Antidepressants and weight loss

sarahharris818

I had a baby 8 months ago and I had some postpartum depression in the beginning so my doc put me on Lexapro. I've been working out so hard and counting calories but the scale has barely moved. I went to the doctor yesterday and he said that the Lexapro might be to blame. I'm going to start weaning off of it. Does anyone have experience with this? Did you start losing weight once you went off the medication?

senecarr

sarahharris818 wrote: »

I had a baby 8 months ago and I had some postpartum depression in the beginning so my doc put me on Lexapro. I've been working out so hard and counting calories but the scale has barely moved. I went to the doctor yesterday and he said that the Lexapro might be to blame. I'm going to start weaning off of it. Does anyone have experience with this? Did you start losing weight once you went off the medication?

Antidepressants can alter appetite, but they won't prevent weight loss.
Chances are expectations are high / too soon to see a loss, water retention, logging issues like not weighing or using entries with wrong information, overestimates of activity / exercise calorie burns. I don't have the handy flow chart, so maybe some one else will drop it here.

sarahharris818

Thank you for your response. I've been logging everything I eat and working out hard. The scale has moved, but not very much...especially for how hard I've been working. My doc said that Lexapro is known to slow the metabolism and deplete your energy levels. I'm hoping to see some improvement after eliminating the medication.

BariTheOldMe

Is your Dr helping you wean off of your meds? If not, you need to contact them and make sure you are going the right way with it.

Gaining weight is never a reason to get of mental health meds, just request a new on. Trust me, I have been on a lot of different ones to find one that does not make me swell up

aleencarraec

Don't eliminate the medicine unless you are mentally ready to. If you need to, switch medicines. How much of a calorie deficit are you on?

sarahharris818

Yes, my doctor is helping me wean off gradually. I'm not doing this cold turkey. I also feel mentally ready to go off the medication.

emy61032

I've taken Lexapro and tried to lose weight, and it was nearly impossible. As soon as I went off of it, I lost 10 lbs in a month.

MissusMoon

sarahharris818 wrote: »

Thank you for your response. I've been logging everything I eat and working out hard. The scale has moved, but not very much...especially for how hard I've been working. My doc said that Lexapro is known to slow the metabolism and deplete your energy levels. I'm hoping to see some improvement after eliminating the medication.

You said logging but not weighing. Are you using a food scale to weigh your food?

chocolate_owl

I was put on Lexapro for depression while I was anorexic. I put weight back on quickly once I started it despite a slow increase in calories, surpassed my start weight, and kept weight on until I went off the meds. I shed 5 lbs practically overnight. If you're starting to go off it, give it time.

kelliebetz297

I was on two different anxiety meds, just weened ofd the harshest one, now starting my journey to shed pounds. Add me if you like.