Lexapro and weight gain

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eal12_00
eal12_00 Posts: 23 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
i have gained 19 pounds since July taking first zoloft and then lexapro. How do u lose the weight? The doctor has now put me back on 25 mg of zoloft and atleast I have lost 4 pounds but three years ago I lost 65 and to gain almost 20 back I am going crazy. Any suggestions? I have to stay on some type of anxiety medicine for my heart.

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  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
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    eal12_00 wrote: »
    i have gained 19 pounds since July taking first zoloft and then lexapro. How do u lose the weight? The doctor has now put me back on 25 mg of zoloft and atleast I have lost 4 pounds but three years ago I lost 65 and to gain almost 20 back I am going crazy. Any suggestions? I have to stay on some type of anxiety medicine for my heart.

    I'm sorry but this forum is for people who are trying to gain weight, mostly muscle, and we do not provide medical advice either. I would strongly suggest that you speak with your doctor and registered dietition to determine your best course of action. Best of luck.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
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    Moved to the correct forum
  • mburgess458
    mburgess458 Posts: 480 Member
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    Unfortunately I think the only answer is for you to eat less.

    My special needs son was on lexapro for a while. He only eats what we feed him so we know exactly what he eats. And he is autistic so he wants to eat exactly the same things everyday. When he went on lexapro he quickly gained 10+ pounds despite eating exactly the same amount. I assume that either means the lexapro severely lowered his metabolism or it caused him to retain a bunch of water. We lowered his calories and the extra weight came off. When he later went off of lexapro he started losing weight on that level of calories so we had to increase it to where it had been pre-lexapro.

    His doctor was surprised as he thought the weight loss his patients kept complaining about was due to increased appetite and increased eating. We can absolutely say that wasn't the case for our son.

    There are other alternatives to lexapro that might not cause weight gain. Most of them have weight gain as a potential side effect but they aren't all quite as bad. Good luck!

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