Antidepressants - Can I lose weight?

km_fit

I was put on antidepressants (Desipramine) and I want to hear your experiences with being on antidepressants and weight gain/losing weight. I'm reading a lot of things that say nomatter how much you exercise/watch what you eat the weight gain is inevitable and that is freaking me out. Any success stories from people on antidepressants that are known to affect weight?

TimothyFish

It doesn't matter what you take; if you eat less than you burn, you will lose weight.

retrolina

Please understand that if what you have heard is true, world starvation would be solved by giving everyone antidepressants.

Calories in vs. calories out still trumps. You may feel more hungry on Desipramine. You will have to deal with that.

PeachyCarol

I'm on a rather high dose of an SSRI for pain management, and am losing weight. I actually initially lost weight when I started taking them because they do nauseate me. I'm also on an anti-nausea medication now.

FatFreeFrolicking

Some people gain weight on anti-depressants. Others don't. I've taken every AD under the sun… Zoloft, Lexapro, Pristiq, Effexor, Cymbalta, Celexa, Tofranil, Prozac, etc.

Anti-depressants ruined my life. I was a thin but healthy 95-97 lb person my whole life before I started anti-depressants. I couldn't gain weight no matter how much I ate, what I ate, etc. When I started anti-depressants for my anxiety, I began gaining weight immediately. 20 lbs turned into 50, 50 lbs turned into 75, 75 turned into 100 lbs. I gained exactly 111 lbs in the past 3 years due to anti-depressants. I also developed insulin resistance which is another side effect of long-term AD use.

While I was gaining the weight, I was counting calories, following a strict diet from a registered dietician, and was a competitive gymnast (training 5x a week for 3 hrs each day). That is exactly how I know AD's caused my weight gain and not the "overeating because I felt better" *kitten* people like to blame here on MFP.

Not trying to scare you away from AD's… I'm just sharing my personal experience. Not everyone experiences what I experienced. You don't know how you will respond to the drug until you try it, unfortunately. The good news is there are a number of AD's so if one causes weight gain, you can always try another.

MaggieLoo79

Medications effect people differently. I've gained weight on medications that other people may lose on. If there is a member of your family on medications (that didn't gain weight), you may want to find out what anti-depressant they take and start there.

One of the issues I've had with anti-depressant medications is catching the weight gain quick enough. Be vigilant. If you gain 5 pounds - don't blame water (like I did). Ask to switch medications.

Truth be told, anti-depressants are widely over-prescribed and long term, they have low success rates. Google it. More and more information comes out every day.