Anti Anxiety Meds & weight loss

Lexapro is an anti depressant, and can lead to weight gain if not careful.

From what I've read and personally discussed with my doctor, there is a chance, depending on the prescribed medication, that it can cause either weight gain or loss. I've recently gone off Prozac and switched to more natural supplements such as 5-HTP and inositol to try and reduce my anxiety and OCD tendencies. Another reason is to reduce any chance of weight gain/resistance to weight loss. It really all comes down to how your body may deal with it.

This is a great question for women on these meds trying to achieve weight loss. I began anti-anxiety meds when I was 16 (young, I know). I was on 50 mg of Zoloft for about 6 months and gained nearly 10 lbs. My psychiatrist switched me over to Wellbutrin, which I am still on at age 23 and like a lot better than the Zoloft. I found that the Zoloft helped with my anxiety, but I often felt foggy and numb to things, plus the weight gain sucked. When I got on Wellbutrin, I lost about 5 lbs without changing diet/exercise habits. I like it better than Zoloft because things are clearer and I have more energy. I should also mention that a couple of years ago my psychiatrist added 20 mg of Lexapro to my meds as depression was creeping on me again. Nothing really changed in my weight with the Lexapro. My mood improved and I wasn't so sad all the time.

It's good that you are trying to nip your anxiety in the bud before it gets worse. I let mine get too bad and fell into a deep depression. With the combination of therapy and the correct medication, I am better than ever before. I work in mental health so I am an advocate for these things.

It is important to remember, however, that everyone's body reacts differently to medication. My best friend recently began taking medication for anxiety and panic attacks. She started with Prozac for a week, but that did not work for her as she was nauseated all the time and even vomited several times. She is on Zoloft now and it works great for her. I've heard that the top two to cause severe weight gain are Prozac and Paxil.

Also, when you start medication, it will take some time for your body to adjust to it. If you are experiencing any negative side effects (especially significant weight gain), be sure to inform your doctor so he can prescribe a new medication that may work better for you.

Best of luck to you.

I'm not sure if they're commonly marketed as anti-anxiety, but Seroquel, Zyprexa, and Saphris made it incredibly hard for me to lose weight and I gained a ton on them (I'm not sure if it made me hungrier or if some other junk was going on, but it was awful.) Trazodone was also pretty bad.

I was given a low dose of Xanax to take as needed, and that's helped (I used to get so stressed and anxious that it felt like I was having a heart attack, sending me to the ER multiple times.) I didn't have negative side-effects and it's not nearly as addictive as things like Klonopin (I believe it's a benzo, not something I want to have to take and in fact many doctor will refuse to prescribe) or Thorazine.

I take an antianxiety med called effexor. I take it in the morning because it is a stimulent. It curbs my appetite so much that I have a hard time eating first thing in the morning.

Effexor can also create a drug dependancy, I was on it for a while for MDD/Anxiety and when I went off it I got withdrawals, most doctors prescribe another drug to help ease you off it. Like you, it curbed my appetite... but only for a while, after that I basically ate everything in sight lol

Effexor can also create a drug dependancy, I was on it for a while for MDD/Anxiety and when I went off it I got withdrawals, most doctors prescribe another drug to help ease you off it. Like you, it curbed my appetite... but only for a while, after that I basically ate everything in sight lol

THIS.
I was on a lot of different meds but Effexor was the worst.
At first I thought it was the best thing ever made, but after a year, the side effects and withdrawl were HORRID.
My doctor denied that it was addictive and I quit it "cold turkey". I gained a lot of weight with it too...I have one pic in my profile from that time. Now I use Xanax as needed, and feel so much better.

I have such anxiety with the dentist that last time I layed in that chair I shook so bad the dentist kept stopping and asking me if I felt the pain. I also have anxiety when I am put in a stressful situation (to me) like when a repairman comes to my house and I am alone. That is why I want one I just take when it happens.

Xanax is an anti-anxiety medication that you take when you are having an anxiety attack. It mellows you out, but can cause drowsiness and fatigue as some of the side effects. However, while it is safe to take everyday, it can cause dependency in some people and really should only be used for when you are having attacks, not to prevent them.

There are SSRI inhibitors that you can be put on daily to help treat anxiety- those have side effects such as weight gain, but that's mainly due to the fact that they increase your appetite. I am on one right now, which is a version of zoloft, my dr. put me on it because the increase in appetite side effect seems to be lower. However, if you are conscious of what you are eating and living a healthy life style, you should be able to control any weight gain by not over eating.

I would suggest if you decided to use medicine to also seek out a good therapist . It's good to help figure out why you have those anxiety's and triggers to stressful situations. That way you can help with the thought process and being able to control them without the use of medication.

Also- any anti-anxiety medication that you take every day, it takes awhile (6-8 weeks) once you start it for a therapeutic level to build up in your system and really make you feel better. So take that into consideration as well if you talk with your DR and decide on an ever day med.

Good Luck!

I was put on paxil in 1993. doctor changed to effexor. I may have gained weight from eating too much. In between those years, twice I decided to go natural with herbs, etc. didnt do squat for me. went back and got on lexapro. there were times I had xanax as additional help, and that one calms better, but i needed the seratonin reuptor in lexapro. Doctor said they mostly help with weight loss but hey. it didnt for me. I changed my dosage myself and started taking 1/4 pill instead of a whole one, and i've been doing that up to now with no interruption in help with anxiety disorder. hope you get help, however you choose.

Did you know that most of our seratonin is actually in the gut? I suffered anxiety before I changed my diet (I'm a nutritionist, my diet was always good but for me it took some changes). If I fall off track my anxiety comes right back the next day. I don't revisit posts but if anyone does want more info feel free to message me.

Your doc will probably offer you an SSRI or an SSNRI for anxiety, but they need to be taken daily and the effects build up over time. I've taken quite a few different ones and had different experiences with them. Zoloft made me sick, Prozac made me unbearably restless so that I couldn't sleep. Cymbalta made me feel doped and literally I had to sleep for half the day. Mirtazipine causes weight gain, so I ditched that one pretty quick. I'm now on Citalopram, which is calming my anxiety and OCD symptoms really well, and this time it seems to be helping me lose weight. When I took it 12 years ago, I gained weight. But other things have changed in my life since then.
I'm also taking 80mg a day of Propanalol for my anxiety, because it was pretty bad, and SSRIs can ramp it up initially.

If you want something that you take as and when, and has an immediate effect, I can only think of something like Diazepam or Tramadol, which were very effective for me, but they are addictive and the body builds up a resistance to them, meaning you need more and more over time to get the same effect, so they are not for long-term repetitive use. I also observed that I had a significant come-down reaction with Tramadol, where I'd actually feel worse, more agitated and jumpy, about 24 hours after taking it. This was what led me to go back to taking the anti-depressants regularly. They are the best solution, really. If you suffer with anxiety, paranoia, OCD or an eating disorder, they can really help. They're not just for depression.