Any out there on meds that make you gain weight?

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Replies

  • PammieSuzyQ
    PammieSuzyQ Posts: 100 Member
    There are medications that affect weight for any number of reasons. Some cause a change in appetite, some cause a change in metabolism, some cause water retention, and others for reasons unknown. For anyone to blow someone off with "pills don't have calories" is unhelpful and unnecessary; if you do not have anything useful to say, bow out of the conversation.

    As a PTSD Veteran I have spent more than 30 years off and on various anti-anxiety and anti-depressant medications, and currently I am on Prempro, a Hormone Replacement Therapy medication for women in menopause or post menopause. Almost all of the meds I have ever taken have affected my weight by various methods. And the meds I am on now, Prempro, Trazadone, Amlodipine, Tramadol, and Topomax, every single one of them can cause weight gain. I have learned to work around the ones that cause a change in appetite; I am the one in control. As far as metabolism changes, I can fight back with weight training; muscle burns more calories.

    But I have had trials of some real horrible meds that caused me to gain between 8 and 14 pounds in a single month. Needless to say I refused those meds and forced the doctors to try other ones. The 14 pounds I gained with the one anti-depressant has never come off since, I suppose because I gained it in my 50th year. I was perimenopausal and my metabolism was in flux. But hey, is 100lbs even healthy on a 5'5" frame? I'm fine with 115 even, so I am only working to take off the winter 10 I gained back over the holidays, and tone up the muscles that went flabby during time off trail after several injuries.

    If you want to know the side effects of your medications, check out drugs.com. Weigh the pros and cons. The meds I am on are the ones I need, I asked for lower doses on some of them to counter act the side effects. I can also take them at different hours of the day. AND, I chose talk therapy and group therapy over anymore meds. Talk with your doctor AND your pharmacist. Your pharmacist knows more about medication than your doctor does, drugs are his job.
  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
    Does anyone else think this endless bickering over the exact mechanism of drug-induced weight gain is pointless? The end result of many people being put on these medications is weight gain. Does it matter whether it does so by making you more hungry or by slowing your metabolism? Either way, the result is the same. Seroquel is a drug used to treat bi-polar disorder, and every person I know that has taken it, experienced significant weight gain. I would venture to say that these numbers are statistically significant, otherwise, why would doctors warn patients that they were going to gain weight before they started taking the drug? Not they "might" gain weight, but that they most certainly would, although some may gain less than others. I think people here are looking for solutions, not arguments.
  • candacefausset
    candacefausset Posts: 297 Member
    I'm a firm believer that meds don't just magically make you put on weight like so many side effects labels would have us believe. Yes, they can make you store fat deposits if your meds alter the way your body processes glucose. But at the same time you burn those same fat deposits like you would any other fat deposit- by a calorie deficit. And if people say their meds give them a lack of energy, it kind of screams bologna to me. That same fat you are trying to get rid of is literally stored energy. I got put on a birth control that took some considerable time to regulate in my system. It caused me to become severely depressed for about half a year in which I did relatively nothing besides eat cookies because I am an emotional eater. The meds may have given me a side effect but it was still CICO that caused me to gain back 20 pounds after my initial 43 lost. Even water weight can be gotten around in most cases by flushing your system and if you can't flush the 3-4 pounds of water weight, you can still lose fat while on meds. It may be hard to work through whatever side effect you have but the only excuses you have are the ones you are feeding yourself. I'm not trying to be mean. I'm just stating exactly what I have had to come to realize through my own experiences.
  • Well said fatcity.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    edited January 2015
    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.

    If I hit you over the head with a hammer, just hypothetically of course, since I'm not a violent person, would the pain be from being hit in the head with a hammer, or from the inflammation caused by the burst blood vessels and fibers under the skin?

    Sometimes people talk in shorthand. It's easier to say, "This medication caused weight gain," than "This medication caused my metabolism to slow which resulted in unknowingly overeating which resulted in weight gain."

    If you want to fix the problem then that is a very important distinction.

    If I take a drug and then gain weight I could say that the drug caused weight gain. I have to take that drug so there is nothing I can do about the weight gain. That is wrong.

    If someone tells me the drug can not cause weight gain but it does alter my appetite or cause me to be less active. If I eat more calories than I burn as a result THAT is what causes the weight gain. Then I know how to fix the problem. Adjust calories intake or increase calorie output. It simple even if its not easy.

    The drug did not cause the weight gain, too many calories cause the weight gain.


    It's simple, really?

    Riddle me this…

    I gained 111 lbs within 3 years on AD's all while following a strict diet given by a registered dietician, counting calories, AND being a competitive gymnast who trained 5 times a week 3 hours each practice. If you know anything about gymnastics, we are pushed to our limit every time we train. It's a brutal sport. There's a reason it's one of the top most dangerous sports.

    I wasn't eating more calories. I was eating less calories than I did before starting AD's. I wasn't inactive. I was more active than I was before starting AD's.

    So no, your whole "altering appetite, being less active, and not adjusting calorie intake" didn't apply to me.

    Do NOT try to tell me the medications didn't cause my weight gain when I was 95-97 freaking pounds my ENTIRE life before beginning AD's (oh and did I mention I couldn't gain a single pound no matter how much I tried until I began AD's… That's not a coincidence)
  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
    edited January 2015
    There are medications that affect weight for any number of reasons. Some cause a change in appetite, some cause a change in metabolism, some cause water retention, and others for reasons unknown. For anyone to blow someone off with "pills don't have calories" is unhelpful and unnecessary; if you do not have anything useful to say, bow out of the conversation.

    As a PTSD Veteran I have spent more than 30 years off and on various anti-anxiety and anti-depressant medications, and currently I am on Prempro, a Hormone Replacement Therapy medication for women in menopause or post menopause. Almost all of the meds I have ever taken have affected my weight by various methods. And the meds I am on now, Prempro, Trazadone, Amlodipine, Tramadol, and Topomax, every single one of them can cause weight gain. I have learned to work around the ones that cause a change in appetite; I am the one in control. As far as metabolism changes, I can fight back with weight training; muscle burns more calories.

    But I have had trials of some real horrible meds that caused me to gain between 8 and 14 pounds in a single month. Needless to say I refused those meds and forced the doctors to try other ones. The 14 pounds I gained with the one anti-depressant has never come off since, I suppose because I gained it in my 50th year. I was perimenopausal and my metabolism was in flux. But hey, is 100lbs even healthy on a 5'5" frame? I'm fine with 115 even, so I am only working to take off the winter 10 I gained back over the holidays, and tone up the muscles that went flabby during time off trail after several injuries.

    If you want to know the side effects of your medications, check out drugs.com. Weigh the pros and cons. The meds I am on are the ones I need, I asked for lower doses on some of them to counter act the side effects. I can also take them at different hours of the day. AND, I chose talk therapy and group therapy over anymore meds. Talk with your doctor AND your pharmacist. Your pharmacist knows more about medication than your doctor does, drugs are his job.

    I'm so pleased that you found solutions that you could implement to counteract the negative side effects. As you said, you must be an informed patient, and willing to work with your doctor to find the best medication and treatment for you. It can take quite a bit of time, and some personal research, but it is so worth it.
    You are an inspiration to others. Kudos to you!
  • Timorous_Beastie
    Timorous_Beastie Posts: 595 Member
    If medications can't cause your body to process food differently, then why do some bodybuilders bother with anabolic steroids? Shouldn't just eating a surplus (CICO, ya know) and lifting weights be enough to give them big muscles?

    That's all I'm saying here. Some medications alter the way your body is processing the nutrients you take in. I understand that it's still, technically, CICO. But one would need to be a psychic to know ahead of time just how and to what degree a medication is going to affect them as an individual.

    It's known that the scale itself isn't a good way to gauge progress. There's so many variations that can cause an increase on a scale. And I'm not an obsessive weigher. So the first few times the number went up, I thought, "Eh... fluctuation. Maybe I need to poop." When it went up ten pounds in three weeks, while logging my food and eating the same amount of food I was eating prior to the injection, when I was losing about a half pound a week... I can put two and two together.

    It's insulting to have someone say it can't happen, just because it doesn't fit their narrow world view.

  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 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.

    I thought that was strange also. I've had asthma since age 4, and I have always been active in sports. As long as it is treated appropriately, and well controlled, there is no problem with exercising with asthma. In fact, it can be helpful in improving the symptoms over time.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,196 Member
    Of course there are meds that can make you gain weight.

    I do take one med that causes weight gain. I also have five different metabolic diseases, all of which make keeping the weight off really tough. Still, I've lost 80+ pounds and maintained for several years. My current weight is 25 pounds less than what my endocrinologists thought would be physically possible for me.

    I just have to work ridiculously hard and to be incredibly strict with myself. It's not fair, but that's the reality.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    edited January 2015
    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.

    If I hit you over the head with a hammer, just hypothetically of course, since I'm not a violent person, would the pain be from being hit in the head with a hammer, or from the inflammation caused by the burst blood vessels and fibers under the skin?

    Sometimes people talk in shorthand. It's easier to say, "This medication caused weight gain," than "This medication caused my metabolism to slow which resulted in unknowingly overeating which resulted in weight gain."

    If you want to fix the problem then that is a very important distinction.

    If I take a drug and then gain weight I could say that the drug caused weight gain. I have to take that drug so there is nothing I can do about the weight gain. That is wrong.

    If someone tells me the drug can not cause weight gain but it does alter my appetite or cause me to be less active. If I eat more calories than I burn as a result THAT is what causes the weight gain. Then I know how to fix the problem. Adjust calories intake or increase calorie output. It simple even if its not easy.

    The drug did not cause the weight gain, too many calories cause the weight gain.


    It's simple, really?

    Riddle me this…

    I gained 111 lbs within 3 years on AD's all while following a strict diet given by a registered dietician, counting calories, AND being a competitive gymnast who trained 5 times a week 3 hours each practice. If you know anything about gymnastics, we are pushed to our limit every time we train. It's a brutal sport. There's a reason it's one of the top most dangerous sports.

    I wasn't eating more calories. I was eating less calories than I did before starting AD's. I wasn't inactive. I was more active than I was before starting AD's.

    So no, your whole "altering appetite, being less active, and not adjusting calorie intake" didn't apply to me.

    Do NOT try to tell me the medications didn't cause my weight gain when I was 95-97 freaking pounds my ENTIRE life before beginning AD's (oh and did I mention I couldn't gain a single pound no matter how much I tried until I began AD's… That's not a coincidence)

    What you are saying is impossible to the known laws of physics on this planet.

    You can not eat less calories than you burn and gain weight other than water retention.

    Weight is the gravitational force on your mass. If you want to change your weight you have to change your mass.

    In physics there is something called the Mass Energy Equivalence. Energy=Mass and they change in relation to each other. They equation for this E=mc2. A guy named Einstein wrote that. Maybe you have heard of him.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass–energy_equivalence

    To increase the mass of a system, in this case your body, you have to have a surplus of energy. To decrease it you have to have a deficit of energy. Most people use the calorie as the unit of measurement to calculate intake and expenditure. Or we simplify it as CICO. CI<CO=weight loss. CI>CO=weight gain. Simple.

    So now you can see that if you burned more than you ate you can not have added mass and increased your weight.


  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
    Of course there are meds that can make you gain weight.

    I do take one med that causes weight gain. I also have five different metabolic diseases, all of which make keeping the weight off really tough. Still, I've lost 80+ pounds and maintained for several years. My current weight is 25 pounds less than what my endocrinologists thought would be physically possible for me.

    I just have to work ridiculously hard and to be incredibly strict with myself. It's not fair, but that's the reality.

    You are awesome! :D
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    edited January 2015
    Of course there are meds that can make you gain weight.

    I do take one med that causes weight gain. I also have five different metabolic diseases, all of which make keeping the weight off really tough. Still, I've lost 80+ pounds and maintained for several years. My current weight is 25 pounds less than what my endocrinologists thought would be physically possible for me.

    I just have to work ridiculously hard and to be incredibly strict with myself. It's not fair, but that's the reality.

    I hate when endocrinologists tell a patient they will never be able to lose weight. My endo tells me the same thing.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
    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.

    If I hit you over the head with a hammer, just hypothetically of course, since I'm not a violent person, would the pain be from being hit in the head with a hammer, or from the inflammation caused by the burst blood vessels and fibers under the skin?

    Sometimes people talk in shorthand. It's easier to say, "This medication caused weight gain," than "This medication caused my metabolism to slow which resulted in unknowingly overeating which resulted in weight gain."

    If you want to fix the problem then that is a very important distinction.

    If I take a drug and then gain weight I could say that the drug caused weight gain. I have to take that drug so there is nothing I can do about the weight gain. That is wrong.

    If someone tells me the drug can not cause weight gain but it does alter my appetite or cause me to be less active. If I eat more calories than I burn as a result THAT is what causes the weight gain. Then I know how to fix the problem. Adjust calories intake or increase calorie output. It simple even if its not easy.

    The drug did not cause the weight gain, too many calories cause the weight gain.


    It's simple, really?

    Riddle me this…

    I gained 111 lbs within 3 years on AD's all while following a strict diet given by a registered dietician, counting calories, AND being a competitive gymnast who trained 5 times a week 3 hours each practice. If you know anything about gymnastics, we are pushed to our limit every time we train. It's a brutal sport. There's a reason it's one of the top most dangerous sports.

    I wasn't eating more calories. I was eating less calories than I did before starting AD's. I wasn't inactive. I was more active than I was before starting AD's.

    So no, your whole "altering appetite, being less active, and not adjusting calorie intake" didn't apply to me.

    Do NOT try to tell me the medications didn't cause my weight gain when I was 95-97 freaking pounds my ENTIRE life before beginning AD's (oh and did I mention I couldn't gain a single pound no matter how much I tried until I began AD's… That's not a coincidence)

    What you are saying is impossible to the known laws of physics on this planet.

    You can not eat less calories than you burn and gain weight other than water retention.

    Weight is the gravitational force on your mass. If you want to change your weight you have to change your mass.

    In physics there is something called the Mass Energy Equivalence. Energy=Mass and they change in relation to each other. They equation for this E=mc2. A guy named Einstein wrote that. Maybe you have heard of him.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass–energy_equivalence

    To increase the mass of a system, in this case your body, you have to have a surplus of energy. To decrease it you have to have a deficit of energy. Most people use the calorie as the unit of measurement to calculate intake and expenditure. Or we simplify it as CICO. CI<CO=weight loss. CI>CO=weight gain. Simple.

    So now you can see that if you burned more than you ate you can not have added mass and increased your weight.


    Certain medical conditions can affect metabolism, so I wonder if the actual underlying medical condition is the culprit leading to weight gain as opposed to the med itself?

    Even so, it seems to at least maintain would take some trial and error, and then cutting back appropriately would lead to weight loss.

    I've taken birth control and allergy meds, both of which have weight gain as a side affect, but they did not affect my weight one way or the other.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    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.

    If I hit you over the head with a hammer, just hypothetically of course, since I'm not a violent person, would the pain be from being hit in the head with a hammer, or from the inflammation caused by the burst blood vessels and fibers under the skin?

    Sometimes people talk in shorthand. It's easier to say, "This medication caused weight gain," than "This medication caused my metabolism to slow which resulted in unknowingly overeating which resulted in weight gain."

    If you want to fix the problem then that is a very important distinction.

    If I take a drug and then gain weight I could say that the drug caused weight gain. I have to take that drug so there is nothing I can do about the weight gain. That is wrong.

    If someone tells me the drug can not cause weight gain but it does alter my appetite or cause me to be less active. If I eat more calories than I burn as a result THAT is what causes the weight gain. Then I know how to fix the problem. Adjust calories intake or increase calorie output. It simple even if its not easy.

    The drug did not cause the weight gain, too many calories cause the weight gain.


    It's simple, really?

    Riddle me this…

    I gained 111 lbs within 3 years on AD's all while following a strict diet given by a registered dietician, counting calories, AND being a competitive gymnast who trained 5 times a week 3 hours each practice. If you know anything about gymnastics, we are pushed to our limit every time we train. It's a brutal sport. There's a reason it's one of the top most dangerous sports.

    I wasn't eating more calories. I was eating less calories than I did before starting AD's. I wasn't inactive. I was more active than I was before starting AD's.

    So no, your whole "altering appetite, being less active, and not adjusting calorie intake" didn't apply to me.

    Do NOT try to tell me the medications didn't cause my weight gain when I was 95-97 freaking pounds my ENTIRE life before beginning AD's (oh and did I mention I couldn't gain a single pound no matter how much I tried until I began AD's… That's not a coincidence)

    What you are saying is impossible to the known laws of physics on this planet.

    You can not eat less calories than you burn and gain weight other than water retention.

    Weight is the gravitational force on your mass. If you want to change your weight you have to change your mass.

    In physics there is something called the Mass Energy Equivalence. Energy=Mass and they change in relation to each other. They equation for this E=mc2. A guy named Einstein wrote that. Maybe you have heard of him.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass–energy_equivalence

    To increase the mass of a system, in this case your body, you have to have a surplus of energy. To decrease it you have to have a deficit of energy. Most people use the calorie as the unit of measurement to calculate intake and expenditure. Or we simplify it as CICO. CI<CO=weight loss. CI>CO=weight gain. Simple.

    So now you can see that if you burned more than you ate you can not have added mass and increased your weight.


    You're right. I'm wrong. My medical team are liars. I'm just making it all up because I wanted to gain 100+ pounds. *eyeroll*
  • TL2cY78.gif


    Sitting around the comp splitting hairs on the internet instead of working out can cause weight gain too.



  • PammieSuzyQ
    PammieSuzyQ Posts: 100 Member
    fatcity66 wrote: »
    There are medications that affect weight for any number of reasons. Some cause a change in appetite, some cause a change in metabolism, some cause water retention, and others for reasons unknown. For anyone to blow someone off with "pills don't have calories" is unhelpful and unnecessary; if you do not have anything useful to say, bow out of the conversation.

    As a PTSD Veteran I have spent more than 30 years off and on various anti-anxiety and anti-depressant medications, and currently I am on Prempro, a Hormone Replacement Therapy medication for women in menopause or post menopause. Almost all of the meds I have ever taken have affected my weight by various methods. And the meds I am on now, Prempro, Trazadone, Amlodipine, Tramadol, and Topomax, every single one of them can cause weight gain. I have learned to work around the ones that cause a change in appetite; I am the one in control. As far as metabolism changes, I can fight back with weight training; muscle burns more calories.

    But I have had trials of some real horrible meds that caused me to gain between 8 and 14 pounds in a single month. Needless to say I refused those meds and forced the doctors to try other ones. The 14 pounds I gained with the one anti-depressant has never come off since, I suppose because I gained it in my 50th year. I was perimenopausal and my metabolism was in flux. But hey, is 100lbs even healthy on a 5'5" frame? I'm fine with 115 even, so I am only working to take off the winter 10 I gained back over the holidays, and tone up the muscles that went flabby during time off trail after several injuries.

    If you want to know the side effects of your medications, check out drugs.com. Weigh the pros and cons. The meds I am on are the ones I need, I asked for lower doses on some of them to counter act the side effects. I can also take them at different hours of the day. AND, I chose talk therapy and group therapy over anymore meds. Talk with your doctor AND your pharmacist. Your pharmacist knows more about medication than your doctor does, drugs are his job.

    I'm so pleased that you found solutions that you could implement to counteract the negative side effects. As you said, you must be an informed patient, and willing to work with your doctor to find the best medication and treatment for you. It can take quite a bit of time, and some personal research, but it is so worth it.
    You are an inspiration to others. Kudos to you!

    Thank you fatcity66, but we need to keep in mind, that everyone's body IS different. I was obviously born with a fast metabolism to begin with, so it's easier for me to work it. I mean, I'm 54.5 years and have birthed 4 children. At the age of 18 I was no more than 100lbs and I had to eat like a pig to gain the 2 pounds necessary to join the Army. I managed to gain whopping amounts during each pregnancy through will power, 145, 150, 155, and 160, but got back to 100 after each of my four children, (though it took successively longer times each pregnancy). Even after gallbladder surgery when I ballooned up to 149 I managed to get back to 100 pounds after several years. My body wants to be thin, so all I have to do is not give in to food and laziness. Not everyone is blessed this way. Some are fighting generations of genetics, some are fighting medications, and some are fighting both, along side of having to unlearn bad habits and learn whole new good habits.

    And there are some medications that are particularly insidious, like Steroids. Impossible to fight that one.

    I try my best to be kind. We are all struggling.
  • PammieSuzyQ
    PammieSuzyQ Posts: 100 Member
    Of course there are meds that can make you gain weight.

    I do take one med that causes weight gain. I also have five different metabolic diseases, all of which make keeping the weight off really tough. Still, I've lost 80+ pounds and maintained for several years. My current weight is 25 pounds less than what my endocrinologists thought would be physically possible for me.

    I just have to work ridiculously hard and to be incredibly strict with myself. It's not fair, but that's the reality.

    THAT IS FRAKKING AWESOME WORK!!!

  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    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.

    If I hit you over the head with a hammer, just hypothetically of course, since I'm not a violent person, would the pain be from being hit in the head with a hammer, or from the inflammation caused by the burst blood vessels and fibers under the skin?

    Sometimes people talk in shorthand. It's easier to say, "This medication caused weight gain," than "This medication caused my metabolism to slow which resulted in unknowingly overeating which resulted in weight gain."

    If you want to fix the problem then that is a very important distinction.

    If I take a drug and then gain weight I could say that the drug caused weight gain. I have to take that drug so there is nothing I can do about the weight gain. That is wrong.

    If someone tells me the drug can not cause weight gain but it does alter my appetite or cause me to be less active. If I eat more calories than I burn as a result THAT is what causes the weight gain. Then I know how to fix the problem. Adjust calories intake or increase calorie output. It simple even if its not easy.

    The drug did not cause the weight gain, too many calories cause the weight gain.


    It's simple, really?

    Riddle me this…

    I gained 111 lbs within 3 years on AD's all while following a strict diet given by a registered dietician, counting calories, AND being a competitive gymnast who trained 5 times a week 3 hours each practice. If you know anything about gymnastics, we are pushed to our limit every time we train. It's a brutal sport. There's a reason it's one of the top most dangerous sports.

    I wasn't eating more calories. I was eating less calories than I did before starting AD's. I wasn't inactive. I was more active than I was before starting AD's.

    So no, your whole "altering appetite, being less active, and not adjusting calorie intake" didn't apply to me.

    Do NOT try to tell me the medications didn't cause my weight gain when I was 95-97 freaking pounds my ENTIRE life before beginning AD's (oh and did I mention I couldn't gain a single pound no matter how much I tried until I began AD's… That's not a coincidence)

    What you are saying is impossible to the known laws of physics on this planet.

    You can not eat less calories than you burn and gain weight other than water retention.

    Weight is the gravitational force on your mass. If you want to change your weight you have to change your mass.

    In physics there is something called the Mass Energy Equivalence. Energy=Mass and they change in relation to each other. They equation for this E=mc2. A guy named Einstein wrote that. Maybe you have heard of him.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass–energy_equivalence

    To increase the mass of a system, in this case your body, you have to have a surplus of energy. To decrease it you have to have a deficit of energy. Most people use the calorie as the unit of measurement to calculate intake and expenditure. Or we simplify it as CICO. CI<CO=weight loss. CI>CO=weight gain. Simple.

    So now you can see that if you burned more than you ate you can not have added mass and increased your weight.


    You're right. I'm wrong. My medical team are liars. I'm just making it all up because I wanted to gain 100+ pounds. *eyeroll*

    Its not me trying to be right. I was trying to explain why we are saying that medications and medical issues can change energy expenditures but can not cause the actual weight gain. That comes from eating to much.

    The medication can change your appetite or make you want to move less or retain water but it cant make you gain weight by itself.

    If people understand the difference then they can manage their weight better.
  • fevrale
    fevrale Posts: 170 Member
    fevrale wrote: »
    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.

    Exactly, and I'm still unsure where you got the medical degree???

    The brochures list weight gain as a side effect, it's common knowledge, more know than 10 years ago. The doctors even discuss it with patients now. And you are right, I'm a bucket of sunshine when someone is telling a flat out lie!

    It's not a flat out lie. Does it make it more difficult yes it can, can you take steps to work towards finding the correct intake to either maintain/lose weight while on medications .. yes you can but you have to decide you want to take an active part in your health and not just place blame on doctors.

    I don't need a medical degree, I know from experience that it is possible once you stop blaming everything else and start taking an active role in your health.

    I'm thinking the reason people who are affected by certain medications that are associated with weight gain wanted to post in this thread initially was to find people in similar situations for support and figuring out solutions to their problems. Not to have strangers tell them that they're putting on the blame on someone else (I know, I know, "it's a public forum/free country and I can do what I want"). If I missed the post in which someone said "WAHH! It's all the doctors fault!" please, point it out to me. If not, the fact that someone is posting on this site is that they are looking to take an active part in their health.

    Now, I'd love a thread for those on these sorts of medications where we can talk about stuff that matters like how to restrict intake and deal with the insatiable hunger, etc. and the stuff that's actually productive. Let's do that sometime.

    Read through the thread. There are a few it's my doctor's fault, my doctor didn't tell me.

    I did go through this, so if you don't want to hear from someone who was there I was 285 lbs when I started on 14 different prescriptions, I couldn't stand for more than 5 minutes at a time, so don't tell me I wasn't in a similar situation. I'm saying I blamed my medications for a while until I learned that I could control it.

    Just because you don't like the response doesn't mean it's not helpful or supportive, some of us have been there and done it already.




    I don't know where you thought I said you weren't in a similar situation. I guess I also don't read "my doctor didn't tell me" as "it's my doctor's fault." I didn't see anyone in particular say the latter.

    I, for one, was a 16-year-old inpatient when I was put on such medications. I had no choice in that decision and I'm living with it. I don't think (for me, at least) looking back to 12 years ago and placing blame on myself or anyone else is helpful. I barely remember that time. I can just do now.

    I'm sure some people think the "get off your *kitten* and stop doing that/realize this" approach is helpful or supportive. I'm just not one of them.