Side affects.....Weight Gain

lisastevens27

Hi all. I was wondering if anyone can help me..

Since before Christmas I've been suffering from a constant headache 24/7, on various trips to see my GP I have been prescribed with Amitriptyline. They are an antidepressant that are also used for controlling constant headaches. Been on them for nearly 2 weeks and still have the headache 24/7 but I know they may take a while to start working so want to give them a go. After reading about them on the internet, 1 of the side affects is WEIGHT GAIN.....now i'm concerned that this will affect my diet.

Does anyone know anything to help me. If i'm following the same diet as i've been doing for the past 5 weeks and losing weight will these tablets affect me? I want to get rid of the headache but don't want to start gaining weight or slow down my weight loss. Can tablets really make you gain weight?

Lisa

snookemz

the weight gain side effect is generally from one of two things
1) increased appetite
2) decreased metabolism.

If you find yourself more hungry then you should break your meals down into an all day snacking instead or get low calorie bulky foods to fill in your diet
If you find that you're sticking to your diet strictly and you start to see the scale go up for more than a few days, you may need to make a slight adjustment in your intake. Usually 50-100 calories cut a day will counteract the decrease in metabolism.

I take a LOT of medications that do both of those because of my spinal injury, the only thing that helps is trial and error and not giving up.

Christie81

I would get off the meds. I gained 35 pounds from taking anti-depressents, don't let it happen to you.I would try to find another alternative.

RTricia

ask your doctor, and/or get a second opinion from a MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL. Taking yourself suddenly off of an anti-depressant may cause damage and cycling.

Mawskittykat

I am not sure on this medication although I have taken it in the past. But I do know that I was on a antibiotic and it caused me to gain 4 pounds in the 10 day course. The day after finishing the prescription I dropped 2 pounds and by the 2nd day I was back down to normal weight. I did some research on the internet and that was one of the side effects. Excessive water retention and weight gain. I would say if an antibiotic could do that then so could a antidepressant even though it is being taken for the headaches. But I am not a Doctor. LOL

HeatherShrinking

Maybe you should check in with your doctor again. I think antidepressents are supposed to start working 10-14 days after starting to take them. So I'd think you'd feel some relief by now.

Medicine affects everyones' bodies differently. I'd just monitor your weight for the next two to three weeks. If you start to go up consistantly talk to your doctor about changing meds. However ,there is a good chance you may not even get that side effect.

jdedzant

As someone who has had chronic headaches and knows how debilitating they are and also studies Psychology, my strong recommendation is DO NOT go off of the medication without discussing it with a doctor. If you even experience the side effect of weight gain, there are adjustments you can make to your eating and exercising to counteract it, but healthful food and exercise habits won't take away the headaches. Just remember, there was a reason you went to the doctor in the first place!

Good luck!

nickyevans

I took Seroxat (a serotonin uptake inhibitor similiar to Amitriptyline) for well over a year I don't remember it ever preventing me losing weight or making me gain weight. I certainly would not recommend coming off the tablets suddenly these sort of tablets are definitely best withdrawn from slowly with the agreement of the Dr.

snookemz

oh also, some antidepressants can take 6 full weeks to build up enough to work, this is something your doctor should have discussed with you. Also, the drug manufacturer must disclose all side effects that occured in 0.01% of people in the test studies. That's why you hear some really off putting things in the possible side effects listed but its hard to find anyone who's experienced those effects. You should look up the instance of that particular side effect before you let it scare you.
Personally - I'd rather have slower weight loss than chronic headaches. And if you do choose to get off your medication you will need to consult your doctor - you may have to slowly wean off to prevent some nasty withdraw symptoms or other unpleasant effects.