Anxiety Medication = Weight Gain? NEED HELP

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  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
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    Are you still consuming the same amount of food and exercising the same amount? Medicine can't change the laws of thermodynamics.

    Psychiatric medications can impact the metabolic processes, sometimes severely. OP should ensure her doctor is working with her and taking her concerns seriously.
  • petstorekitty
    petstorekitty Posts: 592 Member
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    I've also had a history of fighting bulimia and anorexia. I'm particularly worried that if I do eat over a specific limit, that I will gain. I tried telling myself that my body is hungry for nutrients it needs. I have another question to ask :embarassed: would I gain any weight if I eat until I'm satisfied? Stupid question, I know. But if I'm still hungry and I'm eating over my calorie limit, is there a possibility I would gain weight. :embarassed:

    You'll gain weight if you eat more calories than what your body needs to maintain.
    Whether you're still hungry or not.
    Most anti-depressants cause weight gain and kill the libido.
    I *thought* Effexor was one that wasn't supposed to. I know that Cymbalta is not supposed to. They all have side effects.

    I'm posting my scattered two cents here because I recently stopped medications. I am tired of the side effects and I flat out refused to take anything that has been commonly shown to cause weight gain.
    I'm also posting b/c my experience with the drug you are taking was that it killed my appetite and anytime I did eat I became so nauseated I regretted eating anything.

    It also made my face go numb so probably just not a great Rx for me ;)

    My Psych told me that the pill has great success rates. If your face isn't going numb maybe your body is just adjusting.

    Track everything for at least a month and discuss with your psychiatrist (not a GP).

    Good luck with this. Brains are tricky things.
  • Heather_Rider
    Heather_Rider Posts: 1,159 Member
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    Are you drinking enough water? I nearly STARVE when i dont get enough water in.. and it took me forever to figure out that FOR ME.. it was nearly a gallon a day before i was satisfied! I typically drink half a gallon a day before i even started this whole diet anyway.. so in order to satisfy any boredom cravings & all that, i found i had to nearly double my intake!

    Now that i drink that much.. i do great!

    Good luck to you! :drinker:
  • ohmyshysamantha
    ohmyshysamantha Posts: 138 Member
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    I take xanax for social anxiety and my weight has been at a stand still since a few weeks after I began taking it. My doctor referred me to a dietician to help me put a plan together that will help me continue to lose weight without me having to discontinue my meds and also to keep me from going back to diet pills. Unfortunately my insurance does not cover that so I was unable to go, but maybe see if your doctor could refer you to a dietician.
  • everysn0wflake
    everysn0wflake Posts: 49
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    It's a little relief that people understand me, but the thing is:
    1) It's from a psychiatrist, not my family doctor. I don't see him regularly though.
    2) I drink TONS of water, I chug it all day long!
    3) I eat small meals, often too. My breakfast are large too, since I burn most of my energy from playing the euphonium in music class.
    4) I take it in the morning, so maybe switching to it at night may help.
    Is there anyway I can find out what my body is depriving from though?
  • BurtHuttz
    BurtHuttz Posts: 3,653 Member
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    Psychiatric medications can impact the metabolic processes, sometimes severely. OP should ensure her doctor is working with her and taking her concerns seriously.

    It's so funny you say that!! I was about to write something to the effect that your medication can't alter your metabolic functions. And then I thought better of it. Hunger, exertion, fidgeting - so many things impacted. So I settled on the laws of thermodynamics. If you're causing your body to do X work and you have given it X energy with which to do so, then the equation balances. If it doesn't it is certainly because of something else like hunger signaling or what have you.
  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
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    It's so funny you say that!! I was about to write something to the effect that your medication can't alter your metabolic functions. And then I thought better of it. Hunger, exertion, fidgeting - so many things impacted. So I settled on the laws of thermodynamics. If you're causing your body to do X work and you have given it X energy with which to do so, then the equation balances. If it doesn't it is certainly because of something else like hunger signaling or what have you.

    It is often that people are hungrier or craving. But that hasn't accounted for everyone affected. Some theorize that some meds change the ways our bodies process carbs and sugars, some theorize that people with slightly different "feedback loops" internally can be affected in a way the majority is not.

    OP, please don't take my posts to mean you shouldn't take meds. It's just up to your doctor to help you figure this out because the meds work in slightly to very different ways.
  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
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    OP, the other question is, do you need to lose weight? It may be hard to lose if you are very petite already. If you are at a healthy weight, eating at maintenance and eating your macros and micros pretty balanced may help you with mood and anxiety too. I hope you have access to a therapist to help you with everything you are going through.
  • everysn0wflake
    everysn0wflake Posts: 49
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    OP, the other question is, do you need to lose weight? It may be hard to lose if you are very petite already. If you are at a healthy weight, eating at maintenance and eating your macros and micros pretty balanced may help you with mood and anxiety too. I hope you have access to a therapist to help you with everything you are going through.
    I'm not that concerned over losing weight, it's mainly toning and shaping with my body. I'm following a regime of things to help me get to me goal; and it is in a healthy, and over a period of time. I also want to here it from people's perspective, because I know with my past, my definition of normal, may be altered and different than what it actually is.
  • pinky_pie
    pinky_pie Posts: 127
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    OP - I have noticed a beneficial change from experiencing side effects while adjusting to a dose when taking the medication in the evening.
  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
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    OP, the other question is, do you need to lose weight? It may be hard to lose if you are very petite already. If you are at a healthy weight, eating at maintenance and eating your macros and micros pretty balanced may help you with mood and anxiety too. I hope you have access to a therapist to help you with everything you are going through.
    I'm not that concerned over losing weight, it's mainly toning and shaping with my body. I'm following a regime of things to help me get to me goal; and it is in a healthy, and over a period of time. I also want to here it from people's perspective, because I know with my past, my definition of normal, may be altered and different than what it actually is.

    That's good news because you can eat more to shape your body and probably need to in order to get the results you really want. Maybe try the fitness board for some help on the specifics of that?
  • Desdemonad
    Desdemonad Posts: 30 Member
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    Hi, i have been on Paxil since 1996 and take clonazepam and Seroquel too. Recently my shrink tried to add in Abilify to boost my antidepressant and it resulted in terrible weight gain (25lbs). I was wondering how many others take medication that cause you to pack on the lbs and what you do to combat it. I'm hungry all the time, crave sweets, and the meds also slow the metabolism. makes it almost impossible to lose weight, I'm eating 1400 calories a day but no loss, I can't really go lower than that and get my nutrients. I'd exercise and work out more but I have chronic fatigue so its very difficult, I do walk about 1 mile/day and am slowly trying to increase that and do gentle resistance exercises too. Any suggestions. i feel desperate enough to tart taking pep pills or something.
  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
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    Hi Desdemona, sorry you are going through that. Please go talk to your doctor again. Let your doc know how you feel about the weight gain and how important it is.
  • Desdemonad
    Desdemonad Posts: 30 Member
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    yes, a new med might just have to be tried, something that doesn't cause weight gain, maybe Topamax, which I hear can actually make some people lose weigh, or Lamotragine, which is weigh neutral. Seroquel is a bugger.:frown:
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
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    yes, a new med might just have to be tried, something that doesn't cause weight gain, maybe Topamax, which I hear can actually make some people lose weigh, or Lamotragine, which is weigh neutral. Seroquel is a bugger.:frown:

    Just be careful with this one - it's not nicknamed "Dopamax" for nothing! I got so frickin stupid on that one, my god.

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