Anxiety/Panic Disorder/meds/weight gain

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justinitsul
justinitsul Posts: 1,018 Member
in Chit-Chat
I have Anxiety and Panic Disorder aka GAD. The most common mental illness in the US. I take Prozac 60mg and causes me to gain weight. Anybody else have this issue or something similar?

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  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,662 Member
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    how does it cause you to gain weight, do you know?

    does it somehow force you to retain water? or increase your appitite?
  • FabulousFantasticFifty
    FabulousFantasticFifty Posts: 195,833 Member
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    I suffer from PTSD but refused taking meds for years but the Anxiety and lack of sleep effected my thyroid and this caused my weight gain. I am now exercising regularly, eating more often and walking sometimes ten miles a day as well as meditation and I have lost over 42 lbs since January. Have you tried to go off the Meds and heal yourself naturally?


    Godspeed on this difficult journey Friend! It is possible! :smile:
  • MissMamaAndrea
    MissMamaAndrea Posts: 99 Member
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    I am Bipolar, with borderline personality disorder and agoraphobia. I was on med's for 10 yrs (Effexor xr). I don't take meds anymore I do cardio. I know that cardio doesn't work for everyone and I'd never say stop taking meds but my meds made me feel like a raging bull....I gained weight after stopping my meds.
  • justinitsul
    justinitsul Posts: 1,018 Member
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    Actually, thats a good question. I havent looked into how it makes you gain weight. All i know is my doctor told me it might. Ill look into that.
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,662 Member
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    Actually, thats a good question. I havent looked into how it makes you gain weight. All i know is my doctor told me it might. Ill look into that.

    if its an appitite thing then it would be quite a pain in the *kitten* but presumably something you could over come.

    i'm not sure how else it would cause you to gain weight other then to retain water, and if thats the case, well at least it isn't really putting fat on you.
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,375 Member
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    I don't know anything about your specific meds, but this is some general information about medication and weight gain.
    The reasons why some medications cause weight gain are not always clear, but in many cases a drug increases appetite or makes people crave certain foods. For example, the weight gain associated with the use of insulin is probably due to the fact that insulin can lead to periods of hypoglycemia, which stimulates appetite. Some drugs alter metabolism, causing the body to burn calories more slowly or to store fat.

    Some corticosteroids, for example, make the body less able to absorb blood glucose, and this can lead to fat deposits in the trunk and weight gain. Other medications produce fatigue or shortness of breath, making the person less active (the antihypertensive drugs known as beta-blockers are thought to have this effect), or can cause water retention (a side effect of antihypertensive calcium channel blockers).

    http://www.johnshopkinshealthalerts.com/alerts/prescription_drugs/JohnsHopkinsPrescriptionsDrugsHealthAlert_656-1.html
  • Kaelakcr
    Kaelakcr Posts: 505 Member
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    how does it cause you to gain weight, do you know?

    does it somehow force you to retain water? or increase your appitite?

    It's impossible to know exactly how it affects the brain, but for my medication, the chemicals and areas of the brain stimulated can cause altered fat retention, lowered metabolism, and increased appetite, as well as fatigue.

    As well as swelling/edema, which is annoying as hell.

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