Any out there on meds that make you gain weight?

I gained 111 lbs within the past 3 years from antidepressants for anxiety and medications for managing my Crohn's disease. I've taken every AD under the sun… Zoloft, Lexapro, Cymbalta, Celexa, Pristiq, Effexor, Prozac, Tofranil, etc. I've also taken a number of benzodiazepines like Klonopin and Ativan.

During the time I gained 111 lbs, I was eating a strict diet from a dietician, counting calories, and was a competitive gymnast training 5 times a week for 3 hours each practice.

Before beginning AD's for my anxiety, I was a whopping 95-97 lbs. I couldn't gain a single pound no matter what I ate, how much I ate, etc.

I also developed insulin resistance which is a side effect of long-term AD use.

Anyone who says certain medications can't directly cause weight gain does not know what they are talking about. Scientists are still researching how and why it happens.

MrM27 wrote: »

_Ben wrote: »

Pharmacist here. OP Im not seeing in this thread specifically what you are taking (possibly missed it) but if you want to send me a PM, there may be an alternative medication that might work a bit better for you.

Also for those who say medications can or cant cause weight loss, you're simply wrong. Medications can alter your metabolism, water retention, salt/electrolyte retention, etc. If anyone would like, Id be more than happy to explain in further detail

So if they alter your metabolism and lower your TDEE would the fat gain be from the meds directly or is it from a reduction in TDEE and eating above that?

Also, yes, please explain in further detail with supporting evidence.

Lots of misinformation in this thread, Im a bit busy at the moment, but I'll do a brief explanation. Dont really have a bunch of time to sit on this thread, so Ill do my best to make a brief, but thorough answer

Weight gain and weight loss is controlled by a host of mechanisms, but primarily it is based off calories in vs calories out, which is the basis of MyFitnessPal. Calories out is primaily controlled by your metabolism, which is controlled by the energy that is expended by the body, and hormonal regulation. Drugs that alter either your energy, your hormones, or metabolism (such as thyroid medications) can have positive or negative effects. This is especially true with oral contraceptives, antidepressants (both atypical and typical), antipsychotics, thyroid medications, diabetic medications, parkinsons medications, nasal decongestants, and some blood pressure and heart medications.

Other medications can alter other factors that while not directly affecting calorie use, can change storage habits. Some medications will cause increased or decreased glucose storage. Some move electrolytes and fluids into different locations, causing an increase/decrease in fluid weight. Heck if you take HCTZ you lose a bunch of fluid weight due to its diuretic effects. Just the same, theres plenty of drugs that cause fluid retention. Some medications also will increase appetite, which often times cause people to gain weight. While that weight gain is due to them eating more food, some drugs have reported increased appetite, leading to increased weight gain, therefore are considered to be related to weight gain.

In terms of supporting evidence, it really depends on the actual drug you are talking about, but pretty much the best source for anything is the National Library of Medicine. Here are some quick links I found, related to a few different drugs

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0003573/ - Good overview summary article

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11681765 - Abstract related to weight gain in different antipsychotics

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16234878 - Abstract related to weight gain in general. Not on my work computer ATM so I couldnt access the full article.

sunglasses_and_ocean_waves wrote: »

_Ben wrote: »

Also for those who say medications can or cant cause weight loss, you're simply wrong. Medications can alter your metabolism,

which can make you gain weight, einstein

And seriously dude, you need to tread very carefully PMing with med suggestions. That's between the OP and her doctor/

Im not certain what you meant by the first portion of your comment, but I think its just that I meant to type weight gain instead of weight loss, simple typo.

In terms of medication recommendations, it is something that I have a degree and a license in. Its also a recommendation. A) These are prescription medications, and without a prescription from her doctor, there is no way for her to get these medications. B ) Its a recommendation. Of course without seeing her lab values, PMH, SH, FH, etc, there is no way to know for certain. Thats why I was offering to recommend an alternative, that may have decreased weight gain effects, but either a similar or comparable MOA. Thats what my job is as a Pharamcist. I can make a recommendation, and through her talking to her doctor, she possibly could make a switch. There is a reason that we are called 'drug experts'; because we are drug experts. I am simply offering an extension of some advice if she would like some, but I would never recommend doing anything without her doctor being aware. I never recommend my patients change their therapy without also consulting their doctor, often times I will call their doctor so all 3 of us can have a conversation to optimize therapy, outcomes, and adhrence

4 words: talk to your doctor.
/thread

_Ben wrote: »

MrM27 wrote: »

_Ben wrote: »

Pharmacist here. OP Im not seeing in this thread specifically what you are taking (possibly missed it) but if you want to send me a PM, there may be an alternative medication that might work a bit better for you.

Also for those who say medications can or cant cause weight loss, you're simply wrong. Medications can alter your metabolism, water retention, salt/electrolyte retention, etc. If anyone would like, Id be more than happy to explain in further detail

So if they alter your metabolism and lower your TDEE would the fat gain be from the meds directly or is it from a reduction in TDEE and eating above that?

Also, yes, please explain in further detail with supporting evidence.

Lots of misinformation in this thread, Im a bit busy at the moment, but I'll do a brief explanation. Dont really have a bunch of time to sit on this thread, so Ill do my best to make a brief, but thorough answer

Weight gain and weight loss is controlled by a host of mechanisms, but primarily it is based off calories in vs calories out, which is the basis of MyFitnessPal. Calories out is primaily controlled by your metabolism, which is controlled by the energy that is expended by the body, and hormonal regulation. Drugs that alter either your energy, your hormones, or metabolism (such as thyroid medications) can have positive or negative effects. This is especially true with oral contraceptives, antidepressants (both atypical and typical), antipsychotics, thyroid medications, diabetic medications, parkinsons medications, nasal decongestants, and some blood pressure and heart medications.

Other medications can alter other factors that while not directly affecting calorie use, can change storage habits. Some medications will cause increased or decreased glucose storage. Some move electrolytes and fluids into different locations, causing an increase/decrease in fluid weight. Heck if you take HCTZ you lose a bunch of fluid weight due to its diuretic effects. Just the same, theres plenty of drugs that cause fluid retention. Some medications also will increase appetite, which often times cause people to gain weight. While that weight gain is due to them eating more food, some drugs have reported increased appetite, leading to increased weight gain, therefore are considered to be related to weight gain.

In terms of supporting evidence, it really depends on the actual drug you are talking about, but pretty much the best source for anything is the National Library of Medicine. Here are some quick links I found, related to a few different drugs

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0003573/ - Good overview summary article

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11681765 - Abstract related to weight gain in different antipsychotics

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16234878 - Abstract related to weight gain in general. Not on my work computer ATM so I couldnt access the full article.

sunglasses_and_ocean_waves wrote: »

_Ben wrote: »

Also for those who say medications can or cant cause weight loss, you're simply wrong. Medications can alter your metabolism,

which can make you gain weight, einstein

And seriously dude, you need to tread very carefully PMing with med suggestions. That's between the OP and her doctor/

Im not certain what you meant by the first portion of your comment, but I think its just that I meant to type weight gain instead of weight loss, simple typo.

In terms of medication recommendations, it is something that I have a degree and a license in. Its also a recommendation. A) These are prescription medications, and without a prescription from her doctor, there is no way for her to get these medications. Its a recommendation. Of course without seeing her lab values, PMH, SH, FH, etc, there is no way to know for certain. Thats why I was offering to recommend an alternative, that may have decreased weight gain effects, but either a similar or comparable MOA. Thats what my job is as a Pharamcist. I can make a recommendation, and through her talking to her doctor, she possibly could make a switch. There is a reason that we are called 'drug experts'; because we are drug experts

Pharmacy students are now experts?

If you are tracking your calories in and out you can make adjustments to what the medications might slightly alter and still be successful at losing weight. As the OP has tried to claim she did not gain weight because of medications while eating 1 apple every 2 or 3 days.

I lost the majority of my weight while on high doses of steroids and 13 other prescriptions. It took paying close attention to my numbers and making adjustments.

missiontofitness wrote: »

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?

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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?

Astounding. When I first posted a response to OP, I never imagined this thread would become so *kitten* pedantic and ridiculous.

Hooray, community.

goldenrodfarm wrote: »

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.

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.

Hily93 wrote: »

neveragain84 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.

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.

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.