Antibiotics & weight gain

HI! about 3 weeks ago I was put on anti-biotics for acne, which has caused me to gain weight.( at least 5 pounds in 3 weeks) ...I am on them for 5 more weeks.. I know I should avoid antibiotics like the plague but I have severe acne problems....just wondering if anyone else has had this issue and when you were done the medication did the weight come off? I am also taking probiotics as this helps to keep your gut flora good, I am stillecercising and keeping diet incheck, but clothes are tighter :( really hoping the weight comes back off whenI am done :)

Replies

  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Antibiotics are not evil and they will help severe acne. Good luck with that!

    They will mess up your gut bacteria which really help you stay healthy and also help to regulate your weight in quite complex ways. Take kefir and/or youghurt or other probiotics to help repopulate your guts with friendly bacteria. It may help with your weight problem.

    My husband just finished a course of serious antibiotics while hospitalized for pneumonia. He took an ounce of kefir every hour during the day like a medicine. His doctors were shocked that he never got diarrhea.

    They really help.
  • ouandi
    ouandi Posts: 135 Member
    I just saw on Women's Health that antibiotics may help people actually lose weight. Not sure what the reasoning was. Anyways, I've been on antibiotics for a year now and haven't really seen a change in my weight. I'm not losing like I want either but that's a whole other story. I think they do make you hungrier sometimes. You think you might just be consuming a bit more?
  • jennaworksout
    jennaworksout Posts: 1,739 Member
    nope, not consuming more at all, if anything, I am consuming less ......my appetite has gone down , weird sigh
  • jennaworksout
    jennaworksout Posts: 1,739 Member
    Antibiotics are not evil and they will help severe acne. Good luck with that!

    They will mess up your gut bacteria which really help you stay healthy and also help to regulate your weight in quite complex ways. Take kefir and/or youghurt or other probiotics to help repopulate your guts with friendly bacteria. It may help with your weight problem.

    My husband just finished a course of serious antibiotics while hospitalized for pneumonia. He took an ounce of kefir every hour during the day like a medicine. His doctors were shocked that he never got diarrhea.

    They really help.

    oh thanks I will try that as well, been taking probiotics for 6 days now, but no differeence
  • PuggleLover
    PuggleLover Posts: 261 Member
    I seem to live on antibiotics... they make me sick and I can't eat sometimes, which you think would result in weight loss... nope. I usually gain 2-7 pounds, depending on how long I am on them. My theroy - the meds are clearing out your good bacteria and that includes lots of water. So I try to drink as much or more as I can when I take them. I take a probiotic too, add yogurt and extra vit c.

    The meds also make me hungry once my body gets used to them. I try to give myself one day to eat and feel satsified before I limit my intake. I think it is part of the meds working through your body... you crave stuff because it is being depleted. For me, they also make me more tired, which means I need more sleep.

    Bottom line is.... I usually lose the weight after I come off the antibiotics. It doesn't just fall off as quick as it came on (I think this has to do with the meds still being in the system) and it seems my body goes back to the way it was before - less bloated, clothes not as tight and more toned.

    Note - I haven't been on meds for acne (but plenty of other things) but my sister did that whole treatment - twice.Gained weight on it as well. She lost it almost right away when she stopped. She is skinny and fit like you are.
    :)
  • jennaworksout
    jennaworksout Posts: 1,739 Member
    thanks guys! been doing some reasearch, going to actually try the candida diet , as well as add more probiotic yogurt and kefir to my diet, hoping that will eliviate some of the side effects, hoping the weight falls off once i stop in 5 weeks !!! wish me luck :)