antidepressants and weight loss struggle. talk to me.

There absolutely is hope. My brother, who is MR (higher functioning), takes TONS of medication that make him gain, including anti-depressants. When i started teaching him how to eat healthy, he did not understand the concept of a calorie. A few months later, he's down 12 lbs, and he did it by himself. He WANTED to learn, so he did. I help him with grocery shopping, but he cooks himself. Every day, he walks to the YMCA by himself. He WANTS to lose, so he is. If he can do this, so can you.

I have been on medication for 20 years. You can lose weight. Some meds make it harder. The one I am on now makes it very difficult but I did manage to lose 4 sizes (did not own a scale then). I have been bouncing around the same weight for about a year. I added more exercise and my goal is .5lb. My doctor has helped me to realize that even going down .1 on the scale is still down ward movement and be proud of that. Since I added more I have lost 5lbs in 2 months. Which I am very happy with.

If you are feeling hopeless and down, please see your doctor. There are so many options you need to find the right one.

Good luck and hang in there. You can do this.

Seeeee you CAN do this!

Before I started taking welbutrin and lexapro I didn't care if I lived or died. I didn't care if I got out of bed in the morning, how much I did or did not eat. I have been fat most of my life because of depression and an incessant need to fill an endless void inside me with food. Now, I want to live and I care about what I put in my body. That, to me, is well worth gaining a few additional pounds.

By doctor did put me on abilify briefly and after I gained over 30 pounds in what seemed like overnight, I stopped taking it. I still have the weight on me, but I quit gaining. One thing I have learned through both personal experience and much research is that all anti-depressants affect people differently. It may be worth experimenting with yours to find something that works for you and your weight.

I know that my meds make it a little harder for me to lose weight but I also know that without them I probably wouldn't be alive today. If I was, I know I would be significantly larger than I currently am and I'm pushing 600 pounds. When you just don't care, about anything, weight loss seems pointless. I am very glad I don't feel like that anymore. I am on the long road to a healthy, better me I couldn't be more excited about that. You can do it and there are lots of people willing to help.

My doctor just swithched me from Effexor to a new antidepressant called Viibyrd. I can't honestly say that it has made a difference yet but I'm optimistic. When I tlaked to my doctor I showed her my MFP diary so she could see how hard I was trying without results.

My advice is to work with your doctor and discover what will work for you! Good luck!

I started taking zoloft in 2006 weighed 275lbs. within 5 months I was done to 205. Stopped taking zoloft and started taking geodone because i was maxed on dose and I jumped back to 290 within 3 months. They took me off of that and put me on another that i can't remember the name of and i jumped to 343 which is when I had had enough. I am back on zoloft and I have lost 28lbs.

When I get depressed I stop being depressed and start being awesome instead. True Story.

This isn't very helpful You can't just decide to stop being depressed

I am with you, and I don't know which anti-depressant you are on. I have been on them since Nov. Before the anti-depressants, I was down 62 lbs - well over time the weight started coming back on - it was steadily coming back on (like 1-2 lbs/week). I was on Celexa during that time. Well, about 2 months ago, I went to my dr with the weight concern. I had worked far too hard to allow all this weight to go back on. She switched me to Wellbutrin, and I have quit gaining weight. Right now, I am maintaining. You see I really can't do much when it comes to exercising because I am suffering from a knee injury. I am just happy that I am not gaining anymore - I have put on about 25 lbs from my lowest weight back in Nov, but I am still much smaller than what I was almost 2 yrs ago when the scale almost hit 200 lbs. I know once I can get my knee back to normal AND get off the anti-depressants in time (after my divorce) I can get the weight back off. Right now, I am just trying to maintain. It is doable with alot of work - trust me!!!!

I take Wellbutrin XL and it does not have the side effect of weight gain. Thank God.

I would sugges talking to your Doctor about possibly changing your meds. But it is my understanding that Lexapro is supposed to be weight neautral. I don't know anything about Prozac.

Good Luck!

When I get depressed I stop being depressed and start being awesome instead. True Story.

You can't just "stop being depressed". It is a medical fact that it is usually an imbalance in hormones (which is my problem).

Prozac took away my appetite...for a week. I also didn't sleep much that week. It's not doing that anymore. Thankfully, I'm only on it to get off Celexa (no brain zaps...yay) and in a week or so I will taper off the Prozac for good.

I wish I could have taken Wellbutrin - it turned me into Cranky McCrankerpants when I took it alone or with other meds. I was wayyyy too agitated.

Best advice is talk to your provider. Cymbalta is an SNRI (same class as Effexor). Weight gain isn't normally a side effect, but could be caused by something else going on with your drug regimine or your metabolism. Wellbutrin, recommended here by a few respondants, is a different class of anti-depressant. It also helps with smoking cessation if you happen to be a smoker. Celexa is a good SSRI, similar method of action as your Cymbalta, but may work better. Whenever you are taking SNRI or SSRI you should taper off (and on). Don't stop suddenly or you may experience negative side effects. If you taper up or down, you won't have those issues.

Your depression may also require counseling to complement the pharm therapy. Have you tried that? This is especially important in post partum situations such as yours.

Also, please ignore the advice to stop taking meds and simply exercise. Exercise can be a good part of your treatmen and can help control weight gaint, but not taking medicine is not an option for many of us. Some people really don't know what severe depression is like and how destructive it really is.

So true! I take my meds every day and have found that adding exercise has helped too. I will never be without medication (did that once and did not turn out well) and plan to continue to exercise not just for my physical health but my mental health as well.

It's been ages, but at one point I was on wellbutrin/lexapro combination. I was already scary skinny from my divorce-diet (NOT recommended!!) and needed some help. The combo actually pushed me down another 6 lbs to 124 (and while I'm 5'5", that weight looks AWFUL on me). I ate like a horse, but stayed at 124 for 6 months. Then I slowly gained the 6 lbs back. Then, I met someone new, and fell in love, stepped down off all the meds. . . and after marrying, life stress, another baby, juggling 5 kids, and what not. . . popped up to 168 not pregnant or postpartum (and THAT weight does not look good on me either!).

I hope you find a some medicine which helps your emotional stability and actually helps you feel hopeful and excited. I know that it's possible!!!

When I get depressed I stop being depressed and start being awesome instead. True Story.

me too! :-) Chin up buttercup, and like others have said, try a different medication! I take generic prozac, once weekly, and my weightloss is slow, but steady.

I was on Lithium for 2 months and not only was it nasty stuff for me, but I also gained 30 pounds and now I can't seem to get any of it off. It definately sucks having the need for an antidepressant AND the need to lose weight and not being able to get either under control. (While getting the meds to work is awesome, having them counteract the weight loss aspect is daunting.) As much as I hate hearing this myself, it helps if you just focus on one of those things at a time. While I have not completely lost sight of my WL goal, I've sort of put it on the back burner to make sure I'm mentally ok first. I still work out and I still eat well, it's just not my main focus now. Maybe you could give that a try? Whatever you do, don't give up on either goal. I mean, they say losing weight is mostly mental, right? It's equally as important as proper diet or exercising.