Weight gain due to medication? Anyone else?

Yep. I gained 6kg in 5 weeks on a combination of Zyprexa and Remeron despite NO increase on caloric consumption, very 'clean' eating and lots of cardio exercise. Oh and I'm not someone who ordinarily struggles with their weight and I have oodles of self-control, i.e. I didn't give in and overeat just because the medication was making me feel constantly famished. You're not imagining things. These meds can do wacky things with how food is metabolised and mess with insulin resistance.

The good news? I lost an initial 2kgs in 2 weeks just coming off the medication, despite not being as strict since I didn't have the threat of uncontrollable weight gain over my head. The third kilo took another month, then the weight loss continued slowing as I neared my usual weight range. Everything's back to normal now and I didn't diet at all, but I appreciate that it may be harder for some. I just listened to my body, ate when I was hungry, stopped when I wasn't, and led an active lifestyle. The tough thing is that when you are on anti-psychotics in particular, you can't always listen to your hunger because it's often false.

The weight gain might level off if you think the cost-benefit ratio is in favour of staying on these particular meds. I can't say. But there are likely other options open to you if you find this side effect intollerable.

Good luck!

Story of my life for the past 10 years. In fact, I'm struggling with this some now. Zyprexa was one of the worse, but I've had plenty of others too. In my experience I've at times lost some weight simply by stopping the medication. However, the weight was much easier to put on than to come off, and just not taking the medication wasn't enough. And for some time even after stopping the medication I couldn't lose weight. Everyone is different, and it's a major pain. But, just keep going. At the very least you won't be gaining additional weight, and you can focus on the best way to lose what you have gained. Good luck.

Okay so I had gone from 213 to 170 and maintained there for a year. Ever since I was put on new medication- seroquel and cymbalta - I have been doing the exact same exercise and calorie count/quality of food but gained 15lbs in 1 month. went to the dr and he said these meds can slow down metabolism and also thyroid so have to get these both tested. I have been taken off both these medications now and was wondering now that I am off them should my weight begin to drop again or nada? Has anyone else had experiences like this.? Looking to find some support , feeling pretty annoyed and fed up right now.

I am on Cymbalta and it isn't making me gain but it makes me wanna eat like crazy....so it sort of makes it hard to lose

Not on anything yet but am predicting soon I will need to be so this makes me nervous. I'm already having enough troubles losing weight without medication's influence.

^^ What she said!

I might add, some medications are more likely to cause weight loss. And even if it might be common for people to gain or lose weight on a particular medication, you could do the opposite or your weight might stay the same! In fact, people with atypical depression (which despite its name is actually the most common type of depression) often lose weight on medication, at least at first, as this type of depression frequently causes people to over-eat.

It's a thread like this that proves calories in/ calories out is NOT the be all and end all.

If it was all about calories people wouldn't see these issues when on medication.

Psych meds will blow you up!!! It happened to me EVERYTIME I took ANY kind of those pills for whatever kind of symptom for over many, many years. It is a part of it unfortunately. I stopped ALL of it and doing much better, I attribute it to my new eating habits. Hippocrates the father of medicine said, "Let food be thy medicine."

I just want to add, some people NEED medication. It's not a choice and there are no other sufficient alternatives.

Good food is great, but it's not a solution for every person.

I wanted to say that for those of you who have to be on psych meds. It's not easy to stay on them; there are side effects, you may miss some of who you used to be, and yes, sometimes there's weight gain. But if they're working for you and you're living a more fulfilling life, STAY ON THEM. Keep working with your doctor to find the right combination that will work for you. It may take a while, but it's out there. It just takes patience and IT IS WORTH IT and you will find it.

You can't appreciate anything, especially being thin, if your mental health (or health in general) is in jeopardy. STAY ON YOUR MEDICATION!!

*if anyone would like some support through this, I'm more happy to do so. I've been there, I struggled immensely, and came out better than I could have dreamed. Friend/message me and just give me a heads up.

Totally agree. I have to take meds or I would be in the looney bin in a padded room with a straight jacket (they did it once and it went very bad very quickly). Plus I also take meds for high BP and chronic migraines.

It is a battle but I will not give up. Talk with your doctor. There are so many meds to choose from maybe another one will work for you.

I lost almost 60 pounds a couple of years ago, and was then diagnosed with Lupus. I was put on two Lupus meds, Seroquel and Prednisone. Those last two were the told kiss of death. During that time, I quickly (and easily) gained back more than 25 of those pounds. I freaked out when I got on the scale one day and found I was within 15 pounds of my starting weight!

I'm now taking the Prednisone (the real troublemaker) as needed and I quit the Seroquel altogether.
I just figured out how to make it work. I'm now back on the road and down 10 pounds.

So yes - I feel your pain. It's not as simple as just exercising and eating right, when meds are in play!

Good luck to you,
Ann

I have always been a fairly normal teenager with activity. I was forced onto Celexa by my doctor and mother when I was in 8th grade. When I started taking it, I weighed around 125lbs. After a years time, in Freshman year, I weighed 165lbs. The next year I weighed around 180, and was switched to another medication due to the weight gain. That weight gain continued all the way to 212lbs by the time I turned 17. I moved out of the house, and quit the medication. This last year I have gotten back down to 177lbs, (about 14 months time) but I seem to have hit a plateau now. I have been sitting at 177 for 3 weeks now, which is about the time I upped my calorie intake to around 2300 calories a day on workout days.

I know that my metabolism was destroyed, as I have many friends the same height as me, or taller, who weigh in the 140's and are way less active than me, but eat 2,000-3,000 more calories a day compared to me.

It's a thread like this that proves calories in/ calories out is NOT the be all and end all.

If it was all about calories people wouldn't see these issues when on medication.

That's not true...it's still calorie in/out...just my numbers changed because my meds reduce my metabolism, so it's slower than the average Joe out there with the same stats and activity level. But it's still calories in/out....