Wellbutrin is the only thing that's changed in my diet....

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shannonatt
shannonatt Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been on and off MFP in a vicious cycle for several years now, fueled by reaching a weight and lifestyle that caused me to look in the mirror and reevaluate my life a few years ago. Now I'm down to 139 (I'm 5'7) with a goal of 125lbs by next summer. The thing is I recently upped my Wellbutrin dose from 150 to 300 and the pounds have been dropping off. I initially set my goal to 1500 calories a day, but I find I can eat about 1800-2300 a day with no extra exercise (I have a very physical job) and still drop half a lb to a lb of weight a day recently. My clothes are fitting well again and I can't complain about the lack of appetite. I am wondering if anyone else has noticed this. I googled it and saw that there was an average of 5lbs weight loss, but I've surpassed that and a little worried that once I get to my goal it will be impossible to maintain and I find the drugs are working for me best at this dose as I've been switched so many times I don't want to start that vicious cycle again. Today is my cheat day and I baked chocolate chip cookies and ate almost a dozen of them to myself. I guarantee you when I step on the scale tomorrow it will be the same or even down to 138.

Replies

  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    edited October 2014
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    You are probably overestimating how much you eat and/or more active than you think you are. You also won't gain weight in a day of over-eating... so of course your weight won't change unless you are carrying water weight.

    I DON'T have a physical job and I eat 1880 net, almost 2100 when I exercise. So... if I'm not active and eating a similar amount, then clearly you could easily be undereating.

    Calculate your estimated energy needs from websites like health-calc.com or exrx.net to include work activity and subtract 10-15% from this number and compare to how much you are eating. Weigh your food to ensure you are logging correctly. Use the correct entries (e.g. if you weigh cooked, log it cooked).

    Also, you could be losing water weight right now. I know that antidepressants can affect appetite as well, so you may think you are eating the same but you really are eating a bit less than you had been. Especially easy to misjudge if you don't weigha nd log accurately. I gained when I thougt my intake was the same.. but I was eating a lot of high-calorie foods and lowered my exercise level. was also not tracking calories. was also on Cymbalta. Didn't magically lose once I got off of it, going back on it or another medication and I do not anticipate changes in weight other than at most water weight if these effects are common (not something I really looked into).
  • hobbeskastiel
    hobbeskastiel Posts: 221 Member
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    Hmmmm, zero posts......not sure if bot........
  • Adw7677
    Adw7677 Posts: 201 Member
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    If you're asking about Wellbutrin in particular, weight loss is a common side effect. I don't think "5 pounds" is an official average, as 5 pounds is not a significant change. I knew someone that lost 70 pounds on Wellbutrin. She was quite heavy to start out with, and I don't think 70 is particularly common. But you could be another uncommon loser (you know what I mean).

    I took it for less than 2 weeks and wanted to kill anyone that appeared in my path. So for anyone reading this and wanting to take it for weight loss, that really isn't a good idea. It has a lot of (frequently occuring) side effects.

    Like most other medications, your body will adjust. You may even gain back some of the weight that you lose. I would suggest you stick with what you SHOULD be doing and don't make any significant changes until the medication levels out.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    hobbeskastiel wrote: »
    Hmmmm, zero posts......not sure if bot........

    For whatever reason, new forum shows that new posters have 0 posts. Only once they post a reply do they show that they have posted.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    It is possible that the beneficial side effect will go away. (Medications are fickle like that). Take advantage of this time.
  • Foamroller
    Foamroller Posts: 1,041 Member
    edited October 2014
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    Good for you that you shed weight. But even it was Wellbutrin that made you either eat less or move more, weightloss is listed as one possible sideeffect.

    It also says in the medical info (which you do not mention) that this Wellbutrin can damage liver and kidney if taken in higher doses (like many medicins) and that 300 is max recommended dose.

    Other known sideeffects are cramps and higher risk for destructive thoughts of suicide or self-injury. Common sideeffects 1/10 are: Dry mouth, vomiting, headache, sleeplessness.

    Reading your post, OP, it seems like Wellbutrin is a magic pill for weight loss. I would highly discourage anyone to take prescripted medication for other diagnoses than they were clinically tested for.

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