paxil and weight gain?!

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Replies

  • traceygl1967
    traceygl1967 Posts: 72 Member
    I have been on zoloft for 20 years untill taking them I never gained a pound and was always actually underweight and could eat anything I wanted (my whole family is this way) Since starting the zoloft over 15 years ago the pounds have crept on and to the point I got to 300 lbs and weight is so much harder to lose while on them. I suffer from panic attacks and agoraphobia and have tried replacing the zoloft with other medication and coming off the medication all together but I cant function without the because the panic attacks start coming many times a day and my life becomes more limited than it is already. I hope you find a soloution that works for you
  • itsuki
    itsuki Posts: 520 Member
    Please, please, please talk to your doctor if you're considering stopping this type of pill. This goes to the OP and anyone else reading the thread.

    Some people can have negative side effects to these pills (like weight gain), but if you stop suddenly, or without consulting a doctor, the effects can be disastrous and downright dangerous.
  • giag09
    giag09 Posts: 203 Member
    any suggestions for ppl who went off paxil and tried a different medication?
  • mechristina
    mechristina Posts: 12
    Try to eat healthy food and don't go for junk and outside food. so some Rest and try some natural or herbal drugs. or if possible keep fast it help a lot for your stomach and digestive system..
  • sherisse69
    sherisse69 Posts: 795 Member

    Fair enough. I don't mean to turn this into a debate - the OP is looking for suggestions and I feel that we are now just taking up space - so I will respect your opinion, and I will check out the DSM-5 debate. I am sure it will be very enlightening.

    I apologize for turning my contributions into a diatribe - you`re right, this thread shouldn`t be a debate. It`s a difficult and heated subject, and I guess we all bring our experiences into it (I know I do). I appreciate your fair-mindedness, and regret that my phrasing of things was upsetting :)

    Truce ;) All the best to you :)
  • kaclaire
    kaclaire Posts: 6
    I gained weight on Paxil and it's one of the main reasons I stopped taking it. I've been off it for a couple of months and my weight still hasn't gone down (b/c I just started my weight loss program but still). It's such a bummer. I tried to talk to my doctor about how to manage the weight gain but she wasn't very helpful so I just stopped taking it.
  • celebrity328
    celebrity328 Posts: 377 Member
    any suggestions for ppl who went off paxil and tried a different medication?

    I was on Prozac for a little under a year I gained 80 lbs :(! I was then switched to Paxil which just made me a zombie all the time and didnt help with any weight loss (think I was on it for about 2 years). Then I was put on wellbutrin and had less side effects and started to see some weight loss. I am currenlty medication free for the last 2.5 years. I chose to get off meds because the side effects were just to much to handle for me :(

    I have struggled with general anxiety/ocd and did do therapy for a little under 2 years while I was being taken off medications. I have noticed since being off medication that my anxiety/ocd does "act" up during certain times of year or certain stressors in my life but its managble for me. I do take a PRN for anxiety when its needed or I know an event is coming that will cause anxiety. My hope is you find a medication that will help with the anxiety and have less side effects :)
  • norcal_yogi
    norcal_yogi Posts: 675 Member
    I started having anxiety attacks about 3 months ago just alittle added stress of having 2 kiddos 3 1/2 and 10 months and trying to juggling a job household and a hubby..... some things that arent a big deal to some ppl affect me differently cuase i tend to obsess over stuff because i have OCD also.. lucky me lol! but now with this weight gain and not changing anything with my diet and lifestyle makes me upset and now i am tending to obsess about this now! vicious cycle... hopefully i can find a happy medium

    i hear you.... i'm quite a bit older, not taking any meds, but have four children..and OCD so i know where you are at. juggling it all can seem simply like just TOO much. anyhow, a few months ago i started taking about 300-600 mg. of st. john's wart a day. it's not a miracle, but with no side effects that i can notice, it does really seem to help with my anxiety and moods. can't hurt to give it a shot. good luck!
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
    Look at your long chain omega-3 and magnesium intake.
  • charliesgold
    charliesgold Posts: 235 Member
    Everyone's body is different, this is why Paxil works well for some and Xanax works well for others etc. I have been through the ringer trying to find meds that work for me, my body is difficult to say the least! I tried Luvox for OCD and while it worked it made me feel nauseous. Luvox is also prescribed for depression and anxiety so it could be an option for you.

    The one drug that works well for me is Prozac. As long as I maintain good eating habits and exercise regularly I have no difficulty with weight gain or losing weight. I should mention though that if you are like me, you will notice a HUGE difference between the different generic brands. For me, Sandoz is the ONLY brand of generic Prozac that I can take.

    It is such a difficult game not only to find something that works well for you and to find something that doesn't have side effects or that has side effects that you can overlook. For me, the devastation that being "medication free" brings is not something I welcome so while medication free may be the right road for some people, it is not for me. If you are that way too, talk to your doctor and work with them to find a drug that works for you. It's important to understand that doctors have no way of measuring our neurotransmitters so finding a drug that will work for you is a matter of trial and error based on the symptoms that you are having. To share an example of this, my lower dose of Prozac was not as effective as it should have been, rather than increase it and risk the occurrence of side effects my Dr opted to combine it with Bupropion (Wellbutrin). The thing is that these are two different classes of drug. Prozac is an SSRI where Bupropion is an atypical antidepressant which affects norepinephrine as dopamine. Four days after beginning this combination I began to hear voices. The reason? Too much dopamine. My Dr. instructed me to stop the Bupropion immediately but it was only from that experience that we found out that my dopamine levels played no role in my depression.

    Good luck and if you ever need to chat I'm here :)
  • charliesgold
    charliesgold Posts: 235 Member
    I will also add here that the discussion of long term side effects has come up in our household in regards to my medication. The way I explained it to my SO is this:

    "If twenty years down the road I develop a devastating illness as a result of my medication, it is still twenty years of happiness...in fact twenty years period, that I would not have had without the medication."

    I choose to live my life medicated and understanding the potential for long term side effects in the future because without my medication I would have no life at all.
  • amills1152
    amills1152 Posts: 63 Member
    Not sure if this will help, but I was listening to Fat2Fit Radio today (fat2fitradio.com) and in the podcast I was listening to, they mentioned that episode #81 talked about all the pills and Rx's that can cause weight gain. Might be worth a listen!
  • belladonna810
    belladonna810 Posts: 1
    I found this thread while researching paxil. I have been on it for three months and found myself battling cravings that i have not had in a while. I am weaning off of the drug. Yesterday i bought a full spectrum light box and hope to find a way to increase seratonin without this drug. I have gained about 8 pounds ... not good. My experience only. Well wishes to anyone battling the demons of depression and anxiety.

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