anyone take antidepressant's?

I was on Prozac for years and then just stopped and I haven't had any drawbacks. Losing weight helps, exercise when you are feeling blue and the endorphines kick in. :flowerforyou:

I take Remeron, which is notorious for causing weight gain. But, no med can make you gain weight from calories you're NOT EATING. You make sure you're keeping track of your diet an exercise.

I started on Paxil a couple months ago for depression and anxiety. Weight loss slowed a bit, but it's still happening for me...which is ok.

i gained all of my weight from being on zoloft. :mad:
i started off at 112 lbs. i reached 190lbs when I was on the highest dose. I started to lose weight when my dose was lowered.

Im still on it. But I am also now on adderall which helps me lose. I got down to 122 in August 09. Then I no longer had health insurance, stopped taking adderall and gained 25 lbs.

I wish I could get off everything.

I take Paxil and have been about 8 years now.. I don't know that it has caused weight gain but I do believe it has slowed down the losing weight. Of course, I take other meds too so it could be the combination of them. And age.. just don't get discouraged and expect it to come off too fast.. it will happen but you will need patience.. good luck

I've wasted many a day looking up the antideps. Of the ones that cause weight gain (most of them), there are 2 primary ways they do it. (Depression itself can cause weight gain, but that's different.)

The first mechanism is to hit the "somesuch" receptors (I wanna say 5ht, but it's been a while since I studied up) that are hit by certain recreational drugs. Essentially, they cause The Munchies. Hardcore carb cravings that make it make perfect sense to eat a tub of frosting and a bag of Doritos.

The other primary mechanism is to cause something akin to the much ballyhooed Starvation Mode. For whatever reason, it causes the body to hang on to every available calorie.

Some do one or the other. Some do neither. I'm not sure if any one med does both, but it's not unusual to be on two or more meds, so there is sometimes a chance of having both things go on simultaneously.

I'm not entirely sure if it's related to the above two mechanisms, but some (Seroquel for sure, others as well) cause problems with blood sugar and insulin regulation.

Watching intake and exercise can combat all of the above. Fighting the Munchies is hard but not impossible, especially if you have a plan for dealing with it by, say, saving a chunk of calories for a snack attack and knowing in advance what you're going to let yourself eat. Some peanut butter and crackers or toast should satisfy the need for carbs in a healthier way than half a package of Oreos.

I've been on most of the SSRI-type antideps. I like to blame them for the majority of my extra 100 pounds. I like to blame them for my diabetes. At the same time, I've lost 2 pounds/week and kept my blood sugar under control since I started MFP.

I have been on depressant (Wellbrutrin) and a mood stabilizer (Lamictal) and I gained 20 pounds that I had previously lost the year before plus gained another 10 to 15 pounds and I am trying to lose that now. Talk to your doctor and ask them if they can prescribe you some medication that does not have side effects that creates more problems for you. I understand what you are going through. I have Bipolar disorder and going from one medication to the next to try and combat one issue, but create another is a struggle. I don't take meds now I just use supplements, exercise, and attempt to eat healthy. However, i do not recommend going off your meds if you need them just go over the side effects with your health care provider and try other meds until u find one that works for you. my boyfriend's sister lost weight with Wellbrutrin, but I gained weight because I was taking Lamictal with it and Lamictal increases your appetite and cravings and Wellbrutrin does the opposite. I hope u find an option that works for you.

I'm on Welbutrin XL for depression and hydroxizine for anxiety. I'm not sure those are spelled correctly, but whatever. Anyway, I was put on them in the midst of all this weight loss. I think I had lost almost seventy pounds at the time, and I never once noticed anything that hindered my weight loss in any way. I remember I specifically asked at the time to not be put on anything that would slow down or stop my progress. These seem to be doing the trick in that area, but I also don't feel they're as effective as others might be.

I take Welbutrin XL too and have not had any problems. It's one that actually can HELP with weight loss.

Antidep. meds are all trial and error. There is not one that works the same or is effective for everyone. I have been on many different ones, some I gained weight, and some had more severe side effects. The thing with some antidep. meds is that sometimes controlling cals and exercising still won't keep you from gaining weight. I was lexapro for a year and gained 50 lbs while eating a low cal diet and exercising 5-6 times a week. The problem was the med was affecting my hormones which caused the weight gain. The best thing to do is have good communication with your doctor and any side effect you have let him/her know right away. Unfortunately weight gain is not that serious compared to some other possible side effects. Luckily I was able to (with the help of my doctor) wean myself off of meds and control the problems I was having naturally and just by stopping the meds I lost the weight I had gained and then some.

***This was my experience and I am in no way saying anyone needs to go off their meds. I was under doctor supervision and I made the best choice for me.