Mental illness and weight gain: my story

Christine_1027

my story: I have taken anti-depressants for many years to help keep my anxiety disorder and OCD under control, and these meds had a side effect of severe weight gain and greatly increased appetite. As a result, I became overweight for around 6 years, and it was impossible to lose weight on those meds--any hard-earned weight loss would instantly crawl back on and with even more. the weight I gained has dropped off a while later after stopping the medication, however it has not dropped off completely. I am still trying to lose the weight I gained. I still struggle with bingeing, and I am trying hard to overcome it.

So why am I sharing this? because I know that there are others out there who have gone through a similar situation (Depression and anxiety can also cause weight gain even to someone who is not taking any medication), and I just want to remind everyone that they are not alone, and that mental illness is extremely common and is nothing to be ashamed about, and that a lot of the time, weight gain is not someone's fault. Everyone is amazing in their own way, and having a condition such as depression or an anxiety disorder does not change the fact that you are a good friend, good husband/wife, talented, smart, beautiful, etc.

anyways, God bless you all, and feel free to add me as a friend
here for support if you need it! Lets all lose this darn weight together!

Xpecta

Great story!! Thanks for sharing!! I had OCD as well. I no longer do (Thank God - literally) But it's really really hard to deal with! I never did go on meds, but I think in some ways, it helped me gain weight. Now that I don't have it anymore, the stress is gone, and I'm not as negative. Which is definitely a good thing on those "Bad" days. Anyways, I'm glad you're losing weight! That's amazing! Keep it up friend!

Regan45

Losing weight is hard enough without the added struggles! I don't deal with depression and anxiety but have family members that do. Kudos to you for sharing your story and your positive outlook.

PearlAng

Thank you for sharing! This is a very inspiring story. Keep up your good work!

oedipa_maas

A beautiful and kind post. I wish you so much good!

I also wanted to mention that there are a LOT of meds out there now, and there are a significant number that don't have weight gain as a side effect. I'm bipolar and on a lot of meds, none of which have that side effect. I told my doctor that I can't be on anything that will put lots of weight on; I have an ED history and simply won't take them, knowing me, even if they help my mental health. So the doctor worked with me on putting a constellation of meds together that don't interfere with me losing weight. I've lost over 25 lbs and still going. So there is hope for those who have to be on meds!

lisaducharme33

Beautiful! I'm happy you posted this there is such a stigma. I'm schizoid effective and the medication made me gain all the weight. I'm happy to say you can win at this med losing weight battle. I have lost now 25lbs in three months! Anybody feel free to add me.

pinkiezoom

I was put on amitriptalyne and betablockers for a migraine prevention..... yikes they made me lethargic, and the knock on effect was weight gain...pleased to be med free now, and more interestingly ... migraine free most of the time!!!

earlnabby

There is a light at the end of that tunnel. Funny you should post this now. I met with my PsyD yesterday and she is just so thrilled with how I am doing. I started seeing her in 2003 and in the intervening years I had the hardest time of my life with the depression and physical health. She saw me through those and is now seeing the slimmer, stronger, and more mentally fit person who had always been lingering under the surface. A combination of changes in my personal life to reduce stress, taking care of some physical ailments, and a change in medication started me coming out of it and I have been able to keep it going.

When someone you have seen, on average, 4 times a year for 11 years tells you that she does not recognize the person sitting in front of her, you know that there has been a profound difference. It has all happened since New Years last year when I landed in the hospital with a physical ailment.

You can do it! It is harder when you are dealing with the mental as well as the physical but it can be done!

earlnabby

Oh, and to those who say that the drugs don't cause you to gain weight, putting too much food in your mouth causes it: technically you are correct. The issue is that these are very powerful drugs that change the way the brain functions. Some can stimulate the appetite while also affecting your ability to say "no" to anything, some affect the parts of the brain that stimulate the hormone producing organs that can slow your metabolism, and other effects.

Yes, blaming the drugs can be a crutch for some, but there is so much else going on with the combination of a mental illness and its accompanying thought patterns and the powerful medications used to treat it that saying that the drugs did not cause the weight gain is a bit oversimplified.

seltzermint555

I really do love all of your points about mental health.

I've had GAD my entire life and still struggle with it daily. I have also dealt with depression and very OCD-type symptoms on and off...and was misdiagnosed with ADHD as a young adult.

Anyway...I have never been on meds, but my personal experience is that calorie counting is key for me. I was morbidly obese from age 16-35 and now (at 38) I am a healthy weight after losing 136 lb. Seriously most of that (nearly 100 lb) happened over the past couple of years because of eating better foods in the correct amounts.

I went through a lot of personal trials and changes in my early to mid 30's, and worked hard to correct my poor eating habits such as eating when sad, stressed, excited, bored, etc. I also got some great counseling (NOT religion based and NOT weight/diet related at ALL) and became much more active. I did lose weight doing that. I lost my first 40-ish lb that way. But calorie counting made it MUCH easier and gave me an empowering sense of control. I know that word is scary to some and hints at disordered eating, and yeah some elements of tracking nutritional intake can be kind of OCD-level. But I personally think it's pretty fantastic.

Good luck to you!!