Wellbutrin and weight gain??

I have had similar results literally with any anti depressant type of drug, and while your Dr may say it's not a side effect of the drug itself, I honestly believe those drugs create necesarily a chain of symptoms that unlitmately can cause weight gain. I have fibromyalgia, and have been put on nearly all of those stupid meds... Lyrica was BY FAR the WORST for me, because my body already exhibits many of it's side effects naturally, and it was baaaad... Keep your head up and just keep working with your doctor to find the right fit for you... I've been off the anti depressants now for about 3 years, there are of course moments where I could see using them again, but I have had better results treating my brain to therapy, feeding my body better, and maintaining a workout routine.

Everything we do for our bodies, help exponentially on the inside... I promise!! Good Luck!

If you are logging food correctly there should be no weight gain. Constipation and bloating are easily treatable, (and also caused by poor diet and too much sodium intake). Everyone is different, but this is the first I've heard about someone gaining on Wellbutrin, most people lose weight on it. In fact, one of it's "off label" uses is a weight loss type drug. It's actually considered a side affect. It is very important to keep your depression under control so, I don't think you should go off. I think if you log everything diligently for 1 month, *kitten* your diet you might see exactly what's going on. If you don't see any reason for the weight gain AND you don't start losing, then you can take your food diary to your doctor and show him/her. I hate to say it, but you don't just gain weight without eating unless there is something else going on in your body.
Take care.

I have the same problem, I take Effexor and it also puts weight on you. I just started taking Adderall for ADD so now I will see what happens now, oh and I'm 57! Go figure ))))

Hi all! I have been reading your comments and while I agree that exercise and healthy eating is always important to one's lifestyle, I have to interject. I am 20 years old, extremely active (and always have been), and eat what many fitness guru's would consider "clean" (no processed foods, calories counted, balanced macronutrients...I essentially spent the last three months of my life planning this stuff out!) Well, my doctor put me on Wellbutrin exactly 6 months ago, and to this day I have GAINED 20 pounds. I realize that because I work out 5-6 days a week, some of it could be muscle, sure; however, I asked my doctor just yesterday if the meds cause weight gain. She looked at me with wide eyes and said, "Yes, absolutely. Those things mess badly with metabolism." I was only on 75 MG a day, so I am weening off of them. I realize some may not have the choice to come off of them, however 20 pounds of weight gain is just enough to make me even more depressed than when I started...especially since I work as hard as I do to prevent those extra pounds.

So to the lady to gained 10 lbs, I feel your pain. Everyone says, "Oh nooooo, you lose weight on those medications and if you do just work out and diet harder!" HA! Not always.

I take Prozac not to bad on weight gain I just up my water and up my protein about 25mg each meal and no fast food and very little alcohol and walk,walk get moving will help!! track your food every day!!

:noway:

ALL of the SSRI's (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors) can cause weight gain. I am an RN and I also suffer from anxiety and depression. I take Wellbutrin and Cymbalta....and xanax as needed for panic. Those of us who suffer from this disease have two choices;

1. Work a little harder in regards to diet and exercise to make up for the side effects of the medication.

2. Suffer from depression and/or anxiety, but be able to lose weight more efficiently.

For me, I would rather exercise more (which is also clinically proven to improve mood and anxiety) and eat fewer calories than someone who wasn't taking the anti-depressant medications. This is simply because I know how bad I feel when I don't take the medications. I have had full blown panic attacks at stores, at home, at work...and it is horrible. I'm sure that anyone who has truly experienced a panic attack can relate.

I have struggled with weight my entire life (even before I developed anxiety and depression). I know it is possible to reach your goal weight while taking these medications, because I have done it in the past. It's just more work

I would think an RN would know that Bupropion is NOT an SSRI.

OP, I'm also on 150mg once a day, and I have had no weight gain and have continued to lose as normal. Are you logging your calories each day?

First, Wellbutrin is NOT an SSRI. It works on dopamine and norepinephrine and is considered to be "weight neutral" -- meaning it shouldn't cause you to gain or lose weight. Although there has been off label use of Wellbutrin for weight loss, it has not been backed in clinical trials.

Now with that said, I started taking Wellbutrin two months ago to help with some post partum depression that I couldn't shake. Since then I have lost 23 pounds. The day I started taking it I decided that I was going to be one of the people that lost weight. That same day (Oct 1st) is the day I signed up for MFP and started logging my food. Clearly I did not gain weight, but I don't attribute my weight loss to Wellbutrin either. I stopped over eating and started exercising.

My point to all this is that you gained weight because you were eating above maintenance. That is how we all gain weight - by eating too many calories. I know it would be nice to be able to blame Wellbutrin. I blamed birth control for weight gain in the past, but that was bs too. I was eating too much.

Keep taking your meds and log accurately. Stay under your calorie goal. Exercise. And please do not abruptly stop taking any psychiatric medications including Wellbutrin. Your doctor should wean you off if you choose to discontinue their use in the future.

(edited for spelling)

I've started taking it to help me quit smoking and lost weight. I continue to take it for mild depression and it doesn't seem to have an effect.

Have you been tracking your calories/exercise for the last 8 months? Have you been measuring your food? I found when I'm really down that I'm not even aware of how much I'm eating.

Know this is an old thread, but happened upon it and FYI - Wellbutrin is not an SSRI (or an SNRI). It's an aminoketone (ie kind of in its own class when it comes to anti-depressants).

Wellbutrin can cause fluid retention which dissipates when you stop taking it.

Try to avoid excess salt intake and make sure you're getting lots of water, potassium, and magnesium in your diet, and it'll help prevent this in the future.

Hmmm, my doctor called it "weight neutral" and I lost about 10 pounds when I started taking it. Turns out being less stressed caused me to want to exercise more and eat foods that were good for me, because I had a better outlook on my future. Maybe you didn't stress eat when you were anxious/depressed?

Constipation is my only side effect, and hoo boy that is rough. Try blueberry oatmeal smoothies, foods high in magnesium, avoid iron supplements if you can because it makes you constipated as well (go for food sources of iron), and last but not least GRAPES! Grapes were my magical cure. There are others that I've heard people swear by, like apricots or prunes.

Nurse Becky...

Careful there; Wellbutrin is not an SSRI OR an MAOI. It is in a class of its own, working specifically on the inhibition of the re-uptake of dopamine and norepinephrine. I'm not sure if you were suggesting that the medication works to alleviate anxiety or not, but the textbook answer is that it doesn't. In fact, it is known to increase agitation and sometimes exacerbate the symptoms of people who are already anxious.

Everyone else...

I know I'm a tad late to the conversation but I, too, have been experiencing weight gain with Wellbutrin. At first, I thought I was just imagining things but the scale continued to state otherwise. I gained 20 pounds in 4 months. This is incredibly frustrating. I was formerly on Prozac which caused weight gain and it took me about two years to lose it after I quit the drug. I began exhibiting some depression issues during grad school and when my doctor suggested an AD, I refused. Not only had I experienced undesired side effects from Prozac, the weight gain that it caused made me feel even worse. My doctor insisted that Wellbutrin tended to have the opposite effect and suggested that maybe I could even lose my last 5 pounds while on it.

Since my doctor was so adamant that I could lose weight, I didn't believe my eyes when I began to gain. After doing some online research, I found that it is relatively common to have the adverse effect of weight gain while on Wellbutrin. I keep a meticulous food journal (not always on MyFitnessPal, but I do keep one). I kept my eating relatively under control, but I was also craving sugars non-stop. I finally quit Wellbutrin last week as I had had enough.

I believe that drug manufacturers lie about things like this in order to entice us to take their medications. This was my third experience with an antidepressant and I can say that the negative side effects have always outweighed any mental/emotional benefits (or imagined benefits). I am done with them. I'd rather deal with this on my own. I don't need body image issues (caused by antidepressants) making me feel even worse!

Kellymac518,

Wellbutrin is considered to be "weight neutral," but lists weight loss as one of its main side effects and weight gain as a more rare side effect. I am sure that getting to the bottom of the real statistics of weight loss vs. weight gain in people who have taken these drugs is all but impossible - why would the manufacturer ruin their weight loss reputation? As someone who has researched the anti depressant market rather extensively, I found it interesting that many years ago, Prozac used to claim that weight loss was a side effect when in fact, more people gained than even stayed neutral. Today, we know Prozac as a medication that typically causes weight gain. There is some general speculation that drug manufacturers list weight loss on some drugs as side effects just to boost their sales. I do not doubt that some people lose weight on Wellbutrin since it works on inhibiting the reuptake of the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and dopamine (these are the same chemicals that are increased in the system when one uses a stimulant such as Adderall (speed)).

I do see your point. However, after age 30, losing weight tends to become more and more difficult. Call it body changes, responsibilities, less focus on the superficial and more focus on the important.... whatever. Either way, I am quite familiar with my body and I can say that Wellbutrin made it pretty much impossible for me to lose weight no matter how much I worked out or how little I ate. I tried more than a "little harder" to lose weight and I gained more than "some weight." Twenty pounds in 4 months is quite significant for my 5'4" frame. I know; the math doesn't add up if I am working out more and eating less. It doesn't make sense. All I can say is that this was my experience. I have always been conscious of my weight and I can pinpoint exactly the times when I have had a difficult/impossible time maintaining and one of those times was when I began Wellbutrin. No, I did not assume that I could suddenly eat everything I wanted because I was taking the drug. Like I said, I do keep a meticulous food and exercise journal and always have. I have read story after story online written by people who had the same results. I cannot explain it, I can only speculate.

I am so glad that Wellbutrin is helping you. I personally did not notice any difference. I had a sore throat for 2 weeks but after that, there was no change in my energy or my mood. I did feel more hungry, however.

I am really, really looking forward to the day when punctuation becomes popular again. It pains me to read these comments without the proper capitalization of letters! Please, be the one who stands out in your age group and fight against the trend. It will make you appear like an educated leader.... just do it!!!