Getting fit while taking antidepressant/antianxiety medicati

You can lose weight. I really cannot say that it changed anything about my weight loss. Don't worry about them, and don't use them as an excuse. I did not and I have lost.

I've been taking Effexor since January, and was concerned about the weight gain. Happy to say I've been losing steadily and have more energy and focus to exercise and get things done around the house and with the kids.

never lost weight while on them i have a history of depression/anxiety and either stalled weightloss or was so numb to life i didn't care at all but i have to say i have not had the best of docs with my diagnosis of fibromyalgia they put me back on some and i gained 10 in one month i craved everything i slowly got off of it since have lost 48lbs however my life choices of friends and things like (basically i have low tolerance of negative people to better help me out LOL) that have helped with my anxiety/depression as well as the way i eat so iv been able to control it with out but if u really need it just research and like iv been reading here iv heard great things about welbutrin i broke out in rash so am unable to take it but i hear it helps ur moods and help with control of appetite

It really depends on the medication. I've been on Bupropion (generic for Wellbutrin) for a little over a year now, and according to the company that manufactures it, clinical trials on the drug have shown a small percentage of people who take it actually lose weight. I have heard that a lot of antidepressants stimulate appetite, but, like my medication claiming to stimulate weight loss, I think it happens in a pretty insignificant number of people, might be overestimated, and the evidence is anecdotal at best. The recipe for weight loss is diet + exercise, and like the person before me mentioned, it's all about behavior modification! Good luck.

(I know I am late posting on this, but I am new here and did not want to be redundant by starting a new thread.)

I have a love/hate relationship with psychotropic medication. I hate them because I've put on 100 pounds while on them. I like them because they do make life easier to cope with if you are truly suicidal. The catch 22 begins when the number on the scale gets so high that you hate yourself even more. At that point I take the medication only because, like any drug, it is an addiction. You need them to function. Hell, I had an easier time getting off street drugs than I have with head-meds. The withdrawals are 10 times worse and the permanent damage is much more pronounced. I know I will never be the same after all of these drugs are finally out of my system.

I recently kicked the antipsychotic I was on which caused me to gain the last 20 pounds. (I am still on an antidepressant and ADD medication.) I am hoping that I can drop even SOME of the weight since I am off of it. The frustrating thing is I have always watched my diet and exercised, depressed or not, medicated or not. So I will be overjoyed if the new fitness plan I am on actually works.

Even without an increase in appetite, these drugs can cause SERIOUS weight gain (even Adderall put pounds on me) which leads to other health problems. You have to be on them to understand this phenomenon. Most doctors don't understand it either. Chances are, they will prescribe you another med to offset the side effects of the one you are on. That is how the snowball starts, much like trying crack and then heroin.

Time will tell if what I am doing now will work. So far I've lost 5 pounds which is more than I've been able to lose in years. I've been on the meds a total of 6 years (probably been on every one out there at one point) and even though I'm an active person the weight has piled on. This has GOT to star reversing though.

I went from weighing 155 pounds to over 200 in 4 months when I first started the meds. By then I was hooked and whenever I tried to cold turkey them or wean off of them my depression/anxiety intensified to an intolerable and dangerous level. 6 years later I am still trying to get off of them and lose weight. We'll see!!!!

I gained 40 pounds while on Effexor- the gain happened so quickly that my skin is left with stretch marks. I am now taking Calexa and have been losing the Effexor weight steadily.

I've been on Lexapro for 3 years and haven't noticed any change in weight, other than when I slip into a depressive episode and eat like crap for a few weeks. I've been on anti-anxiety meds (forgot the name) that completely robbed me of my appetite too though. It really depends on how your body responds to the medication.

I think it affects the metabolism.. i use-to be on meds and gained 30lbs , but its not like i was eating healthy or exercising so im sure u can still get results maybe just not as fast!

Speaking just of the literature on antidepressants, weight gain is a frequently reported side effect. Different individuals may respond differently to various antidepressants, so some doctors will try different drugs to find one which has therapeutic value (the doctor's first concern) but minimal side effects.

The action of antidepressants is complicated; antidepressants are neurotransmitter uptake blockers, enzyme inhibitors, and neurotransmitter receptor blockers. I have not seen any reports identifying the mechanism by which weight gain is promoted. And, of course, the effect varies with the individual.

All that said -- brain chemistry is not destiny. The basics of calories in - calories out still apply, and people do manage to lose weight while taking these drugs. The best advice is to work at losing weight -- keep records that you can show to your physician. If weight loss eludes you, talk to your doctor about trying a different drug. (This is NOT medical advice, but the newer drugs are not always the answer for every patient.)

I did gain 50 pounds when I started taking antidepressants, but I'm also friends with a girl who lost all appetite and is losing weight. There is a possibility for it to go both ways, it's just more common for it to go the weight-gaining route.

Most antidepressants increase your appetite and lower your metabolism, which is where the weight gain comes from.

I was on Cymbalta during the day and Seroquel at night to help me sleep and as a supplement to Cymbalta. I was already very heavy but those two meds combined helped me gain over 80 lbs. I disagree that mine was "behavior based" as did my doctor. I have found something more natural to help me sleep at night and that, coupled with other nutritional supplements, is at least allowing me to lose weight whereas while I was on Seroquel it didn't matter what I did. My doctor is aware of what I am doing and is supportive.

I still have to take Cymbalta which doesn't allow me to lose quite as quickly as I want but it is helping keep me happy (and alive!). Also, I'm hypothyroid so lots of strikes against me but I WILL PREVAIL!!!

All in all, original poster ... talk with your doctor, don't do anything without his or her knowledge, and do what is best for you. Not everyone responds the same way to the same meds. Good luck!!!!

I'm on prozac and it has attributed to my weight gain. I find I have to work a little harder in order to lose weight. I would like to be on wellbutrin, because that tends to have the opposite effect. However, wellbutrin was the first med I tried and it gave me panic attacks (I know a little strange that an anti-depressant/anti-anxiety med can give someone panic attacks), it's one of the more rare side effects of wellbutrin.
However, since getting serious with weight loss, my mood has greatly improved. My PCP said that I will not be on the prozac much longer if I keep up the good work because my body is making its own seritonin again!

so happy for you !! i got off my meds about 11 months ago and im fine!! its scary getting off but i was ready!

There's no reason you can't lose weight while on these medications. The weight gain is behaviour based, not due to the meds IMO.

I've been on Citalopram for five years, alongside psychotherapy, and I've gained 35 lbs over that time. I haven't noticed myself eating more but I have noticed a massive drop in energy, as some other commentators have said. I feel very relaxed most of the time and I am capable of sitting in an armchair and dozing like an 80 year old for an hour at any time of the day. I think the drop in activity led to my weight gain.

Now i am watching my calories with MFP and i am forcing myself to be more active, and the weight is coming off slowly. I get through my day with espressos and I have to have a double to work up the energy to walk to and from work (my main form of exercise is walking, I walk about 25 miles a week and go hiking on the weekends occasionally).

HOWEVER this is just my experience. The side effects of the antidepressant i am taking include weight gain and less frequently, weight loss. Other drugs have different side effects, and not everyone who takes these drugs experiences side effects. From my experience, I would guess that massive drops in energy might be to blame for some people, but that's why god invented espresso

How quickly did you lose the weight after going off the medication? I just went off Lexapro and have gained 25lbs in 6 months. I only feel anxious about this crazy weight gain. I gained it while eating healthy and exercising rigorously.