Weight gain from medication?
lunaticdrummer4life
Posts: 2 Member
Are any of you struggling with this? I have schizoaffective disorder and depression and both of those meds can lead to weight gain and my antipsychotic has. I went from 130 5'2 this time last year to over 180 this year. I'm trying to come off the meds but I might not be able to find another one that works. Any suggestions?
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lunaticdrummer4life wrote: »Are any of you struggling with this? I have schizoaffective disorder and depression and both of those meds can lead to weight gain and my antipsychotic has. I went from 130 5'2 this time last year to over 180 this year. I'm trying to come off the meds but I might not be able to find another one that works. Any suggestions?
Medications can cause an increase in appetite which leads to weight gain, but most do not directly cause weight gain (aside from water weight).
If you stick to a calorie deficit you will lose weight, even while still on medication. Please do not stop taking your medication if it is working for you.9 -
Welcome, @lunaticdrummer4life
I agree with Elphie. If you have not already done so, I suggest you set up your goals in MFP to lose your desired weight, find a way to stick to a calorie deficit (for some of us this means weighing food and logging everything we eat, but there are other ways to ensure you eat at a deficit.
), and you will lose weight. 2 -
They can make you retain water but not gain bodyfat without the "help" of excess calories. Eat less, move more!2
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atypical antipsychotics actually do cause weight gain, via metabolic syndrome. I got it from seroquel. that said, you can still lose the weight on them, it's just really hard work. I did it.5
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Unless you're having serious physical issues that are a direct result of the weight gain, I wouldn't choose to stop taking medication that was working in the hope that it would make weight loss easier. Your mental health is at least as important as your physical health. Also, keep in mind that untreated depression can make it difficult to lose weight for a variety of reasons (lack of energy/motivation, etc.).
Antidepressants can cause weight gain by increasing your appetite, but they won't make you gain weight just on their own. That means it may be more difficult to lose weight, but it's certainly not impossible. (I don't have any experience or knowledge of the side effects of antipsychotics, so what ObsidianMist said about metabolic syndrome could very well be true. In that case, it would be a question for your doctor and/or your pharmacist).5 -
I am on a medication that makes me gain weight extremely quickly if I don't stay in a calorie deficit at all times, and makes it much more difficult to lose weight, even while in a calorie deficit. It is excruciatingly difficult and frustrating, but it is the reality I must deal with if I want to lose weight. I lose very slowly and have to be meticulous with my diet. Even my oncologist, who prescribed the meds, acknowledges that this is a known, common side effect. It sucks. I don't think people who haven't dealt with this really get it.4
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I take an antipsychotic as well and yep my psychiatrist forewarned me about the weight gain. What I'm finding is that now that I'm mentally stable, I can concentrate more on the counting of calories and exercise. Whereas before I got to therapeutic level I had a crap load of trouble trying to balance everything.
Keep persevering with your current meds. A stable mind helps a lot when it comes to weight loss through counting calories.
I believe in you!! You are worth it and you can do this 3 -
Yes, struggling with weight gain unfortunately due to antipsychotic, anticonvulsant mood stabilizers for Bipolar Disorder and having hypothyroidism. I need to lose about 70lbs. Seroquel and Depakote are my culprits. Was able to successfully taper my Depakote from 2000mg down to 1000mg over a few months while I was stable. Attempted to lower Seroquel dose of 600mg to 500mg and had a return of symptoms - mixed episode. White knuckled it for 5 weeks and went back up to 600mg. Routinely see psych and pdoc. I would love to hear some success stories or have a weight loss buddy that gained weight with mood stabilizers and has had some success in losing weight gradually. I retain water easily as well. Need a consistent weight loss buddy that knows what this is like to stay focused even when moods are really fluctuating.2
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As has been said, seroquel is known for both appetite increase and in some cases metabolic syndrome. But neither will stop you from losing weight, you may just have to lose slower and tweak your macros for best results (lower carb if you have metabolic syndrome).
I started my weight loss whilst on seroquel (now off) and lost at the same rate while on as off. So it is possible.0 -
Some of these drugs do cause weight gain regardless of caloric intake; you could call it a "known issue," and there is a division in the medical community regarding risk vs benefit. I've been seeing this in my work in recent months. I think really the only thing you can really do is talk to your doctor. It's above my pay grade, and I suspect anyone's here. And I don't mean that in a *kitten* way. It's just a problem and if a solution has been found I don't know about it yet.1
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I have been on Seroquel for over 5 years at different doses. Low doses were weight neutral for me. When I went on Depakote over 3 years ago, the first month I put on 20lbs. Your brain definitely doesn't register being full while taking these! My psych has recommended a modified keto weight loss program. If I could be consistent with eating well and in moderation, I might actually make some headway!0
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I found a really great article recently about weight gain and anti depressants. I will do my best to find it and come back and add it. It basically said that antidepressants block your brain from recognizing the full feeling which causes us to eat more. So it's not actually the antidepressant causing us to gain weight. If I remember correctly, it was seratonin that it was blocking and eating a small amount of carbs was actually beneficial in getting our brains to recognize it. The article then just mentioned some common sense things like being aware of how many calories you are eating like we do already here on MFP!0
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Some of these drugs do cause weight gain regardless of caloric intake; you could call it a "known issue," and there is a division in the medical community regarding risk vs benefit. I've been seeing this in my work in recent months. I think really the only thing you can really do is talk to your doctor. It's above my pay grade, and I suspect anyone's here. And I don't mean that in a *kitten* way. It's just a problem and if a solution has been found I don't know about it yet.
No. To gain weight you need to be in a calorie surplus. Medication can not cause magical weight gain that defies physics. SOME (rare) can change the equation so the Calories out is less than before, but that is NOT the majority of medications that list weight gain as a side effect. 99% is from increased appetite.0 -
Yup. I'm on insulin, and one of the big side effects of it is weight gain. It's all CICO (calories in, calories out) even with the medication.
Without insulin, my cells cannot metabolize the energy in carbs, so it's a medication that directly affects my calories in (CI). Too little insulin, my blood sugar goes sky high, and the kidneys end up filtering some of the carbs I consumed through my urine, which results in weight loss (decreasing my CI even though I may have consumed way above my TDEE in carbs -I don't think it's acknowledged by the NEDA as an eating disorder, but many type 1 diabetics have purposefully withheld insulin injections for the sole purpose of losing weight). Doing this is potentially life-threatening). Too much insulin, and I experience hypoglycemia that I will need to treat by consuming carbohydrates (increasing my CI -let alone that hypoglycemia makes me feel like I am dying, and it's really easy to binge during that time). If I do not track the calories I consume to treat hypoglycemia, I will gain weight.0 -
Some of these drugs do cause weight gain regardless of caloric intake; you could call it a "known issue," and there is a division in the medical community regarding risk vs benefit. I've been seeing this in my work in recent months. I think really the only thing you can really do is talk to your doctor. It's above my pay grade, and I suspect anyone's here. And I don't mean that in a *kitten* way. It's just a problem and if a solution has been found I don't know about it yet.
No. To gain weight you need to be in a calorie surplus. Medication can not cause magical weight gain that defies physics. SOME (rare) can change the equation so the Calories out is less than before, but that is NOT the majority of medications that list weight gain as a side effect. 99% is from increased appetite.
Too few and after a bit your body recognizes it as starvation mode and will slow weight loss as well. I have also noticed a huge difference in my metabolism from my 20's to now in my 40's. I can't eat with reckless abandonment like I once could. Medication can cause magical weight gain if your moods are not stable, tweaking medication to find what works, are horribly depressed and stuffing your mouth.0 -
harpstrings47 wrote: »Some of these drugs do cause weight gain regardless of caloric intake; you could call it a "known issue," and there is a division in the medical community regarding risk vs benefit. I've been seeing this in my work in recent months. I think really the only thing you can really do is talk to your doctor. It's above my pay grade, and I suspect anyone's here. And I don't mean that in a *kitten* way. It's just a problem and if a solution has been found I don't know about it yet.
No. To gain weight you need to be in a calorie surplus. Medication can not cause magical weight gain that defies physics. SOME (rare) can change the equation so the Calories out is less than before, but that is NOT the majority of medications that list weight gain as a side effect. 99% is from increased appetite.
Too few and after a bit your body recognizes it as starvation mode and will slow weight loss as well. I have also noticed a huge difference in my metabolism from my 20's to now in my 40's. I can't eat with reckless abandonment like I once could. Medication can cause magical weight gain if your moods are not stable, tweaking medication to find what works, are horribly depressed and stuffing your mouth.
No. Starvation mode the way people describe it does not exist. It's the "stuffing your mouth" not the medication that causes weight gain.0 -
Some of these drugs do cause weight gain regardless of caloric intake; you could call it a "known issue," and there is a division in the medical community regarding risk vs benefit. I've been seeing this in my work in recent months. I think really the only thing you can really do is talk to your doctor. It's above my pay grade, and I suspect anyone's here. And I don't mean that in a *kitten* way. It's just a problem and if a solution has been found I don't know about it yet.
No. To gain weight you need to be in a calorie surplus. Medication can not cause magical weight gain that defies physics. SOME (rare) can change the equation so the Calories out is less than before, but that is NOT the majority of medications that list weight gain as a side effect. 99% is from increased appetite.
Seroquel is known to cause metabolic syndrome. I would eat 800/1000 calories a day and not lose a pound at 5'4 165 lbs. you literally gain weight looking at food. I'm still on it but as @harpstrings47 said, the keto diet is the first thing that's helped me lose anything.0 -
As a nurse I urge you to talk to your doctor before attempting to lower your dose or stop your medication. I understand your concern and frustration with weight. I myself take antidepressants and was worried about wt gain. I found that now that I feel better about life in general, I can focus on myself more and I'm seeing the results. Believe in yourself and anything is possible.0
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I'm BP 1. Have been diagnosed for over 15 years. I'm stable and very happy but I take a LOT of medication to keep myself modulated. I recently had back surgery and was told by my surgeon that I need to lose at least 50lbs. I'm 5"4' 189.5 lbs. I've gone vegan when I'm at home but I'm a pastry chef so I will stay just vegetarian there (I've been vegetarian for 12 years). I'm seeing my psych today to see if we can discuss some meds to help jump start my weight loss. I'm not messing with my meds but I also can't afford to keep the weight on my back. Would love some friends.0
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I would recommend being open with your prescriber about your concerns about your med contributing to weight gain. You can always discuss changing your med to one that doesn't have such an impact on appetite.1
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Welcome, @lunaticdrummer4life
I agree with Elphie. If you have not already done so, I suggest you set up your goals in MFP to lose your desired weight, find a way to stick to a calorie deficit (for some of us this means weighing food and logging everything we eat, but there are other ways to ensure you eat at a deficit.), and you will lose weight.
I watched wife gain 35 pounds on one and years later drop 53 pounds while still taking the med. What changed? Careful logging while eating in a deficit. She did exactly as MFP suggest and it worked. Best wishes.0
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