Antidepressents and birth control

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Majda1234
Majda1234 Posts: 64
in Health and Weight Loss
I am taking birth control and antidepressents and i was wondering has anyone experienced weight gain while on it? I already have problem with emotional overeating and have been diagnosed with anorexia in the past. I am now trying to maintain but it is already hard due to emotional overeating and i just need to know are there some side effects, as cravings while taking these pills?

Replies

  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
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    There are side effects with most pills. Your best bet would be to look up your specific medications and see the side effects.
  • chandanista
    chandanista Posts: 986 Member
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    There are so many different types of birth control and antidepressants, and they all have different effects on their users. You may want to talk with your doctor or pharmacist about your *specific* pharmaceuticals.
  • Majda1234
    Majda1234 Posts: 64
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    I did talk to them and they said weight fluctations are possibl and apettite changes. But i am looking for someone who has been through it. They aren't really concered about weight gain because i am at the low end of normal BMI so it is okay for me to gain in their eyes but i am not okay with it and i was just wondering what were peoples experiences. Forgot to mention i am on zoloft and yasmin.
  • michellechawner
    michellechawner Posts: 892
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    not with the birth control - I did just get put on antidepressants about 2 months ago and have gained like 1 pound, so i'm not so worried... I was on bed rest for about a month and a half, so 1 pound is nothing and I'm thinking it was from inactivity rather than the meds

    I'm on Microestrin and Paxil, for the record. I've been on 3 different birth control in 10 years and weight gain was never a side effect. I gained weight because I got lazy and was working full time and going to school full time. While i do believe some people think weight gain will happen, I think it's more in our minds (some meds yes, but the majority of side effects don't have for the majority of people)
  • Majda1234
    Majda1234 Posts: 64
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    not with the birth control - I did just get put on antidepressants about 2 months ago and have gained like 1 pound, so i'm not so worried... I was on bed rest for about a month and a half, so 1 pound is nothing and I'm thinking it was from inactivity rather than the meds

    I'm on Microestrin and Paxil, for the record. I've been on 3 different birth control in 10 years and weight gain was never a side effect. I gained weight because I got lazy and was working full time and going to school full time. While i do believe some people think weight gain will happen, I think it's more in our minds (some meds yes, but the majority of side effects don't have for the majority of people)

    Yes, i think it is in our minds too which is why i wanted to make sure :) I had a lot of friends that gained weight on birth control but i think it was mainly due to them knowing that it is sometimes a side effect so they let themselves indulge.
  • KateK8LoseW8
    KateK8LoseW8 Posts: 824 Member
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    One of my antidepressants lists "profound weight gain" as a side effect, and I've lost 55 pounds on it. Didn't start taking it until shortly before I started losing weight, so I'm not losing 55 pounds it gave me or something. Where there's a will, there's a way.
  • soupandcookies
    soupandcookies Posts: 212 Member
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    I am also on both birth control and anti depressants. I didn't notice weight gain from the ADs, but once I added the birth control (just recently, actually), I've noticed my weight creeping up, despite no change in eating habits. It's frustrating, but I used to be able to eat quite a bit, and still lose or maintain, so I am going to have to accept that I need to cut out a couple of hundred calories.
  • annekka
    annekka Posts: 517 Member
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    I'm on both. Right now I'm doing okay, but I had one month 3 years ago where I had both switched on me at the same time and I put on almost 20 lbs in a month, and not much changed diet wise. As soon as I came off of both of those meds (one caused severe night sweats, and I wasn't sure which so I insisted that both doctors choose something new), I lost about 5 lbs of weight. For the past 3 years, I've been fighting the last 15 pounds and it's gone up and down. I've finally lost that 15 lbs and am working my way down to where I was pre having to go on both.

    If you've experienced weight gain on either, if you can, pin point which one. Unless that med is doing a lot of good for you and you're stable see about switching it up and try a different one. It's not as if it's 50 years ago and Prozac is the only option.

    For me, I just try to be more meticulous about my calorie counting, and whenever I think the weight is starting t creep back on I get even more picky.

    I also found that my body needs cardio, if I was calorie counting alone I couldn't do it.

    It is possible to lose, you just have to be willing to change your meds and try things out to see what works for you and overcomes any tendency for your body to want to hold onto weight due to whatever meds you're one.
  • heatedarrow
    heatedarrow Posts: 9
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    Yasmin (drospirenone—ethinyl estradiol) and Zoloft (sertraline HCl) may affect patients in different ways with regards to weight change. We have seen both weight loss and gains with both medications as they sometimes affect appetite (and these side effects are only seen in a very small proportion of people taking these medications).

    I encourage you to speak with your doctor or pharmacist if you have further concerns, or experience any side effects out of the ordinary.


    Source: Myself/Doctor of Pharmacy Student
  • KristinNicole82
    KristinNicole82 Posts: 164 Member
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    I stopped my BC because it was inhibiting my weight loss. I noticed a big change when I stopped taking it.
  • deannon
    deannon Posts: 3
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    I'm going to have to start taking BC for medical reasons in the next few weeks, and weight gain is definitely a possible side effect of this (although weight gain is also part of why I'm going on the birth control, so I'm damned either way.) Are there any strategies beyond the standard "track calories, exercise regularly" that I could use to keep the weight gain to a minimum? Am I likely to be able to lose any weight that I gain in the long run, or is my body going to hold on to it?

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