Citalopram/Celexa DOES make you fat!

I gotta say...stay AWAY from Remeron (mirtazapine). That stuff actually actively causes increased insulin resistance and deposition of abdominal fat. I cannot believe my Dr ever thought that was appropriate for someone already struggling with weight.

Oh and for citalopram...libido crashes are a super common side effect!! A drug that can cause you to gain weight AND lose interest in sex?! What a crappy solution for depression (obviously works for some though!) :frown:

I agree...mirtazapene has been prescribed for one of my dogs to help her gain weight.

in my field of work we ask the MD to scribed remeron in low doses (15mg) to increase a patients appetite if they are losing

Most antidepressants are potential weight gainers, work as a therapist and hear this all the time.

This is definitely a case of YOUR body not responding well to the meds or possibly something else irrespective of the meds. I took Celexa for over 4 years and during that time I lost over 30 pounds.

I am on Celexa. I've been on it for more than a year and I've gained over 40 lbs and am still gaining. Diet and exercise only help me maintain whatever I'm at. It has also caused a significant amount of water retention, which could be partially to blame for the weight gain. The doctor that prescribes it says that it does not cause weight gain, but all of my other doctors, including my gynecologist, are telling me that my Celexa is the culprit of my weight gain issues. Unfortunately, I've tried to wean myself off and it didnt work out so well. Maybe I'm not ready. I know I am tired of being fat and unable to lose! I have never been so big that I am uncomfortable, but that is where I am at now!

I have been taking Citalopram for about 2 years now for fall/winter months only. (I suffer from the season mood disorder and was prescribed the lowest dosage) I noticed that I did not gain weight while on it (quite the opposite in fact) but as soon as I weaned off it I started gaining despite the diet modifications and exercise. It just occurred to me last week that this is happening. Last year I noticed the weight gain but didn't make a connection, this year however when the same happened I am positive that the weight gain is a side effect of stopping the drug. Did anybody here have a similar experience? What to do now? I don't want to start taking it again (even a minuscule dosage) just to keep the weight off. I found other forums where people had the same problem after weaning off this antidepressant but nobody was successful in keeping the weight off while stopping Citalopram.
:frown:

I am taking citalopram and have been gradually gaining weight. I thought it was just moving out of my parents house and learning to eat on my own until I realized I have actually gained weight ever since taking it. I have started exercising by swimming an hour every other day and eating fairly naturally and staying under my calorie goal, and i have gained two pounds. and I know it's not that I gained muscle weight b/c i measured myself as well.
I am a therapy student and I just took a class on pharmacology. Turns out citalopram acts differently for different people--some lose weight, some gain weight, and some stay the same. All meds aimed at mental illness act differently with different people. But to those who say don't blame the drug--citalopram definitely does have a frequent side effect of weight gain. I don't know what to do about this by I have lifetime chronic low-grade depression, so I need to take some sort of antidepressant but i do not like the side effects of this one--anyone else have success with something else? or any success with still losing weight on citalopram after you realized it was creeping up on you?

I see so many generalizations about antidepressants, and honestly it's hurtful and trivializing. Just because *you* did not gain weight from a medication, doesn't mean that it didn't cause weight gain for another person. I've seen so many comments like "Well, I lost on Celexa!! So it doesn't cause weight gain! You're wrong!" Your experience is not the same as everyone else's is. The thing is, all of our bodies work differently. We have different genetic makeup, metabolism, etc. That's why a medication that works for Person A may not work for Person B. So please, let's be careful before we tell someone they're wrong simply for sharing their experience.

I'm struggling with this too. I've had anxiety for years; last year I finally decided to do something about it. Celexa helped me so much. Before it, I was around 130 pounds. Now I'm 150. I started taking Celexa in July 2013 and by late August 2013 I had gained 8 pounds. Not normal for me. The thing was, though, that Celexa really helped with my anxiety. I felt more balanced. I've been vegetarian for years and I eat healthfully, walk and bike a lot. So I was surprised when I gained weight. I started monitoring what I was eating very closely. And I noticed that my jeans didn't fit anymore. I weaned myself off the celexa in November 2013; it was very difficult but I felt I had to. I couldn't keep ballooning! Now it's June 2014 and I still weigh about the same, and I don't understand. I've been exercising, eating very healthy for the most part, and it just doesn't budge. I feel like I am at my wits end. I've always had body image issues and this doesn't help. I am just so frustrated with myself!

Thank you for letting me vent, and good luck to everyone here.

The thing is, all of our bodies work differently. We have different genetic makeup, metabolism, etc.

We're not all that different. Humans are 99.9% percent genetically similar. Your metabolism doesn't stop or slow down to the point where weight loss becomes exceedingly difficult just because you're on anti-depressants. Calories in / calories out still applies. Celexa doesn't help you defy physics and make you magically gain weight.

the problem is that when i have started eating better, i'm still gaining weight.

You could have been "eating better" but you were still consuming more calories than you expended.

People really just need to stop trying to blame their doctor for their fatness and start owning responsibility and changing something.

This.

Hi everyone. I'm on celexa, risperidone, abilify and Ativan. For a long time I thought it was the meds that made me fat. I have been excercising 5 days a week and doing weight watchers and I've been consistently losing weight. I guess everyone id different.

check my journal--i'm not in any way eating more than i'm expending. I took a psychopharmocology class and they stated that actually different people's bodies respond very differently to different medications. and the teacher, who has a doctorate in psychology, stated that a common side effect of citalopram is gaining weight. not gaining weight b/c you're eating more bc you're happy, but simply, all other variables the same, when some people begin taking citalopram, some people gain weight. and some people loose. It's a scientific fact.

I looked through your diary and it looks a bit sketchy. You have several missing days and you're using a lot of "Homemade" and 'Generic" entries, which are a no-no if you're trying to track as accurately as possible. This is an even bigger problem since you only have 15 more pounds to lose and your margin for error is a lot smaller.

You are taking in more calories than you think. The law of conservation of mass states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It's physically impossible for you to be gaining weight if you are truly eating at a deficit. You can't make something out of nothing.