Citalopram/Celexa DOES make you fat!

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Replies

  • melw2910
    melw2910 Posts: 73 Member
    I took this for 18 months and during the first 12 weeks I lost 35lb. Definitely didn't have the weight gain issue thankfully.
  • allymarie5177
    allymarie5177 Posts: 1
    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.
  • crysta911
    crysta911 Posts: 5 Member
    I have gained a butt load since I went off and flipping. I maintained while I was on it.
  • crysta911
    crysta911 Posts: 5 Member
    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.
  • T0FatToB3S1ck
    T0FatToB3S1ck Posts: 192 Member
    Wrong. I've been on so many different medications for Bipolar Disorder. I used Celexa along with Risperdol at one point. Read the side effects of Celexa. It does NOT cause weight gain. It causes appetite loss and weight loss.

    I was prescribed Celexa for a few reasons. I am a Bulimic and the reason I refused medication for Bipolar was because of the weight gain associated with just about all of the medications they use to treat it. The doctors prescribed the Celexa because it does not cause weight gain. I wouldn't have used it if it did or even had a chance of weight gain.
  • xombiebite
    xombiebite Posts: 276 Member
    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.
  • runnermama81
    runnermama81 Posts: 388 Member
    I put on 10 lbs in a year while on Celexa despite eating well and exercising. Two months ago my doc switched me to Wellbutrin and I have lost 10lbs without changing anything. In fact, I have been working out less because of an injury. Crazy how things can affect people in different ways.
  • RoadsterGirlie
    RoadsterGirlie Posts: 1,195 Member
    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.
  • alexrenner2013
    alexrenner2013 Posts: 13 Member
    I was on it for about a month or 2 and I gained back over 15 lbs. terrible medication, im so happy I stpped it. the longer you take it, the fatter you'll get.
  • alexrenner2013
    alexrenner2013 Posts: 13 Member
    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.
  • alexrenner2013
    alexrenner2013 Posts: 13 Member
    I've been taking Celexa for almost a year now and I"ve lost 10 lb. Maybe it works differently in different bodies??? I will say, though, that no matter how hard I work, the weight is CRAWLING off my body. The Celexa might be slowing down my weight loss?
    celexa's main function is to slow down metabolism to keep the med in your system longer, which is why many people gain weight on it.
  • emjean76
    emjean76 Posts: 116 Member
    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.

    Yep, I totally agree. I've only been on it for 7.5 months, but I've been able to lose weight.
  • nena49659
    nena49659 Posts: 260 Member
    I've been taking citalopram for years and I've lost around 120 lbs in the last year.

    Good evidence that it is the extra food that puts on the weight not the drug! Understandable that you eat more food or less healthily when depressed as it is part of the disease but don't blame the drugs!!

    I don't believe this is good evidence at all. Some will gain extra weight on certian drugs. Some will not. I saw one post that said that Wellbutrin may have helped them lose weight. After starting wellbutrin, my sister gained weight with it after having lost 130 lbs prior. My husband gained 15 lbs in one month after being put on Abilify. Has since put on a total of 80 lbs. Have his eating habits changed? They sure have! He eats MUCH LESS now than he did prior to taking Abilify.

    These drugs are designed to change chemicals in your body. Obviously, not just the ones controlling moods.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    Energy in > Energy Out = Gain Weight

    Hundreds of things affect how you process energy. Drugs are just another one of them.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    It makes you hungry, but excess calories from the food you eat makes you fat.

    You just need to be extra careful when taking medicines like this that you are really strict about your diet. Drugs like steroids can actually make you gain weight on their own, but antidepressants just encourage you to eat more.
  • sweebum
    sweebum Posts: 1,060 Member
    My husband (who has always been able to eat anything), gained 40lbs in the 3 years he's been taking Citalopram Without changing his food intake. It isn't going up anymore, but he isn't losing it either.

    Your mileage may vary, some gain, some lose.
  • ryry_
    ryry_ Posts: 4,966 Member
    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.

    I have never taken SSRI's so this might be dismissed out of hand. What I didn't read in your post was, I have been meticulously tracking calorie intake and weighing my food on a digital scale to make sure, and adjusting my calorie intake as needed to make weight loss occur. I suggest you start there.

    Do all the P90X and eat as "healthy" as you want. The drug at the end of the day may be increasing your appetite, some suggest it may supress metabolism (i don't believe any published research has shown this however but I don't follow it closely), but at the end of the day it all comes down to an energy deficit.
  • QuilterInVA
    QuilterInVA Posts: 672 Member
    Weight gain isn't a side effect of Celexa. That doesn't mean it doesn't occur with a few people, but it would be rare. I've been on it for 6 years and have no problem losing. I can only blame gains of overeating.
  • lj8576
    lj8576 Posts: 156
    I suppose it's just the double edge sword: the meds are supposed to "calm you" and kind of produce a lethargic comatose state :p as opposed the the anxious nervous shaky energy that may exist. This coupled with your own mood & interest in activity just makes a perfect cocktail for weight gain for some people. I don't know yet whether its going to affect me or not, its too early to tell. But its good to hear other ppls experiences.
    Just don't stop taking it based on silly comments here talk to your doctor
  • ffionmelton
    ffionmelton Posts: 1
    I have been on Citalopram 9 months now but only going up to 20mg because of insomnia and anxiety. I have definitely noticed my weight gain as my appetite has increased. I am not currently on 10mg and planning to come off it in the next two months (however long it takes). I eat healthy and good size portions including fruit and veg etc and exercise 3-4 times a week or i walk my dogs most days and since finishing uni i no longer drink every week either. My weight gain may also be my change in contraception pill at the same time i started the citalopram as i have gone up a bra size and my clothes fit quite tight :(. Once i have fully come of it i shall see if my weight changes and write a post.
  • Amazonbella
    Amazonbella Posts: 338
    I have been on 40mg of Celexa for about 5 months now. I do not know what doses others have been on, but I do know I have been working out MORE than I ever have, and watching my eating very closely and I continue to GAIN weight. I have a doctors apt this Thursday and I am going to address this issue, I have put on at least an extra 20-25 pounds since being on the drug, and NO I have not been sitting around eating unhealthy food, it is very frustrating. I feel I am trying to swim in QUIKSAND! :(

    They also prescribe Celexa for different issues. I am not "depressed". I have heard that people who take it for depression tend to lose weight, and those who take it for "anxiety" which is what I take it for, seems to cause you to gain. Don't know how accurate that is either, but it seems to be true in my case, although the weight gain is causing me to be depressed!!! HAHA gotta keep humor about it....hopefully I will get everything back on track at the end of the week.
  • kkcurtis
    kkcurtis Posts: 1 Member
    Thank u for your post been on celexa for about a month..80 mg and has given me energy like have never had before, eating right and walking about 2 miles daily nothing lost to date in fact gain about a pound. Go to dr next week and hoping loweing the dose will help. Daughter getting married Feb so need to loose the 15 pounds before that plus working so hard to loose it and feel myself starting to get down
  • sunnistef1
    sunnistef1 Posts: 4
    I started citalopram 2 years ago, and have gone from 195 to 230 (that is even heavier than I was 9 months pregnant!)! Ouch! It has crept up gradually, but it is pretty frustrating because I am watching my calories (usually only 1250 to 1400 per day) . However since starting nursing school, my exercise has gone downhill. But I found this post because I have wondered if it is the drug that is making me gain (well the side effects of increased appetite and lower metabolism). Glad to know I am not the only one!
  • aquariusjeff1971
    aquariusjeff1971 Posts: 8
    I opened a Chinese Fortune cookie once and it said the purpose in life is to have goals. So I set a few and I'm happy. There's the chicken and the egg question. Does your brain not make certain chemicals because it can't....or because the most stimulation it gets on any beautiful Sunny day is the internet, video games, reality tv and Honey God**** Boo Boo ? A mind without focus, goals or inspiration is like having your car radio on Scan for a three hour road trip without ever finding a station. The rest just lines big Pharma drug companies with about 9 billion $$$ a year pure profit.
  • lisamcurran
    lisamcurran Posts: 1
    I was on Citalopram for approx 3 months and I started to gain weight quite quickly. Nothing significant, maybe 7lbs. But I'm small so actually, it's made quite a difference. Anyway, I weened myself off of them about 6 months ago and for love nor money, I cannot shift this weight. I run 3 mile 2/3 times a week. I do boot camp three times a week and I just cannot shift it. I am so fed up with it. From what I've read, the meds have altered my metabollism, but I don't know how to revert it back, so if anyone has any good ideas, then I'd love to hear them. I'm happy I'm off them and I hope I never have to use them again but I really do hate this weight.
  • ToFatT0B3S1ck
    ToFatT0B3S1ck Posts: 194 Member
    It only makes 20% of people "gain weight". I lost 111 pounds on Celexa because it took control of my Depression associated with Bipolar disorder. I was no longer depressed so I stopped emotional eating. You cannot blame the drug. You gave into the impulses associated with the drug (carb cravings). Antidepressants do slow down your metabolism but only by 100-200 calories a day so you cannot blame that. In the end, YOU are the reason you gained weight NOT Celexa.
  • Amyce24
    Amyce24 Posts: 1
    I was on Citalopram for one year and went from 125 pounds up to almost 160 pounds, without any change in diet and having quit alcohol entirely. Virtually all of it went on around my waist and hips which has been a pain-I'll admit I didn't notice until I started having trouble actually getting into my clothes.

    I've now been off it for 2 months and the weight is just not shifting at all. I've an active job and lifestyle and monitor my food intake with the app but just not seeing any change.

    Anyone have any advice on the time lag coming off it?
  • laele75
    laele75 Posts: 283 Member
    I have been on Citalopram for seven years. I did gain weight, but that was from lifestyle, not the medication. If the medication made it hard to lose weight, I wouldn't have lost 32lbs in four months once I started counting calories and exercising.

    I have heard about the initial weight gain, but I can assure you that through diet and exercise, you can lose that weight. And the long term is what really matters.
  • RoadsterGirlie
    RoadsterGirlie Posts: 1,195 Member
    I've been on Celexa for about four years, and started my WL journey about three years ago. It did not hinder my loss rate in any way. I started out losing 3 to 4 lbs a week on 1500 calories a day. Me being overweight was due to bad eating habits - not because of the medication.
  • midwestdawn
    midwestdawn Posts: 60 Member
    I gained 25 pounds in 7 months after starting Lexapro. When I stopped taking it (weaned off), I lost 6 lbs without changing diet or exercise.
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