Appetite Control, Intellectual Delay and Antidepressants?

LAWoman72

I know...mixed bag right there! ^

I don't know if anyone can help me, but even some links to where I can research this further or perhaps ask this question elsewhere would be great.

First off, lest anyone scream, I am aware that antidepressants don't make people fat. Overeating makes people fat. That I get. I've been down that road myself. I gained considerably on ADs, but obviously, I realized I was overeating like a madwoman so it's not like that was any mystery.

The issue I'm having is with my son. He will be 12 years old in early July. He is autistic and intellectually delayed (IQ of 83, IQ testing methods and subject matter modified to accommodate communication issues due to autism). He was having severe issues two years ago where he couldn't stand sound - any sound. He had been having these issues for about three years prior to us (my husband and myself) agreeing to try him on Prozac per our neurologist. We just wanted to try everything else first. Obviously we tried behavior modification in case his objections had simply become "habit," we tried adjusting his environment...everything. It was at the point where he was in a corner screaming and sobbing with his hands over his ears and begging me to help him. We finally relented, tried Prozac and it was like a miracle. He is still "himself," he is not "drugged," weird, not hyper- or hypoactive (is hypoactive a word? Let's just say...sluggish)...he is just simply himself, but able to bear the rest of the world.

His neurologist is retiring and I just got his (my son's) medical records in the mail so we can move my son along to a different doctor. I don't know why this never hit me - but my son's weight issues started as soon as he started Prozac. He was noted as underweight just prior to starting Prozac, overweight five months later. We knew he was eating like mad but we figured he was just growing. But he would just be crying for food constantly. He seemed to get overweight just like that, BAM.

Since then I have modified all our diets in the family (except my husband) and it took a lot of arguments about requesting junk and not getting it, but he (my son) has trimmed down a bit.

But his huge appetite remains. It's always a struggle. I have to assume it's the Prozac (or else coincidence) and if it were me going through this, an adult, I'd agree with "just suck it up," but my son has delays and just can't really understand. I wonder (if you've hung in this long with this giant post so far) - is there anything physically that anyone on here on ADs has been able to do to regulate his/her appetite? I would love any help at all. This is really so hard to watch. He simply can't understand, he doesn't have the capacity. Would love any help. Thanks.

xxBocerexx

I know that weight gain can be a side effect of Prozac. I was on it in middle school and had gained some weight, but not enough to put me too far out of the normal range. My GP had mentioned that it can cause dramatic weight gains in some people. I am on Lexapro and an anti-anxiety med (busiprone), which has aided dramatically in my current weight loss, as my weight had shot up last year due to severe depression and stress. If your son has anxiety as well as depression, I'd talk to his GP about adding an anti-anxiety med that has weight loss as a side effect, before messing around with an AD that is working.

PeachyPlum

I wish I had something super helpful to offer, because I know how hard it must be to watch him complain of hunger when he can't understand.
I've been on a few antidepressants for different periods in my life, and I remember dealing with the constant hunger while I was on Lexapro, specifically. And it was just... I knew it was all in my head, if you know what I mean. There wasn't anything I could have done to not feel hungry. I could have binged all evening until my stomach hurt and that low level of hunger would have still been there.
I was lucky in that my doctor warned me that some people had no appetite on it, while others felt hungry all the time, so I was pretty quick to figure out what was going on. I learned to ignore the feeling until my stomach actually started to physically rumble, and then I knew I was for-real hungry and not all-in-my-head hungry.
I'd definitely talk to your son's new doc and see what he has to say. Hopefully he will have an idea what's causing this or if there is another medication that might have the benefits without the side effects.

RodaRose

Prozac is considered to be "weight neutral" compared to the other ADs. Even so, sometimes, switching meds helps. First perhaps ask the doc to lower the dose of Prozac and see if he is o.k. on the smaller dose.

xxBocerexx

It's known within the medical community that most antidepressants can cause weight gain (at least 10lbs or more) in about a quarter of all patients, hence why mine warned me about Prozac and also that it may happen with Lexapro (thankfully not for me, but everyone's different). I'd definitely have a chat with his GP.

tomatoey

I think this is really a matter for a psychiatrist very familiar with how drugs work in young people. Unless I misunderstood you and you are really asking how to cut his hunger while on Prozac?

Well, since you've asked MFP... I am just scanning the reported mechanisms of different ADs in this article here:
http://www.currentpsychiatry.com/home/article/how-to-control-weight-gain-when-prescribing-antidepressants/409757c0a7b3e1e2a0adc3d31cd13e52.html

see what they say.

LAWoman72

Thank you all very much and I am off to read that link.

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