Celexa- Weight Gain or Loss?
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I've been on citalopram for quite a while now, and Zoloft before that. Neither has really affected my weight loss or gain, though. Much of that I think had to do with my habits and exercise but not really the meds.
I feel the trials and tribs though...anxiety and depression suck, its one reason why I've become such an exercise endorphins freak lately.0 -
I started on Citalopram (Celexa) in December 2012. At first I didn't gain anything. I was working out, but I wasn't losing any weight.
6 months later I gained 10 lbs in a week! I was working out 5 - 6 days a week without losing anything (again). Then I gained 5 more lbs over the course of a month. Spoke to my dr. a few weeks ago. She switched me to Prozac. Any doctor that says weight gain or weight loss isn't a side effect is a liar. I loved Celexa, but the weight gain was awful! Not worth it. My dr. said weight gain is common with Celexa. She's had success with people going on Prozac and losing weight. We'll see....0 -
Hi everyone!. I love to read about everyone elses experiences. What is so hard is just knowing what to do hey! If only we all reacted th same to medication then it would be a lot easier for us. Ok so just over 5 months ago i started cymbalta for my extreme anxiety. I barely ever slept, i was ALWAYS sick and run down, crazy thoughts, constant mind chatter. Literally thought i was going crazy! Cymbalta was like an immune shield. Th entire 5 months i took cymbalta 60mg i did not get sick, not once, not even through all of winter which for me was so amazing. My sleep improved a bit, still wasnt great but sure as hell was better than before. Th one depressive downfall was gaining over 10kgs in this 5 months. I got so depressed about th weight gain that i told my doc i wanted to change meds, she said to hang in there so i did but th weight got worse n worse so i started taking 30mg and decided to see another doctor to request another med. she suggested pristiq! She said not much issue with weight on this med so i decided to give it a go! She gave me 2 sample packs with 2 wks worth. In that 2 wks i gained another 2kgs. Dont want to leave th house dont want anyone to see me. Im at breaking point im not sure wat to do. I stopped my meds 6 days ago. Have had nothing but brain zaps/waves constantly. Starting to drive me a lil crazy, im sleeping really bad again, n feel constantly fluish! Have taken 2 days off work n went back to doc yesterday n he suggested celexa or citalopram and i really want to try it but i am just so dam scared of more weight gain and dont know what to do. Has anyone experienced th same sort of thing with different meds? Im looking for any advice anyone is willing to give. I need to help my mental state but i cannot afford to gain another 10kgs im super depressed. HELP ????0
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I suffer from Panic Disorder and PTSD. I have tried EVERY medication out there (no joke). I loved Wellbutrin, but had an adverse effect where my body temp would jump to 105 for intermittent amounts of time so doc took me off. I amstarting my second round of Celexa, the first being successful, and am concerned about the weight gain. The first time around, I actually lost weight because I wasn't turning to food to be happy. It gave the energy to stay active and improved my marriage and relationship with my kids tenfold. I wasn't so angry and closed up all the time. I'm back to being that way so I'm going for the Celexa again. I asked my doc and there is no proof to suggest that the drug affects your metabolic rate. If you gain weight, it's not the drug's fault directly. Instead of reaching for the Doritos, grab a piece of fruit and do something active! The only side effect I do remember being troublesome was it was harder to reach climax with my partner, but didn't affect my desire levels whatsoever. Honestly, if you are miserable and down and hate your body all the time due to anxiety and depression, don't let a POSSIBLE side effect deter you from at least trying it. You will find if you feel better, you will want to be active!0
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I have been on celexa 20mg for just over two weeks and although i was sick (vomiting) the first two days I have lost a total of 6kg (13 pounds) 5cm (1 and a bit inches) off my waist and 7 cm ( 2 and 3 quarter inches) off my hips....I now feel calm and on a even keel...I take it for panic disorder which was very bad....as I am consider overweight I am not to worried about losing....Infact i welcome the side effect....I have no cravings no sensation to eat period....I do of course eat 3 healthy meals a day....i also have no sensation of the "fullness" sensation so everything i eat has to be portion controlled.....to feel the full effect of this medication you really need to stay on it 4 to 6 weeks before it hits its peak...but already i am feeling better everyday...except for hyper sensitive sensations to sound....hate having dog ears lol0
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I stopped taking Celexa and was so hungry (still am) that I can't control the urges, no matter what I do. I've gained 15 pounds so far, and I had JUST lost 40 pounds before I started taking Celexa. I've read a bunch of reports stating that coming off of Celexa you can gain weight. If I had known...I would have never started. I can't get a single pound to come off, it just keeps packing on.0
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Celexa did wonders for my mood but I was craving suger like crazy. I put on at least 8 or 9 lbs and by the end of the month my doctor took me off and the cravings stopped within a few days.0
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I have gained weight on Celera and when I try to come off of it I get electrical shocks through my face... anyone else0
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I've been on generic Celexa (Citalopram) 20mg/day for about two years now. I wasn't really paying much attention to my weight at the time that I started, but once I did start taking care of my health, it didn't seem much harder than it should be to lose. One effect i noticed after starting exercise is that it worked WAY better than before.
As well as keeping in touch with my prescribing doctor and my shrink on a pretty regular basis, I found this site really informative and helpful: http://crazymeds.us
A note to trcdvrx above: as with most meds, it's really important that you taper your dosage carefully before stopping them completely.0 -
I took Celexa for a year and gained about 30 lbs. I wasn't eating well or exercising. My doc said Celexa increases appetite. I'm now on Effexor (which I've done before). If you keep struggling, you might want to try something else.0
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I want to note that when I did try to lose weight while on Celexa (working very hard and counting calories), the scale wouldn't budge.0
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just came on this thread to say may you all get the best of mental $ physical health
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I haven't tried that one, although I've been on almost all of the SSRIs and SNRIs over the past 12 years. Seroxat (Paxil) made me gain 35lb, although the weight increase with the others was minimal.
Right now, I'm on lithium. I've only gained 4lb, and I'm pretty sure that's just water weight, given that it's a salt.
EDIT: Celexa is Cipramil in the UK? That was the first one I tried. It made me very hypomanic (and didn't particularly help the depression or anxiety) so I actually became very underweight.0 -
Semi-old thread is semi-old. I have been put on Celexa and have wondered the same thing about weight gain. I've only been on it for two weeks so definitely not long enough to notice weight gain or loss.
My serious question is...Can these medications actually change the calorie in/out equation? Or do they possibly make you more hungry or less hungry causing either gain or loss.0 -
*Crickets*0
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smittybuilt19:
Via mayoclinic.org (http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/expert-answers/antidepressants-and-weight-gain/faq-20058127)While some people gain weight after starting an antidepressant, the antidepressant isn't always a direct cause. Many factors can work together to contribute to weight gain during antidepressant therapy. For example:
Overeating or inactivity as a result of depression can cause weight gain.
Some people lose weight as part of their depression. In turn, an improved appetite associated with improved mood may result in increased weight.
Adults generally tend to gain weight each year, regardless of the medications they take. Getting regular exercise and watching what you eat will help you maintain a healthy weight, whether you take an antidepressant or not.
If you gain weight after starting an antidepressant, discuss the medication's benefits and side effects with your doctor. If the benefits outweigh the side effect of weight gain, consider managing your weight by eating healthier and getting more physical activity while enjoying an improved mood due to the medication. You can also ask your doctor if adjusting the dose or switching medications might be helpful — but again, be sure to discuss the pros and cons before making such a decision.
It's not really clear what the pharmacokinetics are behind why antidepressants tend to cause weight gain; it's not *entirely* clear how they work at all. Still though, the chances of weight gain as a side effect seem pretty even for most folks; i really think it has more to do with the specific dimensions of our own mental "quirks", rather than a broad chemical effect.
Best of luck to you, either way 0 -
It affects everyone differently but I gained a bit of weight in it. I felt hungry all the time!0
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Thanks y'all. I have felt noticeably hungrier. Ironically I have been doing better at staying under my calories.... strange.0
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I've been on generic Celexa and Zyprexa for several years now. I tried various times to go off meds but had bad experiences so I've had to admit that I seem to need them. I've been quite overweight since going on these medications but I blame obsessive overeating. Even when on meds I have self-medicated my moods with food. Using MFP was really helping until I got tired of counting calories and went right back to my bad habits. I'm hoping I can finally turn this around.0
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I have been put on Citalopram for anxiety and low mood. I'm on my 4th day (will take it tonight before I go to bed). I have so far experienced a feeling of drunkness, dilated pupils, loss of appetite (not really complaining about that one) and as of today an upset stomach. Saying that though, I don't really feel like I'm coping badly with the drug at all, and I have noticed times that I have felt a lot more like myself and in a happier mood, and I think that I'm managing to sleep more deeply at night.
Despite the decreased appetite I haven't lost any weight as of yet. I have been stuck on 137.0 lbs for a few days now. I am really hoping that I can get back to losing weight within the next few days.
Edit: One thing I'd like to mention is the fact that I'm not obsessing over food any more. Before I took it, I had food on the brain 24/7 and couldn't wait until the next time I could eat. Now, I can easily go a fair few hours without eating and admittedly forgot to eat breakfast this morning. Not sure if this is seen as a good thing or not - but personally I think it is a good thing, because before I became depressed years ago I didn't particularly have a big appetite. I'm choosing to think of this as my body getting back to normal.0 -
I was on it for almost 2 years, for the first year and a half I gained somewhere around 30-50lbs (although that was more probably due to comfort/emotional eating issues then the medication itself), once I started eating right and working out the weight came off relatively easily...well around 2-3lbs a week average and when I did the same thing not on the medication I still averaged around the same weight loss. It wasnt really a big issue for me.0
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I have taken several ADs over the years and they are the main reason I am on FP. Fortunately, I got off them years ago. It just took a long time to lose the weight I gained while on them.
My father is a psychiatrist with a specialty in psychopharmacotherapy (not many doctors have this extra specialization) and has a long explanation for why weight gain happens. I don't remember exactly, but basically over time the AD builds up in the body and leads to carb cravings and increased hunger (or maybe just hunger sensation rather than true hunger). Some are worse than others. I'm not sure how Celexa ranks. It also probably partially depends on how your body reacts to some extent. Some people are probably more sensitive than others.0 -
My husband took it and lost on it...
I lost on prozac, gained on zoloft.
I'm not taking any meds like that anymore because of the yo-yo weight.0 -
I have taken several ADs over the years and they are the main reason I am on FP. Fortunately, I got off them years ago. It just took a long time to lose the weight I gained while on them.
My father is a psychiatrist with a specialty in psychopharmacotherapy (not many doctors have this extra specialization) and has a long explanation for why weight gain happens. I don't remember exactly, but basically over time the AD builds up in the body and leads to carb cravings and increased hunger (or maybe just hunger sensation rather than true hunger). Some are worse than others. I'm not sure how Celexa ranks. It also probably partially depends on how your body reacts to some extent. Some people are probably more sensitive than others.
So it's a calorie in/out equation still yet. The med may cause more, or less, hunger.0 -
This is part of an article I found:
Studies showed an average weight gain of 15 to 20 pounds with Zoloft, Prozac and Celexa. Paxil appear to have the most significant impact on weight gain of all of the SSRIs and causes weight gains in excess of 20 pounds for the average person taking this antidepressant. Effexor weight gain is not as severe as the weight gain reported with Paxil, Prozac, Celexa and Zoloft. Lexapro appears to have the least weight gain problems of all SSRIs. With Celexa weight gain, it is not the amount of food eaten, but the body’s crippled metabolism. If you have already cut your food intake, have eliminated fatty foods, exercise on a regular basis and you still are gaining weight, your metabolism is to blame. If you are taking Celexa, chances are Celexa is contributing to the sluggish metabolism. The only true solution to Celexa weight gain is not to take Celexa.
I'm going today to talk to my doctor about getting back on it but after reading this kind of afraid to... I don't want to put on more weight. I just started to lose it...
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I was on Celexa = Citalopram for about a year and a half, I put on 25 pounds, I dieted , would go to the gym Monday thorugh Friday and no matter what I did I still gained. It has been a week since I came off the pill completely and now I am really looking forward to see changes. I will keep you all posted and share my experience for the next couple months. But dont give up guys!!!!!0
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Been on it now for close to 4 months. Have gained weight. Because I have been eating in a surplus...0
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I was on Celexa = Citalopram for about a year and a half, I put on 25 pounds, I dieted , would go to the gym Monday thorugh Friday and no matter what I did I still gained. It has been a week since I came off the pill completely and now I am really looking forward to see changes. I will keep you all posted and share my experience for the next couple months. But dont give up guys!!!!!
When I took Paxil, I gained something like 25 pounds. When I stopped taking it, I immediately started losing weight. I lost ten pounds in the first month with zero effort. One day I just noticed I was losing weight (clothes were getting loose) so I started weighing myself. I couldn't believe how fast it was. I plateaued after losing the first ten, but then I started exercising and consciously cutting back on how much I ate and I lost the rest of the extra weight pretty quickly and easily.
Several years later I took Effexor and gained even more weight. I ended up gaining somewhere around 65 pounds! Unfortunately, that time it took years to come off. My metabolism did seem screwed up because the carb cravings continued and exercise did not help at all. However, finally something clicked and the weight started to drop off very easily. (I did gain back 30 pounds which is why I am here, but it has nothing to do with ADs this time!)
I hope your experience with Celexa is like mine with Paxil!0
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