Citalopram/Celexa DOES make you fat!

Days when I have accidently forgotten to take the CELEXA I have had SERIOUS mood swings, like everyones going to get lip from me if they come near my that day I also felt physically off. When you stopped the celexa how did you feel? Did you have side effects from stopping that later went away?

Oh yea....Celexa is a great drug, but definitely puts on weight. I was on it for 1.5 years for some anxiety/panic attacks. Worked great, anxiety went away....but I slowly put on weight over that time - about 20 pounds!! Went off of it (weened) and then hoped the weight would naturally come off....lol, what was I thinking? Not a chance!! Have to work this weight off.

A neighbor of mine told me she went on it - I warned her about the weight. She told me about 6 months later she had put on 10 pounds and was going to get off the stuff.

Not sure why it happens, but I'd rather deal with my anxiety issues differently. Now, I just keep a bottle of valium with me to use as needed. Turns out I only need it about 5 times a year. Big difference!!

Pam

I'd love to get some feed back (from people who have actually been on SSRI's) the usual response of eat right and exercize does not apply, so that can be witheld (always from people who have never taken an SSRI).
After reading 10000 threads about ssri weight gain, I seem to be the typical story. I had taken celexa for a year, and gained 40lbs. Ive worked out the entire time. At first I actually lost some weight, I was loving the med. But it slowly crept up. I thought it may be my new relationship, or the holidays.....but then when I realllllly buckeled down on diet and exercize I was still gaining. To be honest with the little anxiety I had I would much prefer to be thin again and handle that on my own.
The come down (I did not ween) was so scarey to me I wouldnt go back on them again anyway, anything that caused brain zapps, and the sickness I had felt is not something I would like to continue my life journey on.

Anyway I have now been off of celexa for alittle over 3 weeks, all come down symptoms are gone (thank god) and I am back to normal me....except im fat.

Ive been running like crazy, started p90x again, and eating very well, Im also taking a million vitamins and supplements to jump start my metabolism (amino acids for my liver, and thyroid/cortisol type stuff).....................I HAVENT BUDGED. My weight has not budged for MONTHS.

I can be alittle more patient, I had to hide my scale I think i was driving myself nutz with it, but Im hopeing I could hear some stories of people finally losing weight. I am just so uncomfortable at this size.

CRAZY! I have been off antidepressants for many years. And i specifically told my doc i don't want a med that will make me gain weight and she said celexa DOES NOT! I have been taking it for 4 days and i have already lost 4 pounds. I have a great decrease in appetite, thankfully! This has really worked wonders for me! For some reason anti depressants never made me gain weight. I could eat and eat and eat and never gain an ounce.

I was on this for 5+ years and during that time I gained about 110 lbs...BUT there were several other factors.

-I LOVE FOOD.
-I have had thyroid issues all my life and had it removed so my meds need to be perfect or my body goes all out of whack.
-I have PCOS
-I got on BC pills to help with symptoms of PCOS and baaaaaad periods.
-Getting on BC caused me to gain weight (among other factors).
-I was depressed about the new weight and other stressors and got on citalopram.

Not only am I in a new place in my life, but I worked out many of my sources depression and JUST got off both my BC pills (looking into other solutions for this) and Citalopram (about 3 months ago, with my doctor's blessing) I feel like I am coming out of a COMA! My libido is back, I am losing weight, and I am happy!

I've gained about 20lbs since starting it a year ago. I went ahead and stopped taking it a month ago. I found this:

http://celexaandweightgain.com/

So I've been on these forums for months trying to figure out what has happened. I started citalipram last summer and didnt start gaining weight Til fall. Originally I thought it was due to life style changes ( new bf, back to school) so I amped up my workout routine and stated eating healthier. I'm usually a very fit and active person and an avid gym member. I got back on my usual track and all that happened was more weight gain! By February I was up from 145 to 175. With extreme calorie counting and intense workouts. I did some research and decided it much be the citalopram. I started weening off and was off by mid April. It's kid July now and I'm still the same weight despite intense workouts and healthy eating. NOTHING has helped even 4 months off. I did lose like 2 lbs in the last few weeks so I don't know if that's a fluke or mean anything. This week I had blood tests done just in case but haven't heard back. Anyone take this long to lose the weight?? I'm working my *kitten* off and honestly I feel the depression creeping back bc of this weight. I miss all my clothes and when I work out I feel like I have a small child on my back. It's teslly one of the hardest things I've had to fight in my life.

me too. I gained a butt load of weight this week while being good. I read it messes with your metabolism when you go off.

i feel your pain i was 115lbs started effexor and ballooned to 202lbs i came off it had a nervous breakdown now im back on it with a mixture of wellbutrin. so far ive lost 26lbs and i HOPE it keeps going down.

I've been on Celexa 3 and a half years, and started my weight loss journey over two years ago. It did not hinder my loss in any way.

You sound a lot like me prior to tracking my food - i tried to exercise the weight away to no avail.

Track your food and your intake, set a daily limit on calories, eat nutrient dense foods like fruits and vegetables and you will lose weight just fine.

There's no need to ditch the Celexa if it's helping you out in other areas.

I was on it for about a month or 2 and I gained back over 15 lbs. terrible medication, im so happy I stopped it. the longer you take it, the fatter you'll get.