Any out there on meds that make you gain weight?

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Replies

  • cindyhoney2
    cindyhoney2 Posts: 603 Member
    YES! Most anti-psychotic and anti-depressant will and can cause weight gain. I shot up 60# with Seroquel. Abilfy is another one known for weight gain.
    I've even had a petite little doctor tell me that in no way shape or form did a drug cause me to put on weight. To be honest, she's lucky I didn't sit on her or break her in half since I weighed prolly three times as much as her at the time. I'm careful and will not take meds that have weight gain side effects simply b/c most of my depression was over being overweight.

    Anyone who says they don't has never been thru it and needs to STFU!
  • cindyhoney2
    cindyhoney2 Posts: 603 Member
    Medicine itself does not cause weight gain; they do not have 3,500+ calories crammed into them to pack on the pounds. Side effects can include appetite changes (like not feeling hungry, or feeling ravenous), water retention, ect.

    I've been on birth control for a while, and weight gain can occur on these. I've always been able to maintain or lose easily on these; once I started tracking my intake (weighing my food, not just eyeballing and using measuring cups), I could keep my weight in check.

    I would discuss your medicines with your doctor, and see if there are any specific changes you can make to your intake to help curb the gain.

    And I guess that makes you the 'odd one' not the norm.
    AND
    You need to do a little more research!!!

    I'm not talking birth control, I'm talking mood altering meds, anti-psychotics, please research bf you open your mouth and more BS falls out.
    I don't know anyone in my 42 yrs that has put on more than 10-15 # from BC. DUH

    And I'm also wondering where you got your med degree?
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    YES! Most anti-psychotic and anti-depressant will and can cause weight gain. I shot up 60# with Seroquel. Abilfy is another one known for weight gain.
    I've even had a petite little doctor tell me that in no way shape or form did a drug cause me to put on weight. To be honest, she's lucky I didn't sit on her or break her in half since I weighed prolly three times as much as her at the time. I'm careful and will not take meds that have weight gain side effects simply b/c most of my depression was over being overweight.

    Anyone who says they don't has never been thru it and needs to STFU!

    Well aren't you pleasant...

    The meds didn't make you gain the 60 lbs. Not adjusting calories to account for the slight changes the medication caused is what put the weight on.

    When I was first put on the steroids I wasn't watching calories, weight was going up about 8-10 lbs per month because I didn't adjust for lack of movement, and increased appetite. Once I did I lost steadily.
  • Hily93
    Hily93 Posts: 65 Member
    YES! Most anti-psychotic and anti-depressant will and can cause weight gain. I shot up 60# with Seroquel. Abilfy is another one known for weight gain.
    I've even had a petite little doctor tell me that in no way shape or form did a drug cause me to put on weight. To be honest, she's lucky I didn't sit on her or break her in half since I weighed prolly three times as much as her at the time. I'm careful and will not take meds that have weight gain side effects simply b/c most of my depression was over being overweight.

    Anyone who says they don't has never been thru it and needs to STFU!

    Omg I can so relate!! Seroquel is what got me here, and my doc didn't even tell me that I could gain weight. I really hate her, she did so many things wrong with me that cost me a lot. And the last time I spoke to her she was yelling at me and telling me I was the reason for all that went wrong. Which was some major breakdowns and a bunch of other things.
  • Hily93
    Hily93 Posts: 65 Member
    YES! Most anti-psychotic and anti-depressant will and can cause weight gain. I shot up 60# with Seroquel. Abilfy is another one known for weight gain.
    I've even had a petite little doctor tell me that in no way shape or form did a drug cause me to put on weight. To be honest, she's lucky I didn't sit on her or break her in half since I weighed prolly three times as much as her at the time. I'm careful and will not take meds that have weight gain side effects simply b/c most of my depression was over being overweight.

    Anyone who says they don't has never been thru it and needs to STFU!

    Well aren't you pleasant...

    The meds didn't make you gain the 60 lbs. Not adjusting calories to account for the slight changes the medication caused is what put the weight on.

    When I was first put on the steroids I wasn't watching calories, weight was going up about 8-10 lbs per month because I didn't adjust for lack of movement, and increased appetite. Once I did I lost steadily.

    Some of us were never told that weight gain was a side effect. I for one blamed myself for over 2 years.
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
    Ya really can't fix stupid, can ya?

    *IF* your metabolism is changed (and I guarantee you when it is, it's by minor percentage points here and there - source: physics) and you don't adjust your intake downward, then you are BY DEFINITION, in a Calorie Surplus and ergo, BY DEFINITION, Overeating.

    Excuses.

    You don't win this without honesty.

    Get some.

    Denial doesn't look good on anyone and it never works for weight loss, no matter how hard you try.

  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    Hily93 wrote: »
    YES! Most anti-psychotic and anti-depressant will and can cause weight gain. I shot up 60# with Seroquel. Abilfy is another one known for weight gain.
    I've even had a petite little doctor tell me that in no way shape or form did a drug cause me to put on weight. To be honest, she's lucky I didn't sit on her or break her in half since I weighed prolly three times as much as her at the time. I'm careful and will not take meds that have weight gain side effects simply b/c most of my depression was over being overweight.

    Anyone who says they don't has never been thru it and needs to STFU!

    Well aren't you pleasant...

    The meds didn't make you gain the 60 lbs. Not adjusting calories to account for the slight changes the medication caused is what put the weight on.

    When I was first put on the steroids I wasn't watching calories, weight was going up about 8-10 lbs per month because I didn't adjust for lack of movement, and increased appetite. Once I did I lost steadily.

    Some of us were never told that weight gain was a side effect. I for one blamed myself for over 2 years.

    You don't research prescriptions you are given??? I take nothing without researching it for myself and weighing benefits vs possible side effects. Plus when your weight started to go up you didn't choose to look into it? Where is your responsibility in this, I see you blame the doctor for everything but what about yours?
  • redhead_che
    redhead_che Posts: 292 Member
    So I see that this thread has changed dramatically since I left it around 2am, but I would just like to to OP: Seroquel is a b!tch. That is how I gained 30lbs the first time I gained. I went from 145 or so to 183 at my absolute highest. But I do know it was because I felt like a zombie all the time and in particular, a zombie that visited the pantry all the time and ate for comfort from the awful way I was feeling on the drug. In all reality, I should have been talking to my doctor MUCH earlier than I did with those feelings. It was about 8 years ago now when I was an adolescent, so I think seeing an adult psychiatrist was also a horrible mistake too :| But, I lost that weight and from 2011-late 2012 I did get back down to 143 with an adjusted healthier diet/eating much less. I didn't do anything fancy to lose it, just started to be mindful after finding a new medication that I now can't remember...shoot. But here I am again from stress eating 30lbs onto my body. Let the journey begin again!
  • Elsie_Brownraisin
    Elsie_Brownraisin Posts: 786 Member
    edited January 2015
    I take lithium, an anti-convulsant, an atypical antipsychotic and birth control and have gained weight over the years.

    But I haven't had problems with slowly losing a lot of weight. It still comes off when I consume less calories than is required to maintain my body weight.

    The side effects of the medication don't help with this though (increased appetite and when taken in large doses (the dose varies according to how well I am) they leave me feeling very stupified - even if I could be arsed to exercise, it would be unsafe to be in a pool or under something heavy in a squat rack ). And of course the condition itself, which sometimes makes me inclined to stay in bed all day nursing a family sized pie.

    There are lots of factors making things very difficult weight loss wise, but in my experience anyway, the physical calories in/out isn't one of them. Not that it's easy to do when you feel physically or mentally cruddy, or feel ravenous all the time.

    Fortunately my Dr and nurse are sympathetic and have given me good advice as far as side effects and food go, they don't seem to think that weight gain is uncommon.

    But I don't think taking medication for mental health gives me any more authority on this subject that than someone who takes meds such as steroids for a physical health condition. Perhaps there's some stigma attached to the former and a certain defensiveness about med weight gain not being seen as lazy or weak. But telling someone to STFU seems rude and unnecessary. The fat cells don't care if your medication is more 'worthy' of sympathy than another.

    Unless I can apportion blame for my splendidly large backside between my medications? Maybe one cheek for the many, many experiments with birth control and the hormones I currently take for my unruly uterus and the other cheek for being a manic depressive?
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
    YES! Most anti-psychotic and anti-depressant will and can cause weight gain. I shot up 60# with Seroquel. Abilfy is another one known for weight gain.
    I've even had a petite little doctor tell me that in no way shape or form did a drug cause me to put on weight. To be honest, she's lucky I didn't sit on her or break her in half since I weighed prolly three times as much as her at the time. I'm careful and will not take meds that have weight gain side effects simply b/c most of my depression was over being overweight.

    Anyone who says they don't has never been thru it and needs to STFU!

    I'm on two different antidepressants, an anti anxiety and birth control. And I say they don't impact your weight in any substantial way.

    Unless, of course, you're mindlessly eating and not being a pro-active partner in your health. But then - is the medication really to blame for that?
  • fevrale
    fevrale Posts: 170 Member
    Astounding. When I first posted a response to OP, I never imagined this thread would become so *kitten* pedantic and ridiculous.

    Hooray, community.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    edited January 2015
    fevrale wrote: »
    Astounding. When I first posted a response to OP, I never imagined this thread would become so *kitten* pedantic and ridiculous.

    Hooray, community.

    People here think there's no way to gain weight besides overeating.
  • MarziPanda95
    MarziPanda95 Posts: 1,326 Member
    I was put on a high dose of prednisone for 3 months for ITP, most people do gain weight on prednisone especially such a high dose. I noticed changes in my body, it gives you chipmunk cheeks and a pot belly, I really toed the line on my calories and exercise and didn't gain any weight, but I didn't lose any weight either. The amount of calories and exercise I was doing, I should have lost 2 lbs a week. Up to that point I had lost 56 lbs, losing 1 or 2 lbs a week. I finally finished the long taper a week ago last Tuesday and this Tuesday I weighed in at 2 lbs less! I imagine if I was on a maintenance diet of 2200 calories I would have gained weight, but the 1300 calories I was on maintained my weight.

    People say meds don't make you gain weight but with my experience someone not indulging but staying on a maintenance diet would have gained weight. I do a lot of exercise in a day, always getting well over 10 K steps, I have a farm and do a lot of physical work including manually shoveling out the barn. My average steps are 13 K, the nights I work at the hospital I usually get in at least 10-12 K but days I am home I get in 15 K or more. With all that moving and healthy eating I should not have maintained my weight but lost. The minute I came off the prednisone my face started to lose its chipmunk cheeks and my belly started to go back down, and I feel much better, no more jitters and I can sleep.

    I'm just posting to say, wooo ITP buddies! I've never met anyone else with ITP, ever. I too am on prednisone. At first I gained a lot, maybe 20lbs, but I wasn't watching what I ate at all and once I did I found I could still lose weight with a dosage of 75mg if I worked hard - it was just increased appetite and water retention. I'm now on weekly infusions of rituximab as my platelets drop again when on no steroids. I got down to 1mg a day but they still dropped when I stopped taking the steroids. Sucks. The rituximab causes gain as well but only because it's a big bag of medication, so my weight goes back down again after a few days.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    edited January 2015
    Whats the name of the drug?
    How much is it affecting you?
    How is it making you increase weight? Is it a direct effect or indirect by inceasing your appetite?

    Point is what Virgo said, just how much of an impediment is it or how much is it due to your general weight loss strategy?

    Whats your Dr said?

    Pardon me if ive missed the answer.
  • Timorous_Beastie
    Timorous_Beastie Posts: 595 Member
    I was on oral steroids a few times for my back before the injection, since I had to jump through a few months of flaming hoops to get it, and didn't have any weight gain. Instead, I was hyper. I had the energy of a thousand caffeinated gerbils. Which is really frustrating when you're injured and can't do much more than mild stretching.

    The steroid injection, though, was a totally different story. It was weirdly fascinating how differently that affected my body. I didn't have the hyper side effects I had from the oral meds, nor the indigestion, but I did get weight gain I didn't get previously. Worst of all, it didn't help my pain, either. *grumbles*

    I'm not blaming anyone or anything. It's just something that happened. It was certainly worth the chance that it would stop the shooting pain I felt every time I moved. If it had worked, I wouldn't have cared if I gained even more weight. There's a lot worse things in this world than excess body fat, and chronic pain is one of them.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    Hily93 wrote: »
    fevrale wrote: »
    I was on a medication that made me insatiably hungry. I gained 60 pounds in about 6 months. I'm trying to lose that weight now. I'm still on a similar medication but one without the side effect of constant hunger.

    This. I was on Prednisone for 2 years and hated it. I was always hungry. It definitely contributed towards my weight gain. Luckily, I got off of it and the insatiable appetite ended.

    I was put on meds that would increase my appetite, my doc said that it would be the worst side effect, but that I needed that since I hardly eat. But all I got was weight gain and no appetite. After I changed doc I found out the drug makes you gain weight and should never be given to a overweight person. I was already a bit overweight(size M) since the only thing I would eat a day would be sugary stuff, and due to misdiagnosed asthma I was forbidden to exercise. In the last 2 years I have gone from size S/M to size L/XL. :neutral_face:


    I have asthma and I have never heard a dr say to forbid exercise.mine always told me to walk and get some kind of exercise to build up my lung strength. same with others I know who have asthma and heart problems as well they are always told to build up their lung capacity with exercise.I would have gotten a second opinion to be honest.

  • JillyCornwall
    JillyCornwall Posts: 376 Member
    Hily93 wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Hily93 wrote: »
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    Medications can increase the appetite. Eating too much makes you gain weight.

    Not only that, it can make you gain weight as well, I had periods when I hardly ate anything, I was well under 2000 a day. And I still gained

    Meds don't have calories. They don't defy the laws of physics.

    But they do make you gain weight

    http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/is-your-medicine-cabinet-making-you-fat

    I hope you read the article you quote fully, where it clearly states that the main increase in weight is due to the way the medication effects your behaviour, ie eating more, moving less. it also states that by increasing exercise the effects of most of these drugs can be counteracted.
    I myself put on over 20lbs of hard lost weight in two months whilst on Propononol, but it was because I couldn't care less what i ate and although I was still working and doing the same type of exercise i did it very slowly, I also retained water. My husband is on steroids and he has lost over 50lbs in 12 months whilst being virtually housebound so no exercise, because he eats less.
    Whilst these meds known to cause weight gain make life difficult for us overweight beings, if you eat less and move more & get the balance right to create the deficit your body needs you WILL lose weight.
  • hamminit
    hamminit Posts: 184 Member
    i have been on predisone and citolopram and they both made my weight shoot up- I've just learned that no matter how bad I want it to not be true- along with hypothyroidism- I just have no room for not watching what I eat. Good Luck.