weight loss and anti-depressants

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momof6monkees
momof6monkees Posts: 59
in Health and Weight Loss
Who is on an antidepressant and is trying to lose weight? What are you on and do you find that it slows down your weight loss? I am on Lexapro. I find it does slow it down a little, and I am wondering what I could switch to that will not prevent my loss.
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Replies

  • freshstart4me
    freshstart4me Posts: 96
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    im currently going through withdrawal of citalopram. when i resume normal brain activity i will compare and can get back to you...this sucks...and i just quit cold turkey...
  • ilookthetype
    ilookthetype Posts: 3,021 Member
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    Welbutrin, totally kills my appetite.
  • xtinalovexo
    xtinalovexo Posts: 1,376 Member
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    once i was on anti- depressants and it made me have absolutely no appetite! not that this is a method you should use, but i used effexor xr and it worked very well, eventually my appetite stabilized.
  • rudegyal_b
    rudegyal_b Posts: 593 Member
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    wellbutrin is supposed to kill your appetite, for me it did only for like the first week...seroquil isnt too bad either

    i would never take effexor or cymbalta tho, cymbalta gives you the worst brain zaps ever
  • Mariposa187
    Mariposa187 Posts: 344 Member
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    i used to take wellbutrin xl it was great while i had insurance!
  • writtenINthestars
    writtenINthestars Posts: 1,933 Member
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    In order to control my OCD, I have tried different medications and none of them made any effect on whether or not I could lose weight. I didn't have any of the side effects of appetite suppression like listed above.

    I've been on Prozac now for 3 years at the same dose and I have no problem losing weight....providing I'm not eating crap and moving, of course =p
  • Armygirl67
    Armygirl67 Posts: 177 Member
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    I was on citalopram.
  • livelaughlove43
    livelaughlove43 Posts: 3
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    Some anti-depressants will slow your metabolism down and others will kill your appetite. Unfortunately it depends on what you are taking. I just recently started back on Zoloft but I also take a metabolism booster when I am feeling sluggish. I would talk to your doctor and maybe they can make some adjustments.
  • xtinalovexo
    xtinalovexo Posts: 1,376 Member
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    wellbutrin is supposed to kill your appetite, for me it did only for like the first week...seroquil isnt too bad either

    i would never take effexor or cymbalta tho, cymbalta gives you the worst brain zaps ever

    what are your reasons for being against effexorr??? when i took it i had no clue what it was, my obstetrician prescribed it and i wasn't the reaserchy type, but i always felt like i was living life in a bubble.
  • infamousmk
    infamousmk Posts: 6,033 Member
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    Welbutrin, totally kills my appetite.

    I had the same exact problem.
  • Lostpounds2
    Lostpounds2 Posts: 13
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    I am on Prozac and I have lost 15 pounds but now I am at a stand still losing less than a pound per week. When I went off them one time(which I know now I can not do) I immediately lost 10 pounds and when I first started them years ago I quickly gained 10. I have been on different things over the years so I have wondered if it keeps some weight on me. I do know when I went off the one time I was so depressed I did not desire to eat so maybe it is a combination of the two. I have tried Effexor and Luvox before this and they are also known to cause weight gain. I am hoping that it does not keep my weight on but rather my eating habits and sedetary life style before now that have been my downfall.
  • kyylieeeeee
    kyylieeeeee Posts: 197 Member
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    I went on Wellbutrin when I was 15 (and really overweight thanks to a basically non-functioning thyroid)...and within 3 months I lost 30 pounds and have stayed basically the same weight since then, even though I've gone through major life changes like going to college, moving home from college, living in France (okay, fine, I gained a few pounds in France!), graduating college, and starting an office job.

    Within one week of being on the antidepressant my appetite went away. And my energy (of which I previously had none) soared. So I went running every day. And then after two years, exercising just became my antidepressant and one day I was able to wake up and just stop taking the antidepressant...and I've been symptom-free since then! Going off the drug definitely made it harder to keep my weight down, though, because now that my thyroid is properly regulated and the Wellbutrin isn't suppressing my appetite, I am a lot hungrier than I used to be! But it's not so bad.

    Don't let rate of weight loss be the motivating factor behind switching antidepressants, because if you're still consistently losing AND the medication is working, it might be worthwhile to stick with it!

    I just thought I'd share my happy story about antidepressants, exercise and weight loss. I truly hope that you can use the combination successfully as well!
  • Lostpounds2
    Lostpounds2 Posts: 13
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    Effexor made me break out in hives and my lips swelled and one of my eyes swelled shut, I dropped it cold before seeing my doctor and getting on something else. I had already been on it for 6 months so my doctor thought I was allergic to something else but the sympthoms never returned after I quit it.
  • angimac
    angimac Posts: 145 Member
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    I take Paxil. My doctor actually told me on Monday that if I continue to lose the weight that he believes I should be able to wean myself off of the anti-depressant in upcoming months. He did tell me to NOT stop cold turkey and to use my own discretion.
  • RhonndaJ
    RhonndaJ Posts: 1,615 Member
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    I rather wish wellbutrin had killed my appetite when I was on it, but it didn't. Mind you, I was so miserable coming off the stuff that it's a wonder I didn't lose weight.

    Presently I'm on cymbalta and a mood stabilizer, neither of which seem to be effecting my weight loss in the slightest.
  • gumpg1
    gumpg1 Posts: 9
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    Never stop anti-depressants cold turkey. You have to titrate down off of them. If you just stop with some of them you can become very sick.
  • audigal2008
    audigal2008 Posts: 1,129 Member
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    bump! I may need to try some of these meds! I have never been on any type of anti depressant but I may need to try it out!
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
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    wellbutrin is supposed to kill your appetite, for me it did only for like the first week...seroquil isnt too bad either

    i would never take effexor or cymbalta tho, cymbalta gives you the worst brain zaps ever
    what are your reasons for being against effexorr??? when i took it i had no clue what it was, my obstetrician prescribed it and i wasn't the reaserchy type, but i always felt like i was living life in a bubble.
    Effexor can cause increased appetite in some people.
  • xtinalovexo
    xtinalovexo Posts: 1,376 Member
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    i don't know if it makes a huge difference, but i was not on regular effexor, i was on the xr version.
  • xtinalovexo
    xtinalovexo Posts: 1,376 Member
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    Never stop anti-depressants cold turkey. You have to titrate down off of them. If you just stop with some of them you can become very sick.

    agreed! when i decided to come off of them it was because i just felt the same on them or off them ( i would frequently forget to take them) so i told my dr this and of course she says "we should up your dosage" because i didn't feel it was working. i did not agree so i decided to wean off. i think at the time i was taking 2 pills a day... not sure, but i just started taking less and less until i was taking none. i don't regret coming off them for even one minute!

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