Medication and weight gain?

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junestarrr
junestarrr Posts: 52 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, everybody. I am just looking for any personal experiences with weight gain when taking medication for depression, anxiety, pain, etc.

If there is weight gain, is it manageable? And if possible, can you list your medications and dosages? Thank you so much!

Replies

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Medications can increase your appetite. Eating too much makes you gain weight.
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    Medications can increase your appetite. Eating too much makes you gain weight.

    This.
    I gained on medicines when I didn't watch my intake. I've been on Depo Provera for a few years now, and I have always maintained or lost easily on it. A side effect is weight gain, because the hormones can affect your appetite.

    I was also previously on anti-anxiety and depression meds several years ago (I was able to transition off of them a long while back), and I never had weight issues on them either.
  • shelbywilkerson319
    shelbywilkerson319 Posts: 21 Member
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    I'm on lexapro and welbutrin. The welbutrin helped counter the constant hunger caused by lexapro. Each med is different and yes, you can gain or lose on them. I just now went to a trainer who suggested I go to a fitness center. They recommended lipocor and ketolean. This is my first day on it, but I am really amazed. It has totally controlled my hunger.
  • longandpink
    longandpink Posts: 77 Member
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    I am on propranolol, keppra, quetiapine, clobazam and phenergan. i have gained 2 stone in 2 years due to over eating and comfort eating. I don't know if the meds played a part.
  • Italian_Buju
    Italian_Buju Posts: 8,030 Member
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    I have been on Humalog for as long as I can remember.....that causes weight gain, and it is a vicious cycle because the more you weigh, the more you need, causing you to gain more....I have to really limit how many carbs I am eating to limit how much Humalog I am taking to make a dent in loss.

    I also have been taking Depo Provera for several years.....however, instead of every 12 weeks like woman using it for birth control, I use it to control tumors, so I take it about 6 weeks apart, and it could end up as high as two doses at once four weeks apart, so that causing weigh gain as well.
  • abk1968
    abk1968 Posts: 47 Member
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    I'm on prednisolone which increases the desire to eat but MFP helps keep this on track
  • cazpom37
    cazpom37 Posts: 88 Member
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    I'm on levothyroxine, sertraline, omeprazole, celebrex, buscopan, ferrous fumerate, hydroxychloryquin, cocodamol, folic acid, methotrexate and amitriptyline. I'm pretty sure most of these can cause weight gain but probably due to raised appetite rather than a side effect of the pills. I did balloon to a size 24 but I'm not 100% if any of the pills were responsible as I'm still on the same pills but have lost the weight since....
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
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    I put on 30 lb with Celexa/citalopram. It happened in just 3 months! I went back to the doctor and said WHAT HAVE YOU DONE. She then switched me to Lexapro/escitalopram. The weight did not just come off; it required serious effort on my behalf over the course of a year.
  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
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    Here's an interesting summary abstract related to the mechanisms behind med-induced weight gain, if anyone is interested.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12650740
  • THINJESSIE
    THINJESSIE Posts: 23 Member
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    I have been on Mirtazapine for depression for a very long time. I have severe IBS due to anxiety and depression. Treating the anxiety and depression is part of what helps to reduce IBS flare ups. I tried several antidepressants prior to starting the Mirtazapine. It is what seems to help the best. I recently discovered that Mirtazapine is aldo given to the elderly in nursing.g homes to get them to eat. My new doctor advised me that the medication likely has been a major contributing factor to my weight gain. I immediately decided I was not going to take it anymore but my doctor suggested I slowly come off of it while he slowly added in something else for depression that may or may not work.he reduced my script from 45 Mg per day to 30 Mg per day. It did not go well. Within weeks I found myself in a very dark place. I was crying for no reason and was having a very hard time focusing on work. (I should note that I work for Child Protective Services and I see very sad things daily.) Also I was having.g IBS flare ups much more often. I ended up back on 45 Mg per day of Mirtazapine and now I'm just fat and happy. Despite all of this I have managed to lose 31 pounds. The first 26 pounds came off very easily. Now it is getting very hard to lose any weight. Most of my daily reports are saying that I'm not eating enough. I know that this must be affecting my metabolism but I'm not sure how to fix that. When I focus on eating three meals a day I feel sluggish. I have never been the type of person who eats three times a day and I'm finding it very difficult to even find the time to eat three times. Today I started the Three Day Military Diet. It is supposed to help with speeding up metabolism. Has anyone tried this diet? How did it work? Is there anyone who takes Mirtazapine and struggles with their weight from the medication? What has helped you?
  • bokaba
    bokaba Posts: 171 Member
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    I started gaining weight rapidly after taking depo-testosterone injections even though it made me not be hungry ever and caused insomnia and nerve compression. I have told my doctor that I most likely will decline further treatment.

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