Any females still lost weight in antidepressants?

Hi, Helj, I take Wellbutrin, have been for years. I have found no problems with it as far as inability to lose weight. There was a time years ago when I was prescribed Paxil - that stuff is horrible. I stopped taking it when I was listening to a talk show and caller after caller reported weight gains averaging 20-30 pounds. I spoke with the doc and told her no more and I told her why. She said, "Oh, yeah. That is a side effect of Paxil that they don't really like to advertise." Really? That's just lying to an unsuspecting public about them. I suppose when these ladies went to their doctors months later reporting a weight gain that they couldn't get rid of, the doc must have said, "Oh, yeah, forgot to tell you about that. But you feel better don't you?"

Hey, elphie, I agree, mine does, too. It also had the "side effect" of allowing me to be a non-smoker. It's been over a year and I don't miss cigarettes at all.

I was on Zoloft and gained 20-25 lbs. I switched to Wellbutrin last summer and I've been able to get the weight off.

I'm on Citalopram and have had no issues. Although I started taking it midway into my weight loss journey so maybe that's different than being on it from the start. Not sure.

DirrtyH wrote: »

I take Prozac and have no issues. In fact, if I didn't take it I probably couldn't lose weight because every other week I'd lose all motivation to live and just eat everything I could find.

This is me too!

I'm on celexa for anxiety and have lost over 12 lbs so far. best of luck

I've been on all sorts over the years and only one has caused weight gain which was Mirtazapine.
In fact I think switching pills last month has increased my weight loss which really shocked me.

I was on Wellbutrin for a while and actually lost some weight, unfortunately it did nothing for me as an anti depressant. Been taking Cymbalta now and haven't noticed any issues with losing weight - if I eat normally and exercise, the scale will show a lower number, if I binge and lay on the couch all day, I gain. If anything the AD is helping me, because I have more energy to do stuff, like go for a walk.

I'm on the dreaded seroquel for sleep and imipramine as an AD. I have gained massive amounts of weight on both and struggle daily to fight cravings and lose weight. Don't ever go on seroquel unless it is a lot resort, which it was for me. I was thin when I started it, then just gained every month after. Imipramine does the same thing, but both have saved my mental life, although, they've destroyed my metabolism. Most other Ads I was on never gave me a problem with weight, they just didn't make me feel better.

It varies quite a lot from one antidepressant to another, and among people. But when I started on Paxil (which is supposedly "more often related to weight gain") I actually was able to drop 5 pounds in a relatively short time, because it was helping me deal with emotions in ways other than eating.

For most of these, especially SSRIs, they can affect your appetite but don't really change your metabolism. So, if you log your food accurately and stay in a deficit, you'll still lose weight (of course, your deficit could be different than someone else's, but that's another topic)

I was on Zoloft for a few months after my father passed away. I was on a fairly low dose,and had no problems with my weight. I also started a pretty vigorous yoga practice at that time though, so that undoubtedly played a role as well.

I'm on cymbalta and amitriptyline. ...made me put on weight in the last year I've had to double my amitriptyline and weight has piled on ....trying to cut down on amitriptyline .... also tried lots of diets and diet aid drugs etc but my metabolism is just so so slow ......any advice welcome ☺

As some of the others, I lost weight on Wellbutrin. In fact, it was the ONLY antidepressant I was willing to take because it was the only one that didn't have weight gain as a side effect. I basically told my doc that weight gain would only make my depression worse and if he was insisting I use medication, that was the only option.

However, I only took it for about three months. Here's the thing. I lost weight and got into amazing shape while taking WB. I had virtually no appetite so mindless snacking became a thing of the past. I also had a huge amount of energy so was hitting the gym hard every day. My body was basically processing it like speed. I have a strong heart that recovers from elevated BPM quickly. During one intense cardio session my BPM went up to 218(!). I didn't cool down properly enough and when I recovered (too soon) to 65 BPM, I passed out. My doc pulled me off the Wellbutrin immediately.

So... the point of this rant is... just be careful. I know what happened to me is very rare. But be careful switching medication if the only reason is weight loss. Sounds like you are working on tapering your doses and that may be a better / healthier option for you.

Jinxy23 wrote: »

I've been on all sorts over the years and only one has caused weight gain which was Mirtazapine.
In fact I think switching pills last month has increased my weight loss which really shocked me.

That is because mortars pine is a know appetite stimulant. It is actually was is prescribed to animals who haven't been eating. My cat was on it for a while to try and entice him to eat while really sick.