Anti-Depressants- How I Gained My Weight

AmerTunsi

I was on welbutrin for years and lost a bunch of weight. Just recently I stopped taking my anti depressants and gained 14lbs in a matter of minutes......lol, I am laughing but it was horrible. I am happy to be off of them, now I have to drop these 14lbs on top of my extra 20lbs..... But we are going to be this! My best,cat

Yep! This is the winner and the generic brandn also does the same thing.

2April

My advice, you don't have to take it or agree with it, try to change your life without taking these drugs unless you absolutely have to. This is one of those cure is worse than the disease situations.

I agree. I think taking it for a short time is ok, but try and get off it as soon as possible. Side affects are horrible. Good luck!

If you have ever been TRULY depressed, you wouldn't say things like "go off your meds" so lightly. For some people, not being on their meds is a death sentence! This really is an area where if you are not qualified and don't have their personal medical records in your hands, you probably should not being saying such things because "someone" out there may take your advice and end up dead. I wouldn't want that on my shoulders!

After my sister was murdered, it took a month to find the body. Afterwards I locked myself in the basement for a long time and used empty pop bottles to pee in, so believe me, I know what it's like to be truly depressed and I do not take it lightly.

I'm sorry about your sister.
I agree that antidepressants should be avoided. I can't believe doctors hand them out like candy and people take them like they are the missing piece of the puzzle. Depression and sadness are a NORMAL part of life. These drugs exist to make people money, not to make people feel better. I resent that they are being taken in such high numbers that they are found in our drinking water and are doing untold damage to marine life.

There is a difference between real depression and the depression you are obviously talking about. Depression as in feeling like you want to die every second of the day. With an imbalance in the brain. It is an illness like no other. Should they should giving chemo to cancer patients? No. So why should they stop giving antidepressants to people who legit NEED them. At one point in my life I was on them and although after I started exercising I became so much happier I was able to come off them, It is not that easy for some people.

Please read the article I posted. Nobody NEEDS antidepressants because they have not even proven to work better than placebo. I'm glad you feel better with exercise. Did you know studies have shown that exercise works better than antidepressants? Did you know that drug companies had knowledge that showed that antidepressants not only didn't work but also caused suicidal behaviors in young people and they tried to cover it up. I'm not saying that someone with depression doesn't need help, I am saying they don't need these pills.

Here is a snippet fro a 2004 news article:
GlaxoSmithKline PLC committed fraud by withholding negative information and misrepresenting data on prescribing its antidepressant Paxil to children, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.
The lawsuit, filed in New York State Supreme Court, said Glaxo suppressed four studies that failed to demonstrate the drug was effective in treating children and adolescents and suggested an increase of suicidal thinking and acts.
It also said an internal 1999 Glaxo document showed that the company intended to “manage the dissemination of data in order to minimize any potential negative commercial impact.”

rookmb

Antidepressants don't make you fat. Over eating does.

^^^^^^

All people are different. I have been on anti-depressants for several years. They were not the reason I gained weight. My weight gain was due to the fact that I was eating WAY too much and not exercising.

skmolove

i think it all depends on the medication. wellbutrin actually has been know to help with weight loss because it allows you to controll IMPULSIVE behaviors. hummm impulsive eating anyone?? yuuup that WAS me! meds taken with counseling is helpful to change behavior...just sayin'

mfpcopine

Antidepressants don't make you fat. Over eating does.

That's not true. Some antidepressants affect the metabolism and the individual simply processes food differently. It's a reported side effect, and I've read articles in which people talked about this SE. One woman said a certain drug (don't recall which one) had saved her life, but she'd gained 70 pounds.

saragato

OP from what it sounds like you only had what's called situational depression. In that case you're only on anti-depressants for a certain amount of time and it's preferred you supplement it with therapy or just flat out try therapy before drugs. Whoever diagnosed you with depression should have suggested that first or at least alongside it depending on your insurance and your budget.

Most if not all psych meds have a side effect of weight gain. They also have side effects of depression (irony) and other things. If what you get prescribed gives you a side effect you cannot live with, you ask to either be changed to something else or you ask if the doctor believes you're well enough to stop taking them. Pretty much goes for any and all medication.

But really you can't place all the blame on the medication. Sure it helped, but you didn't exactly stop it or question it, did you?

fragilegift

I tend to place some blame for the weight gain on Anti depressants as well. The most notable was Zoloft/sertraline. (I've had lexapro/escitalopram and aropax/paroxetine in there as well, plus a couple of others so long ago I don't recall their names.) That totally buggered up my tummy. I felt nauseous eating more than two bites of anything. So Dr put me on a stomach settling drug. Then I couldn't sleep. So he added ANOTHER anti to help with that. After that I could sleep 16 hours a day, wake up, be foggy and go back to sleep again.

Eventually I took myself off all of those. Slowly, but without his approval. I was of the belief he would just prescribe ANOTHER drug.

I wasn't 'better' off them, so I went back to the Dr, and was put on Fluoxetine (prozac). That worked fine, but I would have put a lot of the weight on with the other cocktail. I still didn't have any motivation though. I remember waking up one day and realising that it was 'quiet in there' (my head). The negative voices had finally shut up.

Early 2009 I started doing tae-bo of a morning. That raised the endorphins enough that a week had gone by before I realised I hadn't had a pill. I stayed doing that for a while, and eventually stopped taking them. Coming off those didn't mess with my head half as much as the Zoloft.

I've been drug free ever since.

mfpcopine

When I was 19, I was looking good at 135lbs, flat tummy and all. Suddenly I was hit with a curveball- a bad, heartbreaking break up that consisted of moving out. Since I had always suffered from anxiety, and medication was in contemplation in the past anyway, I went on anti-depressants. MISTAKE! I immediately gained 20lbs. I'm talking within a month or 2! I faught the weight gain as much as I could, but nothing ever happened. I will say that I certainly wasn't as motivated as I am now. I finally went off of them last June and dropped about 5lbs in a few months without doing anything. I always told myself that I NEED to lose this weight. I'm sick of it. But I never had the motivation. Not even for my wedding! So now here I am, motivated and 14lbs down! Never again will I go on anti-depressants.

I understand. Many years ago, after trying various things, I was prescribed an antidepressant that caused weight gain. The unfortunate thing is that it actually worked -- I felt better -- and if you are ever in any doubt as to whether as mental hygiene drug is working, it's very simple. You don't feel depressed. You don't feel euphoric (they're not "happy drugs"). It's like taking an aspirin when you have a bad headache. Your headache goes away. You feel lighter and more energetic.

But in a very short time my weight rocketed (for me). I tried to work out, but I was exhausted every time I got on the treadmill. I was eating the same food, but started piling on the pounds. I complained to the doctor after two months. He wanted me to continue, but I cited reports from other doctors on the web who said that the depression caused by weight gain from these drugs could not be ignored; it was not trivial; patients, especially women, are not living in a cultural vacuum and women are judged harshly for being overweight or obese. Even older people were depressed by the weight gain. The doctors said that if the patient could not tolerate the SE the doctor should stop it.

So I went off it. If I'd been suicidally depressed, I would have tried to stay on it, but in my then-existing state it simply wasn't worth it. I would have been substituting one problem for another.

To be absolutely clear: I AM NOT ANTI PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS. They save lives.

puddleglum999

Anti-depressants indirectly caused my weight gain by completely killing my motivation to do anything. I could hardly force myself to get off the couch so I just ordered booze and pizza and wasted a year of my life. I've been on six different anti-depressants which have caused derealization, self-harm, weight gain, the lack of any feelings, near-constant thoughts of suicide, violent panic attacks, etc.. etc.... It makes me sick when I think of all those years the drugs took from me and I'll never get back, and it makes me feel even worse when I think of how my family doctor, who had known me my entire life, had no problems putting a 12 year old with occasional sad spells on this mind-altering drug, and continuing to convince me that I needed drugs, that there was something wrong with me, that I wasn't going to be okay without them. She never once suggested exercise or a healthy diet. 10 years after I started taking pills I quit, against her wishes. The withdrawals were a nightmare, but 1 year later I feel like a new person ... no anxiety, no depression, I have feelings and dreams and a life again. Clearly I went off a tangent but the more I learn about the pharmaceutical industry the more disgusted and sad I feel, good luck to everyone with their journey, with or without medication xx

mfpcopine

I am wondering if anti depressants are preventing me from weight loss? I'm on fluexotine and although I've not heard or anyone gaining weight because if it I believe it may be one of the factors as well as PCOS. I eat a diet rich in vegetables and fruit - not fair!

Interesting. When Prozac (Fluoxotine) was first introduced, magazines were full of articles on how a common side effect was weight loss.

jg627

My advice, you don't have to take it or agree with it, try to change your life without taking these drugs unless you absolutely have to. This is one of those cure is worse than the disease situations.

I agree. I think taking it for a short time is ok, but try and get off it as soon as possible. Side affects are horrible. Good luck!

If you have ever been TRULY depressed, you wouldn't say things like "go off your meds" so lightly. For some people, not being on their meds is a death sentence! This really is an area where if you are not qualified and don't have their personal medical records in your hands, you probably should not being saying such things because "someone" out there may take your advice and end up dead. I wouldn't want that on my shoulders!

After my sister was murdered, it took a month to find the body. Afterwards I locked myself in the basement for a long time and used empty pop bottles to pee in, so believe me, I know what it's like to be truly depressed and I do not take it lightly.

I'm sorry about your sister.
I agree that antidepressants should be avoided. I can't believe doctors hand them out like candy and people take them like they are the missing piece of the puzzle. Depression and sadness are a NORMAL part of life. These drugs exist to make people money, not to make people feel better. I resent that they are being taken in such high numbers that they are found in our drinking water and are doing untold damage to marine life.

There is a difference between real depression and the depression you are obviously talking about. Depression as in feeling like you want to die every second of the day. With an imbalance in the brain. It is an illness like no other. Should they should giving chemo to cancer patients? No. So why should they stop giving antidepressants to people who legit NEED them. At one point in my life I was on them and although after I started exercising I became so much happier I was able to come off them, It is not that easy for some people.

Now, to be clear, I never actually said "go off your meds". Somebody else did and credited me as the author of the quote.

floridagirl7264

Antidepressants don't make you fat. Over eating does.

This is so true. I'm on 5 different meds. One of the meds that I tried caused intense sugar cravings and I ended up gaining 60 lbs. before I was finally taken off of it. Now I'm on a different one and I have no cravings. So it was the overeating that caused the weight gain, but it was the med that caused the cravings. I just wanted to add that I'm bipolar with major depressive disorder. The meds literally saved my life. Without them, I wouldn't be sitting here typing this.

mfpcopine

Is it usual to take antidepressants for a break-up? Am just curious .... I know breakups can cause real pain, but antidepressants seem a significant step ... to me??

Sean

As mentioned, I had always had anxiety and bouts of depression. This break-up was the last straw in what I could handle. I don't think I need to go too far into detail about my life, but like eveyone else's, it isn't easy.
Now I'm in a much better mental state. I no longer take them.



MIND OVER MATTER!

Oh, please. There's a reason patients are prescribed drug therapy by responsible physicians. "Positive Thinking" is not enough. There's a problem with their brain chemistry, in addition to whatever external events have an influence.


NOTE: I didn't realize it was the OP who said "Mind over Matter." That puts the quote in a different light.

saragato

Antidepressants don't make you fat. Over eating does.

This is so true. I'm on 5 different meds. One of the meds that I tried caused intense sugar cravings and I ended up gaining 60 lbs. before I was finally taken off of it. Now I'm on a different one and I have no cravings. So it was the overeating that caused the weight gain, but it was the med that caused the cravings.

The difference there being the medication is the easier variable to change. It's very important to research any and all medication you're on to know what to look for and when/if to know that it's the medicine causing the behavior change and not you entirely.

puddleglum999

Yes, there is a reason Drs prescribe drugs, it's green and has a dead president on it. There is NO SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE of any such thing as a "chemical imbalance" causing depression. Do some research, you'll be surprised what you find

saragato

Is it usual to take antidepressants for a break-up? Am just curious .... I know breakups can cause real pain, but antidepressants seem a significant step ... to me??

Sean

As mentioned, I had always had anxiety and bouts of depression. This break-up was the last straw in what I could handle. I don't think I need to go too far into detail about my life, but like eveyone else's, it isn't easy.
Now I'm in a much better mental state. I no longer take them.


MIND OVER MATTER!

Oh, please. There's a reason patients are prescribed drug therapy by responsible physicians. "Positive Thinking" is not enough. There's a problem with their brain chemistry, in addition to whatever external events have an influence.

Apparently the physician wasn't responsible because she didn't have a type of depression that even NEEDED medication. If it was clinical or something traumatizing then yes medication is the best route to go, but for someone who's just having a minor rough patch, aka situational depression, you're usually given a therapist, maybe something to take the edge off if you need it, and you learn to get over it. In that case it is a matter of "Mind over matter" because it wasn't something critical anyway.

saragato

Yes, there is a reason Drs prescribe drugs, it's green and has a dead president on it. There is NO SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE of any such thing as a "chemical imbalance" causing depression. Do some research, you'll be surprised what you find

I'm sure if you met me clean from my medication (I'm bipolar, by the way, also known as a manic depressive) you'd change your tune, buster.

You wanna have a soapbox for your stuff about anti-medication and conspiracy theories, make your own thread or use your blog. Otherwise you're basically trolling.

floridagirl7264

Antidepressants don't make you fat. Over eating does.

This is so true. I'm on 5 different meds. One of the meds that I tried caused intense sugar cravings and I ended up gaining 60 lbs. before I was finally taken off of it. Now I'm on a different one and I have no cravings. So it was the overeating that caused the weight gain, but it was the med that caused the cravings.

The difference there being the medication is the easier variable to change. It's very important to research any and all medication you're on to know what to look for and when/if to know that it's the medicine causing the behavior change and not you entirely.

Research was done and sugar cravings were not a side effect (I guess for the majority of people). If I can get off of any of these meds, I would. Unfortunately, I can't.

Brook70

Bump

mfpcopine

I'm not saying that someone with depression doesn't need help, I am saying they don't need these pills.

You are misinformed. Some people require drug therapy because part of their problem is physiological. They can't exercise themselves out of Clinical Depression. All medications have risks. Good, responsible doctors monitor their patients and SEs such as suicidal ideation are well known.