Antidepressants and weight loss

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sarahharris818
sarahharris818 Posts: 5 Member
in Motivation and Support
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?

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  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
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    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
    sarahharris818 Posts: 5 Member
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    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.
  • TooShortForThisWeight
    TooShortForThisWeight Posts: 91 Member
    edited March 2016
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    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
    aleencarraec Posts: 25 Member
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    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
    sarahharris818 Posts: 5 Member
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    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
    emy61032 Posts: 10 Member
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    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
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
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    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
    chocolate_owl Posts: 1,695 Member
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    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
    kelliebetz297 Posts: 5 Member
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    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.

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