Who has experience with antidepressants?

[punka274]

Hello fellow Cathelets,

Its been a while since I've posted on OD...I usually hang over in the check-in forums...

So here's the thing... I've put on some weight since starting zoloft a little over a year ago. Um, about 35lbs worth - and it was almost like it kinda happened over night? One day my pants were getting tight so I went out and bought bigger pants thinking a little weight isn't going to harm me...then so on and so on until reality hits that im becoming a chunky monkey

I started taking zoloft for really bad anxiety and depression ( There was a lot of different things going on in my life at one time) and it has helped tremendously with those symptoms. I feel like a different person and don't really want to go off it, but the weight gain is just toooooooo much for me to handle. So on my last doctors visit I convinced my doctor in letting me slowly wean myself off it...he wasn't crazy about the idea though. That was two weeks ago and I still haven't started that transition yet Im scared that my symptoms will come back.

I realize that a pill can't make you gain weight -its common sense "calories in vs calories out" I'm not a newbie at losing weight. I lost 112lbs about 8 yrs ago and was able to keep every pound off for over 7yrs - until the zoloft. but for the past 2 months I've been logging my food pretty regularly ( either on myfitnesspal or just watching what I eat) and doing my best to get in my workouts and still no weight loss? ( but no weight gain either)

So I guess what im asking for today is your experiences with antidepressants, if you have gained weight and if your still taking the meds.
( You can PM me too)

 

[lcsavik]

Hello fellow Cathelets,

So I guess what im asking for today is your experiences with antidepressants, if you have gained weight and if your still taking the meds.
( You can PM me too)

I had some stressful events happen all at once last year. They put me on Wellbutrin and I had cognitive behavioral therapy. The therapy helped me more than the meds. I'm still on it after a year and only gained 3-5 pounds.
My sister on the other hand suffered a tragedy when her apartment burned down February 2011 in Bozeman, MT. She went from 120 lbs to 165 lbs in just a year. She had her meds switched 2 months ago and has only lost a few lbs. She is having a hard time burning it off.
Talking to your doctor about your weight concerns is the best thing. I switched meds a few times before I found one that didn't give me intolerable side effects.
HTH
Reece

 

[jengollf]

Antidepressants do make people gain weight. I don't care what the "studies" say. I read/research medical records all day every day for people who are disabled (or think they are)--that's my job and when someone starts on the majority of the antidepressants out there, they gain weight. Granted, they don't exercise or eat well either, but they do gain weight. I also have personal experience with it and I have friends who do as well. After my divorce I took Lexapro--it was recommended to me by a friend. She gained a lot of weight when she was on it and so did I. Well, I didn't gain a lot, but it did not make me feel better, so I quit taking it after a few months. She took it for a long time. When I told her all my side effects and why I quit, she decided to quit too (since she had been experiencing the same side effects but never attributed it to Lexapro) and dropped 30+ pounds in about a 6 month period. Next, I tried Wellbutrin. I didn't gain any weight and lost what I had gained on Lexapro. However I didn't get great results with wellbutrin--it did help but not a lot. I'm sure it would have worked better had I done it with therapy, but I was just trying to restart my life after a 14 year marriage fell apart... and raise two kids, and work full time and go to college full time--I didn't have time for therapy!

A close friend of mine gained nearly 30 pounds while taking prozac. She couldn't seem to lose it even while dieting--until she went off of Prozac. Now she has lost all of it and more. This was just last year.

Finally, about 4 years ago I went through a very bad period and was having a hard time getting through each day. I went to a clinical psychologist who directed my physician to prescribe me pristiq. He chose this because of my refusal to take antidepressants because of weight gain and side effects. Not only did I not gain any weight on pristiq, but unlike other antidepressants, the effects were immediate--I felt better within days. No side effects.

So, that is just my opinion and experiences, but I think if you have to take an antidepressant, wellbutrin or pristiq are the way to go. And I had the best results with pristiq.

I will say I was not a long term antidepressant user. Both times I only took them about 6 months and I haven't been on any meds in years, so I can't vouch for long term effects.

 

[melagras]

My ob/gyn put me on Effexor when I was 45 for perimenopause symptoms (they were hell - headaches, insomnia, anxiety, you name it, I had it). While I was on Effexor, I did nothing but sit. I don't know how I made it to work every day. I had zero energy and ate like a pig. I gained 20 lbs. It seemed like the weight appeared almost overnight. I craved salty, fried food and ice cream. I couldn't stop eating it. I think I took that drug for at least six months.

Then I changed to another ob/gyn and he switched me to Celexa which wasn't quite as bad with the cravings. With either drug, I couldn't get the weight off because I had no energy. When I did try to exercise, I couldn't breathe.

I went cold turkey and stopped taking the Celexa. I did a lot of research online before I stopped the Celexa. The only withdrawal side effect I noticed was that my legs tingled at night.

I am now 51 and in menopause. I have hot flashes and insomnia (I now take Restoril for that).

I will never take antidepressants again.

 

[CDPotier]

Melagras is right

Celaxa or its sister Lexapro is about the only anti-depressant that does not cause weight gain. Prozac can cause weight gain, but it has other very serious side affects so it is not prescribed now. I never gained weight with prozac, but I had a serious sexual disfunction with it.

 

[jengollf]

Celaxa or its sister Lexapro is about the only anti-depressant that does not cause weight gain. Prozac can cause weight gain, but it has other very serious side affects so it is not prescribed now. I never gained weight with prozac, but I had a serious sexual disfunction with it.

Prozac is still prescribed by many doctors. It's my job to read medical records all day and it regularly shows up as a medication prescribed to patients. And prozac was just prescribed to a friend of mine last year. Lexapro caused me and a friend of mine to gain weight--both of us lost the weight when we stopped taking it. This was our personal experience, of course, but neither of us had/have a weight problem before or after lexapro--only when we took it.

 

[punka274]

Sorry it has taken me so long to come back to this thread.

I wanted to thank everyone for sharing their experiences with me (and for those that sent me pm's too)

I decided to start reducing my dose of zoloft under my doctors supervision. Hopefully my energy will come back and I can get rid of this weight...

 

[exercise-lover]

The literature shows that just taking antidepressants OR just doing counseling has less efficacy than doing BOTH. The meds are there to get you to the point where you can overcome symptoms (lethargy, sadness, etc) so that you can benefit more from the counseling. Good cognitive/behavioral therapy with antidepressants is the most effective treatment model. Then, as you address the underlying problems through the counseling, you can gradually go off the meds.

Have you had any counseling with the meds? The meds are only treating the symptoms if you are using them alone. That may be why you are still gaining weight. (Overeating can be self-medicating.) JMHO. . .

 

[nclncl]

Medications can cause you to gain weight. In the majority of people, most newer antidepressants do not cause weight gain, but in an individual, you have to pay attention because even the ones that don't in most people, can in individuals. Some people have a lot of weight gain even with lexapro or celexa, but it's not happening to most people.

Of the more current antidepressants, Lexapro (escitalopram), Celexa (citalopram), prozac (fluoxetine), zoloft (sertraline), Viibryd , Wellbutrin (buproprion) Pristiq, Effexor (venlafaxine) and Cymbalta are considered to be weight neutral, meaning in most people they don't cause weight gain.

Paxil(paroxetine) and Remeron (mirtazapine) are known to cause weight gain and do have some weight gain in most people, so I'd stay away from those for sure.

You may want to switch medications and see how it goes. Other treatments for depression include psychotherapy. Good luck!

 

[MichelleRN]

Actually, prozac became the rage in the 90's because it didn't cause weight gain....I think self medicating for nerves, lonliness,etc are another part of clinical depression or simply bad habits.

I took Zoloft for pms in the 90's and it got rid of my compulsive snacking and I lost 30lbs of baby weight in 7 months .....(cathe and ashtanga yoga helped...and I am a working mom too - was putting in 13 hours shifts at the hospital AND pumping breast milk.....its 16 years later, and I marvel at my stamina...)

I just entered perimenopause (cycles from 4x a year to monthly with night sweats..) and I started welbutrin - it quells compulsive munching..AND increases libido...not bad! Helps me focus too because I get that brain fog ,ADD kind of thing....

I'm thin, fit, and not willing to live 2 weeks of the month with anxiety, tension, lashing out, or feeling blue for no reason...I do yoga, pray and do all the natural things I can...but when nature works against me....I see no harm in leveling the playing field with an SSRI...

Good luck to you!!