly after I started on the SSRIs, I noticed my hunger and cravings (especially for rich, greasy foods) increasing. I was not just imagining this. Maintaining control of my diet became much more difficult. Even when I was very consistant with exercise, and made efforts to control my eating, I had a very slow, mostly steady weight gain, and ended up gaining 30 pounds in three and a half years. I'm tall, but it was still very significant to me. I am certain it was the drugs, in part because as soon as I went off them I started losing; in the three months since switching to Wellbutrin I've lost 15 pounds.

Of course, this doesn't mean that you'll have the same experience. As has already been mentioned, everyone's experience with depression and its treatments is different. I just wanted to give you fair warning of what can happen. Good luck with whatever course of treatment you choose.
-Kate
 
I've never heard of a change of metabolism as a side effect of SSRIs. For some people, coming out of depression might increase their appetites. Or if a particular SSRI doesn't agree with you, it might make you sleepy and increase your appetite. But there is absolutely no reason why your metabolism should change. I think I can say with confidence that in general weight gain is not considered to be a substantial side effect of these drugs.

Hope this helps!
 
Of course, everyone's body is different. I started Celexa about 2 years ago. I have not gained any weight. I have lost about 8 pounds and kept it off, but I think that is thanks to Cathe not the SSRI. But please do not stop this medicine suddenly if you decide to stop taking it. Come off slowly if you ever decide it's not for you.
 
Hi Danna,

You've gotten some excellent advice so far. I'd just like to add that I've been taking Wellbutrin, the max daily dose in fact, and Lexapro for two years and haven't experienced any appetite or weight changes due to the medication. It was a very frustrating and long process to find the right combination. I hope you find something that works well for you!
 
As I said, I'm not sure if there's evidence for SSRIs changing metabolism or not, but it's worth discussing with your psychiatrist. I wouldn't be willing to say with certainty that it's a complete impossibility without consulting the current research or speaking with an expert in the field. All of the reports of personal experience given here, including mine, are anecdotal. Studies have shown that general weight gain (due to increased appetite, not necessarily metabolism change) is definitely considered a possible side effect of these drugs, especially Paxil. That doesn't mean it happens to everyone, but it does happen to some people. If you're lucky enough not to have this side effect, that's wonderful!

Weight gain may also be a small price to pay for relief from depression. I certainly was fine with that trade-off for a long time.

Just wanted to clarify my point. HTH!
-Kate
 
There is data that suggests SSRI's interfere with peripheral T4 utilization. The result is that you can be hypothyroid!
 
Very true. My doc had my thyroid checked before putting me on Paxil and I had to have it checked once a year for the 3 years I was on it. I did, by the way, gain 20 pounds while on Paxil. :-( But the good news is that with starting the Firm last year and graduating to Cathe this year, I'm going to lose this 20 pounds by June 11, 2005 which is the one year anniversary of my quit Paxil date.
 
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