Mental health and weight loss

alexoftroy

Hi everyone,

I started a low dosage of Lexapro today, 10 mg, to treat my anxiety. I have done the worst possible thing and googled "Lexapro and weight gain"--the horror stories floating around the Internet are enough to make me want to throw my pill bottle out the window!

I am 25, 5'5", and 117 lbs. Health and fitness have been my lifestyle since I was a young teenager--running, lifting weights, eating clean, etc. I've managed to maintain and even lose weight while dealing with the stress of law school, so I'm hoping I'll be able to muscle my way through any curveballs this medication throws at me.

I am still extremely nervous and can't shake the worry. It's important to me to maintain my weight, and it would be a deal breaker if Lexapro inhibited that. I was hoping that you all might be able to educate me, share some insight, or even offer your own advice or personal stories on the issue. Thank you all so much!

JaneSnowe

I believe the only thing it could cause as far as weight gain is increased appetite. You sound very active but do you track your calories? Doing so will help you to prevent overeating if you do begin to feel hungrier. Hope this helps!

djspacecaptain

This happened to me, i got prescribed some meds and i did not do the research on it. After 3 months i weighed 50 lbs more, it actually killed my motivation and caused me to gain another 40 lbs by month 8. I finally stopped and now am still losing the weight i gained by taking the prescribed medication. Im down 70lbs with about another 30 to go but man if i could go back and throw my bottle of pills away i would do it in a heart beat.

When i first started taking the pills i was not counting calories, i didnt need to. I was very fit actually buff and worked out almost everyday. So if you do counting then you might be able to avoid it. I joined MFP after i gained all the weight to give me motivation to lose it all so you might have an upper hand. But do not think just because you are fit and active that it wont happen because i was fit and active and it did happen to me.

DearestWinter

I recommend first paying attention to the scale each morning to see if the meds actually increase your appetite enough so you gain weight. You might not have any problems and there's no point in escalating your response unless you need to.

If you end up gaining a few pounds (2-3?) then start logging all of your food on MFP. You may have to play with macros to figure out the best types of foods to satisfy your hunger.

djspacecaptain

DearestWinter wrote: »

I recommend first paying attention to the scale each morning to see if the meds actually increase your appetite enough so you gain weight. You might not have any problems and there's no point in escalating your response unless you need to.

If you end up gaining a few pounds (2-3?) then start logging all of your food on MFP. You may have to play with macros to figure out the best types of foods to satisfy your hunger.

Yea this is probably the best way to attack this. I didnt look at the scale until i gained 50lbs so if you can spot when it is starting to make you gain weight you can then try to attack the problem. If they do make you gain weight you can always see if you can get prescribed new anxiety meds that is known to not make people gain weight.

beautifulwarrior18

alexoftroy wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I started a low dosage of Lexapro today, 10 mg, to treat my anxiety. I have done the worst possible thing and googled "Lexapro and weight gain"--the horror stories floating around the Internet are enough to make me want to throw my pill bottle out the window!

I am 25, 5'5", and 117 lbs. Health and fitness have been my lifestyle since I was a young teenager--running, lifting weights, eating clean, etc. I've managed to maintain and even lose weight while dealing with the stress of law school, so I'm hoping I'll be able to muscle my way through any curveballs this medication throws at me.

I am still extremely nervous and can't shake the worry. It's important to me to maintain my weight, and it would be a deal breaker if Lexapro inhibited that. I was hoping that you all might be able to educate me, share some insight, or even offer your own advice or personal stories on the issue. Thank you all so much!

Weight gain doesn't just happen. If you're concerned about it make sure you're watching what you eat. I take Citalopram which is also linked to weight gain but to be honest when I'm taking it I'm much more likely to workout and eat healthy. It hasn't made me gain any weight as far as I know. I got fat because of a *kitten* diet and no activity, I can't use medication as an excuse.

amandajane75

I had a similar experience to djspacecaptain. I was on lexapro for 12 months and in that time stacked on around 17 kilos. Same thing - I was reasonably fit and exercised often as it was something I enjoyed doing. Also, I kept an eye on my diet and only had a splurge on the weekend. I had read that lexapro could cause weight gain but at the time I went on the meds that didn't concern me as I needed to heal mentally. Basically the med made me lose motivation, left me lethargic and no concern for my nutrition. I knew I was getting fat but I didn't care - which is so out of character for me. Anyway, I went to the doctor and queried the weight gain and she changed me to Cymbalta as that supposedly doesn't cause weight gain. I put on another 4 kilos in the 9 weeks I was on it so now I am huge and have a massive task ahead of me to try and lose it all! My anxiety was excruciating at the time I first stated so the meds did help with that and I don't regret the treatment. I'm off it all now so hopefully my weight will settle back down to normal. Eventually. I've started exercising again and just today counting calories. I honestly can't say I'd be doing that if I were still on the meds. Having said all that everyone's experiences are different and not everyone gains weight. I hope everything works out for you

Rawr619

I just weaned off of Lexapro 20 mg. The reason I decided to come off the medication was due to gaining 5 lbs over the course of 6 months. While this doesn't seem like a lot, over time it can really add up (potentially 20 lbs in 2 years). My doctor and I made the decision for me to stop taking it. There is no guarantee if the Lexapro contributed to me gaining weight, but I am hoping to see some weight loss over the next couple of weeks/months.

beckytcy

I was on Celexa for a couple of months (very similar to Lexapro), and it made me hungry all the time, so I switched to Wellbutrin, which does not have that side effect. However, Wellbutrin does not help with anxiety, so it's probably not an option for you. I guess you have to weigh the pros and cons of feeling more relaxed and yet hungry vs. feeling anxious and not as hungry. There's no right or wrong answer. Good luck!

InCHarmsWay

As others have said, keep on eye on your hunger and your weight to see if you notice a change before you make any decisions (not everyone has the same side effects). When I was on Lexapro (I have varied between 10-15mg) I did not notice any huge increases in hunger or weight gain, and was successful losing weight while on it. Actually, having more control of my depression and anxiety helped my activity levels and my eating habits! In short, don't panic... just see how your body reacts, and adjust accordingly.

cajuntank

This is by NO MEANS, me recommending or suggesting you do anything other than what your Dr. prescribes for you, but I just provide this link as this topic was discussed recently on a podcast I listen to periodically. So might be of interest.

http://sigmanutrition.com/episode117/
SNR #117: Prof. Julia Rucklidge – Role of Micronutrients in Mental Health & Psychiatric Disorders

Bella77007

Usually these meds cause weight gain due to increased appetite, sometimes as a side effect, other times simply because an anxious person often loses appetite thus loses weight and when the anxiety is treated they will eat more, remember that not everyone will be tracking calories or monitoring their weight but you are which puts you in control here.

I had a nervous breakdown in November, was put on meds (different type,similar side effects) and did gain a few pounds but that was because during the early stages of the breakdown I could barely eat, I lost weight and then when I started to feel a bit better I was just eating what I could, I was aware that I did not want to regain much but at the same time I was too ill to closely follow calories so I gained about 3-4 pounds.

As soon as things settled down again and I started to monitor things properly it came off, took a few more pounds with it and now I am maintaining at the happiest weight I have ever been.

So if you feel hungrier just look at ways to use your calories to their best potential, if gain comes out of nowhere then you could adjust activity, intake or ask to try a different type of medication.

Try not to worry too much, these studies that conclude weight gain as a side effect will include a lot of people who were too anxious or depressed to eat properly, got treatment, felt better, ate more so simply went down the natural path of weight gain.

Monitor and observe and you have the upper hand already, I too believe that having more control over my mental health improved things, I am much more active now than I have ever been so it can actually be a positive thing.

Edit:

Just had a look back over my weekly check ins.

Pre breakdown: 105.5 pounds

During without treatment: 103 pounds

With treatment, not following cals or doing activity: 107 pounds for a while.

Still with treatment, improved state of health and back on track, weight reducing again,slowly some weeks but still reducing and now maintaining at 102 pounds (102.3 to be exact).

So really all you see there are what you may see in the natural fluctuation of maintenence anyway, nothing major and note that I gained when I was not tracking or monitoring closely so if you can still do that you will know if the meds are causing an issue and be able to tackle it in whichever way suits you best, hope the anxiety eases for you, it's a horrid thing.

SkinnyGirlCarrie

I've been on a low dose of sertraline (generic Zoloft) for a couple of years now for anxiety...it did not cause me to gain weight or increase my appetite. You're aware of it, so monitor it for the first few weeks and see how you do. when I went on Zoloft, my doctor told me to give it a couple of weeks to fully see how I did with it as it can cause side effects at first that then subside.

cosmiqrecovery

i've had a lot of scares over this in the past and really the only thing you can do is watch your own self. that's the worst of the medication game -- a med can half kill one person and save the life of another. if you know the meds will raise your hunger levels, you have to compensate for that when you get there. don't set yourself up for failure by saying, "oh well it's just my meds, i can't help it! =(" also check the dosage of the people reviewing the medication whenever possible. i've freaked myself out so many times looking up the side effects of my meds only to find out the people who gained the most weight were on much higher dosages than me so of course they had worse side effects when you're that knocked out half the time!

healthykaitlin

Did you schedule an 8 week checkup with your doctor? I started on citalopram in December, the first few weeks I was full of energy, and then about a month in I experienced a crash & had no motivation... I couldn't even wake up in the morning. I stopped taking it completely. Upon visiting my doctor, she switched me to generic Prozac. Going on 2 months now & feel like my "normal" self. My doctor had advised I call her if my appetite increases or if I lose energy, but I have not experienced ill effects thus far. It's trial & error, I think... What one of us experiences on one of these meds might not be an issue for another. Just be mindful of your appetite, eating habits, & energy... If you see negative effects, reach out to your doctor & they might point you in a different direction.

paulgads82

I gained most of my weight after starting Mirtazapine, but it was only due to the increased appetite and my comfort eating. I'm still on it and have lost 40+ lb so if the willpower is there you shouldn't gain.

RespectTheKitty

To the OP, I have been on Lexapro (among other things) for over a year now and have been able to lose 33 pounds while on it. So it's not an automatic thing that you will gain weight, everyone's reaction is different.

That said, I gained 80 pounds while on another medication, Abilify, even though it's supposed to be weight-neutral. Everyone is different.

Cindude

Yup, everyone is different. And you do have the upper hand knowing that it is possible to gain weight. Everyone reacts differently and I hope you start to feel better soon! Anxiety and depression are very difficult to live with but you are not alone!