anyone take antidepressant's?

I was on Effexor XR (Venlafaxine) for several years. Tried Fluvoxamine (Luvox) for several months. And had another one that was on for a whole weekend purely because it made me that stoned that I walked in to walls, couldn't function on a day to day basis, my mother drove me to work, she picked me up in the middle of the Monday and took me to the doctors and told them she wanted her daughter back.

Anyway. I have suffered from Agoraphobia in my 5 year depression. I used to have to have someone come to the shops with me, I would generally sit inside all day and just do pretty much nothing all day. I still sometimes need someone to come out with me, but I just have to ask, I don't like to drive on busy roads. I'm not very good at being alone AT ALL.

But over the 5 years that I was on and off of the anti-depressants, specifically Effexor, because it was the main one I was on, with the a break on the fluvoxamine because i reached the max dose of effexor. I never noticed real weight gain. I have fluctuated about 10-20kgs (20-40lbs). I was 112kgs while I was on the effexor back in 2005. I have been off of antidepressants since about March of 2008 and got up to my highest weight of 135kgs before falling pregnant.

To this day, even with a beautiful 13month old son around I still get depressed. I've had a bout of it the last two weeks, but I am picking up my exercise, trying to get outside when it's not raining (it's winter in australia). I have been considering taking St Johns Wart or even talking to my doctor specifically about going back on something very mild to keep me functioning, as much as I hated being on the anti-depressants and having people blame everything wrong with me on them (moods and the like), sometimes people are just born with a natural chemical imbalance and need them to function on a day to day basis.

I don't know if you guys have Effexor XR or Fluvoxamine there, but I certainly don't remember either causing copious amounts of weight gain, hunger, or the like. I just used to yawn a lot and get restless legs on the Effexor, and my husband at the time complained about my lack of sex drive caused by the fluvoxamine, hence an eventual switch back to Effexor.

Hi I get anxiety as a symptom of Graves disease, ( which took for ever to diagnose) , it also gives messes with your thyroid. I am not a doctor but so can't say what is up but I felt so much better after I started working out. I am also an ex- addict so need to be careful on mood altering drugs, the doctor apart from my thyroid meds gave me beta blockers when in case I have an anxious ocd day. They have really helped as I didn't want to be on something everyday as i don't feel depressed, i feel anxious, fixated with things being clean ect ect but one beta blocker really helps. I find I have to take them less and less

Ask about Amitiza before trying an antidepressant. You may have to work with the dosage to see what is best for you. Are you seeing a gastroentolgoist or just your primary?

I was put on very low dose of Effexor for,believe it or not, out of control menopause symptoms. I gained almost 10 lbs in a 3 month period. I can't tell if I was eating more due to the meds or it was my metabolism slowing due to the menopause.
Either way, it was time to change my habits.

Just a word about Effexor for menopause for interested women:
It turned my life around! I cannot take hormone replacement due to family breast cancer history. I was a walking zombie due to lack of sleep. I was driving places and not remembering how I got there. i was up all hours due to sever hot flashes. They were so bad my blood pressure was reacting and I literally fainted a few times. Icouldn't concentrate at work, sever mood swings,etc.
After just one week of the low dose Effexor my symptoms virtually stopped and I was back to myself!


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I took Celexa for awhile, but it didn't really help (I was split from my husband, he had another baby on the way, and it was just a really bad time for me). I was switched to Effexor XR and that seems to help. I'm no longer depressed (worked things out with my husband) and the only thing I have left is the anxiety attacks.

Before you start taking another med, make sure you check on how hard it is to withdrawl from if you would ever decide to go off meds. I don't need the Effexor XR anymore, but the withdrawl symptoms even when I'm weaning off them, are so horrible- I'd rather just take them everyday instead.

At any rate, Effexor XR doesn't make me gain weight- it was me eating the crap that I was eating which did make me gain it. I've never been more then 220, but I gained back about 20lbs that I had prevoiusly lost.

Hello everyone! I've been on Zoloft and Xanax for almost two years now to combat lifelong depression and generalized anxiety. I definitely noticed a gradual but significant weight gain (I don't own a scale, but went up several sizes in clothing). I'm not as interested in losing pounds as I am in getting in shape and feeling more comfortable with my body, and I am reluctant to change my medications/dosage because they have worked out really well with my mood and anxiety problems, as it can take a lot of trial and error to get the combination right. If I had to make a choice, I'd rather be a chubby happy functional person than a skinnier person with excessive emotional issues. I've only been making lifestyle changes to shape up for the last few months, so it's hard to tell if I've made any progress (I still refuse to buy a scale, I don't want to become obsessed with numbers).

I was on Prozac 100 mg and kept gaining weight no matter what I ate..stopped it and lost..on Welbutrin but had to start taking celexa as depression is getting bad so yes the effect it. but dont just stop taking your meds talk with your doctor.