Zoloft Weight Gain?

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  • Alyssawinter1221
    Alyssawinter1221 Posts: 118
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    I also take Zoloft and have gained weight. I recently stopped taking it because it was making me very Ill in the middle of the night.

    I find that replacing it with exercise has helped slightly with the withdrawal.
  • Dusy19
    Dusy19 Posts: 1
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    I noticed a crazy increase in appetite. Particularly crave sugar and salty treats. Yet, with exericise and concentrating on a nutritious menu the cravings subside. My weight dropped near normal and the SSRI definitely helped my overall mood.
  • djicon
    djicon Posts: 9 Member
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    I've been reading all the forums regarding Zoloft and weight gain. Before I was on Zoloft, I was at 13-14% body fat, lean, toned and extremely fit. I've now been on Zoloft for 8 months and am now up to 17-18% body fat and have gained 10 lbs. I eat very healthy, exercise 5-6x a week (strenuously), eat and burn the same calories as I have before the medication. But I keep gaining weight, mostly in my abdomen and my pants are fitting tight. 10 lbs may not seem like much, but on my 5'4" frame it is. The whole reason I got on the medication in the first place was to control my depression and anxiety, but this weight gain is making the anxiety just as bad. I think I am going to wean off of it and control my mood naturally, through yoga, meditation, exercise. It's just not worth it.
  • caminoslo
    caminoslo Posts: 239 Member
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    Anyone take Zoloft? Anyone gain weight from it? Other side affects. Starting it today and hoping this doesn't make my weight loss any harder than it has become for me!
    ANY information would help! THANKS!
    I took it I was always hungry, I had insomnia, and had weird dizziness. I got tired of it and quit cold turkey. Dont do that though caue its probably illegal for you to do that.
  • IronMikeFox
    IronMikeFox Posts: 458
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    Hey there. As you can see from all the varied responses, Zoloft (like all medications) can have different effects on different people. Personally, I haven't really had any bad side effects from it. I have been taking it for years now. My weight has fluctuated, but I attribute that more to my own eating habits than the medication. This thread does make me wonder though if taking it is hampering my weight loss efforts. Regardless, considering the difference it makes for me, it's worth it. The best thing to do is keep in frequent contact with your doctor as you start taking it. If you don't like anything about how it makes you feel, try something else. Also, I recommend working with a psychiatrist rather than going to a general physician. They are much more able to help you find the right med or combination of meds. Hope this helps!
  • lvmamaduke
    lvmamaduke Posts: 24 Member
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    I took Zoloft about 10yrs ago for several years and it made me lose weight since it suppressed my appetite. I did have horrible withdrawals when I stopped taking it.
  • raeshaunta
    raeshaunta Posts: 1
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    Yes im on it and have gained weight about 15 pounds all in abdomen.
    I will switch to Wellbutin .Good luck.
  • Kisame29
    Kisame29 Posts: 9,700 Member
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    If you're conscious about what you're eating, you shouldn't gain weight since it really only has that effect by increasing appetite. But that can be a huge issue and if it becomes a problem then you can always talk to your doctor about trying something else. By the way, the first 1-4 weeks are usually the worst for side effects (feeling shaky, kind of awful, nausea, etc), but most of those should go away after a couple of weeks and you should start to see a benefit after about a month (since SSRIs take 2-4 weeks before they start having the antidepressant effect). Also, don't just stop taking it without talking to your doctor- often they will "taper" you off of it (slowly give you lower doses) so you don't get really annoying side effects that can happen when stopping it.

    Anyway, good luck! I haven't had that issue with Zoloft myself, but I did have issues with my birth control increasing my appetite to the point where I decided to switch to something else, so I know it can be frustrating to find something that works for you.
  • Unruleyjr
    Unruleyjr Posts: 1
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    Thank you so very much for these posts. I am getting married in a week and have tried to lose weight for two months now. I have stayed at 1300-1600 calories and have exercised everyday. The scale, I swear, was stuck and I was incredibly frustrated. Unfortunately other scales agreed with mine!! Like other posters, I was at my highest weight ever except for during pregnancy.

    I went to my doctor and she said "increase the cardio". I did. Nothing changed. I decided to look up my meds and found this thread. In the past 6 days I have weaned my Zoloft from 150mg a day to 50mg. And in those six days I have dropped 4 pounds. Plus, I was having severe ups and downs-losing 4 pounds in a day then gaining 4 the next (cortisol carousel!). Those ups and downs are gone now. I know about the cortisol signs because my former spouse who has now passed had Cushings and he would lose/gain 15 pounds a month for no reason.

    I am on track now and feel so much better about myself. And my wedding dress will fit me now.

    I would encourage everyone to consider the Zoloft/weight gain as a possibility. However, as others have said, it's not worth your mental health so if you really do need an anti-anxiety/anti-depressants to ask your doctor about other options.

    Thank you again-I am getting "me" back and am so very happy.
  • llujan88
    llujan88 Posts: 9 Member
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    I was on Zoloft for about 8 months and it really helped with my mild depression/anxiety. But like others have mentioned I had a really hard time with low sex drive. I was also on the lowest dose possible. I recently decided to get off the meds because of the low sex drive. I've been off for 2 months now and have been eating better and exercising and the scale has not budged at all. It's very frustrating. I gained about 7-10 lbs in the past 8 months, I noticed my appetite increased while on the meds but still I exercised regularly. I truly believe it is due to the zoloft in my system. Still going to keep at it and hopefully I will start to see some progress. By the way this is the most I have weighed in my life (besides baby weight which came off quickly). I'm only 5'2" so 7-10 lbs is big on me.

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